Chapter 357 - 245: Vice Alliance Leader Gou, True to His Surname
Saturday night, 8:30 PM.
Su Zhi took one last look over his luggage.
Su Mao and Wang Sujuan were sad to see him go. To express this reluctance, they bid a tearful farewell to their son’s Pet Beasts.
Su Mao was discussing web novels with Wu Bao, occasionally mentioning the legendary rookie author who shared Wu Bao’s name. Wang Sujuan was cuddling Shan Bao while playing on her phone.
Su Zhi felt like he might have picked a bad time to show up.
"Oh yeah, yeah, I read web novels too!"
After a great deal of effort, Wang Sujuan finally deciphered Shan Bao’s hand (foot) gestures and giggled. "I’m a Jinjiang veteran, you know!"
"Chirp?" A tiny question mark seemed to appear over Shan Bao’s head.
"Su Zhi’s dad doesn’t write on Jinjiang anymore, but he was all over the place back in the day. He even tried to sneak into a Jinjiang female author group for research material and got called out by the group admin, HAHAHAHA... After that, a lot of Jinjiang readers heard about his books.
"Because his writing style back then was... you know... a lot of Jinjiang readers loved it. They even downloaded the Qi Point app just for him. That’s how he gathered his first batch of readers."
At this point, Wang Sujuan raised her chin, a hint of pride in her expression.
"But! Out of all those fans, I was the one who snagged him."
"Chirp chirp?"
"Because it was only after we got to know each other that I found out he was my direct junior at school, hehe."
"Chirp..." Shan Bao’s face turned red as wonderful scenes began to play out automatically in its mind.
’The socially awkward, slacking author underclassman x the high-offense, low-defense upperclassman...’
’How exciting! If I wrote a book about it on Qi Point, it would totally be a hit!’
"Does Shan Bao want to read some too? Mommy will help you!"
Wang Sujuan glanced around furtively. Seeing neither Su Zhi nor Su Mao, she quickly pulled out a small-screen e-reader and stuffed it into Shan Bao’s foot.
"You can use this to read. The password is 1213. I’m the only one in the family who knows it, so you don’t have to worry about anyone finding out."
"Chirp chirp!" Shan Bao solemnly accepted the e-reader. It subconsciously wanted to take it with both hands to show how seriously it was taking this, but it still needed one foot to stand on.
Then, with a flash of Golden Light, the e-reader vanished.
Su Zhi would probably never have guessed in a million years that his Flash Gold Space, which he had always used as a personal storage ring, had just been infiltrated by... this sort of thing.
"Alright, alright, it’s getting late. Get ready to leave with Xiaoshu!"
Wang Sujuan glanced at her watch and reluctantly let go of Shan Bao.
"Chirp?" Shan Bao hopped away, ready to leave, but then stopped curiously and made a few gestures.
"You know about 1314? Haha, yes, 1314 does mean ’forever’~"
Wang Sujuan covered her mouth and chuckled, her gaze drifting toward the study, from which the occasional sound of keyboard tapping could be heard.
"But his birthday is December 13th, so the password is 1213."
「In the bedroom.」
As Su Zhi packed his luggage, he looked at Yu Bao squatting beside him, his face filled with emotion.
"Yu Bao, I can’t believe you’re the only one still willing to keep me company. You truly are my number one Pet..."
Su Zhi couldn’t resist giving Yu Bao a loving hug.
And then, POP, Yu Bao was gone. He was left hugging a pile of sand.
"..." Su Zhi walked to the doorway and looked at Yu Bao on the living room sofa, who was seizing the opportunity to watch TV. He was utterly at a loss for words.
’Damn it. This Beast Taming World truly is a cold place. Only the embrace of that little minx holds any warmth.’
His gaze shifted to the window. Despite the night, a head of long, bright white hair was particularly conspicuous.
A smile touched Su Zhi’s lips as he picked up his luggage.
"Alright, my treasures, it’s time to go."
·
This wasn’t Su Zhi’s first time on a long trip, so Su Mao and Wang Sujuan were used to it. His parents didn’t nag him with endless reminders, only telling him to be careful.
Shao Ya took the subway with him, seeing him all the way to the airport entrance.
The process was surprisingly calm.
"Something on your mind, Su Baby?"
As they were getting off the subway, the young woman tilted her head at him. Although it was dark all around, her brilliant blue eyes seemed to glow, sparkling beautifully.
"It’s nothing." Su Zhi took a deep breath. "Well, we’re heading out now. We’ll be back as soon as we’re done."
The young woman stared at him for a moment, then suddenly covered her mouth and let out a little snort of laughter.
Then, heedless of the other passersby, she took a small step forward and gave him a hug.
Compared to the one from the morning, this one was a little tighter.
"I wish you a smooth journey. And be safe, okay?"
Su Zhi nodded, saying nothing more, and focused on feeling her warmth in these final moments before his departure.
A few passersby walked away, muttering and complaining.
’Kids these days have no Martial Virtue!’
·
After a reluctant parting with the young woman, Su Zhi sat down in the waiting lounge to give Luo Sen a final report before departure.
Honestly, Su Zhi felt he was quite well-prepared. But he had apparently managed to render Luo Sen speechless.
After he had said his piece, Luo Sen sent back just a single line:
[Luo Sen]: You’re right, but Vice Alliance Leader Gou says you still haven’t added him.
"!" Su Zhi’s eyes widened.
’I can’t believe I forgot about that!’
He wasn’t going to the Hundred Rivers region alone. Both Ke Yan and Luo Sen had informed him that Gou Yu, the Dark Alliance’s Vice Alliance Leader who was on a business trip there, would be assisting him.
The Vice Alliance Leader’s name was quite unique. At first, Su Zhi hadn’t recognized the final character and had subconsciously misread the name as something that meant "worthless junk." He had been startled by this for quite some time...
Using the contact information Luo Sen provided, Su Zhi finally added Vice Alliance Leader Gou on WeChat, feeling puzzled.
Logically, he wasn’t the careless type. The only area where he was completely hopeless was with daily necessities, and that was because that little minx had him totally wrapped around her finger. When it came to anything else, he was always sharp and efficient.
Especially since Vice Alliance Leader Gou was supposed to be his biggest backer on this Journey of the Hundred Rivers; his role was incredibly important.
’It’s so strange. How could I have forgotten him of all people...?’
As Su Zhi was pondering this, his WeChat vibrated, signaling that he and Gou Yu were now friends.