The next morning, Chu Ge went through his usual meditation and cultivation, followed by running, squats, and push-ups. After a shower, it was still only a little past eight.
His biological clock was becoming increasingly normal.
He'd stayed up quite late yesterday, but still woke up this early, feeling quite energetic.
Cultivating immortality, aside from everything else, certainly had an exceptionally good health regimen.
So, this millennia-old monster had a rosy, delicate complexion. Looking at him lounging on the sofa, leisurely reading, he was truly breathtaking.
The only pity was that he was reading on a mobile app, not a physical book; it lacked the right feel.
Why did his face get redder and redder the more I looked at it? "This author is rubbish!" The beautiful sect leader angrily gripped her phone and clenched her fist. "What kind of person is this? Is that how you use 'throwing a whip to stop a river'?"
Chu Ge, unaware of what she was reading, casually chimed in, "Of course, many authors misuse idioms. You get used to it after a while. By the way, you're pretty good at history, you even know the correct origin of 'throwing a whip to stop a river'?"
Qiu Wuji sneered, "I'm not entirely sure of the exact origin, but I know this phrase isn't used in the context of men and women's affairs!"
"..." Chu Ge suddenly felt this sounded familiar, and he secretly backed away, his eyes darting around.
The next moment, Qiu Wuji pulled him back in mid-air: "Want to know who this rubbish author who misuses idioms is, Chu Ge?"
Chu Ge: "...This author is absolutely handsome and dashing, but you newbie wouldn't understand this precise and skillful driving technique."
"Thump!" The driver, showing off his driving skills, crashed miserably, his limbs twitching as he was pinned to the sofa, motionless.
Qiu Wuji's aura burned fiercely: "The female sect leader and her female disciples serving together... Chu Ge, you've got some nerve! Why don't you just die, Chu Ge?"
Chu Ge clutched his head: "That's just wishful thinking, it's not real... Wait, why are you looking at my old books? To learn my writing style?"
"Who wants to learn your vulgar writing style?"
"Emmmm, we need to broaden our perspective, broaden our horizons. For example, if you want to see my beautiful writing and delicate expressions, don't focus on this or that. That's not what you're trying to learn..."
"You call your lousy writing beautiful? What kind of misunderstanding do you have about yourself? Is 'throwing a whip to stop a flowing river' beautiful? Or is 'the jade rabbit pounding medicine' poetic? Or is serving a female sect leader like being in paradise? 'Broaden our horizons,' my foot! Where are we broadening our horizons?"
"I'm so damn... I can't explain this to you..."
"Ding-dong!" Amidst the noise, the doorbell rang.
Both of them were startled. Qiu Wuji didn't use his divine sense, assuming it was Yueying coming to visit, so he released Chu Ge and got up to open the door.
The moment the door opened, Qiu Wuji froze. Who was this woman?
She turned warily to look at Chu Ge. Chu Ge, sensing something was amiss, followed her from the sofa. Seeing the woman outside, he was even more stunned than Qiu Wuji.
Gu…Ruoyan?
Gu Ruoyan was equally stunned. Seeing a stunningly beautiful woman open the door was already surprising enough, but then she saw Chu Ge appear behind her, both wearing identical pajamas, one with a crying face and the other with a smiling face—it was like performance art.
They were on a blind date not long ago, and now they're living together? Are writers really this promiscuous?
Qiu Wuji stared at Chu Ge with a dangerous glint in his eyes, as if to say, "Who is this woman?"
Chu Ge snapped out of his daze and hurriedly said, "Miss Gu, you are…"
Gu Ruoyan also came to her senses, took a step back, looked up at the door number, then realized the action was pointless. She tapped her head and laughed, "Wrong door. Maybe it's the one across the street…" Looking for Yueying?
Sure enough, Gu Ruoyan continued, "Isn't there a girl living across the street? She always wears black and doesn't talk much." Since they'd already come this far, there was no point in hiding it. Chu Ge simply said, "If you're not even sure if someone lives across the street, how did you find out?"
Gu Ruoyan smiled, "According to others, I know she's on this floor, but… after some investigation, it's a single room across the street, and this is a two-bedroom apartment. I misunderstood; I thought she'd live in a nicer place." Those who fight in underground boxing are usually quite wealthy. No one would expect that Yueying, with her winning streak, could be so poor… No wonder both the wall-walker and Gu Ruoyan's first reaction was to come to the bigger place first.
Chu Ge understood this and was both amused and exasperated by the reason he'd been dragged into this. Then he felt a chill; Gu Ruoyan's statement, based on others, sounded like it was based on the wall-walker's account. The wall-walker's perception, after Qiu Wuji erased his later memories, should be like this, but wasn't he taken away by the police?
He asked casually, "Why are you looking for her? Visiting relatives?"
