Extra 02

Li Qingji really didn’t stop.

Letting her “mess around,” he finally put her down after completing a certain amount of weighted exercises. The ground was covered with a mat, so it wasn’t cold even when sitting directly on it.

“Are you done having your fun?” Sitting on the mat, he handed her a bottle of water.

Jiang Nai glanced at him and denied, “I was giving you a massage.”

After she finished drinking, Li Qingji took the bottle from her and drank a big gulp himself. Only then did he say, “That’s not how you give a massage.”

Jiang Nai laughed silently in her heart but insisted stubbornly, “It’s my first time. I don’t know how.”

She moved her arms and legs, then said, “I don’t think I can train tomorrow.”

Li Qingji turned his head to look at her. Jiang Nai quickly clarified, “It’s not that I’m slacking off. You said three times a week. We’ve already trained twice.”

Li Qingji replied, “Strictly speaking, today was just running. You didn’t even finish the full run, so it doesn’t count.”

Jiang Nai gaped at him: “Don’t go back on your word! I showed up today even though I was sore all over. It definitely counts.”

“Are you even sorer now?”

“Uh… yes.”

“You didn’t stretch after running earlier. Forget it… lie down.” Li Qingji patted the mat in front of him.

“What for?”

Li Qingji: “I’ll give you a massage to relax your muscles.”

She might not be keen on exercising, but lying down for a massage was definitely acceptable. So Jiang Nai cooperated and obediently lay down on the mat.

Truly, life is about staying still.

Now that she was lying down like this, she even thought about grabbing her phone and playing with it while enjoying the massage. But as soon as Li Qingji’s hand pressed on her calf, the strength of that first touch nearly sent her straight to heaven. Any thoughts of relaxation disappeared immediately.

“Ouch!!!”

Li Qingji sat calmly beside her. His right hand didn’t let go, and his left hand held down her wriggling waist. He said in a calm voice, “Bear with it. You’ll feel better once it’s over.”

Jiang Nai couldn’t escape from his grip, and her legs, already sore from exercise, were now being pressed and kneaded again.

“Ah—Li Qingji, do you even know how to massage?”

Li Qingji: “Do you think what you did earlier, just touching me like that, was a real massage?”

Of course, what she had done wasn’t a massage—she was just being cheeky. But this kind of massage from him was way too painful…

“Ugh! It really hurts…”

Li Qingji glanced at her. Her hands were clenched into fists, and her left hand was tightly gripping his pants.

He wanted the massage to be effective, but seeing her like this softened his heart a bit. “I didn’t even use much strength. Does it really hurt that bad?”

“Mm…”

Li Qingji: “But if I don’t use any strength at all, it won’t be effective. You’ll still be sore when you wake up tomorrow morning.”

Jiang Nai turned to look at him with teary eyes: “Really?”

“Really,” Li Qingji replied. “I’ll be a bit gentler. Just bear with it, okay?”

Jiang Nai had no choice. Resigning herself to fate, she lay flat like a martyr: “Alright then…”

Li Qingji did lighten his touch. So, Jiang Nai lay there, still softly whimpering, but she finally settled down. This allowed him to focus on helping her. Because of this focus, he became more aware of what was right in front of him.

Today, Jiang Nai wore another set of workout clothes—a white top and light pink fitted pants.

During their exercise, Li Qingji intentionally avoided looking at her too much. Because when he did, he would find it hard to concentrate on his workout and would easily get distracted. Now that the workout was over, and he was helping her massage, he could finally take a good look. Her outfit perfectly outlined her figure…

She wasn’t someone who trained to sculpt her body, but her natural form was undeniably impressive.

Suddenly, Jiang Nai felt the pressure increase for a moment, making her lift one foot in pain. She complained about the pain, but still tried to endure it, as if resisting, yet unable to resist fully. Originally, Li Qingji genuinely intended to help her relax her muscles, but gradually the atmosphere shifted. Listening to her sounds added another layer of meaning to the situation.

Yet his face remained calm. “Don’t move around. It’s not done yet.”

“Why did you suddenly press so hard?” she protested.

Li Qingji said flatly, “It’s just your imagination.”

“No, really, you—ah—”

Before she could finish her sentence, he applied the pressure again, catching her off guard. Her whole body arched involuntarily. Li Qingji paused, his gaze darkening. 

Then he reached out and gave her a light slap.

Smack. It was loud enough to be heard.

His voice dropped lower, carrying a note of command: “Stop lifting up. Lie still.”

Getting lightly smacked on the bottom didn’t hurt at all compared to the muscle massage, but it made Jiang Nai’s mind wander to some improper scenarios, and her cheeks started to flush.

“But you need to be gentler…” she mumbled.

“Got it.”

Li Qingji continued kneading, moving upward from her legs…

At one point, Jiang Nai suddenly turned around in a flash, her face flushed as she stared at him. “You—you call this a massage?”

Li Qingji turned his head to look at her, his expression calm as ever. “What else would it be?”

Jiang Nai’s face grew even hotter. “Your hands don’t have to go that far… It doesn’t hurt there…”

“Where?”

“You know…” she muttered.

He looked completely serious, and Jiang Nai couldn’t tell if he was genuinely clueless or just teasing her. Flustered, she stammered and couldn’t form a proper response. Without waiting for her to clarify, Li Qingji grabbed her hand, pulled her back down, and repositioned her so she was lying flat again.

Jiang Nai tried to get up, but Li Qingji shifted his position, moving on top of her.

“Why can’t you stay still for even a moment? Do you really dislike massages this much?”

