Chapter 17.3
He woke up at around 1:00 A.M. again, this time jolted out of his sleep by a nightmare.
In his dream, Xiang Qingwei had signed an even more handsome and talented young actor, who then insisted on breaking his contract with the agency. Even more terrifying, Xiang Qingwei began dating the man.
Drenched in cold sweat, he jolted awake, his heart still palpitating with fear.
The lights were off in the room, leaving the space dimly lit. The curtains were drawn tightly shut, allowing only a faint glow to seep through from above.
He sat up from the bed.
Where was Xiang Qingwei? Had she left without saying goodbye?
He turned on the table lamp by his bedside and reached for his phone to call Xiang Qingwei, but couldn't find it anywhere. He stepped off the bed, barefoot, and walked toward the living room, intending to turn on the light as soon as he found his phone. Yet, just as he was about to grope around the sofa, his hand paused, then lowered, and he carefully tiptoed toward the large couch.
Through the dim light from the bedroom, he saw that the person lying on the sofa was Xiang Qingwei.
His heart swelled with emotions, becoming soft and warm.
There were plenty of other rooms in the hotel, so she must have been concerned about leaving him alone and decided to sleep on the sofa instead.
Ling Jiayi was clearly barefoot, but he was still afraid that his footsteps were too loud and would wake her. He tiptoed to the side of the sofa, slowly crouching down. In the faint light, Xiang Qingwei's peaceful, sleeping face seemed to glow, firmly capturing his gaze.
Ling Jiayi crouched by the sofa, his hands wrapped around his knees, as he stared greedily and longing at Xiang Qingwei's face under the cover of night. She was so beautiful, beautiful to the point it was impossible to tire of looking at her. He had always been able to find her effortlessly in a crowd.
Her skin was so fair...
Ling Jiayi couldn't resist lifting a hand to carefully touch the skin on her cheek with his fingertips. Soft and smooth, it felt as lovely as it looked.
The corner of Ling Jiayi's lips curled up slightly.
His fingers slid gently along her face, coming to rest at the corner of Xiang Qingwei's lips. Just a little further and he would reach those soft, delicate lips that looked so gentle.
Ling Jiayi's fingers stilled, his throat bobbing unconsciously as it swallowed once, breaking the hush of the night with the audible sound of his heartbeat.
Thump-thump...
Thump-thump...
As if possessed, his fingers brushed from the corner of her mouth to her lips, as if testing their softness against his imagination. His fingers carefully pressed down on them...
So soft... But how would they feel when kissed?
Ling Jiayi held his breath.
"Ba-thump..."
"Ba-thump..."
His heartbeat grew louder and more frantic.
Ling Jiayi's fingers pulled away from Xiang Qingwei's lips. He grabbed onto the edge of the sofa with one hand and placed his other hand on the armrest, then slowly leaned forward, inch by inch, toward Xiang Qingwei, who still lay sleeping on the sofa. He closed his eyes, his thick eyelashes trembling slightly in nerves, and gently pressed his lips against hers.
It was as if a lightning bolt struck his mind! White flashes swept through his head, and everything went blank, accompanied by the rumbling roar of exploding fireworks.
Sweet and dizzying.
Her lips were so soft...
Even more beautiful than he had imagined.
Wait!
What was that soft thing?
Lips?!
Ling Jiayi's eyes flew wide open, his gaze filled with massive amounts of shock and disbelief. He abruptly pulled away, staring at the still-sleeping Xiang Qingwei in astonishment.
He—he—he did what?!
He abruptly stood, accidentally banging his leg on the sharp edge of the coffee table. The pain was almost unbearable, making him grit his teeth in the darkness, but he didn't dare make a sound, afraid to wake the person sleeping on the sofa.
Covering his injured leg, he hobbled out of the living room.
As he collapsed onto his bed, the distinct and sharp pain in his leg made it impossible for him to lie to himself and pretend it had all been a dream.
Only one thought ran through his mind:
He had kissed Xiang Qingwei.
He actually kissed Xiang Qingwei!
That...that was his first kiss!
Had he just...given it away so easily? And the recipient of this precious gift was sleeping like a dead pig, blissfully unaware of it all!
