Chapter 21 The moonlight was already high in the sky...

The moonlight was already high in the sky. The temperature was indeed not as hot as at midday. However, the summer evening still felt stuffy and irritating. Evening training started around 7 PM. It was relatively short, lasting about 1 to 2 hours, focusing on core muscle training, small muscle group training, and coordination training. Sometimes it might also involve watching games and analyzing tactics.

Finally, the evening training session ended, and everyone could finally catch their breath. Athletes also had ample time to rest and recover, ensuring their bodies were fully adjusted before preparing for the next day's training. Ren Xiyao had scheduled physiotherapy because the pain in her left shoulder had worsened since the day before yesterday, and her lower back injury had also recurred.

"So fierce?"

The laughing voice made her turn her head sharply, her phone clattering to the floor. Kwon Ji-yong locked the door behind him, putting his index finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. Today he was wearing an oversized black short-sleeved shirt, paired with black cargo pants, and his usual baseball cap. A few unkempt strands of hair stuck out from under the cap, and he had a new hair color.

"How did you get in?" Ren Xiyao sat up, the therapeutic electrode pads on her back dangling like long tails. "There's a sign at the door saying 'No entry for non-staff.'"

"I said I'm a DJ." Kwon Ji-yong shrugged and smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm really starting to doubt the security at the North City Club. What's going on? Can't just anyone make up a story and get in?" Ren Xiyao was genuinely incredulous. Such an absurd excuse might work once, but every time?

Kwon Ji-yong couldn't help but laugh at her serious expression, pulling out a brand-new work ID from his hoodie pocket. It had the logo of a certain media outlet on it: "I'm a celebrity in South Korea, after all. I have some connections and influence."

Kwon Ji-yong walked up to Ren Xiyao, smelling faintly of citrus perfume mixed with the scent of cosmetics: "Actually, you need to have a registered vehicle, and the visitor needs to have an identity so it can't be too conspicuous. It's not so easy for other people to sneak in; the security guards are very dedicated."

Ren Xiyao gave him a thumbs up and reached for her fallen phone, when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her shoulder joint. Quan Zhilong noticed her frown and immediately pressed down on her wrist, quickly picking up her phone for her: "Don't move."

"An old injury?" His gaze fell on her left shoulder, where a skin-colored dermal patch was applied.

“The training intensity has increased during the summer. It’s inevitable that there will be some setbacks.” Ren Xiyao pulled the treatment towel up a bit, trying to cover the wires around her waist: “Didn’t you say you were going to do a magazine shoot these days?”

Kwon Ji-yong dragged over the physiotherapist's swivel chair, straddled it backwards, and rested his chin on the back of the chair: "The photographer changed the plan at the last minute, so I got a rare day off." He reached out and poked her seemingly unaffected right side: "You're injured here too?"

"Who was it that grimaced at the slightest touch?" Kwon Ji-yong magically produced a box of ointment from his pocket: "It's especially effective for muscle strain." As he unscrewed the cap, a little bit of the milky-white ointment touched his little finger, which he then smeared on the back of her hand: "Want to try it?"

Ren Xiyao narrowed her eyes: "Are you sure the athletes can use it?"

"I specifically asked about it."

The coolness of the ointment spread across the back of her hand. Ren Xiyao looked up at his dark circles under the light and said, "You've been staying up all night again."

"So obvious?" Kwon Ji-yong subconsciously rubbed the corner of his eye, then laughed again: "Our Xi Yao has such good observation skills." He squeezed out a large dollop of ointment, rubbed it in his palm to warm it up: "Turn around."

"I'll do it myself."

"Can you reach my shoulder blade?"

Ren Xiyao squinted at him, while Quan Zhilong raised his hands in a gesture of surrender: "I promise I'll apply the medicine." Seeing that she was unmoved, he looked at her sincerely and added, "I mean it! Believe me!"

The leather cushions of the therapy bed creaked softly as she turned. Kwon Ji-yong's hands were warmer than she had expected, and the moment the ointment melted, Ren Xiyao's taut back lines visibly relaxed.

"Is the pressure okay?"

"Um."

What about here?

"...a little further down."

Kwon Ji-yong's finger stopped at the spine: "How much has the training volume increased?"

"Not much, we're still in the foundation stage. It's about 50/50 training on ice and 50 on land," Ren Xiyao said, tilting her head, her voice muffled. "We'll probably add more after the test matches next week."

The pressure from his fingers suddenly increased, and she groaned. Kwon Ji-yong immediately released her grip: "Did I hurt you?"

"It's nothing, it's just that one piece that's particularly sour." Ren Xiyao turned to look at him: "Are you... angry?"

"Why would I be angry?" Kwon Ji-yong screwed the cap of the ointment on loudly. "Anyway, I'm not the one in pain."

The physiotherapy device suddenly beeped, indicating that there were five minutes left on the countdown. Ren Xiyao reached for the control panel, but Quan Zhilong pressed the pause button first: "Don't add any more. What's the harm in adding five more minutes?"

"What? How much is 0.01 seconds?" Kwon Ji-yong pushed the swivel chair directly in front of her, his knees against the edge of the bed: "Your injury is probably from the fall I witnessed during the match when I came here last time, which caused it to recur due to the increased training volume."

Ren Xiyao sat up abruptly, the electrode wires rattling as they were pulled: "How did you know?"

“My camera captured it all clearly.” Kwon Ji-yong helped her straighten the tangled electrode wires: “You stood up while holding onto your shoulder, and afterwards when we met, you were afraid to put any weight on your left arm. You couldn’t have missed treatment during the off-season. But I’m afraid the injury last time was quite serious.”

