Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Other Possible Uses of the Concentration Potion

Happy cat-petting time was always fleeting.

Xia Xiqing stood up. Instead of saying goodbye to Zhang Yan immediately, she began rummaging through her fanny pack. A moment later, she pulled out a tiny Xiaoxiao plush toy.

"This is for you."

Cradled in the palm of her hand was a knitted orange cat. Exquisitely crafted, it looked adorably chubby and incredibly cute.

Zhang Yan took it and examined it carefully. "Did you make this yourself?"

She nodded.

"Is this Daju?"

She nodded again. It was obvious that this was Xia Xiqing’s first time giving a gift to the opposite sex. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and she looked quite anxious and uneasy.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Xia. I absolutely love this gift!"

Zhang Yan knew this was likely a return gift for the few meals he had treated her to, but the corners of his mouth still rose uncontrollably. He was probably the very first person to receive a handmade gift from Xia Xiqing. It was a great start—paving the way for countless more "firsts" in the future.

Seeing Zhang Yan’s genuine delight, Xia Xiqing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t that she had never attended dinners hosted by others before, but back then, she was still the old Xia Xiqing. Naturally, her return gifts had been luxury items of equal or even premium value. The principle that courtesy demands reciprocity was a mandatory lesson in her etiquette classes. Now, however, due to certain circumstances, she no longer had anything of equal value on hand to offer in return.

She had actually started making this gift right after Zhang Yan treated her to their first meal, and she had only just finished it today. She had felt extremely nervous about whether he would like it or not. Although the outcome turned out well, she had "owed" him yet another meal yesterday. At this rate, it felt like she would never be able to fully repay him.

Pondering over inspiration for her next gift, Xia Xiqing softly said goodbye. "See you tomorrow, then."

"See you tomorrow."

As they interacted more, every aspect of Xia Xiqing was changing little by little. Her farewells had evolved from an initial, indifferent nod, to a dry "goodbye," and finally to this "see you tomorrow"—a phrase that carried a small promise and a hint of anticipation.

Zhang Yan kept his eyes on her figure until she disappeared at the intersection. He then noticed a rather inconspicuous young man trailing far behind her.

He didn’t know who the young man was, but strictly speaking, the actual employer behind this guy was supposed to be him. Now that he knew something seemed to have happened to Xia Xiqing, Zhang Yan definitely needed to get to the bottom of it. This would be very helpful for his progress in winning her over.

However, across the vast lands of Huaxia, there were no legal private investigators. Even though Zhang Yan had money on hand, he had no channels to find someone who did this kind of work. But during a casual chat with Old Niu, the man had mentioned that he could take on such a job.

It seemed this service was aimed at groups looking to catch mistresses or cheating spouses. The main task was physically tailing the target and confirming their whereabouts. However, the tracking would only provide the specific office building or hotel; it did not cover illegal activities like secret photography or wiretapping. Furthermore, once the target entered a private building, they would no longer be followed. Since there was always a certain degree of risk involved, those extras weren’t part of the basic service package—though they could be resolved by "adding money."

After Zhang Yan explicitly stated that all business-related expenses would be reimbursed and the compensation doubled, Old Niu recommended this most experienced young man to him. Although the guy looked young, he had been doing this side gig for many years. Word had it that he had already helped over a hundred families part on good terms. As for the young man, he had no idea who his ultimate employer was, nor did he know the true identity of the person he was tailing, which ensured a certain level of confidentiality.

"Daju, oh, Daju. Why do I feel like you’re getting fatter and fatter? Tell me, do you have secret owners feeding you on the side?" Zhang Yan muttered.

MEOW, MEOW, MEOW?

After teasing the cat a bit longer, Zhang Yan stood up and prepared to head back as well.

At the Provincial Library, in the best reading spot.

His previous tip to the crowd had proven effective. In the end, everyone in the group chat reached an agreement with Old Niu: the guys’ group would only bid on one Divine Throne, always leaving the other spot for the girls’ group.

Zhang Yan found it hilarious at the time, thinking, "Bush Gate, aren’t you guys here to study? Are you treating this place like a matchmaking corner?"

The direct consequence was that today, someone actually tried to challenge Zhang Yan’s reservation for the only Divine Throne available to the guys. However, when Zhang Yan outright raised the booking fee to a hundred yuan, the group chat instantly went dead silent.

Ultimately, the people who came here to read were mostly students or struggling working-class individuals hoping to turn their luck around by passing some exams. Spending a little bit of pocket money in a moment of impulse was possible, but the moment the figure jumped from double digits to triple digits, the vast majority of them immediately found their rationality again.

Nevertheless, Zhang Yan still overlooked one thing: he was no longer the same person he used to be.

"Hello, senior."

On the other side of the Divine Throne, the person striking up a conversation with Zhang Yan was a college-aged girl. She had a somewhat scholarly aura, and her looks were around a solid six out of ten. As it turned out, while the guys’ group chatted every day about who ran into that mysterious beauty and when, the girls’ group was entirely focused on discussing a handsome guy who sat in that same exact spot reading a book every morning.

A few girls had even sneakily taken photos of Zhang Yan’s profile and sent them to their group. He had now become a localized "male god," and the number of girls wanting to spend a lovely morning with him was steadily growing.

Giving the junior schoolmate a polite nod, Zhang Yan drank his Concentration Potion and began his reading for the day.

Forty minutes later, Zhang Yan closed his sore eyes and rubbed them.

The aftereffects were becoming less and less noticeable. Zhang Yan could clearly feel that his energy levels were much more abundant and his mental recovery speed had grown stronger. Compared to the very beginning, when his absolute limit was effectively reading a little over 300,000 words, he could now break the 400,000-word mark!

The book The Wealth of Nations was fully titled An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, and the title itself perfectly encapsulated its core content. He had read half of it last time, and today he managed to push his progress all the way to the "Comprehension" stage in one fell swoop. It gave Zhang Yan a slight understanding of markets, economics, balance of interests, and the division of labor.

"Senior, you’re amazing! I’ve never seen anyone read so fast!"

The exclamation of admiration came from the junior schoolmate beside him, though he had no idea which school she went to. Unlike the bespectacled guy who used to share the table and thought Zhang Yan was just putting on a pretentious act, she simply thought Zhang Yan looked incredibly handsome when he was focused on his book.

Zhang Yan smiled and gave her a nod. This time, however, because the effects of the Concentration Potion hadn’t completely worn off yet, he found that his perception of the world was profoundly heightened.

The most obvious difference was that he could see every single detail of the girl’s face with crystal clarity. Every tiny flaw on her was precisely captured by his gaze, so... it was better not to look too closely.

Seeing Zhang Yan packing up his things to leave, the girl hurriedly added, "Senior, I’m a sophomore at Meng City University majoring in Chinese Language and Literature. Could I add you on WeChat?"

"Study hard, and become a useful person to society in the future."

Zhang Yan politely bid her farewell, leaving her with nothing but a dashing view of his back.

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