Chapter 38: A Hidden Reward and a Shared Day

“Ah?”

Hearing Jiang Yi’s words, Lin Ziyao’s already feverish face grew even hotter.

Regaining some strength, she pulled the blanket covering her body over her head.

She had believed it was just a common cold, and if not for Doctor Jiang speaking up, she would have remained completely oblivious.

“What do you mean, ‘Ah’? Girls need to keep track of their menstrual cycle properly. Qin Yu told me you were completely soaked in water yesterday. How careless can you be?”

Jiang Yi enumerated Lin Ziyao’s predicament point by point. During a special period, the body’s immunity naturally declines. Soaking in a swimming pool at such a time could very well lead to feverish symptoms.

As for her collapse, it was likely due to her body being excessively weak and not having recovered properly. While it might not be noticeable in everyday life, during periods of low immunity, it would manifest just as it had now.

“I’m sorry to have worried you.”

Tucked beneath the covers, Lin Ziyao spoke with embarrassment.

“Qin Yu is the one most worried about your health,” Jiang Yi sighed, continuing, “Your body is your capital, so you must cherish it. I heard Qian Fang speak highly of your upcoming song. You have a long road ahead, so there’s plenty of time to earn money slowly.”

With that, she reached out, pulling the blanket from Lin Ziyao’s head and tucking it securely around her.

“Could you please not tell my grandmother about this? I don’t want her to worry about me.”

Lin Ziyao put on a pitiful expression.

“Just this once, and don’t let it happen again!” Looking at her, Jiang Yi ultimately agreed.

At that moment, Qin Yu returned to the room, carrying a bowl of plain porridge.

“I’ll head out now. Get some good rest!”

Seeing Qin Yu’s return and entrusting Lin Ziyao’s care to her, Jiang Yi yawned and exited, pulling the door shut behind her.

Lin Ziyao was now awake, which meant Jiang Yi’s work was done. The interview would be handled by Qian Fang, while she herself needed to find a quiet place to catch up on the sleep she’d missed during her night shift.

“Have some porridge first.”

Qin Yu brought a spoonful of steaming plain porridge to Lin Ziyao’s lips.

Obediently, Lin Ziyao opened her mouth. As the spoonful of porridge went down, her previously weak body finally regained some strength.

Soon, half a bowl of plain porridge was completely consumed by Lin Ziyao.

“Are you feeling better?” Qin Yu asked, first setting the bowl aside.

“Yes, everything else is fine, except I still feel a bit weak.”

Her physical condition was significantly better now than when she had first woken up.

“During your special period, you should have informed Director Chen to ensure you didn’t have to touch water.”

Qin Yu’s tone carried a hint of reproach, blaming Lin Ziyao for neglecting her own body.

“Ah? You know about it too?”

Her words startled Lin Ziyao, who wondered how many people Doctor Jiang had told about this matter.

“Most of the girls were present when Doctor Jiang was checking on your condition.”

Qin Yu quickly answered her question.

“So, everyone knows?”

When Qin Yu nodded, confirming her assumption, Lin Ziyao slumped weakly onto the bed, feeling as though her future life was utterly bleak.

To have everyone know she’d forgotten about her period made her so mortified that her toes curled, experiencing a profound sense of social death.

Qin Yu, seemingly oblivious to Lin Ziyao’s mortification, merely reminded her, “Get some good rest first. I’ve scheduled the interview with Reporter Qian for before dinner.”

With that, she tidied the scattered tableware on the table, poured Lin Ziyao a glass of water, placed it on the bedside table, and then left, leaving Lin Ziyao to rest quietly on the bed alone.

However, even though Qin Yu had told her to rest well, having just woken up, it was impossible for her to fall asleep immediately.

After tossing and turning in bed, Lin Ziyao decided to open her system panel. She hadn’t had time yesterday to figure out why the system had suddenly prompted her with a hundred points, so now was a good opportunity to check.

The system remained unchanged from before; the daily refreshed tasks were still in the taskbar. She glanced at her remaining points: two hundred and twenty.

The system had indeed added a hundred action points.

“System, what’s going on?” Lin Ziyao sought an answer from it.

[This is a hidden reward.]

The system did not directly answer her question.

“Hidden reward? Is it like an achievement system?” Lin Ziyao wondered if she could gain more points through hidden rewards.

[Host is advised to prioritize tasks. Achieving hidden rewards has a certain level of difficulty.]

As a diligent and responsible system, it saw through its host’s thoughts and felt the need to remind her to focus on tasks. After all, the conditions for hidden rewards were still too far off.

“Then why haven’t you issued any tasks these past two days?”

She still coveted the songs available for exchange in the system store. Currently, she didn’t have enough points to redeem any. While she could sing some well-known songs from her previous life, from a professional standpoint, her skill level was still lacking.

During her vacation, Lin Ziyao had made a point to research relevant knowledge, preparing to study and improve, but such changes couldn’t happen overnight.

Faced with a host actively requesting tasks, the system was deeply moved and immediately issued one.

[Host, please spend more than ten hours with Qin Yu. Task reward: five hundred points.]

Gazing at the generous task reward, Lin Ziyao suddenly realized there was an issue with the system’s task. Why did it previously specify “guests,” but now directly name Qin Yu?

However, when she tried to question the system, she found it unresponsive, no matter how she called out.

With no other option, she decided to complete the task first and inquire with the system later when the opportunity arose. Lin Ziyao could only comfort herself with this thought.

As for now, having just laid down, she had no choice but to get out of bed and head downstairs to find Qin Yu. It was already past noon, around twelve o’clock.

Calculating the time needed to complete the task, spending ten hours together would mean finishing around ten o’clock tonight. In other words, for the rest of the day, apart from using the restroom and showering, they would need to remain together.

“Qin Yu?”

Before she even reached downstairs, her voice traveled ahead, reaching Qian Fang’s ears. Qian Fang was currently in the living room, chatting with Feng Qiqi, and had learned quite a bit about Lin Ziyao from her.

“What’s wrong? What’s happening?”

Hearing her voice, Feng Qiqi and Qian Fang quickly went to meet her. Earlier that morning, Qin Yu’s mention of Lin Ziyao’s fever had caused them considerable worry. Now, barely after Qin Yu had gone downstairs for a meal, Lin Ziyao followed, making it difficult for them not to fear that something else had occurred.

“Sister Qiqi, Reporter Qian.” Seeing the two approaching, Lin Ziyao greeted them.

“Have you seen Qin Yu?”

She spoke with a soft, sweet voice, making it incredibly difficult to refuse her request.