Zhen couldn't say anything right away when he heard her words.
She seemed to think that he had a reason, but just didn't want to say it.
However, considering how close they used to be, it wasn't easy to lie to her, especially since she was a smart woman who wasn't easily fooled.
But she couldn't force him to tell her.
"Miss Lin, I don't take private tutor jobs, so if you want to learn from me, you can attend my class," Zhen replied with words that naturally made Lin Qingxue seem a little offended, though Zhen calmly continued eating.
Lin Qingxue slightly furrowed her brows, as if she felt neglected by him.
"You seem to hate me now," she said with a sigh.
Zhen hadn't expected her to say that after he responded so formally.
Wasn't she the one who started this? And now she spoke as if he hated her.
Women really were all the same, no matter how smart they were.
"I don't hate anyone. How could I possibly hate you?" he said.
"Then why won't you tell me about this? I just want to know why you're so sure that cultivation is real," she asked.
"It's simply a belief in my imagination. Everyone believes in their own imagination from time to time. I'm sure, as a doctor, you also believe in one or two things that others think are impossible," Zhen replied.
"Xia Zhen, I know you're lying. As a historian, you see things differently than others. But I know you're not someone who adopts a belief without research."
"Why are you so eager to know about this?" Zhen asked.
"I have my own reasons."
"Reasons you won't tell anyone, am I right?" Zhen smiled faintly and added, "Then I also don't have to tell anyone what I know."
Of course, if he had to guess, Zhen thought the reason Lin Qingxue was trying to find out about this might be because she had discovered something strange among the elites who were seriously playing a cultivation game.
She came from an elite family herself, so she probably knew more about their behavior.
Those elites weren't the type to believe in oddities easily. If they were playing a cultivation game that seriously, there had to be a strong reason—or at least someone they trusted had convinced them to play.
Lin Qingxue was clearly uneasy, so she chose to approach him to learn more.
He was the only historian who actually studied cultivation topics, while the others treated it as fiction. Where else could someone like Lin Qingxue go to learn?
If Lin Qingxue knew about his recent discoveries, Zhen feared she might cling to him even more.
But there was no way he'd use something like that to win a woman over.
Lin Qingxue fell silent for quite a while after hearing his last sentence.
She seemed to be thinking about what to say next.
But clearly, it was difficult for her to say anything now.
Suddenly, she stood up from her seat and left without another word.
Zhen wasn't surprised at all to see that.
This woman had always been like this—she could walk away at any moment if she felt there was nothing left to be done.
"Mr. Xia, really, are you actually close with Lin Qingxue? Then why do you seem like you're ignoring her? You know, she's Lin Qingxue! All the PhD students and young lecturers are constantly trying to get her attention, but you act like you don't care even when she came to see you."
Just after Lin Qingxue left, Zhen heard Yan Zhu's voice beside him.
The man had suddenly appeared, looking at him strangely.
Apparently, he had seen and heard his conversation with Lin Qingxue.
After that, he sat down in the seat Lin Qingxue had just left. He had brought his own food and started eating in front of Zhen.
"Mr. Xia, don't tell me you're not interested in Lin Qingxue?" he asked, seeing that Zhen remained silent.
"Yan Zhu, would you try to please your ex-girlfriend just to win her back?" Zhen responded, feeling uncomfortable that his student was constantly giving him unsolicited advice.
"Of course not! Only a man with no pride would do that. Men are always at an advantage in a relationship. If there's a breakup, it's a loss for the woman, so it's them who should be trying to get us back…" Yan Zhu replied passionately, causing Zhen to smile.
He was known for his strong pride despite often flirting with women. His answer was exactly what Zhen expected.
Apparently, after saying that, Yan Zhu suddenly seemed to realize something and looked at Zhen strangely.
"Mr. Xia… Are you saying Lin Qingxue is your ex?" he asked, his expression full of disbelief.
Zhen smiled and nodded without saying a word.
Seeing that, Yan Zhu took a deep breath.
"Mr. Xia, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want," he said.
He clearly didn't quite believe it.
Zhen replied, "I didn't say anything."
"But you nodded. That's the same as saying Lin Qingxue is your ex."
"Well, she is my ex."
Yan Zhu, "...."
"You're serious, Mr. Xia?" Yan Zhu was overwhelmed with disbelief.
"You can ask her, or anyone who was in the same year as me at this university. Do you think it's so surprising? Unlike you, who constantly fails when trying to approach women, I almost always succeed—even without much effort," Zhen said.
Yan Zhu struggled to say anything after hearing that, only opening and closing his mouth in frustration.
Coincidentally, Zhen had finished his meal and immediately left.
He wasn't interested in staying any longer at the restaurant.
Back in his classroom, he resumed teaching.
Once that was over, he headed to the faculty dorms.
Every lecturer basically had a dormitory at the university, though they were rarely used.
He was feeling too lazy to go home since he wanted to return to the cultivation game as soon as possible, so he decided to head to his dorm.
Even though it was called a dorm, it was more like an apartment—just slightly smaller since it was meant for one person and located across from the university.
He lay down on his neatly-kept dorm bed and put on his Virtual Glasses, logging back into Sacred Beast Mountain.
"Clear everyone out! We're taking over this inn for now!"
Zhen, who had just logged into the game world, couldn't help but be stunned by the sudden loud shout from outside.
"Who's being so arrogant?" he wondered, quickly standing up and heading outside to see.
It turned out there was a group of young men and women in red robes gathered in front of the inn, scolding a fat middle-aged man who could only nod repeatedly and plead with them not to destroy his inn.