Lin Ziqi didn't realize that after Chi Cheng made a token joke, there was no longer any hint of teasing in his eyes.
Chi Cheng knew that Lin Ziqi liked sexy bombshells. They had gone to a massage parlor together before, and he knew her taste. When they watched movies together, Lin Ziqi also preferred mature women.
He knew perfectly well that Lin Ziqi would never fall for Shi Ling, but he was still somewhat annoyed.
It turns out that he wasn't the only one who had contact with Shi Ling that others didn't know about.
When Lin Ziqi carried Shi Ling out of the elevator, Shi Ling glanced at him.
Chi Cheng looked at her without any attempt to hide his gaze.
The two hadn't exchanged a single word in days, yet their eyes seemed to be connected by an invisible thread, sparking with unspoken tension but without any real conflict.
As the elevator doors closed, Shi Ling saw Chi Cheng twitch one corner of his mouth, his smile ambiguous.
Author's note: Hmm, you'll have to Google it yourself to see what "hey" means in Cantonese. *shrug*
Love you all every day
I made a few minor revisions to the ending; Brother Chi will probably be more subtle about finding her now.
I originally wanted to write "kai hei" yesterday, but I felt that the Cantonese pronunciation sounded strange. So, how do you pronounce "kai hei" in Cantonese when it comes to gaming?
Chapter 14
(Flashback)
Shi Ling turned on the air conditioner to heating mode as soon as she returned to her room.
A moment later, Lin Ziqi brought up the hot water bottle for her. Shi Ling, wrapped in a thick coat, stood at the door and thanked her again.
Lin Ziqi casually said "You're welcome," then thought for a moment and turned back, "Shi Ling, call me anytime if you need anything later."
Shi Ling nodded.
He hurriedly walked towards the elevator, and as he walked, you could hear him sending a WeChat voice message, "Damn it, did you guys not wait for me before you opened it?"
Shi Ling found it somewhat amusing.
The hot water bottle provided by the hotel was just a bag for holding hot water, which Shi Ling was very familiar with. In the university dormitory, they didn't allow electric ones, so they all used this.
The only difficulty was the process of boiling water and pouring it in each time.
Shi Ling, holding a freshly filled hot water bottle, leaned against the bed and had just watched a movie for a few minutes.
There was a knock on the door.
Shi Ling guessed about 70-80% of the time and was a little too lazy to get out of bed.
She slowly wrapped the blanket around herself and walked to the door. The person outside was clearly very patient and didn't knock again.
The door opened, and Chi Cheng leaned lazily against the doorframe, legs crossed, carrying a bag in his hand.
He was clearly intrigued by Shi Ling's appearance and scrutinized her closely.
Shi Ling was overdressed and the room was heated, so her usually cool-toned skin actually had a slight blush.
She was wearing a nightgown, her bare feet on the carpet, her insteps bony and fair, with clearly visible blue veins. She looked like she had just gotten out of bed, her hair slightly disheveled.
Chi Cheng exclaimed "Oh!" and glanced inside. "What number am I?"
Shi Ling didn't answer, but gave him a questioning look. "What is it?"
Chi Cheng raised the bag in his hand a little higher, suspending it with one finger, letting the bag spin around twice in front of his eyes.
"We've brought warmth to you."
Seeing Shi Ling's expressionless face, he asked, "What, is someone inside?"
Shi Ling glared at him, stepped aside, and went straight back to bed to continue watching the movie while leaning against the pillows.
He seemed to be doing as he pleased with the pond.
Chi Cheng took the boiled water she had prepared earlier and made her brown sugar ginger tea. "Drink it while it's hot."
Shi Ling didn't even take her eyes off the TV. She reached out and took the item, casually saying, "Thanks."
After he finished soaking, he sat down on the sofa next to him like a boss, sliding down and putting his hands in his pockets. Shi Ling caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of her eye, frowned, but didn't say anything.
Chi Cheng glanced at the TV and smiled. "You watch this kind of movie?"
Which movie?
Shi Ling's pain has eased a bit, and she's speaking less weakly now.
Chi Cheng had watched the movie *Like Crazy* with Lin Shan back in high school. He didn't know where Lin Shan had found it, but the two of them secretly watched it during evening self-study after exams when the rules were lax. They didn't even dare to wear headphones, watching the silent version. In Chi Cheng's vague memory, it was a love story about a long-distance relationship.
Chi Cheng did not answer her.
Shi Ling thought for a moment and gave him an answer that wasn't really an answer: "Practice your listening skills."
She remembered what Chi Cheng had suggested to Lin Ziqi before, and said, "Didn't you also suggest that Lin Ziqi watch Masters of Sex to practice her spoken English?"
Chi Cheng had almost forgotten about the incident and showed no embarrassment whatsoever. "I was just talking nonsense."
Chi Cheng adjusted his posture, sitting even lower, and after a while, he became engrossed in the book.
The male protagonist is a furniture designer. The two fell in love while studying in the United States. Soon, the female protagonist's visa expired after graduation, leaving her in a dilemma of whether to stay or leave.
