Although the kingdom-ruining beauty had gone back for the moment, Chu Ge still didn't have much time to write.
There were more things he needed to do now.
He still went running and did push-ups. Physical fitness was fundamental. He didn't need a perfect physique, but talking about cultivation when he was covered in flab and got winded just running would be a joke.
He meditated once each morning and evening. Now, it wasn't just a matter of circulating his energy through a full cycle; he followed the pathways prescribed by the Golden Bell Shield, practicing it at the same time. In more professional terms, he had made the Golden Bell Shield his foundational cultivation method.
The thought almost brought him to tears. How had his whole style turned into this without him noticing?
At least he hadn't made the thing require virginity... Chu Ge had always thought that requirement was unscientific. Did other ways of getting off count as losing your primordial yang? Wasn't it the same thing? Why would doing the deed suddenly make the technique stop working?
It made no sense, right?
Besides circulating his energy, he also needed to temper his soul. He couldn't let someone turn him into their lapdog with a simple mind-control trick, could he? Even putting aside something that serious, Chu Ge didn't want anyone reading every last thought in his head. That wouldn't feel good at all.
As a result, his meditation sessions were now more than twice as long as before.
He also had to practice movement techniques. He couldn't just take hits, could he? At the very least, he needed to be able to run away when things looked bad.
For now, he was practicing nimble, close-quarters maneuvers, which didn't require going outdoors. He could do that inside. The place was cramped with clutter? All the better. The point was to stroll effortlessly through a complicated space.
Chu Ge wandered around his apartment, feeling graceful and carefree even in his pajamas, as though he could ride the wind through the air... He thought his whole style had gotten even stranger.
Perform the Lingbo Steps, then roar "Golden Bell Shield!" What kind of cut-and-paste aesthetic was this?
Chu Ge wasn't even thinking about which offensive techniques would suit him down the line. Instead, he wondered which one he could splice in to make it even more ridiculous...
All these exercises added up to around three hours. That was less time than his old job had taken, but cultivation seemed to demand more and more time as one progressed. At Qiu Wuji's level, a single session of secluded meditation could last months or even years. How would he write then?
Forget it. That sort of change probably wouldn't happen until he had been cultivating for decades. At least he wouldn't reach that point while writing this book, so it shouldn't be much of a problem.
On the contrary, cultivation left him increasingly refreshed, and the words flowed more smoothly. His efficiency had actually improved.
Writing ten thousand characters in a day used to be a record. Now it was routine.
Between cultivating and writing, two days passed quickly. Qiu Wuji still hadn't returned, but the class reunion had arrived.
Chu Ge straightened his clothes and looked at himself in the mirror. For a moment, he felt as though he didn't recognize the person staring back.
Still just as handsome... Yeah...
It was just that he looked so much more vibrant now. He stood tall, and his eyes were bright.
If he had looked this energetic on that blind date, would Gu Ruoyan have reacted differently? Who cared? Why think about that? The one who had brought him all this was Qiu Wuji.
"Oh? Our great writer's here early."
The hotel they had booked for the reunion was pretty decent. Unfortunately, Old Hong had made the reservation too late and had only managed to get tables in the main dining hall.
Not many people were attending, but there were still enough to fill two tables. Finding a suitable private room wasn't easy, either. The main hall would do. Nobody really minded.
When he found their tables, Old Hong was already there with his wife-she had been their classmate too. It was still a little early, and fewer than half the others had arrived. At the sight of Chu Ge, they all started praising him. "Damn, you keep getting better-looking. How come we never noticed back then?"
Chu Ge smoothed his hair. "Men get more appealing with age. Anyone who didn't make a move on me back then regretting it now?"
"Oh, get lost." Old Hong laughed. "You were too much of a loner back then-and you still are, really. You skipped all sorts of activities, never played basketball or soccer. Every day, you were either holed up in an internet café or hiding in the dorm reading novels. It was like you didn't exist. Who was going to make a move on you?"
Someone else laughed. "He's a writer. That's how they are."
Everyone laughed.
