097 An Encounter at the Airport

Chen Qing was jolted awake by the shrill ring of a phone. Eyes still closed, he groped around the bedside table for a long time before finally finding the phone, pressing a button, and answering groggily—only to realize the phone was still ringing incessantly.

He nudged Lin Xia with his foot, his voice hoarse. “Your phone. It’s your phone.”

After several nudges, she finally woke up. Lin Xia found the phone, pressed the button, and answered, her voice equally raspy, “Hello?”

“Xia Xia, it’s me.”

“Oh, Tong Tong.”

“I’m at the airport in the city. I’m about to board my flight and will be in B City in two hours. I’ll land at Tianhe Airport. Just hearing your voice, I know you’re still in bed. Get up and come pick me up.”

Lin Xia listened in a muddled daze, eyes closed. “Okay, I’ll come get you.”

“Don’t forget! I’m hanging up, about to board. Bye-bye.”

“Bye.”

Lin Xia buried her head in the pillow again, rubbing her face into it. It took her a while to realize—Xie Pontong was coming to B City!

Wait, was she coming alone?

Damn it, wasn’t this just setting her up?

Lin Xia’s eyes flew open. She grabbed her phone and dialed furiously, but all she heard was an automated woman’s voice: “Sorry, the number you have dialed is powered off. Please try again later.”

She raked a hand through her messy hair, checked the time, and sat up with a jolt. It was already late. Did Chen Zimo know Xie Pontong was on her way? What about the rest of the Chen family—how could they let her come alone?

Lin Xia could understand how she herself managed to fly to B City alone, since her father had put her on the plane. But Xie Pontong…

Panic rising, Lin Xia found Chen Zimo’s number and called. It felt like an eternity before he answered.

Hearing Chen Zimo’s gentle voice, Lin Xia blurted out, “Did you know Tong Tong is coming to B City?”

“What? Didn’t she say she was going to Youxin’s place?” Chen Zimo sounded puzzled. “She just called me, said she was staying for dinner at Youxin’s and wouldn’t be back.”

“How is that possible? She just called me and said she’s already on the plane to B City and wants me to pick her up.”

“What? She went alone? Where did she get that kind of nerve?”

“I know, right? You should call Youxin and check. Tong Tong’s phone is off now.”

Zimo hung up.

Staring at the phone, Lin Xia scratched her head. What a way to start the day—did it have to be this dramatic?

Still clutching her phone, she slid into her slippers, left the bedroom, closed the door behind her, and hurried to the balcony. As she was thinking, her phone rang again.

“Hello?”

“She didn’t go to his place. She’s probably already on the plane. I’ll call my aunt and have her pick Tong Tong up. If you’re busy, you don’t need to go.”

Relieved that an adult would be there, Lin Xia exhaled. “It’s fine, today’s a holiday. I’ll pick her up at the airport. She called me specifically—if she doesn’t see me, she’ll probably fuss and get upset.”

Chen Zimo sounded relieved too. “Okay.”

Lin Xia hesitated. “What happened? Why did she just suddenly take off to B City without a word?”

“I have no idea. You know she and Zhou Meng don’t get along, but yesterday the two of them actually came home together. When she got back, she locked herself in her room. At dinner, she seemed fine. I don’t know why she’d suddenly leave.”

“Oh, I see.” Lin Xia chatted a bit more before hanging up.

Checking the time, she realized twenty minutes had already passed—she was still in her pajamas and needed to wash up and eat.

And thinking of B City’s notorious traffic, Lin Xia felt a wave of gloom. Someone once said on social media: in B City, you’re always stuck in traffic.

And it was the weekend—there’d be more people on the road.

No, she had to hurry.

She darted into the bedroom, changed, rushed into the bathroom for a quick wash, told Chen Qing she was leaving, then dashed to the dining room.

After breakfast, she checked the clock—just twenty minutes had gone by.

She hailed a cab and hurried to Tianhe Airport.

As expected, she got stuck in traffic. A short distance took nearly fifty minutes. The last time Chen Qing had driven her, it barely took over ten.

She paid the driver and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe her luck had run out since last time.

Standing by the airport exit, Lin Xia leaned on the railing, catching her breath. She was exhausted—just afraid of missing the time.

She scanned the crowd but saw no one resembling Aunt Xie, so she guessed her aunt must be stuck in traffic as well.

Just then, the sweet voice of the airport announcer came overhead: “Dear passengers, the flight from [city] to B City is about to arrive…”

Lin Xia steadied herself, eyes fixed on the exit, waiting for Xie Pontong.

After a few minutes, she spotted Xie Pontong, carrying only a backpack.

