If It’s Wrong, Then It’s Wrong - Chapter 44
Chapter 44: The Fifteenth Day
As it neared closing time, Tang Fanglu decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator, thinking she could use the exercise.
She reached the second floor and paused. Ji Chaozhou was at the company again, seemingly working on a new fragrance.
The thought made Tang Fanglu curious.
Ranshan’s first Midu perfume hadn’t been created in the Ranshan lab.
When Ji Chaozhou had first taken over Ranshan, many had been dissatisfied, finding him too young, lacking experience, until he presented Midu.
All the Ranshan perfumers had been silenced, unanimously voting to put Midu into production.
Having worked in the industry for so many years, Tang Fanglu's passion for perfume was undeniable. She longed to witness the creation of a classic fragrance.
Ji Chaozhou had been working in the lab frequently these past few days, and she wondered if he had a new inspiration.
Thinking this, Tang Fanglu turned and, pushing open the door to the second floor corridor, walked towards Ji Chaozhou's lab.
He was indeed blending a new fragrance.
Tang Fanglu stood outside the glass door, watching the handsome young man standing at the workbench, gazing intently at the vials, and couldn't help but marvel at how favored he was by nature.
His long, slender fingers touched a dark glass bottle containing essential oil, turning it slightly, but he didn't pick it up, as if lost in thought.
Tang Fanglu was even more certain that Ji Chaozhou had a new inspiration, that he was creating a new fragrance. In her excitement, she forgot to knock, simply opening the door and walking in.
“…”
Five seconds later, Tang Fanglu, holding her breath, backed out.
Once outside, she let out a long breath.
From the previous bitter astringency to today's bitter sourness, what kind of fragrance was Ji Chaozhou creating?
Was this the difference between a genius perfumer and an ordinary one? An ability to extract fragrance from pungent scents?
Ji Chaozhou, inside the lab, noticing the movement, looked up towards the door.
Tang Fanglu composed herself, walked back in, and, once again enveloped by the bitter, sour scent, asked, “Master Ji, what new fragrance are you working on?”
“Just experimenting,” Ji Chaozhou said, withdrawing his hand and capping the open perfume bottle. The scent in the lab immediately faded.
Tang Fanglu, having simply come to check on him, was about to leave when she noticed that after the overwhelming bitter sourness dissipated, a faint sweetness remained, lingering in the air.
Her eyes widened. This sweetness was completely different from the typical fruity or floral sweetness. It was light and delicate, like a gentle April breeze, fleeting yet captivating, even more alluring after the initial bitterness and sourness.
As expected of a genius perfumer, his creations were truly unique.
“Master Ji, this fragrance…” Tang Fanglu said excitedly, as if she could already envision the birth of another classic perfume, even though it was likely still in its early stages, needing further refinement.
However, Ji Chaozhou had already put away the perfume, not discarding it, nor placing it in the refrigerator. He took off his lab coat, put the small bottle in his pocket, and prepared to leave.
Tang Fanglu instinctively stepped aside, watching Ji Chaozhou, wanting to ask something, but he clearly didn't want to talk about the new fragrance.
Strange.
Tang Fanglu watched him leave, then walked further into the lab, sniffing the lingering scent.
—Bitter, sour, sweet.
For some reason, the fragrance reminded her of the feeling of having a crush when she was younger.
The uncertainty, the anticipation, the yearning.
…
After leaving the Ranshan building, Ji Chaozhou took out the small perfume bottle, looked at it for a moment, then put it back in his pocket and walked silently towards his villa.
By the time he reached his street, it was almost dark, and the streetlights had come on.
Ji Chaozhou’s gaze fell on a figure sitting by his gate, and he paused. It was Cheng Liu.
She was squatting in front of Villa Number Five, her black bag beside her, her shadow stretched long by the streetlight, a lonely figure in the dim light.
Ji Chaozhou, his lips pressed into a thin line, quickened his pace, then slowed down as he approached her: “What are you doing here?”
“You’re back!” Cheng Liu, who had been lost in thought about work, looked up and, seeing Ji Chaozhou, her face broke into a smile, her eyes shining. She stood up. “Did you go to Ranshan today? Is…is it too noisy here?”
“…No,” Ji Chaozhou said, his gaze falling on the bag she was carrying. He calmed himself and asked again, “What are you doing here?”
“Oh,” Cheng Liu said, pointing towards Villa Number Six. “The renovation team tore down the staircase. The first floor is covered in dust, and I can’t get to the second floor. Can I stay at your place for a few days?”
She could have climbed the ladder the renovation team had left, but Cheng Liu suddenly decided that her legs were probably not working properly.
Ji Chaozhou was silent for a long time, then walked over to the gate, opened the cover of the keypad, revealing the fingerprint scanner, and turned to Cheng Liu: “Your fingerprint is already registered.”
There was no need to wait outside.
He hadn't explicitly agreed, but Cheng Liu knew what he meant.
She happily stepped forward, pressed her finger against the scanner, opened the gate, and explained, “I didn't want to come in while you weren't home.”
Cheng Liu had always been able to enter when Ji Chaozhou was home, but she hadn’t come in when he wasn't.
