TIMO - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The distance was too close.

When Fu Zhao looked up, her nose was almost touching Shi Nan's.

The moment she raised her eyes, her entire field of vision was filled with Shi Nan. The blue sky, white clouds, and bouquet of flowers all became a blurry background.

With every breath, her nose and mouth were filled with the faint, sweet scent from Shi Nan, mixed with the light fragrance of the surrounding roses, rushing in from all directions and seeping into her lungs.

Fu Zhao didn't speak, so Shi Nan remained silent as well. She just bent over, looking down at her with a gentle curve to her lips, quietly waiting for a response, her breathing soft.

The whole world was quiet.

Fu Zhao stared at her own reflection in Shi Nan's pupils, closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, all the ambient sounds rushed back in. She parted her lips, "I..."

"Tsk~"

An unexpected "tsk" echoed around them, accompanied by the slurping sounds of someone eating watermelon.

Fu Zhao snapped back to her senses, quickly ducking out from under Shi Nan's bent form. She pointed at Kong Weiyan, who was messily eating watermelon nearby, and lied with a straight face, "Who's jealous? Her?"

A sweet fragrance still lingered at the tip of her nose, circling around her as if following her wherever she went.

It was a little strange.

Fu Zhao couldn't help but twitch her nose; it really was a pleasant smell. She glanced at the seamless isolation patch on the back of Shi Nan's neck, then at Kong Weiyan's equally tight patch, and shook her head. She didn't know what she was suspecting. She was a Beta; she couldn't smell pheromones.

It must be perfume, then.

Shi Nan paused, seemingly not having reacted to Fu Zhao's swift movement. After a moment, the corners of her lips lifted. She didn't say anything, simply straightening up unhurriedly and sitting down on the swing chair Fu Zhao had just been lying on. She picked up the newspaper that had been blown away by the wind and spread it open. Her fair fingers were like jade, her knuckles distinct, and her fingertips had a hint of pink.

"Yeah, I'm jealous." Kong Weiyan finished her melon, pulled out a tissue to wipe her hands, and rolled her eyes, her tone lazy and drawn out. "That Shen Caiwei calls Shi Nan 'Nannan,' but I can't bring myself to do it, so I'm jealous. I'm just so sour."

"Even this watermelon juice tastes sour." She took a sip of watermelon juice and wrinkled half her face dramatically. "So sour. Fu Zhao, did you swap my watermelon juice with the lemon juice you just squeezed?"

"And besides, the air is filled with the scent of lemons."

With that, Kong Weiyan might as well have hung a sign on her forehead that read, "Fu Zhao is jealous, and it's obvious."

Fu Zhao couldn't resist smacking Kong Weiyan on the head. She had no idea how Kong Weiyan had figured out that she minded the name "Nannan." Feeling a bit indignant, she snatched the watermelon juice from the other's hand. "Then don't drink it. Don't let the sourness kill you."

"Hey~" Kong Weiyan protested, snatching the juice back and hugging it. "Talk is talk, but don't you dare snatch my watermelon juice. You can't threaten me with a beverage."

"Don't you agree, Nannan~~"

"You're on my side, right?" Kong Weiyan said with a wink, deliberately calling out "Nannan" and dragging out the last syllable as if afraid someone wouldn't hear.

Listening to their playful banter, Shi Nan had already started laughing along. Her eyes shimmered with a light smile, her brows and eyes curving gently. Bathed in the sparse beams of light filtering through the leaves overhead, she was stunningly beautiful.

"Mmm~~" Shi Nan mimicked Kong Weiyan's tone, her voice trailing off lazily. "Didn't you just call me that? But I'm still..."

She shifted her gaze to Fu Zhao, who quickly averted her eyes. A slight smile touched Shi Nan's lips. She swallowed the word "Wifey" that was about to escape and said softly, "on my fiancée's side."

"After all, I'm here to coax her."

Kong Weiyan clicked her tongue. Seeing that Shi Nan was quite perceptive, and wanting to liven things up and leave the "little couple" alone, she played along for a bit before finding an excuse to leave. "Fine, I deserve this. A single dog shouldn't get caught between you two fiancées. I'm going out for some fresh air. Don't you dare eat my melon."

With that, Kong Weiyan hugged her cup of watermelon juice and left the courtyard without a backward glance.

The air grew quiet again, and the crickets began to chirp.

Shi Nan wasn't in a hurry. She didn't say anything, just picked up the open newspaper again and read it intently, as if some news on it had captured her attention.

Without Kong Weiyan there to liven things up and crack jokes, and since Fu Zhao and Shi Nan hadn't seen each other for a week, Fu Zhao felt guilty and didn't know what to say. After much thought, she finally spoke, stumbling over her words.

"So... what she said just now, about being jealous and the names and all, that was all nonsense." She noticed her tone wasn't quite natural, so she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts before speaking again with a relaxed smile.

"You know Kong Weiyan. She has no filter and loves to spout nonsense. Don't mind her, and don't take it seriously."

To be honest, even Fu Zhao herself wasn't convinced by what she'd just said; she was just being stubborn and refusing to admit it.

But Shi Nan listened to her words anyway. She looked up, a smile on her lips, and nodded gently. "Mm, I understand. You're not jealous. It was just Kong Weiyan talking nonsense."

"I didn't come today because I believed you were jealous just because Kong Weiyan said so. I was just curious..."

"What have you been doing these past few days?"

Shi Nan deftly changed the subject, no longer dwelling on whether Fu Zhao was jealous. Her tone was light, and she didn't seem to mind that Fu Zhao had been avoiding her. She spoke as if making casual conversation, "I thought you were busy with something. If it weren't for that pulse pillow turning on every night on schedule, I would have come looking for you directly."