Lin Xia waved. “Over here!”

Seeing her, Xie Pontong smiled and waved back, hurrying over.

“Ah, I missed you so much!” Xie Pontong greeted her with a big hug.

Lin Xia: …

It’s only been a week!

She gently pushed the girl off, scolding, “How could you travel alone without telling your family? Do you know how worried your brother is right now?” As she spoke, her phone rang.

“Brother Chen, yes, I’ve picked her up. She’s right here, I’ll put her on.” Lin Xia rolled her eyes at Xie Pontong as she covered the phone, “Your brother—get ready for a lecture.”

Xie Pontong stuck out her tongue and took the phone. “Hello, brother? I know I was wrong, but I’m fine, aren’t I?”

“Okay, okay, just don’t tell Mom and Dad. What? They already know? Yes, I’ll go to Auntie’s house. I’m not a child anymore, you don’t need to baby me… Okay, okay.”

She finally hung up and handed the phone back to Lin Xia, grumbling as she linked arms with her, “So annoying. When you go out, your parents don’t mind, but when I do, they make such a fuss. I’m fifteen already, you know!”

As they walked toward the exit, Lin Xia tapped her on the forehead. “You really are a handful. My parents knew I was coming here. If something happened to you running away on your own, how would your parents cope?”

She couldn’t help but think of that famous Thai movie years ago, “Love of Siam.” A once-happy family was shattered after the elder sister’s accident—a sobering lesson.

Just as they reached the main doors, both their phones rang. They exchanged glances and laughed.

“Hello, Auntie.”

“Meow-jie.”

“Where did you go? I woke up and you were gone—you scared me to death,” Chen Qing complained.

“Meow-jie, I went to pick up a friend. I told you before I left, you even answered me.”

“Hah, I was half asleep! How could I know what you were saying?”

“I’m at Tianhe Airport now, I’ve already picked up my friend. I’m taking her to the hotel.”

“All right, bring her over and come back soon, my little ancestor. This whole week I’ve been on edge, terrified something would happen to you, and here you are running off on your own.”

“Meow-jie, I’m sorry, I won’t do it again. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay, okay, I know. Bye-bye.” She hung up, looked up, and saw Jin Ye standing not far away, watching her.

How long had it been since she’d seen him? Lin Xia hadn’t kept track, but at that moment, it felt like a century had passed.

Then, that tall figure began to walk slowly toward her.

She suddenly felt herself stiffen.

“Xia Xia!” Xie Pontong slapped her on the shoulder and poked her. “What’s wrong with you? You look weird.”

Lin Xia forced a smile at Jin Ye. “What a coincidence—are you at the airport too?”

She almost heard a flock of crows cawing overhead. She suddenly remembered a joke: two people meet in a restroom, and one says, “Oh, you’re here to use the bathroom too!”

“Wow, what a cool uncle!” Xie Pontong exclaimed after getting a good look at Jin Ye’s face.

Looking at Jin Ye, Xie Pontong was reminded of something from a romance novel: men who love to wear white are immature.

Today he wasn’t in a suit, but dressed casually—a perfectly tailored black shirt, simple and unadorned, with only a subtle pattern in the fabric. Even someone like Xie Pontong, who knew little about clothes, could tell it was expensive.

The minimalist cut made Jin Ye’s presence even more imposing.

Indeed, white shirts might make a boy look clean-cut, but truly mature men rarely wear white. They prefer dark black or silver gray.

Jin Ye felt a pang of exasperation—uncle? Was he really that old? Why did everyone lately call him “uncle”?

He nodded slightly at Xie Pontong, then turned to Lin Xia. “Are you here for something?”

Clearly a man of experience—he knew how to deal with people.

Was Jin Ye less popular at school than Chen Zimo? No, perhaps even more, but he still showed excellent manners when meeting someone for the first time.

Thinking back to when she first met Chen Zimo, how cold and aloof he’d been, Lin Xia felt a twinge of annoyance. Look at this “uncle”—how gracious!

“Yeah, I came to pick up a friend.”

“Are you heading back to the hotel now?” Jin Ye inclined his head slightly, his sharp black eyes now softened, his well-chiseled features making Xie Pontong practically drool.

She wasn’t a lovestruck girl, but she had to admit—even her own brother couldn’t compare to this man.

Her brother was like a distant breeze, but this man was both an eagle soaring over the grasslands and the powerful, enigmatic figure so often seen in dramas.

But shouldn’t a man like him have an air of arrogance, looking down on everyone?

Yet, faced with this man, whose aura was steely but not intimidating, Xie Pontong felt a bit confused.