Sweet Gardenia - Chapter 20

The humidifier by the bedside emitted a steady stream of mist. His hair, still damp and unstyled, was swept back from his forehead. His gaze, neither heavy nor light, rested on her. In that moment, Lu Zhi nearly blurted out the question she wanted to ask him…

Aren’t we just in a marriage of convenience?

But under his gaze, even a fool would know better than to say such a thing. Her thoughts shifted, and she quickly changed her words: “That was just an excuse. She was pushing her sales pitch so hard.  Do you actually enjoy being constantly sold to? So I came up with an excuse to settle it once and for all. See, she never bothered us again after that, which greatly improved our photoshoot experience.”

He chuckled softly but said nothing, turning away to dry his hair. Lu Zhi couldn’t see his expression, but she could roughly interpret the tone of that laugh.  It definitely didn’t sound pleased.

It seemed there was still a glimmer of hope. She stood up and sat on the cabinet in front of him, her fingertips lightly brushing against his towel as she moved along with it, speaking gently, “Do you need me to help you dry your hair?”

Lu Zhi continued making her case: “Look, you’re not short on money, but every fraction of that revenue share is crucial funding for a game that’s just starting out. Wouldn’t it be better to spend that money on more important things? You’d get a much better experience out of it.”

“Hmm,” he said, “such as?”

“Such as, you’d be greeted by me every day when you come home, along with my smile, which is very precious,” she said earnestly. “I’ve never smiled like that for anyone else.”

“…”

“Tell me, after a long day of work, who wouldn’t want to come home to their wife’s gentle, healing smile?” Lu Zhi said. “This is my sincere offer. Think about it.”

Of course, everything she’d just said was pure nonsense. She really had nothing else to persuade him with, so she’d resorted to rambling, especially since the matter itself seemed nearly hopeless.

Lu Zhi lay back down by the bed, scrolling through her phone for a while, until she heard a voice from behind: “It’s not entirely out of the question.”

She instantly sat up, scrutinizing his expression to see if he was joking.

That statement hovered somewhere between possible and impossible, meaning whether it would happen or not depended entirely on his mood.

Lu Zhi asked, “What do you mean?”

“It’s simple,” his gaze drifted down lightly. “Then find a way to prove to me that we’re not in a marriage of convenience.”

–

Early the next morning, in the sunlit studio on the top floor of Rongsheng’s office building.

Lu Zhi gestured in frustration: “How am I supposed to prove that? It’s as absurd as trying to prove Newton was wrong or that gravity doesn’t exist…”

“You two really aren’t in a marriage of convenience,” Li Siyi offered a different perspective. “Even marriages of convenience have a sex life.”

“…”

The studio’s new copywriter had already been hired, and everything was back on track. The second round of closed beta testing opened for registration that day. Once player feedback from the second test was collected and some bugs were fixed, the game would be ready for launch.

Promotion and marketing were, of course, important. If coaxing him a little could secure more exposure, why not give it a try?

It wasn’t that hard, anyway.

Having grown up watching idol dramas and countless posts about showing affection, Lu Zhi picked up her phone mid-work and quickly typed out a line before switching back to work mode.

As Li Siyi passed by, she casually glanced over and saw Lu Zhi open the chat with Fu Yanshang, typing expressionlessly: Husband, I miss you.

Li Siyi: “……” ???

“What are you sending??”

“Don’t normal couples send things like this every day?” Lu Zhi said. “Isn’t this what he wants?”

“Is this really what he wants, may I ask?”

Just as Lu Zhi was about to reply, her phone screen lit up with a message from Fu Yanshang.

[In a meeting.] he said, [It’s on the big screen now.]

“…”

Before she could process what “on the big screen” meant, she turned to Li Siyi and asked, “Then what does he want?”

Li Siyi pouted: “Asking for answers before even starting the problem? You won’t remember the answer that way. Think about it yourself first!”

She had no time to think.

