Chapter 547 - 562: Setting Off

Jiang Xia gave An Ning a brief summary of what everyone was up to. An Ning said, a little glumly, "I missed everything."

Jiang Xia quickly glanced at her, tilting his head.

"You didn’t miss it, they just grew up. It’s not like they’re children who haven’t been weaned. It’s perfectly normal for adults to need their own space."

"All that matters is that we can still get together for the important moments in life. Like right now."

"Yin Xuemei and Second Brother An are getting married, so everyone’s going back. You’ll get to see them all when you get home."

"You have no idea. Even though you weren’t around, you were still the main topic of conversation. All of us, one way or another, have benefited from your influence. Several of my best companies have received your patronage."

After Jiang Xia’s speech, the glum feeling in An Ning’s heart gradually dissipated.

She leaned against the car window, looking at Jiang Xia with her head tilted.

"Jiang Xia, you’re actually pretty handsome."

"SCREECH—"

"Fuck, what kind of driving is that!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

Jiang Xia rolled down the window to apologize. Luckily, there was no collision, and the other driver left, cursing under his breath.

An Ning sat up straight, thinking to herself, ’You really can’t praise this guy Jiang Xia. The moment you do, something bad happens.’

"Comrade An Ning, what kind of experiments were you running in that lab?"

Jiang Xia’s roundabout way of asking if An Ning’s brain was broken earned him a very obvious eye-roll.

After the eye-roll, Jiang Xia felt relieved.

"That’s more like it."

That big idiot Jiang Xia, when he later found out what An Ning was thinking at that moment, wished he could invent a time machine, travel back, and slap himself twenty times.

The seven-seater minivan continued on its way. An Ning temporarily abandoned her thoughts of getting involved with someone so close and gazed out the window.

The roads were wider, there were more streetlights, the buildings were taller, and people’s clothes were more fashionable.

People would occasionally pass by holding simple keypad communication devices. Among the passing traffic, electric vehicles made up seventy percent of the total.

Two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers—a wide variety, all running on electricity.

As the number of electric vehicles increased, the basic charging infrastructure had also kept pace.

Fast-charging stations were everywhere, as were battery-swapping kiosks, all ensuring the long-term operation of electric vehicles.

The minivan skillfully pulled up to the gate of Beijing University. Just as Jiang Xia’s vehicle stopped, he saw An Guoping waiting with a backpack on.

He rolled down his window, but before he could call out, a voice came from beside him.

"Little bro—"

An Guoping, who was waiting for his ride, craned his neck at the familiar voice. The moment he saw An Ning, he reacted like an oversized canine, so excited that he started jumping on the spot with flailing limbs.

"Sis—"

An Guoping hadn’t known An Ning would be there. He rushed headlong towards her.

"Sis—When did you get back?!"

"Sis, when did you get back? You even came to pick me up! What a surprise."

"This is such a huge surprise! I wasn’t prepared at all."

Leaning against the car window, An Ning thought guiltily, ’I was so busy thinking about making a move on him that I completely forgot about An Guoping.’

’But how could I possibly admit that right now?’

"Of course! Who do you think I am? I’m your big sister. Now, hurry up and get in."

With that one sentence, An Ning won An Guoping over.

An Guoping got into the back seat and greeted Da Huang and Xiao Lang familiarly. The vehicle started moving again.

"Who else are we picking up?"

An Ning asked. Jiang Xia replied, "No one. Yang Jianguo is out of town on business, so he’ll get back on his own."

An Ning nodded in understanding and turned around to chat with An Guoping.

Most of the time, An Guoping did all the talking while An Ning listened. After all, whenever he asked what she’d been doing, An Ning had only one word for him: "Classified."

After asking too many times, An Guoping stopped asking.

The car left Beijing and got on the highway.

In the past few years, the highway network had been completed, connecting all the major cities.

Roads to other smaller cities and counties were still under construction.

However, along the original railway routes, the number of train lines had increased dramatically, and the trains themselves had gradually gotten faster. While not as fast as the high-speed rail of later generations, they were still much, much faster than before.

The convenience of transportation also greatly spurred economic growth.

The saying "To get rich, first build a road" was true no matter where or when.

However, thanks to An Ning, there was a complete highway from Beijing to Shili Gou. The exit was even built near Shili Gou.

After getting off at the exit, it was only a ten-minute drive to Shili Gou, which was extremely convenient.

Riding in a car on the highway can be very boring.

Jiang Xia casually took out a small bag and handed it to An Ning. She accepted it naturally, causing An Guoping, who was watching from the back, to purse his lips.

Over the past five years, he had come to understand Jiang Xia’s feelings for An Ning. At first, he’d been very resistant, feeling that no one was good enough for his sister.

Later on, after considering a bunch of other people, he decided Jiang Xia was acceptable. He knew him inside and out, he had no parents, so An Ning wouldn’t have to deal with that age-old problem: the mother-in-law.

Most importantly, his sister loved to eat, and he couldn’t deny that Jiang Xia was an excellent cook.

He was handsome, rich, and genuinely good to An Ning.

So, An Guoping’s attitude had softened and then turned to full support. But even after several years of his support, the two of them were still stuck in the same place.

He really wanted to grab Jiang Xia by the shoulders and say, ’You’re not getting anywhere!’

But now, looking at the way they interacted, he felt like a third wheel. This was clearly how a long-married couple behaved; they just didn’t seem to realize it themselves.

It was worrying him to death.

"An Guoping, what are you thinking about? You want some?"

An Ning had to call his name three times before An Guoping heard her. He said with a grin, "Yeah, I’ll have some. I was just thinking about a surgical plan and got lost in thought."

"Oh really? Tell me about it."

An Ning’s one question made the corners of An Guoping’s mouth droop. He said in a whining tone, "Sis, do we have to be like this!"

"We don’t have to be. But who told you to try and fool me? A surgical plan? Who looks all dreamy thinking about a surgical plan?"

This time, An Guoping was truly speechless. How was he looking "all dreamy"?

Too bad for him, An Ning was ignoring him now. She sat there in the passenger seat and started on a long culinary journey.

From beef jerky to dried fruit, from dried fruit to shredded squid, from shredded squid to braised chicken feet, and from braised chicken feet to sunflower seeds and nuts.

And at the end, there was even a cured meat platter, a fruit salad, and freshly squeezed juice.

An Guoping held up his single piece of beef jerky, really wanting to say, ’Jiang Xia, you’ve gone too far.’

The difference in treatment was too obvious. After all, even Da Huang and Xiao Lang in the back had a whole plate of beef!

The whole way, An Guoping and An Ning laughed and joked around. He was either asking for this snack or that one, and the two siblings engaged in a childish back-and-forth of him begging and her playfully denying him.

Jiang Xia didn’t say anything, just drove in silence, a smile never leaving his lips.

"We’re getting off the highway soon."

An Ning held up the fork in her hand. She could already see the highway toll booth.

She was home.