Garden care
Zhou Jianxing's screwing was interrupted by the vibration of her phone. She put down her tools, wiped her oily hands on her overalls, and then pulled her phone from her pocket.
The glaring red "1" on the WeChat icon on the screen made her heart skip a beat.
Pin a contact.
Shuiyue Gallery - Wen Lingyi. The profile picture is an artistic photo of Wen Lingyi, which she has already looked at over and over again countless times.
Light and shadow outline Wen Lingyi's smooth and graceful profile, and the background is a blurred ink painting.
Zhou Jianxing took a deep breath and opened the dialog box with a barely noticeable tremor on his fingertips.
Shuiyue Gallery - Wen Lingyi: "Master Zhou, my garden hasn't been taken care of for a long time. I'd like to ask for your help."
Zhou Jianxing's heart was filled with joy at first, but was then quickly drowned by the cold reality.
She felt that she could not face Wen Lingyi in her current state of mind. The intertwined breaths and close skin of the two that day were still hot in her memory.
She almost subconsciously wanted to refuse, her fingertips tapping on the screen quickly.
Xingxing: "Mrs. Wen, I'm an installer and repairman, not a gardener. I'm worried I won't be able to take care of your garden properly."
Zhou Jianxing felt that his reasons were quite sufficient.
As soon as the message was sent, it was replied almost instantly:
Wen Lingyi from Shuiyue Gallery: "I saw your WeChat Moments. Those flowers and plants are well cared for and full of life."
A faint smiling expression was attached at the end.
Wen Lingyi… looked through her WeChat Moments? The one that only contained a few pots of ordinary flowers and plants, recording trivial daily life?
Wen Lingyi had seen all of her humble sharings and thought they were...good?
But she couldn't go see Wen Lingyi. If she went to see her again, in the sunlight, wouldn't her ridiculous, easily crumbling disguise be seen through? Her filthy, blasphemous thoughts about her employer would be exposed... Zhou Jianxing shuddered.
No, you can’t go!
Xingxing: "Mrs. Wen, I really appreciate your trust. But I don't know how to charge, and I'm not an expert in gardening..."
Wen Lingyi's response was still astonishingly fast.
Wen Lingyi, Shuiyue Gallery: "The fee is based on my previous landscaper's hourly rate. Here's his quote."
A clear price breakdown was sent over.
Zhou Jianxing clicked on the image and her eyes widened when she saw the number. It was a figure... far exceeding her typical repair work unit price, an almost irresistible figure.
Her fingertips hovered over the screen for a few seconds, the internal struggle between her conscience and her desire to see Wen Lingyi fierce but brief. Ultimately, the allure of money and the unspoken desire to see Wen Lingyi again overcame her hesitation. But she decided that this time, she would suppress all her inner thoughts.
Xingxing: "Okay, Mrs. Wen. Can I come over this afternoon?"
Wen Lingyi: "Sure. I'll wait for you."
Zhou Jianxing's palms were slightly sweaty as he held the phone.
·
It was afternoon, the sun blazing brightly. The midsummer heat steamed the earth, even the air seemed to distort. By the time Zhou Jianxing arrived at the villa on her electric scooter, beads of sweat had already formed on her forehead.
She had taken off her signature dark blue work jacket, leaving behind a simple gray racerback vest, revealing her smooth, firm shoulders and arms, and her beautiful collarbone. She wore a pair of washed-out khaki shorts, and her long, slender legs, with a healthy, honey-colored sheen, were particularly eye-catching in the sunlight.
Carrying a tool bag and wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, he exudes a summer vigor and vitality.
It reminds me of sea salt soda.
Wen Lingyi had been waiting at the door for a long time, wearing a lightweight beige linen long dress. The hem of the skirt fluttered gently in the breeze, like an elegant blooming gardenia.
Her eyes slid subtly and scrutinizingly over the slender yet powerful waist and the straight long legs.
A faint, appreciative interest passed through her eyes.
"Master Zhou, thank you for your hard work. The weather is very hot." Wen Lingyi's voice was still gentle as she handed over a bottle of ice-cold mineral water.
