Naughty Puppy Will Be Eaten by a Bad Woman - Chapter 26

◎Do you still like her quite a bit?◎

Gu Xianyue listened to Lu Zhao’s voice over the phone, distorted by the decoding and reconstruction of the electrical signal, yet carrying a hint of just-awakened drowsiness as her breath brushed against the microphone, making it sound as if she were whispering in her ear.

It made Gu Xianyue’s heart itch, and she wanted to reach out and touch Lu Zhao’s head through the phone.

“I’m glad you didn’t have a nightmare,” Gu Xianyue replied softly, trying to keep her tone casual.

Lu Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Gu Xianyue didn’t ask about the dream. Even if she had, Lu Zhao would likely have brushed it off with a vague “I forgot.”

Unaware of Lu Zhao’s unease, Gu Xianyue took the initiative to discuss the flight arrangements. “If you’re sure, I’ll book our tickets together—first class. I’ll send you the invoice later so the Provincial Television Station can reimburse you, okay?”

Lu Zhao hesitated. Normally, she would have jumped at the chance to sit with Gu Xianyue. But after that dream, she suddenly felt awkward about being alone with her.

“No need,” Lu Zhao said, offering a flimsy excuse. “The Provincial Television Station has a reimbursement limit, usually only covering business class. I’ll book my own ticket later.”

Gu Xianyue remained silent for a moment, and Lu Zhao’s heart fluttered again. Unable to see Gu Xianyue’s expression, she couldn’t gauge her mood, leaving her feeling suspended between anxiety and anticipation.

I’m so pathetic, Lu Zhao thought. Gu Xianyue can make me nervous so easily.

The silence stretched for several seconds, neither woman speaking.

Just as Lu Zhao was about to offer an explanation, Gu Xianyue sent flight information showing two adjacent seat numbers.

“I’ll send you the invoice later. The airline needs time to issue it,” Gu Xianyue said flatly.

Lu Zhao sensed impending disaster. “You’re flying business class too?”

Gu Xianyue hummed in agreement, her tone matter-of-fact. “The flight to the Capital is quite long. It’ll be less boring with someone to talk to.”

She paused, then added with the same detached tone, “Is there a problem?”

Though framed as a question, Gu Xianyue delivered it as a statement. Lu Zhao clearly heard the unspoken message: You’d better not have a problem.

Over the past few weeks, Lu Zhao had noticed Gu Xianyue’s assertive and somewhat domineering style. Gu Xianyue was the type to make decisions without much discussion, and Lu Zhao, never one to fuss over trivial matters, had simply let her take charge of their daily arrangements.

Now that Lu Zhao wanted to object, she realized how daunting it was to refuse Gu Xianyue.

“No, it’s just… I don’t want to trouble you too much,” Lu Zhao said. Gu Xianyue usually flew first class, but she was downgrading to accommodate Lu Zhao.

Gu Xianyue cut her off. “It’s no trouble at all.”

Lu Zhao fell silent. What else could she say?

Gu Xianyue seemed in no hurry to end the call, chatting casually about the upcoming International Medical Summit.

As Lu Zhao listened to Gu Xianyue’s voice over the phone, the warm, sticky feelings inside her turned icy cold, clinging uncomfortably to her skin. She felt a growing urge to end the conversation quickly.

Though Lu Zhao responded to every remark, Gu Xianyue sensed her unease. Compared to before, Lu Zhao’s enthusiasm had noticeably waned.

Does she not want to talk to me anymore?

Slightly annoyed, Gu Xianyue rephrased her question more subtly: “Are you in a hurry to go somewhere?”

The same oppressive feeling from her dream returned. Lu Zhao’s face burned fiercely. Having just woken from that dream, she’d been talking to Gu Xianyue for so long that those images kept swirling in her mind.

The images were so vivid and overwhelming that she couldn’t focus on the conversation.

“Yes… I want to take a shower,” Lu Zhao replied. “The heater was on too high earlier, and I’ve been sweating a lot.”

Gu Xianyue nodded understandingly. “Oh… then go take a good shower.”

Upon hearing the words “take a good shower,” Lu Zhao immediately misinterpreted them, her mind short-circuiting again. She suddenly felt as if Gu Xianyue had seen right through her.

Thank goodness Gu Xianyue doesn’t know anything.

Her legs trembling, Lu Zhao hung up the phone and entered the bathroom for the second time that day.

