Chapter 45: Is It Good Here?

Fang Qinru was already waiting by the stone steps at the edge of the platform.

"Let's go." Gu Yan trotted over.

The two women walked down the stone steps. The servant followed three paces behind, carrying a bamboo basket.

There was indeed a patch of wildflowers by the creek, a mix of pink and purple, blooming vibrantly. Gu Yan squatted down and reached out to touch them.

"Be careful of the thorns," Fang Qinru reminded her softly. "Some wildflowers have fine thorns on their stems."

Gu Yan pulled her hand back and switched to gently flicking the petals with her fingertips: "Is Sister Fang very familiar with plants?"

"I wouldn't say very familiar. When I was studying in Switzerland, I liked to go hiking. After spending a long time in the mountains, I naturally learned to recognize them."

Gu Yan tilted her head to look at her; the woman was looking down, flicking the petals, but her gaze seemed to be looking at something else through them.

In an instant, a word popped into her mind.

Sorrow.

Yes, it was sorrow.

Although she was always smiling, the smile didn't reach the bottom of her eyes, and a faint sense of melancholy lingered around her.

"Are you a student of painting?" Fang Qinru suddenly asked softly.

Gu Yan came back to her senses, nodded, and then felt puzzled, "How did you tell?"

"You have calluses on your hands."

Gu Yan reached out to look; her fingers were slender and her skin delicate. But no matter how well she maintained them, those calluses caused by holding a pen could not be erased.

Fang Qinru's gaze was gentle, "I studied fashion design in college, which is tangentially related to painting."

Gu Yan was a bit surprised and felt a sense of affinity for her.

"Does Sister Fang still design clothes?" she asked.

"I stopped doing that a long time ago. I occasionally sketch some drafts for my own amusement."

Gu Yan was a bit surprised, but she didn't ask further.

She could imagine there were unspeakable reasons, so why should she poke at someone's pain?

"Shall we go take a look over by the plum trees?"

Zhou Wei was right; the trees were indeed bearing many small fruits, though they looked green and unripe.

Gu Yan wanted to taste them, so she directed the servant to pick a few. After washing them in the creek water, she handed one to Fang Qinru.

She took a small bite, and a sour, astringent taste flooded her mouth; it was just as terrible as she had imagined.

"Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo, Sister Fang, don't eat it, it's both sour and astringent."

Fang Qinru, however, said she couldn't let her good intentions go to waste, took a light bite, and her brows furrowed slightly; the expression on her face was rarely so vivid.

The two looked at each other and both started laughing.

A breeze blew by, lifting Gu Yan's hair, and a few strands stubbornly stuck to her face; she reached out to tuck them behind her ear.

Fang Qinru complimented her: "Your hand shape is very beautiful, it's suitable for wearing rings."

Gu Yan blinked and looked at her own hands.

Fang Qinru smiled: "When I studied design, I also learned a bit of palmistry. Do you want me to take a look for you?"

"Palmistry?"

"Mm."

Fang Qinru pulled her hand over, looked at it carefully for a while, and pointed out for her, "Look, your heart line is very deep and very clear. You're the type who won't change once you've made up your mind."

Gu Yan followed her gaze; it was indeed very deep and clear, but she didn't quite agree with that statement.

Since she was a child, she had always been fickle, and her interests only ever lasted three minutes.

Gu Lin said she would definitely be a heartbreaker when she grew up.

But that remained to be seen; after all, she was picky, and so far, she had only taken a liking to Shen Yanhui.

Seeing her looking so conflicted, Fang Qinru couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Don't take it seriously, I was just saying it casually."

Gu Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn't like to talk about forever; no one knew what the future would hold.

Seizing the moment was her life motto.

"You scared me to death, I thought I was doomed to hang myself from a single tree," she joked.

Fang Qinru laughed again; being with Gu Yan, she had laughed more than she had in the past week combined.

"Do you want to draw for a while? The lighting here is very good."

Gu Yan nodded and invited her: "Together?"

Fang Qinru felt a bit tempted, "It's been a long time since I held a pen, I don't know if I can still draw."

"Give it a try."

Gu Yan shoved her sketchbook and pencil into her arms, then sat down on a rock by the creek and began to draw the bamboo forest on the opposite bank.

Fang Qinru paused for a moment, then sat down beside her.

Neither of them spoke again; there was only the rustling of the pencil on paper and the babbling of the creek.

Halfway through the drawing, Gu Yan suddenly sensed something and turned her head.

Shen Yanhui was standing at the edge of the platform, by the railing, and she didn't know how long he had been watching her.

Gu Yan gave a bright smile and waved at him.

Shen Yanhui hooked the corners of his lips.

Behind him, Sheng Ze walked over holding a wine glass, and seeing this smile, he looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"Old Shen, are you... really fallen for her?"

Shen Yanhui glanced at him and turned to leave.

——

Gu Yan was in a very good mood.

Her good mood was elevated even further when she saw the rattan chair and floor lamp in front of the glass wall.

She trotted over, her fingertips brushing against the texture of the rattan chair, then sank her whole body into the chair and swayed it gently.

Shen Yanhui closed the door and locked it.

He walked to her side, leaned over, and braced his hands on the armrests, trapping her in that small space.

Gu Yan inexplicably felt a sense of danger and shrank back, but he caught her by the waist.

"Not sore in the waist? Not weak in the legs?" he asked in a low voice, his thumb gently rubbing against her waist.

"... I am sore in the waist and weak in the legs, but I'm better now." Gu Yan said righteously.

"Better?"

"... Mm."

Shen Yanhui raised an eyebrow, his palm sliding down her waistline to stop at the outer side of her thigh, "Who was it crying yesterday and saying they couldn't take it?"

Gu Yan: "... The me of yesterday and the me of today are no longer the same person."

Shen Yanhui gave a meaningful "Oh."

He straightened up and pulled her up from the chair, "Go take a bath first."

He paused, then asked, "You don't need me to help you, do you?"

Gu Yan: "?"

"No need, I can wash myself." After saying that, she stomped up the stairs, slipping away faster than a cat.

Gu Yan had a comfortable soak in the bathroom and carefully applied body lotion to herself, only coming out once the floral scent had completely enveloped her.

Shen Yanhui was still on the first floor; he had already changed his shirt into a dark gray bathrobe, so he must have showered downstairs.

He stood in front of the glass wall, swirling a glass of red wine in his hand.

Gu Yan stepped barefoot on the floor and walked silently behind him, wanting to give him a scare.

But unexpectedly, it was as if he had eyes in the back of his head; he reached out, pulled her in front of him, and held the wine glass to her lips, "Have a little?"

Gu Yan took a sip; the wine was mellow and carried a fruity aroma.

However, her tolerance for alcohol was low, so she didn't dare drink much and pushed the glass away after two sips.

Shen Yanhui tilted his head back to finish it and set the glass aside.

"I think you're up to no good," Gu Yan said suddenly.

He chuckled softly, not denying it, "Why do you think that?"

"Intuition," she turned around to face him and poked his chest with her finger, "Every time you smile like that, nothing good happens."

Shen Yanhui grabbed her finger and kissed it, "Then this time, whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, you'll have to try it to find out."

As his voice fell, he suddenly turned her around and pressed her against the glass wall.

"Shen Yanhui, you..."

Gu Yan shivered from the stimulation of the cold, subconsciously pressing herself against him.

Kisses landed on her neck, accompanied by his low, husky chuckle, "Don't you like this glass wall? Then how about we do it here?"

As he spoke, he pulled at the sash of her bathrobe.

Gu Yan's body softened instantly.