Sweet Gardenia - Chapter 9.2

A beam of perfectly angled light streamed from the fifth floor into the stairwell. The expected chaos didn’t occur.  Two plump little foxes were each minding their own business. One was sleeping on a toy, while the other had its head buried in a bag of freeze-dried snacks, sneakily eating. Hearing the door open, it began shaking its head frantically, trying to escape the scene of the crime, rustling the plastic bag wrapped around its head noisily.

Fu Yanshang stepped forward and pulled the bag off its head. It was the brown fox, which from certain angles looked a lot like a small dog. Lu Zhi tried to recall… What was this one called again? Slow Down?

Slow Down circled around him excitedly, pawing at his pant leg with great enthusiasm.

Even from a distance, Lu Zhi could feel the little fox’s excitement. “It really likes you.”

Fu Yanshang opened a bag of treats and tossed one down. Slow Down immediately lay on the floor, quietly enjoying it.

He hit the nail on the head. “It likes to eat.”

“……”

As they spoke, the snow-white little fox sleeping on the shelf finally began to stir. Lu Zhi tiptoed over and gently stroked its head.

The texture was fascinating.  A little prickly, but it smelled lovely, as if it had been bathed in sunlight.

If they didn’t go down soon, the food would get cold. Fu Yanshang pressed the elevator button, but she wanted to take the stairs. The two foxes followed them at different paces: the one named Slow Down walked too fast, practically sprinting, while the one named Hurry Up moved too slowly, ambling along as if still half-asleep.

Watching the foxes’ tails, she asked him, “Why did you give them these names?”

“Originally, they weren’t called that,” he said. “Their personalities are so different.  I often had to tell one to slow down and the other to hurry up. After a while, they started to think those were their names. Nothing else works now.”

She remembered watching a video where a Corgi, whenever it entered an elevator, would be automatically detected as an electric scooter. The elevator would announce daily, “Electric scooters are not allowed inside.” After a few months, the Corgi started to think its name was Electric Scooter.

Thinking of this, she turned away and chuckled.

She eagerly snuggled with the little foxes, even picking up the white one and placing it on her lap. Before long, Hurry Up settled on the table, watching them eat without reaching out its paws or causing any trouble.

She thought Fu Yanshang’s worries were completely unnecessary. “They’re pretty well-behaved, aren’t they?”

The next second, the little fox stretched out a paw and knocked over an entire cup of drink onto her.

Jing Chi let out an “I knew it.” Fu Yanshang seemed unsurprised, the little fox looked utterly innocent, and Fu Cheng said with an air of control, “Quick, take Xiao Zhi to change her clothes.”

…

She stood up immediately, but it was too late to avoid most of the spill. From her waist to her legs, her top and pants were ruined.

She entered the bathroom in Fu Yanshang’s room. The furnishings were completely unfamiliar, but the scent was familiar, so much so that it made her pause for half a second.

Soon, there was a knock at the door. He handed her a shirt and said, “This is all I have for now. Wear it first and change when you get back.”

She didn’t know if he’d gotten it from the housekeeper or… The moment she took the shirt, that familiar scent washed over her again.  A deep, cool aquatic fragrance, mingled with the aroma of sun-baked wood, like the smell of a forest after rain.

It was his shirt.

She wasn’t sure from which period of his life it was, but the length happened to reach just above her thighs. The sleeves were a bit long, so she rolled them up a few times. Sitting on the edge of the sink, she dampened a tissue and wiped away the sticky juice on her skin.

Once she’d cleaned herself up, she noticed a tie hanging down the right side of the shirt. She searched for a while but couldn’t figure out where to fasten it. Puzzled, she let out a soft, “Hmm?”

A voice came from outside the door: “What’s wrong?”

“You’re still here,” she said. “There’s something about this shirt I don’t understand.”

“Should I come in?”

“…Okay.”

