Book 2: Studying for the Rise to Prominence of the Human Race - 90: Kiss
Finally, it was time for Su Chen to meet with Zhu Chen and the others again.
They changed the rendezvous point to the path that circled around the lake.
Some people say that the rendezvous point a person chooses reflects their state of mind. The Zhu Clan chose the meeting location, perhaps implying that they were growing impatient. They wanted to conclude this matter as quickly as they could with as few interruptions as possible.
Zhu Chen said as they walked along the path, “Three more days have gone by. Has Prince Su thought about it a bit more?”
Su Chen glanced around as if he hadn’t heard the question and then asked, “How come you’re the only one here this time?”
Zhu Chen replied, “Is Prince Su referring to Xianyao and Yanniang? They both wanted to meet Prince Su, but they were worried that Prince Su would misunderstand them......”
They failed trying to make a sudden move last time, almost ruining the transaction. They desperately needed to succeed in their negotiations this time, so they didn’t allow Zhu Xianyao to appear in order to avoid provoking Su Chen.
Su Chen laughed, “Don’t worry. She is the most important bargaining chip in this exchange; if she isn’t here, then that would be quite a pity.”
Zhu Chen’s eyes lit up. “Prince Su means......”
“Zhu Xianyao is quite a good woman. I’ll take her, but I will not be joining your Zhu Clan; rather, she will be following me. As for how I use her, that is completely up to me.”
“This......” Zhu Chen hesitated.
Just as Shi Kaihuang had said, the females in the Zhu Clan commanded respect.
Zhu Xianyao was no small figure within her clan. She was the Zhu Clan’s eldest inheritor, the future head of the clan, and she possessed stunning looks and formidable ability. They had brought her for a variety of reasons: 1) to improve their attractiveness, 2) to demonstrate their sincerity, and 3) to give her a chance to perform an important service and temper herself.
Zhu Chen didn’t have the right or the courage to even think about handing Zhu Xianyao over as if she were an item.
“Since Prince Su prefers it, how could Xianyao ignore it?”
Thankfully, Zhu Chen didn’t need to make that decision. Zhu Xianyao took the initiative to walk out herself.
She respectfully and gracefully bowed to Su Chen. The students who walked by were stupefied, wondering when such a beauty had arrived at the Hidden Dragon Institute.
Not just that, but the beauty took the initiative to walk behind Su Chen and begin massaging his shoulders.
The Zhu Clan’s maidens had probably been taught how to take care of others before. Zhu Xianyao’s small hands were experienced, and the force in her fingers penetrated his muscles, causing him to relax. Su Chen smiled comfortably. “Your hands are quite skilled and steady. I never expected that Miss Xianyao would possess such refined technique. I feel as if my soul is about to leave my body!”
Zhu Xianyao’s jade-like hands gently pressed into Su Chen’s back, applying pressure to his meridians. She gently laughed, “Prince Su is quite impressive to use words like ‘my soul is about to leave my body’. If Prince Su likes it, Xianyao can add a little more strength to it.”
Traces of Origin Energy entered Su Chen’s body through her fingers.
Su Chen allowed the Origin Energy to enter his body as if he felt nothing. He laughed, “Are you done massaging me? If you’re done, you can stop now. This is a busy street after all, and people might consider this to be indecent.
Zhu Xianyao laughed, her voice fluttering, “Ooh, Prince Su, how could you say such things? There are so many people here who are jealous of you. Look at their jealous and envious expressions. Don’t all men enjoy these kinds of looks?”
She was not wrong.
There were quite a few students passing by, and all of them were completely stunned. They stopped to gaze at Su Chen as they discussed amongst themselves, “Who is that, and why is he so close to such a beauty?”
“Isn’t that Su Chen? He’s the Hidden Dragon Institute’s infamous piece of trash.” Some of them recognized Su Chen.
“It’s him? How could the Heavens be so unfair? Even a piece of trash like him has such a beautiful woman as his partner!”
“And she even massages his shoulders in public?”
“Doing this kind of improper thing in broad daylight? How uncultured!” Some of the more traditional students were unable to continue watching.
“Whoa, whoa, that’s a bit excessive. Isn’t she just massaging his shoulders? How have they reached the point of being uncultured?”
“If he wants a massage, they should go home and do it. Why do it here other than to provoke those of us who are single? I can’t stand those who flaunt and showcase their love for each other.”
“That’s right! That’s right!”
Most of the students were jealous.
All Su Chen could do was shake his head. “I haven’t reached the point yet where I need to rely on a woman to improve my status.”
“But to most men, aren’t women just used to demonstrate their status?” Zhu Xianyao leaned into Su Chen’s ear and whispered.
Her flowery fragrance lingered in the air.
Su Chen’s heart jumped violently from her teasing before he calmed down. “Miss Zhu, if you continue to act this way, I won’t be able to control myself. Do you want me to incur the jealousy of all the students here? If you are willing to, I am not against throwing caution to the wind.”
Zhu Xianyao raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Do you dare?”
Su Chen felt a trace of anger rise up in his heart. “You’ll know whether I dare or not once you try it out.”
He suddenly turned around and embraced Zhu Xianyao, leaning in to kiss her.
He moved swiftly and suddenly, catching Zhu Xianyao off-guard, her mind blank.
She was stunned.
Completely and utterly stunned.
In fact, everyone surrounding them was also stunned.
Who kissed someone without even speaking to them first?
Although people on the Primordial Continent were generally pretty open-minded, not many people kissed in public1.
They did not kiss for long, but it was more than enough to leave a deep impression on the others.
Zhu Xianyao finally recovered from her moment of dizziness and pushed Su Chen aside. “You......!”
She hadn’t expected that Su Chen would really dare to follow through with it.
They were originally just playing a game, but it had suddenly become real. Zhu Xianyao was in turmoil.
Su Chen smiled. “I warned you, but you wouldn’t listen.”
Zhu Xianyao felt her anger increasing, but then she heard the sounds of cheers breaking out around them.
She turned around to find a large group of students surrounding them, many of them yelling, “Another one! Another one!”
Another one my ass! Go die! Zhu Xianyao almost cursed aloud.
She turned around to look at Su Chen and said, “You’ve won. We’ve fooled around enough. It’s time to get down to business.”
“Suit yourself,” Su Chen laughed. “But this place is no longer convenient. Let’s go to the Origin Energy Tower, and we can discuss things as we go.”
“Fine.”
Su Chen turned around, feeling slightly pleased with himself.
Just as they were about to leave, he suddenly froze in place.
A pair of eyes were staring back at him from within the crowd.
It was Gu Qingluo.
1. I should note here that in Chinese culture, people are generally expected to keep displays of affection private.