Chapter 37
On the morning of the fifth day, sunlight streamed into the room through the old window frames. The first thing Lin Xiaotang did after waking up was to pick up her phone.
The screen lit up, and a new text message lay there quietly, sent at 5 a.m.
From: Persian.
The content was simple, yet it made her heart skip a beat:
[Things are all sorted out. Flight GB6812 arrives at 3 PM today. Wait for me.]
"wait for me."
These two words, along with his plea when he left, struck her heart heavily.
This time, Lin Xiaotang did not choose to stay in the ancient town to wait.
Xie Junhao's harsh words echoed in her mind like a warning bell all night. Looking at the face in the mirror—a face that belonged to herself and had once belonged to another woman—she no longer felt disgust or rejection. This was her face, her life. And Bai Sinian… his disheveled appearance when he arrived, his painful ramblings after drinking, his anxious yet earnest gaze as he left… these images intertwined, making it impossible for her to simply dismiss everything with the word "substitute."
She wanted an answer. A real, face-to-face answer.
She wanted to take the initiative this time.
She quickly said goodbye to her parents, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for the city airport. During the more than one-hour drive, she watched the scenery rushing past the window, her palms slightly sweaty with nervousness and anticipation.
Upon arriving at the airport, she was greeted by a huge electronic display screen filled with flight information. She quickly found GB6812, flying from Pingzhou, with an estimated arrival time of 15:00. The status initially showed "on time".
She found a seat facing the exit, her eyes glancing frequently at the display screen and the arrival corridor. Time ticked by, each minute feeling incredibly long. Her initial excitement and anticipation gradually turned into anxiety and unease.
It was 3:00 PM, but that familiar figure did not appear at the entrance.
On the display screen, the status of GB6812 quietly changed to "delayed".
At first, she didn't pay much attention; flight delays were common. She patiently continued to wait.
15:30……16:00……
GB6812 remains in the cold "delayed" status, without any further explanation.
The surrounding crowd waiting to pick up passengers began to stir, whispers grew louder, and an uneasy unease filled the air. Many started making frantic phone calls or anxiously refreshing their phones for flight information.
Lin Xiaotang's heart sank little by little, and a strange sense of foreboding wrapped around her heart like cold vines.
As 5:00 PM approached, the commotion turned into obvious panic. People began urgently questioning airport staff.
Suddenly, an airport announcement rang out, not the usual flight notification, but a deep, serious male voice that echoed in the suddenly quiet arrival hall:
"We regret to inform you that flight GB6812 bound for this station... is currently out of contact. The last contact with the ground was approximately one hour ago. Friends or family members picking up passengers on this flight, please proceed to the information desk on the second floor..."
The words "missing" exploded like a bomb in the lobby!
The crowd erupted in an uproar, with screams, cries, and incredulous questions bursting forth!
Lin Xiaotang felt a sudden "buzz," her mind went blank, and all sounds seemed to drift away from her. Every word on the radio felt like an icicle piercing her ears and sinking into her heart.
GB6812...lost contact...one hour ago...
Perth is above...
He told her to wait for him...
A chilling fear, like a monstrous wave, instantly overwhelmed her. Her legs gave way, and she could no longer support her weight, collapsing heavily onto the cold, smooth ground.
Everything around her turned into blurry, distorted background noise. She couldn't hear anything, only see the panicked and weeping faces of the people around her.
At that moment, the world seemed to have completely lost its color and sound, leaving only endless, suffocating coldness and darkness.
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