When Jian Xi returned to her room, it was already past 8 PM, almost 9 PM. Only then did she remember that she hadn't called He Qingchen to let him know she was alright.
She quickly took out her phone, but the airplane mode was still on!
During dinner, Tang Xingyou had paid, so Jian Xi hadn't touched her phone since getting off the plane.
She thought she was doomed as she switched back to normal mode, and the screen indeed showed many missed calls, all from He Qingchen.
She hurriedly called him back with a video call.
It had already connected, but there was no one on the screen, only bright lights and a steamy ceiling.
It was He Qingchen's bathroom!
There was no sound on the other side, so Jian Xi obediently waited.
After a moment, the sound of water stopped, followed by faint noises, and then the image shook a bit, revealing He Qingchen's upper body on Jian Xi's phone screen.
His phone must have been left there, as Jian Xi first saw his chiseled abdominal muscles, then two rosy buds above, and finally his handsome face from all 360 degrees, even at this lethal angle, still full of spirit and charm.
He Qingchen casually wiped his hair with a towel, then glanced down at his phone.
On the other side, Jian Xi was enjoying the view when the image shifted, leaving only He Qingchen's deep, amused eyes.
Tsk ~ she hadn't seen enough!
"You've got some nerve, Jian Xi. You go out and I can't find you? Xu Yan has already arrived in B City, but your phone was still unreachable?"
He Qingchen's tone was a bit dangerous, but Jian Xi knew he wasn't actually angry. She quickly put on an appeasing smile and whined, "Ah, my bad, I forgot to turn off airplane mode. I promise it won't happen again."
Her sincere apology left He Qingchen speechless.
He Qingchen came out of the bathroom and sat on the bedroom sofa. "Just got back?"
"Mm-hmm, I went out with Sister Tang Xingyou for a bit. I'm going to take a shower and sleep soon, there's a competition tomorrow."
Jian Xi set her phone aside and took out toiletries and sleepwear from her bracelet.
"Competition?"
"Yeah, this so-called exchange is actually a competition..." Jian Xi repeated to He Qingchen what Tang Xingyou had said on the plane.
"You didn't know? Although it's held in different places each time, they usually choose hotels under He Corporation."
Jian Xi thought he would know.
"No, I didn't." The He Corporation had countless subsidiaries, and hotels were just a tiny part. He naturally wouldn't know such minor details, and the last time he saw Ye Ze, he might not have even become the president of the Metaphysics Association yet.
"Well, our Mr. He is a busy man, how would he know about something so small? Anyway, I'm going to take a shower now, good night." Jian Xi teased.
He Qingchen chuckled, "Heh, you need a lesson."
After showering and drying her hair, Jian Xi crawled into bed and adjusted the air conditioning temperature.
......
Jian Xi slept soundly through the night. When she woke up in the morning, Tang Xingyou was still asleep.
She called for room service breakfast. After Tang Xingyou finished eating, the two got ready and headed to the 10th floor conference room.
As the exchange wouldn't officially start for another ten minutes, there were only a few scattered people around.
Tang Xingyou had attended last year's exchange, so she recognized many faces, but they weren't acquainted, only exchanging polite smiles.
The venue was a large square room with a main stage and a row of tables and chairs labeled "Judges' Panel." Jian Xi saw five chairs, with the middle one bearing the name of her second martial uncle, Ye Ze.
There were also several rows of audience chairs below, around sixty seats in total.
Jian Xi felt excited, wondering if her second uncle would be surprised to see her!
Tang Xingyou brought Jian Xi to the registration desk. "There aren't many people now, so let's sign up for the events we want to participate in to avoid the queue later."
Jian Xi nodded obediently. She wasn't too familiar with the procedures, but if Tang Xingyou asked her to register, then she would register.
The registration staff was a young man who had been eyeing Jian Xi since she entered. As the annual registrar, this was the first time he'd seen such a beautiful metaphysician. Not that other female metaphysicians weren't pretty, but Jian Xi's sweet looks were exactly his type!
As Tang Xingyou and Jian Xi approached, Guo Yulin quickly stood up. "Hello, are you here to register?"
His enthusiasm caught Tang Xingyou off guard - she recalled the Metaphysics Association people being rather aloof last year, without even a smile when she registered.
However, Tang Xingyou noticed his furtive glances at Jian Xi and reddened ears, realizing what was going on.
Too bad for the boy - our Little Seven already had an owner, and a formidable one at that!
"Ahem, yes, we're here to register. Note this down: I'm Tang Xingyou from the B City Special Security Bureau, registering for the Talisman Drawing event." After her own, Tang Xingyou turned to Jian Xi. "Little Seven, what about you?"
Guo Yulin wrote down Tang Xingyou's information and looked up at Jian Xi, waiting for her to speak.
Jian Xi's sweet, melodious voice replied, "Jian Xi, B City Special Security Bureau, registering for everything."
Those two simple words, "everything," made Guo Yulin's pen stutter. "E-Everything?"
Jian Xi calmly nodded. "Everything - Chinese Medicine, Divination, Physiognomy, and Talisman Drawing."
Tang Xingyou was also a bit surprised, but only for a moment - their Little Seven was an expert, after all!
Seeing Guo Yulin's daze, she reminded him, "Young man, write it down."
Snapping out of it, Guo Yulin shifted his gaze from Jian Xi's face and wrote her name, affiliation, and checked all the event boxes.
"Thank you. We'll go take the front seats, closest to Mr. Ye." Tang Xingyou pulled Jian Xi to the very front row and plopped down.
"What are those chairs for?" Jian Xi had noticed that area earlier but didn't understand its purpose if this was a competition.
Tang Xingyou explained, "That's the speech area. Before the competition, the Metaphysics Association's president will give an opening speech. They can't just start the event right away, they have to warm up the audience first!"
"Oh~" Jian Xi nodded in understanding.