"Thank you, Mrs. Wen." Zhou Jianxing took the water naturally, unscrewed the bottle, and took a long sip. The cool liquid slid down her throat, soothing the summer heat. She glanced around the garden. It was indeed, as Wen Lingyi had said, neglected.
In the carefully designed flower beds, weeds began to sprout, some delicate flowers drooped, and shrubs grew irregular branches.
From the furnishings in Wen Lingyi's villa, it's easy to tell that she's a woman who pursues order and tidiness to the extreme. Zhou Jianxing thought that this mess must be a visual torture for Wen Lingyi.
After putting down the water, she immediately got to work. She moved swiftly, pulling weeds, trimming dead branches, and clearing fallen leaves, using professional gardening tools with great skill.
Sweat quickly soaked the shoulder straps and back of her vest, leaving dark streaks on the gray fabric. Glistening beads of sweat slid down her jawline and neck, sinking into the neckline of her vest.
Wen Lingyi stood under the shade of a tree not far away, her eyes always following the figure busy under the scorching sun.
Looking at the lines of Zhou Jianxing's back outlined by her vest when she bent over, the sweat flowing on her honey-colored skin with an alluring sheen, and those focused eyes that seemed to melt like amber in the sun...
Her mouth felt dry and she licked her lips subconsciously.
"Master Zhou," Wen Lingyi suddenly spoke, her voice lazy and hoarse, her eyes casually sweeping across the entire garden, finally falling back on Zhou Jianxing's sweaty profile.
"The garden...it's been abandoned for too long." She deliberately emphasized the word "garden," dragging out the last syllable a little. "Look, it's overgrown with weeds. It needs to be taken care of."
Zhou Jianxing was busy clearing weeds from the base of a rose bush. Hearing this, he looked up, his face stained with mud, but his eyes were extremely serious. "Yes, Mrs. Wen, weeds are very good at stealing nutrients! I'll pull out all these vicious weeds first, then loosen the compacted soil for you and apply some slow-release fertilizer. It will recover in a while. Look at this rose bush, the soil at the roots is compacted and needs deep plowing..."
Zhou Jianxing began to share gardening knowledge incessantly, his eyes shining.
Wen Lingyi: “…”
She looked at Zhou Jianxing who was teaching science seriously, and the romantic thoughts in her mind were like a balloon that was popped, making her angry and amused.
She decided to be more direct.
Wen Lingyi took a few steps closer and stopped beside Zhou Jianxing. Her eyes fell on the skin of her lower back, which was exposed when she bent over and was smooth and delicate due to the sweat. She couldn't help but think that if the dimple on her waist was filled with water, it would be like a wine glass filled with golden champagne.
She lowered her voice even more, her voice becoming sticky: "Yes, the garden must be regularly loosened by someone..."
She paused for a moment, her eyes glued to Zhou Jianxing's sweaty neck. "What's the point of a flower blooming beautifully if no one cares for it? It can only be admired by itself. How lonely, huh?"
The words "loosen the soil" and "care" tangled on her tongue with naked innuendo.
Zhou Jianxing stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His face was flushed from the sun, and his eyes were clear and puzzled. "The frequency of loosening the soil depends on the soil type and plant species, Mrs. Wen. The garden soil here is rather sticky and not very breathable. I suggest you only loosen the topsoil lightly once a month in spring and autumn to avoid damaging the roots. Summer is too hot and winter is too cold, so deep plowing is not suitable..."
She pulled out her phone, as if wanting to look up more specific information: "Can I see which flowers in your garden are most vulnerable to root damage?"
Wen Lingyi: "..." All the carefully shot Cupid's arrows were bounced back by the other party with a professional gardening shield, and a "Soil Improvement Manual" was also attached.
Looking at Zhou Jianxing's innocent face that was filled with the expression "I am seriously answering your gardening questions", a strong feeling of powerlessness and... a feeling of being amused by anger came over me.
Wen Lingyi couldn't help but raise her hand to support her forehead, and laughed softly, her shoulders shrugging slightly.
