This sudden change came so abruptly that Jing Li was completely unprepared, his expression momentarily losing control.
“What’s wrong?” Jing Yu next to him noticed his abnormality and couldn’t help but glance at him.
“Oh, nothing. I just suddenly remembered something I forgot to do.” Jing Li said as he stood up from his seat, put down his chopsticks, and hurriedly walked towards the bedroom.
“What’s so urgent that it can’t wait until after dinner…” Jing Yu instinctively tried to stop him, but he had already walked away. He shook his head helplessly and casually said to his friend Gu Tingshen across from him, “He’s becoming more and more impatient nowadays.”
Gu Tingshen glanced at Jing Li’s hurrying back and raised an eyebrow at Jing Yu’s words but couldn’t help feeling a little doubtful in his heart. His seat was directly across from Jing Li’s, so he happened to catch the fleeting shock and panic on Jing Li’s face.
That expression didn’t seem like he had forgotten something. On the contrary, it was more like he had been caught off guard by something unexpected.
But Jing Li hadn’t done anything except eat dinner with them. Gu Tingshen couldn’t think of what had caused that reaction, and Jing Li clearly didn’t want him to know. So, he decided to put aside his doubts for now and continued eating dinner.
He had to admit, the boy’s cooking skills were unexpectedly delicious.
This kid always managed to surprise him!
Thinking of this, Gu Tingshen felt a stir in his heart. He looked up at the person across from him and smilingly asked, “Is this really the first time Jing Li has cooked? The flavor is almost as good as a Michelin-starred chef’s.”
No one dislikes hearing praise for their family, and Jing Yu was no exception. Hearing this, he immediately raised his eyebrows proudly, “Of course, Jing Li has always been quick to learn new things. Usually, teaching him something just once is enough for him to grasp it.”
The words almost blurted out instinctively, but Jing Yu suddenly paused.
In his memory, since their parents passed away, he has been busy every day in order to support the entire Jing Group. Therefore, except for listening to reports from the housekeeper and assistant every day about his younger brother, he rarely had the opportunity to be with him.
Logically, he shouldn’t be so familiar with things like how quickly his brother picked up new skills. But subconsciously, he felt that was just the way Jing Li was, and he was even extremely pleased with his current state.
This inexplicable feeling didn’t feel out of place at all. Jing Yu could only assume he had heard the housekeeper or assistant mention it before, so it left him with that impression.
Thinking this, Jing Yu instantly cast aside the doubt in his mind and continued, “In a way, I’m actually quite grateful to Zhong Liangchen. If not for him, Jing Li wouldn’t have grown so quickly.”
Recalling Zhong Liangchen, Jing Yu snorted disdainfully again, “Speaking of which, Xiao Jing did work hard practicing cooking skills for a time back then just for that thing. That’s probably when he honed them. What a pity he’ll probably never get to taste it now.”
After speaking, he viciously bit into a mushroom.
Gu Tingshen just smiled without responding. He didn’t actually mind who Jing Li had cooked for before.
In his view, no matter whether past experiences were fortunate or unfortunate, they were a kind of tribulation in life, as well as wealth.
…Mind?
Gu Tingshen was slightly startled, feeling somewhat confused that he would even have such a thought.
He and Jing Li weren’t that close in the first place. What business did he have minding anything?
It seemed he really had been influenced by Jing Yu!
Gu Tingshen secretly laughed and shook his head, quickly dismissing such absurd thoughts.
*
Upstairs in the bedroom, Jing Li locked the door as soon as he entered.
He walked straight to the bed and sat down cross-legged, pushing up his sleeves to look at his arms. The skin was still smooth without any blemishes, but the burning sensation in his veins didn’t show any signs of easing.
Jing Li frowned at his arms, also feeling somewhat puzzled for a moment.
In his previous life in the cultivation world, he had already reached the Golden Core realm when he took human form, so he had never experienced pain. The only exception was when he was burned by a fire beast’s flames during an external cultivation trip, revealing his scale patterns and feeling a scalding pain.
So just now, he thought scales had appeared on his arms again and hurriedly rushed into the bedroom worriedly.
But what was going on with the current situation?
After thinking for a bit, Jing Li closed his eyes again and started breathing in and out, trying to sense the condition inside his body. Although he no longer had spiritual power, he could still capture the blood flowing through his veins…
Huh?!
Jing Li suddenly felt a trace of an unusual aura. Although faint, it couldn’t be ignored.
The aura lingered around his arms, circling like an aimless housefly. With each circle, it dispersed some outwards to clear the impurities in his veins, becoming weaker itself.
Jing Li’s heart stirred. He tried using his consciousness to touch the aura and guide it through his veins.
The entire process seemed to go very smoothly, but the aura was simply too weak. It kept being separated out during the circulation, basically dissipating completely after circulating for just a short while.
