Sweet Gardenia - Chapter 32.2

The sound of water running in the bathroom began. Lu Zhi tossed from left to right, then from right to left, vaguely feeling that the education on O. Henry-style endings had now come full circle. It seemed unexpected, yet somehow made sense. She wasn’t sure if this development was normal because she had no prior experience to compare it to.

He had, quite serviceably, attended to her thoroughly, and then… he went to take a shower.

Her fingers touched her earlobes, which had unknowingly grown burning hot. Lulled by the sound of water, she grew drowsy, only to wake again to the sound of conversation.

When she opened her eyes, she felt a bit disoriented. It was already daytime, and she was in the study, with faint light filtering through. Her hearing was sharp, and she could tell he was on the phone.

The person on the other end was likely Jing Chi. Though she couldn’t make out the words clearly, she recognized the frequency and tone of the voice.

Fu Yanshang said, “Send it to me now. Yesterday was my birthday.”

Jing Chi’s voice suddenly became clearer, probably because he’d raised his volume abruptly.

“You never celebrate your birthday, do you?!”

After a brief silence in the room, Fu Yanshang’s voice came through, sounding rather pleased. “I just thought it wouldn’t be so bad to celebrate it for once.”

Even though no one was watching her, she instinctively averted her gaze, her hands resting awkwardly on her lap. Before she could fully process the situation, the door to the room opened.

He paused for a moment. “Awake?”

Lu Zhi nodded. She had slept so soundly last night that she had no idea when he had arrived. Just as she was about to ask, something dawned on her, and she quickly pulled the blanket up to her chest.

“What are you covering?” He lowered his head, breaking open a packet of honey. The streamlined spoon design allowed the honey to flow smoothly into the bottom of the cup. After stirring it to dissolve, he placed the cup in front of her. “I’ve already seen everything.”

Lu Zhi mumbled, “Last night was last night…”

Besides, the lighting had been so dim.  What could he possibly have seen?

Fu Yanshang said generously, “You weren’t covered with the blanket this morning when you were sleeping.”

“…”

Lu Zhi sat up and suddenly noticed the flowers in a box on the table, twelve gardenias arranged in an elegant, staggered pattern. So, the flowers he had bought last night really were flowers.

He seemed to have a lot of leisurely tasks to attend to this morning, and it was clear he was in a good mood. He found a vase, took out the flowers, trimmed the stems at an angle, placed them in the water-filled vase, and added a bit of the leftover honey she had been drinking.

Lu Zhi asked, “Can flowers be nourished with drinks?”

“Yes,” he replied. “Flowers kept in sweetened water like this tend to live longer.”

He seemed like an expert at keeping flowers alive.  Of course, she could tell from the fact that she herself hadn’t been “killed off” by him in the past few months. Soon, the familiar fragrance of gardenias wafted to her nose, matching certain scents from the night before with uncanny precision. She couldn’t help but murmur under her breath, “So that’s what the smell was last night.”

The delicate fragrance filled the entire room. She had felt embarrassed for quite a while, not realizing it was actually the scent of real flowers.

Fu Yanshang glanced at her, his insight sharp. “Hmm? What did you think it was?”

“…”

He could even hear such a soft remark. Lu Zhi silently grumbled to herself.

After a moment, she asked him earnestly, “When you’re working, are you always this good at pretending not to understand?”

“…”

–

His private jet was scheduled to return to Suzhou in the afternoon. When he asked her about her plans, she shook her head. “I’m not going back yet. I need to go to Hangzhou to discuss a collaboration for the bubble tea shop.”

He hummed in acknowledgment. “How many days?”

She wasn’t entirely sure. “Two or three?”

“You said the same thing last time, and you ended up staying here for seven days.”

“…”

“Well, there are always a lot of little things to take care of.”

As she spoke, she picked up her phone. Li Siyi, even in the midst of chaos, hadn’t forgotten about work and had sent her a screen recording.

Li Siyi: 【This voice actor is way too dedicated. He recorded twenty different versions of the same line for me. I can’t really tell the difference… you pick one.】

Soon, Lu Zhi opened the video.

“If you knew I’d be worried, you should’ve called me as soon as you got home last night. Or let me pick you up.”

It was the voice of the male lead from a romance game, a standard, polished delivery. This character had been the most popular since the beta testing began.

Li Siyi played the recordings one after another, and Lu Zhi, watching the screen recordings, listened without a moment’s pause, one after the other.

She listened with intense focus, even closing her eyes, trying to discern any subtle differences in tone between the recordings.

…Could it be the same line recorded twenty times?

Just as she was nearing a decision, the curtains beside her were drawn open. Fu Yanshang glanced down and asked casually, “Sounds good?”

Lu Zhi looked up hesitantly.

“Worth listening to thirteen times?”

“…”

“You have a great memory,” she praised sincerely.

Fu Yanshang: “…”

“The voice actor recorded twenty versions, but I can’t tell the difference.” It seemed he couldn’t either. Lu Zhi pulled up the first version and listened again. “Let’s go with the first one. It sounds a bit more heartfelt.”

He asked, “What kind of collaboration is this for the milk tea shop?”

“It’s like those popular co-branded promotions, similar to Jing Chi’s. You buy milk tea and get a cup sleeve and some merchandise. But this time, we’re adding a QR code to listen to a voice message, so we need to review that part.”