Warm water cascaded down, carrying away the slippery, slick feeling. As the stickiness gradually disappeared, she felt much more comfortable, her mind slowly calming down.

She knew exactly what this meant—it was a perfectly normal physiological response. Yet when the reaction actually manifested in her body, she felt both shame and confusion.

She wasn’t ashamed of the reaction itself, but rather that its target was Gu Xianyue. This was completely unexpected. She had always believed her desire to get closer to Gu Xianyue stemmed solely from wanting to become good friends and establish a close connection, never considering any other possibilities.

To her, such a dream felt almost sacrilegious.

After all, she believed that she and Gu Xianyue belonged to different worlds, a divide determined from birth. Their current brief interaction was merely due to mutual interests. Once their business was concluded, they would return to their separate lives, like two planets briefly aligned before drifting further apart.

Yet her body had forced her to confront her own greedy desires in this unexpected way.

She scrubbed her body frantically, but no matter how the water cascaded over her, it couldn’t wash away the lingering traces of the torrential rain from her dream.

After her shower, the torrential rain within her body gradually subsided, but her throat felt parched like never before, as if someone had set it ablaze. She poured herself a glass of water and gulped it down in one go, only to be immediately overwhelmed by a ravenous hunger.

Normally, she rarely felt hungry at this hour. But the dream had flipped a switch within her, awakening all her emotions and desires. The first to surge back was her long-dormant appetite.

Her numb heart had finally welcomed spring. She felt so thirsty she wanted to stretch out her arms and drink the rain from the sky, and so hungry she felt she could devour an entire cow. Her heart pounded fiercely in her chest as secret desires took root and sprouted. It seemed she was finally beginning to… live passionately, rather than merely waiting for death.

“Well, Reporter Lu, it’s rare for you to treat me to late-night snacks.” Fang Lin was pondering how to spend her day off—whether to dance until dawn or karaoke with friends—when Lu Zhao suddenly messaged her, asking if she wanted to grab a bite.

Fang Lin found this truly remarkable. Lu Zhao, of all people, was initiating plans on her day off.

 What do you want to eat?  Fang Lin replied quickly.

Whatever you’re craving. My treat.

Fang Lin didn’t stand on ceremony with Lu Zhao and immediately sent her a location pin.

Now, they were sitting in a clean, wooden-cabin-style barbecue restaurant. Fang Lin stared in astonishment as Lu Zhao devoured several skewers in one go.

This unfamiliar appetite… Fang Lin almost suspected Lu Zhao had been possessed.

“Want to order anything else?” Lu Zhao asked, her head buried in her food. The empty skewers in the container already numbered over fifty, yet she still seemed unsatisfied. Wiping her mouth, she scanned the QR code with her phone to add more items to the order.

Fang Lin: “Hmm… Just order whatever you want.”

She watched Lu Zhao, whose cheeks were flushed, her full lips slightly swollen from the spice. The peach-blossom eyes shone brightly under the restaurant’s lights, full of life and vitality—a stark contrast to her previous deathly pallor.

Lu Zhao ordered another pile of food, as if determined to make up for all the meals she’d missed, with interest.

When they were nearly finished, Lu Zhao hesitated before speaking.

“Fang Lin, can I ask you something?”

Fang Lin wiped her mouth.

“Please do, Reporter Lu.”

She could tell Lu Zhao had an ulterior motive and was just waiting for her to bring it up.

Lu Zhao placed her hands on the table, her fingers interlacing and rubbing together as she gathered her thoughts. After a moment of hesitation, she finally spoke, her voice hesitant: “If… if you fell in love with someone, but there was no chance of it working out… what would you do?”

Lu Zhao’s words came out in a stuttering rush. Fang Lin waited patiently, finally coaxing the question out of her like squeezing toothpaste from an almost empty tube.

“No chance of it working out?” Fang Lin replied. “Isn’t that pretty normal? If you really like them, just ask if they want to keep seeing each other for a while… Hey, is there something going on? Who is it? Tell me!”

Lu Zhao quickly shook her head. “No, I’m just curious. You’ve dated so many people…”

Fang Lin rolled her eyes, clearly unconvinced by Lu Zhao’s flimsy excuse.

Knowing her explanation sounded weak, Lu Zhao relented. “Fine… I really can’t say right now.”

She didn’t want anyone to know about her feelings for Gu Xianyue. After all, what good would it do? It was a hopeless situation.

