Grandpa Li had not yet replied to Chen Muye's message.
Li Shujin replied first, however.
Li Shujin: "Are you free today?"
After sending the message, she followed it with a wide-eyed cat sticker.
Chen Muye hesitated for a moment, thinking, is Li Shujin asking him out?
What was going on?
Although he had never interacted with Li Shujin before, he knew that as the campus belle, Li Shujin would never be so proactive toward any guy.
Unless that guy was named Chen Muye.
Just then, Grandpa Li also replied to his message.
Li Tiangang: "Morning, little Chen."
Chen Muye: "Are you free today?"
That damned delusion of a devoted admirer was back.
Li Tiangang: "Yes, I am."
Li Shujin: "???"
Chen Muye narrowed his eyes slightly.
Who to choose?
Better to die under a peony blossom, still a romantic ghost!
Since Li Shujin had been so proactive, how could he possibly refuse?
......
Chen Muye opened Grandpa Li's chat window.
Chen Muye: "I'd like to practice Taiji with you."
Li Tiangang: "Alright, wait for me by the South Lake in half an hour."
Chen Muye: "Got it."
Then he opened Li Shujin's chat window.
Chen Muye: "I am, but I've already arranged with your grandpa to practice Taiji in the morning, so I might only be free in the afternoon."
Only children make choices.
Having already turned twenty, Chen Muye naturally wanted both.
Li Shujin: "What a coincidence, I'm also practicing Taiji with Grandpa this morning. See you in a bit."
This time, Chen Muye froze for a full 99.99 seconds.
Damn impressive!
Did the Matchmaker tie a steel cable between him and Li Shujin or what?
He had originally planned to act as a time-management master, but now it seemed completely unnecessary.
Regardless, Chen Muye was still quite happy inside.
These days, practicing Taiji with a beauty while extending your life—who would say no to that?
He hurriedly got up, washed up, and bought some breakfast at the entrance of the residential complex.
He boarded the familiar bus and rushed toward South Lake in Yongcheng.
An hour later.
Chen Muye arrived at the edge of South Lake.
Grandpa Li and Li Shujin had arrived twenty minutes earlier than him.
There was no help for it; he lived on the edge of the city, while Grandpa Li and Li Shujin lived right in the center.
Yongcheng's South Lake was located close to the city center.
Even though Grandpa Li and Li Shujin had left home later than him, they still arrived before him.
Arriving at the agreed-upon spot.
Chen Muye spotted Grandpa Li and Li Shujin from afar.
Today, Grandpa Li was wearing a set of Taiji practice clothes, looking very much like a master.
As for Li Shujin, she wore a yoga outfit that perfectly accentuated the curves of her body.
Her hair was tied up in a bun, and just standing there, she exuded a sense of vibrant energy.
Chen Muye walked up with a smile: "Grandpa, good morning."
When looking at Li Shujin, he maintained the proper politeness: "Classmate Li Shujin, good morning."
Li Shujin smiled in response: "Good morning."
Grandpa Li stepped forward and gently patted Chen Muye's shoulder: "Little Chen, I never expected you and Xiaojin to be classmates."
"Ha, Grandpa, I didn't expect it either."
"Sigh, it's such a pity about this illness of yours..."
"Grandpa, let's not talk about that. Let's just practice Taiji." ...I feel like I can still be saved.
"Alright, let's do Taiji."
The three of them briefly warmed up their bodies.
Li Tiangang led Chen Muye and Li Shujin as they began to practice Taiji.
With a focused mind, Chen Muye kept his attention entirely on the Taiji, aside from stealing a few glances at Li Shujin's shapely backside.
Half an hour later.
The entire set of Taiji was completed.
Chen Muye concentrated, and the system interface appeared.
[Name: Chen Muye]
[Lifespan: 72 days]
[Aptitude: 8]
[Physique: 3.2]
[Mental Strength: 7]
[Available Attribute Points: 0.1]
[Cultivation Manual: Taiji Guiding Technique (First Realm: Beginner 15%)]
Sure enough, there was a problem with his martial arts cultivation manual.
During the rest break.
Chen Muye looked at Li Tiangang and spoke: "Grandpa, I have a question I'd like to ask you."
"Hm, what is it?"
"Yesterday when I went home and looked at other Taiji teaching videos, I always felt that the Taiji you practice is different from theirs. Yours is much more powerful than theirs."
