The anticipation for the surprise wedding was palpable, making the decision to travel exceptionally swift.
With the surveillance system installed, Liu Fang returned home after work the next day, showered, changed, and joined the other four families, along with her pregnant aunt Hu Min, to drive to the airport.
On the way, Liu Fang was a little nervous. Sitting in the passenger seat, she joked, "This is my first time traveling, flying to Sanya. It's making me a bit nervous. How do people who fly often usually do it?"
Just as Liu Chen was about to reply, Chen Long, who was focused on driving, said, "When we retire, we can fly three times a week. Then, Sister Liu, you won't be nervous anymore. Once you fly often enough, it's really no different from taking a bus."
Hearing her mother and Chen Long chat back and forth, Liu Chen fell silent, took a breath, and looked out the window, exhaling slowly.
Her aunt Hu Min, sitting beside her, saw this and quietly reached out to hold Liu Chen's hand, which rested on her lap. "Chenchen, I just realized, the last time we traveled together, I had only known Wang Dong for a short while, and now I'm already carrying a baby."
Liu Chen looked at her aunt's six-month pregnant belly and still found it somewhat magical, as this child hadn't existed in her previous life. "Aunt, have you decided on a name for the baby?"
Hu Min pouted, a little annoyed. "I said if it's a girl, we'll call her Guai Guai. Your uncle insisted that Guai Guai isn't formal enough and told me to think of a proper name. I think calling her Wang Guai Guai is perfectly fine!"
Wang Guai Guai? Liu Chen imagined her little niece with that name. To be honest, it sounded cute when she was little, but... what about when she got older, with white hair, and the hospital announced, "Please, Wang Guai Guai, to the XX clinic," and her niece hobbled in with a cane... No! Absolutely not!
Liu Chen looked at Wang Dong, sitting on the other side of the back seat. Sure enough, Wang Dong had a look of despair on his face. Seeing Liu Chen's gaze, he quickly signaled for help. Liu Chen silently turned her head back to the front. Hmm... Auntie's emotions can't be stimulated while she's pregnant. Uncle, you'll have to handle this yourself!
The four cars, filled with laughter and conversation, soon arrived at C City International Airport.
Parking the cars side-by-side in the airport's lot, Liu Chen and her mother, with two newly purchased suitcases, set off lightly. On the other side, her older aunt, maternal grandmother, and cousin Jiang Di emerged from Mi Zhuzhu's car. Jiang Di was pushing three small suitcases by himself, with Mi's father trailing behind, also pulling two small suitcases.
In total, the fifteen people from five families loaded their various suitcases onto five luggage carts before heading in for security checks. A large group of fifteen people, clearly not a tour group, as they conversed familiarly. However, a slightly ordinary-looking, though neat, young man in his early twenties walked silently at the very end.
Because the flight tickets were booked late, there weren't enough first-class seats for everyone. Consequently, the six younger members of their group were assigned to economy class. Liu Chen: Suddenly felt a sense of disparity.
Fortunately, there were still empty seats in the first row during check-in. Mi Zhuzhu and Liu Chen sat in the two seats on the left, with Liu Chen giving Mi Zhuzhu the window seat as it was her first time flying. Across the aisle from Liu Chen were Ren Yu, Ren Mo, and Lai Jie Lun, occupying a middle row. Cousin Jiang Di sat alone with another cute, curly-haired female passenger.
The flight from C City to Sanya was two and a half hours. Except for Mi Zhuzhu, who was too excited to sleep, the other five fell asleep shortly after the plane took off. When they opened their eyes again, they heard a gentle female voice broadcasting: "The plane has landed at Phoenix Airport in Sanya City, Hainan Province. Sanya's temperature today is between twenty-six and thirty-two degrees Celsius. The plane is now taxiing..."
Outside, the sky was already pitch black, with only the indicator lights on either side of the runway illuminating the darkness. The distant terminals and jet bridges waited silently.
As Liu Chen held Mi Zhuzhu's hand and walked out of the jet bridge, they saw their large family waiting nearby. Aunt Hu Min, despite her large belly, couldn't help but yawn, her eyes even tearing up. Even in first class, carrying a baby was tiring and uncomfortable. Her mother, on the other hand, seemed a bit excited. Likely just woken up, she yawned but her eyes were sharp as she looked around.
Since the checked luggage was associated with the first-class tickets, their bags were among the first to appear on the carousel. Pushing their luggage, they followed Chen Long, yawning. Liu Chen had expected to descend to the basement level like at C City Airport, then take an escalator up to the parking lot and taxi stands.
However, to her surprise, Chen Long led them straight out of the airport building. After walking a few meters forward, they stopped and he began making a phone call. Standing by the roadside, feeling the warm breeze on her face, Liu Chen wondered if it was her imagination, but the wind seemed to carry a hint of salt. Just as she was about to turn and ask Mi Zhuzhu if she noticed it too, she saw her cousin Jiang Di, standing at the very end, with red eyes.
