Chapter 66 Chapter 66 "He's been looking for you."
Ma Binbin had already been taken into custody by the base security. When the police arrived, everyone was waiting outside the conference room in the office building. Leaders such as Lu Yanxiao and Su Luoang also rushed to the scene to assist the police in their investigation.
Soon, everyone knew the cause and effect of the accident.
The last impromptu test flight caused quite a stir at the base. After Lin Mo and the team finished their work at the base, Song Yue blamed himself for the mistakes he and Ma Binbin made in the docking. He didn't want the entire team to be criticized by the base staff, so as soon as he returned to the company, he truthfully reported the whole story of "being late for the meeting" and "imprompt test flight" to Su Luoang and the base leadership.
Both Song Yue and Ma Binbin were criticized by the entire company and had part of their bonuses deducted.
Song Yue accepted the punishment with pleasure and his sense of guilt was reduced.
Ma Binbin, on the other hand, was different. He'd been transferred from a technical position to a project manager after making a mistake, and had subsequently been the subject of numerous complaints, though thankfully, they'd been met with only a few sniping comments, leaving little to ripples. He'd assumed Lin Mo was kind enough to help him navigate this situation, but he'd ended up being criticized by the entire company. Despite Song Yue insisting that he'd proactively admitted his mistake to his superiors, Ma Binbin stubbornly placed all his anger on Lin Mo. He couldn't continue in his job anyway, so he decided to go all out and retaliate against her.
He had spent years at the base, and he was well-versed in all the necessary procedures. It was easy for him to gain access, having spent days planning. However, he miscalculated. He thought he could completely eliminate the surveillance footage and replace it with a fake one, ensuring he was completely foolproof. However, his cleverness backfired, and the original footage was restored by the technicians.
"It's my bad luck to be caught by you. You can do whatever you want to me." Ma Binbin shamelessly said.
Before anyone could react, a tall figure swept past like the wind, heading straight for Ma Binbin, grabbed him by the collar and punched him: "You deserve a beating, I'll grant your wish!"
"Boss Xiao!"
"Lu Yanxiao!"
Everyone was shocked and rushed over to pull Lu Yanxiao.
The police were still at the scene. Lin Mo stepped forward to stop this guy, wondering what was wrong with him. She pressed her hand on his arm soothingly. Only then did Lu Yanxiao let go and violently kicked the chair where Ma Binbin was sitting.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Tell me what you did specifically?"
No one wants to listen to his dirty excuses for committing crimes. The most urgent thing is that he needs to explain exactly what he did so that the team can effectively adjust the subsequent work.
Su Luoang explained to the police with a smile. The police expressed their understanding and pretended not to see Lu Yanxiao's behavior and asked Ma Binbin to tell the truth.
Ma Binbin was unable to argue and confessed everything.
The police took Ma Binbin away, and he would face legal sanctions. Lu Yanxiao spoke to Su Luoang and the head of the base on the spot, asking them to hold those responsible accountable and make necessary changes. He also notified the entire company: "If this happens again, everyone involved will be fired!"
The two accepted the criticism and immediately went out to arrange work.
Lin Mo and Zhao Zhengrong glanced at each other and were about to leave when Lu Yanxiao called out to her, "Lin Mo."
Zhao Zhengrong wisely escaped first and considerately closed the door of the conference room before leaving.
Only Lin Mo and Lu Yanxiao were left in the meeting room.
Lu Yanxiao coughed lightly and pulled the corner of his lip helplessly, like a child who had made a mistake facing his teacher: "The matter has been clarified. It has nothing to do with you."
He spoke in a relaxed tone, and when he looked at Lin Mo, his eyes were burning, as if he was waiting for her to change her mind with full expectation.
Now that everything is clear, it's not her fault, she should... no, she will definitely change her mind.
Lin Mo raised her head and smiled at him: "Well, then, I'll go back first." After that, she passed by him, opened the door and walked out without stopping.
Even if she found out the real cause of the accident, and even if she was more calm about her failure at work after Zhao Zhengrong's guidance, the problem between her and Lu Yanxiao did not lie there.
But the problem was that he didn't like her, and she couldn't change that.
