Chapter 11 – Are You Driving?

As the only facility in Longyao Base City dedicated to training Hunters and Sorcerers, the Demon Hunter Academy naturally maintained its own official website.

Students could check their daily schedules, stay updated with the latest academy news, and even browse through the list of available missions to pick and complete tasks that interested them.

Of course, students also frequented the forum on the official website to chat and post during their free time.

This meant that whenever a particularly hot topic emerged within the Demon Hunter Academy, the forum regulars would be among the first to know.

This was exactly how An Zijin’s popularity had skyrocketed.

Even now, her photos could be seen in the latest posts, and someone had even created a dedicated check-in thread for her, which had already garnered nearly a million replies—an astonishing number.

Keep in mind, the entire Demon Hunter Academy had only a few thousand students.

For a few thousand students to build such a massive thread in just a few days, it was clear how much of it was fueled by thirsty admirers.

Generally, aside from academy members, outsiders rarely visited the official website to post.

This only highlighted the fans’ obsession and the moral decay involved.

But after today, another sensational piece of news was bound to temporarily overshadow An Zijin’s popularity and become the talk of the town.

It was the incident of Xu Qianqian going to the Male Dormitory to find Su Ming and handing him a note.

As soon as the news broke, countless people were in an uproar.

“Xu Qianqian actually went to the Male Dormitory?”

“And she went to give a note to a guy?”

“I don’t believe it!”

“Everyone knows Xu Qianqian is aloof and cold!”

“There’s no way she’d go to the Male Dormitory, right?”

“Exactly.”

Initially, people were naturally reluctant to believe it.

But as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. When photos of Xu Qianqian handing the note to Su Ming, along with a photo of Su Ming surrounded by a group of guys, appeared on the forum, everyone went wild.

“This is actually true?”

“Oh my god!”

“Who is this guy? Why would Senior Qianqian go to him to deliver a note?”

“Waaah, my queen…”

“Why has our queen fallen so far?”

“Brothers! Let’s doxx this guy ASAP!”

“I want to know who he is and what this is all about within a minute!”

The forum was soon flooded with such comments.

People became completely engrossed in the incident and proceeded to doxx Su Ming, uncovering all his information.

In no time, the entire academy knew about Su Ming and learned that he was… an extra!

“A second-year student who’s been here for a year?”

“Average grades, average performance, average number of missions completed… this…”

“Isn’t he just… unremarkable?”

“His attendance rate is pretty high, though. He’s hardly missed any classes except for necessary leave during missions.”

“He’s also quite handsome—can that count as a highlight?”

“But aren’t there plenty of good-looking guys in the Sorcerer Department?”

“Right, there are even guys more handsome than this Su Ming, including Senior Li Wei from the Hunter Department.”

“So he really is unremarkable!”The results of the investigation left many feeling perplexed.

Based on this, Su Ming shouldn’t have any connection to Xu Qianqian at all, right?

Even if Xu Qianqian needed someone to help her complete a certain task, she should have sought out someone with better academic performance.

Or perhaps Su Ming had mastered some rare Spirit Art that Xu Qianqian happened to need, so she went to ask for his help?

But even then, there was no need to personally go to the Male Dormitory to make the request—there were plenty of other ways to achieve that goal.

What the students were truly concerned about was Xu Qianqian personally visiting the Male Dormitory and handing a note to a specific male student.

If it were anyone else, it might not have sparked such widespread doubt, but for the famously aloof and elegant Xu Qianqian, this was truly unusual.

It was well-known that the Academy Beauty of the Demon Hunter Academy rarely liked to interact with others.

Not just with the opposite gender—she had very few interactions with the same gender as well.

In the past, everyone who attempted to strike up a conversation with Xu Qianqian ended up returning in defeat; almost no one succeeded in getting close to her.

Those who tried to approach An Zijin were blocked by her fan club, while those who tried to approach Xu Qianqian were all rebuffed by her personally.

Back when Xu Qianqian first enrolled, a scene like this had unfolded:

“Xu Qianqian, I like you! Please go out with me!”

A brave soul launched a straightforward attack on the unattainable beauty who had caused a stir shortly after her enrollment.

Unfortunately, Xu Qianqian’s response was even more direct.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t like you. Please stay away from me.”

That was how blunt and cold she was.

Many seniors still vividly remembered that scene.

Because of this, Xu Qianqian was regarded as an exceptionally aloof and elegant unattainable beauty within the Demon Hunter Academy.

If An Zijin was a narcissus that attracted attention, then Xu Qianqian was a rose with thorns.

Xu Qianqian had maintained this persona for over two years. Even Li Wei, the current top student of the Hunter Department and a fourth-year, had hit countless walls after publicly announcing his intention to pursue her.

As a result, many irresponsible rumors spread throughout the Demon Hunter Academy.