What was going on? Just as she was about to go over and ask, three minivan-style buses slowly approached and stopped in front of them. Chen Long thoughtfully placed Liu Chen's maternal grandmother in the front passenger seat to prevent motion sickness. He then had Liu Chen and Liu Fang sit in the middle, each in their own separate chair, for more space and comfort. Finally, he, his eldest nephew Jiang Di, and older aunt Liu Fen sat in the last row. As soon as they were seated, Chen Long looked up, intending to chat with his nephew. After all, they were family on vacation, and being more familiar would make everyone more at ease.
However, when he looked up, he saw his nephew's eyes were red and watery, looking like he had just been crying. Chen Long subconsciously thought they had neglected Jiang Di while walking together, but he recalled that it seemed the same before they boarded the plane.
Noticing Chen Long's gaze fixed on him, Aunt Liu Fen also looked at her son and was surprised. "Jiang Di? You've been crying? What's wrong? You're a grown man, what's with the secret tears? If your girlfriend finds out, won't she laugh at you?"
It was better that Liu Fen didn't mention his girlfriend. The moment she did, Jiang Di's already moist eyes welled up with tears, streaming down uncontrollably. He wailed, "Mom! Meimei wants to break up with me! Meimei, Meimei says she doesn't like me anymore!"
Liu Chen, turning back out of curiosity, heard the name "Meimei" and a memory from her past life was triggered. In her previous life, it was this girlfriend, Meimei, who broke up with her cousin because their aunt was scammed out of money, making them unable to afford a wedding house. But in this life, they had a wedding house, so why were they still breaking up?
However, seeing how heartbroken cousin Jiang Di was, Liu Chen held back from asking further questions. It was her maternal grandmother who spoke up. "If she wants to break up, let her. Jiang Di, why are you crying? Think about it, isn't it much better for Meimei to tell you directly that she wants to break up, rather than continuing the relationship and then cheating after marriage?"
As the saying goes, the older the ginger, the spicier it is. As soon as her grandmother finished speaking, her cousin, who had been sobbing, froze. Then, considering his grandmother's words, he looked up at his grandmother, who had turned to look at him from the front passenger seat, with a dazed expression. "That's true, isn't it?"
Liu Chen: "..." This cousin, who was so naive and easily deceived, what had he experienced in his previous life to become so mature and experienced, as he was when he later guided her into the industry as a salesperson? Shaking her head, she thought about the Bitcoin private key she had saved on a USB drive for her cousin. In this life, her cousin wouldn't have to struggle for survival and be forced to mature.
However, even though logic told Jiang Di he shouldn't be so sad, he couldn't help but feel heartbroken whenever he thought of Meimei, sobbing a couple of times.
The minivan drove into the hotel, turned left up a ramp, and stopped outside the second-floor lobby. After pushing their suitcases into the Yalong Bay Marriott Hotel, Jiang Di looked at the luxurious hotel lobby, the floor tiles so clean they almost reflected, and the beautiful and pleasant-sounding receptionist. He realized he wasn't feeling as sad as he had been moments ago.
If Liu Chen knew her cousin's inner feelings, she would have told him: See, this is what happens when rich people go through a breakup. You can fly to Sanya, cry while looking at the sea, cry while surfing, cry while snorkeling among the coral, or even cry while fishing on a yacht. As long as your activities are rich and occupy your energy and time, you'll find that, unconsciously, you forget you went through a breakup.
Of course, it wasn't just Jiang Di, who was heartbroken, who was impacted by the Sanya Bay Marriott Hotel. Lai Jie Lun and his son, Mi Zhuzhu and her father, the older aunt, and the maternal grandmother, who were staying at a five-star seaside hotel for the first time, were all curious. The lobby was open-style, and one could vaguely see the tall coconut trees behind the curved terrace outside. However, as it was late and everyone was tired from the flight, they took their room cards and headed to their rooms with their luggage.
All the rooms were on the top floor, the eighth floor. The receptionist said that the higher the floor, the better the sea view. Liu Chen, upon hearing this, simply thought it was hotel advertising and didn't pay much attention. However, Liu Fang's face showed a look of anticipation.
Mother and daughter dragged their suitcases out of the elevator and reached their room number. They swiped their card to open the door and inserted the room card into the power slot on the wall by the door. The lights in the entire room turned on at once. What greeted them was a wooden-toned living room, with a fairly large terrace outside. On the terrace, there were two rattan lounge chairs. Liu Fang walked over first, opened the floor-to-ceiling glass door, and stood on the terrace with her eyes closed, facing the direction of the sea waves. Just as Liu Fang was about to utter a word of感慨, she heard her eldest nephew, Jiang Di, wailing from a terrace several rooms away. "Ah! Meimei! Look! The sea!"