Married in a Daze - Chapter 114
Chapter 114
Qin Zhenzhen sat in the car and saw quite a few fans gathered at the hotel entrance, some of them holding signs. Not two minutes later, a man walked out of the hotel.
A tall figure, head held high and chest out, radiating an imposing aura. His black suit was impeccably pressed and neat, making his posture appear even straighter. He was already tall and his presence was outstanding; Qin Zhenzhen spotted him the moment he stepped out of the hotel.
"Is Jian Mu here too?"
Qin Zhenzhen voiced her confusion. Hearing this, Ji Lu replied, "He arrived in City K yesterday. I heard he's visiting a teacher."
"That's what the news said."
Qin Zhenzhen nodded. "Let's get out later."
The area below was full of fans right now. Even though she was fully disguised, there was no guarantee she wouldn't be recognized, which would just cause unnecessary trouble.
Ji Lu understood her meaning. The two sat in the car for a while, reading news. Qin Zhenzhen sent Lu Ruyun a message, pitiably stating she had caught a cold and was asking for a hug.
Lu Ruyun called her immediately.
"You have a cold?"
Qin Zhenzhen wanted to act coquettishly, but with Ji Lu present, she just awkwardly cleared her throat and affirmed, "Mhm."
Her voice was different from usual, somewhat sweet and cloying. Ji Lu glanced at her and consciously moved to the side, shrinking her own presence. Noticing her movement, Qin Zhenzhen nudged her with her foot. Ji Lu raised her hands in a light smile.
Lu Ruyun didn't know about the commotion on this end; she was only concerned about Qin Zhenzhen's health. "Did you take any medicine? Otherwise, I can come over this afternoon."
"No need." Qin Zhenzhen refused her, switching back to a proper, serious tone. "Don't you have to go to the studio tomorrow morning?"
"And I'm going back this afternoon anyway. It's fine."
Lu Ruyun pressed her lips together. "Really fine?"
Qin Zhenzhen gave an "mhm." "My throat just feels itchy. I already had Ji Lu buy medicine. I plan to go back and sleep. I'll call you again when I get to the hotel."
Hearing her logical words, Lu Ruyun relaxed slightly. "Alright then, as long as you're okay."
Qin Zhenzhen watched as the fans outside the hotel mostly dispersed following Jian Mu's car. Only then did she hang up and get out of the car with Ji Lu. The assistant from Director Hu had already sent them their room key cards, so the two went straight into the elevator. Qin Zhenzhen leaned on Ji Lu, weakly saying, "Help me buy some lozenges later."
"Make sure they're the sweet ones."
Ji Lu twitched her lips and nodded. "Okay."
After she escorted Qin Zhenzhen back to her room, she went downstairs. In the elevator, she heard someone call her name.
"Ji Lu?"
Ji Lu looked sideways; it was someone from Jian Mu's work team. She smiled. "Why are you here too?"
Cui Hong shrugged. "No choice, running around with the boss." After saying that, she looked at Ji Lu. "If you're here... don't tell me Zhenzhen is here too?"
Ji Lu nodded. "Yeah, Zhenzhen is here for new film promotion."
They chatted briefly for a couple of sentences before the elevator arrived. Ji Lu got off, waved to Cui Hong, and jogged out to buy medicine for Qin Zhenzhen.
Cui Hong glanced at the floor numbers on the elevator panel, lowered her eyes, and pressed the button for the basement level two.
After seeing Ji Lu off, Qin Zhenzhen removed her makeup and climbed into bed to sleep. Perhaps because she had taken cold medicine, she fell into a deep sleep—so deep that she didn't hear Ji Lu knocking on the door several times. In the end, Ji Lu had no choice but to call her.
It rang several times before someone answered.
"Hello."
Qin Zhenzhen's voice was very hoarse. Before she could even speak, she started coughing. She touched her head, feeling it hurt badly. "Zhenzhen, open the door," Ji Lu said worriedly.
After a long wait, Qin Zhenzhen finally opened the door, her hair a mess. Seeing Qin Zhenzhen's fair cheeks flushed red, Ji Lu immediately asked, "Zhenzhen, do you have a fever?"
Qin Zhenzhen placed a hand on her forehead and nodded. "Maybe."
Not just maybe—she really did have a fever. But fortunately, it was a low-grade fever. Ji Lu had been afraid of this happening, so she had bought fever-reducing medicine along with cold medicine, anti-inflammatories, and throat lozenges. Qin Zhenzhen sat on the sofa, looking at the large pile of medicine in front of her, her head aching. "Isn't just taking the fever medicine enough?"
