Chapter 352: Chapter 349: A Bouquet of Roses
The water was hot, and the reduced flow was quite powerful.
The stream of water hit her fleshly pearls, bringing an exhilarating sensation right up to the crown of her head.
Gu Yue kept adjusting her breathing as her body’s instinctual reactions became more and more frequent.
"Stop... stop now, I can’t take it anymore, ah ah ah!"
Watching her body shiver and convulse, Zhang Hao held the showerhead aloft.
Not until Gu Yue’s convulsions subsided did she sit on the ground like a puddle of mud.
Using the word ’disheveled’ to describe her would not be an overstatement.
Zhang Hao turned off the shower, fetched a bath towel, and began to dry her off.
"How does it feel?"
"So refreshing, just a bit tired, I want to sleep now."
Carrying Gu Yue back to the bedroom, he realized that he had not yet tidied up the mess on the bed.
Zhang Hao quickly straightened out the bed sheets before letting Gu Yue lie down to rest.
As soon as she lay down, Gu Yue fell asleep, unresponsive to Zhang Hao’s calls no matter how loudly he shouted.
He had thought today would end with a bang, but it turned out like this.
Seeing that it was still early, Zhang Hao took a shower himself.
When he left the hotel, it was still light outside.
He figured that since he had taken the day off, he shouldn’t waste it.
Zhang Hao returned to the hospital intending to drive to He Qianhui’s company to have a look.
To avoid being roped into helping out, he purposely made a quick in and out visit.
He made sure his colleagues didn’t see him, but this approach was clearly like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
On the way, he passed by a flower shop and remembered he had forgotten to buy flowers that day and had said he would make it up to her.
Now that Zhang Hao had the chance, he parked the car and entered the flower shop.
The florist was busy making a bouquet for another customer.
She didn’t forget to greet Zhang Hao as he walked in.
"Sir, are you looking to buy flowers? All our flowers are fresh arrivals; feel free to pick whichever ones you like."
"The madam here is more beautiful than the flowers themselves. If I didn’t already have a girlfriend, I would definitely pursue you," said the other customer slickly, though it was unclear why he blurted that out.
Zhang Hao just chuckled along, searching among the various flowers for the one that caught his fancy.
"So, are you getting married next month? Do you want to order your wedding flowers from me?"
"That could work. My girlfriend likes a lot of different flowers, so I’ll give you a list when the time comes."
The lady owner nodded and replied, "Alright, just make sure to give it to me in advance. For the finer flowers, we might need to have them air-freighted from out of town."
Once the bouquet was ready, the male customer paid and left happily.
Zhang Hao chose a few stems to make a bouquet and the owner came out from behind the counter to have a look.
"I never thought a big guy like you had such a knack for this. This bouquet looks really beautiful," she praised wholeheartedly.
The woman took the bouquet from Zhang Hao’s hands, and it wasn’t clear whether it was accidental or intentional.
She brushed against the back of his hand.
At first, he thought it was just the green leaves on the stems.
But as time went on, Zhang Hao increasingly felt that the touch wasn’t quite right.
The whole interaction lasted less than a second, and Zhang Hao had no reason to ask further.
"Who are you buying flowers for? Most of them are roses, and these roses have been air-freighted from abroad," she said.
"A single stem costs dozens of dollars. Altogether, I’ll give you a 20% discount, that will be five hundred and eighty dollars."
Zhang Hao took out his phone and scanned the payment code on the counter.
"Whether it’s air-freighted or not doesn’t matter, as long as my girlfriend likes it, that’s enough. Please wrap it nicely for me; I’m heading to her company later."
The female shop owner looked up at Zhang Hao with a smile and said, "Oh, are you going to her company to declare your territory, or is it that your girlfriend has many admirers there?"
Zhang Hao didn’t want to answer too many questions, but this wasn’t his first time at this flower shop. After several visits, he had grown quite familiar with the shop owner.
"My girlfriend is quite attractive, and indeed, there are not a few who like her, but I’m the only one in her heart."
The shop owner quickly wrapped up a bouquet and took out an exquisite little card from a box nearby.
"Would you like to write a few words of blessing?"
Zhang Hao shook his head, "Better I tell her in person than write it on paper. I’ve paid already, thank you, ma’am."
Zhang Hao, holding the bouquet, pushed open the shop door, and the bell rang clearly.
The shop owner hurriedly ran out from behind the counter and randomly picked a stem from the bucket used to awaken flowers.
"Mr. Zhang, wait a moment. You always patronize my shop and support my business. Today, I’ll also offer a favor and give you a stem for free."
The shop owner snapped the stem short and tucked it into Zhang Hao’s jacket pocket.
Looking at the flower that was in full bloom.
Zhang Hao smiled, "Thanks for your kindness, ma’am; I’ll be sure to come back."
The shop owner’s eyes darted, "Why not we exchange contact information? Next time you need anything, you can let me know in advance, and I’ll definitely save the best flowers for you."
Zhang Hao didn’t find anything odd about the suggestion at first listening, added the contact information, and then drove straight to He Qianhui’s company.
Upon arriving at the company, he could hear a lot of noisy commotion inside as if some sort of revolt was happening.
Zhang Hao had encountered this situation the last time he visited, which made him curious about what was really going on in this company.
Why were the employees always arguing back and forth?
Zhang Hao knocked on the door, and Feng Nuo was the first to come out to greet him.
"Hao, you’re here to see Xiaohui, aren’t you?"
Zhang Hao nodded, "Who else would I be here for if not her? Where is she?"
"Xiaohui just went to the restroom, she should be back now."
When He Qianhui came out of the restroom, she was continuously shaking the water droplets off her hands.
The hand dryer seemed to be malfunctioning, not responding for ages, so she had to dry her hands like this.
When she looked up and saw Zhang Hao standing at the company entrance, she was also quite surprised, "Zhang Hao, what are you doing here? Aren’t you at work today?"
Zhang Hao wasn’t sure how to answer that question for a moment; he didn’t want to lie to He Qianhui.
But he also really couldn’t tell her about what had happened with Gu Yue.
"The hospital sent me out to a meeting today, so I didn’t have to stay in the office; I just came back from there."
He Qianhui didn’t have any doubts about Zhang Hao’s words, and when she saw the bouquet in his arms, she was even less likely to suspect anything amiss about his story.
"Come in," He Qianhui said.
Zhang Hao hesitated at the entrance.
"I just heard more arguing inside, is it another tussle over someone’s account?"
Feng Nuo sighed, "It’s not that serious; it’s that an old employee of the company wants to resign."
"But he doesn’t want to hand over his account to his old nemesis, yet there’s no one else in the company who is qualified to take over."
In the midst of the explanation, He Qianhui took over the conversation.
"Originally, the manager was planning to give that project to me, but I already have three projects I’m following up on."
"I really don’t have the spare capacity to take on another, so we have to pass it to someone else."
"Feng Nuo, why don’t you give it a try? You’ve been on a business trip with me a couple of times, dealing with some particularly difficult clients."
"You have experience handling them, so why not take this opportunity to challenge yourself?"
