That’s a Little Dumb
When An Xin heard his response, she immediately forgot about her father’s situation. Hurriedly, she asked, “What trouble? Did someone harm you? Was it the American army?”
Looking at his girl’s worried face, Yang Chen felt like she was the cutest thing on earth. He lowered his head to peck on her pretty lips, leaving An Xin stunned.
“Dear, even if I was chased with the best missiles, it wouldn’t even be worth mentioning.” Yang Chen snickered. He suddenly lifted his s.h.i.+rt to take out a package from his waistband. “Heh! What’s this?”
Yang Chen shook the orange bag in his hand cheerfully.
An Xin was even more confused. After a bit, she finally made out a few Chinese words on the bag. Bewildered, she asked, “Is it... dried mango strips from the Philippines?”
Yang Chen nodded. “Before I came back, I thought of this. The Philippines are famous for their dried mango strips. They’re so good but not too sweet, so I wanted to get you a pack. Too bad it was a little too early and many shops were still closed. It took me a long time to find a small twenty-four-hour convenience store. I’m not sure if it was good so I didn’t buy much. I was fortunate enough that I had my cards with me, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to pay.”
As he spoke, he tore open the packaging, took out a strip and brought it to her mouth. “Ah… Open up, have one.”
An Xin wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry. She pouted and squinted suspiciously at the man. “Jesus Christ… I thought something happened. You scared me.’
She still obediently opened her mouth and ate the dried mango.
Watching An Xin chew, Yang Chen grinned. “How is it? Is it good? I asked the owner and he said this brand isn’t too sweet.”
An Xin nodded and smiled warmly. “Yeah, it’s pretty good. It’s sweet and you can smell the mango.”
Yang Chen was satisfied with her answer. Shoving the rest of the mango into her arms, he said, “If it’s good, then you take it. If you want more, I’ll get it for you again.”
An Xin looked at the dried mango strips in her hands, then at the grinning Yang Chen. She asked, “But… Honey, why did you suddenly buy these? It was an urgent mission, so you must’ve been very tired.”
Yang Chen sighed, then pulled her into his arms. He whispered into her ears, “I know that no matter the outcome, your heart will be bitter. So, I hoped to lessen the bitterness with some sweet mango. Although it seems a little dumb, you get it right?”
An Xin’s gentle body shook in his arms. Warm, silent tears dropped on Yang Chen’s chest. She sobbed. “I hate you… You… I think you’re an idiot…”
Yang Chen laughed like he was enjoying himself.
When the couple embraced, An Xin’s relatives watched their exchange from afar. Although they were curious about their conversation, they did not dare to approach out of fear for Yang Chen.
Once Yang Chen had comforted his lady’s grief, his gaze swept the crowd. “If it were not for my darling An Xin asking for mercy, I wouldn’t have minded slaughtering every single one of you. However, since we’re here now, I guess there isn’t much meaning in killing you all. The An clan will resume its usual operations soon. If you want to save yourselves, you’ll know what to do next.”
The relatives looked at each other, many with sweat sprouting from their foreheads. They understood exactly what he meant. If they wanted to live, they’d have to be smart!
Finally, the second-eldest An spoke up. “The An clan was spared today all because of An Xin’s efforts. I think my niece, An Xin here, should be the next head of the family. I have decided to pa.s.s my company shares to An Xin. I’m old, I should retire soon.”
The second-eldest An spoke with unwilling pain in his eyes, but to leave safely, he had to do so.
Soon, the rest started to declare their wishes to transfer shares. Since the lawyer was still at the house, everything was dealt with very quickly.
Although An Xin never wanted to accept the shares, she knew this was the safest way to secure her position in the clan. So, she listened to Yang Chen and took all the shares under her wing.
Watching the lawyer sort out the doc.u.ments, Yang Chen said, “From now on, you may resign from being my secretary. With your capabilities and support from Rothschild, you’ll do well managing the clan’s businesses. No matter how your father was, this is still your home. Your family businesses shouldn’t just stop at your generation right?”
An Xin nodded. She was staying strong. She grew up here, and no matter how sad the past was, she did hope to protect everything.
Suddenly, An Xin had another question. She pouted, then whispered to Yang Chen, “Sweetie… since I’m gone, which girl will be your secretary?”
