Chapter 43: Light Courtesy, Deep Affection

"Have you paid your respects to your master?" Chu Fengyi asked, recovering from her surprise.

""I'm your brother-in-law; it would be bad luck to pay respects to you as an elder," Xu Lin replied.

"You're now my brother-in-law again. You're something else... But you're still the first person who wants to learn martial arts from me, so I'll reluctantly accept."

"Alright."

"Let's begin now."

"Begin what?"

"Sparring, isn't that the start of learning?"

Xu Lin was stunned. Wait, he just didn't want her to keep bothering him to fight, so he came up with a delaying strategy. How come she's being so eager as a teacher?

"Since I'm your master now, I have to take responsibility," she said with a faint smile, making Xu Lin feel even more uneasy.

"Um, Feng Yi, I'm not feeling well today. Your punch earlier caused internal injuries. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

Xu Lin clutched his chest, limping towards Chu Qingchan.

"I'll come find you tomorrow. If you still have excuses, don't blame your master for dragging you there."

"Okay!"

Watching Xu Lin walk away, she mumbled to herself, "His footwork is interesting; I must learn it."

Later, Xu Lin and Chu Qingchan returned to the upstairs, while Chu Fengyi left directly, saying she would come to find him early the next morning.

However, Xu Lin was thinking that he was not a vagrant; he had to go to school, and if she wanted to find him, she could find him wherever she liked.

"By the way, Chu Qingchan, is your sister naturally powerful? It's unbelievable."

"She wasn't like this when she was young; she was even weaker than me. At the age of 6, she left home, went to study and practice elsewhere for a few years, and then she became more and more powerful."

"But compared to all this, the fact that you managed to evade her moves—I couldn't even see her movements clearly, and yet you dodged them."

"Have you never thought about learning martial arts?"

"My father always said I wasn't suitable for martial arts since I was young; otherwise, who wouldn't want to be a female hero?"

"That's true; with your cold face and martial arts skills, that would be so cool. Is your face natural, or did it develop later?"

Xu Lin asked a question that he had always wanted to ask. Many people with iceberg faces have experienced many hardships and trials, gradually forming a psychological protective mechanism.

"I've always had it. My mother was similar, a bit better at maintaining a smile and etiquette in front of others. But once I relax, my face naturally becomes cold."

"But you can still smile and cry, right?"

"If I can't even do that, then I should go see a doctor for treatment; that would be an illness."

"That's true. I'll go wash the dishes and tidy up, then get ready to visit Teacher Guan's house."

"Yeah, I've already contacted her. We can go around 3 p.m."

"By the way, I'm feeling quite nervous about this."

"What's there to be nervous about? Although Teacher Guan is known as 'Guan the Demon King,' she's actually quite amiable. But when it comes to discussing music, she's very serious."

"Okay."

He nodded, opened the system, and looked at the remaining 17,000 points. He hoped his singing, now at level 2, would be approved by this teacher.

After washing the dishes, Xu Lin's parents returned, but Ji Yun didn't come back; she went straight home. Xu Lin also received a message from her saying he didn't need to come to their house for lessons today.

"This girl is not letting me come when she is home alone. Am I that kind of person who behaves inappropriately?"

It was past 1 p.m. when Xu Lin played two rounds of ranked matches before being interrupted by Chu Qingchan.

"You're not preparing?"

"You said not to be nervous, right?"

"I didn't ask you to play games."

"This isn't playing games; it's deepening understanding of investment projects. See this game?"

"Don't judge it like this now. In a few years, it could become an event comparable to sports competitions."

Chu Qingchan glanced at the animated characters bouncing around on the computer and suddenly felt that Xu Lin was talking nonsense.

"Believe it or not, in a while, when I have the funds, I'll invest in a team. I'll definitely make money in a few years."

"Where will you get the funds, then?"

"I can earn money by writing novels."

"Writing novels to make money—how many people have read them?"

"It's not about whether people have read them or not. Just wait until I get signed, get recommended, and then we'll talk."

Seeing Chu Qingchan's sceptical expression, Xu Lin felt a bit aggrieved. He might not be as good at singing or studying as Chu Qingchan or Bai Xiaoxiao or Ji Yun, but when it came to writing, he was solid. Without the help of a system, with his innate level 2 ability, he believed that his books would become popular in the future, just like now.

Ignoring his teammates' friendly greetings, Xu Lin quit the game, opened his own backend, and looked at the 30 favorites. He firmly believed this number would become 30,000, even 300,000!

He casually refreshed the webpage, ready to close it, when he noticed an additional red dot—a notification!

"...No way."

"What's wrong?"

"I think I got something."

"What did you get?"

"I got signed... with just 15,000 words!" Opening the message, Xu Lin felt a rush through his whole body.

The next moment, he leaped up from the chair and hugged Chu Qingchan beside him, lifting her up a bit, but not too high due to his limited strength.

Chu Qingchan felt Xu Lin's arms around her waist and instinctively wrapped her arms around his.

Xu Lin also felt her arms, gazing at her face, now different from usual, radiant, and tempting. Slowly, he leaned in.

Chu Qingchan also became nervous; her eyelashes flickered a few times, and she closed her eyes, knowing it wasn't the first time.

But after a few seconds, she didn't feel his kiss, only a warmth on her shoulder.

"Xu Lin?" She opened her eyes to see his handsome face leaning against her shoulder.

"Last time was a mistake; I can't act impulsively. Otherwise, I won't be responsible for you. We're not kids anymore, right?"

He looked at her seriously, releasing his arms from her, realising he had been too impulsive.

Honestly, did he really like Chu Qingchan? Or was it just her appearance? If that's the case, did he have the right to touch her, which would only hurt her?

"I'm sorry... I was also a bit impulsive last time. We're not kids anymore; we shouldn't act too hastily."

"Yeah, if we really like each other, let's continue after saying it out loud."

"Okay."

Chu Qingchan smiled faintly. She had been in the entertainment industry for so many years and had encountered all kinds of men: successful businessmen, second-generation rich, male celebrities, directors, ordinary people, and so on.

But none of them were like him—so sentimental. Yet she found herself quite fond of this sentimentality and sincerity.

At 2 p.m., Xu Lin and Chu Qingchan left. Even though the other party said not to bring anything, you couldn't really go empty-handed for the first visit.

Sometimes gifts don't have to be expensive, but they must be thoughtful. So Xu Lin went to a pharmacy.

"Are you planning to buy some health supplements?"

"No, just some throat lozenges."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. It's the thought that counts."