Southvale Province.
On the highway from Southvale City to Riverford City, a jet-black Red Flag LA sped along at a steady one hundred and twenty kilometers per hour, sometimes overtaking other cars, sometimes being overtaken.
Andrew Han's expression was calm, his eyes clear as drifting mist.
Both hands resting on the steering wheel, he exhaled softly and glanced at Monica Zhang, who sat in the passenger seat.
"Stop staring at me." The girl glared at Andrew, her tone fierce. "Focus on driving. No distractions allowed."
Andrew grinned. "Alright, alright."
Since their trip to the Imperial Capital, the two had grown even closer. Outside of martial training, Andrew either guided Monica in stance practice or they enjoyed quiet moments together.
But there was one thing he couldn't help regretting: Monica was still stuck at Martial Artist Grade Four, and the gap to the upper three grades was hard to cross.
In the martial grading system, Grade Four was respectable for a university student, but only the top three grades were considered true elite. Monica still needed more tempering to reach that level.
"By the way."
Monica shifted in her seat, glanced at the passing scenery outside the window, and hesitated slightly. "Do you have any plans for summer break? Or will you just keep training?"
By now, Monica vaguely understood the importance of martial arts.
So even though Andrew trained day and night, she didn't mind at all.
"Yeah, summer plans." A trace of seriousness flashed in Andrew's eyes. "First, I'll definitely keep training. Besides that, I may have to visit the Imperial Capital several times... There's some business to discuss."
Monica pouted. "Wrong answer. That's not the standard response."
"Huh?"
Andrew looked blank.
"The standard answer should be: spend more time with me!" Monica huffed.
Andrew paused, then shook his head with a helpless smile. As he teased Monica about new movies, his heart grew quietly thoughtful.
His trips to the Imperial Capital were for Martial Arts Alliance business.