Dojo
"I'm done for, I'm done for!"
Su Cheng collapsed onto the floor of the dojo, clutching his heart in agony, his mouth muttering.
He hadn't felt this kind of pain for many days, and today, after only practicing for an hour, he felt his body becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
Just moments ago, his heart felt like it was being torn apart, a pain so intense it was incomparable. It was a crushing, suffocating, constricting, burning pain, as if he were being pinned down by a police officer's knee on his neck, unable to breathe.
He couldn't care about anything else at the moment. From the system space, he took out a box, trembling as he swallowed the pill inside.
This was the life-saving pill given to him by Ji Qingyi.
The effect of the pill was very significant.
After swallowing it, within a minute, he felt his heart gradually calm down.
He lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling, gasping for breath, sweat dripping from his forehead, falling onto the floor, wetting it.
"That was close, almost done for."
He lay on the floor, looking at the chandelier on the ceiling, muttering to himself, "Luckily, I had this, otherwise, I would have had to resort to a deus ex machina."
He had clearly felt that it was a feeling of being on the brink of death.
"What should I do…"
Su Cheng stared at the ceiling, plunged into unprecedented confusion. At this moment, many thoughts flashed through his mind.
Because he realized that his body could no longer withstand the load he was putting on it.
Even a slight intense exercise would increase the load on his heart, triggering excruciating pain.
So he could no longer practice for long periods, already feeling powerless.
This made him realize that during the competition, he might also collapse due to his physical condition.
"I'll confess tomorrow."
Su Cheng thought of a way out, which was to confess his feelings.
And he had to confess to an A-level.
The S-level rewards were too varied, and the probability of getting what he needed was too small.
Only the A-level would give him the reward he needed.
Who should he confess to?
Currently, there were only Li Guanqi and Cornelia at the A-level.
The former had to wait ten days, so it could only be the latter.
But Cornelia wouldn't agree to him, so he needed to find a way to make Cornelia reject his confession.
"Phew…"
Su Cheng stood up, took a few deep breaths of fresh air, and decided to practice a bit more while the effect of the medicine was still there.
The Archery Club was empty now, so he wasn't wearing his glasses. After all, the glasses had side effects, and he would try not to wear them when no one was around.
Night, 8 PM.
Su Cheng trained for a few more hours, this time focusing on his posture. Even so, after several hours of training, the physical and mental fatigue was still a bit overwhelming.
It's worth mentioning that his heart didn't give him any trouble during this period.
"Time to go home and sleep."
Su Cheng picked up the bottle of mineral water on the table, drank a couple of sips, and then packed up his things to head home.
He didn't choose to ride his bike home because he was too exhausted to pedal.
He decided to take the bus, so he could take a little nap. His body was in such bad shape.
Su Cheng put on his glasses as soon as he left the club, instantly transforming into a cold, aloof, noble, and handsome young man. In reality, however, he was so exhausted that he could barely lift his arms.
On the way, he encountered some women, and he noticed that his rate of being looked back at was higher than before, but he was a bit puzzled inside.
Could it be that the expressionless version of me is even more handsome?
Su Cheng shook his head, dismissing these random thoughts, and then headed towards the bus stop.
…
The night grew darker.
After boarding the bus, Su Cheng found a seat in the back, by the window.
His gaze kept scanning the outside, and eventually, he closed his eyes and dozed off.
He couldn't help but think, if only he had the ability to pause time.
That way, he could pause time, not waste any time, and still get a good sleep.
Huh?! If he could do this, why not do that?
Soon, he fell asleep in his random thoughts.
When he got off the bus and headed home, he had just entered the apartment when a sense of danger suddenly surged in his heart. He quickly ran into an unoccupied alley next to it.
But as soon as he entered, a sudden sharp pain in his heart made his body unable to support his movements, so he knelt down, his glasses falling to the ground, his hands clutching his chest, gasping for breath.
He struggled to take the box from his pocket.
However, Su Cheng had barely taken out the box when the pain was already so intense that he was about to faint, completely unable to muster the strength to open the box and take the medicine. But luckily, he used his remaining rationality to take out a pack of soft Hua Zi from the system space with his mind.