Unexpectedly, Shi Ling spoke up, "What do you think of long-distance relationships?"
Chi Cheng smiled. “You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he paused, “It’s good for lovers to maintain a proper distance. I don’t have a pessimistic view of long-distance relationships.”
Shi Ling hummed in agreement.
The movie quickly progresses to the point where the female lead ignores her visa and spends almost all of her summer vacation in bed with the male lead. In just one minute, the movie shows dozens of different sleeping positions of the two.
He didn't think much of it when he watched it back then, but after years of experience, Chi Cheng couldn't help but laugh. "Embracing each other really means you won't be able to sleep until dawn."
Shi Ling: "It's the same as a long-distance relationship. It's always better to keep some distance when sleeping, so why not hold hands?"
During the movie, Shi Ling coldly observed how busy he was throughout the entire process.
Lin Ziqi, Fang Ze, and the others asked him one by one why he disappeared while playing games. Chi Cheng listened to their voice messages in front of her.
After hearing his leisurely reply, of course I went out partying.
Shi Ling had heard them mention the word "Pu" many times before, and now that she understood, she couldn't help but glance at him.
Several people in the group chat criticized him for hogging the food.
After he sent the voice message, his phone, which was on the transparent glass table, kept flickering on and off.
Chi Cheng replied every now and then. He seemed to be really engrossed in the movie, typing on his phone with only one hand.
After the movie finishes playing, the page automatically redirects to the movie poster and synopsis.
I want you
I need you
I love you
I miss you
Like crazy
Chi Cheng stood up and stretched. "Let's go."
Shi Ling called out to him and took out the hot water bottle she had been holding, saying, "Change the water for me."
Chi Cheng leaned against the entryway, boiling water. He bent down slightly, resting his hands on the table and pressing his phone. He was still texting someone, seemingly unsure who, "Jks, this outfit looks pretty good on you, don't buy that one."
He handed the hot water bottle to Shi Ling, who was holding it against her lower abdomen through a thin blanket.
Unexpectedly, Chi Cheng lowered his head and reached out to stroke her hair.
As if knowing what she was about to do, Chi Cheng chuckled softly, "Don't move."
There is a white hair.
There was a full-length mirror in the room, and Shi Ling could see the two people's reflections at an angle when she looked at it.
Chi Cheng was seriously wrestling with her hair on the top of her head.
Shi Ling said, "Help me pull it out."
Chi Cheng chuckled softly. Shi Ling's hair was fine and soft, and the warm air from his laughter made her hair tremble again.
"Isn't it said that pulling out one will cause ten more to grow?"
He finally picked out that one hair and said, "Let me break it off from the root for you."
After he left, Shi Ling got out of bed and looked at herself in the mirror, adjusting her hair from side to side.
She always suspected that perhaps it was because she had been studying for the IELTS exam so hard that she had grown more than one hair.
She examined her hair carefully, then looked at herself seriously.
The days passed by like water flowing under a bridge. When Shi Ling looked in the mirror again, it was already time to go to Hong Kong to take the IELTS exam.
By April, Guangdong was getting increasingly hot. Even Shi Ling, who was always afraid of the cold, was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt, revealing her fair arms.
However, she was afraid of getting sunburned, so she still wore a thin shirt as sun protection when she went out.
Shi Ling was suffering terribly from menstrual cramps that week, spending several evenings studying in her room instead of doing a practice test every day as planned. She was worried she would fail the IELTS exam in Hong Kong again, but her mock exam results on Saturday were quite good.
Perhaps everything needs time to settle; the hard work of a few weeks ago is only now beginning to bear fruit.
The UK application process is unusual. If your score doesn't meet the requirements, you can apply for a language course and attend it for a few weeks to make up for it. However, you can't apply for a language course by taking the regular IELTS; you have to take the UKVI test.
Shi Ling applied for this type of exam, and she studied intensively for another two weeks, achieving a score of 6.5 in all sections. She felt it was unlikely that she could achieve this, and only hoped to get the minimum score required for the language exam in four weeks.
After the closed-door training program ended, the group of students who were preparing for their exams in Thailand had a get-together. When asked, Shi Ling said that with the exams approaching, she felt that time was increasingly precious and declined, saying she would meet with them after the exams.
She took the train directly from Guangzhou East to Hung Hom, Hong Kong. Elsa and the agent explained the route and things to be aware of to her.
When Shi Ling went to Hong Kong for the first time, she was still a little bothered by her past travel plans with her ex. But once she arrived, she realized that she didn't have the time to dwell on those memories.
The station was teeming with people, and before I could even form a mental image of Hong Kong, I was swept away by the crowd.
After coming out, she found a quiet place to get some fresh air before following the screenshot to find the bus stop.
Hong Kong still retains the Western style of the last century. Three- or four-story villas and arcade buildings blend in with the high-rise buildings without looking out of place. You can walk on the narrow sidewalks under the arcade buildings.