There was a brief pause outside, probably waiting for her to unlock the door. But she hadn’t locked it in the first place, so after a moment, he tried the handle and the door opened smoothly.

As he stepped in, two curious foxes slipped in behind him, inspecting the bathroom and playfully nudging things around.

“This,” she said, lifting the tie, “where does it go?”

He glanced at it, then bent down to search for something in a nearby cabinet. “It’s just decorative. Useless.”

Soon, he placed a hairdryer on the counter. She looked at herself in the mirror.  The ends of her hair were half-soaked.

It didn’t look like it was from the spilled drink; she must have accidentally wet it while cleaning up earlier.

Lu Zhi lifted the tie and wrapped it around her back. “Can I turn it into a belt? It’ll make me look slimmer.”

As she twisted, the hem of the shirt dipped into a puddle of water on the counter. Fu Yanshang raised his hand, signaling for her to step down. “Let me do it.”

The moment she jumped off the counter, he flipped her around, pressing her against the wall. Her palms were flat against the cold tiles, and her waist tightened abruptly. His breath warmed the back of her neck, spreading a faint heat.

…

Such a strange… position.

She struggled to suppress the thought, “This feels like doggy style,” and tried to keep her body from trembling. Halfway through tying the belt, he reached over and turned on the ventilation switch.

The machine overhead started whirring almost instantly. She reacted sharply, “What does that mean?”

“Isn’t your ear red from the heat?”

“…”

She blurted out, “It’s not from the heat.”

Then he spun her around to face him. She was on the verge of collapse.  Why did he always change positions without warning? Couldn’t he give her a little mental preparation? Fu Yanshang took a step back to assess the effect, loosening the belt slightly. He looked utterly serious and unapproachable, as if he were just making small talk to pass the time. “Then what is it?”

She didn’t answer, busying herself to avoid the awkwardness. Folding her clothes, she discovered the spray she had bought yesterday in her pants.

The more she thought about it, the more a bitter taste spread in her mouth.

She turned her head and sprayed it into her mouth twice.

The taste touched her tongue, a faintly sweet grape flavor seeped into her taste buds.

The sound of the hairdryer beside her paused. Fu Yanshang’s gaze fell on her as he asked, “Why are you spraying that?”

She was about to speak when something nudged her from behind, a fox insistently squeezing its way in. Forced to lean forward, her bare calf brushed against his thigh, clad in smooth yet slightly stiff suit pants. But Lu Zhi wasn’t thinking about that anymore. Just the thought of it made her angry.

Why else would she have sprayed the air freshener? Couldn’t he have avoided cooking that bitter melon dish?

She looked up. Even though their faces were already dangerously close, she boldly retorted without hesitation, “What do you think?”

No sooner had she spoken than another fox squeezed in from behind, as if playing some stacking game. Forced to lean forward again, their breaths mingled in an instant, and the familiar woody scent grew more intense.

The exhaust fan whirred overhead, but she began to feel suffocated.

She tried to shift backward but was afraid of crushing the two little creatures. All she could do was inch slightly, only to be nudged forward again by their rustling movements. Fu Yanshang watched her with lowered eyes, not even bothering to ask if she needed help.

Feeling increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze, she wanted to tell him to step back. But just as she parted her lips, something warm pressed against them.

The kiss came unexpectedly. Caught off guard, she fluttered her eyelids in surprise at the sudden contact.

As he deepened the kiss, leaning further into her, the two foxes behind her pushed forward. Losing her balance, she could only hook her arms around his neck while her other hand was guided to his waist. The light was too bright, but she couldn’t adjust her position. Turning her face to reach for the switch, she was abruptly pulled back, and the escaping kiss was sealed once more.

The light and the exhaust fan stopped together.

In the quiet room, she could even hear the faint sounds of conversation from the living room, along with some ambiguous, lingering noises.

A thumb gently stroked her neck, tapping lightly under her chin as a hint.

“Open your mouth.”