Chapter Forty-Six: A Dull Soul

Seeing the sudden silence in the authors’ group chat, Chen Qi could almost feel a hint of murderous intent through the screen. With great self-awareness, he sent an emoji of a smiling face waving goodbye, then put his phone away and continued eating. As he ate, something occurred to him, and he quickly opened the system for a glance.

[Destruction Value: 0]

Very good, stable improvement.

Shaking his head in mild exasperation, he closed the system and went back to his meal. After finishing, he checked the time—there was still more than half an hour before his two o’clock afternoon class.

He rested for a bit, gathered his things, and strolled toward the Conservatory of Music.

He and the girl had agreed on a class schedule of six hours a day, three hours in the morning and three in the afternoon.

These past few days of lessons had been fruitful for him. He could clearly feel the effort she put into teaching. If nothing else, the carefully prepared teaching materials she brought each day spoke volumes—she not only spent time preparing, but had even gone to the trouble of printing them out for convenience.

Sometimes, Chen Qi truly felt lucky. To find such a responsible, high-achieving classmate just by casually looking around the academy—few could boast such good fortune!

Suddenly, his phone rang. It was the agent calling.

No surprise there; he’d probably found a suitable property.

“Hello?” Chen Qi answered.

But the news on the other end left him a bit dumbfounded.

The agent hadn’t found the standalone house Chen Qi wanted.

Such properties were already rare, and if they were in a convenient location, they were either not available for rent or had long since been taken.

There were quite a few in more remote areas, but Chen Qi wasn’t interested.

The agent asked if he could have two more days to keep looking.

Chen Qi considered it, then decided to forget it.

He didn’t have much time to spare.

Since his ideal property wasn’t available, he’d look for something else. It wasn’t as if he absolutely had to have that type.

He listed a few non-negotiable requirements and had the agent prepare information on relevant listings; he’d check them out later.

...

After his afternoon classes, Chen Qi took a taxi straight to the agency.

Among the listings the agent pulled up, he was drawn to one near Culture Plaza.

According to the agent, the location was not only convenient but also relatively quiet. The only drawback was the price—it was a bit high.

After carefully inspecting the exterior and interior photos, Chen Qi had the agent take him to visit in person.

It was a three-story commercial building, and the unit he liked was on the top floor—the entire floor was for rent. He was very satisfied with both the size and ceiling height.

After a thorough look around the neighborhood, Chen Qi decided to rent it. As the agent had said, everything about the place was good, apart from the price.

But Chen Qi didn’t bother with such minor details—money wasn’t an issue for him right now. Besides, compared to the high-rise office buildings, this place was still much cheaper.

He had the agent contact the landlord, haggled a bit like a seasoned negotiator, and quickly signed a five-year lease.

After transferring the payment on the spot, Chen Qi called Xu Bunian to deliver the documents necessary for registering the company.

By the time he finished everything and returned to his rental apartment, it was already past nine in the evening.

After a quick wash, he found a comfortable position and pulled up “World of Immortals” from the system.

By now, copying novels was no longer just a simple task for him—he was genuinely drawn in by the story itself.

Reading through it once before transcribing no longer felt tedious to him.

...

The next day.

As lunchtime approached, Chen Qi, as usual, took the initiative to end the morning lesson.

“It’s almost twelve. Let’s stop here for today.”

“Okay,” the girl replied obediently, packing up her materials while pretending to speak casually, “How about I treat you to lunch? Consider it a thank you for giving me such a well-paid job.”

“No, thank you,” Chen Qi, still fully covered, politely shook his head. Once his things were packed, he stood up to leave.

“See you this afternoon.”

“Hey…” The girl watched his hurried departure, wanting to say more but left speechless, a look of resignation on her face.

She found this peer of hers terribly dull.

Yes, she could tell he was about her age.

She’d guessed from his clothing and mannerisms. Of course, after getting more familiar, she’d casually asked him about it—guess what he’d said?

He told her he was almost forty.

She was nearly speechless!

Who says things like that? If you don’t want to answer, just don’t—what’s the point of making up something even you don’t believe?

What left her even more at a loss was that she’d suggested having lessons in a nearby milk tea shop, café, or public places like the gymnasium.

But he refused. He’d rather find a shaded spot on campus than go to those places, not even when she insisted it would be her treat.

When she asked why, he said there were too many people, and his outfit wasn’t suitable for those venues.

Perhaps her questioning had worn him out, because after a moment’s hesitation, he suggested with a very tentative tone, “How about… we get a room?”

And then—the world went silent.

She was so angry she didn’t say another word to him for quite some time!

Later, as their lessons were ending, she couldn’t help but ask why he dressed like that. Guess what he said this time?

After half a minute of silence, he replied with a tinge of melancholy that he’d just had plastic surgery—and it had failed…

She was left speechless. If it weren’t for the five hundred yuan per day, she really wouldn’t want to deal with him anymore!

So boring!

She really couldn’t understand how there could be such a stifling, uninteresting person in the world!

No matter what she said or did, this mysterious fellow always kept her at arm’s length, maintaining a very polite distance.

Apart from class-related topics, he never initiated conversation. If she tried, he’d always respond with as few words as possible, somehow managing to kill the conversation almost instantly.

Yet, strangely, the more he acted this way, the more curious she became about him.

Watching his figure gradually disappear from view, the girl sighed with a faint smile and headed toward the cafeteria.

After being refused this time, she finally understood—he truly just wanted to learn, nothing more.

With that realization, she resolved to stop prying into his affairs.

In fact, during their second lesson, she’d been anxious about what to do for lunch, worried he would invite her to eat together after the morning class. After all, it’s normal to have a meal together after a lesson, but she was uncomfortable eating with a stranger.

She’d even wondered more than once if he had ulterior motives, and whether the desire to learn music was just an excuse.

But the facts proved she had overthought things.

Every time lunchtime arrived, he would leave on his own, never once suggesting they eat together.

She didn’t know why he was so secretive, but since he didn’t want to reveal himself, he must have his reasons. She decided not to ask further and risk annoying him.