Chu Ge smiled faintly. Their laughter was still teasing, with even a hint of mockery. In the past, hearing it had always bothered him a little. Hadn't plenty of them disappeared into internet cafés back then too? Hadn't they all been the same? Why did writing novels suddenly turn things they had all done into his peculiar quirks? Any excuse, and they brought up him being a writer.
But now, he genuinely felt it didn't matter.
She said my writing was great. What does it have to do with any of you?
He said nothing about it and simply sat down. "Wuyang isn't here yet?"
Old Hong said, "He's a big-shot section chief at the municipal bureau, busy as hell. He originally said he might have to work overtime today and wouldn't make it, but this afternoon he said he was free and could come."
One classmate asked, "Is it okay for a public servant to attend a drinking party so openly, sitting out here in the main hall where everyone can see?"
Another female classmate said, "It's outside working hours, and it's a class reunion on the weekend. That's perfectly reasonable and normal. You always overcomplicate things when it comes to civil servants. Cops are people too. As long as he doesn't come in uniform, it's fine."
Her name was Zhang Manli, and she was a civil servant too. Apparently, she worked at the Civil Affairs Bureau.
An idea stirred in Chu Ge's mind again. He wondered whether someone at the Civil Affairs Bureau could help with Qiu Wuji's identity... He sighed. Networking for personal gain. For his Qiu Wuji's sake, he would do it.
Just as he was about to say a few flattering words, he suddenly sensed something. Even he didn't know where the feeling had come from.
He turned toward the hotel entrance.
Lin Wuyang was walking in.
Almost simultaneously, another group parked outside, and someone stepped out of a car.
Lin Wuyang instinctively turned for a look and saw Zhang Qiren getting out.
Zhang Qiren froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting to run into Lin Wuyang here either. Their eyes met for a few seconds before Zhang Qiren gave him a polite smile. "I didn't expect to run into you here, Section Chief Lin. Here for dinner?"
Lin Wuyang said slowly, "Don't tell me this hotel is yours too?"
"Oh, no, no. I'm just treating some friends to dinner. Please don't get the wrong idea, Section Chief Lin. My family doesn't have much money."
"Whatever sort of 'friends' you're treating." Lin Wuyang turned coldly and walked into the dining hall. "Know when you've made enough money..."
His words sounded both mocking and like a warning. Zhang Qiren didn't answer. He merely smiled as he watched Lin Wuyang enter the hall.
Then his gaze sharpened slightly, and surprise finally appeared on his face-he saw Lin Wuyang walk cheerfully toward one of the tables in the hall. A familiar face was seated there, staring back at him in equal surprise.
Chu Ge.
His eyes looked ready to pop out of his head.
Zhang Qiren turned to look at the underlings behind him, then lowered his gaze to his expensive outfit. His face actually felt a little hot, as though being seen like this by Chu Ge was embarrassing.
Anyone else who had struck it rich would have felt triumphant on seeing an old friend. Yet when Zhang Qiren saw Chu Ge, he felt ashamed. He examined that feeling for a moment, then shook his head with a self-mocking chuckle.
"Boss?" An underling behind him sounded confused.
"Oh, nothing." Zhang Qiren composed himself and smiled again. "Big Ears, keep an ear on what that table's talking about later. Be discreet."
An underling with large ears grinned. "Got it. Section Chief Lin, right?"
Zhang Qiren smiled, glanced at Chu Ge once more, then turned and went upstairs.
Chu Ge had already bombarded his QQ with messages: "Zhang Qiren, when you said you were a fucking flop and had to go home, you meant you were going back to inherit a billion-dollar fortune?!!!"
He took out his phone, glanced at it, and sighed softly.
Thanks to Mike and McDull for the 10,000 tips; Eat a Cannon Minion for 6,500; Nibelung0819 for 5,000; Start with a Late-Night Snack for 2,500; Si An for 2,000; and Chanting in the Moonlit Breeze, Brilliant Dudu, Lin Shiyu Ya, Eat a Cannon Minion, Then Stay, and Golden Requiem for 1,500...
(End of chapter)
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