Chapter 52: Chapter 52: The Sunflower Dream
Holding Qi Man tightly as they sat on the suite’s sofa, Gu Bai lay still with his eyes closed, enveloped in the scent of Qi Man’s perfume.
Qi Man, held in Gu Bai’s embrace, was tense, her muscles stiffened, barely moving except for the occasional tremble.
"Why are you trembling?"
Gu Bai opened his eyes and looked at her.
"I’m not ready yet..."
"Relax, it’s broad daylight, I won’t do anything to you."
Hearing Gu Bai’s words, Qi Man finally let her guard down, her tense body softened, and she leaned against the sofa with Gu Bai, gazing at the luxuriously adorned surroundings. Qi Man squinted and slowly asked, "Gu Bai."
"Hmm?"
"If I hadn’t taken the initiative with you, would we still be like this?"
"We probably still would, but it all depends on you."
Gu Bai didn’t open his eyes and continued, "Because I already knew what kind of girl you were. If you were just a gold digger without the credentials, I wouldn’t even look at you. But obviously, you do have them, and plenty at that. Even if you hadn’t reached out to me first, I would’ve come for you eventually. The outcome would likely be the same; the relationship wouldn’t change because that’s the acceptable baseline. If you can’t accept it, then it means we aren’t meant to be."
Qi Man didn’t pursue the topic but asked again, "You seem to understand me well."
Gu Bai turned over, bringing himself closer to Qi Man.
"It’s not that I understand you well; it’s that I understand myself."
"?"
"It’s still the same reasoning I told you before. I have choices. Whether you agree or not doesn’t matter to me. Have you ever seen a fisherman get angry over a fish that slipped out of the net? It’s all about the catch, just the size of it."
Listening to Gu Bai, Qi Man thought carefully, then said with a face full of embarrassment and anger, "Are you saying I’m just a fish in your pond?"
Gu Bai laughed, "Even if you are a fish, you’re currently the biggest one in my pond."
Looking at Qi Man’s slightly upturned lips, Gu Bai couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.
He leaned in.
A few minutes later, Qi Man, almost out of breath, pushed Gu Bai away and said, "Didn’t you say you wouldn’t do anything to me during the day?"
"Haven’t you heard the saying ’a man’s promise is just a mouthful of lies’? You actually believed me?"
"Pfft!"
After resting on the sofa for half an hour, Gu Bai called Dylan using the landline.
"Is the spa I asked you to arrange ready?"
"Yes, I made arrangements earlier. The hotel’s two best specialists are waiting to serve you."
"Alright, lead the way."
Gu Bai escorted Qi Man as they followed Dylan’s steps.
When Dylan led them into the spa room, the decor immediately caught Qi Man’s eye. As a woman, especially a beautiful one, vanity is a part of her nature. Qi Man had experienced similar treatments before, but this time, even before trying, she knew how different it would be.
The spa room was decorated like a luxurious bedroom.
A large Western-style crystal chandelier hung above, with two massage beds neatly arranged side by side. Facing the beds was a wall-sized mirror, and on the other side was a dressing area.
The room was infused with calming music and a gentle fragrance wafted through the air.
The two specialists saw them and greeted them immediately.
"Hello, you two."
Gu Bai gave a slight nod and then walked straight into the room.
"Mr. Gu, do you need anything else? If not, I’ll take my leave."
"Hold on, fetch me a bottle of red wine. The brand and year are up to you."
"Okay."
In no time, Dylan returned to the spa room with a server carrying a bottle of red wine, and the server had the wine tools.
"Mr. Gu, this is the 2005 vintage of La Tâche wine. Is it okay with you? If not, I can change it."
Gu Bai, already lying on the bed, lifted his head to glance, "That’ll do."
He never was a fan of drinking, and his previous life didn’t offer the chance to be interested in such things. Asking Dylan for red wine was just because the spa room’s ambiance suddenly made him want a drink.
Getting Gu Bai’s approval, Dylan opened the wine and poured some into a decanter.
"It usually takes about 20 minutes to decant; I will arrange for a female server to assist you later."
Gu Bai, lying face down, didn’t lift his head this time, just waved his hand to signal he understood.
Dylan tactfully closed the door and left.
"Sir, would you like to take a shower first?"
The specialist asked respectfully and gently.
"Let her go first."
Hearing his words, Qi Man softly said, "We’re in the same room?"
Gu Bai lifted his head again to look at her, "What else?"
"This seems inappropriate..."
Seeing Qi Man’s awkwardness, Gu Bai’s irritation suddenly flared up, and his tone became impatient.
"What are you pretending? If not, you can go back where you came from."
With that, he got up to take a shower.
