The Exclusive Bodyguard of the Top Idol - Chapter 43

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three crisp gunshots rang out, and crimson dust exploded from the bulletproof vest. The man in black training gear let his arms drop limply, reluctantly placing his gun on the ground before crouching in the corner with his hands over his head. ◎

Ji Qingshi held her gun, her expression cold as she reloaded, sparing a glance at the two men huddled in the corner before turning to leave.

“Hey, hey, Captain Ji, the hostage hasn’t been.”

“You save them.”

“…Yes.”

An’an, who had been following Ji Qingshi, sighed helplessly and freed the poor soul tied to the chair, playing the role of the hostage.

“Psst! Psst!”

The two “dead” men in the corner waggled their eyebrows at An’an. “Hey, what kind of bad medicine has Captain Ji been taking lately?”

Today was the SWAT team’s intensive training exercise, and Ji Qingshi showed no mercy whatsoever. In fact, she was downright ruthless. Three clean shots to the target was considered light. Anyone who dared to engage her in hand-to-hand combat ended up flat on the ground.

By the end of the session, everyone who had faced her could tell she was in a foul mood.

The sniper team members, however, knew a little more than the others. An’an gave them a helpless look and whispered, “I don’t know either, but don’t provoke her. No one in our team has dared to cross her for half a month now.”

To be precise, ever since Ji Qingshi returned from her last mission, her mood had been consistently terrible. Not even her promotion had managed to lift her spirits.

Still in the middle of the exercise, An’an didn’t dare say more. After rescuing the hostage, she hurried out to catch up with Ji Qingshi.

Thanks to Ji Qingshi’s overwhelming performance, her team unsurprisingly secured the highest score of the day.

A good performance in the exercise laid the foundation for the annual selection of the best unit, directly affecting everyone’s bonuses and promotions; something they all took seriously. With first place secured, the entire team was in high spirits, clamoring to go out for a celebratory meal. Only Ji Qingshi remained indifferent.

“You guys go. Remember to get receipts for reimbursement,” Ji Qingshi said from the break room, addressing An’an, who stood before her relaying the team’s dinner plans.

An’an hesitated. “Captain, do you have something to do later?”

“No, just tired,” Ji Qingshi replied, her eyes fixed on her phone, not looking up for a long while.

When An’an still didn’t move after a moment, Ji Qingshi finally glanced up, puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

An’an shook her head. “Nothing. It’s just…”

Ji Qingshi couldn’t stand her hesitance and frowned. “Spit it out. Don’t beat around the bush.”

“Well… ever since you came back, you’ve been in a bad mood. Everyone’s worried. Did something happen?”

Ji Qingshi pressed her lips together. She knew she might have been too obvious, but she hadn’t been able to hide it well. She also knew most of the team wouldn’t dare ask her directly.

Now that An’an someone she was close to had asked, she still didn’t plan to give the full truth. She just smiled and said, “It’s nothing. Don’t worry. Just some family stuff.”

The moment she mentioned family, An’an’s eyes widened. “Did your parents come after you again?”

Ji Qingshi froze, then shook her head. It made sense that An’an would immediately think of her estranged parents. But Ji Qingshi simply denied it. Her father.

Her brothers had long since lost the ability to stir up trouble around her. They simply lacked the capability. She had cut ties with them quite cleanly, and even if the break wasn’t entirely clean, she naturally had ways to make sure they all stayed away.

“It has nothing to do with them, don’t overthink it. Just some personal matters.”

An’An looked like she wanted to ask more, but Ji Qingshi slightly hardened her expression. “Alright, stop asking. Weren’t you all going to eat? Hurry up and go, don’t worry about me.”

With that said, even if An’An still had questions, she couldn’t bring herself to press further. She could only nod and step out.

Once everyone had left, the break room was empty except for her. Ji Qingshi sat in her chair, zoning out for a while before lowering her head to check her phone.

Two messages from Ren Jiao today lay quietly in her WeChat. Nothing special, just a brief greeting. Then, since she hadn’t replied during training, Ren Jiao had sent another two hours later, asking if she was free to meet over the weekend.

Ji Qingshi’s heart was in complete turmoil. She didn’t understand what Ren Jiao meant by this. They hadn’t been in contact since the mission ended. No! Strictly speaking, they hadn’t exchanged messages since that business trip to Shanghai. For her to suddenly reach out like this today. Ji Qingshi couldn’t grasp Ren Jiao’s intentions.

She was agitated and confused, unsure what to do. Frankly, when she saw Ren Jiao’s messages, her first reaction was something she couldn’t deceive herself about; she had, shamefully, felt an overwhelming burst of joy in that instant.

At this moment, she realized with painful clarity that even after more than half a month apart, her feelings for Ren Jiao hadn’t changed. No matter how much her rationality told her this shouldn’t be, that she should forget about her, emotionally, she just couldn’t.

After sitting alone in the break room for a long time, Ji Qingshi exhaled a heavy breath and angrily exited the chat.

Whatever Ren Jiao meant by this, she wasn’t planning to respond. What a joke! Ren Jiao was the one who had rejected her. She had tried time and again to get closer, to fight for her, only to be pushed away every single time. And now Ren Jiao was the one coming back to provoke her? Why should she get to dictate everything? Ji Qingshi refused to play along!

Having made up her mind, she packed her things, slung her bag over her shoulder, and left the training grounds.

