Brian Clark, with his hair dyed in a dazzling array of colors, wearing a hole-ridden outfit cut by scissors, flip-flops on his feet, scratching his abs with one hand, chewing gum, swaggered into the reserved private room with his feet turned outward.

To appear uncouth, he blew a huge bubble as he entered. The bubble blocked his view, so Brian Clark didn’t see who was waiting inside.

But that didn’t matter. No matter who he was meeting for this blind date, Brian Clark was determined to make the other person dissatisfied with him.

He blew another bubble, placing one foot on the table.

“Pop!” The bubble burst at its largest, and Brian Clark chewed the gum back into his mouth, then said to his date, “So you’re the one I’m supposed to—”

“Hic!” The moment Brian Clark saw the other’s face, he gasped so hard the gum got stuck in his throat.

“Are you okay?” His date quickly handed him a glass of water.

The look of concern in his eyes was exactly the same as when he’d asked Brian Clark outside the car earlier if he needed help—gentle yet brave, radiating a sense of justice.

“Cough, cough, cough!” With frantic coughing and gulps of water, Brian Clark finally spat out the gum.

Staring at Helen Grant, he took a deep breath, held up five fingers, and said, “Forget everything that happened after I walked in. Give me five minutes!”

With that, Brian Clark fled the private room in embarrassment. In his haste, his flip-flop twisted, and he hobbled toward the restroom with a sprained leg.

Helen Grant watched his retreating figure, sat back down, recalled what had just happened, and couldn’t help but laugh.

Author’s note: Side note: Lazy Qing thinks instant noodles taste best when cooked in the packaging bag!!!

Chapter 3

Brian Clark rushed to the restroom to meet up with his crew. They poked their heads out and asked, “So, did you scare your blind date?”

“Shut up!” Brian Clark smacked the back of the one who spoke. “Hurry up and get me some normal clothes. And my hair—my god, what am I supposed to do with this rainbow mess?!”

His underlings were stunned by their boss’s mood swings. One moment he wanted to ruin the date, the next he was ready to spend his life with his date. Their boss’s temper was like a summer rain—here in an instant.

Eric Webb glanced at the restroom faucet and quickly signaled to David Reed, who immediately blocked the restroom door to keep others out.

“Boss, control your temper,” Eric Webb said, pointing at the sensor faucets, all of which were running with a “whoosh.”

Brian Clark quickly calmed himself, making sure his special ability didn’t affect the surroundings.

He was the most powerful yet hardest-to-control among the guardians. To stabilize his emotions and control his powers, after his closed training, Brian Clark challenged himself with all kinds of extreme sports, needing to experience all sorts of intense emotions to master his abilities.

Brian Clark had experienced the despair of near-death, the fear of the unknown, the anxiety of teammates in danger—all sorts of emotional highs and lows. To control himself, he made sure to experience every emotion he could. His parents only saw him doing extreme sports, but they didn’t know that Brian Clark had once spent over a month alone in a pitch-black house.

He knew well that he was a double-edged sword. To fully master it, he had to overcome every obstacle.

He had already succeeded—until this blind date ruined everything.

He’d experienced every emotion except for falling in love.

His crew quickly jumped out the restroom window to find clothes. Well-trained and agile, they returned within five minutes, bringing Brian Clark a suit, tie, and dress shoes.

“There’s nothing we can do about your hair,” David Reed said. “How about a wig? I found one that looks most like your old hairstyle.”

After their efforts, they finally calmed Brian Clark down, and the faucets stopped running automatically.

Eric Webb opened the restroom door and gave Brian Clark a thumbs-up. “Boss, go get him! You can do it!”

Brian Clark felt like the suit on his body had turned into armor. He nodded to his crew, straightened his tie and wig, and walked out with an expression as if he was about to conquer the universe.

As soon as he left, his crew collapsed to the floor in fright. Their boss was treating this romance like a world war.

Brian Clark glanced at his watch. He’d promised Helen Grant five minutes, but he’d taken fifteen. He wondered if Helen Grant had gotten impatient and left.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the private room door and saw Helen Grant had already taken off his suit jacket and was wearing a dark gray shirt. His strong, elegant hands were pouring tea from a classically styled teapot into two cups.

After pouring the tea, Helen Grant set down the teapot, turned to look at Brian Clark standing by the door, and, without asking what had taken him so long or commenting on his drastically different appearance, stood up and smiled amid the fragrance of tea. “You’re back.”

In that instant, Brian Clark heard the thunderous pounding of his heart in his throat.

“Thump, thump.”

He dumbly followed Helen Grant to the table. Helen Grant handed him the menu and said, “I didn’t know what you liked, so I just ordered some cold dishes and pastries. We can order the main courses when you’re ready.”