Seeing Gu Bai turn hostile so quickly, Qi Man was taken aback. She quickly realized it and said, "I didn’t mean it like that, I’ll go take a shower first."
After saying that, Qi Man was led into the bathroom by a technician.
In the bathroom, all the grievances Qi Man had been holding for the past 20 years suddenly erupted, and her eyes couldn’t help but turn red. If someone were to see her like this, they would probably want to hold her in their arms and comfort her.
All those years, no man had ever treated her like this. Ever since middle school, when boys started to have a vague understanding of love, which one of them didn’t try their best to please her? Unlike Gu Bai, who would be harsh with her with just a misstep.
But when she saw the watch worth 360,000 on her wrist, the tears she almost shed evaporated immediately.
The path is one she chose, so she had to walk down it.
And although Gu Bai has no feelings for her and isn’t under her control, compared to those greasy middle-aged rich men or fourth-tier rich second-generation heirs, he was simply perfect.
After the shower, Qi Man wrapped herself in a towel and walked out confidently, no longer the shy demeanor from before.
Her wet hair was wrapped up, and crystal-clear water droplets dripped along her wavy strands down to her collarbone.
Although Gu Bai was an old lecher, he wasn’t exactly a seasoned veteran, so he couldn’t handle this act, pretending to be calm as he headed to the bathroom. Only when the cold water rushed down his head did it extinguish the flames in his belly.
"This Qi Man is such a seductress..."
When Gu Bai emerged from the bathroom, Qi Man was already starting a project.
Looking at the exposed jade back of the person in front of him, the flames rose again, and he could only recite the harmonious bible in his heart.
"Don’t look at unholy things, one try is 404."
He lay down on another bed and began to enjoy the comfort of the massage, the soothing music, accompanied by the fragrance in the air, plus the residual effect of the half glass of red wine earlier, slowly lulling Gu Bai to sleep.
When Gu Bai woke up, the technician had already left, and only Qi Man, who had finished dressing and was playing with her phone, was beside him.
Unable to resist, he stretched lazily on the bed and asked, "What time is it?"
Qi Man, busy on her phone, saw Gu Bai awake and replied, "It’s past four."
"So I only slept for a little over two hours?"
"Yeah."
Standing up, the towel on Gu Bai’s body dropped, and Qi Man turned slightly red but didn’t have any other reaction.
It seemed that the anger he had shown earlier still had some effect, at least making her understand who was really in control in their relationship.
"Let’s go back to the room. It’s too stifling to stay here."
The spa room felt nice at first, but staying there for a long time, it just became oppressively quiet.
After changing clothes, Gu Bai planned to return to the suite first.
After all, it was a presidential suite, and there wouldn’t be other guests on this floor; the corridor was empty.
Holding Qi Man in his arms, Gu Bai was bursting with mischievous delight, getting bolder and bolder in action.
Though Qi Man didn’t stop him, her muscles tensed, and her heartbeat began to slowly accelerate.
After returning to the room, Gu Bai lowered his head and looked at Qi Man, who was snuggling by his side. For the first time, he carefully examined her face. She hadn’t put on makeup after the shower, so although she didn’t have the refined beauty from before, she now had a natural charm. It must be said, the system’s score of 97 was quite objective.
"How about tonight?"
"I think daytime is more suitable."
"???
"I just wanted to fulfill a childhood dream."
Qi Man looked puzzled.
"What dream?"
"Haven’t you heard that song, I have a beautiful wish to grow up and plant the sun."
Qi Man looked even more puzzled: "Heard it, so what?"
"You plant melons, you get melons; plant beans, you get beans. What do you think you get when you plant the sun?"
After saying this, Gu Bai took Qi Man to ’plant the sun,’ and here we skip 185,600 words.
An hour later, with sweat on his forehead, Gu Bai leaned on the bed, smoking a cigarette, feeling the weakness in his body, unable to resist opening his system panel.
"Host: Gu Bai
Looks: 92
IQ: 135
Physique: 78
Confidence Value: 70% (Level 1 System)
Godly Rich Aura: 1% (Level 2 System, not yet open.)
System Level: 1"
When he was reborn, his physique was 85, but now it’s only 78?
This is using up his life force to plant the sun.
Since being reborn over a month ago, he has been indulging in food, drink, and entertainment, but hasn’t exercised at all. Gu Bai suspected he might become the first system host to die on the path to planting the sun.
"System, is there a cheat for enhancing physique? Can you open one for me?"
Gu Bai couldn’t help but ask the system in his heart.
Clearly, the system ignored him.
Although he didn’t know if the upgraded system would give him any cheat for enhancing physique, the current situation was that he had to start trying to be disciplined and exercise; otherwise, a few years down the road, he might end up like Zhao Weiwei, never letting go of kidney supplements.