The snow had stopped.
After taking her eyes off her phone, Liu Chen looked out the car window and was momentarily blinded by the bright sun, only then realizing it.
Checking the time on her phone, it was 1:30 PM, with two hours remaining until her originally booked return flight.
Liu Chen hesitated for a long time before ultimately deciding against asking the driver to turn back and find Ren Yu, as depicted in television dramas.
She got out of the car, dragging her suitcase, packed with Beijing specialties, into the airport. After checking in and going through security, no one found it strange this time. Perhaps because the suitcase was full of local goods, they assumed she was a tourist returning home, and no one offered her assistance.
In 2008, C City had not yet established its later tourism brand. There were only two flights from Beijing to C City per day: one at 10:30 AM and another at 3:30 PM.
Liu Chen had booked the 3:30 PM flight. In fact, before booking her ticket, she had prepared for the possibility of not being able to return the same day, in which case she would have brought Mi Zhuzhu along for a trip to Beijing.
She had more time to wait this time. Instead of waiting at the boarding gate, Liu Chen took her plane ticket to the first-class lounge on the second floor.
Although she had flown first class several times, this was her first visit to a first-class lounge. Liu Chen, holding her plane ticket and dragging her small suitcase, walked into the spherical hall on the second floor, marked with the lounge sign.
Directly opposite the entrance of the hall was an antique solid wood reception desk. Inside, two women, wearing the same uniforms as the ticket agents, stood waiting. They appeared to be in their late thirties or early forties.
"Hello, little sister, do you have a reservation for the VIP lounge?" one of the women asked Liu Chen with a gentle smile.
Liu Chen blinked. A reservation? In her previous life, she had heard colleagues mention that all you needed was a first-class ticket to enter.
"Yes, that's right. Our Capital International Airport has strict security measures, and VIP lounges require advance reservations. Little sister, if you wish to use it next time, you can make a reservation in advance."
Her first attempt at experiencing a first-class lounge had failed. Liu Chen had to drag her small suitcase and walk out. Fortunately, the airport had many shops to browse and places to sit, not just VIP lounges.
—
Inside the VIP lounge, Ren Yu turned his head to look towards the entrance behind him. There was no one there.
With the Lunar New Year approaching, the daily data for Penguin Farm was increasing, and Shen Hong was so excited that he wished he could live at the company to develop the new game he had proposed.
When Shen Hong felt tired, he would open Penguin Farm to collect his crops. Seeing the crop-harvesting levels of so many friends in his QQ list, he would regain his energy.
Ren Yu had expected the game to be popular, but its current popularity had exceeded his expectations. He wondered how long such high online traffic could be maintained.
He took a sip of the ice water in front of him, opened the laptop he had brought with him, connected to the VIP lounge's Wi-Fi, and began to check the backend data.
—
After browsing around, Liu Chen bought a few silk scarves and a set of Olympic mascot "Fuwa" commemorative outfits, which she packed into her suitcase. She then dragged the suitcase to board her flight.
"First-class and business-class passengers, please queue here."
As she reached the boarding gate, she heard a flight attendant directing passengers to line up. Dragging her suitcase, she quickly joined the queue.
"Liu Chen."
She had only taken a couple of steps when a familiar voice suddenly called out from behind her.
Liu Chen stopped and turned around.
Ren Yu's face appeared before her. Liu Chen had imagined many scenarios for their next meeting, such as during Spring Festival, May Day, or after the college entrance examination.
But never had she imagined it would be when she had snuck away to Beijing and was preparing to go home.
She opened her mouth, unsure whether to explain her presence there first or to greet Ren Yu.
"Ren Yu Ge."
She ultimately decided to greet him.
Fortunately, Ren Yu did not ask, like Ren Mo might have, "Why are you here? How did you get here?"
Ren Yu's reaction was as natural as if they had met on the street in C City while Liu Chen was on her way home from school.
This helped Liu Chen to gradually relax.
They stood quietly at the end of the line, walking towards the plane with the people in front of them.
Perhaps because she had bought her ticket late, Liu Chen's seat was in the last row. She put down the handle of her suitcase and bent down to lift it into the overhead compartment. At that moment, she saw a pair of fair hands with well-defined knuckles resting on both sides of her suitcase.
The small suitcase was then lifted up and placed effortlessly into the luggage rack.
"Thank you, Ren Yu Ge."
After saying that, Liu Chen took a step towards her seat, leaving the aisle clear for Ren Yu.
After placing the suitcase, Ren Yu saw Liu Chen's action and handed her his plane ticket.
"Ah?"
"I'm sitting here."
"Ah!"
It wasn't until Ren Yu placed his own suitcase in the overhead compartment that Liu Chen suddenly realized.
She would be sitting next to Ren Yu for the next three hours!
"Thank goodness I washed my hair last night!"
This was Liu Chen's first thought. Then, she turned her head to look at the airplane window, where her reflection was vaguely visible.
She looked a little dazed.
She quietly took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Liu Chen instinctively reached for a practice sheet to calm herself down, only to remember that she hadn't brought her schoolbag on this trip, and her only suitcase had already been placed in the overhead compartment by Ren Yu.
The cabin began to echo with the safety instructions and evacuation demonstration, announced in both Chinese and English.
Liu Chen could hear and feel the sound of Ren Yu sitting down in the seat beside her.
"Want to read it?"
"Ah?" Liu Chen turned her head and looked at the newspaper Ren Yu was holding – the *Capital Daily*.
Liu Chen, who had planned to sleep for three more hours on the plane, took the thin newspaper.
As she unfolded the newspaper, a finger pointed to a small news item in the corner.
"Look at this."
Hm?
Her gaze followed the beautiful finger to the newspaper, and a clear smile appeared on Liu Chen's face.
The headline read: "On the Phenomenal Popularity of the Penguin Farm Game."
The report was short, only about two to three hundred characters, but Liu Chen read it very carefully. After finishing it, she even felt an urge to cut it out and put it in her photo album.
Perhaps because Liu Chen's thoughts were quite evident, Ren Yu's voice sounded in her ear:
"Shen Hong has collected all the reports about farm games on the market."
"Wow! Shen Hong Ge is amazing!" After working as a salesperson for so long, she had developed a habit of praising others. However, Liu Chen didn't want to change it, as sweet talk could lead to good outcomes, and it wasn't a bad habit.
Hearing this, Ren Yu narrowed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. After a long pause, he mumbled,
"Is that so?"