Girlfriend

"Fine... let's just say I seduced you. I had too much to drink and lost my composure, so please don't take it to heart. Forget about tonight, pretend it never happened. And don't you dare go blabbing to Sun Xiaoya; if she finds out, I won't even be able to be friends with her anymore."

Zhang Shuai replied with dissatisfaction, "That won't work. You want to run after taking advantage of me? There's no such thing as a free lunch. You were the one who provoked me, and I'm a man who sticks to his principles. You kissed me, so that makes you my girlfriend!"

"No, no, really, it can't be. If Sun Xiaoya finds out, she'll definitely think I snatched the person she likes. This absolutely cannot happen!"

"What do you mean 'snatched the person she likes'? She and I are just ordinary friends; I never promised her anything. She knows in her heart that she isn't my type. I'll just make things clear with her."

"How could this possibly be made clear? You don't understand. In her eyes, since she already told me she likes you, as her good friend, I shouldn't and couldn't compete with her. If I become your girlfriend, she will definitely hate me. Really, please don't put me in a difficult position, okay?"

"How is this a difficult position? Just because she likes me, does that mean I have to like her back? What kind of logic is that? Tell you what, if you can't bring yourself to say it, I'll do it. I'll make it clear to her that I like you and that I was the one pursuing you. That should solve the problem, right?"

"Still no. Even if you say you pursued me, as her friend, it's neither reasonable nor fair for me to accept your advances. She'll still blame me in her heart."

"Why do you girls have such strange ideas? I'm speechless. Then what do you suggest we do?"

"We can only see each other in secret for now and keep it under wraps. Once we graduate from university, we can make our relationship public, and it won't be an issue then."

"Doesn't that mean we have to wait two years?"

"Two years will pass by in the blink of an eye."

Zhang Shuai emphasized with a hint of worry, "Then you have to keep your distance from other boys at school..."

Lin Xiuwen laughed. "Heh, don't worry. I don't like anyone but you. Actually, it's not just Sun Xiaoya who likes you; I've had feelings for you deep down too, otherwise why would I have specifically asked you out for drinks?"

With everything out in the open, Zhang Shuai's mindset shifted completely. He was now a man with a girlfriend; although they couldn't go public yet, the relationship was finally set in stone.

Relishing the taste of his victory, Zhang Shuai pulled Lin Xiuwen into another wild kiss.

The two huddled together, cuddling and cherishing the moment for a long time.

Suddenly remembering something, Zhang Shuai asked softly, "Since you're my girlfriend now, can you be honest with me? Why did you suddenly ask me out for drinks today?"

Lin Xiuwen blinked her large eyes, looking a bit innocent. "I'll tell you, but you aren't allowed to get angry!"

Zhang Shuai nodded. "You're my girlfriend now, how could I be angry with you? Go ahead."

Lin Xiuwen said, "I looked at the files on that USB drive of yours..."

Zhang Shuai's expression changed instantly. "I only asked you to crack the password, not to snoop!"

"Wasn't I curious? You kept emphasizing that I shouldn't look, which only made me want to see it more. So, while I was helping you crack the password, I secretly saved a copy on my computer. After I went home and watched it tonight, I couldn't sleep, which is why I asked you out."

Zhang Shuai was indeed a bit angry, but thinking that the item was something he'd picked up anyway—and that the country might even make the cultivation techniques public in a few years—he figured there was no need to hide it from her. After all, they were officially a couple now, so she counted as one of his own.

"Fine, fine, let it go since you've already seen it. But this must be kept strictly confidential. No one else can know, only the two of us!"

"I won't tell anyone else. Darling, I want to ask, where did you actually get this USB drive?"

"It's like this..."

Zhang Shuai casually explained his encounter with the island nation's female spy on the road.

After listening, Lin Xiuwen said with lingering fear, "You really are bold. You don't realize that many spy programs have automatic theft and tracking functions. The moment you plug that drive into a computer, the contents can be transmitted in seconds, and some even have self-destruct protocols..."

Zhang Shuai was stunned. "Are you saying the contents of the drive have already been sent to the island nation?"

"Not necessarily. If it were that high-level of encryption, I wouldn't have been able to crack it either. Don't worry, this was just a standard encrypted drive without spy software. I suspect that female spy didn't have much skill and wasn't a professional. My guess is that she has been lurking in our Dragon Kingdom for a while and has some status or background here; otherwise, she wouldn't have known about the establishment of the 749 Bureau so quickly and managed to infiltrate it."

Zhang Shuai suddenly seemed to recall something and frowned. "But since the spy was captured and taken back to the 749 Bureau, could she have confessed to throwing away the USB drive? I was the only one at the scene, so I'm the prime suspect, and the people at the 749 Bureau know my name."

Lin Xiuwen pondered for a moment and said, "Probably not. Judging by the suicide note on the drive, she was prepared to sacrifice herself to steal those secrets. Even her superiors didn't know about this, so even if she's captured, she'll be praying that someone finds the drive and gets the contents back to her country. No matter what, she won't talk."

Zhang Shuai thought about it and agreed it should be fine. If the spy had really ratted him out, the 749 Bureau would have sent people to find him long ago.

"Darling, do you think this cultivation technique is real? Can people really become immortals through cultivation?"

"Real or not, we have to try. What if it is?"

"So, the reason you want to study ancient philology at university is to decipher the Small Heavenly Cycle Art, right?"

"Yeah. Regardless of whether it's true or false, since I had the fortune to obtain this drive, I have to give it my best shot."

"Good luck, I believe you can do it. You have a photographic memory; you'll definitely learn quickly."

Although Lin Xiuwen had seen the contents of the drive, she remained skeptical about the authenticity of the cultivation techniques. In this day and age, everything could be faked. As a university student with a higher education, it was hard for her to fully believe in such ethereal things without seeing an immortal with her own eyes.

The two chatted for a long time, and only when it grew very late did they reluctantly part ways. Zhang Shuai put Lin Xiuwen in a taxi before hailing one for himself to head home.

From that day on, aside from going to driving school, Zhang Shuai spent his time either chatting with Lin Xiuwen, expressing their love and longing for each other, or studying ancient scripts. His days were incredibly fulfilling.

Ten days later, during the subject three driving test, Zhang Shuai, Sun Xiaoya, and Lin Xiuwen all passed successfully.

The next day, Zhang Shuai took the subject four exam and successfully obtained his driver's license.

Once he had his license, Zhang Shuai wanted to buy a car. He spent a long time browsing a car-buying app. Since he didn't have much money, he eventually decided on a "Biguan Di" electric vehicle. The full price was only 140,000, an amount he could just barely afford.

When he told Lin Xiuwen the news, she actually offered to give him some money so he could buy a better gas-powered car.

Although he knew Lin Xiuwen's family was very wealthy, he didn't want to use a woman's money. He politely declined her offer, went to the Biguan Di 4S dealership, paid a 2,000-yuan deposit, and reserved the electric car.

The car had a range of 400 kilometers, which was enough for Zhang Shuai.

However, it would take half a month for the dealership to handle the car delivery and registration. Calculating the time, he would get the new car just before Lin Xiuwen started the semester.

Over the next half-month, Zhang Shuai managed to sneak in a few dates with Lin Xiuwen. Their relationship grew warmer by the day. Even though they were dating, they limited their intimacy to cuddling and kissing—especially kissing. Lin Xiuwen seemed particularly fond of locking lips with him, and every time they kissed, it would last for half an hour, until she was flushed and her heart was racing.