"Mm..."
An Jing gave a soft murmur, rolled over onto her stomach, and went back to sleep. Her posture was just a little unrestrained. None of Nan University's students or male teachers would likely have imagined that the famously icy beauty of a professor slept in such a bizarre position.
"All done. When she wakes up tomorrow morning, she should be able to feel the changes in her body."
Chen Zheng smiled.
"That's... all it took to clear the blockages?"
Su Cheng was still a little dazed.
From beginning to end, Chen Zheng had only pressed An Jing's arm and forehead a few times. She had expected something like a full-body massage, but it had been over in less than a minute.
Wasn't that a little too fast?
Besides, according to the usual script, shouldn't Chen Zheng have seized the opportunity to get his hands on her in that situation? Why had he only touched An Jing's arm and forehead? Was it really as Jiang Rou had said in her message that evening-Chen Zheng had no interest in women?
"I have plenty of exclusive techniques. This time, the surge of true qi merely overwhelmed An Jing's mind, so there was no need for an advanced technique. Of course, if she's willing, there's no problem with letting her try one."
Chen Zheng gave a meaningful smile.
"How advanced?"
Su Cheng thought for a moment before asking.
"An advanced technique is very comprehensive. It improves both body and mind."
Chen Zheng looked Su Cheng up and down. She wore an oversized, slightly sheer shirt and hot pants. Even without high heels, her long legs were straight and slender-not thin like bamboo poles, but beautiful in just the right proportions.
"Putting my whole body and mind into it... I... want to try!"
Su Cheng looked into Chen Zheng's eyes as she spoke. She had decided to try his advanced technique.
"Take your clothes off."
Chen Zheng nodded calmly.
"Huh? Take... take my clothes off... Then... I think I'll pass..."
Su Cheng was dumbfounded. She had never expected the first words out of Chen Zheng's mouth to be telling her to undress.
"Next time, then."
Chen Zheng said nothing more. With that casual remark, he left An Jing's bedroom.
"Next time..."
At those words, Su Cheng looked at Professor An, asleep on her stomach. An image involuntarily appeared before her eyes: Professor An's bathrobe was gone, and Chen Zheng's hands were on her back...
The next day.
On Nan University's campus.
"Chen Zheng, about last night, I trust Su Cheng, and I trust you too. But I'm curious. Besides cooking and those special massage techniques for clearing blockages, what else can you do?"
An Jing was questioning Chen Zheng.
"A little music, chess, calligraphy, painting, tea ceremony, medicine, and so on."
Chen Zheng replied.
"When you say 'a little,' do you mean you're at the same level in those other fields as you are in painting?"
An Jing froze for a moment at his words. Her curiosity piqued, she pressed further.
The very reason she had moved into Su Cheng's home was that Chen Zheng had demonstrated his extraordinary painting skills in the lecture hall that day. She wanted to learn painting from him, to learn his ability to truly bring people to life on the canvas.
Now he was saying that he knew a little about other fields too. If his skills in those were on par with his painting, that would be downright shocking, because in An Jing's eyes, Chen Zheng was a god of painting!
"More or less."
Chen Zheng nodded calmly.
"You're really that good? How is that possible!"
An Jing found it hard to believe.
In her eyes, Chen Zheng was already a god of painting. If, as he said, his skills in other fields were on roughly the same level, that meant he had reached the same realm in musical instruments, chess, writing, medicine, and so on!
A god of painting!
A sage of music!
A sage of calligraphy!
A sage of medicine!
A god of cooking!
And so on!
Could a monster who had reached legendary heights in all these different fields at once really exist?
An Jing found it hard to believe. Yet Chen Zheng had already shown his skill in both painting and cooking. Though she could hardly believe it, a voice in her heart already seemed to be telling her that the man beside her might very well be that kind of monster!
"You just need to spend more time on them."
Chen Zheng spoke casually.
Throughout those years in his past, he had spent a very long time living alone. Living alone was an incredibly boring affair, and in that state of extreme boredom, he could only find things to do. His cooking and quite a few other skills had been honed under those circumstances.
"Professor An!"
Just then, a somewhat odd-sounding voice suddenly came from their right. Only a few seconds later, six or seven people walked up to them.
"Hello, Professor An. I'm delighted to see you again. Nan University is so big, yet we've met again. Perhaps this is fate!"
The young man leading them looked at An Jing with a confident smile and greeted her in broken Mandarin.
"So corny."
Chen Zheng glanced at him and chuckled.
"You! What's that supposed to mean? Our Eun-woo is the acknowledged campus heartthrob! You're calling him corny? What do you have that could compare to him?"
Before the young man himself could respond, a blond-haired fellow began snapping at Chen Zheng, his Mandarin equally broken.
"A Korean punk? Learn to speak proper Chinese Mandarin before you try hitting on someone."
Chen Zheng smiled again.
"We're international students! We come from Korea! What kind of attitude is that?"
The blond kept snapping at him.
"Do you know these noble international students?"
Ignoring the blond, Chen Zheng looked at An Jing instead.
"No."
An Jing shook her head without hesitation.
"Then let's go."
Chen Zheng nodded calmly.
"Wait!"
But the moment he took a step, the young man called Eun-woo blocked his way.
"Apologize! You have to apologize to us!"
The blond and the others followed, blocking their path and glaring furiously at Chen Zheng as they clamored.
Their shouting immediately drew the attention of quite a few people nearby, and everyone looked over.
"Looks like there's a confrontation over there!"
"Huh? Isn't that Professor An? And campus belle Su Cheng! Those people are... Kim Eun-woo! One of the leaders of the Korean international students? Is that Korean punk trying to pick up Professor An and Su Cheng?"
"Wait! The guy beside Professor An and Su Cheng is... Isn't that the Three-Point King? The Three-Point King who took on Yan Hao and four others by himself last time! The guy in that short video that's been blowing up online lately! What was his name again? Chen Zheng! Right! I think his name's Chen Zheng. They say he's Su Cheng's bodyguard!"
"How did he get into a confrontation with these Korean punks? They all practice taekwondo, don't they? I remember Kim Eun-woo challenged the entire Ancient Martial Arts Club by himself in his first year at Nan University. Anyway, he's pretty good!"
"Fuck! This is Nan University! Since when do these Korean punks get to throw their weight around here?"
All kinds of comments rang out.
"I know who you are now." Just then, Kim Eun-woo, who was blocking Chen Zheng's path, suddenly smiled at him and spoke with an air of superiority. "You're that Chen Zheng, Su Cheng's bodyguard. You're the star of that Three-Point King video that's been popular online lately. But while you're very good at basketball, you aren't a Nan University student. You're merely Su Cheng's bodyguard. Of course, whatever your status, what you just said constitutes an insult to our country, so please apologize."
"Apologize! Apologize!"
The blond began shouting, looking at Chen Zheng provocatively.
"Apologize! You must apologize!"
"You publicly insulted our country! You have to apologize!"
"Apologize! Apologize right now!"
The other Korean international students began shouting too, their voices growing louder and louder, as though they had Chen Zheng in the bag.
Both An Jing's and Su Cheng's expressions turned rather cold. They had been in good moods today, only to encounter something like this as soon as they entered Nan University. With the temperament Su Cheng had possessed during her time as a mercenary in Africa, if not for the rules of China's Ancient Martial Arts world, these international students would already have been on the ground, screaming in agony.
"Why do I get the feeling you're all morons?"
Yet Chen Zheng wore a faint smile as his gaze swept over the Korean international students' faces, delivering that casual remark.
"Chen Zheng!"
Kim Eun-woo's face instantly darkened, his eyes fixing on Chen Zheng like a venomous snake!