Chapter 2
"Ladies and gentlemen, please note: Boarding for your flight ZD229 has begun. Please take your belongings and boarding pass with you..."
The huge hall was bustling with activity, and the shadows of people were overlapping one another.
Passengers rushed towards the security checkpoint, and Huo Junyan suddenly stood up and ran with the flow of people.
Secretary Wu was dumbfounded. This deal was very important... there was no need to run to get on the plane.
The staff looked at the two people running away with some surprise.
Working at the airport, I've seen all sorts of faces. This young man was strikingly handsome, with a refined and elegant demeanor that kept people at arm's length. He was waiting for his flight with other passengers, but he seemed to be on a completely different level.
She clearly has little patience for children, yet she will risk her life to save them. Even when her clothes are a mess and she is injured, she can always maintain her composure and elegance, except for telling the nanny to "let go" just now.
He must have come from an extraordinary background and be extremely well-mannered.
Would people like that really crowd together to board a plane?
Does getting on the plane first mean you can fly faster than others?
Indeed, people have a thousand faces.
“I told her I was there to pick someone up,” the nanny said, picking up the child. Tuanzi struggled fiercely. The arriving police officers yelled at her to let go and took the child from her. Tuanzi continued to struggle, pointing her little finger towards the escalator, “Mommy, Mommy…”
When Shen Que received the call, his pupils dilated in shock. He turned around and went up two steps, then turned back again. He couldn't wait for the escalator to reach the bottom, picked up his suitcase, and went down the steps, which caused other passengers to complain.
The escalators were crisscrossed; the upward escalators had to go around to the back. Once she reached the second floor, she looked around anxiously.
"Mommy..." The child's clear voice was tinged with tears. Chen Que turned around at the sound, ran quickly, and took his son from the police officer's arms.
The little dumpling wrapped her arms around her neck, first choking back sobs, but when she heard her mother's gentle coaxing, her little mouth twitched and she started to cry.
She didn't cry when chased by older children, and she stubbornly remained silent even when the nanny forcibly dragged her, until now when her emotions finally broke down.
It took Shen Que a while to calm his son down.
The police officers left after confirming the relationship.
Airport staff recounted the whole story, and Shen Que's expression grew increasingly grim as he listened.
Aunt Liu hesitated for a while before admitting that she came to the airport to see off a relative, but she didn't have time to go back to pick up Shen Xinghui. She was afraid that the kindergarten would call Shen Que, so she simply didn't send him to school and brought him to the airport instead.
Shen Que carried her son and walked ahead without saying a word. When they passed the cake shop, Tuanzi looked up and said, "Mommy, I want to eat cake."
Is the baby hungry?
Tuanzi nodded.
Shen Que carried him into the cake shop. Tuanzi refused to get down, stretched out her chubby hand, pointed to a cartoon-shaped cake, and bought herself a piece of bread.
The nanny was hungry too, but a small piece of cake at the airport was priced at 102, and a piece of bread at 87. It was like eating gold!
She couldn't help but complain in her heart that if the child hadn't run away and made her search for so long, none of this would have happened.
Tuanzi opened the packaging box, and Chen Que patted his son's head. Seeing his son lying on the table with his arms outstretched and about to bite, Chen Que looked at him with doting eyes and said, "Slow down, didn't you eat breakfast?"
Tuanzi shook her head. Chen Que suppressed his anger, but it kept rising again. Just as he was about to ask more questions, Xingxing whimpered and sat back down in her seat, her little face scrunched up, constantly touching her arm.
She remembered that the airport staff reminded her to have the child checked, saying that it was due to pulling. Before they could finish speaking, the nanny said that she was very careful.
“Xingxing is a picky eater…” Aunt Liu was frightened by Shen Que’s cold and stern gaze and shut her mouth awkwardly.
She rolled up her son's sleeve, revealing several irregular red marks on his fair, lotus-root-like arms, clearly caused by forceful pulling and gripping.
Chen Que was trembling with anger. Tuanzi stretched her neck to bite into the cake, but she quickly cut the cake into small pieces with a knife and fork and got up to ask for a cup of hot milk.
Watching her son wolf down his food, her nose stung with tears, and she felt both regret and pain in her heart.
Trying to calm herself down, she said, "Sweetie, after you finish eating, Mommy will take you to the hospital for a checkup, okay?"
Tuanzi looked up, his bright eyes blinking, his mouth stuffed full. Chen Que lovingly wiped his mouth, "Just check this little arm, no injections."
Tuanzi nodded.
Aunt Liu became scared when she heard that the child needed to go to the hospital for a checkup. She didn't think there was anything wrong with the child's arm; it couldn't be that fragile. She was just afraid that the child would complain to the housekeeping company and make her pay for the checkup. How would she find another job then?
The waiting hall of Terminal 2 at the international airport has three floors.