She spent the entire afternoon busy with the second round of testing, along with various copywriting and card designs. By the time she finished, it was already past five. She had been sitting in front of the computer for too long and had a headache from staring at the screen, so she went downstairs to buy a milk tea to refresh herself.

Li Siyi preferred coffee but still accompanied her downstairs to choose a fruit tea. It wasn’t yet rush hour, so the streets were sparsely populated, with only the occasional sound of passing cars.

Lu Zhi sat on a high stool, gazing outside. The sky was a brilliant blue today, and the clouds were distinct.

Seeing her lost in thought, Li Siyi asked, “Have you figured it out? His demands.”

Lu Zhi snapped back to reality, shook her head, and said firmly, “I don’t understand men.”

“…”

“The reason he wasn’t satisfied with what you said is either because he doesn’t want you to treat your marriage as a business arrangement, or because he believes your marriage isn’t one.”

“Lu Zhi, do you really think your marriage is just for show?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” she said. “We got married for the benefit of both families. There wasn’t even any love at the beginning. We’re maintaining this marriage for the sake of our families.”

“Then why do you two leave work together every day?”

“Wasn’t that because his family asked?”

“You only need to pretend when his grandfather is around.”

Lu Zhi froze for a moment.

That seemed right. They actually didn’t have to leave work together.

She had already sent a message to Uncle Zong, saying she would leave after finishing her milk tea. When the familiar car pulled up in front of the shop, Li Siyi poked at the cream in her cup and said to her:

“Maybe you should redefine your relationship.”

–

Lu Zhi arrived at Rongsheng Headquarters at exactly 5:30. He Zhao was waiting for her at the entrance and informed her that the private elevator was under maintenance and temporarily unavailable. Unaware of what was about to happen, she shook her head and said it was fine.  She could just take the regular elevator.

But as soon as she stepped inside, a girl next to her had her screen brightness turned up too high, and a long string of exclamation marks abruptly caught her eye:

[OMG, everyone, I just ran into the boss’s wife!!! She’s super fair and incredibly beautiful in person, and she smells amazing. This afternoon during the meeting, she even said, “Hubby, I miss you,” and just a few hours later, she shows up at the company. What man could resist that?? The dainty girl x domineering CEO trope is killing me!!!]

Lu Zhi: ??

Lu Zhi: ???

The girl’s subtly expectant gaze shifted from her phone to the reflective surface of the elevator door. Lu Zhi pretended to be oblivious and looked up at the elevator buttons. From the extinction of dinosaurs to asteroids colliding with Earth, she ran through every catastrophic scenario in her mind to suppress the urge to vanish on the spot. As soon as she entered his office, she asked in disbelief, “How does the entire company know about the message I sent you??”

“Didn’t I tell you?” he said with a lingering glance. “My computer was on the big screen.”

Lu Zhi didn’t understand: “Why did you have your personal WeChat open while your computer was being projected?”

He seemed to genuinely ponder for a moment before closing his laptop. “Probably because no one has ever sent me something like this during a meeting?”

Lu Zhi closed her eyes in despair, sinking into the sofa as if peacefully departing from the world. “Next time, I won’t come in. I’ll just wait for you in the car.”

“Why did you come early today?”

Her eyes still shut, she couldn’t see his expression. Everything was pitch black except for the faint light filtering through the ceiling lamp. Only then did she remember the purpose of her visit. Weakly lifting a finger, she said, “I bought you the cream puffs you love and brought them for you.”

The entire CEO’s office fell silent for about three minutes.

She nearly dozed off before sensing something was off. Opening her eyes, she saw his displeased expression.

Fu Yanshang: “I don’t eat cream puffs.”

After a pause, he added, “And I’ve never said I love eating cream puffs.”

“Huh?” Lu Zhi was confused. “You don’t like them? Did I remember wrong? Then who likes them?”

“No, I don’t,” he replied, answering the third question with a lowered gaze and a faint tone. “Who knows? Maybe one of your ex-boyfriends.”