For example, that Xu Qianqian came from a prestigious Family and therefore would not associate with those of ordinary backgrounds.

For example, that Xu Qianqian was frigid, and it was extremely difficult for anyone, whether male or female, to gain her favor.

Some even believed that Xu Qianqian was already engaged, and the prestigious Family behind her intended to use her for a political marriage, forbidding her from recklessly getting close to others.

These rumors had circulated for two years, naturally drawing the attention of many curious and ill-intentioned people to Xu Qianqian’s private life.

Now, Xu Qianqian had suddenly broken her previous persona by personally going to the Male Dormitory and handing a note to an “unknown” male student. This was bound to spark extensive discussion no matter what.

Various speculations began to emerge one after another.

In any case, Su Ming had become famous.

The low profile he had maintained for a year was shattered today.

…

While the news of Su Ming and Xu Qianqian spread like wildfire, some unknown conversations were also taking place in certain corners of the Demon Hunter Academy.

“Su Ming?”On a training ground, a young man with incredibly handsome features, bulging muscles all over his body, and a perfect physique comparable to a fitness coach was wiping sweat with a towel while frowning deeply at the heated discussions on a mobile phone forum.

Nearby, several fellow trainees seemed to be discussing the same matter.

“No way? That Xu Qianqian?”

“I don’t really believe it…”

“But the facts are right before our eyes. We have to believe it.”

“Who is this Su Ming anyway? Why would Xu Qianqian go looking for him?”

“Could it be that the goddess has finally come to her senses and decided to date a pretty boy from the Sorcerer Department?”

“After all, Xu Qianqian is already in her third year, and our Academy follows a four-year system. She only has about two years left at the Academy. It wouldn’t be strange if she wanted to have a relationship before graduation.”

“But why go for a pretty boy from the Sorcerer Department? Are there no good men in our Hunter Department?”

“Right? Those pretty boys from the Sorcerer Department are all so skinny and weak. Can they even handle any roughhousing?”

“Uh… are you making dirty jokes?”

“I’m not! I didn’t! Don’t talk nonsense!”

The Hunter Department trainees continued their increasingly intense discussion, even showing signs of derailing the topic.

This made the young man feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Two people approached the young man.

“Boss, are you okay?”

“These guys are just gossiping. Do you want me to teach them a lesson for you?”

The two spoke to him as if they were his subordinates.

“Teach them a lesson for what?” the young man said expressionlessly. “They’re just discussing things. What reason is there to teach them a lesson?”

“How is there not?” one said indignantly. “Everyone in the entire Demon Hunter Academy knows that you, Li Wei, the top student, are pursuing Xu Qianqian!”

“That’s right,” the other agreed. “With them gossiping like this, Boss, you must be feeling terrible.”

“Just ignore them,” Li Wei threw down his towel and said in a deep voice. “I’ll show them, and show Xu Qianqian, that in this Demon Hunter Academy, only I, Li Wei, am worthy of her.”

The two subordinates glanced at each other.

“Then Boss, what about that Su Ming?”

“Should we…”

They were about to suggest some bad ideas.

Li Wei glared at them.

“What do you want to do?” Li Wei said coldly. “Maybe Xu Qianqian really has business with him. If you cause trouble for him because of this, wouldn’t that just make me look bad in Qianqian’s eyes?”

The two immediately fell silent.

“Let’s wait and see,” Li Wei glanced at Su Ming’s photo posted on the forum and said lightly. “We’ll decide after observing the situation clearly.”

What else could the two subordinates do?

They could only nod.

……

Demon Hunter Academy, Girls’ Dormitory.

In one of the rooms, An Zijin was also listening to her two roommates discussing the matter.

“This senior named Su Ming is quite impressive.”

“If he can actually win over the Hunter Department’s treasured gem, that would indeed be something.”

The two chatted and laughed while gossiping.

An Zijin sat to the side, looking at Su Ming’s photo posted on the official Academy forum, her beautiful eyes filled with uncertain emotions.

“Could this Su Ming be my Su Ming gege?”

An Zijin was worrying about exactly this.Originally, An Zijin had planned to wait until her popularity faded before seeking out her Su Ming brother to reunite with her childhood playmate.

Who would have thought that today she would suddenly encounter such shocking news.

An Zijin wasn’t sure if this Su Ming was the same one she knew.

After all, they hadn’t seen each other for over ten years. She had changed significantly, and what her Su Ming brother might look like now, An Zijin truly had no idea.

Therefore, An Zijin urgently needed to confirm whether this Su Ming was indeed her Su Ming brother.

“No, I must find an opportunity to verify this.”

An Zijin made her decision.

Little did she know at that moment that this very decision would lead to her first direct confrontation with another unattainable beauty of the Demon Hunter Academy.

(End of Chapter)