Then, in his heart, he issued a command: "Give myself some face, take the medicine!"
The next second, he lost consciousness, but his body stood up unharmed, lit a cigarette, and put it in his mouth. Even without his glasses, his face was expressionless, his eyes cold and frightening, like a cold killing puppet.
He bent down to pick up the box from the ground, took out a pill, and swallowed it. After that, he stood still, entering standby mode.
Three minutes later
Su Cheng slowly regained consciousness, moved his body a bit, picked up the glasses that had fallen earlier, and walked towards his home.
The next day
Su Cheng decided to invite Cornelia to his house for lunch in the morning and implement his confession plan.
………………………………
Villa area
Cornelia got out of bed, wearing a pink cartoon sleep dress. Her bedroom was a very cute princess-style room, with a pink and blue combination, very dreamy.
She had messy golden hair at the moment, her face still showing the confusion of someone who hadn't fully woken up.
The first thing she did after getting up was to turn on the tablet to check if someone had sent her a message.
She opened the APP and, seeing none, felt a bit disappointed and threw the tablet on the bed. Then she yawned, stretched, and looked like a lazy little cat.
"Ding dong~"
Suddenly, a message popped up on the tablet.
Su Cheng: "Want to come to my house for lunch?"
Seeing such a message, Cornelia's pupils suddenly shrank, and then her face lit up with joy. She threw herself onto the bed, holding the tablet with both hands, excited, but just as she was about to reply, she suddenly thought of something.
"No, I can't reply to him so quickly."
Cornelia quickly put the tablet in her arms and started rolling on the bed, deciding to roll twenty times before replying.
And so, she excitedly rolled back and forth on the bed…
When she rolled to the tenth time, she accidentally fell off the bed, but she didn't care about the pain and immediately climbed up, opened the tablet, and started replying.
Cornelia: "Why are you inviting me to dinner again? What are you up to? I'm not going!"
Although she typed a very proud sentence, she was actually in a state of expectation and apprehension. She hoped that Su Cheng would invite her again, preferably begging her, but she was also afraid that Su Cheng would say forget it.
Su Cheng: "Then forget it."
Seeing this message, Cornelia immediately panicked and quickly typed with her little paws.
Cornelia: "Alright, alright, since you've invited me, and considering you made the dog perform last time, I'll reluctantly agree."
Su Cheng: "At eleven, I'll wait for you at your villa entrance."
Seeing such a message, she subconsciously looked at the time, and this glance shocked her.
"Ten o'clock, ten o'clock… ten thirty......!!!
"Ah!!!"
She screamed and quickly jumped out of bed, then rushed to the bathroom to wash up.
Then she hurried back to the bedroom, started looking for her clothes, and after a lot of fuss, finally changed into an outfit, then put on white over-knee socks, and finally went to the mirror to check her appearance.
As soon as she looked, her little face immediately collapsed.
Because her hair was a mess, looking very messy, with a few stray hairs on her head.
But now she didn't have enough time to wash and dry her hair.
She was a bit depressed sitting on the sofa, looking at herself in the mirror.
"How can I go see Su Cheng looking like this!"
Cornelia paced back and forth in the room, looking very troubled.
There were only a few minutes left until 11 o'clock.
She couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated, not knowing what to do, when a message suddenly came from the tablet.
Su Cheng: "Sorry, some unexpected guests just arrived at my place. How about we reschedule for tonight?"
"Guests? Who are they!"
Seeing this message, Cornelia's face immediately took on a mix of emotions.
"Does he even have friends!?"
Cornelia was momentarily stunned. Su Cheng's house had guests? This shocked her deeply.
A sense of crisis engulfed her.
Male or female?
She knew there were only two pairs of shoes at his place, one of which was her exclusive pair. What if this guest used her shoes? That would be a disaster!
For a moment, her brain froze for two seconds. Then, she walked over to the refrigerator, staring at the assortment of beverages inside.
She took out a bottle of the most ordinary-looking "Eight Walnuts."
These were two bottles Su Cheng had given her yesterday. She hadn't given them to Ailiya; instead, she had offered her other drinks.