They left the hotel at three in the afternoon. The entire city of Jiangcheng was enveloped in sweltering summer heat. Directly across from the hotel, in the Rongsheng Investment’s Huanmao Plaza, a massive poster of Jiang Su stood prominently, with a striking title: the first global ambassador for a top-tier fragrance brand.

Lu Zhi said, “I really enjoy his movies. Have you seen any? We even skipped evening self-study to watch Youthful Journey.”

“Stop journeying and fasten your seatbelt.”

“…”

She pouted, then remembered something else. “I think there’s an art exhibition on the first floor, right? Has it opened yet?”

“It’s been postponed,” he seemed to think for a moment. “Do you want to see it?”

“Yeah, can you get tickets?”

“Sure. I’ll bring you when it opens.”

When she got into the car, she didn’t think much of it, assuming he was just giving her a ride to the airport.

When she boarded his private jet, it still didn’t seem too unusual.  After all, flying her there was a reasonable gesture.

But when the plane landed in Hangcheng and he followed her into the hotel, the situation began to deviate from her expectations.

Lu Zhi: “Aren’t you going back?”

Fu Yanshang glanced at her. “Lu Zhi.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s not illegal for me to stay here.”

“…”

Wasn’t there a saying? Some people, after being alone for a long time, don’t think much of it, but once they’ve had company, the solitude they once accepted suddenly feels lonely. Being with her was undoubtedly more interesting than him staying alone in his office. That’s what Lu Zhi thought.

So she agreed.

It was already evening by the time they landed. After a quick freshening up and conserving her energy, she settled into bed.

The familiar silver-gray laptop made its reappearance. Fu Yanshang sat beside her, attended two meetings, and signed three documents. Even in his pajamas, his words during work were sharp and unyielding, a contrast she couldn’t quite put into words.

The gardenia he had brought from Jiangcheng was now here with them. It seemed he hadn’t been wrong before.  If he liked something, he would keep it close rather than leave it behind in some hotel.

The time to appreciate flowers was only a few days.

Lu Zhi suddenly realized how clearly she remembered his words. When she turned her head, she noticed him gazing thoughtfully at her.

“What’s up?”

“Going to sleep?”

The question felt odd. She was already settled in bed.  What else would she be doing if not sleeping?

Lu Zhi suddenly had an epiphany and turned her head so abruptly she nearly strained her neck. “You didn’t miss your chance last night and want to make up for it today, do you?”

“How could I have missed it last night?”

“You were the one who said you were going to take a shower…”

As she spoke, she suddenly connected the dots based on his expression.

Fu Yanshang seized the moment to reply, “What do you think I meant by ‘taking a shower’?”

“…”

“Wasn’t it… after it’s over, you shower, and I sleep?”

“No.”

She thought he would at least sugarcoat it, but she never expected him to be so blunt.

No psychological burden, no beating around the bush.

“Oh… I thought, I thought that’s what you meant,” she said. “But then I fell asleep, and you didn’t wake me up.”

“You were already asleep.  What could I do?” he said calmly. “Drag you out from under the covers and say we still have some love to make?”

…

…

She froze under the covers for a split second, feeling as if the air conditioner had started blowing hot air again, filling the blanket with warmth. Slowly, she murmured, “Could you… watch your words a little?”

“Watch what? I never do,” he said, his voice lowering as he leisurely observed every micro-expression on her face. “Can’t handle it already? Then what will you do, baby, when I start talking dirty later?”

“And,” he paused, “I just remembered, we haven’t bought condoms yet.”

Of course, if things had progressed naturally, they could have bought them then. But since she had already fallen asleep, and he wasn’t the type to rush things, he let her rest.

Lu Zhi buried half her face in the blanket, her voice muffled. “That’s none of my business…”

“How is it none of your business?”

Lu Zhi: ?

He brazenly replied, “I don’t know the size yet. How am I supposed to buy them?”

“You… you don’t know yourself, what does that have to do with me?” She pushed the blanket aside, her wrist resting on the edge, finally mustering a bit of righteous indignation. “That’s your area of expertise. When I buy lingerie, I check the size myself too.”

“If you need, I can help you check yours.”

“…”

“Thanks, but no need.”

“…”

He said, “Because you bought an S last time, and it caused me some trauma.”

…

Lu Zhi stared at his expression in disbelief. He looked utterly unbothered.  Where was the trauma?

If anything, she was the one traumatized.

He leaned in again, gently brushing her cheek. Whether her face was especially soft or what, Lu Zhi kept retreating until she suddenly remembered something. As if grasping for a lifeline, she turned and fumbled for her bag on the nightstand.

When she’d gone to Victoria’s Secret to buy lingerie, the sales associate had given her a brand-new soft measuring tape for measuring her bust. After using it, she’d tossed it into her bag, never expecting it to come in handy now, to shut him up.

She turned back and shoved the tape into his hand, wanting to say something but ultimately unable to utter a single word.

“…I’m going to sleep. Check your trauma yourself.”

“I’ve been staring at the computer for too long. I can’t read small print like this.”

He had an excuse for everything.

Lu Zhi: “Then what do you want to do?”

He pecked her cheek, utterly shameless, and pressed the measuring tape back into her palm, wrapping his arms around her to lift her up.

“Baby, help me measure, and then I’ll know.”