Scorching Warm Water – Chapter 25
“it’s cute,” Wen Yan said.
Fu Lanzhuo set down his bag, reached up, and touched a spot on the robot’s head. The robot retracted into a sphere. He patted it twice in his palm and said to Wen Yan, “This is a new robot developed by the company. It’s a bit clunky—not agile enough yet.”
“Can I play with it?” Wen Yan wasn’t put off at all—if anything, she was more curious.
Fu Lanzhuo glanced at her and handed her the sphere.
“If you want to ‘wake it up,’ just call its name.”
“Amy?” Wen Yan tried.
“Right here, sis! What’s up?” The sphere emitted a cute childlike voice.
“What can this robot do?” She directed the question at Fu Lanzhuo, but the robot answered for itself: “Sis, I can do tons of things! Like, you name it and I’ll make it happen right away!”
Not knowing what to ask it to do at the moment, Wen Yan lightly tapped the cool metallic surface. “I’ll bother you once I’ve thought of something.”
“Oh, sis, you’re so sweet.”
Wen Yan realized—this robot was quite the smooth talker.
A flight attendant approached, her gaze lingering on Wen Yan for a moment before shifting to Fu Lanzhuo. “Mr. Fu, may we take off now?”
“Mm,” Fu Lanzhuo replied.
“Very well. Please take your seats, Mr. Fu and Miss Wen, and fasten your seatbelts.”
Fu Lanzhuo looked at Wen Yan. “Let’s go.”
Wen Yan nodded, cradled the sphere, and followed him to the two seats by the right-side window.
She pulled out her phone, about to switch it to airplane mode, but the flight attendant standing beside her said, “Miss Wen, you don’t need to switch to airplane mode. You can use your phone during takeoff—our aircraft has Wi-Fi. Would you like me to connect you?”
Wen Yan paused, then said yes.
Fu Lanzhuo said, “Let me do it.”
Wen Yan looked up at him.
When Fu Lanzhuo reached over, she handed him her phone.
The little robot was sharp—it recited the Wi-Fi password outright: “Oh, I know the plane’s Wi-Fi password, sis! It’s yh600003.”
Both Wen Yan and Fu Lanzhuo smiled.
When Wen Yan smiled, her face became even more dazzling, stunning like a gemstone, her long lashes fluttering softly and casting a delicate shadow across her beautiful features.
Another flight attendant who had walked over with a hot towel froze for a moment, then went to the first attendant, who looked a bit distracted, and gave a very subtle dry cough.
The first attendant snapped back to attention, took the pink towel from the tray, and handed it to Wen Yan. “Miss Wen, here you go.”
“You can use this to wipe your hands. Once we’re airborne and the air currents stabilize, we’ll bring you and Mr. Fu your lunch. It’s already being prepared.”
Wen Yan gave a soft “mm” and accepted the warm towel.
As she wiped her hands, Fu Lanzhuo across from her had already finished entering the Wi-Fi password into her phone. His gaze drifted over.
Wen Yan finished wiping and was about to ask for her phone back.
“When you’re done with the towel, Miss Wen, you can give it to me,” the flight attendant beside her said.
Wen Yan turned her head. She felt it wasn’t quite right to hand over a used towel directly, and wanted to wait until Fu Lanzhuo had also used his towel before placing both back onto the tray. “In a moment,” she said.
“Of course.”
The phone in Fu Lanzhuo’s hand buzzed. Wen Yan looked over. “A message?”
Fu Lanzhuo glanced at it unintentionally, nodded, and handed the phone back to her.
It was Xiao Xinrui texting Wen Yan, asking if she wanted to go clothes shopping at Shengrui Plaza that afternoon with her and Zhong Youyou—they were planning to hit the mall.
[I don’t have time this afternoon. You two go ahead,] Wen Yan replied.
Three Little Grasses: [Wait, are you going on a date with Boss Fu?!]
Wen Yan froze for a moment, then thought and replied: [Not exactly. I’m going with him to a banquet. It’s not a date.]
Three Little Grasses: [Ooh, that’s still a date! So romantic! Woof woof—us two single dogs will just have to go shopping together.]
[We’ll catch up another time.]
While Wen Yan was typing her reply, Fu Lanzhuo was wiping his hands with the warm towel, his gaze fixed on her.
After she finished replying, she saw Fu Lanzhuo set down his towel and place it back on the tray. Wen Yan followed suit, setting her pink towel beside it—but she neatly folded it into a small square first, looking tidy and proper compared to his casually tossed-in one.
The two flight attendants turned and walked away.
After the plane lifted off from the horizon, climbed to altitude, and cruised steadily through the boundless, vast, and crystalline sea of clouds, the lunch prepared in the galley was brought out on a cart by two handsome flight attendants.
Three appetizers: foie gras mousse, bouillabaisse, and sweetbreads.
