Sweet Gardenia - Chapter 34.1

The corner of his lips, lifted in a smirk, pressed against her palm, allowing her to clearly feel its curve.

Lu Zhi, aware she was in the wrong, withdrew her hand sheepishly. Just as she was about to climb off him, he caught her wrist, clearly not intending to let her go.

Fu Yanshang stared into her eyes, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Hmm? What was my baby thinking about?”

“N-nothing,” she stammered, avoiding his gaze. “It was just… the cream, the cream cake. I thought you were going to say the sugar wafer didn’t taste good, and I’d get upset.”

“Really?”

Her wrist remained trapped in his grasp, inexplicably unable to break free. He was clearly not letting her off the hook, determined to pry something out of her so she wouldn’t have a moment’s peace all night.

She averted her eyes, struggling to keep her lashes from fluttering, like a butterfly perched on a branch, flustered and disoriented, yet forcing herself to maintain a steady gaze.

Amused, he grew even more reluctant to release her, curious to see how she would try to talk her way out of it. Suddenly, she let out a soft “Ah!” and, without warning, clutched her ankle, clumsily claiming, “I twisted my foot.”

“How did you twist it?” His smile didn’t fade in the slightest. “By staying completely still?”

“It was already uncomfortable, and then you kept holding me in place, and suddenly there was this sharp pain…” She switched to covering her head with her other hand, as if just remembering. “I hit my head earlier too.”

He chuckled but didn’t call her out, instead placing her by the headboard and kneeling beside her legs. Cupping one of her ankles in his large hand, he said leisurely, “Let me see, where did my baby twist it? Here?”

His thumbs pressed firmly on both sides, with just the right amount of pressure, not enough to hurt, but enough to be felt. He kneaded slowly and deliberately, his gaze never leaving her face, still locked on her cheeks.

For the first time, she realized even the simplest actions could be made so seductive by someone.

“Not this one?” His tone was entirely different from usual teasing, yet his words remained innocent, leaving her imagination running wild. He switched to her other ankle, cradling it gently in his hand. “Then is it this one?”

…

She should have known she was no match for him.

Just having her ankle held by him was enough to make her whole body grow warm. What did it mean to be an old fox? Even if he fell into her trap, he could effortlessly turn the tables. It seemed like her plan had succeeded, yet somehow it hadn’t.

Seeing her silent, he rested her calf on his knee and began massaging the soleus muscle with a slow, deliberate motion. Such a proper relaxation technique.

In such an improper atmosphere.

She had no idea how things had escalated to this point, but since she was the one who’d started it, it was too late to backtrack now. All she could do was watch as his hands paused and resumed their gentle kneading along her calf, his thumb pressing against the upper side while his curved index finger slowly stroked the muscles she typically used for walking.

What a considerate husband.

After a long day at work, he still came home to give her a massage.

If she didn’t know what he was really up to, Lu Zhi might have been moved to tears.

Her toes curled tightly, sinking deep into the bedsheet.

“Still numb?” he asked.

Seizing the chance to escape, she quickly shook her head. “No, not numb anymore.”

“Let me think, where else does my baby feel uncomfortable?”

Without warning, a shadow fell over her. A warm palm cupped the back of her head, right where she had bumped it, and began to rub slowly. “Ah, here too.”

He wasn’t seriously trying to help her at all. His entire body leaned over her, covering only half of her, one hand braced beside her, the other idly wandering over her head. His gaze, peering through thick, dark lashes, was fixed solely on her eyes, as if searching for something.

When he increased the pressure, her head dipped forward slightly before pulling back. Their breaths mingled briefly in the narrow space between them, warm and suffusing the air. He even seemed to lean in closer.

But the next second, his fingers loosened, and her head fell back against the headboard.

She could clearly sense he was just playing around, deliberately teasing, like the calm surface of a lake disturbed by ripples, watching her lose her balance as she swayed with the waves.

The last time their lips met, he briefly captured her Cupid’s bow before parting again. Lu Zhi felt as if she were seasick, dizzy and disoriented from his teasing. Her entire front felt numb. Pressing her lips together, she accused, “Can you not do this…?”

He feigned innocence. “What did I do?”

“You’re so strange.”

“You said your leg hurt, so I helped you relax. You bumped your head, so I rubbed it for you,” he said. “What’s strange about that?”

She couldn’t breathe, her face flushed and hot. “Your massage is… inappropriate.”

“What did I massage?”

“My leg, and then my head.”

His brow lifted slightly before his gaze settled on her again, as if asking whether she realized what she was saying. Lu Zhi clutched his sleeve, crumpling the fabric in her grasp. In her dazed, unfocused vision, she felt him slowly probing. “Baby’s feeling something, aren’t you?”

Before she could loudly retort with a “No,” a low rumble of thunder echoed outside.

Such fine weather.  No one had mentioned rain tonight.

