At half past five in the morning in C City, Liu Chen, wearing the system-issued warm down jacket, stepped out. To make the three-hour flight more comfortable, she only wore loose, fleece-lined sweatpants on her lower body.
Thanks to the lucky charm bracelet she wore, she quickly caught an empty taxi and arrived at the airport without any delays.
Since she had booked a flight back for the evening, Liu Chen didn't bring any luggage. She only carried a mobile phone and a charger, an ID card, and a small, empty travel suitcase. This suddenly gave Liu Chen a sense of déjà vu, reminding her of her business trips in her previous life.
Looking alone, pushing only a small suitcase, Liu Chen was asked by several ground staff if she needed assistance. One of them even subtly suggested that even if she had family conflicts, running away from home wasn't the solution.
The early morning red-eye flights were no less crowded than those during the day. Standing in the long queue, Liu Chen slowly shuffled for half an hour before reaching the ticket check.
The ticket attendant, seeing a well-behaved young lady with no luggage tag on her ticket, hesitated:
“Little girl, if you have any questions, you can find the airport police!”
“Thank you, sister, but I’m here for business and will be back today, so I didn’t bring any luggage.”
Liu Chen repeated what she had said at least five times that day, then took her ticket and suitcase to the side for boarding inspection.
As a first-class passenger, she queued separately for ticket inspection and boarded the plane first. Once on board, she found her seat according to the ticket, placed the empty small suitcase in the overhead compartment, and sat down. After fastening her seatbelt, Liu Chen took out an eye mask from her pocket and put it on to sleep. Meanwhile, Wei Wanyan boarded the plane, her eyes red from waking up early.
She quickly tapped on her phone as she stepped onto the plane, handed her ticket with one hand, and then turned left towards the first-class section.
Coincidentally, the flight attendant this time was Xu Ran, the same flight attendant from Liu Chen’s flight to Beijing during the summer. Wei Wanyan naturally didn't remember her, but Xu Ran remembered the woman who insisted on using the restroom during the plane's descent.
Glancing at the ticket in her hand, Xu Ran immediately stopped Wei Wanyan from heading towards first class.
“Madam, your seat is to the right. First class is to the left.”
Early in the morning, passengers rushing for their flights were not in the mood for conversation, only eager to get to their seats and catch up on sleep.
So, although the flight attendant’s voice was not loud, it clearly carried throughout the cabin.
Wei Wanyan finally shifted her gaze from her phone screen and snatched the ticket from Xu Ran.
“I must have bought the wrong ticket. I used to fly first class, so I’m used to the route.”
With that, Wei Wanyan turned to leave.
Xu Ran smiled and said, “Madam, we still have empty seats in first class on this flight. We can arrange an upgrade for you. Would you be interested?”
Wei Wanyan clutched her phone, pretending not to hear, and headed towards the economy class to find her seat.
In the past, she flew first class because there was always someone foolish enough to buy her a ticket. Now that she had broken up, she was going to Beijing to find that scumbag, so she couldn’t afford first class. It was just a plane ride, after all, only the seat was different!
However, it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.
Having experienced the spaciousness, the ability to lie down, and the fresh meals of first class, it was now difficult for Wei Wanyan to sit in economy class, a place she hadn’t sat in for god-knows-how-long.
As she reclined her seat, she was reminded by the passenger behind her who needed to work to put her seat back up. After a brief argument, flight attendant Xu Ran arrived. Although she still smiled and asked Wei Wanyan to adjust her seat back, Wei Wanyan felt that the flight attendant was looking down on her!
And the usual ceramic plate meals were replaced by a boxed meal wrapped in foil, clearly heated directly from the microwave.
When had she, Wei Wanyan, ever eaten such poor quality food? She kept her mouth shut and didn't eat a single bite, waiting for the flight attendant to collect it.
After returning the meal, Wei Wanyan simply crossed her arms and sat up straight to sleep.
Liu Chen slept very comfortably. In the middle of the flight, she had a sumptuous breakfast, followed by a dessert, a dollop of creamy cake that was soft and melty in her mouth.
After breakfast, she slept soundly under a blanket given by a pretty flight attendant. Waking up, she adjusted her seat, and the plane began its descent.
Although she had woken up earlier than usual, she felt refreshed and more energetic after the flight.
Just like when boarding, first-class passengers disembarked first, followed by economy class.
Liu Chen was in the middle of the queue, neither at the front nor the back.
However, Liu Chen’s dark, smooth, and glossy long hair was immediately recognized by Wei Wanyan, who was queuing in the aisle of the economy class.
It was the wealthy sisters who had been upgraded on the plane during the summer!
Wei Wanyan watched for a while, and not seeing the familiar faces around her, her heart leaped with joy. A girl who could live in a Beijing courtyard house must have a better family background than Zhu Yingshao’s family. If she could befriend her…
With this thought, Wei Wanyan nudged forward with her handbag.
“Excuse me, passenger, please don’t crowd. Please leave the plane in an orderly manner.”
Xu Ran, having just bid farewell to the cute young lady, immediately spotted Wei Wanyan pushing forward with all her might, and the direction of her gaze.
‘Oh no? Is this woman still holding a grudge from last time? Seeing the young lady alone now, does she want to confront her? That won’t do! The young lady is thin and polite, clearly no match for this shrew. I need to stop her!’
So, Wei Wanyan struggled her way to the front of the economy class aisle, standing in the first row. She was only two steps away from catching up to the last person in first class.
A slender, fair arm suddenly appeared and blocked her path. Looking up, she saw the flight attendant who had asked her if she wanted an upgrade earlier.
“Madam, please wait a moment. We will be disembarking shortly.”
“I have an urgent matter. Move aside!”
Wei Wanyan watched the young lady walk further away. She aggressively pushed forward with her handbag, shoving the flight attendant aside, and strode out in her high heels.
Liu Chen, unaware that she had been labeled as an easy target, felt the cold wind on her face as she exited the plane. Turning on her phone, she saw a pickup message from Guo Da.
Since she had no checked luggage and her feet were warm in her snow boots, she walked comfortably, gradually moving to the front of the plane's passengers.
Holding her ticket, she walked out of the exit and saw Guo Da and a beautiful older sister waiting outside. Guo Da must have said something, because the beautiful older sister looked at him with a smile.
Sensing a gaze upon them, the beautiful older sister scanned the exit and then smiled, waving at Liu Chen.