"Click~"
She opened it and without a word, started chugging: "Gulp gulp~"
"Ah~"
After finishing the bottle, she felt a tingling sensation in her brain and then ran back to her bedroom.
At this moment, her brain's system algorithm, after extensive calculations, was already smoking. The next second, she collapsed onto the bed, overtaxed.
"I'll just pretend I didn't see the message."
This plan, after deep consideration and simulation in Cornelia's mind, was deemed flawless.
[Operation Protect My Shoes: Pretend to Have Missed the Message.]
She could lie and say she hadn't seen the message, then when she arrived at Su Cheng's place, turn the tables on him.
Simulation scenario:
"Knock knock~"
The door opens, and Su Cheng looks surprised: "Why are you here?"
"How dare you ask that! I've been waiting at your door for half a day, and you didn't show up. What do you mean by this!"
Cornelia, hands on her hips, looks furious as she questions Su Cheng.
"Didn't I send you a message?"
Su Cheng explains.
"What message? I didn't see it. My tablet ran out of battery!"
Cornelia says, showing her tablet to Su Cheng.
"Sorry, it was my oversight. Please, come in first."
"Hmph."
………………………………
"Hehehehehe."
Thinking about this, Cornelia couldn't help but let out a silly laugh. Then she went to the bathroom to wash and style her hair.
At half past eleven,
She stepped out looking fabulous, heading to the apartment where Su Cheng lived.
"Knock knock knock~"
She knocked forcefully on Su Cheng's door.
After a long while, the door opened.
But to her surprise, there was no one there. What was going on? Did they switch to a voice-activated door?
"Hello, who are you looking for?"
Suddenly, a calm and pleasant voice entered her ears.
Only then did she notice a black-haired girl standing at the door. Her face was expressionless, her big bright eyes staring at Cornelia, looking quite cold.
This wasn't right!
At this moment, Cornelia's brain froze again.
Then, her gaze swept over the girl, and she noticed the slippers on her black legs—not her own pair. She breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Good, not her shoes.
Wait, why is there a girl at Su Cheng's house?!
A strong sense of crisis rose in Cornelia's heart. She nervously clenched her small fists.
"I… I'm here to see Su Cheng."
Cornelia tried to stay calm, but she couldn't help swallowing hard.
"Alright, please come in first."
Li Guanqi said, stepping aside and taking out a new pair of slippers from the cabinet, offering them to Cornelia.
"?"
Cornelia was once again stunned.
What was this girl's deal?
Aren't you just a guest too? Why are you acting like the host and giving me slippers?!
"No need, I have my 'usual' pair inside."
Seeing this, Cornelia quickly crouched down, emphasizing the word "usual" heavily. She was about to take out her own little slippers from the shoe cabinet.
This was a bit of a show-off moment.
But when she opened the cabinet, she was utterly shocked—her slippers were gone.
"The shoes inside were stained with milk. I was just cleaning them and they're now drying."
Li Guanqi explained from the side.
"Who are you?"
Cornelia could no longer hold it together. She suddenly looked up, her eyes wide, staring at Li Guanqi.
"I'm his classmate. He's currently out buying ingredients."
Li Guanqi said, handing the slippers to Cornelia again.
"You're just his classmate? Why are you doing things like this?"
Cornelia's tone was harsh.
"I'm sorry, but I can't tolerate shoes stained with milk."
Li Guanqi said, her expression calm.
"You……"
Cornelia was momentarily speechless.
"Please, come in first."
After saying this, Li Guanqi ignored Cornelia's attitude and reaction, walking into the house herself.
"Don't you dare go too far. How can you just touch other people's things like that? Does Su Cheng even know about this?"
Cornelia followed into the house, closing the door behind her. Seeing that Li Guanqi ignored her, she pouted and sat down on the sofa, looking at Li Guanqi and asking, "What are you here for?"
"I have some academic questions to discuss."
Saying this, Li Guanqi took a can of drink from her bag and placed it on the coffee table, then took out a dessert and put it in front of Cornelia.
"?"
Cornelia watched this scene, momentarily at a loss.
Why is this person so naturally treating her like a guest?!
Aren't we both just visitors here?
How dare you act like the owner of the place?!