"What about your throat?"
"If your throat hurts, it's best to take two anti-inflammatory pills."
Qin Zhenzhen's throat had been faintly hurting since she woke up, and after her nap, it hurt even more. Pinching the anti-inflammatory pills, she threw her head back and swallowed them. Ji Lu checked the time. "Should I tell Director Hu we won't go to the afternoon promotion event?"
"No need." Qin Zhenzhen shook her head. "I'll be fine after resting a bit."
She leaned back on the sofa, nose stuffy, throat aching, eyes teary, feeling extremely uncomfortable. She wanted to call Lu Ruyun but was afraid of worrying her. So she just sat on the sofa for a while, then went to the bathroom for a hot shower. When she came out, she felt much better.
At the afternoon promotional event, Qin Zhenzhen's makeup was noticeably heavier, and she spoke much less. When the host asked questions, Song He and Hu Jing cleverly took over. Qin Zhenzhen sat in her seat, only occasionally pursing her lips into a smile.
During the intermission, Qin Zhenzhen sucked on a throat lozenge when she heard Teacher Sun ask, "Zhenzhen, feeling any better?"
Qin Zhenzhen gave an "mhm." "Much better. Thank you, Teacher Sun, for helping out just now."
Teacher Sun placed a hand on her forehead. The temperature was okay. She felt reassured. "It's nothing. If you feel unwell, just tell me or Director Hu."
Qin Zhenzhen nodded. "Okay."
After Teacher Sun left, Hu Jing stood behind Qin Zhenzhen, looking at her slender frame with concern. "How about this, Zhenzhen? After this is over, I'll take you to the hospital to get checked out?"
Qin Zhenzhen turned her head, saw Hu Jing, and quickly waved her hand. "No need, I've already taken medicine. I'll probably be fine after a night's sleep."
"It's just a cold, nothing serious."
Her constitution was quite good; she rarely got sick. When she did catch a cold, taking some medicine and sleeping it off was usually enough to recover. This time, it was probably because she was already coming down with something, and then getting out of the car into the cold wind aggravated it. But it shouldn't be a big problem.
Seeing her refuse, Hu Jing simply nodded. "Let's go, back on stage."
Qin Zhenzhen crunched the lozenge and followed her onto the stage.
The second half of the promotion included a performance segment. Qin Zhenzhen portrayed the early and later stages of Yuan Yu, her character. In the early stage, she played the deeply affectionate, inseparable, gentle "little white rabbit" in love with Hu Jing. Already teary-eyed from her cold, portraying the early Yuan Yu required no effort at all. Occasionally meeting the eyes of fans in the audience, the fans would shyly look away, their faces blushing.
The later stage was a confrontation scene with Song He—ruthless and decisive, decisive in action. Shedding the "little white rabbit" packaging, revealing the fur of a jackal.
Her bright eyes lost their gentle allure, turning sharp as knives, each gaze lethal. The curve of her lips was no longer soft and warm, but carried a hint of bloodthirst. It was a long moment after she finished before the audience collectively burst into applause!
Even the host exclaimed in amazement, "That was amazing!"
After her performance, Qin Zhenzhen let out a sigh of relief and went backstage to change out of her costume. The heavy theatrical robes had nearly suffocated her.
After the promotional event, Director Hu returned to the hotel first. Song He wanted to go out shopping, and the others also expressed interest in joining him. Qin Zhenzhen declined his kind offer and instead took Ji Lu back to the hotel to rest.
"Zhenzhen, are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Ji Lu looked at her frequently with concern, noticing her face was getting redder and redder.
Qin Zhenzhen leaned back in the car seat, eyes closed. "No need. When have you ever seen me go to the hospital?"
Ji Lu opened her mouth, thought about it, and realized it was true. Qin Zhenzhen had shown signs of catching a cold several times before, but by the next day, she was perfectly fine, lively and energetic. It's just that this time was clearly more severe than before.
After escorting Qin Zhenzhen back to her room, Ji Lu didn't leave. She ordered a bowl of congee to the room, watched Qin Zhenzhen finish the congee and take her medicine, and waited until she had taken a hot shower and returned to the bedroom before saying, "Zhenzhen, I'll sleep on the sofa tonight. If you need anything, just call me."
