Sweet Gardenia - Chapter 7

The car fell into an abrupt silence, broken only by the hum of the air conditioner blowing cold air.

The drunkard was still clinging to him like a newly sprouted ivy learning to climb.

The custom-made partition was made of soundproof double-layered glass, cleanly separating the front passenger seat from the back. Uncle Zong had thoughtfully activated the fogging function to ensure no visuals could be glimpsed through the glass.

The jellyfish on him was crying out for hydration: “I’m so thirsty…”

Fu Yanshang pulled out a bottle of mineral water from beside him and glanced at her, half-convinced that in her current state, she might just pour the entire bottle over her face.

“Do you need a straw?”

She thought for a moment, then slowly nodded.

After a while, she bit down on the straw between her lips, sucking with some effort, but not a drop of water came up.

The jellyfish was puzzled: “Is this straw broken? Why… isn’t there any water?”

“Because that’s my earlobe, not your straw.”

Fu Yanshang scooped her up in one swift motion, suppressing the faint tickling sensation on his earlobe, tossed the straw into the water bottle, and sat her upright in her seat. “Thirsty Miss Jellyfish, hurry up and finish your water.”

The bottle held 500 milliliters, and she drank cautiously, as if afraid of choking herself.

The car remained quiet for over twenty minutes as it entered the underground garage. She carefully handed the empty bottle back to him and said earnestly, “This is plastic.  It can’t be thrown into the ocean.”

Fu Yanshang lazily hummed in acknowledgment. “Not afraid of electrocuting me anymore?”

“…”

–

After returning home, Lu Zhi continued to fuss for a while. She drank the congee and hangover soup prepared by the housekeeper, changed her clothes, and obediently went to bed a little after nine.

She woke up at 4:30 a.m.

For a moment, she was utterly bewildered upon opening her eyes. The last thing she remembered was being in his office.  How did she end up in bed? Hazily, she recalled that what he’d given her seemed to be a liquor-filled chocolate… Was the alcohol content so high that she got drunk?

She knew all too well how she behaved when drunk. The last time she’d gotten drunk at Li Siyi’s place, she’d woken up to find she’d braided the family dog’s fur into jellyfish-style pigtails.

Lu Zhi got up and added a spoonful of honey to her cup. She wasn’t sleepy anymore, but her head felt a bit dizzy. Sitting on the sofa with her cup, she took small, occasional sips.

The entire living room looked peaceful, with no signs of her having caused a scene.

Maybe this time she’d been more restrained.

Gazing out the window at the misty dawn, she didn’t hear any alarm, but Fu Yanshang still emerged from the bedroom a little after five. They stared at each other as she turned her head.

Holding her cup, she blinked.

Fu Yanshang looked at the jellyfish that had somehow drifted over. “Did you get stranded?”

She didn’t understand. “Huh?”

The floor lamp beside her brightened under her adjustment. Wrapped in a small pillow cover, she curled up in the petal-like glow of the cold jade carving, resembling a delicate stamen unfurling at dawn.

No signs of drunkenness remained.

He averted his gaze. “Awake?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Do you always wake up this early? No wonder I never see you.”

“Biological clock,” he explained briefly, then paused before adding, “Do you remember anything from when you were drunk?”

Only then did she realize something. “Did I cause you any trouble?”

“Not that.”

He said, “Don’t you remember anything else?”

Her memory was already poor, let alone when she was drunk.

Apart from remembering that she had somehow ended up lying in the bathtub at some point and was then fished out by him, she had no recollection of any other scenes.

She cautiously asked, “Did I promise you something?”

“No.”

“Did I… take advantage of you?”

“Pretty much.”

“…”

“No way,” she forced a dry laugh, “Are you lying to me?”

Fu Yanshang looked at her for two seconds, then turned toward the water dispenser.

“Next time, I’ll record it.”

“…”

The brief conversation in the morning didn’t leave much of an impression on her. By the time she arrived at the studio building, bought breakfast for everyone, and surprisingly became the first one there, it had already faded from her mind.

Most people in the gaming industry were night owls, and the work hours, blissfully starting at 9:30 a.m., were a welcome relief. A perfectly timed KFC breakfast earned unanimous praise from everyone, and the work atmosphere kicked off on a high note.

The VR and interactive projects in development were still in the midst of intense preparations. Lu Zhi reviewed the progress of the original artwork and programming before heading out with Li Siyi to order the flowers needed for the day.

They needed a lot of things. Aside from the prepared game content and booth setup, they also required character standees and merchandise.

Most of these tasks didn’t require her personal involvement, but she was responsible for the final check, ensuring the end result met expectations and making any necessary adjustments.

After a busy day, she was still scrolling through her photo gallery while resting in the car.

Li Siyi asked, “What are you looking for?”

“I vaguely remember that when I went into his office yesterday, I saw some interesting decor in one area and took a photo of it. I thought it could serve as inspiration for our office style,” Lu Zhi said, her fingers still moving. “But I was so out of it at the time, I have no idea what I actually captured.”

…

At the same time.

On the top floor of Rongsheng, inside the CEO’s office.

The clock pointed to 5:30 p.m.  This was his sixth meeting of the day. Fu Yanshang flipped through the proposal in his hand as the online meeting remained so quiet you could hear a pin drop, the recording indicator blinking rhythmically.

“With such a prime piece of land like Minghu, you can’t think of anything more creative than building a few more standard office towers?” he said. “If you develop a villa area around the lake, the returns would be more than double what your current proposal offers.”

Following his lead, the meeting continued for another half-hour. During the brainstorming session, he would nod and approve whenever a suitable direction emerged. As the meeting neared its end, a figure slipped into the room, sneakily yet boldly, and sprawled on the sofa across from him, waiting for the meeting to conclude.