After returning to the city, Lin Mo first went to Fenglin Garden to pack her things. Although they were separated temporarily, the agreement was still there, so she packed as much as she could. Therefore, she only packed one suitcase and took it back to her house in Jinwan Community.
Li Ningxin didn't ask any more questions, as if they had always lived together and she had just returned from a few days' business trip. Li Ningxin actively helped her clean the master bedroom.
With a companion living together, Lin Mo no longer felt the emptiness and loneliness she had felt when she was alone at home.
In the following time, I occasionally met Lu Yanxiao in the company and held several meetings with him. Both of us maintained a self-disciplined distance, like ordinary friends and colleagues.
Grandpa Lu and Aunt Lu would contact her every few days. They knew about the plane accident and didn't ask too many questions. They just checked in with her, asking her to take care of herself and come back to the old house for dinner when she was free. Her family didn't live together, so her parents were far away, so it was easy to deal with. Only Grandpa kept telling her not to come to the nursing home every week.
Life and work are progressing steadily.
Everything seemed to be going according to her vision when she signed the marriage agreement.
In the blink of an eye, it was mid-August and the assignment ended early.
On the day I was going through the resignation procedures, the sky was overcast and there was a tendency for heavy rain.
After completing the handover, Lin Mo did not leave the company immediately. Just like on her first day, she went to the cafe in the park to buy some drinks and treated her colleagues to thank everyone for their care for the past six months. Afterwards, she went up to the tenth floor to say goodbye to Su Luoang.
The door of the president's office was closed, and Lu Yanxiao was nowhere to be seen.
Lin Mo couldn't hide her disappointment, and pretended to ask Su Luoang casually, "Is he in the office?"
"Boss Xiao? He didn't come to the company today."
Although no one dared to ask Lu Yanxiao directly, any fool could see it if they were close friends. Recently, in private, Lu Yanxiao had been giving off a half-dead vibe. Combined with the fact that Lin Mo didn't even know whether he was in the company or not, Su Luoang had reason to suspect that the two might be in a cold war, or even hadn't communicated for a long time.
As outsiders, it is not easy for them to participate, but they can still help out with anything that is easy.
Therefore, when sending Lin Mo to the elevator, Su Luoang casually said, "How about you tell Mr. Xiao, as the boss, he might not even know that Party A's assignment has ended."
"Okay." Lin Mo nodded.
After getting on the elevator, he carefully considered his words and sent a message to Lu Yanxiao.
Lin Mo: [My overseas assignment ended today, and I just finished the handover at the company.]
Lin Mo: [I was originally planning to return to Changli tomorrow, but my company happens to be on holiday for the high temperatures, so I'll stay in the city for a few more days and return next week. I'll keep this a secret with you so your family won't ask.]
After all, the two of them still have an agreement and are obligated to keep each other informed of each other's major developments.
After hesitating for a few seconds, she sent another message: [Thank you for your care during this period.]
After descending to the basement and getting into the driver's seat, Lin Mo glanced at her phone. Lu Yanxiao hadn't replied, so she fastened her seatbelt and drove out of the basement. Outside, the wind was raging, and dark clouds covered the sky. It was around two in the afternoon, but it felt as dark as evening. Thunder roared from the sky from time to time, and lightning flashed terrifyingly towards the earth like silver chains binding wild beasts.
The whole city had a terrifying feeling that the end of the world was approaching.
Lin Mo took a small road and sped up the car, finally reaching the basement of the community two minutes before the rainstorm hit.
She had packed quite a lot of stuff from the company, filling up a full cardboard box. After parking the car, she went upstairs, carrying a canvas bag on her shoulder and holding the cardboard box in both hands. She pushed the door open and habitually called out "Ningxin". When no one answered, she realized that she had asked Li Ningxin and Liu Jun to complete the formalities a day in advance because the weather forecast predicted heavy rain.
Li Ningxin moved out yesterday afternoon.
Now she was alone in the house, and it was pitch black.
She turned on the light in the entrance hall, put the box on the shoe cabinet, changed into slippers, walked into the living room, stood there in a daze for a long time, realized that she had not turned on the light in the living room, but was too lazy to turn it on, so she just sat lazily on the sofa.
