Li Jiao was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door.
To be precise, only her consciousness stirred.
“Ugh, so annoying. Who’s knocking this early in the morning?” Tina mumbled with her eyes closed, one hand fishing out her phone from under the pillow. “Oh my god! It’s already ten o’clock!”
She immediately became fully alert, but when she turned and saw Li Jiao still lying there with closed eyes, she quickly covered her mouth and quietly slipped out of bed.
Li Jiao wasn’t pretending to be asleep – she genuinely couldn’t open her eyes.
Her brain felt tangled in vines, preventing full wakefulness, while her entire body ached as if it had been run over by a carriage.
She struggled to open her eyes but ultimately failed.
In her dazed state, she seemed to drift back to sleep.
It wasn’t until Tina carefully closed the door, still inevitably making some noise, that
Li Jiao finally managed to open her eyes with great difficulty.
Some strength gradually returned to her numb limbs, though they remained sore and weak.
“…Damn it…” she muttered, feeling utterly defeated.
Getting blisters on her hands was one thing, but how could just a few hours of spear practice leave her body in such a state?
Just how fragile was the original owner? This physique couldn’t even compare to her own strength as a child!
It could almost be described as utterly delicate.
Li Jiao had always considered herself spoiled, but this body was clearly even more pampered than she had been.
It seemed physical training needed to be added to her schedule immediately.
With a pained expression, Li Jiao burrowed back under the covers.
But her peace didn’t last long before the phone rang.
“Teacher Li, have you rested well?” came Jing Shaoyin’s cultured voice.
“Mm, acceptable.”
“Shall we begin today’s activities then?” he asked with a laugh.
“Do you feel… completely normal?” Li Jiao asked incredulously, detecting not a trace of fatigue in his voice.
“Hm? I don’t feel anything particularly unusual…”
“What about A Xuan? Has she… gotten up?”
She continued probing, unable to believe she was the only one who couldn’t get out of bed.
“Yes, she’s right beside me now, already washed up.”
“…”
The recording had actually started earlier, but when Tina emerged she mentioned Li Jiao was still sleeping, so the production team considerately scheduled her as the last to be awakened.
The accompanying cameraman was already standing before Li Jiao’s door, camera ready, waiting for her to answer.
Though hard to accept, this was indeed the reality.
Only Li Jiao lacked even the strength to climb out of bed.
Holding the phone in silence for a long moment, she finally had to accept the situation: “You guys go ahead and have fun. I want to rest at the hotel… ah, I mean, I’ll give them a day off!”
“? What?” Jing Shaoyin was confused by this sudden declaration.
But the production team seemed to understand vaguely.
Due to her inexperience, Li Jiao hadn’t turned off her lapel microphone after yesterday’s recording. The mic had clearly captured her entire lamentation process.
It wasn’t until rustling sounds of clothes being removed were heard that the power was urgently cut off.
This appeared to be an unexpectedly good piece of spontaneous footage.
After some consideration, the director issued instructions through the earpiece.
“Listen to Li Jiao, let her rest.”
In the prolonged silence, a bewildered Jing Shaoyin could only respond: “Alright, shall we go ahead alone then?”
“Mm,” Li Jiao replied gloomily with a pained expression.
Though she would have liked to continue filming as if nothing had happened, she truly didn’t even have the strength to put up a brave front anymore.
Heart-wrenching, utterly heart-wrenching.
Song Li Sheng rushed to his hotel the moment he got off the plane, and “coincidentally” ended up staying at the same five-star hotel as Li Jiao.
He was itching to dash straight to Xiehe Square, but still meticulously bathed and lit incense before gracefully appearing at the spot where Li Jiao had performed the day before.
Yet, no one was there.
“Where is my Male Consort?” The hopeful flame in Song Li Sheng’s eyes dimmed as he immediately called the bodyguard assigned to protect Li Jiao.
“The Male Consort is at the hotel.”
Song Li Sheng was puzzled. “Wasn’t the recording at the square arranged for the past two days?”
“The Male Consort is incredibly talented! She finished the task ahead of schedule yesterday! Didn’t you watch the video I sent you? The Male Consort is absolutely…”
Hearing the unmistakable admiration in the bodyguard’s voice, Song Li Sheng’s temple throbbed. “Keep it down.”
“Ah… Sorry, President Song! I didn’t mean anything by it!”
And so, Song Li Sheng, having hurried over covered in dust, returned to the hotel just as swiftly, leaving without a trace.
Sitting in his Bugatti, he opened his email and downloaded the video the bodyguard had sent.
Yes, he really hadn’t watched it.
His schedule had been hectic yesterday, and what little free time he had was spent hoping Li Jiao might message him. He hadn’t paid any attention to the messages from his subordinates.
When the five-minute video ended, Song Li Sheng touched his wildly beating heart.
Li Jiao was truly dazzling, once again shattering his perception of her.
But someone had seen this side of Li Jiao before he had…
At this thought, Song Li Sheng redialed the number he had hung up on earlier.
“Delete the video you have. Now, immediately, right away.”
“?” The other end was full of confusion.
“And stay away from her.”
“…” The bodyguard finally understood—President Song’s possessiveness was acting up again.
He was utterly speechless, but to avoid losing this well-paying job, he could only reluctantly delete the video with tears in his eyes.
However, Song Li Sheng didn’t know that while one video was deleted, countless others were circulating online, attracting hordes of adoring fans.
Li Jiao couldn’t understand why, when everyone else was out recording, someone would still knock on her door.
Irritated, she pulled the covers over her head, pretending not to hear, unwilling to respond.
The knocking stopped, but the sound of a WeChat voice call rang out.
[Ah Sheng is inviting you to a voice call]
Li Jiao glanced at it and finally perked up.
As soon as the call connected, before she could speak, the gentle, flowing voice of her Little husband came through: “Jiaojiao, could you open the door for me?”
Song Li Sheng watched as Li Jiao’s originally lazy almond eyes widened in disbelief upon hearing his words.
His mood lifted considerably.
“What?” Li Jiao sat frozen on the bed.
Then she realized who had been knocking earlier.
“Wait for me!” Suddenly, her legs no longer ached, her back no longer sore.
A surge of strength filled her, and though limping, she moved nimbly and swiftly to open the door.
Outside stood Song Li Sheng’s slender figure under the warm hallway light.
But his face, devoid of any coldness, adorned with a soft, vivid smile, and still bearing a faint sheen of sweat on the tip of his nose, was reflected in Li Jiao’s clear, round eyes.