As Chi Li got out of the company car, her gaze inadvertently fell on the dimly lit area to the right of the gate, cut off by the shadows of streetlights and roadside trees.
There, leaning against the rough, mottled brick wall, stood a tall figure.
The figure was almost completely hidden in the shadows, but he knew it was Shen Xunye.
My heart skipped a beat without warning, as if something had struck my most vulnerable spot unexpectedly and precisely.
A warm, almost tingling sensation quietly spread through my heart, easing the restlessness I had just felt.
Chi Li stood still, not walking over immediately.
He watched the figure quietly from a distance.
Chi Li looked at Shen Xunye, and Shen Xunye looked at him in return.
Their gazes met and lingered silently in the cool air.
"What? Afraid I'll go to the wrong door?" After what seemed like an eternity, Chi Li finally stepped forward, teasing him with a smile.
"Hmm." Shen Xunye went along with him, "I was also worried that you might be haunted by evil spirits, so I'm waiting to exorcise them for you."
As for what this filth is, there's no need to elaborate.
"To be honest..." Chi Li hooked her arm around Shen Xunye's and led him inside, "Although my constitution attracts evil spirits, I'm quite adept at dealing with them. Your worries are somewhat unnecessary."
Although Su Yuan is a bit cunning, his weaknesses are also quite obvious, so there's really no need to worry about him too much.
"Required?" Shen Xunye stopped, bent down slightly, and grasped Chi Li's shoulders with both hands. " Chi Li, what do you think you are? An omnipotent god?... Fine, even if you are. But my belief in you and my concern for you are not contradictory. You dare to say it's unnecessary again?"
His tone wasn't harsh, but it was one that Chi Li had never seen before.
Chi Li opened his mouth, wanting to say that he didn't mean it that way, but his throat felt blocked, and he couldn't make a sound.
... He clearly only felt that causing 'worry' was a trouble for the other party, and he said that in order to eliminate the trouble.
What's wrong with Shen Xunye... that he's so angry?
And... someone gets angry at me for no reason, and I should be angry, but why... am I not angry at all?
"Speak." Shen Xunye tightened his grip on Chi Li's shoulders. "Don't pretend to be mute and avoid the question."
"I..." Chi Li glared at him defiantly, then said righteously, "I don't bother pretending to be mute to avoid the question."
"Then tell me, how is it that my worries are unnecessary?" Shen Xunye was determined to get to the bottom of this.
"... I'm not used to it." Chi Li turned his face away, but still blurted out the truth from his heart. He said in a defiant manner, "I'm not used to people caring about me and worrying about me, okay?"
Gu Nan had a fairly good relationship with him, but he was still just a kid who only had blind admiration for his brother and never felt any concern for him.
Chi Li only received brief moments of concern from her high school homeroom teacher.
How can something rarely obtained become a habit?
"Then let's start getting used to it from now on." A hint of heartache flickered in Shen Xunye's eyes, but his tone remained firm. "From now on, I'll start caring for you in every little detail, beginning in the mornings."
Chi Li tried to shake off Shen Xunye's grip by lifting his shoulder, but to no avail. He could only widen his eyes and say, "... What's there to care about in the morning?"
"There's plenty..." Shen Xunye eased his grip and gently rubbed Chi Li's shoulder. "For example, how well you slept last night, whether you brushed your teeth properly, what clothes you're going to wear today..."
Chi Li was speechless. "... Stop picking a fight."
If he continues to show concern like this, he won't be able to do anything else all day except answer questions.
Shen Xunye didn't back down at all. "Until you get used to it."
"Okay, okay." Chi Li turned to look at the door behind her, making sure no one was hiding there, before continuing, "I won't say anything more about how your worries were unnecessary... Don't offer that strange concern."
"Don't worry about it, I know what I'm doing."
Chi Li wrinkled her nose, slightly annoyed. "... Whatever!"
After returning to her room and taking a shower, Chi Li received another work assignment from Li Ming.
I'll be doing a personal live stream tomorrow to interact with my fans.
The main task is to personally select the fan name and support color.
Here are some of the top-voted picks chosen by fans; try to select from this group. [Image]
Besides live streaming, they also need to occasionally engage with others on social media platforms.
Chi Li:1
After replying to Li Ming's message, Chi Li opened the picture he had sent.
There were 5 candidate fan names, with the fifth one being Li Mi, which is a homophone for centimeter, implying that thousands of centimeters pave a road leading to him.
Fourth is 'water droplet', which symbolizes millions of water droplets converging into a pool.
The third is 'Little Light', which symbolizes the first ray of light before dawn.
The second is "Night Watchman," which symbolizes fans who silently watch in the darkness, waiting for the first ray of dawn to break through the night sky and usher in the day.
Li Ming also specifically noted after this line: "Because the fan name contains the character 'night,' it is suspected that there are fans of the Night Ashes Dawn CP who are trying to vote for the fan, so it is recommended not to choose this one."
Chi Li chuckled and continued scrolling down.
The number one one is called the ' Eternal Daylight Line '. Geographically, it's the line where the sun never sets, symbolizing that the fan's love ensures his life is forever free of darkness and darkness, a truly romantic declaration of love.
Chi Li, who never had trouble making decisions, looked at the five fan names over and over again, but still couldn't choose one.
It's fair to say he liked all five of them and wished he could have chosen them all.
Just as he was struggling with this, Shen Xunye's message popped up.
Have you finished showering?
Chi Li logged out, putting aside her thoughts for the moment, and switched back to reply to Shen Xunye's message: "Hmm."
Shen Xunye: Su Yuan has already moved in. Chen Anyan went to help. They are having a late-night snack together now.
Chen Anyan would pick up Su Yuan, which was within his expectations, since he had never given up any opportunity.
Shen Xunye: Don't worry about them anymore, just get some sleep.
Chi Li: o
Shen Xunye: If you can't sleep, I can provide a sleep-inducing service.
Chi Li felt that this "lullaby service" sounded a bit too serious, so she politely declined. "Snoring, I'm asleep."
Shen Xunye let him lie. "Mm."
The next morning around 9 a. m., Chi Li had just woken up when her phone was already flooded with messages from Shen Xunye.
Chi Li groggily unlocked her phone, not even bothering to read what Shen Xunye had sent, and randomly picked an emoji to send over.
He threw back the covers, half-closed his eyes, and used the momentum of his body to find his way to the bathroom to start washing up.
I had just finished washing up when I heard a knock on the door.
The knocking wasn't loud, but it sounded urgent.