In next morning, Shen Qieyi was woken up by Bai Jingyan’s relentless call.
Shen Qieyi was too comfortable to move away from her soft pillow. She lazily pulled her phone to her ears, and all she heard was Bai Jingyan’s shouting at her.
“Shen Qieyi, look at the time. Get up now!”
Shen Qieyi had let loose herself ever since she took her extended vacation. The unwavering willpower she was always proud of had gradually turned into laziness. The best proof was her sleep-in time had gotten longer each day. She had even thought about staying in bed all day long.
Bai Jingyan was still chattering in her ear, and she hung up the phone without replying.
“Hello?” Bai Jingyan glanced at the phone’s screen showing the call had been cut off. “How dare she. Did she just hang up on me?”
Bai Jingyan put down his phone and drove on peacefully. Keeping his same expression as if nothing had happened.
It was still early in the morning, and the drive was easy. As he arrived, Bai Jingyan parked his car and jogged up the stairs carrying breakfast.
Shen Qieyi was in the bathroom trying to freshen up with her tired eyes.
Bai Jingyan banged hard on the door, hoping that Shen Qieyi didn’t get back to sleep after hanging up on him earlier.
He thought that he would have to wait for a long time until she was ready. Unexpectedly, the door opened from the inside.
Shen Qieyi saw Bai Jingyan at the door in his neat sports suit. He then swayed two boxes of breakfast takeout in front of her.
She knew he had to put in more effort compared to her. He had to wake earlier, travel half the city to get here, prepare breakfast, then accompany her for the exercise.
She felt incredibly groggy in the morning. Despite that, she held back her temper, greeted him nicely, and invited him into the house.
Bai Jingyan complained as soon as he saw her appearance as he walked into her house.
“I’m not some woman friend of yours. Don’t look so messy in front of me, please. Look at you, walking around in pajamas with unkempt hair.”
Shen Qieyi stopped, turned around, and shrugged helplessly. “Who was the one banging loudly on my door? Sooner or later, I’ll receive a noise complaint from neighbors.”
Bai Jingyan smiled and said, “Alright, I’ll take note, ok?”
Shen Qieyi knew his promise was only to humor her, and it shouldn’t be taken seriously.
She went back to her room and dressed herself accordingly. Then they both went downstairs quickly.
On the grass lawn not far from them was a group of elderly practicing Tai Chi.
Bai Jingyan pulled her to a spot behind the elderlies and started their pre-run stretching.
“It’s important to do stretching before running. You are a doctor. I am sure you are familiar with this knowledge.” She knew he meant well. She was more than familiar with his teasing.
After about ten minutes of stretching, both of them started their run.
“Rome was not built in a day. Let’s set our target smaller today. How about two kilometers?”
Shen Qieyi’s eyes widened. This was too much for her.
“Don’t be silly. I’m here with you. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” Bai Jingyan mocked.
She was still terrified of the idea.
Bai Jingyan stopped smiling. “It’s really nothing. Just run slow. We’ll be finished before we know it.”
He handed her a thermos bottle. “Take a small sip. Don’t be nervous.”
Shen Qieyi obediently took a small sip. She then followed his instruction to breathe deeply to relax.
“Shall we start?” Bai Jingyan lowered his head to get closer to her.
Shen Qieyi pushed his face away and nodded gently.
After one kilometer of running by the sidewalk, Shen Qieyi was already panting heavily. Her sight was getting disordered, and her feet wobbled. She has to stop.
Bai Jingyan, who had been running by her side, looked relaxed. There was a stark contrast between them.
Bai Jingyan noticed her exhaustion and calmly reminded her, “Don’t stop abruptly. You’re in an extreme condition right now.”
“Stay calm and take long deep breaths. Second breath onwards, you will feel better. Trust me! ”
Bai Jingyan patiently encouraged her. He reached out to hold her hand but quickly let go.
Shen Qieyi started to hear ringing in her ears. She tried her best to adapt herself according to Bai Jingyan’s instructions.
As Shen Qieyi tried to overcome her most challenging turning point, she turned her head to Bai Jingyan and gave him a pale smile.
Bai Jingyan patted her head with satisfaction. “Very good. Keep it up!”
As they were at their last 200 meters, Bai Jingyan sprinted forward.
Shen Qieyi bit the bullet and tried to catch up with her exhausted body and mind.
At the finish line, Bai Jingyan stretched out his arms to hug her.
Shen Qieyi allowed herself to fall into his arms as her wobbly leg gave in. She felt her dry throat crack as she coughed out some bloody aftertaste in her mouth.
Bai Jingyan supported her with her walk until she could get back on her own.
About ten minutes passed, and Shen Qieyi, with her depleted energy, still pushed herself to finish the post-run stretching with Bai Jingyan. After they were done, they walked home with Bai Jingyan occasionally holding and supporting her walk.
“I didn’t know you were this weak.”
“Congratulations. With my utmost patience and support, you drove away the lazy girl in your body.”
“You should start thinking how you could repay me…”
Two kilometers was nothing to Bai Jingyan. He was neither panting nor tired at all.
Shen Qieyi was too exhausted to retort to Bai Jingyan’s continuous gloating.
She was conflicted between giving him an eye-rolled or thanks. But she was too tired to be bothered with him.
On the surface, Bai Jingyan was smirking. However, he was always attentive to Shen Qieyi’s expression.
Seeing her frown, he slowed down and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”
Shen Qieyi was about to lash out for him to be quiet.
But when she saw his sincere expression, Shen Qieyi changed her mind. “Thank you, Bai Jingyan. Truly.”
Bai Jingyan sneered. “If you really need to thank me, there are millions of them overdue.”
She looked confused. “When did I owe you so much?”
“Last night… If I hadn’t been your spiritual mentor, you wouldn’t have a better version of yourself in the future.”
Bai Jingyan almost said the wrong thing, but he was able to change the subject at the last minute.
He tilted his head and glanced at Shen Qieyi. Fortunately, she did not realize the oddity in his words and was only smiling at him.
Shen Qieyi had been too engrossed with Bai Jingyan’s plan to lose weight. She did not notice that time had flown passed her.
Bai Jingyan was a man of his word. He accompanied her every single day, no matter the weather. He even had a professional chef prepare her daily healthy meals. He even had her time allocation fully monitored.
She was also very hard-working with it, and she endured every hardship to change her bad habits.
Fast forward to half a month later.
Bai Jingyan had successfully trained her body clock, which had her wake up earlier each day naturally.
This morning, she woke up earlier than usual and warmed the milk in the kitchen before Bai Jingyan’s arrival.