She was defeated by the other party's "naivety".
Zhou Jianxing was a little confused by Wen Lingyi's sudden laughter. She blinked her large amber eyes blankly, her long eyelashes casting a fan-shaped shadow under her eyes.
"Mrs. Wen? Did I…did I say something wrong?"
"No, not at all." Wen Lingyi stopped laughing, with a hint of tears still in the corners of her eyes. She walked to a pot of Phalaenopsis orchids in full bloom next to her and decided to be more direct.
The sunlight shines through the layers of petals, casting a hazy light and shadow in the depths.
The fingertips, as if accidentally brushing across the strings of a musical instrument, gently touched the most mysterious center of the Phalaenopsis orchid.
The movements delicately lingered between professionalism and privacy, the fingertips brushed across the delicate petals, stained with the sweetness condensed in the morning, as crystal clear as dewdrops.
The faint light danced on the wet fingertips, reflecting a fine and blurry halo.
She slowly raised her hand, her gaze never leaving that sparkling spot, yet her eyes seemed to penetrate the halo and silently cast their gaze towards the person a few steps away. Her eyes were deep, like the undercurrent surging beneath the calm surface of a lake.
"Master Zhou," her voice was a little deeper than usual, as if soaked in nectar, with a hint of hoarseness. "Look, this is how I pollinate, right?"
Zhou Jianxing's gaze fell on Wen Lingyi's fingers covered with sticky nectar, and then he looked at the "ravaged" Phalaenopsis orchid. His brows furrowed slightly, and his expression was as serious as if he was repairing a precision instrument.
"Mrs. Wen," she said seriously, her tone tinged with disapproval, "What you're doing is wrong. Phalaenopsis orchids are typical insect-pollinated flowers, requiring specific insects to help pollinate them. Furthermore, the flower's structure is very delicate. Rubbing the stigma roughly like this will not only prevent effective pollination, but can easily damage the flower and even lead to bacterial infection. This isn't how pollination is done."
Zhou Jianxing even walked forward and carefully examined the Phalaenopsis orchid, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there was no obvious damage.
Wen Lingyi had given up completely. She felt a mixture of emotions as she looked at this little maintenance worker and temporary gardener who was as dull as a block of wood when it came to love, but shone brightly in his professional field.
Frustrated? Yes. Angry? A little too.
But more than that, she was attracted by his pure, serious, and even somewhat stubborn personality...? She didn't know.
Wen Lingyi sighed helplessly, but a gentle curve spread across her lips that she didn't even realize. She turned around, walked to the shade under the porch, and moved to a comfortable rattan chair to sit down.
Forget it, I won't tease you anymore. This little idiot just doesn't understand.
The sunlight shines through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled spots of light.
Zhou Jianxing was completely immersed in gardening. Sweat soaked through his gray vest, which clung to his body and outlined his energetic curves.
The mud clung to her bare arms, calves, and even cheeks, leaving a few lovely stains. Zhou Jianxing sometimes bent down to carefully pull out weeds, and sometimes stood on tiptoe to trim high branches, her movements neat and tidy.
As she swung the small hoe to loosen the compacted soil, the muscles in her arms and shoulders stretched smoothly and taut, full of wild beauty. Her small face, stained with mud, flushed in the sun, and beads of sweat beaded the tip of her nose.
The most touching thing is her eyes, big amber eyes, which are surprisingly bright when she concentrates on her work, like two gems penetrated by sunlight, sparkling with pure, enthusiastic, love and awe for life.
Sweat slid down her temples and dripped into the soil, and the vigorous vitality nourished the land beneath her feet.
Wen Lingyi just watched quietly.
Watching Zhou Jianxing working hard in the soil, watching her sweat, watching the pure and focused light in her eyes.
The cold wasteland in my heart, the frozen soil covered by the mask of elegance and calculation of interests, seems to be melted and soaked by the scorching sun, crystal sweat and pure vitality.
The strange, warm, and vibrant feeling, like a tender bud breaking through the soil in early spring, quietly and unstoppably began to flourish in her long-dormant heart.
