Chapter 106: Sneaking Out to Find Him at Night

Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Sneaking Out to Find Him at Night

Jiang Jingshi heard the voice and looked toward the arena.

"Today’s matches are over. As expected, apart from Lin Xue, no one is a match for He Qing. Well, Zhengran, I have some things to take care of tonight, so I’ll be leaving first. There are still the final two matches tomorrow. We’ll see who the champion is then."

Lin Zhengran nodded. "Goodbye, Jiang."

"Goodbye, Zhengran. It was a pleasure chatting with you."

Jiang Jingshi had just turned to leave when her high heel suddenly caught in a small pothole on the floor of the spectator stands. She lost her balance and nearly fell, but fortunately, Lin Zhengran was quick to react. He instinctively stood up and caught her. Jiang Jingshi leaned completely against Lin Zhengran’s chest, their hands clasped together. A wave of fragrant perfume washed over him.

"Are you alright, Jiang?" Lin Zhengran asked.

Jiang Jingshi slowly looked up at Lin Zhengran’s face, which was mere inches away. Her cheeks reddened slightly. "I’m fine. Thank you."

At that moment, Xiao Heqing was still smiling happily after her victory on the mat. But when she turned her head to look at Lin Zhengran in the stands, she suddenly caught sight of Jiang Jingshi leaning in his arms. And their hands were held together!

Overcome with jealousy, Xiao Heqing’s face instantly went pale. She tore off her headgear and hurried off the competition floor.

"Lin Zhengran!" she shouted.

Jiang Jingshi’s near-fall was no small matter. The other coaches and venue managers had also seen it and rushed over in a panic. "President Jiang! Are you alright?"

Jiang Jingshi regained her footing and glanced down at the small pothole. "I’m fine. Get someone to patch this up. What if someone else steps in it later?"

The venue manager nodded fearfully. "Right away! Please rest assured, I’ll have someone fix it tonight. I am so sorry, truly sorry."

Jiang Jingshi wasn’t angry. Instead, she glanced back at Lin Zhengran, her face still slightly flushed, and thanked him again. Catching a glimpse of He Qing marching off the stage out of the corner of her eye, she smiled and whispered to Lin Zhengran, "See you tomorrow, Zhengran."

Jiang Jingshi’s phone rang. She seemed to have an urgent matter to attend to, so, escorted by a group of people clearing the way, she walked off into the distance while answering the call.

Xiao Heqing soon arrived at the stands. By then, Jiang Jingshi had already walked far away and left the arena.

Her face covered in sweat from the match, Xiao Heqing asked anxiously, her words tumbling out incoherently, "What... what just happened?! What was going on?!"

Lin Zhengran looked at her flustered and panting appearance. "Why did you come over here?"

She didn’t even know how to explain herself. "Of course I came over! Just now I saw... I saw..."

Knowing what she was so worked up about, Lin Zhengran explained, "Jiang accidentally tripped just now, so I helped her up. It was nothing."

Xiao Heqing stared blankly at him.

Lin Zhengran pointed to the small pothole on the ground. "Right here."

Xiao Heqing stared at the hole for a moment but couldn’t help asking, "Really?"

"What else could it be?" Lin Zhengran noticed the sweat dripping down from her forehead along her hair; there was even sweat on her eyelashes. He reached out and wiped the beads of sweat above her eyes. "You fought a great match today. I’ll go with you to the locker room so you can change and relax. You’ve worked hard."

Feeling this small gesture of tenderness from Lin Zhengran was enough to make all of He Qing’s unhappiness vanish. Dizzy with his gentleness, she nodded, her face flushed. "Okay, I’ll go change." She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her wrist, her eyes filled only with him.

Just before they left, the coach from Lin Zhengran’s side ran over to congratulate her. "He Qing, why did you run off so fast? You fought beautifully today! You’ve smoothly made it into the top four. There are only two matches left tomorrow!"

Xiao Heqing smiled and nodded. "Yes!"

At the same time, many students from their taekwondo dojo also came over to congratulate Lin Zhengran. Although they had all lost their matches, watching Xiao Heqing remain invincible and crush every opponent filled them with pride for her.

Seeing everyone’s admiring gazes and hearing their praises, Xiao Heqing felt a little swell of pride in her heart. Back in kindergarten, she had always been the target of pranks and bullying in her class. But now, she had become an expert in everyone’s eyes. Only she truly understood how satisfying this felt.

Afterward, Lin Zhengran accompanied Xiao Heqing to the locker room. The venue had a dedicated post-match massage room for competitors, where a female instructor specifically taught the athletes how to relax their bodies and recover their Physical Strength efficiently.