There was heavy rain outside the window, and lightning accompanied by loud thunder illuminated the room moment by moment.
Lin Mo leaned back on the sofa and picked up her phone. Almost an hour had passed, and Lu Yanxiao still hadn't replied to her WeChat message.
During this period, she always forced herself not to think about him. Her days were filled with work, and it seemed that she really would not think about him anymore. She thought that as time passed, her love would gradually fade, but now that she suddenly had some free time, she thought of him again.
It should be fine to go back to Changli, right?
Buzz——
The phone on the coffee table suddenly vibrated.
Lin Mo was delighted and quickly picked it up, but it was not the person she was expecting, but Lu Sijian, who she seldom contacted.
She quickly picked up the phone: "Hello, Brother Jian?"
"Lin Mo, are you home?" Lu Sijian's tone was a little anxious.
"exist."
"Where's Yanxiao? Is he home?"
Lin Mo realized belatedly that they had misspoken about the topic, and Lu Sijian might have thought she was still in the house in Fenglin Garden.
Unsure whether Lu Yanxiao had told his family that they were now living separately, Lin Mo didn't dare to reveal the truth and could only bite the bullet and say, "I didn't notice. What do you want from him?"
Anyway, the house is so big, it seems understandable that sometimes you don’t notice whether the other person is at home or not.
"I'm out of town and can't reach him by phone. I'm a little worried. Could you please help me find him?"
Lin Mo felt a little strange inside, but didn't think much about it.
She glanced at the raging rain outside the balcony. She could only imagine how bad the traffic was. It would take at least twenty minutes to get to Maple Grove Garden from here. She could only make up excuses to delay, "Okay, but Brother Jian, you have to wait a moment. I just went down to the basement and was going to pick up something from the property management."
"Okay, no rush."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Mo hurriedly picked up the keys, went downstairs, and sat in the driver's seat of the car. She called Lu Yanxiao again, but the call rang many times, but no one answered.
She started the car and left the basement.
The traffic was worse than expected. The sky was gray and the main road was covered with a hazy rain curtain, which was a long red. The heavy rain hit the cars like pebbles, and the strong wind seemed to overturn the cars. Each vehicle was crawling cautiously.
Lin Mo anxiously tapped the steering wheel with her fingertips, glancing at the time on her phone from time to time.
It took thirty-five minutes to finally arrive at Maple Forest Garden.
After entering the house, Lin Mo walked around the rooms upstairs and downstairs, but didn't see Lu Yanxiao. She stopped in the living room downstairs and called Lu Sijian.
"Go to the study downstairs and take a look." Lu Sijian said.
"I've been to see..."
Lin Mo was puzzled, but she still went to the study. The study was a suite, with the inner room mainly used for storing items, including cabinets and bookshelves, and the outer room was more like a workspace, with computers and tablets placed on the table.
Lin Mo looked around carefully and told Lu Sijian: "No one."
Lu Yanxiao is an adult. If he is not at home, he may be somewhere else. I don’t know why there is worry in Lu Sijian’s words.
Lin Mo was a little confused and suggested, "I'll ask Yu Ke and the others..."
"There's a bookshelf on the north side of the study." Lu Sijian interrupted her. "There's a button behind the model. Press it."
Lin Mo was half-believing and half-doubting, so she moved the robot model off the bookshelf. Sure enough, there was a black button on the back. She pressed it tentatively, and then something magical happened - the bookshelf began to move to the side, gradually revealing the wall behind it, on which there was a hidden secret door.
Lu Sijian's voice came from the receiver: "The password should be the same as the entrance door."
Lin Mo felt a faint unease rising inside. This secret door reminded her of Lu Yanxiao's office on the tenth floor of the company. She had been there several times before and always felt it didn't make sense. At the time, she had simply assumed it was a limited office setup. But the fact that there was such a room in such a large house meant there must be something else going on.
Lin Mo raised her hand, and her fingertips felt inexplicably weak when entering the password.
“Ding——” The password is correct.