Startled, a shiver ran from the nerves at the nape of her neck straight to her brain, and even his fingertips trembled slightly against her, soft as tofu. His lashes stilled for a moment before he looked up and asked gently, “What’s wrong? Afraid of thunder?”

She shook her head, then paused for a half-second, her heart still pounding like a drum in her chest, threatening to burst out.

Lu Zhi took a deep breath and said, “Don’t you think that sound… sounds a lot like gunfire?”

…

It’s normal for a young girl to be afraid of such things.

So he smiled reassuringly and said, “Gunfire doesn’t sound like that. Don’t be afraid.”

Thunderstorms were rare in Su City, and she seldom heard such loud rumbles. As a child, she had always been frightened by them. She hadn’t expected that even as an adult, her body would retain that conditioned reflex.

Suddenly remembering he had experienced a real shootout, she blinked and asked naively, “Were you scared back then?”

“Hmm?”

“That time in the U.S., when you took a bullet for a child.”

She still remembered his tattoo, a flickering flame, visible only at the edges when he wore nothing but a towel.

“I didn’t think too much about it,” he said. “The streets were too chaotic back then, filled with cries.”

She pressed her lips together, silent. Though her mind was usually lively, she struggled to picture the scene he described, unable to form a clear image no matter how hard she tried.

“Loud noises can startle the senses. It’s normal to be afraid,” he said. “It’s alright. It probably won’t thunder again for a while.”

She nodded, then stopped thinking about it. Her senses detached from the topic and returned to the lingering tension before the thunder. Outside the window, it seemed to have started raining, a pitter-patter against the glass with occasional crackling sounds. The shape of her fingertips felt clear. She didn’t know what would happen.  He was as unpredictable as the weather, but instinctively, she thought of a measuring tape, starting from zero and pulling downward. Following his fingers, it stretched quite a distance before it stopped.

Instinctively, she shuddered slightly, then suddenly lifted her wrist and grabbed his sleeve.

Fu Yanshang: “Hmm?”

She pursed her lips, her gaze like that of someone drowning, glistening with a plea for help. She didn’t speak, only struggled to breathe as if drowning, unable to tell whether she was still fearful from the thunder or just nervous.

After struggling for a long while, she murmured, recalling the markings on the measuring tape and instinctively shrinking back: “I think it’s a bit scary.”

She swallowed and said, “I told you I’m very delicate, remember? I’m afraid of pain. I might even kick you off. What… what would we do then?”

He chuckled softly: “Have I ever made you uncomfortable before?”

She froze for a moment, then shook her head.

He moved his hand behind his back and brushed her cheek. Lu Zhi tilted her head to avoid it, but he didn’t seem to mind. That night, when he said he’d drink water, he drank it all. Now, with droplets clinging to his fingertips, he wasn’t in a hurry to wipe them off. Reassuringly, he said, “Relax first. Tonight, I just want to see how much you can adapt to, okay?”

She suddenly felt parched, perhaps a side effect of having the air conditioner on for too long. Her tongue felt dry and rough. Remembering the bathtub earlier, her fingers tightened around his sleeve.

“Just like in the bathtub before,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. “You don’t have to sit down. Tonight, we’ll just add one more, okay?”

…

Thinking he was harsh before must have been a misunderstanding.

He was clearly too skilled at soothing, never rushing, able to understand just by looking at her expression, never needing her to speak.

She felt he was like a teacher adept at guiding. Thankfully, she was a good student and never needed extra tutoring. Otherwise, if every teacher were like him, the efficiency of tutoring would be a mess, learning little from the textbooks and spending all the time listening to the soft laughter that escaped his nose when he lowered his gaze.

After the exploration, he seemed to understand that anything more would be her limit.

But it didn’t matter. There was no need to rush.

“Alright,” he said, “it’s not that scary, is it?”

She was already completely disoriented by his coaxing and nodded instinctively. Then she heard him say, “If it’s not scary, there’s no need to be nervous. Next time, relax a bit more.  It’ll be better for you.”

The rain returned to a steady, gentle rhythm, continuing to fall, but the thunder had ceased.

She asked, “Will it rain for the next few days?”

“Let’s check the weather forecast later.”

She lowered her head to look for her phone when a finger pressed into her lips. Lu Zhi was startled, her expression shifting dramatically. His fingertip slid along her lower teeth, gently pressing her tongue. She reflexively pushed back, biting down as she looked at him in disbelief.

“What’s wrong?” he said. “Like a cream cake? I’ve already eaten it all.”

She mumbled and reached for the water glass beside her, unsure how he could drink an entire cup without batting an eye. Half her face buried in the cup, her voice came out muffled: “I find it gross.”

He laughed. “I don’t mind it, and you do?”

Lu Zhi thought for a long moment before asking him seriously, “Are you really a picky eater?”

“…”