One flight attendant asked Wen Yan what she wanted to drink. She chose pomegranate juice, while Fu Lanzhuo across from her ordered a glass of 1996 Dom Pérignon Rosé champagne.
All three appetizers were delicious, though the portions were small. Wen Yan was hungry and finished them quickly, after which the main courses were presented to the table: pan-seared cod and sea urchin pasta.
Unsurprisingly, the food on Fu Lanzhuo’s private jet was extravagant. Still, she could only eat half the pasta before she was full—there was no way she could finish it all.
Fu Lanzhuo had a bigger appetite and ate faster than she did. He had already finished both same dishes and was now quietly watching her eat.
“I can’t eat any more,” Wen Yan said, setting down her fork.
“Not to your taste?” Fu Lanzhuo asked.
“No…” Wen Yan said, “Every dish was really good. Maybe I can rest a bit and then tackle the rest.”
Fu Lanzhuo chuckled at that. “If you’re really full, then stop. Don’t force yourself.”
Wen Yan looked at him. “Mm.”
Fu Lanzhuo called the flight attendant over to clear the utensils and plates. Once the cart had rolled away, Wen Yan rose from her seat. “Brother, I’m going to the restroom.”
“Mm, go ahead.”
“It’s over there, right?” Wen Yan asked.
“Mm.”
Wen Yan walked straight toward the restroom direction, but the cabin was spacious and she didn’t see any clear signage. There were several doors on this side, and she couldn’t immediately tell which one was the restroom. As she was still looking, she heard voices coming from inside one of the doors.
“I was honestly shocked today.”
“Shocked?”
This was the galley. Two flight attendants were washing the dishes Wen Yan and Fu Lanzhuo had just used, and one of them couldn’t help steering the conversation toward Fu Lanzhuo.
“I always thought Mr. Fu wasn’t the type to be swayed by a pretty face, you know? This doesn’t seem like him at all.”
“Keep your voice down. How can you think that about Mr. Fu? Of course he’s not like that.”
“But he kept staring at that little girl on the plane today.”
“She’s his girlfriend. Who else is he supposed to stare at—you?”
“Of course I wish he’d stare at me. I’m just saying, this doesn’t fit Mr. Fu’s style at all.”
“Oh, come on—all men are the same. And you think this girl is just pretty? I think she’s innocent and sweet, and well-mannered too. And of course, she’s incredibly lucky. If I were Mr. Fu, I probably couldn’t resist either.”
“She’s too young. I’d rather believe Mr. Fu just sees her as a little sister.”
“That’s just your fantasy.”
Wen Yan stopped listening and stepped back two paces. But her heel hit something hard, her body lurched, and she nearly stumbled—until a broad hand caught her shoulder.
“Brother.” Wen Yan turned, startled.
She didn’t know how long Fu Lanzhuo had been standing behind her. His expression was quite indifferent. “The restroom is all the way at the end,” he said.
“Oh…”
“I’ll take you there.” He took her wrist.
His palm was a bit cool to the touch, but Wen Yan’s chest felt hot. He led her by the wrist down the corridor to the restroom door at the end.
Before she went in, Fu Lanzhuo pushed open a golden door on the right side of the corridor and said to her, “There’s a bedroom in here. You can take a nap. If you get sleepy later, you can rest inside.”
There was even a bedroom.
Wen Yan walked over to the doorway to take a look, then asked, “What about you, Brother? Are you going to take a nap too?”
“I don’t need one. I’ll be handling a few emails in a bit.”
Wen Yan was thinking that if Fu Lanzhuo also wanted to nap, she’d be taking over his bed.
“Oh, okay.”
“I’ll use the restroom first, then go in to rest.”
“Mm.”
The galley door opened. A flight attendant stepped out, and when she saw Wen Yan and Fu Lanzhuo standing not far away, her expression immediately changed—she practically froze in place.
“Mr. Fu, Miss Wen,” she greeted them.
Wen Yan gave a slight, barely perceptible smile.
That expression seemed to put the attendant at ease.
Wen Yan said nothing and turned to enter the restroom.
As the door closed, she heard Fu Lanzhuo speaking to the flight attendant outside: “Eden, Miss Wen is going to take a nap in a bit. Bring out the blanket.”
The attendant called Eden acknowledged the instruction and hurried into the bedroom.
The door was open, so the other flight attendant in the galley naturally heard the exchange as well—her face went pale.
When she came out of the restroom, Wen Yan thought about how Fu Lanzhuo still had work to do. She didn’t go back to her seat to disturb him. And since the bedroom was right next to the restroom, she simply went straight in, pulled out her phone from her pocket, and sent him a message.
[Brother, I’m going to take a nap.]
[Okay.]
[If you need anything, just call the flight attendants.] A new message flashed onto her phone.
Wen Yan replied with a cat “mmm” emoji.
Truth be told, she wasn’t sleepy at all. It was her first time on a private jet—or rather, her first time traveling far with someone she liked—and her brain was running on pure excitement.