Her words were gentle, both soothing Fu Zhao's ruffled feathers over the "jealousy" issue and naturally bringing up the fact that Fu Zhao had been avoiding her.

Her tone was soft and gentle, without a hint of blame. After speaking, she waited patiently for Fu Zhao to reply.

Fu Zhao felt she was in the wrong. She sat down on the lounge chair opposite the swing, her fingertips gripping the edge of the chair. After a moment of silence, she said, "Nothing much. It's the holidays, so I didn't feel like going out. I just wanted to rest at home."

"What about you? What have you been doing?"

Fu Zhao asked casually. Although she had been avoiding Shi Nan, Shi Nan hadn't come to her house to find her either, and had rarely even come over for meals. So, it wasn't just her who should feel guilty about not seeing each other for so many days.

At this thought, she felt a bit more confident and straightened her back.

Seeing the "I'm not in the wrong, and it's not just my fault" expression on Fu Zhao's face, Shi Nan knew what she was thinking. But she couldn't let Fu Zhao misunderstand her. So, she let out a soft huff, finally revealing a hint of reproach in her tone. "What else? I was preparing an engagement gift for my fiancée."

"An engagement gift?"

Fu Zhao exclaimed, but immediately caught herself and held her breath. She couldn't help but ask, "You've been... shut in all this time just to prepare an engagement gift for me?"

"Mhm~~"

Shi Nan replied cheerfully, patting the spot next to her on the swing chair. Her tone was aggrieved. "Now you see how I'm different from you, you heartless thing, right? I finally finished it and had a moment to catch my breath, so I rushed over to see you, and you tried to leave the moment you saw me."

"Keeping such a distance..." She lifted her chin and gestured with her hand to indicate the space between them. "Anyone who didn't know better would think I stink so bad you can't stand to be near me for a single second."

How could she possibly stink?

She was too fragrant.

It had to be said, Shi Nan was very good with words, leaving Fu Zhao speechless. Looking at Shi Nan's pitiful expression, even though she knew it was an act, Fu Zhao resignedly walked over and plopped down in the empty spot beside her.

A week wasn't a long time, but it wasn't short either.

But she felt that, facing Shi Nan now, she was much more nervous and awkward. Her thoughts were all over the place, and she didn't dare make any bold moves. Her back was ramrod straight; even though she was on a swing chair, she couldn't relax.

Not until Shi Nan gently started rocking the swing chair. The two of them sat side by side, a small gap between their shoulders. The swing swayed back and forth beneath them, making the white clouds, roses, and beams of light in their vision sway as well.

A warm breeze caressed their faces.

The fragrance at the tip of her nose drifted about, lingering around her and refusing to leave. She unconsciously twitched her nose, inhaling some of the scent, and the restlessness and anxiety in her heart subsided a little.

Fu Zhao leaned back on the swing chair, gazing at the clusters of white clouds in the sky. Her heart grew calm. At this moment, she felt incredibly comfortable and at ease, and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "So, what's the engagement gift? When are you going to give it to me?"

A soft laugh reached her ears, followed by the rustle of the newspaper being turned, and then Shi Nan's gentle voice.

"I thought... you weren't interested?"

After a moment of quiet, the feeling of unfamiliarity from not having seen each other for days dissipated. Fu Zhao's reply was much more natural as she mumbled, "How could I not be interested in getting a gift?"

"Besides, you said you spent a week preparing it. Of course I'm curious."

The movement beside her quieted. After a moment, Shi Nan spoke, "I can't tell you yet. It's a secret. You'll know when I give it to you."

"I see..."

Fu Zhao nodded. Although she was still curious, she felt Shi Nan was right, so she didn't say anything more.

"'Little Island Master Wins the Beauty's Heart, Competitors Turn Out to Be...'"

The exact same headline, when read aloud by Shi Nan, had a much more vivid quality than the cold text she had seen on the paper.

Fu Zhao's eyes widened as soon as she heard the beginning. She glanced over at Shi Nan in a panic, thinking she should explain. She parted her lips, "These media outlets have been stirring up trouble lately. Don't take it to heart, and don't mind them."

"Why shouldn't I take it to heart?" Shi Nan asked in return, blinking.

Because we're going to break off the engagement. We aren't real fiancées.

Because the person you ultimately choose probably won't be me. I'm just a brief stop in your long life, just cannon fodder in a novel.

Fu Zhao wanted to say this, but in the end, she couldn't bring herself to. She lowered her gaze. "Anyway... it's all just nonsense the media made up. A lot of it is exaggerated and not based in fact..."

"Like... like..." She wanted to say, like how in a few days you might not be the Little Island Master's fiancée anymore, that's something not based in fact. But just thinking about it hurt, let alone saying it out loud.

"That's true," Shi Nan agreed. She used her foot to stop the swaying swing chair and neatly folded the newspaper. She looked over with her beautiful eyes, her lashes slightly curled, the corners of her eyes curving down.

"For example, it says here that these people are your competitors. That's an exaggeration. That's not based in fact."

Fu Zhao met Shi Nan's gaze and blinked blankly. "Why?"

"Silly~"

Shi Nan sounded a little helpless as she said this, her tone gentle and affectionate, as if laughing at her for being silly, for not understanding the simplest thing. She reached out and patted her head lightly.

"You're my fiancée, the official one. How could they possibly be worthy of being your competitors?"

"Whether it's the 'Interstellar Goddess of Alphas,' the 'Richest CEO in the Galaxy,' or whatever..." Shi Nan read the exaggerated titles from the newspaper, her brow furrowing. "'Winner of the Highest Interstellar Scientific Achievement Award...'"

"Not a single one of them can compare to you."

Comments

Post a Comment