Fair and square, Gu Zhi wasn’t the mischievous type, and he’d long since passed the age of teasing little girls for fun.
But with Li Tangli laid out in front of him looking like she was just waiting to be picked on, he found himself, for once, feeling a little wicked.
Caught red-handed pretending to sleep, Li Tangli genuinely wanted to yank the blanket over her head and never come out, just to avoid facing this moment of awkwardness.
But reality left her no choice. She could only blink her eyes open sheepishly and offer a feeble excuse for herself: “What a coincidence, Mr. Gu. I just woke up. Morning.”
Gu Zhi mercifully let her off the hook: “Morning. How are you feeling?”
“Much better.”
Li Tangli sat up, her vision swimming a little. The low fever hadn’t broken yet.
Gu Zhi had just taken her temperature and knew she was putting on a brave face. But she hadn’t eaten anything all night, and she couldn’t take medicine on an empty stomach.
He said, “Get up and eat breakfast. Your clothes are at the foot of the bed.”
Li Tangli refused again and again: “There’s no need, thank you for your kindness, but I really am fine now. I already caused you so much trouble last night, I shouldn’t stay and bother you any further.”
Even as she spoke, she moved to prove her own words true, throwing back the blanket with a hasty, exaggerated motion — and her head immediately buzzed with dizziness.
Unsurprisingly, the moment her feet touched the floor, her legs gave out. As she tipped sideways, Gu Zhi, who’d clearly seen it coming, caught her arm and steadied her balance.
He lowered his head, utterly composed: “Will you listen to me now?”
Pressed this close, the warm, mature, heavy sandalwood scent clinging to Gu Zhi’s body drifted over her as well, and Li Tangli, startled into a sharp breath, was forced to inhale a noseful of his scent.
She turned her head away awkwardly, the tips of her ears going red: “Mm.”
She obediently tidied herself up and came out to find two servings of breakfast set facing each other on the dining table, while Gu Zhi leaned against the sofa reading a financial report.
A pair of silver-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, framing eyes that were usually too severe. He wore a thin blue sweater, which lent his face an unusual air of gentility.
Li Tangli called out to him: “Mr. Gu.”
Mr. Gu looked up at the sound of her voice.
A white blouse, a navy pleated skirt, small leather shoes. Her face was clean, without a trace of makeup, smooth black hair falling over her chest.
The blouse was tucked into her slim, narrow waist, the skirt flaring slightly, white socks bunched in two folds at her ankles.
Her hands were clasped bashfully in front of her, and a youthful, schoolgirl air rolled off her like something fresh — like a magnolia blossom at dawn, dew still clinging to its petals, its head bowed in shyness.
When Gu Zhi’s assistant had gotten the call that morning asking him to buy a set of women’s clothing and deliver it to the house, he’d thought he’d misheard.
His seven-figure salary kept his curiosity in check, but he’d tentatively asked how old she was, whether there were any style requirements. After a two-second silence, his boss answered: very young, something demure.
And demure was exactly how she looked wearing it. — Black Lotus Novel Novel | black lotus novel
She was still so young — what was she doing wearing all those revealing, sexy clothes all the time? This looked much more comfortable to look at.
Gu Zhi said, “It suits you.”
“…Really?” Li Tangli rarely received compliments, let alone about her looks, and her first instinct was to question it, unsure of herself.
“Of course.”
Under the man’s calm gaze, she grew more and more embarrassed, hurriedly changing the subject: “Have you seen my phone? It has a white case.”
Gu Zhi picked up the phone from the coffee table, its battery down to half, and handed it to her: “Let your mother know first. Once your fever’s gone, I’ll have you sent back at noon.”
Considering that she genuinely wasn’t in good shape and would need her mother’s care even once she got home, Li Tangli took his advice.
But she couldn’t help feeling puzzled by how he seemed to read her mind: “How did you know what I was about to do?”
Gu Zhi certainly wasn’t going to admit that he’d looked into her background not long ago.
He lifted his eyelids and said evenly, “After all, last night was the first time someone held my hand and called me ‘Mom.’ Left quite an impression — my memory isn’t so bad that I’d forget something like that. You and your mother must be very close, aren’t you?”
“What?” Li Tangli’s eyes went wide, and she clenched the phone tight.
“That was you? No — I mean, I, I didn’t mean to grab your hand.” Her words came out in a jumble, her mind a complete mess. So it hadn’t been a dream after all!