Jiang Nai was about to deny it when she suddenly felt something firm press against her…

“It’s not his hand.”

“But…”

“You—” She turned her head.

Li Qingji stood against the light, his dark eyes deep and intense. “Shall I keep pressing?”

Jiang Nai felt like her throat was glued shut as he stared at her, her heart trembling in sync. “…Is this how you’re supposed to press?”

Li Qingji leaned slightly closer, nearly locking her in place. “Others might not, but I do it this way.”

The post-workout body was scorching hot, almost burning. Jiang Nai blushed, crawling forward a few centimeters, but he caught her by the waist and pulled her back again. He didn’t say anything, just continued giving her the massage—kneading her hands, pressing her back.

Jiang Nai’s mind completely drifted away from the earlier pain of relaxing her muscles. She was still suppressing her voice, but now, it wasn’t a sound of pain. She bit her lip, trying to resist the physical reaction.

Li Qingji was simply… breaking all the rules!

He’d even criticized her massage before—what about him now?! This was not a proper massage!

“I’m done.”

“Feel better?” He leaned down and asked.

It wasn’t clear what kind of “better” he was referring to…

Jiang Nai mumbled a reply. “I think that’s enough.”

“Alright.” Li Qingji let her go, stood up, and pulled her up from the floor. “Go take a shower.”

Jiang Nai let out a huge sigh of relief and hurried off. She grabbed some clean clothes and went to the master bedroom’s bathroom. Li Qingji was already there. He had just taken off his T-shirt and was rinsing his face at the sink. When he looked up, his damp eyes met hers in the mirror.

Jiang Nai silently moved to the side. “Are you showering now?”

Li Qingji: “Yeah.”

Jiang Nai: “Oh, then I’ll go to the other bathroom.”

Just as she turned around, Li Qingji pulled her back. “Let’s just shower together—don’t make it complicated.”

Jiang Nai: “Bathing with you… takes too long.”

Li Qingji chuckled. “With how fast you usually shower, you can actually say that?”

“It’s true.”

Li Qingji tugged her in front of him, trapping her between him and the sink. “It’s slow, sure, but it feels good.”

“…Feels good where?”

“Where doesn’t it feel good?”

His hand slid assertively under her workout clothes.

When he brought his hand back up, his fingertips were slick with water.

“Looks like you’re enjoying it.”

Jiang Nai stammered, “T-This is because of your massage—”

“Did I massage you into feeling good?”

“…No!” Jiang Nai was completely cornered, her words tripping over themselves. “That wasn’t even a massage, okay?”

Li Qingji pulled her even closer. “Then what was it?”

“It was being a rogue.”

The corners of Li Qingji’s mouth lifted slightly, and he suddenly turned her around, pressing her firmly against the sink again.

But this time, it wasn’t like before—there were no layers of fabric in between.

Jiang Nai gasped sharply, and when she looked up, she saw her own reflection in the mirror: damp eyes, flushed red cheeks.

Behind her, Li Qingji stared straight into the mirror, his voice low and husky. “Well, I learned it from you.”

Jiang Nai didn’t even understand how what was supposed to be a gym workout ended up… on the bed. By the end of it, she felt like she had exceeded her exercise limit for the day—by a lot. After that, she started avoiding workouts every now and then.

Sometimes, when Li Qingji stared her down persistently, she would reluctantly drag herself to the gym with him. But as time went on, she began to notice subtle changes in herself. For example…

A person who once couldn’t do a single push-up could now do a few proper ones.

Her arms were, in fact, getting stronger.

The day she discovered this, Jiang Nai excitedly posted about it on her social media:

[Feeling like a powerhouse today! Lifted this with ease (attached photo of dumbbells)]

The post quickly garnered likes and comments:

Lin Hui: “All the pretty girls are working out—now I can’t even finish dinner.”

Lu Feng replied to Lin Hui: “Don’t be like that, babe. Eat what you need to eat.”

Yao Qi: “Impressive!”

Wang Wenbo: “Take me with you!”

Xue Lin: “Looks like it’s paying off.”

Jiang Nai smiled as she read through the comments. When she scrolled back up, she noticed another new like.

Curious, she clicked on it—it was from Li Qingji.

Her smile widened as she tapped on his profile picture and sent a playful message:

[Coach, does this mean you think I can learn some new skiing techniques soon?]

Still in his office, Li Qingji replied:

[Barely.]

Jiang Nai shot back:

[Not barely—definitely!]

After a while, Li Qingji suddenly sent another message:

[Did no one notice that the dumbbell you posted is too heavy for you, little powerhouse?]

Jiang Nai:

[…Huh?]

She immediately returned to check her post and realized that she had indeed uploaded a picture of a dumbbell she absolutely couldn’t lift.

Jiang Nai: “…”

Wrong photo. That dumbbell belonged to Li Qingji.

Meanwhile, in his office, someone knocked on the door. Zhao Siyuan walked in. “Boss, it’s time for the meeting.”

“Mm.” Li Qingji stood up and headed out. On his way, he glanced at his phone again and noticed that Jiang Nai had deleted the original post.

She had uploaded a new one:

[Correction: Just feeling like a little powerhouse today. (attached photo of smaller dumbbells)]

A faint smile flashed in Li Qingji’s eyes as he liked the new post.

“Are the plane tickets booked?” he asked Zhao Siyuan, putting his phone away.

Zhao Siyuan, knowing he was referring to their skiing trip, nodded. “Yes, booked. The flight is at noon the day after tomorrow.”

“Good.”

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