Nervous

Lin Xi grew angrier the more she thought about it! Before this whole mess, she had quite a good impression of Li Ming—after all, they were childhood playmates. But now, not only had he taken her position, but he was also being set up with her for a blind date! No one had even asked for her opinion. The transfer order had been issued, and that was that. She couldn’t defy the command, but couldn’t she at least settle a personal grudge?

Hearing Li Ming’s howl earlier had given Lin Xi a deep sense of satisfaction!

"Uh… this… no one told me about any of this! It’s all a misunderstanding, sis!" Li Ming felt more wronged than Dou E. All he wanted was to come to work and take up his post. How had things spiraled into such chaos?

"Hmph, no misunderstanding here. Eat up, Warden Li!" Lin Xi took a sip of beer to calm herself down. There would be plenty of time ahead. If Li Ming annoyed her, she had countless ways to make his life difficult.

Li Ming could only force a smile and obediently sit down. After all, he had taken her position. No point picking a fight now.

The meal passed in silence, neither of them speaking a word. When they finished, Lin Xi picked up her walkie-talkie and called out. Two prison guards entered, cleared the leftovers from the table, and then gestured to the room next door.

"That’s your office. There’s a bed inside—you’ll work and rest there from now on."

"Tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to the supervisors of each cell block. You can figure out the rest as you go. Now get out; I need to rest." Lin Xi waved dismissively, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Li Ming didn’t argue either. He turned and left, eager to collapse onto a bed. The day had been a physical and mental ordeal, and he needed to recover.

"Since when does a deputy warden talk to the actual warden like that? Hmph! I’ll deal with you later." Li Ming shrugged and pushed open the door to his room.

The layout was identical to Lin Xi’s, with his large suitcase placed beside the desk. Too exhausted to care, he shoved the suitcase toward the bedroom, saw the bedding already laid out on the bed, and flopped onto it without even bothering to undress.

"Who knows if being a warden will even be easy…"

Li Ming lay on the bed, thoughts drifting to the days ahead as he closed his eyes. Soon, he was fast asleep.

...

The next morning—

Bang bang bang!

Bang bang bang!

The pounding on the door jolted Li Ming awake.

"Who is it? Stop knocking, I’m coming!" He scrambled up and rushed to open the door.

Standing outside was Lin Xi, dressed sharply in her prison guard uniform.

She looked him up and down, then gave a slight nod. "Not bad! Already dressed! I thought you’d still be asleep."

"Uh—of course! I’ve been up for ages! Hahaha!" Li Ming laughed awkwardly, thinking to himself, I never even took my clothes off. I didn’t wake up at all this morning.

"Change into this. You’ve got ten minutes. I’ll be waiting downstairs. Meeting!"

Lin Xi tossed a prison guard uniform at him and walked off without a backward glance.

Li Ming caught the uniform and examined it. It was identical to Lin Xi’s—his first time wearing an official uniform like this.

Excited, he hurried back to the bedroom, stripped off his clothes, and pulled on the uniform.

To his surprise, it fit perfectly. Once he fastened the belt and adjusted the cap, he actually looked the part.

After giving himself a once-over in the mirror, Li Ming closed the door and took the elevator down to the first floor.

Lin Xi had given him ten minutes. If he was late, she’d probably make him pay for it.

The elevator doors opened, and Li Ming froze at the sight before him.

The lobby was packed with dozens of people—all in prison guard uniforms, and all women. They stood in formation, listening as Lin Xi addressed them.

The moment Li Ming stepped out of the elevator, dozens of eyes locked onto him.

Under their collective gaze, his scalp prickled. Instinctively, he straightened his posture, trying to appear composed.

Lin Xi noticed the shift in attention and turned to him, a hint of amusement flashing in her eyes. "Perfect timing. Everyone, this is our new warden, Li Ming."

Li Ming steeled himself and stepped forward, about to introduce himself—

Then, without warning, his head throbbed. A sharp, searing pain shot through him. Before he could even cry out, his body stiffened, and he collapsed.

Thud!

He hit the floor hard.

The crowd gasped and rushed forward. Lin Xi’s face paled, but she quickly regained her composure. "Get a doctor! Now!"

Xia Hong arrived in a hurry and examined Li Ming, her frown deepening. Lin Xi pressed anxiously, "How is he?"

Xia Hong shook her head. "Not good. I can’t figure out why he suddenly collapsed. Let’s move him to the infirmary. Hurry!"

The group scrambled to lift Li Ming and carried him off.

Soon, the test results came back. Xia Hong studied the report, her expression turning odd.

Lin Xi pressed her. "Hong-jie! What’s wrong with him? What do the results say? Does he need to be sent to an outside hospital?"

Xia Hong slowly shook her head, still gripping the report.

"There’s nothing physically wrong. He’s healthy—healthier than most, even. My guess? He fainted from… nervousness. Maybe his brain didn’t get enough oxygen from the stress. That’s my diagnosis. But since he hasn’t woken up yet, I’m not entirely sure."

Lin Xi’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Nervousness? He passed out just from being stared at? That’s ridiculous!" She bit her lip, pacing the infirmary, torn between frustration and a creeping worry.

Her phone was in her hand, but she hesitated to dial. If her father found out she’d "driven Li Ming to collapse" on his very first day, she’d never hear the end of it.