Chapter 337: Chapter 336: "I can lift you with one hand effortlessly. Wanna try?

"When did I ever bad-mouth you?"

Shen Chen said with a smile, "I learned to drive at fourteen, got my license at eighteen, and even raced for two years in between. I’ve handled every type of car you’ve seen and haven’t seen. I guarantee my skills are far more polished than any private instructor you could hire."

"Really?" Xu Su’s eyes sparkled. "You’ve raced cars before? Like, the kind where you speed like crazy around winding mountain roads?"

In the past couple of years, several idol dramas had swept the nation. A few of them featured male leads who were race car drivers, and most of them shot to fame across Asia thanks to the appeal of that persona.

When it came to the two words "car racing," most people’s opinion could be summed up in one word: Cool!

Xu Su was no exception.

"Yep. I’ve done a lot of other things, too. Skiing, surfing, skydiving, horseback riding, shooting... Oh, right. A few friends and I started a shooting club with live ammunition."

Shen Chen was amused by her expression for a good while. He smiled at her and said, "If you’re curious, how about I take you to a range to hold a real gun once we’re in Beijing?"

"Deal!" Hearing Shen Chen’s offer, Xu Su nodded immediately, then glanced at the muscles on his arm. "I never would’ve guessed. You... actually handle guns?"

’Actually, what she wanted to say was that a body supposedly worn out by women and wine could actually handle something as tough as firearms.’

’But she had just promised not to poke fun at him, so she awkwardly changed the subject... ’

"Why couldn’t I handle guns?" Shen Chen didn’t catch her underlying meaning. He held out a hand toward Xu Su. "I could lift you with one hand, no problem. Want to try?"

His skin was also very fair. His open palm revealed long, well-defined fingers with neatly trimmed nails. A single glance exuded an air of nobility.

’Xu Su looked, but she didn’t see a single callus. Just like Zhou Mochen, he really was a pampered young master.’

’After all, the spot on her right hand where she held her pen had developed a thin callus after three years of high-intensity use.’

She held out her own hand, a hint of jealousy in her voice. "Aren’t you and Zhou Mochen both top students from University B? After studying so hard for over a decade, why don’t your fingers have calluses from holding a pen?"

"Pen grip is very important, as is the pressure you apply. Why are you using a death grip?" Shen Chen glanced at the callus on her hand and said, "It should fade. I’ll get you some cream in Beijing. Just remember to apply it yourself."

Xu Su nodded humbly. "Okay, I’ll pay attention and write more lightly from now on."

Shen Chen chuckled. "You won’t be writing that much anymore. Once you start university, you can just learn to use a computer."

’That was true. The three years of intense, grueling study were over. There were no more stacks and stacks of practice tests to grind through. She really wouldn’t be writing that much anymore...’

Shen Chen glanced at the game controller and asked, "Want to play more?"

"Nope." Xu Su shook her head again. "I’m going to play an online game. I already made plans with my sect friends."

’It was almost three o’clock. If she didn’t log on soon, she wouldn’t have much time to play.’

How could Shen Chen possibly compete with a teenage girl’s addiction to online games? The fact that she had played Super Mario with him for two hours was already a testament to how much she valued their friendship.

Shen Chen had some impression of the game she played. After he left last time, he had gone back to Beijing and specifically looked it up.

The Shen Family’s enterprise had a dedicated investment department. For any promising project from any industry that came seeking investment, they would have professional employees in that sector conduct a risk assessment to decide whether or not to invest.

The gaming industry had gradually become a hot sector in recent years, and the Shen Family had invested in countless gaming projects both at home and abroad. He originally thought that this so-called Immortal Continent might be one of the companies the Shen Family had a stake in.

Unexpectedly, a quick search revealed that the game had never sought outside investment. Everything from production to marketing was done independently.

At the time, he had someone do a thorough investigation. Immortal Continent was under a game company established in Peng City, and on the surface, it was created by a few recent graduates with no connections.

But in reality, a major corporation had to be backing it. After all, the game was quite popular, with a high number of concurrent online players. For the servers to remain so powerful and stable under these conditions—not to mention the creative design, realistic graphics, and timely game updates and maintenance—was something only a professional game development team from a large company could pull off.

Back then, Shen Chen had even contacted them to express some interest in investing, but he was politely rejected...

’The number of people in Peng City who dared to politely reject him could be counted on one hand.’

However, he didn’t push for the investment. After all, his initial reason for looking into the game was because he saw how frustrating Xu Su’s experience was last time. He had wanted to buy some shares for her, or better yet, get her a private cheat or something.

To improve her gaming experience.

’But it was no big deal if he couldn’t. It was just a game, after all...’

’Thinking of this, Shen Chen felt he was truly a lost cause. Just to improve her gaming experience a little, he had actually done so much behind the scenes.’

’He’d never even thought about getting anything in return...’

’She would probably never know in her entire life just how much effort he was willing to put in just to make her a little happier.’

Xu Su, of course, knew none of this. She left Shen Chen alone in the living room without a second thought, went into the game room, and logged on to play Immortal Continent.

Shen Chen could only slowly digest the complex, swirling emotions in his heart by himself.

The Qingxuan Sect’s elite chat group had quite a few people online today. Xu Su joined Liu Yun and Nanyang’s party and started doing her daily quests.

The in-game party voice chat was on, and they exchanged a few words from time to time, having a great time.

Xu Su was now a High-level Golden Core Cultivator. Not long after reaching the Golden Core stage, she had unlocked a class quest—for the extremely rare Artifact Refiner class.

Even within the Qingxuan Sect, Artifact Refiners were very valuable.

Therefore, most of her daily quests were related to various Refining Materials.

The sect’s upper echelons were also willing to cultivate one of their own as a core Artifact Refiner. After all, compared to those who joined halfway, Xu Su was a homegrown talent, a disciple with a pure pedigree and a real sense of belonging to the sect.

The daily quests were completed quickly. Xu Su unapologetically collected the high-level Refining Materials that dropped, just as she heard Liu Yun’s voice.

Through her headset, Liu Yun asked if she had confirmed when she was going to Beijing and whether she could make it to the upcoming offline meetup.

The Qingxuan Sect’s offline meetups were quite frequent, happening basically once every month or two, and no more than three months apart at the latest.

The location was always Beijing, because Sect Leader Si Xuan, who founded the Qingxuan Sect, was in Beijing, as were the four great Elders.

As the newly crowned favorite of the group, and having accidentally revealed her photo in the chat by a strange twist of fate, the attention on Xu Su had already skyrocketed. Coincidentally, she had also mentioned that she was going to University B, so everyone was especially looking forward to her coming to this meetup.

They had been talking about the meetup in the group chat for the past few days, so Xu Su was naturally aware of it. Hearing Liu Yun’s question, she answered without even thinking, "It depends. If I’m in Beijing and have the time, I’ll definitely go."

Xu Su was actually quite looking forward to meeting these gaming friends she’d known for a year in person. After all, the atmosphere in the group was genuinely great. When she was a newbie, the veterans in the group had personally guided her. What’s more, several of them were also her future university schoolmates.