It was a soft, warm, and unfamiliar throbbing sensation to her.
"Mrs. Wen," Zhou Jianxing's voice interrupted her gaze. She pointed to a tall, upright plant with broad leaves in the corner of the garden. "That bird of paradise plant would actually be perfect for moving into a bright spot in the entrance or living room. It's shade-tolerant and doesn't need too much direct light to thrive. Its upright and majestic posture would add a lot of vitality to the room. Can I help you move it in?"
Wen Lingyi came back to her senses and looked at the bird of paradise pot, which was more than a man's height and quite heavy. Then she looked at Zhou Jianxing's slightly slender arms and legs. Her delicate eyebrows raised slightly, and she was skeptical. "You? Can you move it?"
Zhou Jianxing grinned when he heard this.
She put down her tools, walked to the bird of paradise, and faced Wen Lingyi, bending her arms in defiance, showing off her biceps, which were...not really strong, small and even pitifully small.
"Mrs. Wen, don't underestimate me!" She said with a hint of pride, her eyes sparkling. "We women have power!"
puff.
After saying that, Zhou Jianxing took a deep breath, squatted down, and wrapped her arms around the bottom of the heavy flowerpot. She exerted force on her waist, abdomen, and arms at the same time. Wen Lingyi could almost see the taut muscle lines under her vest and shorts.
Under Wen Lingyi's slightly surprised gaze, Zhou Jianxing steadily lifted the huge pot of bird of paradise off the ground.
Although her movements looked a bit strenuous, her face was flushed red, and the veins on her forehead were slightly bulging, but her steps were steady. Step by step, she steadily moved the pot of lush green plants into the spacious and bright living room and placed it in the location designated by Wen Lingyi.
Putting down the flowerpot, Zhou Jianxing breathed a sigh of relief, straightened up and wiped the sweat off his face. The corners of his mouth turned up, his chin raised proudly, and he looked at Wen Lingyi: "Mrs. Wen, do you think it's okay to put it here?"
Wen Lingyi looked at the lush greenery that had instantly appeared in the living room, and then looked at the girl in front of her who was panting, her cheeks flushed, her vest soaked with sweat, but her eyes were surprisingly bright.
The sunlight shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto Zhou Jianxing, casting a golden halo on her sweaty skin. Her amber eyes, stained with dirt but still clear and bright, seemed to have gathered all the pure light in the world.
At this moment, Wen Lingyi felt as if the tender bud in her heart, which had just broken through the ground, was sprouting branches and leaves at a crazy speed, growing lush and green.
She gave up all deliberate teasing. At this moment, she just wanted to appreciate the painting in front of her that was full of primitive vitality.
"Perfect, Master Zhou." Wen Lingyi's voice was more gentle and sincere than ever before. She took out the envelope she had prepared long ago, which contained a generous reward, and handed it over. "This is your reward for today. Thank you for your hard work."
Zhou Jianxing took the envelope, and when his fingertips intertwined, he felt flustered again. He quickly bowed his head and thanked her, "Thank you, Mrs. Wen! It's my pleasure."
"From now on," Wen Lingyi took a step forward, closing the distance and looking deeply at Zhou Jianxing, "I'll trouble you to take care of my garden often. I'm looking forward to seeing it... under your care... regain its vitality."
That piece of green that is growing wildly.
Zhou Jianxing felt Wen Lingyi's gaze carry a tangible warmth, burning her cheeks even redder and her heart pounding like a drum. She nodded frantically, forgetting even to consider what "come often" meant. She clutched the tool kit and the heavy envelope and left the villa.
Wen Lingyi stood under the porch, watching the figure riding the electric scooter gradually disappear at the end of the tree-lined avenue. The gentle smile on her lips lingered for a long time.
She lowered her head and looked at her fingers which had been dipped in Phalaenopsis nectar and still seemed to retain a strange warmth, then raised her eyes to look at the vibrant bird of paradise in the living room.
Some things, once they start growing, can no longer be stopped.
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