She slowly pushed open the door and poked her head inside to take a look. The room was extremely dim, with only the floor lamp at the door emitting a faint orange light. It was slightly larger than the one in the company, but the structure seemed similar, with simple furnishings, no windows, and seemed to be soundproofed.
"Lu Yanxiao?" Lin Mo called softly as she walked inside.
First, she looked around the bedroom. No one was there. Then, she turned to the bathroom. The door was closed. Lin Mo reached out and gently pushed it open a crack. There was no light on inside, and a ray of orange light from the outside room slanted in through the crack.
There was a rustling sound inside.
Lin Mo paused and whispered, "Lu Yanxiao, are you in there?"
No response.
The feeling of unease in her heart grew stronger. After a few seconds of hesitation, she reached out and pushed the door open completely. The next moment, the scene she saw made her freeze in astonishment.
Lu Yanxiao was seen leaning against the corner between the sink and the wall, with one leg bent and the other stretched out sparsely, his head hung low, his hair covering his face, his hands clenched into fists pressed against his forehead, his whole body shaking uncontrollably.
"Have you found it?" Lu Sijian's voice came from the phone.
"He's here." Lin Mo replied absentmindedly, hung up the phone, and walked over cautiously, "Lu Yanxiao?"
She was just about to get closer to him when suddenly there was a deafening thunder outside. At the same time, Lu Yanxiao in front of her was shaking violently, covering his head tighter and leaning his body back against the wall.
It's a reaction to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Lin Mo's heart sank suddenly. She hurried out to close the door of the dark room and came back quickly. She squatted down and tried to hold Lu Yanxiao's hand, but the other party was in a state of complete dementia and fear. He clenched his fists tightly and refused to let go.
"Lu Yanxiao, it's me, Lin Mo." Lin Mo said softly.
Although soundproofing was done, the loud thunder could not be completely blocked out. Every time there was a thunder outside, Lu Yanxiao would retreat uncontrollably. He didn't even dare to open his eyes and kept his head down.
Lin Mo tried several times, but the other party didn't get better, so she stopped forcing him, moved forward, raised her hands and put her palms on his ears to help isolate him from the thunder and the fear.
"Don't be afraid, I'm with you." She soothed softly, "Don't be afraid of anything, it's okay, it's okay."
Lu Yanxiao's body suddenly stiffened, as if he sensed her voice.
Lin Mo saw the clue and continued to repeat: "It's okay, I'm with you, don't be afraid of anything, don't be afraid, okay."
With her words of comfort, Lu Yanxiao's emotions gradually eased. After a moment, he slowly raised his head, his deep eyes filled with confusion, and he stared at her as if for confirmation.
"I'm Lin Mo, do you recognize me?"
Lu Yanxiao did not respond, like a child who had suffered great injustice. He pursed his lips and tears as big as beans rolled down his cheeks. Then, he hugged her tightly, as if holding a treasure that had been lost and found again.
Lin Mo reached out and gently stroked his back: "Why don't you lie down on the bed? The floor is cold here."
The man held her unmoved.
Lin Mo coaxed him patiently: "This place is too small, my legs are almost numb from squeezing in here, go back to bed and lie down, okay? I'll stay with you."
The man leaned over her shoulder and nodded.
After coaxing him out of the bathroom, Lin Mo breathed a sigh of relief. She lifted a corner of the quilt, and Lu Yanxiao obediently lay down inside. After he got in, he took the initiative to move inward, making room for the outside, and stretched out his arms to her. Lin Mo then lay down in as well.
The constant temperature and humidity system in the room is on all year round, so it's not hot.
After she lay down, Lu Yanxiao covered her with the quilt, rested his head on her arm, and rubbed his body against her neck, like a weak animal seeking shelter. He looked helpless and weak, which aroused an unprecedented desire to protect her.
Lin Mo held him in her arms, patting and stroking his back with one hand.
Gradually, the man's emotions calmed down, and he only felt slightly nervous when thunder sounded. As the thunder subsided, his breathing became stable and he fell asleep.
Lin Mo listened carefully to the sounds outside until she heard no more thunder for more than ten minutes. She estimated that the thunder and lightning had passed, and then she relaxed. It was also at this moment that she suddenly realized a question: How, how did they sleep together?
