Five in the morning
The room door was opened and closed. With Feng Ling’s usual observational skills, if this was any other day, the noise would have woken her up.
However, her body was both freezing cold and burning hot. Although she was somewhat aware, she could not muster any strength. She felt as though someone had come in, but she wasn’t sure if she was dreaming.
In her dreams, she seemed to be having a fever. Someone had placed their hand on her forehead, and a short moment later, they laid a cold towel on it.
In her dazed, half-conscious state, she wasn’t sure how much time had passed. By the time she woke up, it was 9:00 a.m.
She had already taken two days of leave from work and could not do so again. There was a class she needed to attend, no matter what today. A group of students who had only been attending classes for half a year were about to participate in a school competition. School competitions focused more on standards and formality. Unlike international competitions, there was no need to compete with true strength. However, precisely because they needed to pay attention to formality, they needed to rehearse well. She also needed to arrange things well for them so that their conditions and movements would be up to par.
Feng Ling forced herself to sit up. After checking the time, she rubbed her aching forehead and went to wash up. When she saw the towel in her bathroom, she was surprised.
Her towel was usually hung somewhere else, why was it here?
She reached out to pick it up, only to discover that the towel was still damp.
Last night’s dream suddenly flashed past her mind. Did someone come by to take care of her while she had a fever?
Was it Li Nanheng?
Feng Ling turned to leave her bedroom. She scanned the small apartment and did not find any other evidence of someone’s visit. She remembered he left before she fell asleep last night. He didn’t come back after, and she had also locked the door properly. He had also returned her keys to her. How could he possibly have come by?
Could it be that she left it there after showering last night?
But there was no way she would place it there, and it was still damp…
Her gaze suddenly shifted onto the small balcony outside the windows. This balcony was on the fifteenth floor, and it was completely unlike the balconies they had back when they were neighbors in the XI Base. There was no way he could have made it past the distance between their balconies safely. This was a matter of life and death. No matter what, Li Nanheng couldn’t have been that irrational.
This towel…
Was this a dream?
As time was tight, she could not pause to consider this any further. Feng Ling rushed to change her clothes. She had yet to recover from her cold and was in poor condition. She could not drive right now, nor did she wish to cause any accidents. She decided to call for a cab to head to the martial arts club.
The class began normally at 10:00 a.m., but she was still late by fifteen minutes. Thankfully, she called her boss and head coach earlier and informed them that she would be arriving soon. All of her students were waiting for her.
After arriving, Feng Ling did not explain her condition. She directly changed into her clothes and entered the classroom.
The students were originally thrilled when they saw her. However, they soon discovered that Coach Ah Ling, who could typically remain standing for several hours, needed to pause every fifteen minutes for a sip of hot water. She also sat down every so often to rest. Her voice was slightly hoarse, and her complexion was poor. Even her forehead seemed to be covered in a bit of sweat.
“Coach Ah Ling, are you still sick? Did you catch a cold? Is it serious?”
Several students noticed that she wasn’t feeling well and could not help but ask in concern.
“I’m all right. It’s just a small cold. Continue practicing.” Feng Ling stood up to approach them. “Remember the way you should stretch your hand and lift your leg. You’re all beginners who have just begun to practice. As exchange students from China, if you wish to present Asia’s culture and Chinese martial arts to your fellow students here, there’s no need to learn anything too complicated yet. All you have to do is to perform each move precisely. If you accompany this with Chinese-style traditional music, you will surely be a sight to behold. Continue practicing. I’ll accompany you guys until noon. If it’s still not enough, we will continue in the afternoon. Practice until you are all completely ready.”
“But, your condition doesn’t seem very good…”
“I’m fine. I’ll sit for a while if I’m tired.” Feng Ling approached another male student to shift his arm as she spoke: “Lift it and straighten it. This way, good…”
“Coach Ah Ling, your hand is really hot. Do you have a fever?” The male student looked at her in concern. He looked closely at her and saw that her lips were pale. Her skin was also abnormally hot.
Feng Ling shifted her hand away and turned to stand in front. She did not say much. “Why are you all looking at me? Continue practicing?”
Coach Ah Ling’s temper wasn’t something they could withstand. Despite her young age, her personality wasn’t soft at all. After seeing the insistence, the students could only continue practicing.
After an hour of practice, the classroom door was suddenly kicked open with a lot of force.
The boss and head coach were both startled. From their expressions, it was clear they did not manage to stop the intruder. They looked at the tall and broad-shouldered man walking in quickly and turned to Feng Ling with some grievance. “Ah Ling, this person said he is here to look for you. We told him it’s not convenient for you to meet anyone now while you’re teaching, but he became very angry. He said that you’re still feeling unwell, and you still have a fever. We… actually couldn’t hold him back.”
They used the word ‘actually.’
Who would have thought, Feng Ling’s skills were already sufficient for them to sigh in admiration. A talent like her truly deserved a better place than a small martial arts club like theirs—to think that this man was even more outstanding than Feng Ling. The head coach originally wanted to hold him back but was easily kicked aside with one blow. That one kick alone almost took away his life.
Men always judged each other by ability. This was especially so for those who studied martial arts. After seeing the outstanding man, even if he felt unhappy and was unclear about the circumstances, he felt respect for the man in his heart. He was also deeply curious about his identity.
His strength was not clearly displayed; to think that he was actually this outstanding.
“Feng Ling—” Unusually, Li Nanheng’s voice contained a lot of worry: “Come out. Come home with me.”
“For what?” Feng Ling did not feel strange even as her proper name was called out in this place. In any case, it was the same word coupled with her surname; it was just a surname she never wanted to touch again.
She did not lift her head. She looked at the blurry image of the cup in her hands and took another sip of the hot water.
“Come out with me. Don’t you realize you have a fever?”
“I know. I’m not doing much here. At most, I’ll just be watching my students practice. The fever also won’t take my life. I don’t need to keep resting at home.” She placed the cup down. “I came here to teach. As someone who is receiving pay, I need to fulfill my duties. I can’t make my boss pay me for nothing. It’s not good to keep taking a day off.”