Jing Chi rarely disturbed him during work hours, so it was only after the call ended that Fu Yanshang shed his work demeanor and glanced at the person now lounging haphazardly on the sofa. “What do you need this time?”

“The way you say that! Can’t I just come hang out with you? Think about it, since you returned to the country, the three of us haven’t gotten together once. Honestly, have you drowned in the gentle waters of married life and forgotten about your brothers?!”

He hummed in acknowledgment, tidying the documents on his desk. “So, you have no business here.”

“Hey! I do, I do!” Jing Chi slid over and came to a stop beside him. “Rongsheng acquired that land by Minghu back in early March, right? Save a tiny piece for me. My brother and I have been planning.  We want to relocate our flagship store there and create an immersive experience hall. What do you think? Is it doable?”

“In business, we speak business. If you want it, you’ll have to get in line and buy it like everyone else.”

“Of course! I’m not here to ask for a discount. I just wanted to give you a heads-up in case you had other development plans. Save us a spot.”

Jing Chi clicked his tongue, “You know perfectly well.  After my dad built up the Sugar Cube brand, he went off traveling the world, leaving my brother and me, two poor souls, to rack our brains just to keep it running. Thankfully, we managed to pull it off, though there was a point where we almost went bankrupt…”

“Sounds rough,” Fu Yanshang glanced up. “Show me last year’s revenue report.”

“…”

“Ugh! Fine, it’s not as much as yours!” Jing Chi swiftly changed the subject. “Brother Lu had something on today, otherwise I’d have brought him along. It’s been ages since we played ball.”

Fu Yanshang: “Just as well… I don’t have time today either.”

“Why, what are you up to?”

He summed it up in two words: “Stuff.”

“You’ve changed. You’re keeping secrets from me now,” Jing Chi complained, wriggling in protest. Before he could fully launch into his theatrics, he caught a glimpse of a phone lighting up on the table. “Hold on, you’ve got a message.”

Fu Yanshang glanced sideways.  It wasn’t his usual wallpaper, so he paid it no mind. “Not mine.”

“It is yours! Don’t you have one phone for work and another for personal use?”

Jing Chi picked up the phone and checked the back, a familiar caseless, bare device. Who else’s could it be? Turning it over, he barely caught a fleeting glimpse of a face before the phone was snatched away.

Young Master Jing looked impressed. “Is that your wife as your wallpaper too?”

“Me, too. I sneaked a picture of my wife sleeping. Hehe.”

“…”

Fu Yanshang leaned against the bookshelf, his gaze fixed intently on the screen. This was indeed his phone, no doubt about it. But this unfamiliar wallpaper, this unfamiliar photo, where had it come from?

Jing Chi leaned in, eager for another look, trying to recall the brief image that had flashed through his mind. It was blurry, but the atmosphere was undeniably intimate, the kind of shot that couldn’t be taken from a normal distance.

His tone grew increasingly gossipy. “Didn’t you tell me your relationship was just so-so? What, in the two weeks since I last checked in on you, your married life has already reached this level?”

“You guys are this wild already? Teach me your ways!”

“…”

“I won’t keep you,” Fu Yanshang said, picking up his jacket from the chair. “I’m heading home first. As for the land you mentioned, I’ll send you the contract next week.”

Jing Chi was about to voice a complaint, but upon hearing the last sentence, he was thoroughly appeased.

“Got it, bro. I’ll pack myself up and get out of your hair.”

–

Lu Zhi’s workday ended at 6:30 today.

Uncle Zong picked up Fu Yanshang first, then her. Only now did she realize how luxurious his car was, the spacious, comfortable interior seemed tailor-made for working. She could type messages the entire ride without feeling dizzy.

The car ride home was unusually quiet. She spent the whole trip typing, completely unaware of what Fu Yanshang was doing, though she didn’t need to guess. He was probably handling work too.

When they got home, the auntie was still preparing dinner. Lu Zhi found a suitable desk, opened her laptop, and continued sending revision notes. Finally, after clearing her backlog, she scanned the chat box for any oversights, ready to wrap things up.

She was focused intently on her screen when, at some point, a voice sounded beside her.

“I have a friend.”

Her mouse suddenly stilled.

She looked up hesitantly, her brow twitching slightly. But she quickly dismissed the thought.  There was no way he’d understand that meme. Suppressing her unease, she asked, “Mm, your friend, what about them?”

“If a woman’s photo suddenly appears on his phone and is even set as the lock screen,” he said unhurriedly, “what do you think is going on?”

“Did she take the photo herself and personally set it?”

“Mm-hmm.”

A new message came in, a revised design draft from the designer. Her attention drifted slightly as she replied, “Then she must like your friend. She’s trying to seduce him with her looks. What’s their relationship?”

“Husband and wife.”

Typing away, she rambled without thinking, “Mm-hmm, that makes sense. She probably wants to take things to the next level.. Wait, what?”

Fu Yanshang turned on his screen and rotated the phone. It was a close-up horizontal photo, her chin resting on her arm, a few strands of bangs falling loosely, her cheeks flushed as if slightly tipsy. The image was slightly blurred from movement, adding an ambiguous, hazy filter to the scene. The highlight was her expression, a look of pure, clueless innocence, set against an atmosphere already brimming with sensuality.

Her curved under-eye bags connected to the faint redness at the corners of her eyes, her gaze utterly bewildered.

She was mortified. She had no idea what she looked like afterward, but this photo really did seem like an “aftermath” shot.

Fu Yanshang: “This photo has been my wallpaper for a full 24 hours.”