"He is sick and I am just taking care of the patient," she convinced herself.
After confirming the man was sound asleep, Lin Mo carefully pulled her arm free and stood up, preparing to get out of bed when her wrist suddenly bumped into something hard, causing her pain. She lowered her eyes to look at it. It was a fist-sized airplane model, carved from wood. It looked like a small toy used as a pendant, with a small hole on the top for a string.
Afraid that Lu Yanxiao would accidentally bump into it again, Lin Mo picked up the model and planned to put it on the bedside table, but just as she was about to put it down, her eyes suddenly paused and her gaze focused on the model. The more she looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.
So I brought the model closer and examined it from top to bottom and left to right: it was a fighter jet, a model from decades ago, produced by the aviation group, and my grandfather had participated in related work back then.
“!”
In a flash, Lin Mo suddenly remembered: Isn't this the model her grandfather made for her when she was a child?!
She quickly flipped under the wing and saw the letters "LM".
It was a birthday present made by her grandfather when she was six years old. She had been hanging it on her schoolbag as a pendant. The following year, her parents were getting divorced, and her grandfather forced them to take her on a trip to northern Beijing. When they came back, she found that the pendant was lost, and only a piece of the rope was left on her schoolbag.
Lin Mo looked at the small hole for the model's tether. It was intact now, but there were obvious signs of repair.
So, her model was picked up by Lu Yanxiao back then?
When did he pick it up? He'd been keeping it for nearly twenty years, and he'd been holding it in his hand the entire time, cherishing it and relying on it.
Lin Mo stroked the model, her mind was confused for a moment, and she couldn't figure out many things.
The rainstorm had stopped, the thunder and lightning had died down, and Lu Yanxiao should be alright. Lin Mo tucked in the quilt for him, picked up her phone and the wooden model, and tiptoed out of the dark room.
She called Lu Sijian.
She'd sensed something strange before coming, and now she was almost certain that Lu Sijian knew Lu Yanxiao suffered from PTSD after thunderstorms, that he was in the dark room at home, and most likely also knew that she and Lu Yanxiao were currently separated, so he'd deliberately found an excuse to get her to come. So, even though he knew Lu Yanxiao was experiencing a symptom, he remained patient and worried, not even urging her to come for over thirty minutes.
Why?
Why must she come?
Why reveal Lu Yanxiao's privacy to her?
Why was Lu Yanxiao holding the model she lost in her childhood?
Lin Mo had too many doubts, so she simply asked directly: "Brother Jian, did you ask me to come here on purpose?"
"Yeah." Lu Sijian didn't deny it and said frankly, "I'm not out of town."
"Why?"
"Because you are the only one who can comfort him. For so many years, every time he had a symptom, he relied on your airplane model to get through it.
Come here, he has been looking for you for many years."
Lin Mo: "Looking for me?"
"Well, to be exact, I've been looking for you for more than ten years, starting from the year I graduated from high school."
Lin Mo was shocked and suspicious.
How could this be possible? Before this year, she didn't even know Lu Yanxiao!
"You knew him, but it's been so long that you forgot." Lu Sijian said firmly, and then told her the secret that Lu Yanxiao had hidden for many years.
When he was nine, his parents accompanied Lu Yanxiao to Beijing to participate in a piano competition. On the day of the competition, there were thunder, lightning, and strong winds, so they left a little late, and all three of them were a little anxious. Lu Yanxiao sat in the back row, practicing blindly with his music sheet. Unexpectedly, he accidentally dropped the sheet music in front of him. His father leaned over to help him pick it up, and that was when the car accident happened.
The weather was so bad that cars were speeding past the accident site. After a long wait, a car finally stopped to help them. The mother desperately held on to her last breath, asking someone to rescue little Lu Yanxiao first.
They were rescued by a middle-aged couple. The torrential downpour, the rain lashing their faces, was too much for an adult to bear, let alone a child. Fortunately, little Lu Yanxiao was protected by his mother and miraculously escaped serious injury, only suffering minor scratches. After the middle-aged couple pulled little Lu Yanxiao from the accident vehicle, they quickly carried him to their car.