Ji Chaozhou walked into the front yard, the motion sensor lights illuminating his face, softening his usually cold expression. He paused, then said, “You can…come in anytime.”
Cheng Liu followed him inside, her eyes shining.
CEO Cheng thought to herself: She would have to tell the renovation team to extend the construction period. What did he mean, "anytime"? She planned to take root next door!
They entered the living room. Ji Chaozhou placed the perfume bottle in a cabinet, paused as he closed the door, then turned around.
“Should I sleep in the guest room again?” Cheng Liu asked, standing in the middle of the living room.
Ji Chaozhou looked away: “Mm.”
She had stayed here once before, but her presence now made him feel strangely self-conscious.
Cheng Liu, carrying her bag, went to the guest room on the first floor, took out a set of clothes she had packed, and prepared to shower.
She had forgotten her toiletries.
Cheng Liu walked out, intending to go back and get them, but seeing Ji Chaozhou sitting on the sofa, reading, she changed her mind: “Can I borrow your shower gel?”
She spoke frankly, seemingly unaware of the intimacy in her request.
Ji Chaozhou paused: “…What?”
“I really liked the scent of your shower gel back at the Wenxing Residential Complex,” Cheng Liu said earnestly. “I’ve been trying to find the same one, but I haven’t been able to.”
Ji Chaozhou’s fingers unconsciously crumpled the page he was reading. His expression remained unchanged: “I blended it myself.”
“Oh,” Cheng Liu said softly. “No wonder it’s so unique.”
The renovation team had left long ago. There were no other sounds in the quiet villa, so Ji Chaozhou heard her words clearly, a warmth spreading through his chest, a strange, unfamiliar feeling of unease.
Ji Chaozhou lowered his long eyelashes, his amber eyes unreadable.
He closed his book and stood up, his expression and tone calm: “I have an extra bottle. You can have it.”
Cheng Liu’s eyes lit up, and she followed him eagerly as he retrieved a plain white bottle with no label.
Ji Chaozhou handed her the bottle, looking away.
She opened it and sniffed, the scent of bitter coffee, but blended with something else, softening the bitterness: “Yours smells better than the ones they sell.”
“Did you develop this for Ranshan?” Cheng Liu asked, looking at the unlabeled bottle.
She had never paid much attention to such things before, simply buying whatever was convenient at the supermarket.
—They were standing very close.
Ji Chaozhou subtly took a step back, putting some distance between them: “No.”
Cheng Liu looked up at him, a smile in her eyes, and shook the white bottle: “Then this scent…belongs only to you.”
She was always so straightforward.
And strangely…Ji Chaozhou couldn't bring himself to feel annoyed with Cheng Liu.
“I’ll be going then,” Cheng Liu said, turning around and taking the shower gel to the bathroom.
Ji Chaozhou leaned against the cabinet, watching her leave, his tense shoulders relaxing, his fingers unclenching.
But a while later, Ji Chaozhou regretted giving Cheng Liu the shower gel he had blended himself.
After they both showered, they were enveloped in the same scent of bitter coffee, an almost unbearably intimate fragrance.
Even though it was the same scent, he felt Cheng Liu’s fragrance growing stronger, invading his senses.
Cheng Liu, sitting on a single-seater sofa, completely oblivious to Ji Chaozhou's inner turmoil, opened her laptop and started replying to emails.
CEO Cheng was annoyed. She had finally managed to be alone with the man she liked, yet she still had work to do.
So, CEO Cheng, her laptop on her lap, typed furiously, her fingers flying across the keyboard.
“Clack!”
Cheng Liu hit the send button with a final, decisive click, then slammed her laptop shut and tossed it onto the table.
The sound of typing ceased, and Ji Chaozhou instinctively looked at Cheng Liu, meeting her bright eyes.
Cheng Liu suddenly leaned against the back of the sofa, sniffed the air, and asked, puzzled, “Why does yours smell better than mine?”
It had been the same with the Midu perfume. She felt the scent on her wasn't quite the same as the scent on Ji Chaozhou.
Ji Chaozhou’s heart pounded, a strange mix of warmth and unease spreading through him, making it hard to breathe. His usually cold, amber eyes flickered with confusion.
“The same fragrance can smell slightly different on different people,” Cheng Liu said, taking out her phone, searching for the answer, and reading the top result aloud. She then looked at Ji Chaozhou: “Is that true?”
Ji Chaozhou looked down: “…Yes.”
A theory from the perfume world suddenly came to mind: If you find someone’s scent particularly pleasing, it means…you like them.
Ji Chaozhou abruptly stood up and walked over to the bar, his back to Cheng Liu, placing his hands on the counter, trying to clear his head.
He was just thirsty.
Ji Chaozhou filled a glass with ice water, his fingers burning as he gripped the cold glass.
He drained the glass in one gulp, but the heat in his chest lingered.
Cheng Liu turned and, leaning against the back of the sofa, looked at Ji Chaozhou standing at the bar, then at the pot of lily-of-the-valley on the table.
The lily-of-the-valley blossoms clustered together, their heads bowed, as if shying away from the surrounding gaze. Even so, their pure white petals were still visible.
—He and the flowers were somewhat alike.
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