NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 37
After dinner, Chu Qingchan went to freshen up. While his room was still unoccupied, Xu Lin opened his computer, intending to upload two chapters of his draft.
A quick glance showed four bookmarks! This was normal, considering it was his first time publishing, and even the most outstanding works typically needed signing and recommendation processes.
Then he checked the system and noticed it was past midnight, marking the beginning of Monday, and the favorability mall had refreshed.
With a good habit of purchasing inexpensive items, he bought things like the tracking dust, which was only 300 points, and a few short-term intelligence boost cards.
His points were becoming more abundant; although he spent a considerable amount, he still had 33,300 points.
Chu Qingchan, Ji Yun, and Su Qingwan’s favorability had all reached 30, providing over 10,000 points each. Chu Qingchan contributed the most, with 15,000 points.
Bai Xiaoxiao, after he returned home, reached a favorability of 18, giving him 300 points. Reaching 20 was only a matter of time.
However, when someone’s favorability reached 30, he felt like he had crossed a threshold. Relying solely on one-time emotions and stimulation isn’t an all-powerful technique anymore.
Building a relationship required daily, steady effort, making him feel a bit tired. Nevertheless, Chu Qingchan, the big star, was truly impressive, and without realising it, her favorability reached 39, just a step away from 40.
Level 30 favorability already provided around 10,000 points, and he wondered how much level 40 would grant. Let’s check the mall first for any good items.**Choose to upgrade an existing level 1 ability to level 2: 10,000 points**
**Skill: Heart of Strengthening (after use, strengthen a skill or attribute for 33 minutes, cool down for 12 hours): 20,000 points **
**Lingxi Breathing Level 1: 3,000 points**
**Bright Morning Steps Level 1: 3,000 points**
The first item was practical. The last time upgrading a random level 1 skill to level 2 cost 5,000 points, and now, for 10,000 points, he could choose which one to upgrade.
He opened his skill panel. Initially, he had singing, archery, cooking, and manga at level 1. Now, he has a new skill: acting.
After some teasing and playing along with two people, he unexpectedly acquired a new skill. Not bad. However, which one should I upgrade?
If he wanted to develop in the entertainment industry, singing and acting were crucial. Still, he hadn’t decided to step into the limelight. Despite being inspired by the presence of many excellent girls around him, he, as a man, suddenly had the urge to strive. But fundamentally, he was a lazy guy.
He surely wouldn’t bother with the entertainment industry; it’s too complicated and demanding. Unless he’s exceptionally talented and can disregard the rules of the entertainment world,.
However, he’s about to act in a short film soon. Despite having Acting Level 1, he still feels a bit uneasy. Should he spend 10,000 points on it?
But upgrading his singing skills would also be beneficial for his upcoming visit to Teacher Guan. Besides, he’s going tomorrow. If he goes and embarrasses himself, what should he do? It’s not just embarrassing for him; it’s also damaging to our big star, Chu Qingchan!
However, he’s also eyeing the second item. It can enhance any ability or attribute and is like an upgraded version of the short-term strengthening card!
It costs 20,000 points, has a longer cooldown, but is evidently very useful. Strengthening physique, intelligence, and charm are straightforward, and enhancing any ability is useful. Not to mention, it has no level restrictions. After enhancing a Level 2 skill, it becomes Level 3. If he reaches Level 3, a further enhancement would make it Level 4.
Level 1 might seem low, but it’s not bad. He spent two months learning the guitar and can already play some simple tunes, but it didn’t give him Level 1.
Similarly, badminton and swimming, which he considered good, weren’t recognized by the system. Level 1 represents a certain level of proficiency.
Currently, he has Level 2 in writing and Xu Family Self-defence, helping him make a living and protect himself despite having a low physique.
Looking at Level 3 and beyond, Xu Lin doesn’t have any, but with his current Level 2 skills, he can sense the weight of Level 3 and above.
Then he looked at the last two items, both strange and seemingly unrelated to the favorability system.
They seemed like something out of martial arts or fantasy novels, but they were inexpensive, and the system wouldn’t produce something entirely useless.
