Just as Su Qingqing finally found a secluded corner and was about to form the God-Speed Art to slip away, a low-key black Maybach pulled up beside her.
The rear window of the Maybach rolled down, revealing the man who had locked eyes with her at the banquet earlier.
He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, exuding an air of refined elegance and noble bearing—approachable yet carrying a faint trace of aloofness. His gaze at her was tinged with curiosity and intrigue.
He smiled and invited, “Miss Su, this is a villa district, so it might not be easy to hail a cab. Ride-hailing services and buses will take a while too. Where are you headed? If it’s on my way, I can give you a lift.”
Su Qingqing looked at him through the car door, studying him carefully for a long moment, then suddenly tilted her head and said, “You look really familiar. Have we met somewhere before?”
Assistant Bai, sitting up front, twitched at the corner of his mouth and couldn’t help but glance back at Su Qingqing.
Seriously, the former adopted daughter of the Su family was indeed quite attractive—flawless in looks and appearance—but was she really this bold with her approach? And with such a cliché pickup line at that?
Though he had no idea why President Gu would suddenly approach her on his own, their President Gu should despise this kind of forward woman the most, right?
To his utter shock, however, their President Gu actually curled his lips slightly and replied with a charming, debonair smile, “What a coincidence. I feel the same—like we’ve met somewhere before.”
Assistant Bai: “…”
Fine, so this was mutual attraction. He was the shallow one.
Su Qingqing boarded Gu Jun’s car without hesitation.
She wasn’t deliberately trying to flirt with Gu Jun—she genuinely found him familiar, as if she’d seen him somewhere, but she just couldn’t recall where.
Not to mention the fact that he carried an exceptionally rare Purple Dragon True Qi that was hard to miss, the key point was that he actually possessed spiritual energy from the same world as hers. That was what truly drew Su Qingqing’s attention.
As for Gu Jun, he had no cultivation whatsoever. He was simply going on intuition, feeling an unusual sense of kinship with Su Qingqing.
After Su Qingqing got in the car, neither of them spoke at first.
It was Gu Jun who broke the silence. He asked, “Have we really met somewhere before? I genuinely find you extremely familiar.”
Su Qingqing pondered for a moment, then said with precision, “From an objective standpoint, aside from seeing you in financial news reports, I haven’t encountered you in any other setting.”
Seeing how meticulously Su Qingqing answered, Gu Jun also thought seriously for a moment before replying, “Then aside from seeing you in entertainment gossip news, I probably haven’t encountered you in any other setting either.”
Su Qingqing: “…”
Gu Jun: “…”
After that awkward exchange, the two fell silent once more.
By now, they’d been driving for about twenty minutes. From the Su residence to the city center, it usually only took about half an hour.
Aside from the desolate stretch of road on the outskirts at the start, the latter half should have been in the city, gradually getting livelier.
Yet after twenty minutes of driving, the view outside remained an endless suburban highway, lined with lush plane trees on both sides.
Assistant Bai muttered in confusion, “Why does Yingxiang Road feel so long today? We’ve been driving forever and still can’t reach the end…”
The moment he finished speaking, a mist began to gradually spread around the vehicle.
This white fog rose quickly—unnaturally fast. In the span of barely two minutes, everything outside the windows was a vast expanse of white, visibility dropping to less than a meter. Even the plane trees by the roadside were no longer visible.
Assistant Bai had no choice but to turn on the headlights and hazard lights, slowing down to drive with caution.
The further he drove, the more uneasy he felt. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he turned back to Gu Jun and said, “President Gu, something feels off again today…”
That word “again” was quite telling, suggesting this wasn’t the first time such a situation had occurred.
Su Qingqing turned to Gu Jun with a puzzled look and asked, “Do you run into this kind of thing often?”
“Yeah,” Gu Jun replied with unruffled calm, as if he were completely accustomed to such occurrences. He was utterly composed, even having the presence of mind to reassure Su Qingqing: “Sorry, this might have startled you, but don’t worry—I do encounter this kind of thing quite often.
It does look rather eerie, but we have talisman paper personally drawn by the head of the Xuanqing Temple in the capital on the car.
These filthy things might swarm around for a bit, but they’ll soon back off when they realize it’s not worth the trouble.”
Judging by how unfazed Gu Jun appeared, he’d clearly experienced plenty of this since childhood.
Su Qingqing, however, looked at Gu Jun with a complicated expression. “No, the thing you’re running into today might—possibly—probably—be a bit more troublesome.”
Gu Jun raised an eyebrow at Su Qingqing. “What do you mean? Aren’t you afraid of these things?”
Su Qingqing sighed. “Not only am I not afraid of these things, I specialize in dealing with them.
Just now at the Su residence, I already saw the dark aura of a dying man on your face.”
I was wondering back then why someone carrying the Purple Dragon True Qi would have Death Qi surfacing on their face at such a young age—it simply didn’t add up.
Now I know. You were most likely set up by someone who knows what they’re doing.”
Gu Jun’s expression darkened slightly at her words, and he asked seriously, “What do you mean by that? Do you understand this?”
By then, Su Qingqing had already placed her hand on the car door handle, ready to push it open and get out. “You ran into me today, and even did a good deed by giving me a ride—that means your life isn’t meant to end here. I can’t just stand by and watch you die, but don’t forget to settle the bill with me afterward.”
The moment she finished speaking, Su Qingqing opened the door of the car, which was still moving slowly and hadn’t come to a complete stop, and vanished in a flash behind the tail of the vehicle.
Startled, Assistant Bai slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching halt.
He turned to look at Gu Jun in shock and bewilderment, his voice trembling as he spoke: “Miss… Miss Su jumped out?!”
Gu Jun was equally stunned. Su Qingqing had jumped out of the car right before his eyes, and the impact of that hit him far harder than it did Assistant Bai.
He was certain that the speed of Su Qingqing’s movements just now was absolutely not something an ordinary person could achieve.
Before they could even finish processing their shock, Su Qingqing, who had disappeared behind the car, appeared at the front of the vehicle.
The moment she appeared at the front, a large truck suddenly emerged not far from their side ahead, bursting through the fog and barreling toward them.
The truck was moving fast, and in such heavy fog, by the time they spotted it, there would be no time to dodge.
Su Qingqing steadied her breath, sinking it into her dantian, and charged straight at the truck, delivering a palm strike to the side of its front.
The strike carried a devastating force so immense that even the space around her warped.
Under that single palm, the massive truck was forcibly knocked off course, swerved around, and slammed into the greenery on the other side of the road.
A thunderous “bang” echoed as the truck plowed through the median, snapping two trees several decades thick clean in half, its front end smashing hard into the reinforced concrete wall by the roadside. The front section of the vehicle crumpled inward before it finally ground to a halt.
The entire truck was smoking, as if it might explode at any second—a truly terrifying sight.
Friendly reminder: The website is about to undergo a redesign, which may result in loss of reading progress. Please save your “Bookshelf” and “Reading History” in time (screenshots are recommended). We apologize for any inconvenience caused!