Chapter 655 - 670

SLAM!

The car door was slammed shut. An Ning and Jiang Xia had practically been shoved into the car by Vivian.

"Buckle up!"

Jack had barely gotten the words out before the car was already moving.

"RING RING RING—"

Jack drove with one hand and answered his phone with the other. He rattled off a long string of technical jargon to the person on the other end, finally ending the call with, "I’ll be there right away."

He hadn’t even had the phone down for a minute before it rang again. Another round of communication, all about work.

Jiang Xia and An Ning sat quietly in the back. Listening to Jack’s conversations up front, they got the distinct impression that the company would probably fall apart without him.

Jiang Xia had wanted to chat with Jack, but now he didn’t dare say a word. He found himself even breathing more softly.

"Okay, I’ll take care of it as soon as I get there. Yes, no problem."

"Bye, see you in a bit."

Jack hung up again and let out a long sigh, then tried to take a deep breath. The air must have felt thin, because he rolled down the window to let the fresh air in, gulping it down.

He had just exhaled his third breath and hadn’t yet drawn another when his phone rang again.

"Shit!"

Jack cursed under his breath, but the moment he answered the phone, his tone changed completely. It became so humble and subservient that An Ning and Jiang Xia could viscerally feel his bitterness and hardship.

In that moment, Jiang Xia thought to himself, ’When I get back, I should give the people at the company a raise. At the very least, when they have to be so subservient, getting a little more money must help somehow.’

Jack hung up for the third time. He hadn’t even arrived at the office, but he was already in a "work mood."

"Jack, red light!"

SCREECH—

The car screeched to a halt, and Jack’s head nearly slammed into the steering wheel. The first thing he did was turn to look at the back seat.

"Are you two okay?"

Jiang Xia and An Ning shook their heads in perfect unison and pointed out that the light was turning green.

"Another damn day begins!"

Jack released the brake and continued forward.

"I’ll drop you guys off up ahead. You have my number. Call me if you need anything. The line might be busy sometimes, but if you keep trying, you’ll get through."

"Okay, we got it."

Jack stopped at the next intersection. As Jiang Xia and An Ning got out, Jack, in a rush, only had time to urge, "Call if you need anything."

The car sped off, blending into the traffic and quickly disappearing from sight.

"So busy."

"A kind of busy that’s out of his control."

"Yeah, you’re right. Out-of-control busy."

An Ning felt that this one morning had been more exhausting than a whole month at her research institute.

She looked at Jiang Xia and asked, "Are you ever like that?"

"I’m the boss, so the way we’re busy is different. Besides, I have the power to give myself a vacation. No one can tell me what to do, so it’s completely different."

An Ning nodded, her hand clasping Jiang Xia’s.

"So, how do we get to Li Chengze’s university now?"

"The subway?"

"Okay."

They decided to take the subway, but the moment they arrived at the station, they began to regret it.

"No wonder everyone here has their own car. I doubt anyone would willingly ride a subway like this."

It was dimly lit, filled with trash, and crowded with homeless people. There were even more people in bizarre outfits, street performers, and hungover drunks. It felt as if the world had already ended, and this was its post-apocalyptic marketplace.

Once they boarded the train, they couldn’t bring themselves to sit on any of the seats. The entire car was sticky and grimy. An Ning resorted to her Huaxia Iron Horse Stance, standing firmly in place, unwilling to touch a single thing.

On top of that, they got to experience what it felt like to be disdained.

Although no one said anything, a vacuum seemed to form around them, as if they were carrying some kind of virus.

Many of the white-skinned passengers shot them looks of utter disgust.

It was as if their very presence was polluting the air.

"I can hardly imagine how Jack manages to work."

"By putting in many times more effort than anyone else."

An Ning nodded. Jiang Xia was right. It took much more effort, time, and energy just to hold onto the same kind of job everyone else had.

Fairness? What a joke.

When the subway finally reached their stop, the first thing An Ning and Jiang Xia discussed after getting off was that they should rent a car.

"We’ll talk about that later. Let’s find Li Chengze first."

An Ning and Jiang Xia walked toward the university where Li Chengze had been a visiting scholar. After much difficulty, they finally found a staff member willing to speak with them.

"Li— left a long time ago."

"Left? Do you know where he went? And when did he leave?"

"How should I know where he went? That’s a ridiculous question. What I can tell you is that he completed his project here and left six months ago."

The staff member finished impatiently, then looked up at Jiang Xia and An Ning. "Is there anything else?"

"Do you have his contact information? Or his address from when he was at the university?"

The person didn’t seem inclined to help. Jiang Xia took a green bill from his pocket and slipped it under a piece of paper.

"We would be very grateful if you could tell us."

"Oh—let me take a look for you. He should have registered."

The staff member walked away, carrying a stack of papers from the desk. An Ning was certain that when he returned, the banknote would be gone.

"Where did you get the money?"

"Jack gave it to me this morning."

"Oh—we need to remember to withdraw some cash."

"Yeah, we’ll get some as soon as we leave."

After waiting a short while, they finally got Li Chengze’s former address and phone number. However, the number was already disconnected. They decided to go check out the place where he used to live.

But before they went, they needed to withdraw some cash.

They found a bank and went inside, waiting in a long line until it was finally their turn.

But it turned out they couldn’t withdraw money because they didn’t have an appointment.

"Okay, if we make an appointment now, when can we get the money?"

"In about half a month."

Half a month? To withdraw your own money?

What kind of damn policy was this.

"If you have no other business, please make way for the person behind you."

Jiang Xia scoffed in disbelief.

"Make way? Why should I make way? My business isn’t finished."

Jiang Xia pulled out his black bank card and slammed it on the counter. The sharp sound nearly made the guard at the door draw his gun.

"You haven’t even looked at my card. How do you know I can’t withdraw money? Please open your eyes and take a look. See if I’m qualified to withdraw money right now."

Jiang Xia’s forceful attitude made the bank teller finally look up at him. The teller shot him a hostile glare before looking down, but the next second, he shot up from behind the counter. He held the card with both hands, his face wreathed in smiles, his voice melodious.

"This way, esteemed customer. We have a VIP room."