Chapter 27

Li Jingming didn't know whether to cry or laugh. As a man who had been nagged for over half an hour, he should have cried. But as a man who was hailed as a super new star without even finishing half a work, he should have laughed. It is precisely because life is so complex that the heavens have designed so many emotions and corresponding expressions for humans, isn't it?

Li Jingming, whose understanding of life had reached a new level, had abnormally bright eyes, much like the mysterious old man's eyes often seen in immortal novels. The Mixed Yuan One Qi Gong automatically circulated, and he stood in place, his whole body trembling a few times. His skills, which had not improved for a few days after returning, finally made some progress.

After nodding in satisfaction, Li Jingming felt something strange about his surroundings. Why had a clear space appeared on the pedestrian street that was usually bustling with people? Looking around, Li Jingming realized he had been surrounded. The Li family guards who had been following him in the shadows became tense; the more people, the more chaos.

"Is that kid having an epileptic seizure? Should we call the rescue team?" This was an auntie.

"It's not epilepsy; he's not foaming at the mouth. I think it's malaria," a nearby grandpa disagreed.

"You all lack common sense. Nowadays, everyone drinks tap water; who gets malaria? I see his face is flushed; it looks like he's having a heatstroke," a lady with glasses speculated, looking at Li Jingming's rosy face after his internal energy circulated.

The first two comments were bearable, but the third one was too bold. Li Jingming felt like dying. I'm just standing here by myself, without a partner, how did you conclude it's a heatstroke? And you're boldly saying others lack common sense. Even if I had a small passionate kiss with Li Zhiyan this afternoon, it couldn't last this long. Is the sky using a small overlord server?

"This is a breakthrough in my true qi!" Li Jingming couldn't bear it any longer and blurted out.

"Ah, everyone, disperse, disperse. This kid is having a middle school syndrome attack."

"Tsk... So boring."

"What a waste of a good-looking young man."

Covering his face and walking away was what Li Jingming was doing now. He kept his head down all the way to the door of his LK, and once inside, he planned to go upstairs quickly to be alone and listen to some healing, light music to soothe his wounds. Unfortunately, he found someone blocking his way. With his head down, he could only see a pair of legs and feet, wearing shorts and canvas shoes, with snow-white legs.

"Mr. Li Jingming!" The person called out when he didn't look up.

Oh no! Li Jingming thought it was bad. This person knows me. Why did I meet an acquaintance at such an awkward time? He quickly said, "I'm sorry, you must have mistaken me for someone else."

When he slightly raised his head, Li Jingming saw the person's face. He only raised it slightly because the person wasn't very tall. This delicate little face was unfamiliar to Li Jingming, but he had seen it yesterday.

Jessica, also known as Jung Sooyeon, was looking at Li Jingming with confusion. Could it be a mistake? The man in front of her seemed different from Li Jingming, more mature and sunny, with a gentle and considerate big brother vibe. And he was wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses, which Li Jingming didn't have yesterday morning.

"Oh, you're his brother?" Jessica remembered the ID card Li Jingming showed her yesterday. So I was right. I shouldn't have believed that guy.

"That's right, I'm Li Kan," Li Jingming said without a hint of embarrassment, of course, because he was indeed Li Kan. "Do you know Jingming?"

"Oh, your brother treated me to ice cream yesterday," Jessica said. "Today, I wanted to treat him to something."

Jessica went home last night, and Krystal pouted and asked her to bring her back here. That's when she realized how expensive things were here. She thought an ice cream wasn't much, but later decided to treat him to something. She felt not only obliged but also had other thoughts. The guy was quite likable, and they both came back from America, so they should have a lot in common. If they got along, they could be friends, just friends, not relatives. Jessica had come here once in the morning but didn't see Li Jingming. After practicing in the afternoon, she came back and happened to meet him.

"Oh, really? What do you plan to treat him to?" Li Jingming asked casually, preparing to find an excuse to slip away. Today had been too eventful for him, even for someone as experienced as he was.

"I plan to take him to eat some snacks at Yonsei University," Jessica said honestly. She was honest because she thought Li Kan was Li Jingming's brother and her elder, so she was very respectful.

Yonsei University in Korea is known for its delicious snacks, possibly even better than those in Dongdaemun, and they are also cheaper. Jessica had spent a lot of money on cosmetics recently and didn't have much left.

"Oh, really? Haha, Jingming has already gone home," Li Jingming lied. "You can..."

Just as he was about to use his language skills to make Jessica leave, his phone rang. He had set it to an Apple ringtone, but the phone he took out was a Samsung...

