novelraw Chapter 234: "The Person I Like Is Too Aloof, and I’m Crushed.
Chapter 234: "The Person I Like Is Too Aloof, and I’m Crushed.
"...No means no." Worried he was about to lose control, Xu Su quickly stood up and moved away from him. "If you keep this up, I’m moving back to the dorms."
’It’s only been a few days since I moved in, and he’s acting like a poodle in heat...’
Zhou Mochen propped up one leg, half-lying on the sofa with his eyes closed. He pressed a palm to his forehead, his breathing slightly ragged.
After a long moment, he lowered his hand and looked up at Xu Su. Seeing her standing so far away with a wary expression, he sighed in resignation. "You really don’t know how to take pity on a guy, do you?"
"..." As he watched her, Xu Su felt an inexplicable pang of guilt, but she hardened her heart and ignored him.
Zhou Mochen tried to coax her with a soft voice for a long time before finally stalking off to the bathroom with a resentful look on his face. He didn’t come out until it was time for dinner.
At the dinner table, he remained silent. Whenever their eyes accidentally met, he would shoot her a look of bitter resentment... a perfect picture of a deeply wronged wife.
Xu Su: "..."
She was truly at a loss for words. After this happened a few more times, Xu Su simply kept her eyes lowered, refusing to look at him, afraid she might give in.
As she ate, she silently chanted to herself, ’Feeling sorry for a man only brings misfortune upon yourself!’
After dinner, Xu Su went to Zhou Mochen’s study to play games. This time, however, she wasn’t using his computer.
In Zhou Mochen’s study, Xu Su now had her very own dedicated gaming setup.
The desk and chair were set up right next to Zhou Mochen’s desk. He followed her in, and they sat facing each other—one working, the other gaming.
As a high school senior, she only had time to grace *Immortal Continent* with her presence on weekend evenings.
The main Qingxuan Sect group chat was too large, and Xu Su had never posted in it. But in the smaller elite group, she’d pop in from time to time.
The main reason was to make sure her master didn’t forget he had a disciple like her. After all, she had worked hard to latch onto such a powerful backer.
However, with her heavy academic workload, Xu Su had limited time for idle chatter. She wasn’t very active in the group, and if not for their official master-disciple relationship, Master Nanyang probably would have forgotten he even had a disciple.
Although the elite group had fewer than thirty members, it was still quite lively. The daily chats were mostly about in-game quests.
Other topics included sparring matches between guilds, and occasionally, recruitment standards.
A large sect had a lot to manage. Whenever Xu Su had a break from her studies, she liked to lurk in the group, silently observing the top players chat.
Over the past few days, she had learned that most of the elites in the Qingxuan Sect were university students in real life. They had plenty of time to immerse themselves in the game, though there were also a few wage slaves.
There was even another high school student like Xu Su: Sika, the Outer Elder assigned to handle the sect’s recruitment this month, was also a senior.
When she logged on this time, Xu Su gave Nanyang a heads-up. He took his responsibility as her master quite seriously; seeing his rarely-online disciple, he specially set aside two hours to help her grind levels.
He coached her on her mechanics, explaining the basics of how to dodge damage and use her skills.
He also gifted her a scroll for a Top Grade Cultivation Technique for the Qi Refinement Realm, telling her that practicing it every morning in-game would double her results with half the effort.
Xu Su was grinding mobs to level up, but her attention was drawn to the group chat notifications...
It was the weekend, so the group chat was especially lively. Everyone was excitedly discussing a new secret realm map that had just appeared in the Immortal World, debating which Elder should lead an expedition team.
The small secret realms in the Immortal World were equivalent to dungeons. They spawned at random times and usually contained extremely rare treasures and materials.
Whenever a small secret realm was about to appear, there would be a sign two days in advance, allowing players to prepare. The major sects would spare no effort in competing for the resources within.
This particular secret realm was set to appear next Wednesday—a school and work day. The matter was important enough that even Si Xuan, the Sect Leader who rarely chimed in, made an appearance in the chat.
Since it was a weekday, the leading Elder needed to be strong, but the number of top-tier players in any sect was limited. They also had to be online when the realm opened. This was where the depth of a major sect showed. Several top players in the elite group immediately volunteered.
Although Xu Su was in the elite group, it wasn’t her place to comment on such matters. She had class on Wednesday, so she wouldn’t even have time to join the expedition and see the sights.
In the chat, several top players, including her master Master Nanyang, said they were free on Wednesday. In the end, Si Xuan made the final call: Elders Nanyang and Gu Yue would lead the team. Nearly a hundred disciples from the general channels had already signed up to go.
After a selection process, thirty were chosen.
After accepting the assignment, Nanyang pinged Xu Su in-game. "My good disciple, want to come along on Wednesday?"
The two of them were out leveling up, but they hadn’t officially partied up, so they weren’t on voice chat. The question came as a text message in the chat window.
Xu Su quickly replied, "Master, I’m a senior this year. I only have time to get on the game on weekend nights."
Nanyang: "I almost forgot you were a senior. But how does Sika have time to log on every day? She’s a senior too."
Xu Su had no idea about Sika’s personal business, but since it was her master asking, she offered an awkward reply. "Every school has different rules. I’ve heard some high schools don’t have morning and evening study halls."
Her reminder seemed to jog his memory. "Ah, that’s right! I remember now. Sika said she goes to a private academy."
Sika, the very person Nanyang was talking about, had been the only high school senior in the group before Xu Su joined. She was a girl, and very active.
She was something of a public face for the Qingxuan Sect. A few months ago, the *Immortal Continent* forums held a server-wide beauty contest, and Sika was one of the few female players from the Qingxuan Sect to make it into the top twenty.
Though she’d unfortunately missed the top ten, the top players in the group had comforted her by saying:
Sika was too young, her photo was with light makeup, and her outfit was too conservative. She wasn’t like the top-ten girls, who all wore full makeup and sexy outfits to score points for their figures. The animals voting in that contest all preferred the slutty, vixen type anyway.
Even so, whenever outsiders mentioned the beauties of the Qingxuan Sect, Sika was the first name that came to mind. Combined with her bubbly personality and ability to chat with anyone, she was treated as the group’s darling.
Just as they were talking about Sika, the girl in question coincidentally popped up in the group chat. She posted a crying emoji.
This prompted the top players, who were still lingering after their discussion, to ask her what was wrong.
ItsSika!: "The person I like is too cold and distant. I’m so bummed." She added another crying emoji.
Her profile picture was the same one she had submitted to the server-wide beauty contest.
Xu Su clicked on it for a closer look. The photo was taken in front of a blackboard. A girl with straight-cut bangs wore a white shirt under a navy blazer, paired with a dark gray pleated skirt that ended just above her knees. On her feet were a pair of black ankle boots, and a bow was pinned at her collar. She was flashing a peace sign at the camera, her smile as bright as a flower.