"Haha, little Chen has a good eye. An old Daoist priest taught me this Taiji when I was fourteen, and I've been practicing it my whole life, so it's definitely better than what others do."
"Grandpa, then can you tell me what makes your Taiji different from other people's?"
Li Tiangang thought for a moment: "If you want to talk about differences, there actually isn't much difference. The only difference is that my breathing method is different from theirs."
"Breathing method?"
After pondering for a moment, Chen Muye had a sudden flash of understanding.
It turned out to be the breathing!
Martial arts manuals had to be paired with corresponding breathing techniques for the system to recognize them.
The Earth-Shattering Fist didn't have a breathing technique, nor did the Lightning Fivefold Whip.
The online Taiji tutorials lacked them as well.
That was why the system couldn't recognize them.
It had to be this way.
When he had the chance, he definitely needed to find other martial arts manuals to verify this.
For the next two hours and more.
Chen Muye devoted himself wholeheartedly to learning the Taiji Guiding Technique.
Spending the better part of the day repeating it seven or eight times, he finally mastered the Taiji Guiding Technique.
[Name: Chen Muye]
[Lifespan: 88 days]
[Aptitude: 8]
[Physique: 4.1]
[Mental Strength: 7]
[Available Attribute Points: 0]
[Cultivation Manual: Taiji Guiding Technique (First Realm: Beginner 55%)]
In order to be able to continuously practice Taiji with Grandpa Li.
Chen Muye invested all his available attribute points into his physique.
Clearly, his stamina today had improved quite a bit compared to yesterday.
"Hah!"
Chen Muye let out a long breath.
Having learned the Taiji Guiding Technique, his psychological pressure was somewhat relieved.
As long as he persisted in practicing the Taiji Guiding Technique, his lifespan would continue to increase.
Finally, he wouldn't have to live in constant terror.
As noon approached.
Grandpa Li treated Chen Muye to lunch.
This meal should have been paid for by Chen Muye.
Grandpa Li had taught him the Taiji Guiding Technique, which was practically saving his life.
You scratch my back, I scratch yours.
Even a drop of water received in need should be repaid with a gushing spring, let alone saving a life.
It was just that his pockets were empty, and the restaurant Grandpa Li chose happened to be a high-end establishment.
The meal cost nearly a thousand.
Even if he wanted to treat Grandpa Li, he couldn't afford it.
He simply couldn't afford to pay.
He would just have to wait until he was making money in the future to repay Grandpa Li.
Hopefully, the 98-year-old Grandpa Li could hold on until then.
Grandpa Li had a very regular routine.
He had to take a nap at noon.
Therefore, right after finishing the meal, he headed home.
However, Li Shujin did not go back.
She told Grandpa Li that she had arranged to go shopping with a classmate.
The moment Grandpa Li left, she turned her head to look at Chen Muye.
"Classmate Chen Muye, how about we take a walk by the lake together?"
It wasn't really a lie; Chen Muye could be considered her classmate after all.
Chen Muye thought about it for a moment.
Just because you ask me out doesn't mean I have to go, right?
Wouldn't I lose all my dignity if I did?
As a handsome guy, didn't he have his pride to maintain?
"Sure!"
......
Pride wasn't worth a dime.
The two returned to the banks of South Lake to walk and aid their digestion.
Because they weren't very familiar with each other, Li Shujin felt a bit awkward.
After walking several hundred meters around the lake, she finally spoke up: "Classmate Chen Muye, I heard from Grandpa that you have lung cancer, and it's in the late stages?"
Chen Muye nodded in acknowledgment: "Yeah."
Li Shujin slowed her pace.
She glanced sideways at Chen Muye, her emotions complicated.
She had assumed that mentioning this would cause ChenMuye to become sad and upset, to burst into tears.
After all, late-stage lung cancer meant life was reaching its end.
To anyone, that would be a massive blow.
Yet there was no sadness or sorrow in Chen Muye's tone.
The expression on his face was entirely natural.
It was as if late-stage lung cancer was nothing more than a trivial matter in his eyes.
Li Shujin thought to herself: Has Chen Muye already accepted the fact that he's going to die, which is why he's so calm?
The sympathy of an adolescent girl flared up once again.
"Classmate Chen Muye, do you have any wishes?"
"Wishes? Of course I do."
Li Shujin clenched her teeth: "I—I can help you."
It was her first time being so proactive toward a boy.
But recalling that ChenMuye's life was coming to an end, her sympathy triumphed over her modesty.