"Boom boom boom boom!" The phone connected to intense music. Li Jingming saw it was Bai Jieqian calling, and it seemed he was at a nightclub.

"Jingming, come join us, we're in Myeongdong," Bai Jieqian said in English. "I just found out Korea has such a great place. Why didn't you tell me earlier? I had to find it myself."

Li Jingming's mouth twitched. This guy really knew how to pick his timing. He noticed Jessica's eyes were already a bit off.

Because of the music, Bai Jieqian's voice was particularly loud. "Hey, Jingming, are you there? Is my voice too low? Jingming, Jingming! Respond if you can hear me."

Bro, your voice is so loud my phone is about to explode. Li Jingming said he had something and quickly hung up.

"Haha," Jessica said, "Jingming isn't here. He's gone home." She repeated Li Jingming's words, even mimicking the "haha" perfectly.

"This is my home," Li Jingming explained.

"Then why did you pretend not to know me?" Jessica asked, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Brother Li Kan!"

"Maybe we're not that familiar yet," Li Jingming rubbed his nose.

"Ah!" Jessica was furious.

Li Jingming was startled. "Why do you always say 'ah' to your elders? That's very impolite."

Jessica couldn't help but be angry. She had come here with the intention of making a friend and even planned to treat him with her limited pocket money. She had come with genuine intentions. But this guy was pretending not to know her!

"How can you be like this? I was planning to treat you as a gesture of friendship, and you're fooling me," Jessica said, a common attitude among pretty girls. If a girl like me approaches you, shouldn't you be more enthusiastic? Jessica was different from other pretty girls; she said what she thought, a very straightforward girl.

Li Jingming knew he was in the wrong. "I'm sorry. Let me treat you to something to apologize."

He couldn't escape a meal, even though he had just had dinner not long ago.

"What happened to your face? It changed so much." Five minutes later, Li Jingming came down without removing his makeup, as there wasn't enough time. Jessica asked curiously, finding it strange that the same person could give such different impressions, which was quite magical. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so easily deceived earlier.

"It's just makeup," Li Jingming said matter-of-factly.

Jessica was very interested in how he achieved such an effect. She was very concerned about makeup, and few girls weren't.

"Do you have any tips to achieve such a good effect?" Jessica asked patiently, eager to learn. She had a quick temper but would calm down when it came to making herself more beautiful.

Li Jingming continued to scratch his chin, which was stiff from the makeup. "I don't know. I did it this morning at SS."

SS was SoftSilk, the salon owned by Choi Hyunjin.

Jessica fell silent. She knew about SS, which was famous in the entertainment industry for being very expensive. Even in their company, one of the giants in the Korean entertainment industry, only BoA and Dongshin could go to such places for styling. The SS sign had a "Co." (Corporation) on it. It seemed this unreliable guy was wealthy. No wonder, running a high-end store like LK, he couldn't be poor. Renting such a large space in Cheongdam-dong was a huge expense, and she didn't know that Li Jingming had bought the space, not rented it.

Jessica noticed Li Jingming's flashy "Star-Spangled Banner" shoes and began to carefully examine his outfit. He wasn't wearing a hat in the evening, had a pair of MontBlanc black-rimmed glasses, a blue letter T-shirt with "Cheer" printed on it, gray loose sweatpants, and the flashy shoes. He had no extra accessories, no earrings, rings, or necklaces.

"Do you like this style?" Jessica asked.

Following Jessica's gaze, Li Jingming realized she was looking at his shoes. He couldn't tell her, an American citizen, that he liked the feeling of stepping on the American flag all the time, so he made something up. "A friend gave them to me, so I'm wearing them."

"Was it the one who called you just now?" Jessica continued.

"Yes," Li Jingming saved himself the trouble of making up another person.

"Do you like going to clubs?" Jessica looked at Li Jingming's face, trying to see if he was lying.

Li Jingming, a master liar, couldn't be detected by Jessica no matter how hard she tried: "I never go. Only they do." If you never go, why would they invite you?

The innocent Jessica believed him, unaware of his excellent acting skills.

"How long have you been in America?"

"Five years."

"You didn't just come back from Los Angeles, did you? Have you been to San Francisco? How is it?" San Francisco and Los Angeles are close to each other.

The two chatted a lot on the way. Li Jingming could see that Jessica missed America and her father. He finally understood why she had approached him. She wanted to know how the place where she spent her childhood was doing.

You come from my hometown, you should know about it.

When you come to the window tomorrow, are the plum blossoms blooming?