Chapter 40: Go with the Flow Maybe you can try asking this handsome guy out...
Hongqiao Airport waiting hall.
There were still two hours before take-off, and Qin Yonglian and Bai Ying were already sitting on the benches in the waiting area waiting.
According to the old man's advice, it is always advisable to set off an hour earlier than planned when traveling long distances.
Qin Yonglian took out the red envelope given by Qu Chengyuan from his coat pocket and looked at it again and again with a focused expression, as if a scientist was holding a test tube and conducting research.
"Leon, you're just like my nephew. When he first saw candied haws, he also looked at them as if they were something strange."
"I was just thinking about where to put this red envelope when I get home. Oh, this is the first red envelope I've ever received in my life."
"Didn't your family give out red envelopes during the Chinese New Year?" Bai Ying spoke too quickly and covered her mouth after she finished speaking.
"In the past, I didn't go to the Qin family mansion during the New Year. The dividends and profits were directly deposited into the trust fund under my name."
Qin Yonglian curled the corners of his lips, raised his hand to take away Bai Ying's hand that was covering her mouth, and pinched her soft palm.
"Then I will give you a red envelope every year from now on."
Bai Ying did what she said and found a red red envelope from her backpack and handed it to Qin Yonglian.
"Who were you originally going to give the red envelope to?" The man was even more curious about this.
"For Andy and Wei, and for Coffee."
Qin Yonglian: “…”
Then his eyes filled with smiles. "That's right. According to the Qin family's custom, married people should give red envelopes to their elders and the next generation of children."
After a few seconds, two blushes appeared on the girl's cheeks.
Qin Yonglian calmly took Bai Ying's hand and asked, "Yingying, do you know what I was thinking about while sitting in the terminal before I came here?"
Without waiting for Bai Ying to answer, the man continued, "At that time, I was thinking that I finally understood what love is."
Bai Ying looked at him quietly.
“When you go far away to pursue someone regardless of everything, you will understand when you set out on the journey.”
Qin Yonglian's eyes met hers, and all the emotions that could not be concealed emerged from his eyes.
"No wonder the ancients said, 'Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles,' but some truths can only be understood from the ground up."
Bai Ying smiled, "I had a similar realization myself. Last year, during my coming-of-age ceremony, I went on a long journey alone for the first time."
For this special birthday trip, she specifically chose to go to some interesting and remote places.
Without the full protection of his family like a chick, Bai Ying really wanted to do some "adventures" that were different from the past.
"Sitting in the waiting room, when you are fearless about the distance because of one person, when you set off on your journey, you will also have a new understanding of maturity."
"I heard from grandpa that you went to climb the snow-capped mountains? When the moon was high in the night sky?" Qin Yonglian asked.
"Yes! This activity sounds dangerous, but it's actually a local tradition. It's weather-sensitive and requires an experienced guide who's familiar with the trail."
Bai Ying showed Qin Yonglian a close-up photo on Facebook of herself holding a trekking pole in the snow. "The guide said it's usually young Europeans who come here, and it's rare to see an Asian girl in the group. She praised me for being brave."
"Indeed, you left a deep impression on everyone that night! You even sang a song for everyone while we were eating Cheese Fondue* (cheese hot pot) on the top of the mountain." Qin Yonglian echoed her words.
Eh???
Bai Ying's eyes widened. She had never told anyone this detail.
I was so excited at the time that my singing was a little off-tune, but I thought it didn't matter since foreigners had never heard Chinese songs before.
"Oh, because I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears." The man in front of her didn't beat around the bush.
"Huh??? We met in Switzerland?"
There is no such person as Qin Yonglian in my memories of the moonlight hike?
"Of course I have. That day was the first time we met." Qin Yonglian affirmed.
Bai Ying always thought that the first time they met was when they were queuing up to buy fried dough sticks in Hung Hom.
"Ding dong ding." Qin Yonglian raised his hand and gently scratched the tip of her nose. "Wrong answer."
"Last night, when I was drinking with Grandpa, I told him about my trip to Switzerland to find Anna last year. I thought you were listening to me."
Bai Ying touched the back of his head and realized that he did hear... just a little.
