Chapter 21
So, for all these reasons, I got less than six hours of sleep each day. I had to stay mentally focused for eighteen hours a day. In this week-plus period, I finally understood what it meant to die from overwork.
So how much I needed sleep! But this Shangguan was being such a tyrant, insisting I needed to bask in the damn sun—even if I needed sun, did I have to schlep all the way to a golf course? Was that fancy place even suitable for someone like me?
Though I objected ten thousand times, since I'd been shoved into the car, I had no choice but to follow orders. Being in the car, even though I was extremely exhausted, my sleep wasn't very sound. I kept feeling something touching my face, which annoyed me greatly, but I really couldn't open my eyes. Between sleeping and waking, we arrived at the most famous resort in City N.
I rubbed my eyes while following Shangguan out of the car. Every chair I saw made me want to sit down, but Shangguan seemed to have eyes on the back of his head. Whenever I had such thoughts, he'd turn around and glare, forcing me to keep moving my legs.
It was already December. Even the southern city of N had entered winter. Except for a few evergreens, the leaves on trees along the streets were turning yellow and falling. But because of the hot springs, this resort's lawns stayed green all year round. That was why the resort was so popular with rich people like Shangguan.
But whether the grass stayed green or the hot springs steamed, none of that mattered to me. All I wanted was a bed! A bed!
Just when I'd been chanting about beds who knows how many times, I suddenly heard a rather shrill voice call out: "A-Yi!"
Then something came hurtling toward me like a comet striking Earth. I stepped back instinctively and reached out—my hand touched something soft. But before I could react, someone pulled me aside quickly.
"A-Yi! A-Yi! It's really you!!" The voice was sharp and ear-piercing. My face couldn't help but turn a bit green, because the owner of this voice was Xiaowei, that man-eating witch!
She was jumping and screaming, practically bouncing off the walls with excitement, and tried to throw herself at me again. But before she could get close, Shangguan pulled me back another step.
"Tch, Shangguan, that's way too much! I just want to hug A-Yi—why are you being so jumpy?" She glared at him indignantly.
Shangguan gave a slight nod, not saying a word. Facing his silence, Xiaowei had no choice but to stick out her tongue and wave someone over behind her. "Come come! I ran into an old classmate! This is A-Yi, the one I told you about. Isn't he adorable?"
What did I ever do to anyone? Guys describe me this way, girls describe me this way—am I a panda? Does everyone who sees me need to scream "cute"? But pandas are national treasures, while I'm just a laborer!
At this point, my frustration was really piling up. I swore that if either Xiaowei or Shangguan said anything inappropriate again, or if anyone else called me cute again—er, I was about to snap!
"Come on, come on!"
Xiaowei was still excitedly waving, and under her calling, a man walked around the bend toward us. Though still at a distance, I could tell this man had excellent cultivation. Every gesture and movement carried absolute elegance, and even the simple act of walking seemed graceful when he did it.
He was on the taller side, about the same height as Shangguan, wearing white casual clothes. His handsome face carried a faint smile. As he slowly approached, his eyes swept over us briefly, and it was like transitioning from harsh winter straight into spring—with snowflakes no longer falling but flower petals drifting everywhere.
This person was like a prince stepping out of a fairy tale. He came to where we stood and said in a clear, cool voice: "Hello."
Boom!
I was completely frozen in place! This man, this man, this man... ah—why would this man appear here? Why would the man who heard my embarrassing muttering in the doll's bathroom be here?! Why why why why...
My brain went completely blank. My hands and feet turned ice cold, but my face started burning up. Oh heaven and earth, please open a crack and let me jump in!
Xiaowei glanced at me, then at the man: "What's going on, A-Yun, do you two know each other?"
"Yes, we met once before." The man smiled. "But although we only met once, I absolutely agree with you—A-Yi really is quite cute!"
I was certain my face was hot enough to cook eggs. I even suspected that if I jumped into a crack right now, the groundwater of the entire city of N would turn into hot springs.
I stood there stiffly, unable to make any movement, unable to say any words. If heaven would give me another chance, I wished I could immediately fall into a coma. If this coma had a time limit, I wished it were ten thousand years!