Xiao Heqing stayed inside for a long time. Once she had recovered, she took a shower. By the time she finished, her entire body felt comfortable and relaxed.

Having showered, tied her hair back up, and changed into her own clothes, Xiao Heqing walked out looking completely refreshed. "Lin Zhengran! Let’s go to the car. Did you watch all my matches today? Were you satisfied? I didn’t lose a single one!"

Lin Zhengran hummed in affirmation and walked with her toward the car to head home. "I was there the whole time, so of course I watched. You were really amazing. Do you feel tired now? Are you sore anywhere?"

Xiao Heqing shook her head. "Not at all. None of them were a match for me anyway. But a girl did tell me that someone named Lin Xue is going to be really tough tomorrow."

"I saw that girl too. The one with short hair. She really is different from the others. But don’t worry, get a good rest tonight, and I’ll teach you a new move tomorrow, just in case."

"Okay!" she chirped obediently like a little sparrow.

By the time they took the car back home, it was already evening.

Lin Zhengran led Xiao Heqing into the house. Lin Xiaoli and Lin Yingjun had already prepared dinner in advance. Seeing Xiao Heqing, Lin Xiaoli’s face filled with doting affection. "Ah! Qingqing and Ranran are back! I heard you went to a competition?!"

Xiao Heqing quickly greeted her politely. "Hello, Ms. Lin! I did go to compete, but it’s not over yet. I have two more matches tomorrow."

"You still have to go back?" Lin Xiaoli really liked Qingqing. "How did you do today?! Did you win?"

Xiao Heqing grinned happily. "I won! After all, with Lin Zhengran teaching me, I couldn’t possibly lose."

"Wow, Qingqing is so amazing! I’m sure you’ll win tomorrow’s matches too!"

Lin Yingjun didn’t understand much about these things, but he felt that as long as the kids were happy, it was fine. "Dinner’s ready. Qingqing, Ranran, go wash your hands and we’ll eat."

The four of them sat happily at the dining table. It felt so natural, exactly like a real family.

After dinner, it was already past seven o’clock.

It was pitch black outside. Xiao Heqing and Lin Zhengran were sitting on the bed in the bedroom. Lin Zhengran carefully checked her over for any injuries and was finally relieved when he confirmed she was perfectly fine. He then left the room, saying he was going to use the restroom.

Taking advantage of the brief moment he was in the restroom, Xiao Heqing quickly tidied the bed, smoothing out the quilt with her hands. She neatly arranged the two pillows.

Tonight, Xiao Heqing was extremely nervous—even more nervous than during her matches. They were going to sleep in the same bed... She had been thinking about it all day.

However, when Lin Zhengran washed his hands and returned to the bedroom, things suddenly took an unexpected turn. Seeing Xiao Heqing earnestly arranging things on the bed, he instructed:

"You don’t need to tidy anything up. Just lie down and get some rest. The most important thing after a competition is resting."

As he spoke, Lin Zhengran grabbed a quilt and a pillow, preparing to leave the bedroom and head for the study.

Xiao Heqing stared dumbfoundedly as he walked away with the bedding. She couldn’t understand. "Where are you going? Why are you taking the quilt and pillow? I just arranged them."

Lin Zhengran replied as if it were a matter of course, "I’m going to sleep on the single bed in the study, so naturally I have to take them."

"Huh?" Xiao Heqing quickly scrambled out of bed and trailed behind him. "What study? Didn’t you say we were going to sleep in the bedroom together? In the same bed."

Lin Zhengran tidied up the single bed in the study, placing the quilt and pillow on it, and said casually:

"Did you actually believe that? I was just teasing you. You’re not a little kid anymore. Do you think it’s normal for me to sleep in the same bed as you?"

"But I slept in your bed when we were little! Why can’t I now?" She suddenly started trying to persuade him, a complete role reversal.

"That was during midday naps. And how can you compare now to when we were little? I’m letting you have the big bed so you can sleep comfortably tonight. It’s big enough for you to sleep however you want."

Lin Zhengran turned around and saw her standing blankly behind him. "Why are you just standing there? Go to the bedroom and rest. I’ll wake you up tomorrow morning."

A few minutes later, Xiao Heqing was led back to his bedroom by Lin Zhengran. As she lay under the covers of the large bed, Lin Zhengran turned off the lights and closed the door for her.

"Alright, good night. Call me if you need anything, the study is right next door anyway."

The door clicked shut.

But as Xiao Heqing lay in bed alone, staring at the pitch-black ceiling, she suddenly felt so aggrieved that she wanted to cry. After all the buildup during the day, she absolutely did not want to sleep alone now...

After tossing and turning in bed, Xiao Heqing suddenly had an idea: she would just sneak over to him.