The Exclusive Bodyguard of the Top Idol - Chapter 19

Each lost in their own thoughts, the two finished their showers. Ji Qingshi was led by Ren Jiao into the master bedroom to help apply medicine. Ren Jiao lay on the bed, the hem of her pajamas rolled up to reveal a slender, snow-white waist. Ji Qingshi’s throat tightened as she swallowed reflexively, feeling as though a fire had suddenly ignited in her chest, burning all the way up until her throat was parched.

Ren Jiao’s skin was exceptionally fair, so fair it seemed to glow. Ji Qingshi had thought her face was already pale enough, but the skin hidden beneath her clothes was even fairer, as translucent and crystalline as freshly fallen snow. Just this glimpse of her waist was enough to make Ji Qingshi feel her heart ablaze. If she were to see more.

Stop! She didn’t dare think further.

Ji Qingshi closed her eyes briefly, taking a deep breath to calm herself and dispel the jumble of thoughts in her mind.

She remained silent and unmoving for a long while, while Ren Jiao lay there just as still, her own heart pounding nervously. This was the first time she had exposed her waist like this in front of someone she liked, and soon that very person would be applying medicine to her, touching her. Just the thought of it made Ren Jiao’s heart race uncontrollably.

“Officer Ji, what’s wrong?” The silence had stretched on too long, and to prevent the awkward atmosphere from lingering, Ren Jiao forced herself to speak up.

Ji Qingshi exhaled, barely managing to steady her emotions, then reached out to push Ren Jiao’s pajama hem up a little further, revealing the full expanse of her snow-white waist.

With just one glance, Ji Qingshi frowned. Embedded into that pristine canvas were two symmetrical bruises, a deep bluish-purple on either side of Ren Jiao’s waist. Clearly marks left by the harness rig.

Ren Jiao’s skin was so fair that even the slightest bump or scrape stood out starkly. Now, these two harsh bruises looked especially glaring against her delicate skin, and Ji Qingshi’s heart ached at the sight.

She reached out and lightly touched one of the bruises. Ren Jiao shivered, her entire body tensing up.

Ji Qingshi withdrew her hand, thinking she had caused pain. “Does it hurt badly?” she asked softly. “I have some trauma ointment from the team. It works really well. I’ll go get it for you.”

“No need.” Sensing the woman beside the bed about to rise, Ren Jiao turned and grabbed her wrist, shaking her head. “It’s not that bad. My medicine will do.”

She tilted her chin toward the nightstand. Ji Qingshi spotted a jar of ointment there, its packaging suggesting it was a renowned trauma remedy from a certain traditional Chinese hospital. Ji Qingshi had used it before. It was indeed quite effective.

Since there was already good medicine at hand, there was no need to make a trip downstairs. She picked up the jar, squeezed some onto her palm, and rubbed it between her hands to warm it.

“I’ll apply a bit of pressure. Tell me if it hurts.”

“…Mhm.”

Ren Jiao buried her face in the pillow, her response as faint as a mosquito’s hum. The tips of her ears, hidden beneath her hair, burned crimson. Why did those words sound so suggestive to her?

It was her own impure thoughts to blame. Officer Ji clearly hadn’t meant anything improper.

Ji Qingshi truly hadn’t considered that angle. After mentally preparing herself, she gently pressed her palm against Ren Jiao’s waist, the warmed ointment melding with the softness of her skin.

Noticing that Ren Jiao only stiffened slightly without any other reaction, Ji Qingshi applied a little more pressure, massaging with practiced ease.

Ren Jiao felt like her head was about to steam. The sensation was indescribable. Somewhat unsettling, but mostly thrilling. Every nerve in her body seemed to concentrate on the spot where Ji Qingshi was kneading her waist, a tingling numbness instantly spreading through her, making the pain completely fade away.

It was strange. It should have hurt. For days, she had been flying around on wires during rehearsals, and the harness equipment in the practice room wasn’t the best, leaving obvious, stinging marks.

Originally, Ren Jiao had planned to apply medicine herself today. But when Ji Qingshi mentioned going back downstairs, she wanted to keep her there, so she asked for her help instead.

Yet she never expected that getting her wounds treated would test her endurance so much.

Buried in her pillow, Ren Jiao didn’t dare breathe too loudly or lift her head, afraid Ji Qingshi would see her flushed face. She knew her fair skin made any blush glaringly obvious, and she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of her.

Ji Qingshi kneaded for a while, but when Ren Jiao didn’t react, she assumed she wasn’t pressing hard enough and increased the pressure slightly.

“Mmm…”

Ren Jiao trembled, a soft whimper escaping her lips before she could stop it. She instantly clutched the blanket, frozen in mortification.

“Was I too rough? Did I hurt you?” Ji Qingshi stopped; her voice laced with concern.

“…”

This conversation was way too suggestive!

Face burning, Ren Jiao stayed buried in the pillow, motionless like a salted fish that had lost all hope.

Ji Qingshi, completely unaware of how their exchange might sound, was solely focused on not hurting Ren Jiao. Anxious, she asked, “Should I go lighter? If it really hurts, you have to tell me.”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt.” Ren Jiao mumbled.

Doesn’t hurt?

Ji Qingshi didn’t believe it. If it didn’t hurt, why had she moaned just now? She must be hiding her discomfort to avoid troubling her.

Guilt gnawed at Ji Qingshi, and she lightened her touch even more than before.

This pressure, it didn’t feel like a medical massage anymore. It was starting to feel more like foreplay.