The first one was Lingxi breathing, and the second felt like footwork or lightness technique. If they worked as the names suggested, he would be willing to spend 6,000 points on them.
After all, with his current strength, he might get beaten by Chu Qingchan’s younger sister. Although it’s a rule of law in society, having strong personal qualities is still useful at times.
Especially in Huaxia without firearm trafficking, agility is also a security guarantee, protecting family and friends.
If he buys both, it will cost 36,000 points. After considering everything, Xu Lin suddenly felt that his seemingly abundant points weren’t that many, maybe even insufficient.
“Sigh… How about upgrading singing first?”
“What’s up?” Chu Qingchan, who had finished showering, walked in, swaying her long legs, making Xu Lin a bit heated.
“No worries, let me check if my novel has been approved.”
“You still write novels?”
“Look at you talking like that. I’m good at everything; your husband here is a jack of all trades.”
“Stop being shameless. It’s this.” She raised her slender middle finger. “If my fans find out you’re taking advantage of me, they’ll string you up and beat you.”
“You have fans?!” Xu Lin expressed disbelief.
“Xu Lin, you’ve gone too far. My acting may have been subpar recently, but I graduated from a professional school. The work I did when I just started was quite good.”
“That just means you didn’t truly love acting.”
Xu Lin looked at her and picked up a cup to take a sip, only to realise it was Chu Qingchan’s cup. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he put it down. However, Chu Qingchan sneered, “You’ve already kissed; using a cup is still an issue? You men are really shameless. Kissing with your mouth is fine, but using a cup, that’s too much.”
“Cough, cough! Stop talking nonsense.” Xu Lin almost choked on the water.
“Speaking of which, back then, I wanted to escape from that family and change my life. I thought I liked performing and went there.”
Chu Qingchan showed a nostalgic expression and then sighed, “Now I feel like I’ve found my true passion.”
“Singing?”
“Yeah, I actually liked singing for a long time, but I had some friends who sang well, yet they didn’t become popular. I felt like I would be wasting my time.”
“But ever since I heard the song you sang that day, I realised maybe it’s not that I can’t make it, but that I haven’t found the right songs, songs that belong to me.”
“So, this time, knowing that teacher Guan is from my hometown, I thought I should give it a try. Maybe there will be good results.”
“After meeting teacher Guan, initially, it was just a simple visit. I didn’t plan to explain my thoughts on the first meeting.”
“But the teacher is too smart. She saw through my intentions at a glance, or maybe she’s surprisingly familiar with me. She mentioned her granddaughter really likes my acting.”
“It made me a bit awkward, but then she said she heard a brief acapella performance of mine in a segment of a variety show. That’s when she thought I had talent.”
“Then, as she happened to be going out, she took me along and listened to my demo in a studio in Qizhou. It was the song you sang.”
“Back then, she praised my voice and particularly commended your song. She decided I could practice with her a bit. However, whether I can achieve results or not, I still need to polish my basics.”
“Later, I went with her to Yanjing to handle some matters and met many talented old musicians. We gained a lot of insights.”
“Well, isn’t that a good result?” Xu Lin, hearing her talk about it, felt a bit excited and genuinely happy for her.
“But the teacher is coming back tomorrow, and you have to come with me. She wants to see your situation before making a decision.”
“Decide what? Isn’t she already accepting you as her disciple?”
“Of course not. She’s a master. Do you think she casually takes disciples?”
“Then why does she need to see me to decide?”
“Because I praised your voice and your creative talent, she wants to meet you. If you’re as good as I boasted, she might also consider taking you in. This way, both of us can be recognized by her.”
“Alright, but it seems like tomorrow will be a tough battle.”
“Yeah, Xu Lin, prepare well.”
“Then I’ll go to bed. I need to rest to perform well.”
“Sorry, I’m tired. I’ll step back. Goodnight, Xiao Lin.”
Chu Qingchan seemed to ignore him, plunging onto the bed, wrapped in the quilt, leaving him with something resembling a caterpillar.
Xu Lin glared at the caterpillar, swearing to himself, “I’ll deal with you sooner or later! I’ll break your legs!”
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