“…”

“I hope so,” she said, “if I even have something like that.”

Sinking deeper into the sofa, she racked her brain until it finally came to her. “Oh, there’s a male character in my game who likes these. I must’ve mixed them up.”

Since she’d already bought them, Lu Zhi opened the box and noticed he had somehow ended up sitting beside her. Breaking one in half, she offered it to his lips. “Try it. This one uses animal cream. Maybe you don’t like them because you’ve never had a good one.”

The cream puff was filled with bits of pomelo, giving it a refreshing taste. As Lu Zhi lowered her head to eat, she remembered something. “Why is the whole company gossiping about your private affairs? You should be decisive and just ban it.”

“Ever heard of the forbidden fruit effect? The more you forbid something, the more people want to do it. It’s a trivial matter anyway, so it doesn’t matter.” He stuffed the remaining cream puff into her mouth. “Too sweet. Take it back for your… game character? He’d probably love it.”

“…”

On the car ride home, Lu Zhi slowly typed a message to Li Siyi: [I remembered his favorite food wrong. I think I made him angry.]

Li Siyi: [?]

Forget it. She had always been the one pursued and pampered.  How could she possibly handle this?

Li Siyi offered a plan: [Alright, watch this.]

–

At 9 p.m., Lu Zhi received a same-day express delivery from Li Siyi.

Before even opening the packaging, she saw three concise words printed on the box: “The Game of Flying.”

Lu Zhi recalled the boxed versions of the Game of Flying she had played before.  They were usually about the size of a book. But the one in her hands was a full-sized box, and the sound of loose components rattling inside was unmistakable.

She wasn’t too surprised. After all, times were changing, and it was common for toys to evolve and upgrade.

She just wondered how much more fun this version would be.

Eagerly, she opened it. When she saw the words “Adult Game of Flying,” she still didn’t think much of it, assuming there were probably child and adult versions. The one in her hands must be more complex.

Just then, Fu Yanshang emerged from the bathroom after his shower. She waved him over and asked, “Want to play this?”

He leaned down to take a look and remarked casually, “My title has reverted again?”

Still engrossed in studying the game board, she didn’t look up. “What?”

“During the meeting, you called me something else.”

“What did I say?” Lu Zhi couldn’t multitask. Her thoughts finally circled back, and after a moment, it dawned on her. “Husband?”

He didn’t speak, tacitly agreeing. The room fell quiet again for a while, as if waiting for something. A moment later, Lu Zhi turned her head and met his gaze: “I’ve finished calling out.”

“…”

“Hurry up, let’s play this now,” she said, fully immersed as she explained the new rules to him. “This is different from what you’ve played before.  It’s a bit like a mix of Ludo and Monopoly. I roll the dice first, and if I get a six, I can leave the airport. Then, whatever number I roll, I move that many steps.”

“There’s a chance to land on squares with content, triggering corresponding rewards.”

“Mm,” he responded. “All rewards?”

“Should be. I didn’t see anything about penalties on the board.”

Eager and on a lucky streak, she rolled four sixes right from the start, moving all her pieces out of the airport. Then she rolled a three and advanced three steps.

It landed exactly on a red square marked with the number 12.

Lu Zhi said, “Now I draw a card to see what’s written on card number 12.”

Feeling a bit boastful, she deliberately hadn’t looked ahead. She sat down next to Fu Yanshang, flipped open the card for number 12, and red text leaped into view:

[Sit facing each other on the other person’s lap, take the initiative, and kiss for twenty minutes.]

Lu Zhi: .

Lu Zhi: ???

…????????

She couldn’t believe it, thinking some strange, misplaced card had gotten mixed in. She spread out the entire stack of cards beside her, only to flip them all back over a second later.

One minute later, Li Siyi, who was humming a song on the soft bed, received a frantic phone call.

Lu Zhi: “What on earth did you send me…??!”