[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner":3,"chapter-i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-64":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I'm Not Crazy—This Is the Emperor's Banner",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2291404,4480,"Chapter 64: Blind Date","i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-64",64,"\u003Cp>“Sigh~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Tao put down her phone and let out a soft sigh, frowning with worry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Hongzhuang, sitting across from her, asked in surprise, “What’s wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Tao didn’t answer that question, but pleaded pitifully, “Boss, can I take the afternoon off?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Hongzhuang, sitting across from her, crossed her legs with a smile, clearly enjoying Jiang Tao’s flustered expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boss, you’re such a heartless capitalist—you’re squeezing every last drop of value out of me,” Jiang Tao couldn’t help complaining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She dared speak this way to her boss because their relationship was anything but ordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Hongzhuang didn’t get angry; instead, she said, “You haven’t told me what you’re doing this afternoon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not afternoon—tonight. Wenxin sister set me up with someone, and I have to meet him tonight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wenxin sister?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Hongzhuang sat up straight, lowered her crossed legs—clearly, she knew Jiang Wenxin, and Jiang Wenxin held considerable weight in her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, last week she said she’d set me up with someone. Since yesterday, she’s been calling me nonstop, telling me not to flake, and today she called first thing in the morning to remind me—I’m about to go crazy from her nagging…” Jiang Tao couldn’t help grumbling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If Wenxin sister is this serious, the guy must be someone very special. Don’t flake—it’d make Wenxin sister look bad. But if you’re meeting tonight, why do you need the afternoon off?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Hongzhuang rested her chin lightly on her hand, her expression curious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing her expression, Jiang Tao momentarily froze, because Ruan Hongzhuang was simply too beautiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, her eyes sparkled with playful curiosity—even as a woman, Jiang Tao was struck dumb by her looks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m asking you a question—what are you daydreaming about?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Hongzhuang poked Jiang Tao’s forehead with her finger, snapping her back to reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hongzhuang, if only I were a man,” Jiang Tao sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I wouldn’t be forced into blind dates every day, and I could marry you,” Jiang Tao grinned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Ruan Hongzhuang sat up straight again, then gave her a sidelong glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you were a man, do you think I’d even look at you? No ambition, clumsy, lazy… except for your face…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Hongzhuang suddenly reached out and pinched Jiang Tao’s cheek.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Jiang Tao was already twenty-eight, she looked much younger, like a fresh college student—with round, plump cheeks and a touch of baby fat, full of collagen, delightfully soft to the touch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When they went out together, Jiang Tao was often mistaken for Ruan Hongzhuang’s younger sister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop talking, or I’ll get depressed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Tao cut her off before she could say more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Tao and Ruan Hongzhuang were college classmates with an extremely close bond. After graduation, Ruan Hongzhuang used money from her family to start a business, and Jiang Tao, who had no job at the time, chose to become her assistant—and she’s been working for her ever since.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So daily, they were both superior and subordinate, as well as best friends—many things she couldn’t say to her boss, she could vent freely to her friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t change the subject—why do you need the afternoon off? Are you planning to go home and get all dolled up?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Hongzhuang sized Jiang Tao up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think you look fine like this—no need to dress up specially.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dolled up? At five p.m. we’re going to Qingyuan Group for a meeting—we won’t make it back before six.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then fine, you don’t need to go this afternoon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Boss, for your great mercy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Tao clasped her hands together, pretending to thank her with exaggerated gratitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this the first time Wenxin sister has set you up with someone?” Ruan Hongzhuang gave her a look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Tao nodded. Her family had arranged a few blind dates before, but this was the first time Jiang Wenxin had introduced someone—and with such seriousness—it made Jiang Tao take it seriously too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wenxin sister is very reliable. The person she introduces you to should suit you well,” Ruan Hongzhuang said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Hongzhuang was very close to Jiang Wenxin—or rather, she was quite familiar with the entire Jiang family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the Jiang family had considerable influence in Haibin, and when Ruan Hongzhuang came to Haibin to start her business, the Jiangs had helped her a great deal, so their bond was extraordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Tao nodded, agreeing with Ruan Hongzhuang’s words, but then shifted the topic: “Enough about me—when are you going to find someone? We’re the same age, and actually, I’m a few months older—you should call me sister.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Ruan Hongzhuang instinctively reached out to pinch her cheek again, but her gaze drifted slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boyfriend?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These past few years, she’d been too busy building her business to even consider such things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time flew quickly—it was already five p.m.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Hongzhuang stood up, preparing to head to Qingyuan Group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where are you meeting him? Should I drop you off?” Ruan Hongzhuang asked Jiang Tao, who was still bent over her phone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Tao blinked, checked the time, then exclaimed, “It’s already five?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Hongzhuang sighed. “Sometimes I wonder— Daodishinizhuli ， Haishiwozhuli ？”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hehe~ Sorry, I was chatting with Wenxin sister, asking who this guy she set me up with is,” Jiang Tao waved her phone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let me see.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Curious, Ruan Hongzhuang reached out and snatched the phone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Tao didn’t mind, adding, “Wenxin sister says he’s got an ordinary background, but he’s handsome, kind, and very capable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as Ruan Hongzhuang scrolled through the phone, she frowned, doubting whether this guy Jiang Wenxin had introduced was reliable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wasn’t as naive as Jiang Tao—she didn’t believe everything people told her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Wenxin had written on WeChat that he was kind, but didn’t say how; that he was capable, but didn’t say in what way…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It gave her a vague, evasive feeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Hongzhuang saw the meeting location.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sunsetcoffee?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an open-air café by the sea, where at dusk you could sip coffee, feel the sea breeze, and watch the sun sink into the ocean, painting the sky orange-red.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hence the name: Sunset Coffee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Hongzhuang had been there a few times and knew the area well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So she said, “Perfect—it’s on the way. I’ll drop you off.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Jiang Tao quickly gathered her things and followed Ruan Hongzhuang downstairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Driver Sun had already been waiting below. Seeing them come down one after the other, he hurried to open the car door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The car slowly drove along the coastal road. It was evening now; the setting sun glinted on the sea, waves shimmering, a few seagulls soaring overhead, distant sails dotting the horizon, occasional horns echoing…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a beautiful scene—but Ruan Hongzhuang, staring out the window, had no focus in her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was curious: what kind of man was Jiang Tao meeting tonight?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, her phone rang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She picked it up—it was Jiang Tao calling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boss, just now Qingyuan Group’s assistant Chen contacted me—he said their boss Wu suddenly had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. Today’s meeting is canceled.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you find out which hospital?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Hongzhuang: …\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll call and ask right away,” Jiang Tao hurried to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forget it,” Ruan Hongzhuang sighed and hung up, rubbing her temples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she told the driver in front, “Sun, turn back—we’re going to the café we just passed.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1229,"2026-06-20T03:53:08.657Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","1aab6ac5924964037037d2874bd0795a3659ea413a3ece29764cf28a0f08929f","i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-65","i-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-chapter-63",623,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-not-crazy-this-is-the-emperor-s-banner-cover.jpg"]