Gu Ruoyan smiled slightly, "Aunt Wu and I are colleagues, we even planned to… heh, so you should trust my identity and not be so wary."
Colleague…
Secret unit?
Bringing up his mother, Chu Ge's guard truly lowered. He remembered his mother mentioning that she was introducing a civil servant. Civil servants were certainly trustworthy; if Yueying could work with the government, she'd be in a much better position than she was now.
Unexpectedly, what a coincidence.
After standing there for a while, Qiu Wuji finally sensed something amiss in his words and couldn't help but ask, "Chu Ge, who is this?"
Chu Ge smiled awkwardly, "An old acquaintance, you should be able to trust her."
Gu Ruoyan winked mischievously, "And this beautiful lady is?"
For some reason, Chu Ge felt a surge of intense impulse, an impulse he hadn't even felt when Qiu Wuji was at her most alluring after her bath—he suddenly reached out and wrapped his arm around Qiu Wuji's waist, saying each word carefully, "This is my girlfriend."
Unemployed?
My girlfriend is prettier than you, more ethereal than you, and more capable than you.
Although she's not really my girlfriend… Don't be stubborn, help me save face, I'll beat you up later.
The moment his hand touched her waist, Qiu Wuji tensed up, but her first instinct was to restrain herself, resisting the urge to throw Chu Ge away.
She sensed Chu Ge's defiant intent… Was that the right way to describe it? Not quite, something like that.
Whether that's what she meant or not, the point is she didn't want to be overly affectionate with this woman, and that's for sure!
This is a good thing!
She suppressed the discomfort of being hugged around the waist and smiled slightly: "Miss...would you like to come in and sit down? Have a cup of tea?"
Gu Ruoyan returned the smile: "No need, I have official business to attend to. Please, both of you."
Gu Ruoyan turned gracefully and knocked on the door opposite. Yueying opened the door, showing surprise, then saw what Gu Ruoyan was holding, fell silent, and invited Gu Ruoyan in.
Qiu Wuji transmitted his voice: "I saw an ID with a badge, very similar to the badges on those constables' hats."
"The national emblem," Chu Ge whispered. "She is indeed an official. It's a good thing for Yueying. We won't get involved."
Qiu Wuji smiled faintly: "When are you going to take your dog paw off my waist?"
Chu Ge withdrew his hand as if electrocuted, forcing a smile: "Just trying to save face..."
"But she doesn't seem to care."
Chu Ge: "..."
"Showing off how well you're doing to someone who doesn't care about you is childish and meaningless." Qiu Wuji turned to look at him, smiling slightly: "You're not usually like this. Is there something that provoked you?"
"No, it's just that I went on a blind date, and she didn't like me..."
"As long as you respect yourself, what others think of you doesn't matter. Don't be so childish in the future... uh, wait, a blind date?" Qiu Wuji's expression turned serious, nodding: "Then you did the right thing."
Chu Ge: "..."
Qiu Wuji: "..." He felt like he'd let something slip...
Why did he do the right thing with a blind date? The atmosphere has become strange.
Meeting Chu Ge's increasingly intense gaze, Qiu Wuji stammered, "I...I mean, there's a saying online: 'You used to ignore me, but tomorrow you'll be begging for my attention.' Yes, that's the spirit! I, my Father God, am of course unworthy of others! Go write a book! So what if you're in the government? World-renowned bestselling authors are respected, aren't they?"
"Hmm." Chu Ge interrupted her nervous rambling, smiling slightly. "Don't call it 'government office' anymore, it's too strange. Different departments in this world have different names; look them up online."
Qiu Wuji sighed. "Then what department is she in?"
"I don't know, it's confidential."
"She was just spying on our minds, you know?"
"Huh?"
Qiu Wuji hummed. "Of course, I've blocked out important information; she can only see the surface."
Yue Ying looked at Gu Ruoyan's identification, her face pale. "You...are you here to arrest me?"
Gu Ruoyan smiled. "I'm not responsible for arrests."
She was quite surprised.
With Yueying's powerful ability, she could discern people's thoughts at a glance.
But the woman next to Chu Ge earlier, while seemingly full of questions like, "What does this woman do? Is she Chu Ge's old flame? Should I kill her?", her identity remained unclear.
Chu Ge was the same; his thoughts were crystal clear, so she wasn't his girlfriend… Actually, whether she was or not, it seemed likely, so it didn't matter. However, his girlfriend's identity remained a mystery.
Was it because no one had considered that possibility? Hmm… that's possible. Their son would never have any problems anyway; asking too many questions wouldn't be good…
— Name: Gu Ruoyan.
Position: Director of the Second Information Division of the Special Affairs Department of the National Security Bureau, Deputy Director and Editor-in-Chief of the National Supernatural Ability Information Collection and Editing Society.
Ability: Mind Reading.
Development Level: Medium.
Nature: Multi-category.
Potential: S.