Gu Zhi’s innocent right hand now rested quietly on the keyboard.
His hands matched his height — long, sinewy fingers, a broad palm, several veins standing out beneath the cool pale skin on the back of his hand, coiling their way up to his forearm before disappearing beneath a black wristwatch.
Li Tangli’s gaze caught, snagging on what looked like the faint trace of a scar at the edge of the watch strap.
These were the hands of a grown man, powerfully built, the kind that could belong in the realm of violent beauty — completely at odds with their restrained owner’s temperament.
And yet last night, this hand, fierce as it looked, had been held and gripped by her, traced from palm to fingertip.
It all came back to Li Tangli at once — she’d pressed her whole face against it, her cheek scraped raw and aching by the rough, branch-and-vine-like tendons on the back of his hand, and still she hadn’t wanted to let go.
God.
As if sensing her gaze, the hand that had been still deliberately moved, tapping the keyboard with a sharp click, like some kind of prank — and it worked, snapping the dazed Li Tangli’s eyes away in an instant.
She felt like she might spontaneously combust from the heat rising in her.
The corner of Gu Zhi’s mouth curved up as he stood: “So we’re agreed?”
Jolted back to attention, Li Tangli forced the stray thoughts from her mind and sent a message saying she’d be back at noon. Zhang Meiting replied instantly, telling her to stay safe out there and not to worry about her.
Seeing two missed calls from Ji Jiayu in her call log, Li Tangli asked hesitantly, “Can I call Ji Jiayu back first?”
Gu Zhi pulled out the chair beside the dining table, glancing at her: “The food’s getting cold. Come eat first.”
Though his expression barely changed, Li Tangli still sensed the shift in his mood. She didn’t push the matter, setting her phone aside.
Both of them ate with quiet, refined manners, and for a while there was little sound. Li Tangli, sick and without appetite, her throat sore on top of it, hadn’t eaten much before her expression turned listless.
Gu Zhi watched her: “Don’t force yourself. Drink the milk.”
Li Tangli had never liked plain milk since she was little, but since this had been heated and didn’t smell as strong, she could tolerate it, sipping it slowly in small mouthfuls.
The phone beside her rang. Seeing the name, her first instinct wasn’t to pick it up but to glance reflexively at Gu Zhi first — as if she needed his approval before she dared answer her boyfriend’s call.
Gu Zhi looked up: “He’s calling?”
“Mm.”
Neither of them said the name, but they both knew exactly who it was.
“Answer it.”
The call connected.
Ji Jiayu’s aggressive voice came through the receiver: “So you do know how to answer the phone? Where are you? What are you doing?”
“At… at home, having breakfast.”
Li Tangli told a lie, the words catching in her throat — she simply couldn’t bring herself to say she was actually sitting across from his uncle eating breakfast. In fact, right now, they were talking with Gu Zhi sitting right there, in plain view, nothing hidden at all.
“Why didn’t you answer last night?” · B L A C K L O T U S Novel Translations — Black Lotus
“I had a fever, my phone wasn’t with me, I didn’t hear it.”
“You had a fever?” There was a pause on the other end. “Are you feeling better now?”
But Li Tangli didn’t catch that small pause, because right at that moment, a hand held out a tissue in front of her, pulling her attention away.
The instant she saw that hand, her heart gave a little jolt. She covered the bottom of the phone’s mic and looked up to see Gu Zhi mouthing at her: “Wipe your mouth.”
Some milk had gotten on her upper lip without her noticing.
Li Tangli hurriedly grabbed a tissue to wipe it away, her mind no longer on the phone call, her replies coming out distracted.
After hanging up, she picked up her cup and downed the rest of the still-warm milk in one go.
The milky liquid clung to the side of the cup, sliding slowly down.
Neither of them brought up the fact that she’d just lied to her boyfriend.
After taking her medicine, Li Tangli went back to her room for a short nap. When she woke again, she felt some strength return to her legs. She checked her temperature — it had dropped below thirty-seven degrees.
With her body no longer giving her trouble, she was eager to get home, and once again told Gu Zhi she’d be leaving. She’d assumed the driver would take her back alone, but instead Gu Zhi went upstairs and changed into a suit, looking every bit the elite executive again.
He was going to ride along with her before heading to the office.
Li Tangli and he sat at opposite ends of the back seat.
In the quiet car, Gu Zhi suddenly spoke: “Li Tangli, are you afraid of me?”