Qin Zhenzhen didn't put on a brave front either. She nodded. "Okay."
Only after watching Qin Zhenzhen return to the bedroom did Ji Lu sit on the sofa. It was still early, and she couldn't sleep, so she watched TV for a while, occasionally going into Qin Zhenzhen's room to feel if her forehead was hot.
What worried her was that even after taking medicine, Qin Zhenzhen's fever still hadn't subsided, and there were signs the temperature was getting even higher.
Qin Zhenzhen slept fitfully, sweating profusely.
Seeing her like this, Ji Lu hesitated for a moment before calling Director Hu. After two or three calls went unanswered, she grew increasingly restless. She simply went into the room and gently shook Qin Zhenzhen, calling her name softly.
Qin Zhenzhen responded groggily. Ji Lu helped her sit up and said, "Zhenzhen, let's go to the hospital. If you keep running a fever like this, something bad could happen."
"Zhenzhen, wake up."
Qin Zhenzhen opened her eyes, her whole body weak. She saw Ji Lu had brought clothes and placed them by the bed, and heard Ji Lu ask, "Do you need me to help you change?"
"No need." She replied listlessly. "I'll do it myself."
This time, Qin Zhenzhen didn't try to tough it out. After changing, she asked Ji Lu, "What time is it?"
Ji Lu glanced at her wristwatch. "Eleven thirty."
After saying that, she helped Qin Zhenzhen stand up. The moment Qin Zhenzhen stood, she felt dizzy and lightheaded. She sat back down heavily. "Wait a moment."
"I'm dizzy."
Ji Lu had no choice but to let her sit on the edge of the bed. Suddenly, a phone rang. Ji Lu jumped, froze for a few seconds, and then saw Director Hu's name on the caller ID. She hurriedly answered the call.
After hearing about Qin Zhenzhen's condition, Director Hu told her to bring Qin Zhenzhen downstairs. He would wait for them in the parking lot and take them to the hospital.
Ji Lu breathed a sigh of relief, quickly thanked him, and hung up.
Qin Zhenzhen reached out a hand to Ji Lu and asked, "Who was it?"
Ji Lu put her phone away and helped her stand. "It was Director Hu. He said he'll take us to the hospital. Feeling any better now?"
Qin Zhenzhen gave an "mhm." "Let's go."
Ji Lu supported her while carrying her bag as they walked out of the room. Qin Zhenzhen didn't walk fast, so Ji Lu naturally slowed her pace. Two people walked towards them from the opposite end of the corridor. Jian Mu was talking to his assistant.
"Ah Mu, there are no issues with the awards ceremony anymore. I've already booked the tickets. We depart tomorrow morning."
Jian Mu nodded. "Alright, I understand."
The two of them brushed past Qin Zhenzhen and Ji Lu. Qin Zhenzhen had her head lowered, her long hair covering her face, so Jian Mu didn't recognize her at first. He just felt the faint fragrance was somewhat familiar. He frowned and called out to the two retreating figures, "Zhenzhen?"
Ji Lu turned her head, mouth agape. "M-Mr. Jian."
They were staying on the top floor, so running into Jian Mu wasn't strange. But running into him at this hour was still quite a coincidence.
Jian Mu saw it was really Qin Zhenzhen and took two steps forward, his handsome brows furrowing. "What's wrong with Zhenzhen?"
Ji Lu held Qin Zhenzhen by the waist. "It's nothing, just a slight cold. I'll take her to the hospital, that's all."
Qin Zhenzhen also looked up, offering a weak smile in greeting. "Mr. Jian."
Most of her body was leaning on Ji Lu, her weight almost entirely on Ji Lu. It was fine while they were walking, but now that they had stopped, Ji Lu couldn't quite bear it. She leaned against the wall. Noticing her movement, Jian Mu reached out and took Qin Zhenzhen from her. "Let me take you."
Qin Zhenzhen took a step back. "No need, Director Hu is already waiting for us downstairs."
As soon as she finished speaking, she clenched her teeth. The dizzy feeling assaulted her again. She instinctively grabbed Ji Lu's arm beside her, the veins on the back of her hand standing out. Seeing her like this, Jian Mu's brows furrowed even tighter. He took off his own coat and draped it over Qin Zhenzhen's shoulders, then turned to his assistant. "Contact the hospital first. Don't alert the media. Go prepare the car."
The assistant looked at him, then at Qin Zhenzhen, and nodded. "Alright."
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