Little Lu Yanxiao lay in the back seat, still recovering from the immense shock. He was completely dazed, shaking and crying. At that moment, a little girl approached him and comforted him, saying, "Don't be afraid, I'm here with you."
"The little girl you are talking about is me?" As Lu Sijian continued to talk, Lin Mo vaguely remembered.
She recalled that her parents had been traveling with her in northern Beijing when they encountered a car accident and saved a little boy, but sadly, both his parents had died in the accident. The three of them followed the ambulance to the hospital and stayed with the boy until his family arrived from out of town.
"Yes, it's you." Lu Sijian continued to tell her.
Grandpa rushed to the hospital, overcome with grief, and fainted for two days. Aunt and uncle wanted to thank the three of them, but her parents couldn't bring themselves to trouble someone who had just lost a loved one. Without even saying goodbye, they quietly left. As a result, the Lu family didn't even know their names. They only heard from the ambulance nurse that the father of the family was a doctor.
Little Lu Yanxiao found the airplane model she had left behind on the floor of the ward and wanted to return it to her, but he couldn't find her.
It was because of this car accident that Lu Yanxiao suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and the model became his only comfort when he had an attack, because, holding it, he always remembered the words she said when he was most helpless, as if she was still by his side.
She said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here with you."
At that time, he was too young, and Lu Yanxiao was immersed in the grief and self-blame of losing his parents for several years. He did not deliberately look for her, but hoped to meet her again.
Until one summer vacation, Lu Yanxiao met her again in Jingbei City.
Lu Sijian said, "That summer, Yan Xiao and I were having dinner at a restaurant in the west of Beijing North City. We sat on the second floor by the window. There was a park next to the restaurant with beautiful scenery. When he looked out the window, he noticed you. You were flying a drone on the lawn of the park. It wasn't a purchased drone, but a homemade one."
Lin Mo recalled that she had been to Jingbei more than once during her school years. According to Lu Sijian's timing, it seemed to match: "I should have gone to Jingbei to participate in the drone competition."
"Yan Xiao didn't fully recognize you at first, he just felt like he had seen you before. He told me at the time, 'I feel like I've seen you somewhere before, and I have a strange feeling in my heart.' Then, he became mesmerized by your gaze."
Lu Sijian smiled, "Maybe the childhood memories left a deep impression on him, giving him a natural liking for you. Even though he refused to admit it, it was clearly love at first sight. He watched you through the window for a long time, until you bumped into someone you knew and called out to someone in the distance. He recognized you instantly and remembered you were the girl from back then."
The magical fate surprised Lu Yanxiao!
He took the model out of his bag and chased after her madly, but there was a wall between the park and the restaurant, so he had to go around a long way to get to the park entrance. When Lu Yanxiao ran to the lawn, she had already disappeared.
"Later, he started trying every possible way to find you. He went to study in Beijing North, worked on medical artificial intelligence and drones, and regardless of profitability, he collaborated with hospitals and companies in Beijing North in these two areas, all in the hope of having the chance to meet you."
"He thought I lived in Beijing North? That my father was a doctor there?"
Lu Sijian hummed: "I'm sorry for lying to you today because I just learned that there seems to be a misunderstanding between you, so..."
Lin Mo held back her tears and shook her head: "Thank you, Brother Jian."
After hanging up the phone, she could no longer control her tears. At this moment, she finally figured out that the person Lu Yanxiao had been in love with for many years was actually her, and she was still jealous for no reason.
Looking back on the little things they had experienced together, she had made him angry time and time again, and pushed him away time and time again, but he had healed himself every time and ran towards her again, never thinking of giving up.
It turned out that she was loved so firmly and deeply by him.
The reason why it is difficult to express his love directly is that he also has a fragile side. This fragile factor makes him timid and even makes him feel inferior. He is afraid that she will despise him and that she may not want him anymore, so he dare not express it to her actively.
You can only try again and again.
Lin Mo looked towards the study, wiped the tears from her face, smiled at the corners of her lips and her eyes were extremely determined: From now on, she will never let him go.
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