Chapter 257: Shocked Zhang Hao! Damn, He

"Yuan Shui Wilderness Area, haven't come here in a long time."

By the car, Xu Jingming gazed at the familiar wilderness in the distance with a sigh.

The last time he left, he was practically chased away by a rat tide.

Yet only half a year later, he could now walk freely across the Yuan Shui Wilderness Area.

"Only if I encounter a mid- or high-tier fifth-rank beast do I need to avoid it—but I doubt there are even ten such fifth-rank beasts in the entire Yuan Shui Wilderness Area."

Shaking his head, Xu Jingming pressed the auto-park button on his key fob.

"Shhh—"

Behind him, the ice-blue sports car's scissor doors closed automatically and drove toward the nearest parking lot.

From Metropolis to Yuan Shui City, the high-speed train takes over an hour—not too long.

But from Yuan Shui City's high-speed rail station, taking a regular taxi here still takes another hour.

So Xu Jingming simply borrowed Jiang Chu's sports car.

This high-end sports car, with a top speed of over 400 kilometers per hour, took less than fifty minutes to drive from Metropolis to the Yuan Shui Supply Base.

More convenient than the high-speed train.

"Autonomous parking with no driver! This is definitely Jiang's car!"

"I have a feeling my Jiang Goddess is slipping away from me..."

"Oh no, it's all over!"

"..."

Jiang Chu's AI was added by herself—ordinary factory models don't have it.

This signature capability unmistakably confirmed the car's origin.

This caused some of Jiang Chu's fans on the square to cry out in anguish, wailing that their goddess was gone.

Had Xu Jingming's oppressive aura not been so overwhelming, someone might have approached to demand answers.

Xu Jingming had anticipated this scene before arriving.

His relationship with Jiang Chu would be exposed sooner or later anyway—so he didn't care.

Besides, when he was with Jiang Chu, did he need to care about these people's opinions?

So he paid no attention to the murmurs.

Thus, under countless stares, he strode steadily into the Yuan Shui Wilderness Area.

Jiang Chu might have a boyfriend!

For some diehard fans, this was a thunderclap.

But for the general public, it was nothing much.

Especially for psychics who ran their own online accounts—they immediately sensed a trending topic.

Soon after Xu Jingming entered the wilderness area,

explosive headlines appeared online: "Shocked! The Man Behind Jiang Goddess Is Him!" and "Big News! Jiang Goddess Has a Boyfriend!"

These articles spread rapidly through Jiang Chu's fan groups...

Jiangnan Province, Jiang'an Polytechnic University, Dormitory 3, Room 305.

Zhang Hao, just waking from his nap, yawned and climbed down from the top bunk.

He was about to splash cold water on his face to wake up and fix his hair.

At that moment, another roommate, staring at his phone, suddenly let out a shrill shout:

"Holy shit! Ah Hao, check this out! Jiang Goddess might have a boyfriend!"

"What?"

Zhang Hao's drowsy eyes snapped wide open. He lunged to his roommate's side, stunned:

"Liu Chang, if you're lying to me, you're dead!"

Liu Chang, like him, was a Jiang Chu fan—but often acted recklessly.

"Why would I lie to you? Here, check for yourself."

Liu Chang quickly shoved his phone into Zhang Hao's face.

On the screen was an article titled: "Shocked! The Man Behind Jiang Goddess Is Him!"

The article's text wasn't long—he scanned it in a glance.

Zhang Hao immediately understood the situation, frowning:

"Driving Jiang's car does suggest a close relationship—but is there a photo? Can we confirm it's real?"

As a diehard fan, he'd seen articles like this before—most were fake news.

Without photographic proof, he wouldn't believe it—even if there was a photo, it might still be faked.

"Scroll down, there's more."

Liu Chang muttered, "I can't be sure if it's really Jiang's car."

He'd become a fan only after college, dragged in by Zhang Hao—he couldn't spot fine details.

"No problem, I can tell."

With a swipe of his finger, an image of an ice-blue sports car appeared in Zhang Hao's view.

As a diehard fan, he'd seen Jiang's car many times before.

He could even recite the license plate by heart—he quickly verified its authenticity:

"License plate correct, color right, no Photoshop artifacts—this is definitely Jiang's car."

"No wonder you're the group admin of our school's fan club—impressive!" Liu Chang immediately gave a thumbs-up.

"Impressive my ass! I wish this were a fake photo."

Zhang Hao muttered under his breath, helplessly:

"Is there a photo of the guy? I want to see who the hell managed to win Jiang's heart."

Unlike extreme fans, he was rational—he'd wish her well even if she had a boyfriend.

Of course, only if he was truly worthy of Jiang Chu.

"It's right here."

Liu Chang, scolded, shrank back and added softly:

"He's definitely good-looking, matches Jiang perfectly—but we don't know anything else about him."

"Oh?"

Zhang Hao raised an eyebrow, surprised.

He knew that,

among men, no one would ever admit another was better-looking than himself.

Liu Chang especially—about even Hollywood stars, he'd only mutter, "Meh."

If Liu Chang called someone handsome, that guy must be extraordinary.

Could he really be that good-looking?

Zhang Hao grew curious.

Among all the guys he knew, only his high school best friend, Xu Jingming, had the highest looks.

Of course,

he'd never admit that to Xu Jingming's face.

With mild curiosity, Zhang Hao scrolled further—another few lines appeared:

"Information gathering is hard. Please follow me and allow me to drop a small ad..."

"You're fucking kidding me! Advertising now?"

Zhang Hao nearly spat blood.

He frantically scrolled down, skipping over seven or eight pages of ads, before finally seeing a real photo.

In the photo, a tall figure stood beside the ice-blue sports car.

Though only a back view, his extraordinary aura was still unmistakable.

"Huh? This back view looks familiar..."

Zhang Hao scrolled further—another photo appeared, this time a front view.

The angle was skewed, clearly taken surreptitiously—but his face was clearly visible.

Hmm, this guy was indeed handsome.

More importantly, Zhang Hao already knew him.

It was his high school best friend!

"Huh?" Zhang Hao froze.

He never imagined Jiang Chu's boyfriend was Xu Jingming!

After a long moment, he came to his senses and muttered to himself:

"Damn! He's been hiding this deep! Even when he came back for winter break, he didn't say a word! Gotta call him and ask."

On the other side,

Xu Jingming, already inside the Yuan Shui Wilderness Area, naturally knew nothing of this and couldn't receive any calls.

He was rushing to kill as many beasts as possible...