Chapter 38
The announcement of "out of contact" over the loudspeaker was like a death knell, ringing in Lin Xiaotang's ears and sending shivers down her spine. After a brief silence, a tsunami of panic and disbelief washed over her!
"No...it can't be...it can't be..." she murmured, her voice trembling uncontrollably. As if grasping at the last straw, she frantically dialed Persian's cell phone with trembling hands.
"Hello, the number you dialed is currently switched off..."
The cold, mechanical female voice came through the receiver again and again, like a dull knife repeatedly cutting into her already taut nerves.
"Answer the phone! Persian, answer the phone!" she screamed desperately into the unanswered phone, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face, blurring her vision.
She suddenly looked up and, like other distraught family members waiting to pick up their loved ones, stumbled and rushed toward the airport information desk, which was packed with people.
That place is in complete chaos!
Cries, curses, and anxious questions mingled together, creating a suffocating wave of sound. People pounded on the glass counter, trying to get any concrete information from the equally panicked and serious-faced staff.
"My son is up there! What's going on?!"
"What do you mean by 'missing contact'? Do you even know how to do your job?!"
"Give me an explanation! Immediately! Right now!"
Lin Xiaotang's slender figure was jostled and pushed by the frenzied crowd, like a fallen leaf in a storm. She struggled with all her might to reach the front, her voice drowned out by the deafening noise, so faint she could barely hear herself: "Excuse me, could you tell me about GB6812... Bai Sinian... him..."
Surrounded by countless hands and questions, the staff were overwhelmed and could only repeat weak, official platitudes: "Sorry, we are verifying the situation... We will notify everyone as soon as we have any news... Please remain calm..."
"Calm down?! How can I calm down! My family might be up there!" a middle-aged man shouted in despair.
Lin Xiaotang was pushed forward again by a force, staggering and almost falling. She stretched out her hands in vain, but could not grasp anything or ask anything.
A profound sense of powerlessness and fear overwhelmed her like an icy tide. She stopped trying to push forward and numbly retreated step by step until she finally leaned helplessly against a cold pillar.
Her body slid slowly down the pillar, and she fell to the ground again.
Everything around her seemed to have turned into a slow-motion, silent film. People were crying and arguing with their mouths open, staff were trying to maintain order, and the loudspeakers seemed to be repeating something again... but she couldn't hear anything.
All I could hear was the pounding of my own heart and the cold, repetitive shutdown notification sound.
The world has lost all color and meaning, leaving only an overwhelming, suffocating despair.
He told her to wait for him.
He'll be back soon.
They haven't had a proper talk yet.
She hadn't even had a chance to tell him that she might be willing to trust him one more time.
But... we lost contact... an hour ago...
These two words were like the most vicious curse, hovering over her head, draining all her strength and hope.
She curled up on the cold ground, burying her face in her knees, her shoulders trembling violently, emitting suppressed whimpers like a wounded animal. The noise and chaos of the airport terminal seemed to be separated from her by a thick layer of glass; she was trapped in absolute silence, surrounded only by herself and boundless fear.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
