Xu Lin went back into her apartment and came out with a small, finger-thick bottle.
"This is for you."
"What is it?"
"It's a medicinal oil for sprains and bruises. I mixed it myself. It's way better than anything you can buy in a store."
"Well, I won't say no to that."
While they were talking, Zhao Wenxuan finished putting on his shoes, and the three of them got into the elevator together.
Lin Jiang pressed the button for the first floor, then pressed the button for the lower-level one for Xu Lin.
With Zhao Wenxuan there, the two adults stood side by side in the elevator, sharing a silent, unspoken understanding.
"I'm heading out," Lin Jiang said when they reached the first floor.
"Okay. Say bye-bye to Uncle."
"Bye-bye, Uncle," Zhao Wenxuan said, waving.
Once he was outside in the complex, Lin Jiang did a simple warm-up and then activated the Sports Card.
[23:59:59...]
Although he wanted to make the most of the Sports Card, Lin Jiang's goal was simply to hit 100,000 steps and then quit while he was ahead.
After all, no one could walk or run for 24 hours straight. Your legs would be shot.
Lin Jiang's destination wasn't his own residential complex, but Fenglin International across the street.
Not only was it a high-end complex, but it also had a large park. The outer loop was a circular, rubberized running track surrounded by trees, perfect for a morning run.
A dozen or so minutes later, he ran to the park at the base of Fenglin International and began his morning workout.
There were quite a few people exercising in the park, but most of them were older folks working out in the equipment area.
There were also some runners, all decked out in rather professional-looking gear.
Just then, Lin Jiang spotted a woman in yoga pants jogging ahead of him.
Her legs were well-toned and her figure was slender. She wore a black baseball cap, her long hair falling naturally, and she exuded an athletic beauty.
But what caught Lin Jiang's attention even more than the yoga pants was the blue exclamation mark that had appeared above her head!
'NPCs really are everywhere.'
[Quest Name: I Don't Want to Go Home]
[Quest Details: Convince Mom to drop the idea of making me move back home.]
[Quest Reward: 1x Rebate Card, 30 EXP]
'The reward is pretty good.'
[Rebate Card: For three hours, all money spent will be returned twofold (loan-based consumption does not count toward the reward, must be used within 24 hours).]
'The restrictions are so tight, there's no way to exploit any bugs.'
'But this quest... this is going to be a tough one.'
'She's a complete stranger. Just figuring out how to approach her is a challenge.'
Ahhh—
Just as Lin Jiang was pondering these problems, he suddenly heard a scream.
The woman in the yoga pants had collapsed to the ground, her leg curled beneath her.
It looked like she'd sprained her ankle.
Lin Jiang: ???
'Isn't this a bit too much of a coincidence?'
'Well, an opportunity has presented itself. Time to step up.'
"Don't move. You shouldn't get up right after spraining your ankle."
Lin Jiang walked over and got a look at the woman's face.
She had an oval face and fair skin—a cool-toned complexion that gave her a sense of youthfulness that defied her age.
The classic baby face, as they say.
But as everyone knows, the term "baby face" is never used alone.
Hearing a voice, the woman looked up and saw Lin Jiang.
'I thought it was going to be some middle-aged guy trying to hit on me,' she thought. 'But he's actually quite handsome.'
'He must be at least six-foot-one, right?'
"Try to move it slowly. Don't rush to get up."
Lin Jiang used to be the captain of his school's Basketball team, so sprained ankles were a regular occurrence for him. He knew exactly how to handle them.
He observed that the woman was decked out in top-of-the-line gear.
Master Qiao's god-tier sub-two-hour Alphafly NEXT% 2s, Shokz bone-conduction headphones, a Coros Pace 2 sports watch, and so on...
At first glance, she looked like a running fanatic, but in reality, she was probably just a gearhead.
"It feels a little better."
Lin Jiang extended a hand but kept a respectful distance from her. Whether she accepted his help was her choice.
"Thank you."
The woman placed her hand in Lin Jiang's and tried to move, but she still couldn't stand up.
"This isn't working. I can't put any weight on it."
Lin Jiang squatted down and looped the woman's arm over his neck.
"I'll move slowly. If it hurts, just tell me to stop."
"O-Okay."
Supporting her, Lin Jiang slowly helped her to her feet. The woman gritted her teeth and winced, fighting through the pain in her ankle as she hobbled to a nearby bench.