At that time, her main attention was on being aware of how much alcohol the two men had drunk, and she only heard the general details of what happened.
"Hmm, do you know my first impression of you?"
"The King of Off-Tune Singing?" Bai Ying shook his head and covered his face, unable to guess.
"Anyway, my first impression of you was that you stole my squid flower and even deliberately opened the package to let me smell the fragrance."
Qin Yonglian put his arm around her shoulders and smiled, "We met on the snowy mountain. We felt like we were old friends, and I was overjoyed."
That night, during the moonlight hike in the snowy mountains, Bai Ying was the only girl in the team. She had a rosy face and was always full of youth and energy.
Qin Yonglian was wearing professional mountaineering equipment from head to toe that day.
When they gathered at the foot of the mountain in the evening, he was still wearing a pair of sports sunglasses that covered most of his face.
Having not seen Anna for twenty years, Qin Yonglian was feeling complicated and depressed. He spent the whole time thinking about how he should speak the first words to his mother.
Everyone felt tired when they were going down the mountain. Bai Ying kept talking and singing along the way. Even though she was obviously very tired, she still cheered her teammates up.
Occasionally, I could hear her talking to herself, telling some interesting stories about herself in Chinese, and Qin Yonglian's face was smiling under the mask.
After listening to Qin Yonglian add a few more details of that day to confirm, Bai Ying was still in a daze.
"Okay. If you don't remember, we can go again later."
Qin Yonglian helped her stand up and said, "Get ready to board the plane. We'll be home in four hours."
He likes to use the word "home" when speaking recently.
*** ***
The plane was quietly flying through the clouds, and the rolling sea of clouds was surging outside the window. Bai Ying thought of clusters of marshmallows and the snow-capped mountains of the Alps.
After arriving at Chek Lap Kok Airport, the two waited at the conveyor belt exit for their luggage to be unloaded.
Next door, a petite woman was struggling to lift a suitcase that was almost as big as her.
Seeing this, Qin Yonglian immediately reached out to help the person take the suitcase off the conveyor belt.
"Thank you!" The lady's English was not standard, but had a distinct accent.
Qin Yonglian replied in French, the lady's eyes lit up, and the two of them had a friendly conversation for a few more words.
"Oui." Bai Ying heard Qin Yonglian nod and wave goodbye to the lady.
The lady also gave Bai Ying a bright smile.
"She's French?"
"Um."
Qin Yonglian took back the two suitcases and stacked them steadily on the luggage cart like building blocks.
"Let's go, Yingying." The man took care of all the luggage by himself and pushed it forward slowly.
After taking a few steps, he found that the girl was still standing there in a daze.
Qin Yonglian turned halfway and called softly, "Yinn?"
Bai Ying stopped where she was, a similar scene flashed through her mind, and the fragments of memory finally overlapped.
Last year, she traveled to a small town called Brig on the border of Switzerland and Italy for her coming-of-age ceremony.
She signed up for a popular local Moon Hiking tour and went to the glacier peak to get as close as possible to the moon above the valley.
That evening, everyone met at the foot of the mountain as agreed by the guide.
The group consisted of no more than ten people, and they greeted each other warmly and introduced themselves. A tall, young man was quietly helping everyone carry their skis.
"Leon!"
Qin Yonglian was startled by her voice and quickly stepped back, looking at Bai Ying. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Bai Ying smiled and jumped up on the spot. The girl's facial features instantly appeared clearly in front of him.
Like a koala hugging a big tree, like a dolphin returning to the ocean, Bai Ying hugged Qin Yonglian tightly.
Qin Yonglian took advantage of his height and long legs, and easily lifted her up like a child, allowing her to cling to him more comfortably.
The man asked softly, "What's wrong?"
The girl put her face close to his cheek. "I remember now! Leon, we've met before! That night, when we were going down the mountain, I almost fell into the ice crevasse, and it was you who pulled me up."
"Looks like there's no need to take you to Moon Hiking to relive your memories." Someone smiled.
"And more!"
Bai Ying's voice was a little choked, her eyes immediately turned red, and she was silent for a long time.
Qin Yonglian felt a warm current flowing down his chin to his neck. She was actually crying?