Yang Chen smiled. “Why must I get a secretary? Can’t I get things done myself? I could just go to work every day. If I can’t do something, I’ll just ask someone. Relax, I’m busy enough with all of you. I don’t think it’d be wise to throw another one into the mix.”
An Xin gave a happy grunt when she heard this answer.
Yang Chen smiled mischievously again. “But Babe, you still gotta come visit sometimes. It’ll be so boring without you there.”
When she heard that An Xin understood what he was referring to, her pretty face reddened. She said shyly, “I’m not going to your office to be bullied.”
Yang Chen whined, “Oh no, then I’d have no motivation to go for work at all.”
An Xin c.o.c.ked an eyebrow, then elaborated demurely, “Hubby, you can come to my office instead…”
With this shy flirt, Yang Chen almost blacked out from the lack of blood in his brain. He gulped looking at the slender nymph. He needed to visit her office now!
At the same time, at the sh.o.r.es of the Atlantic Ocean, the Navy’s highest-ranked officer, Admiral Roughead, was sitting stiffly on a redwood chair within the Pentagon in Was.h.i.+ngton. By his side were two soldiers showing him the recordings of the earlier incident.
A strange Asian man pointed in the air, and like magic, a fighter jet exploded into sc.r.a.p metal!
Roughead’s expression darkened. After watching the same clip thrice, he finally threw the remote, shattering it.
“d.a.m.n it! Can someone tell me what this person is?! What just humiliated our best, undefeated navy?!” Roughead, who’d had a very smooth career since entering the office, roared like a raging lion. It wasn’t every day that something like this happened!
The two staff officers stood exasperated, unable to provide an explanation. They could only silently bear with the irate man.
At this moment, the office door was pushed open. A middle-aged, bald white man in a simple suit walked in grinning.
However, when they saw this seemingly friendly man, Roughead and the two officers became solemn, standing tall.
“Director Mueller, is it the investigation report?” Roughead didn’t question the entrance of this man, because it was Director of the FBI, Robert Mueller.
Robert turned to see the still looping recording on the screen, then gave a long sigh. With his raspy voice he said, “Admiral Roughead, I think, you should meet the President to discuss some matters.”
“What matters?” Roughead frowned.
“Retreating the navy from the South China Sea,” Robert said without much detail.
Roughead’s face froze. “Why? Wouldn’t we appear weak that way? All because of the sudden appearance of this man?! Even if he’s a superhuman, don’t we still have Blue Storm?”
Robert’s eyes narrowed, then took out a tablet. “Admiral, these are confirmed results from an investigation on the man’s ident.i.ty. If it were not for this extraordinary situation, you wouldn’t have been able to access this man’s particulars in your life. But you’re in luck, I suggest you read them before you speak.”
Roughead was stunned, and his face turned solemn. He carefully took the tablet, then turned it on.
The two staff officers understood that they were definitely not in the position to read the information, so they hurriedly retreated into a corner.
Roughead’s hand shook when he first read the information, almost dropping the tablet!
He was shocked to see three ‘S’s on the file!
SSS? Even highly cla.s.sified experiments on humans were labeled SS. What was so secret that even this had to be rated SSS?
Roughead’s heart raced. He understood why the director of the FBI had to bring the information himself. This file was too important!
Forcing himself to breathe, he took a deep breath and opened the file.
A seemingly normal picture popped up. The top was an old-fas.h.i.+oned ring, and under the ring was the word ‘PLUTO’...
Reading all the information took him almost a quarter of an hour.
When Roughead stiffly returned the tablet to Robert, he was already drenched in cold sweat.
Robert was still smiling. “Now, Admiral you should finally understand. Talk to Mr President. He actually hasn’t seen this doc.u.ment either. If there’s no need, it’s better to keep it to yourself.”
Roughead nodded vigorously. “I will go. But... Director, that subject...You’re sure he won’t help any side and won’t attack us, right?”
Robert patted his shoulder. “As for whether the subject will attack our navy, the key is in how we show him our respect. I think you know what I mean.”
Roughead ground his teeth. “I will go to the White House now. You have my word, within three days the Navy will leave Southeast Asia!”
This sudden change in att.i.tude stunned the two staff officers.
The main man who brought about all these changes was far at sea. He didn’t know what was going on, or more appropriately, didn’t care.
After Yang Chen had settled the An clan’s matters, it had taken almost all night. He said goodbye to An Xin, found a place without people to teleport to a street near the bar. He found his parked car, then returned home.