Fang Lin was exasperated. Lu Zhao wouldn’t tell her anything, yet expected advice without revealing any details?

Fine, she thought, considering Lu Zhao’s finally starting to open up, I’ll offer a few words of wisdom.

“Alright. Then at least tell me how far things have progressed. Surely you can share that much?”

Lu Zhao tilted her head. “We’re… still just friends.”

Fang Lin: “There are different levels of friendship. Even ambiguous relationships can be called ‘friends.’ Be more specific. Have you held hands? Been to each other’s homes?”

Lu Zhao nodded, her cheeks flushing slightly.

More than that, she thought. Gu Xianyue had patted her head multiple times and even massaged her prosthetic limb.

Fang Lin’s eyes widened. “Lu Zhao… you haven’t run into some bad person, have you? This sounds like a total jerk…”

Oh my god, she thought. If I were Lu Zhao and a guy was all over me without committing to a relationship, had already been to my place, and still insisted on being ‘just friends,’ I’d immediately assume he was a player and a womanizer.

Though Fang Lin herself was casual about relationships, she would never string someone along like that—taking all the benefits without any responsibility.

Lu Zhao quickly waved her hands. “Linlin, it’s not what you think. She’s a girl…”

Fang Lin’s expression relaxed with relief.

“Oh, a girl? Then it’s fine… Wait, a girl?!”

Fang Lin stared intently at Lu Zhao. From her perspective, Lu Zhao showed absolutely no signs of being interested in girls. If she liked girls… wouldn’t most of them have a more androgynous appearance? Lu Zhao, with her sweet and adorable looks, didn’t fit that mold at all.

Could it be…? Fang Lin realized. Lu Zhao must be attracted to someone more androgynous. Yes, that must be it. Someone with short hair and a cool, edgy style? Fang Lin imagined.

But then she thought about their shared social circle. There didn’t seem to be anyone like that among their acquaintances…

Who would have thought Lu Zhao, who never talked about romance, would suddenly drop this bombshell? Dating a girl behind everyone’s backs—it was completely unexpected.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Fang Lin asked, “Do I know her?”

Lu Zhao paused before answering, “You’ve met her.”

Fang Lin: “……”

Lu Zhao is really good at stating the obvious. So many people come and go from the Provincial Television Station every day. We host countless guests for interviews and recordings. That’s way too broad a range.

Giving up on getting more information out of Lu Zhao, Fang Lin said, “Never mind. I don’t really know much about girls anyway. I’ve never dated one before. But generally speaking, it’s probably the same process, right? The usual steps.”

Lu Zhao looked up. “What ‘process’?”

Fang Lin replied matter-of-factly, “Get to know each other, develop feelings, establish a relationship, then sleep together…”

Lu Zhao, who was drinking water, nearly choked. “Stop, stop! Don’t say any more.”

Fang Lin chuckled, watching her. “What’s wrong? Are you a child? This is all perfectly normal. Oh, right, I forgot you’ve never been in a relationship before…”

Lu Zhao’s cheeks flushed crimson, the blush spreading to the tips of her ears. Fang Lin’s words triggered a flood of fantasies, the dream replaying vividly in her mind, stubbornly resisting the curve of forgetting and growing even more vivid with each repetition.

She regretted asking Fang Lin for advice. She found Fang Lin’s suggestions unreliable—establishing a relationship without considering the outcome? If there was no future, the breakup would be devastating. She couldn’t be as carefree as Fang Lin, moving in and out of relationships with such ease.

Suddenly, she woke from her reverie. The answer had been in her heart all along. She had known from the start that there could be no future with Gu Xianyue, hadn’t she? Meeting Fang Lin had merely been a way to vent her hopeless frustration.

She sighed inwardly, cracked open a can of beer, and took a long swig, masking her disappointment.

Fang Lin had never seen Lu Zhao like this before. Normally, when the topic of romance came up, Lu Zhao would maintain an air of detached indifference. This was the first time Fang Lin had witnessed such genuine emotion from her. One moment, Lu Zhao’s face would flush crimson with embarrassment; the next, she would hang her head in dejection, as if her very soul had been stolen away.

Fang Lin was dying to know who this mysterious person was—the one who had managed to hook Lu Zhao, who she suspected was asexual, so completely.

Unable to resist teasing her, Fang Lin quipped, “I think… you might actually like her quite a bit, huh?”

Lu Zhao thought of Gu Xianyue’s face, and her heart skipped a beat.

“Hmm… maybe.”