"Take off your shoe first so we can see how it looks. If it's not serious, you won't need to go to the hospital."
The woman nodded, untied her shoelace, and pulled her sock down to the ball of her foot.
"It hasn't started swelling yet. We need to treat it quickly," Lin Jiang said knowledgeably.
"I have some Yunnan Baiyao spray at home."
"Where do you live?"
The woman pointed to a building in the distance. "Over there."
Lin Jiang glanced up. It was at least 100 meters away.
'If she were a friend, I wouldn't think twice. I'd just carry her on my back and put the medicine on for her.'
'But we're complete strangers. If I did that, she'd probably think I'm some kind of creep.'
"How could I have forgotten!"
"Hmm?"
The woman glanced at Lin Jiang, not understanding what he meant.
Lin Jiang rummaged through his pockets and found the medicinal oil Xu Lin had given him. He hadn't expected to use it so soon.
"I brought a bottle of medicinal oil. This is perfect."
Lin Jiang opened the bottle but didn't make a move.
"Do you want to do it, or should I?"
The woman paused. Subconsciously, she wasn't opposed to the idea. Even if Lin Jiang had just gone ahead and done it, she wouldn't have felt offended.
But Lin Jiang's simple gesture had truly won her over.
'It's so refreshing to be around someone with a sense of personal boundaries.'
[Gained favor with the strange woman. Charm +1.]
"If you don't mind, could you help me? I'm a little afraid to touch it," the woman said softly.
"Alright."
Lin Jiang adjusted his position, placing the woman's left leg across his lap, letting her right leg hang down naturally.
He poured a little of the oil into his hand, rubbed his palms together to warm it up, and then applied it to the woman's ankle.
Lin Jiang was very experienced, and his technique was quite professional.
Gradually, the woman seemed to be in less pain, and her expression relaxed a bit.
The woman's foot was very fair and a bit cool to the touch. But Lin Jiang's mind was free of any impure thoughts. He simply thought it would look great in a pair of black stockings.
"Are you a doctor?" the woman asked, trying to find a topic of conversation to ease her embarrassment.
"No, I used to play Basketball for the school team. Spraining an ankle is a regular occurrence for us, so I have some experience dealing with it."
"Oh, I see."
'Six-foot-one!'
'School Basketball team!'
'Loves sports!'
'That's quite the package.'
All in all, Lin Jiang worked on her ankle for about 20 minutes.
"That should be about right. Put your shoe on and try to move it a little."
"Okay."
The woman pulled up her sock, put her shoe back on, and took a step.
"It still hurts a little, but it's much better than before."
"'It takes a hundred days to recover from an injury to the muscles and bones.' It's not that serious, of course, but it won't heal instantly either."
Lin Jiang put the oil away and, playing it cool, said:
"If you don't mind, I can help you back. Or you could try walking back on your own, it'll just take more time."
"Then I'll have to trouble you to help me. It really does still hurt a bit."
"No problem."
Lin Jiang took the woman's arm and supported her as they walked, step by step, toward her home.
Just then, Lin Jiang saw a few new tags appear above the woman's head.
[A handsome, gentle, and considerate guy]
[An athletic guy with a sense of boundaries]
'Goddammit!'
'I help you out of the kindness of my heart, and you call me a "considerate guy"?'
"Shouldn't you pat your butt?" Lin Jiang said.
"Huh?"
The woman froze. Her heart instantly sped up, and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
'Does patting my butt also treat a sprained ankle?'
'That's... not likely, is it?'
"Th-That's something I can do myself..."
Lin Jiang: ???
'You're not going to do it yourself? Were you expecting me to do it for you?'
SLAP!
Embarrassed, the woman gave her own butt a pat.
Because she was wearing yoga pants, the slap wasn't hard, but it was still quite loud.
Emmm...
'This is getting surreal.'
"I-Is this not right?"
Lin Jiang didn't know how to respond. It was all too bizarre.
SLAP! SLAP—
The woman patted herself two more times. This time, it was not only loud, but there was also a jiggle.
"I-Is that good enough...?"
"And your thighs, pat them a few times, too. You got a lot of dust on you when you sat on the ground. A few pats will clean you up."
Huh?
'Oh! He just wanted me to dust myself off!'