However, it wasn’t completely fruitless. During the aura’s circulation, the burning sensation in his arms distinctly started reducing. By the time the aura dissipated, the burning was gone too.
Jing Li opened his eyes and looked down at his arms again. He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but although his arms were still as smooth as before, he somehow felt the skin had become much softer than earlier.
And if he sensed carefully, the veins that the aura had passed through clearly flowed much more smoothly than the previously clogged ones everywhere else.
Perceiving this, Jing Li was shocked and overjoyed while also gaining another layer of insight about this world.
He had guessed earlier that the white light spots were power of faith from the fans, he just hadn’t expected this power of faith to truly be the same kind as the “originating from the same source as the spiritual power needed for cultivation” that Senior Brother had mentioned. And it had quickly proven true on himself.
No wonder those monsters and spirits flocking to the entertainment industry probably had this idea.
Although using that power of faith to cultivate only had a negligible effect, it was better than nothing. Also, in this world where spiritual energy is scarce, that power of faith from fans was very possibly the foundation for the survival of the native monsters maintaining human form.
“So that’s how it is.”
After figuring this out, Jing Li was thrilled and moved. Previously, his feelings towards the fans had just stayed at finding them cute and liking them, but after this strange encounter, what he felt even more was heartfelt gratitude.
He finally understood as well why Master and Senior Brother would be so enthusiastic about doing good deeds in the Spiritual Realm, and it wasn’t for accumulating karma or faith. After all, although those were purer than spiritual power, the amounts were truly negligible and almost useless for cultivation.
But the feeling of being liked and respected for bringing hope and salvation to others was irreplaceable.
“These kids really are…” Jing Li couldn’t help feeling a little heat in his eyes, but the corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably.
Ever since coming to this world, he had been facing all kinds of slanders, doubts, betrayals…
Only his brother, who shared the same face as Senior Brother, could give him a little comfort.
But even so, it still made him feel like a stranger, completely out of place with everything here. That was why he had desperately tried to figure out the reason he came here and find a way to get back to the place that belonged to him.
However, at this moment, he suddenly felt a sense of belonging from the fans’ selfless affection and was motivated to lower his guard and try to accept this new world.
Jing Li looked up at the white spots still surging towards him in the air, his eyes brimming with unprecedented gentleness. He softly murmured, “Thank you all. I will do my best and not let you down.”
When he went back downstairs, the other two had already finished eating and were chatting in the living room.
Seeing Jing Li come down, Jing Yu hurriedly asked, “What took you so long?”
He looked Jing Li up and down and couldn’t help laughing. “Did something happy happen? You’re smiling so much.”
“Mm. I’m very happy,” Jing Li said with a smile as he sat down on the living room sofa. “Ge, Tingshen-ge, how was dinner?”
Gu Tingshen responded first. “It was great.”
“Of course, it was the best!” Jing Yu immediately praised. “I haven’t had such delicious food in a long time!”
So, feel free to come cook more times in the future!
Jing Li laughed softly again but still considerately went along with his thoughts. “Then I’ll cook for you again next time I’m back.”
Jing Yu was about to agree when he suddenly sensed something and asked, “You’re leaving?”
“Mm, I only took one day off,” Jing Li explained with a smile. “Plus, getting back earlier to finish filming means I can come back sooner to keep you company, Ge.”
Hearing this, Jing Yu frowned, a little reluctant, but didn’t try to stop him either. He just told Jing Li to be careful on the road and was about to have the driver take him back.
But at this moment, Gu Tingshen, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. “I’m heading back too. Why don’t I give Xiao Jing a ride?”
The Jing brothers were both startled by this.
Jing Li hadn’t expected him to voluntarily take on this task in front of his brother. For a moment, he wondered if the other party was plotting something else again.
As for Jing Yu, it was the first time he had seen Gu Tingshen take the initiative like this, and he felt quite surprised.
But thinking that he was probably doing it out of consideration for him and recalling Jing Li had said Gu Tingshen wanted to sign him at Sentu Entertainment earlier, he naturally assumed Gu Tingshen also wanted to talk more with his brother. So, he was quickly at ease again.
“Alright. I’ll leave Xiao Jing to you then.” Jing Yu readily agreed, then turned to Jing Li and said, “Be careful on the way back… From now on, you can make your own decisions about your affairs. Your Ge will always respect and support your choices.”
This was his stance on Jing Li’s earlier question.
Jing Li understood and smiled as he stepped forward to hug him. Then he left with Gu Tingshen through the villa gates.
However, he and Gu Tingshen weren’t very familiar to begin with. After leaving Jing Yu, the two of them fell into silence.
But it wasn’t awkward.
They got into the car wordlessly, with enough space between them on the seats to fit another person.
Just when Jing Li thought they would stay silent all the way to the set, Gu Tingshen suddenly turned his head to look at him and asked, “Did you run into some trouble during dinner?”
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