December 11, 2023, Monday, overcast, -5 to 0°C.
5:30 a.m.
Lanfeng International Luxury Apartments, Unit 2202.
Tang Song's body clock woke him from his sleep right on time.
By the dim halo of the nightlight in the corner, he turned his head and looked at Xu Qing, who was still fast asleep beside him.
She had kicked the soft silk quilt down to her waist, and her curvaceous body radiated warmth into the slightly cool air.
Like a defenseless little animal, she was curled up on her side, a glistening trace of drool still hanging from the corner of her mouth.
She was mumbling something indistinctly under her breath.
Tang Song could not help but smile. Leaning down, he gently wiped the saliva from the corner of her mouth with his fingertip, then pulled up the soft quilt and tucked her in securely.
He quietly made his way into the living room.
The heavy electric curtains slowly opened.
Outside the window, Yancheng was still asleep beneath the deep ink-blackness of a winter morning, with only scattered streetlights glowing in the distance.
After doing a few simple stretches, Tang Song changed into his workout clothes, put on his headphones, and headed straight to the empty gym downstairs.
Cold equipment, steady breathing, sweat soaking the hair over his forehead—
6:10 a.m.
He called Liu Qingning on video right on time.
"Ding ding ding—"
The ringtone sounded for a moment before the video call was answered.
"Morning."
Liu Qingning's pure, adorable oval face appeared on the screen.
Tang Song smiled knowingly. "Morning. You seem to be in great spirits today. You're positively glowing."
"I got together with some college classmates over the weekend. Also, my university advisor, Professor Wang Chang, came to Shencheng. He'll be joining Qingning Technology soon." There was a hint