Chapter 40: Qianqian Is Also Awake

Jiang Qianqian was suffering from insomnia again.

Or rather, to be precise, she had taken a short nap and found herself unable to fall back asleep.

In all fairness, Li Xingming’s spanking punishment had indeed helped Jiang Qianqian soothe her mind. Objectively speaking, for a girl in her adolescence with active thoughts and surging hormones, such an occasional... experience was beneficial to both physical and mental health.

After washing her tights, Jiang Qianqian had filled her stomach and reviewed her studies for a while. When sleepiness finally crept in, she went to bed—it was just past nine in the evening, a very, very early bedtime for her.

As it turned out, she woke up at eleven-thirty, got up for a drink of water, and discovered that Li Xingming was not at home.

Off to a part-time job again?

It seemed that Ah Ming had a great need for money lately. Jiang Qianqian knew he had no expensive hobbies; his daily life was easily sustained by the pocket money given by Old Madam Li. It was clear, then, that Li Xingming was working hard for her own awakening and subsequent cultivation.

Sigh.

At this thought, melancholy welled up in her heart. Recalling how her exam performance had suffered earlier that day because of Li Xingming and Ye Sheng, she felt even more unsettled.

"I’m so useless, boo-hoo."

It wasn't just her study skills that were poor, but her fragile mentality as well. No man would truly admire a woman with a fragile mind from the bottom of his heart. He might offer pity with the attitude of the strong taking care of the weak, but healthy love was, after all, a matter of equal interaction.

Boo-hoo...

A sense of gravity spread through her heart, enveloping her entire body. Unable to sleep, she decided to go downstairs to the residential park to practice her swordsmanship.

The November night was quite cold. Jiang Qianqian put on warm clothes, strapped the "Gravity Maiden Sword" to her back, and headed downstairs.

It was said that moderate exercise also helped with sleep. She would practice for an hour, go back, wash up, and try to sleep again. If she slept through until morning, she should be refreshed and not miss the exam.

The practical portion of the awakening test was highly dependent on one's state of mind. If she didn't get enough sleep, she would likely run into trouble while controlling her magic spirits.

To be fair, the sword Ah Ming gave her was truly excellent.

That afternoon, while chatting with the girls in class—one of whom came from a family involved in the trade of supernatural weapons—she had examined the edge of the Gravity Maiden Sword. She remarked that the forging technique was exquisite, belonging to the highest tier of craftsmanship, even if the materials used were quite ordinary.

Actually, that girl was just being catty. Her subtext was, "Oh, your Li Xingming is just fooling you with a sword made of common materials," aiming to devalue Li Xingming’s worth and mock Jiang Qianqian for being simple-minded enough to be duped by a trashy man, all while willingly playing the role of a devoted wife.

It was a common social tactic among girls: praising on the surface while disparaging in reality.

However, Jiang Qianqian’s thought process did not align with the expectations of mainstream women; she was accustomed to looking at Li Xingming’s merits.

Besides, at her current level, she didn't deserve a precious sword anyway. The fact that the forging was excellent was already a pleasant surprise. If Jiang Qianqian had to choose a weapon herself, she would likely just head to a shop in the business district and pick out something cheap and practical.

What kind of empty-hearted girl would use the cost of the materials of a boyfriend's gift to flaunt her status and elevate herself?

In any case, the Gravity Maiden Sword was very easy to handle, and Jiang Qianqian liked it very much... though the name was a bit hard to take seriously.

Oh well, never mind. Since it was a name given by Li Xingming, she couldn't bear to change it.

After practicing for half an hour, Jiang Qianqian sat down to rest. She picked up her phone from the stone bench in the park and saw that the several groups she used for news had already reached 99+ notifications.

Haha, everyone is still chatting so late; they really are energetic.

Tapping in, she realized that an unidentified pilot had flown a strange single-person aircraft from the capital to Maple Sugar City.

For some reason, even though it sounded utterly absurd and had nothing to do with Ye Sheng’s cold, elite-scholar image, Jiang Qianqian immediately associated it with that detestable, black-stocking-wearing, tall woman.

Sigh.

Then again, Ye Sheng had already been back for several days. Surely she wouldn't come back to Maple Sugar City again so soon, right?

She had heard that the big shots at the National Academy High School were all very busy, and Ye Sheng was the greatest among them. Even the "Anti-Ye Sheng Forum" had to acknowledge her prowess.

"Scaring myself for nothing~" Jiang Qianqian muttered, shaking off her doubts. She patted her face, which was slightly sore from the winter night chill, and continued her exercise.

But not long after she started swinging the sword again, her phone’s notification sound went wild. Jiang Qianqian was startled. She had set all those groups to "Receive messages but no notifications." Could it be...

Were many people tagging her?

And indeed, they were.

Jiang Qianqian hurriedly investigated the reason for the tags. It turned out the identity of the unidentified pilot had been confirmed: it was the great Ye Sheng, who had just given a lecture at Maple Sugar City No. 1 High School a while ago. According to "reliable sources" from who knows where, and the wild imagination of the gossip-mongers, Ye Sheng’s trip was an act of running away from home—or an elopement—to be with Li Xingming.

It blew up!

Such an absurd plot was a wake-up call for everyone who had been drowsy from taking "Smarty Supplements" to prepare for exams. They were completely jolted awake, ignoring the fact that they had a practical exam the next day, and gathered in various gossip groups to chat through the night.

Damn! Even if I fail the exam tomorrow, it’s worth the price of admission!

Then, some heartless person tagged Jiang Qianqian, asking for her thoughts on the matter. Following that, other group members jumped on the bandwagon and tagged her too.

Group members are like that; they’re just pure repeaters.

In the cold winter night, Jiang Qianqian, who had been practicing her sword while waiting for her childhood sweetheart to return, stood in the park, staring at her phone in a daze, her expression gradually twisting.

Wait, no, what is the meaning of this?

What do you mean by tagging me, huh?!

Jiang Qianqian gritted her teeth so hard she almost crushed her phone.

Just as the girl's composure was about to shatter, a message from Li Xingming allowed her reason to reclaim the high ground of her brain.

She clicked it open immediately.

Oh, goodness!

Perhaps, humph, perhaps that wasn't Ye Sheng at all. Ah Ming’s part-time job might have been to handle the aircraft landing incident, and now he was sending her a message to debunk the rumors.

Ah Ming has me in his heart!

Muttering this to herself, Jiang Qianqian forced a smile and opened the short video Li Xingming sent.

It was a beautiful montage of Ye Sheng's landing, set to Li Xingming’s favorite music, "Haji-Me's Great Adventure."

Her smile vanished.

As the video ended, an audio message from Li Xingming followed immediately:

"Qianqian, are you asleep? I guessed you might still be awake."

"Ye Sheng is here. Uh, the situation is a bit complicated. Can you help me bring some things from home to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Maple Sugar Heavy Industry? I’ll send you a list right away... Just take a taxi. Although you have a driver’s license, I’m not at ease with you driving."

"..."

Jiang Qianqian wiped the tears welling up in her eyes.

She moved quickly.

How should she put it... although she was in a terrible mood, urgent business came first.

Li Xingming had assigned her a task, and she had to complete it perfectly. If she couldn't even handle a small matter like bringing things to the hospital, Ah Ming would dislike her.

Taking a step back, at least...

Ah Ming wouldn't let her drive because he was worried about her safety.

Li Xingming has me in his heart!

The young girl put on a brave face.