Huo Junyan stood in the hall, his eyes gradually losing focus, the passersby becoming blurry figures. He suddenly smiled bitterly, thinking that he really had gone mad. How could someone who had been dead for five years appear at the airport?
Perhaps it's just a similar figure.
This wasn't the first time he'd experienced hallucinations.
Secretary Wu chased Huo Junyan up and down three floors in circles.
He thought Mr. Huo was going to the ticket gate, but when he saw him running upstairs and looking at each pedestrian with a suitcase, he knew that he was looking for someone.
Secretary Wu was worried about his leg injury and tried to help him up several times, but he was pushed away each time.
I ran up and down countless times, looking at each face, and they all became more and more similar, their features becoming increasingly blurry, until finally, I couldn't distinguish between reality and illusion.
"Mr. Huo, your injury needs to be treated promptly." Secretary Wu glanced at the palm-sized bloodstain on his knee and the spots seeping through his trousers.
Huo Junyan sighed, "Change the ticket."
Suddenly turning around, a graceful figure emerged from the cake shop. As she moved, her reflection swayed in the glass, like a dream.
He froze in astonishment, not daring to step forward, but staring intently at the figure approaching him.
It's her.
The person who had been dead for five years reappeared and drew closer. Huo Junyan's eyes were filled with tears, his eyes brimming with the joy of something lost and found again. "Chu Ci, you're back."
Shen Que was startled by the sudden appearance of the man and instinctively protected his son.
The little dumpling waved at Huo Junyan while holding up a small cake, then looked up and asked in a childish voice, "Mommy, who is Chu Ci?"
She glanced at the man who looked like he'd been struck by lightning, then bent down and gently took her son's hand. "Sweetie, Uncle has mistaken you for someone else."
He then nodded to indicate that he was leaving.
Secretary Wu was truly shocked by what he saw.
Chu Ci (Songs of Chu)
He'd never heard of this name before, neither in the company nor in the Huo family. Was this his ex-girlfriend? Was the watch a gift from her? His deceased, unrequited love?
Uh... it seems the deceased "white moonlight" was just something he imagined.
The woman has disappeared, and so has the little boy from before. What a coincidence!
Secretary Wu looked away and saw that President Huo was slumped over, looking lost and dejected, like a stray dog.
He pretended nothing had happened, saying, "I'll get someone to treat your wound. If you want to rebook, the earliest flight requires a transfer; should I book a new ticket?"
Huo Junyan suddenly realized what was happening. "Have Huo Zixi come to see me. You go and investigate her... Chu Ci, which flight she took."
"Yes." Secretary Wu hesitated for a few seconds, then asked with a forced smile, "Mr. Huo, what are the two characters in 'chuci'?"
The surname "chu" is not very common; "楚" or "褚" are more suitable for names. There are many suitable surnames and given names in China. He may not be able to find one, but if he finds the wrong one, his job is over.
Huo Junyan stared at him blankly, making Secretary Wu feel uneasy. She thought he wouldn't answer and was about to make a phone call when she saw him take out the watch from his pocket. On the inside of the broken watch strap were two words engraved: "Chu Ci".
The flight information does not include any passenger named "Chu Ci".
Huo Zixi had just finished his late-night snack and gone to sleep when Secretary Wu called him. He rushed to the airport without even drying his hair. He initially thought his uncle had mistaken her again, but now, looking at the woman in the high-definition surveillance footage, what was going on?
After calming his shocked emotions slightly, he carefully spoke under Huo Junyan's expectant gaze, "It's similar."
They look so alike.
But that's simply impossible.
Chu Ci was already dead; they watched him cremated.
There are indeed similar faces in the world.
Huo Zixi, clutching his messy hair, said, "Uncle, it looks like him, but it doesn't."
They look very similar, but their temperament and charm are completely different.
"Mr. Huo, her name is Shen Que." Secretary Wu handed over the identification information that had been sent to him.
“I told you it was impossible,” Huo Zixi glanced at his uncle’s expression, stammered for a long time, not knowing what to say, and scratched his head vigorously.
He and Chu Ci had known each other for many years, sharing similar interests and enjoying each other's company. They were the closest of friends. When Chu Ci died, Huo Zixi thought he was the one who was the saddest.
only,
Five years ago, Chu Ci tricked Huo Junyan, which completely angered him. When he heard that his uncle was personally arresting people, he rushed to stop him.
When he arrived, he was met with the news of Chu Ci's death. Huo Zixi suppressed his grief and handled her funeral arrangements.
And his uncle,
It's like... a great revenge was not taken, but the enemy is dead.
Anger? Resentment? Or perhaps despondency?
For the next five years, Chu Ci (a type of classical Chinese poetry) seemed to become a taboo subject for him.
Huo Zixi was unsure whether his feelings for her were hatred, or... perhaps not love.
After a long while, Huo Junyan looked up from the surveillance screen and said, "It's her. Find her."
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