41: Run, Senior!

Back at the dorm that night, the guys were eager to try out the violin. Shen Qian wasn't stingy, so he let them try, but the intense noise almost burst their eardrums.

"We can't play this thing. Second Brother's guitar is better."

Chang Heng said this while strumming the guitar strings.

"Third Brother, why don't you play a song? I've never heard a violin performance in my life."

"Yeah, Third Brother, give it a try."

Under the insistence of his friends, Shen Qian had no choice. It was also a good opportunity for him to test the limits of the experience card, so he randomly found a piece of music online.

When the melodious music started, the three who had initially treated it as entertainment instantly became serious. After the piece concluded, all three were stunned.

They were complete laymen, but they could definitely tell what sounded good. Shen Qian's level could not have been reached unless he had practiced since childhood. Especially the aura he exuded while playing—it was exactly like a master, even if they didn't know what a master truly looked like. They just felt Shen Qian was it.

"Third Brother, you must be the legendary hidden master, pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger. You hid too deeply. Before you played, I thought the only difference between us was money.

Now that you've played, I feel like we aren't even people from the same world."

"Knock it off. What world am I from? What, am I in another world?"

With one sentence, Shen Qian utterly destroyed the sophisticated atmosphere he had just created. His goal was to attract girls, not to create distance from his dorm mates.

Showing off is something you only need to do in front of girls; there's no need for it among guys.

"Third Brother, play one more song. I feel like your skill level is really high. I want to record it and post it on my Douyin account."

"Alright."

Shen Qian thought the suggestion was good. To be a scumbag, he couldn't be a public figure himself, but expanding his influence through others was acceptable.

After a moment's thought, he found a love song. As his fingers moved across the strings, the beautiful music seemed to genuinely possess emotion.

"Awesome! That was incredible, Third Brother! You'll definitely be selected."

He simply laughed off the compliments from his dorm mates.

Early the next morning, Shen Qian woke up early. When he arrived at the playground, the time was 6:24 AM. He wasn't in a hurry and began stretching.

About two minutes later, a girl quickly ran onto the playground and rushed over to him. Because she ran so fast, she could only lean on her knees and gasp for breath after stopping beside Shen Qian.

"Senior Sister, quite punctual, aren't you?"

Shen Qian smiled and pointed at his watch.

"Just barely. Just a tiny bit more, and Senior Sister would have had to kiss her university life goodbye."

The time was now 6:28 AM. Just as Shen Qian said, she was only just on time.

"Let's go."

"What?"

"Running. Senior Sister, you didn't forget, did you? I asked you to come and run with me."

"We're really running?"

"What else?"

"Then can you let me rest for a bit? I sprinted over from the dorm, and I really can't run anymore."

"Of course. I usually run 3 kilometers. How about this: I'll let you rest for 1 kilometer, and you only need to run 2 kilometers."

"How much?! How much did you say?!"

Du Xixi's voice almost cracked.

"Do you think resting for too long? You're right, cutting off a third immediately won't do."

"No, no, no! 2 kilometers is fine, 2 kilometers! Don't add any more, I beg you."

"Alright, Senior Sister, you rest here. I'll come and get you after I finish my first kilometer."

After speaking, Shen Qian started running.

Watching Shen Qian complete lap after lap, Du Xixi looked utterly distraught, but what had to come, always came.

"I... I can't do it. I can't anymore... You, just put me out of my misery. You might as well kill me..."

After one kilometer, the girl was lying on the ground, panting heavily, feeling like her entire body was shutting down.

Of course, Shen Qian wouldn't actually do anything to her. He just kept running by himself without showing any concern, which pushed the girl's sense of grievance to the extreme, and tears started flowing uncontrollably.

"Xixi, why are you here?"

The sudden voice startled the girl. It was Xie Wan.

"Why are you crying?"

"It's nothing, Xiao Wan, it's nothing."

Xie Wan quickly noticed Shen Qian running and frowned slightly.

"Did he bully you? I'm going to talk some sense into him."

"No, he didn't bully me."

Du Xixi quickly stopped Xie Wan. If she provoked Shen Qian again, who knew what other ideas this guy would come up with to torment her.

"It's alright, Xixi. I'll reason with him. No matter what, he has to be reasonable, right?"

As Shen Qian slowly approached, Xie Wan immediately followed him.

"Shen Qian, Xixi has already apologized, and she met the conditions you set. Why are you still unwilling to let her go?

This matter started because of me. If you wanted to use Xixi to get my attention, you succeeded. Tell me, what do you want to let Xixi go?"

Hearing her words, Shen Qian rolled his eyes internally. Were all pretty girls this confident?

"Got my attention"—what kind of damn Overbearing CEO dialogue was that?

"Senior Sister, please step away from me. I'm running, and I'm afraid you might cramp up, fall on me, and then accuse me of indecent assault."

"Regarding the post, Xixi has apologized. Why are you so petty as a man?"

"Whether I'm petty or generous is not for you to decide. Who do you think you are? How ridiculous."

Shen Qian didn't pay any attention to Xie Wan until he finished the entire 3 kilometers.

Xie Wan had said one thing correctly: he was indeed using Du Xixi, but not to attract Xie Wan's attention. Instead, he was turning Du Xixi into bait for fishing.

What use was simply attracting attention? Getting Xie Wan to fall into the trap was the main point.

After finishing the three kilometers, Shen Qian walked straight toward Du Xixi.

"We agreed on 2 kilometers today, but you only ran 1 kilometer. What do you have to say?"

"I really can't run anymore. I don't usually exercise at all. 1 kilometer is my absolute limit..."

"Shen Qian! What exactly do you want?!"

As expected, Xie Wan was back.

Shen Qian frowned and looked at Du Xixi.

"Did you bring her here? Senior Sister, are you trying to extend the punishment time? Originally, you only had to run with me for a month, but since you're provoking me like this, I can't help but increase the duration."

"No, Xiao Wan, please stop talking. He didn't bully me; he just asked me to run with him. It's just that I really couldn't run anymore, which is why I'm resting here."

She was genuinely terrified. If Shen Qian extended the time again, it would be like taking half her life. Waking up before 6:30 AM every day and having to run—it was the most severe torture in the world.

"You want to run? I'll run with you! Stop tormenting Xixi!"