Ren Jiao endured it for a while, but when it became clear Ji Qingshi intended to keep going at this feather-light pace, she couldn’t take it anymore. If this continued, she’d probably need another cold shower tonight!

Desperate to quell the fire spreading through her, Ren Jiao finally lifted her head from the pillow and glanced back at Ji Qingshi, pouting pitifully. “Officer Ji, could you press a little harder?”

Ji Qingshi froze, eyes widening as their gazes met. Both looked away as if scalded. Ren Jiao bit her lip lightly and buried her face back into the pillow.

“Ahem. Too light? Uncomfortable?”

Ren Jiao: “…” How am I supposed to answer that?!

Ji Qingshi immediately regretted her words. She wasn’t some clueless innocent. She knew her own orientation and had fleetingly sensed Ren Jiao’s unique pull on her. Only now did she belatedly realize their conversation might have sounded a bit off.

But the upright and forthright SWAT officer believed that with a clear conscience, she had nothing to fear. If she wasn’t thinking anything inappropriate, then it didn’t matter if their words could be misconstrued.

What she didn’t know was that while she wasn’t overthinking it, Ren Jiao certainly was. Couldn’t she see the girl was too embarrassed to even show her face now?

Ji Qingshi resumed applying pressure, carefully kneading the bruises along Ren Jiao’s waist.

“Applying the ointment like this every day will help you heal faster. It’s perfect timing since I’ll be going to Shanghai with you. You’ll have to use wire harnesses later, and it’ll hurt even more if the bruises aren’t massaged out,” the upright and forthright policewoman said matter-of-factly.

Ren Jiao buried her face in the pillow, nodding slightly with the movement of her head.

Ji Qingshi, noticing she kept her face pressed into the pillow, asked curiously, “Aren’t you suffocating? Lift your face up. How can you breathe like that?”

“It’s fine, I can still breathe!” came the muffled reply.

“At least lift your head to take a proper breath.” Ji Qingshi was genuinely worried she might suffocate herself.

Obediently, Ren Jiao raised her head slightly for a quick breath before burying her face again.

Ji Qingshi: “…”

Alright then. Who knew a pillow could be so fascinating?

Finally, after applying the ointment and finishing the massage, Ji Qingshi smoothed out Ren Jiao’s rolled-up pajamas and stood up. “Get some rest. I’m heading back to sleep too.”

“Mhm.” Ren Jiao remained motionless, still lying facedown. Perhaps due to the nature of her job where injuries were common during training Ji Qingshi had often helped teammates with ointments and massages. Her technique was just right, even inducing a hypnotic relaxation that made one want to drift off to sleep.

Having enjoyed Officer Ji’s massage, drowsiness washed over Ren Jiao, making her too lazy to move from her position.

Seeing her like this, Ji Qingshi patted her back. “Stop lying like that, change your position. You’ll end up oxygen-deprived.”

The pat startled Ren Jiao awake, her sleepiness vanishing instantly. She lifted her head and shot Ji Qingshi a resentful look.

“Your skills are amazing. Sis, so comfortable.” So comfortable she’d nearly fallen asleep.

Ren Jiao yawned and sat up, only to see Ji Qingshi frozen in place, eyes wide with shock and what seemed like intense embarrassment, her face burning red.

Blinking, Ren Jiao belatedly realized what she had just said.

Mortification flooded her!

She must have been so sleep-deprived she’d lost all sense, saying something so easily misinterpreted!

Ji Qingshi stood rooted to the spot, her toes curling in imagined embarrassment, face flushed crimson. Her sun-kissed complexion from years of training. A healthy wheat tone didn’t show blushes as vividly as Ren Jiao’s, but when she turned red, it was unmistakable, as if she’d been steamed alive.

“I…” Ren Jiao, sensing her discomfort, quickly backtracked, “I meant your technique.”

Ji Qingshi’s face burned hotter.

“Your massage technique!”

Ji Qingshi raised a hand, lightly covering Ren Jiao’s mouth. “Just stop talking.”

Ren Jiao pressed her lips together, her breath slowing nervously as Ji Qingshi’s palm hovered near her lips.

The faint warmth of Ren Jiao’s breath against her skin made Ji Qingshi’s hand twitch, and she withdrew it, curling her fingers into a loose fist as if to trap that fleeting warmth and dampness in her palm.

“W-what did you just call me?”

Forgetting all about techniques or skills, Ji Qingshi was far more preoccupied with the term Ren Jiao had just let slip.

Ren Jiao blinked slowly, recalling that she had indeed called her “sis.”

With an internal groan, she flopped back onto the bed, pulling the covers over her face. Ever since realizing her feelings for Ji Qingshi, she’d occasionally referred to her as “sis” in her thoughts never imagining she’d blurt it out in a daze, right in front of her.

Seeing Ren Jiao burrow under the blankets like a quail, Ji Qingshi realized she wasn’t the only one flustered. A strange sense of balance of mutual embarrassment settled over her.

She rubbed her nose and gave a light cough before saying, “Well, this nickname is actually quite nice. ”

The quail hiding under the blanket shifted slightly, peeking out with a pair of beautiful cat-like eyes to observe Ji Qingshi.

Ji Qingshi averted her gaze, not daring to look at the person on the bed, and murmured softly, “It sounds better than that ‘Officer Ji’ thing less formal.”

With that, she didn’t give Ren Jiao a chance to respond. After bidding her goodnight, she hurried away.

Leaving Ren Jiao lying in bed, tossing and turning restlessly.