Chapter 996: Chapter 985: Dragon City, Ning Fan’s Place of Memory
On the golden beach, Xu Ruolan and Ning Fan worked together to set up the deck chairs and the sunshade.
“Here you go, lemonade.”
Ning Fan handed Xu Ruolan a crystal-clear glass, then looked towards the boundless sea.
“Thank you.”
Xu Ruolan took the lemonade and appreciated the sea view together with Ning Fan.
“By the way, Ruolan, what exactly are your future plans?”
Ning Fan asked Xu Ruolan with a curious tone.
Xu Ruolan took a deep breath, bent down, and placed the lemonade on the small table beside her.
“Since the headquarters in Zhonghai City is already flawless, of course, I should go to other cities to open new fronts!”
“Open new fronts, you mean?”
“Naturally, establishing new branch offices.”
Xu Ruolan spread her arms towards the sea, her voice vigorous and clear.
Ning Fan immediately made a pause gesture towards Xu Ruolan.
“Wait, wait… logically speaking, for starting a new company, shouldn’t you send a capable subordinate to execute it?”
“Hmm… then you tell me, who can I send?”
Xu Ruolan raised her hand slightly towards Ning Fan, her eyes sparkling.
“Uh… Lan Kexin, Zhu Xuetao, who else…”
Ning Fan wasn’t really concerned about the specific business and management team of Xu Corporation, and he could only name a few company members.
“After all, Lan Kexin is just a small woman pursuing stability, managing the status quo is fine, but starting a business might not suit her; as for Zhu Xuetao, spare me, we’re going to open new markets, not to cause trouble and start fights.”
Xu Ruolan shook her head with a smile, her gaze still very firm.
“Surely, it’s not just you who has to go personally, right?”
“Well, it’s not that only I have to go personally, but this time I just want to challenge myself.”
Xu Ruolan turned again to the vast sea, spreading her white arms as if wanting to draw power from nature amid the azure waves.
Ning Fan adjusted his sunglasses, raised the corner of his mouth, and said:
“Alright then, I support you!”
“Supporting is all?”
“Who said that? Of course, I want to share weal and woe with you!”
Saying this, Ning Fan wrapped his arm around Xu Ruolan’s slender waist, and they passionately kissed amidst the sound of the waves.
Feeling her lover’s warmth, after gazing deeply into each other’s eyes for a while, Xu Ruolan asked:
“The place where we’re setting up the branch is Dragon City, have you been there?”
“Dragon City, Dragon City, Dra…gon City…”
Ning Fan repeated the words over and over with a furrowed brow, feeling as if a grasshopper was jumping back and forth in his brain’s convolutions, very uncomfortable but helpless.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing… how could we come to the beach and not go for a swim, come admire my graceful swimming posture!”
Saying this, Ning Fan snapped his fingers and dashed into the waves.
But the words “Dragon City” kept lingering in his mind.
In his current memory, he had never been to that city, but once it was mentioned, he felt unusually familiar with the name.
“Weird… why has no one ever mentioned Dragon City to me… or is it that dormant memory has just recently awakened?”
After returning home that night, he opened his computer and began searching for pictures of Dragon City.
A feeling of déjà vu continuously echoed in his mind, especially when seeing photos related to the ancient city areas, he even had flashes of walking down the old streets.
Ning Fan immediately concluded that Dragon City would be the key to retrieving his lost memory.
Unlike the unverified legend of the Dragon Ball, the related memories of Dragon City, though fragmented, truly resided deep in his brain.
With this in mind, Ning Fan immediately went to the Shadow Base.
“What’s happening?”
Ouyang Feifei saw Ning Fan’s serious expression and hurried footsteps, knowing that something abnormal must have happened.
“Send someone to Dragon City to investigate the situation immediately.”
Ning Fan raised his finger, his tone firm and decisive.
“Understood… what specifically should they investigate?”
“In any case, quickly get a general understanding of Dragon City for establishing a branch there.”
“Establishing a branch?”
“Not only do we need to set up a branch, but you guys should start planning to relocate the Shadow Team to Dragon City from now on.”
“But relocating such a large operation might require considerable funding.”
Although Ouyang Feifei was used to frequently requesting funding, Ning Fan knew this time, allocating a significant budget was indeed inevitable.
Personnel relocation wouldn’t pose a significant problem, but various instruments, weapons, and archive files must be properly settled, all the while ensuring secrecy, and with that, the workload and funding gap were not minor at all.
“Rest assured, this time the funds will be fully provided!”
Ning Fan suddenly raised his index finger, his eyes full of determined resolution.
The next day, Xu Ruolan still didn’t go to the company, spending the entire morning typing on the computer.
“This is our future branch office building, what do you think, impressive, right?”
As she spoke, Xu Ruolan tilted the laptop towards Ning Fan.
Ning Fan nodded, his eyes full of approval.
“It’s just as grand as the headquarters… so you had this planned out, next you’ll just need to send some people and a batch of goods, and the branch will be accomplished.”
Xu Ruolan shook her head in response:
“It’s not that simple, the customer is God, if the market isn’t opened, no matter how fancy the company building is, it’s useless.”
In the days leading to Dragon City, Xu Ruolan was busily overwhelmed, even staying in the office overnight with a folding bed.
Meanwhile, Ning Fan was deeply engaged in his core mission.
The memories he had painstakingly pursued without results in the past finally found clues here!
Three days later, they arrived in Dragon City!
This ancient capital brimming with historical atmosphere!
The place where the Ming and Qing dynasties ruled!
Ning Fan walked the streets, trying hard to calm his breathing and heartbeat, hoping to find the points where the scene before him and his memory intersected.
“This mall is too new, clearly built within the past two years… this cinema as well…”
It was then Ning Fan realized how aggravating the rapid urban development pace was.
The entire street had changed beyond recognition, how could anyone recognize it?
According to online introductions, Dragon City is a historical and cultural city. Even a city like this can’t preserve its ancient charm, being tainted with modern restlessness, truly lamentable.
“Hmm, places like parks shouldn’t be renovated every couple of years, right?”
Ning Fan moved his shoulders and neck on a park bench, feeling a vague sense of familiarity here indeed.
The bamboo path to the west should have been walked by him, and the pavilion to the east should contain traces of his childhood.
But these are just tiny fragments of memory. Compared to such insignificant pieces, Ning Fan wanted more to know who his parents were, what kind of person he was in the past.
Since there’s no gain in the new district, perhaps a walk through the old district would be more fruitful, at least the renovation frequency there is much lower.