Ren Xiyao fiddled with her phone somewhat awkwardly: "Injuries are normal. An athlete's career is mostly spent coexisting with injuries. As long as it doesn't affect normal training and competition, physical therapy should be the main focus if it can be controlled. Otherwise, the recovery period will be too long."

Kwon Ji-yong took a deep breath, his eyes fixed, just about to say something.

The coach's voice called out from outside the treatment room window. Kwon Ji-yong instinctively crouched down, hiding beside the treatment bed. Ren Xiyao almost burst out laughing, mouthing, "Why are you hiding? Don't you have a license?"

“If your coach finds out,” Kwon Ji-yong looked up at her, from an angle where you could see the shadow his eyelashes cast on his lower eyelids, “you’ll really have to rely on your looks next time.”

The footsteps faded into the distance. He sat back down in his chair, took a mint out of his pocket, and put it in her mouth: "For pain relief."

"But it works, right?" Kwon Ji-yong shook his head smugly: "You always take this brand when you're nervous."

"You probably eat this often when you're nervous," Ren Xiyao glanced at him.

“You remember?” Kwon Ji-yong’s eyes lit up, his tone showing no embarrassment at being exposed, but rather a sense of pride that she remembered: “It works very well, give it a try.”

The coolness of mint exploded on her tongue, and Ren Xiyao suddenly noticed that he had a new ear piercing on his left ear, which was still red: "When did you get it done?"

"Yesterday," Kwon Ji-yong subconsciously touched his earlobe, "the stylist said it matched the concept of the new song... did it look good?"

Ren Xiyao didn't speak, but almost unconsciously reached out and touched the small red dot. Quan Zhilong visibly stiffened, but didn't pull away. Her fingertip touched a trace of clear ointment: "It's inflamed."

"Celebrities always have to pay a price." He shrugged nonchalantly, but as she withdrew her hand, he softly said, "Hey, the ointment isn't finished yet."

This time, Ren Xiyao turned around first. Kwon Ji-yong's hands seemed warmer than before; as he rubbed the ointment, he hummed a song in a good mood. She suddenly remembered something: "You've finished writing your new song?"

"Still refining the details." He drew a small circle on her shoulder blade with his finger: "If it hurts here, should we adjust the training volume for your upper body?"

"You even understand this?"

"I've watched all the competition and training videos you could find," Kwon Ji-yong said with a smile, "including those for junior and figure skating."

Ren Xiyao's ears burned, and she fell silent. The power light of the physiotherapy device next to her flickered in the corner of her eye, like the rhythm of a heartbeat.

A card swipe sounded suddenly from outside the door, and Kwon Ji-yong quickly withdrew his hand. The door beeped for a while, but didn't open. Teacher Jiang knocked on the door: "Xi Yao, why is the door locked?"

"Oh, Ms. Jiang, your time might have just ended. I went to the restroom and didn't notice when I came back that I accidentally locked the door. Why don't you go ahead with your work, Ms. Jiang? I'll open the door when I'm done in about 5 minutes."

Teacher Jiang responded from outside, and footsteps could be heard leaving down the corridor.

Kwon Ji-yong quickly got up to leave, but the drawstring of his work pants got caught on the adjustment lever of the physiotherapy bed. As Ren Xiyao helped him untangle it, she heard him say in a low voice, "I'll come to see your match next week. Take care of yourself."

"Where did you find the time?"

"As a famous person once said, time is like water in a sponge; you can always squeeze some out." Kwon Ji-yong smiled slyly.

"Oh, right, there's something else." Kwon Ji-yong pulled out a tangled wired earphone from his pocket and put it in Ren Xiyao's ear: "I recorded something for you to listen to before the game."

"I rearranged the music." Kwon Ji-yong's ears turned slightly red. "I added my... well... breathing rhythm to the second half. I heard that this frequency can stabilize your heart rate. Do you like it?"

Ren Xiyao gazed into his eyes, her gaze filled with nervousness and anticipation, but what captivated her most was the sincerity and passion in his eyes. She pursed her lips and said very earnestly, "Thank you. It's a very evocative adaptation; I really like it."

Kwon Ji-yong's smile this time was bright and flamboyant, radiating absolute confidence in his domain. Ren Xiyao loved his smile; it blended everything perfectly. A touch more flamboyance would have seemed playful. A touch more brightness would have made him seem less mature. But on him, it was just right.

In that instant, Kwon Ji-yong's kiss landed on his thumb, which then pressed against Ren Xiyao's cheek. Before Ren Xiyao could react, she turned to leave.

Ren Xiyao blushed deeply, grabbed the fallen medical towel and threw it at Quan Zhilong, who caught it mid-air. Before the door closed, she saw him stuff the white cloth into his work pants pocket.

Not long after Kwon Ji-yong left, Teacher Jiang returned. Looking at the massage chair that had been circled several times, she asked, "Has someone been here just now?"

Ren Xiyao, the assistant coach who brought the ice pack, still had a mint in her mouth, her tongue pressing against the slowly melting sour taste: "Wrong room."

Teacher Jiang nodded and then bent down to tidy up the car that had been pushed in.

It was already summer, and a gentle breeze rustled the branches outside the window. I could almost faintly hear cicadas chirping. For some reason, the air no longer felt so hot; everything was perfectly balanced.

A note from the author:

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Thank you everyone, enjoy reading! [Please!]