Ling Jiayi grabbed a pillow, then grabbed it again between his hands, and growled menacingly, "You pig! You don't even know when someone's kissed you! Are you a pig?! That was my first kiss! My first kiss!"
After venting his frustration, he slammed his head into the pillow, and a muffled, depressed voice emanated from within, "I want to die..."
(iii)
Xiang Qingwei spent the night on the sofa, and when she woke up, she felt stiff all over. She sat up and stretched her waist, then saw Ling Jiayi walk out of the bedroom.
Their eyes met.
"Good morning," Xiang Qingwei greeted him.
She wasn't sure if it was a hallucination, but she saw Ling Jiayi shudder slightly.
Xiang Qingwei stood up and walked toward Ling Jiayi. "Is your fever gone?"
Ling Jiayi looked at Xiang Qingwei as she stepped closer, then stopped in front of him and lifted a hand to press her warm palm against his forehead.
Ling Jiayi's gaze drifted to Xiang Qingwei's lips.
He already knew how they felt. Soft, tender...
A sudden twitch in his abdomen, and Ling Jiayi's pupils contracted.
He—
Xiang Qingwei frowned, looking at the faint blush on Ling Jiayi's face. "Your fever seems to have gone down, so why is your face still red?"
"I-I'm going to the bathroom!" Grabbing Xiang Qingwei's wrist, Ling Jiayi pulled her hand off his forehead and rushed into the bathroom as if fleeing from something.
Xiang Qingwei tilted her head, slightly suspicious. Something about Ling Jiayi's attitude seemed off.
She walked over and knocked on the bathroom door. "I'll be heading over to Xiao Mei's place to wash up."
There was a beat of silence before Ling Jiayi's voice drifted out, as though he was suppressing something, "Mm."
Xiang Qingwei left Ling Jiayi's room, just in time to bump into Xiao Mei, who had finished getting takeout for breakfast.
Xiao Mei glanced at her, then looked at the doorplate behind her. She suddenly felt as though she had discovered some major secret, her expression immediately becoming complicated.
"Take me to your bathroom," Xiang Qingwei said calmly. "I was worried about Jiayi, so I fell asleep on the sofa last night."
Xiao Mei was instantly filled with guilt. How could she have...? How could Weiwei-sis have slept on the sofa all night because she was worried about Ling Jiayi?!
Meanwhile, Xiao Mei had fallen asleep before 9 P.M. last night and slept through till sunrise.
Seeing how anxious and guilty her young assistant looked, Xiang Qingwei yawned. "Take me to your room."
At the same time.
Xiao Wu, who had received the call last night, arrived at the studio early in the morning. He informed Ning Yang that their meeting with the producer of Super Idol had been moved to the afternoon, so they could have the morning for dance practice as usual.
"How about her?" Ning Yang still hadn't found a suitable way to address Xiang Qingwei.
"Ling Jiayi caught a fever yesterday, so Miss Xiang paid her a visit and stayed overnight. She won't be able to make it back today, so we rescheduled for this afternoon," Xiao Wu explained.
Ning Yang was taken aback. "Ling Jiayi?"
"You don't know her?" Xiao Wu asked, surprised. "Miss Xiang discovered Ling Jiayi and brought her into the spotlight... Don't tell me you don't know Ling Jiayi?"
Of course Ning Yang knew her. The large screen in the public square he passed by this morning had been playing Ling Jiayi's advertisements on repeat.
What he didn't know was that Ling Jiayi's manager was Xiang Qingwei.
"Miss Xiang is very invested in Ling Jiayi's career; she rushes over whenever there's any sort of disturbance, no matter how far she has to travel," Xiao Wu said.
"You're very lucky to have signed under Miss Xiang, as she's extremely dedicated to her artists. Last year, when she personally managed Ling Jiayi..."
Xiao Wu continued enthusiastically, adding fuel to the fire as he listed all the ways Xiang Qingwei had cared for and nurtured Ling Jiayi.
His intention was to let Ning Yang know how fortunate he was to have signed with Xiang Qingwei, but Ning Yang couldn't help feeling jealous of the person who had once held all of Xiang Qingwei's attention.
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