________________________________________

Ren Jiao had been distracted all day, checking her phone every few minutes. Whenever it rang, she rushed to see only to be disappointed each time it wasn’t Ji Qingshi’s reply.

Ren Xiuxian had been in increasingly good spirits lately, and seeing her daughter so conflicted only amused her further. She watched with keen interest.

After waiting a full day with no response, Ren Jiao slumped onto the edge of the hospital bed, staring blankly at her phone.

Ren Xiuxian raised an eyebrow. “What’s with that look?”

“Mom,” Ren Jiao said, her tone unconsciously slipping into a whine when speaking to her mother. “She’s ignoring me.”

Ren Xiuxian chuckled. “After hearing what happened before, I think if I were her, I’d ignore you too. You deserve to be left hanging.”

Ren Jiao’s expression froze, her face twisting in distress. “But if she ignores me, what am I supposed to do?”

The more she thought about it, the more panicked she became. “Mom, do you think she’ll just never talk to me again? Have I lost my chance?”

Ren Xiuxian tilted her head, studying her daughter’s genuine anxiety before musing, “But your messages were delivered, right?”

Ren Jiao clutched her phone and nodded. “They were sent, but she didn’t reply.”

Leaning back against the pillow, Ren Xiuxian eyed her daughter. “Send her another one. Something like ‘good night’ will do.”

“But what if I send it and she doesn’t reply…”

Ren Xiuxian glared at her: “So you just won’t send it if she doesn’t reply? How are you going to win her back then?”

Ren Jiao was momentarily speechless under her mother’s retort. She quickly opened WeChat: “I’ll send it, I’m sending it now.”

After pondering over the wording, she drafted a simple goodnight message and sent it.

The message was sent, only to disappear into the void once again.

“Still no reply.” Ren Jiao stared at her phone for ten minutes, practically burning a hole through the screen, but no response came.

Ren Xiuxian added, “But the message was delivered successfully, right?”

Ren Jiao paused, her intelligence finally kicking back in. She looked up at her mother: “You mean she hasn’t deleted me?”

Ren Xiuxian nodded in satisfaction, relieved that her daughter’s brain was finally working again. “If she were really annoyed with you, she would’ve just deleted you after those two messages you sent her during the day. That would’ve been the real sign of no hope.”

Hearing her mother’s analysis, Ren Jiao felt slightly reassured. But then another worry crept in: “But some people just see messages and can’t be bothered to reply, yet they won’t delete you either.”

“That kind of situation doesn’t apply to your relationship,” her mother countered. “She confessed to you, and you rejected her. If she really wanted nothing to do with you, she wouldn’t keep you as a contact.”

Her mother’s reasoning made sense. No matter how uneasy Ren Jiao felt, there was nothing she could do now except continue sending messages to Ji Qingshi at set times every day, hoping for a reply.

Yet another week passed. It was already mid-June, and Ji Qingshi hadn’t replied even once. Every message Ren Jiao sent vanished without a trace, leaving her both disheartened and miserable.

But she couldn’t give up. She had debated whether to just call Ji Qingshi directly, but each time, she chickened out. Sending texts still gave her some courage, but calling now; it scared her. She was the one at fault in this relationship, and facing Ji Qingshi directly over the phone would only make her feel even guiltier.

She spent her days sighing over Ji Qingshi’s silence. Within a week, not only did her mother know about it, but even Cen Shu and her closest friend, Tan Jiajia, were aware of her predicament.

Tan Jiajia sympathized with her, but as a friend, there wasn’t much she could do beyond suggesting what messages to send each day.

Cen Shu, on the other hand, watched her coldly, growing increasingly irritated whenever she saw Ren Jiao moping around her office.

After Ren Xiuxian woke up, Ren Jiao’s mood had shifted dramatically. Not only had she resolved to win Ji Qingshi back, but she had also signed on for the role Lian Na had offered her, ready to give acting a try.

Cen Shu pointed at her and scolded her for being spineless, then asked, “Have you really thought this through?”

Ren Jiao knew what she was asking whether she had truly made up her mind. Once she committed to pursuing Ji Qingshi and rekindling their romance, Cen Shu would have to put in extra effort to manage her love life.

Ren Jiao felt guilty toward Cen Shu about this, but there was nothing she could do. She had tried to resist, but emotions simply didn’t follow logic.

“Cen-jie, I’ve made up my mind though I’m really sorry to you.”

Cen Shu raised a hand to stop her. “You don’t owe me an apology. Jiaojiao, the most important thing about every choice in life is that it’s true to yourself.” She studied Ren Jiao for a moment before handing her a document. “Take a look at this. It might help you.”

Ren Jiao opened the file in surprise, and her face lit up with joy after just a few lines: “Is this the drama Director Lian mentioned?”

Cen Shu nodded. “Exactly. This document is the cooperation contract between our drama and the SWAT team. Since this series is a co-production between our company and the Provincial Public Security Department, the SWAT team will provide technical instructors. At the end of the month, when filming begins, the crew will send a group of actors for special training. They’ll also provide a training ground for shooting to ensure authenticity.”

“The role you’ve taken is on the list for that training, and your ‘Sister Ji’ happens to be on the list of SWAT instructors assigned to guide you.”

…

“Achoo—” Ji Qingshi rubbed her nose as she stood in the room.

“What’s wrong? Caught a cold?”

“No. Master, what did you call me here for?”

“Oh, nothing major. Just wanted to assign you a lighter task. At the end of the month, a group of actors will come to our training ground for instruction. You’ll be their guide.”