"Oh, my baby. If you don't speak, I will be very worried." The man tightened his arms.
The girl sniffed sharply and rubbed her eyes with her index finger. "Not only did I see you, I also saw your mother."
Qin Yonglian suddenly stopped moving and froze in place while holding Bai Ying.
The airport is bustling with people, witnessing countless reunions and partings.
Hugs and kisses are not conspicuous in this place.
After a while, Qin Yonglian came to the rest area and sat down, holding Bai Ying in one hand and pushing the luggage cart with the other.
I put Bai Ying's hood over her head so that only I could see her face clearly.
"Okay, there's no one else here. Do you want to tell me now? Or should we let Qin Yuan take us home first?"
Bai Ying shook her head, not wanting Qin Yuan to see her crying with a red nose.
After a long silence, the girl calmed down and asked, "Leon, I'm going on a real adventure, and you're going to see your mother, right?"
Qin Yonglian nodded slightly, becoming even more curious, "How did you find out?"
Did he realize that Anna looks a lot like him?
"Leon, you said she didn't recognize you. In fact, Anna already knew it was you because I was with her."
Bai Ying's speech speed unconsciously increased.
Qin Yonglian's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he didn't understand.
"My guide and I were the only girls in the team. She took extra care of me and told me she had a Chinese name, Shi An."
After he finished speaking, Bai Ying felt that the door to the memory palace in his mind opened instantly, and memories came pouring in like snowflakes, gradually accumulating into a three-dimensional and clear smile.
"My name is Anna Schmid. I've been to China before. You can call me Shi An." The guide introduced herself.
Then he said in halting Chinese, "The meaning of 'Shi' is 'Shui Yuan Ke Shi', and 'An' is 'Take your lot with you'."
"See that gentleman quietly helping everyone move their snow gear? He's my son."
At that time, Bai Ying was quite surprised. Shi An in front of her looked to be no more than 30 years old. He was well maintained. Because he loved sports, his figure was like that of a girl. His actual age was completely invisible.
"My son is a little shy," Shi An laughed out loud.
"But he's grown up well, Yinn. Maybe you could try asking this handsome guy out for a drink. He's really great!"
Bai Ying was attracted by her bright emerald eyes. He thought she was joking and couldn't help laughing along with her.
"Leon, Shi An...Anna recognized you a long time ago!"
Bai Ying happily hugged her boyfriend's neck, shook his shoulders excitedly, and wrinkled his ironed shirt.
Qin Yonglian nodded somewhat dully.
If someone told Bai Ying that she would fall in love with a man with whom she held hands once on a snowy mountain, she would think that person was crazy.
Isn't it true? Destiny is the greatest writer in the world. Now she is the one who is almost going crazy with excitement.
"She said you're a gentleman, she said you're awesome, she said you've grown up well! She's so proud of you!"
Bai Ying repeated loudly what Anna said.
Many people have praised Qin Yonglian for his intelligence, his appearance, his knowledge...
He has always been indifferent. It's just like the natural law of day and night. What is there to boast about?
While staying at Bai Ying's house, he heard Bai Xuan and his wife praising their children generously at any time, and the gratified tone in their voices made him envious.
Qin Yonglian envied the most ordinary family happiness in the world, and could only try to hide this envy with his so-called dignity and pride.
He never thought that this envy-related dream would come true so easily.
The girl in front of him was free and pure, and her obsession in his heart instantly turned into a wisp of smoke, and was replaced by a heart full of warmth.
Qin Yonglian looked at Bai Ying quietly until all he saw was her, and the whole world was her.
That gentle look overlapped with the amiable Anna 20 years ago.
Qin Yonglian's eyes were wet, for he missed his mother and for himself who had reconciled with the passage of time.
"Oh, I understand."
Eh? ? ? Facing Qin Yonglian’s red eyes, Bai Ying’s movements gradually stopped.
"So when are you going to ask me out for a drink?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the man's gentle kiss had already landed on Bai Ying's lips.
Qin Yonglian increased the strength of his arms and said silently, "Thank you."
-----------------------
The author has something to say: Anna: You are awesome!
Leon: Happy Spinning.jpg
Today, it’s Xiao Tan who wants to be praised and hugged.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
