Chapter 584: Romance

Chapter 584: Chapter 599: Romance

Jiang Xia’s phone call lasted for a full hour.

When he returned to the meeting room, many of the attendees were so bored they had started folding paper airplanes. If not for the room’s limited size, they would have held a flying contest.

“Looks like our conference room is a bit small.”

The group of managers, all powerful figures in the outside world, huddled like scared quails with their heads down, wishing Jiang Xia wouldn’t see them.

“The meeting will continue.”

Those four words made the flock of quails lift their heads and get back to work.

After the meeting, the employees left first. Jiang Xia was usually the last one to leave.

As long as Jiang Xia didn’t leave, his personal secretary wouldn’t either. The two of them watched as an employee walking ahead of them dropped a book with a THUD.

“Zhao Shenghua, you dropped your book—”

Jiang Xia, who was at the very back, bent down to pick up the book that had landed at his feet, but his words got stuck in his throat.

“Were you reading this during the meeting?”

In Jiang Xia’s hand was a book with a pink cover, titled *360 Ways to Love*.

It was so thin that it made one doubt whether it truly contained three hundred and sixty ways.

“Ah? That’s not mine, President Jiang! It’s my daughter’s. It must have gotten mixed in with my files by accident. I’ll take it right now and throw it away. I’m so sorry, so sorry!”

Zhao Shenghua apologized profusely as he reached for the book.

But Jiang Xia simply flicked his wrist, pulling it away. “Confiscated,” he said in a serious tone.

Zhao Shenghua left with a wronged expression on his face. The moment he was out the door, however, that look instantly turned into a grin. He even made a fist and gave Jiang Xia a “Go for it!” gesture.

“Go for it, President Jiang!”

The secretary in the conference room saw through the whole charade. He was about to say something, but then he saw President Jiang had already opened the book and was reading it with a rather serious expression.

‘Hmm… better not say anything.’

After studying the book for a day and a night, Jiang Xia suddenly felt a surge of confidence.

Early the next morning, he arrived at An Ning’s front door with breakfast in hand.

DING-DONG, DING-DONG. There was no sound from inside.

Jiang Xia took out his phone and sent a text to An Ning, only to find out she wasn’t home. She had gone to Luo’s Pharmaceutical.

The “surprise loving breakfast” tactic had failed for now.

So, Jiang Xia invited An Ning to dinner instead. Her reply was swift: yes, just tell her the time and place.

Jiang Xia excitedly texted back, saying he’d let her know the details later.

The next second, he was literally jumping for joy. After three minutes of excitement, he calmed down and started looking for a restaurant.

The restaurant had to be romantic. He needed that romantic atmosphere to awaken the feminine feelings that lay dormant within An Ning.

After extensive research and even visiting the locations in person, Jiang Xia finally settled on a famous local restaurant for couples.

Flowers, candles, fragrant scents, red wine…

One look and she’d have to know what he meant by all this, right?

Jiang Xia was completely lost in a fantasy of him confessing and An Ning immediately accepting, unable to pull himself out of it.

After choosing the restaurant, Jiang Xia made a special trip to the mall. After an afternoon of searching, he finally bought a new suit to wear when he met An Ning that evening.

Meanwhile, An Ning, who had long been setting her sights on the prize right next to her, wasn’t taking the dinner lightly either.

She had made up her mind. Rather than continuing to beat around the bush, it was better to be direct and just go for it.

An Ning, who had dressed up a little, and Jiang Xia, who had been preparing all day, arrived outside the restaurant at almost the exact same time.

As they approached from opposite directions and met at the entrance, they both felt a strange stirring in their hearts.

Jiang Xia: ‘An Ning is so beautiful.’

An Ning: ‘Is he going to a funeral? Why is he dressed in all black?’

Jiang Xia’s suit looked like it was made of crow feathers—so black you couldn’t find a single fleck of another color, a pure, unadulterated black.

“You—”

“You—”

They spoke at the same time, then stopped, each gesturing for the other to go first.

The next second, they both smiled. An Ning was about to speak.

“I— GET DOWN—”

BOOM—

The goofy smile was still on Jiang Xia’s face as he was shoved through the air by An Ning.

A massive shockwave tore the roof off the couples’ restaurant, filling the air with dust and flying debris.

Thick smoke billowed as enormous flames devoured everything in the restaurant. Agonized cries for help echoed through the sky, and the explosions weren’t over yet.

In an instant, a romantic paradise had become a living hell.

“An Ning—”

Everything before Jiang Xia’s eyes was a blur, and a deafening ringing filled his ears. He staggered forward, searching for An Ning.

“An Ning— An Ning—”

Jiang Xia began heaving aside the large chunks of rubble at his feet, searching frantically for An Ning.

BOOM—

A second shockwave hit, throwing Jiang Xia to the ground. A sharp pain shot through his ribs, and thick smoke flooded his throat, making it burn as if it were being torn apart.

“An Ning—”

Unwilling to give up, Jiang Xia kept calling for An Ning.

Just then, An Ning was jolted awake by the second explosion. In that first blast, she had shielded Jiang Xia first, and in the split second it took to protect herself, she had been thrown by the force.

“Jiang Xia— I’m here—”

Her voice was weak.

An Ning touched a hand to her forehead. It was bleeding.

‘Looks like it’s time for another lesson.’

A slab of plasterboard was pinning her down. She shoved the massive piece aside and crawled out. Her vision was severely limited by the billowing smoke and dust.

“Damn it!”

Without hesitation, An Ning activated her protective armor with a single command. Find Jiang Xia. Save people.

“An Ning—”

“Here!”

Activating her suit’s visual sensors, An Ning quickly located Jiang Xia. She scooped him up in a princess carry and brought him to a safe area.

The helmet on An Ning’s head suddenly retracted, revealing her familiar face.

“You’re okay. Thank God you’re okay. I’m sorry, the restaurant exploded.”

“Don’t be silly. How could you have known the restaurant was going to explode?” An Ning said, setting Jiang Xia down. “Don’t move. Your ribs are injured. I’m going in to save people.”

“Don’t worry, this suit is fireproof, waterproof, and explosion-proof!”

With that, An Ning was already on her feet and running back into the building. At that moment, she was the only one running against the tide of chaos.

Three minutes after the explosion, the fire department and police arrived.

The most heroic figures had arrived.

Jiang Xia couldn’t just sit idly by. He clutched his ribs, slowly got to his feet, found the nearest phone, and made a call.

“What did you say?”

“I said An Ning went in to save people!”

“Shit!”

A curse from the other end of the line ended the brief call.

By now, An Ning had already gone in and out of the building three times, rescuing three severely injured victims who couldn’t move on their own.

When the first-arriving firefighters saw someone inside the building rescuing people, their initial reaction was to stop them.

When they tried to stop her, An Ning revealed an ID in the palm of her hand.

“My authority outranks yours. Please trust in the power of technology.”

The fire commander just said, “Be careful,” and the woman in the special suit vanished before his eyes.

The next time she emerged, she was carrying another person in her arms.

The rescue operation was now in full swing. The gas line was immediately shut off as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze, prevent further explosions, and save lives.

Everything was proceeding in a state of organized chaos, a race against the golden hour to minimize casualties.