Sometimes growth happens in an instant, though most such moments are fraught with hardship. Hu Min, who had matured early, understood this better than anyone.
Her mouth was covered so tightly she couldn't speak, and Liu Chen could only nod quickly, which prompted Hu Min to release her “magic grip.”
The plane leveled out, and the cabin temperature dropped slightly. Liu Chen got a thin blanket and covered his sleeping aunt. He then lowered his head and continued studying, determined to make his mother proud by giving his all.
The tip of his neutral pen made a soft scratching sound on the paper. When he looked up again, a flight attendant was asking if they wanted their steaks served now.
He woke his aunt and opened the small tray table. A beautifully presented steak on a porcelain plate was placed before them, covered in black pepper sauce, garnished with two cherry tomatoes and two florets of broccoli. Silver cutlery lay to either side, looking just like something from a steakhouse.
For his drink, Liu Chen had ordered a cup of green tea. Green leaves settled at the bottom of the glass, with a few floating on the surface. The glass felt warm in his hands, thawing his fingers, which had grown cold from the air conditioning.
After the flight attendant left, Hu Min sighed. While cutting her steak, she mused,
“Sigh, I always thought first class was just about more legroom. I never saw the point in paying twice as much. Now I know, the meals in first class are different. It's much more proper than the heated foil boxes I used to get in economy class. Mmm, and it tastes so much better too.”
Seeing Chen Chen holding his green tea and watching her, Hu Min quickly added,
“But it’s good to experience it once. The price difference for the whole trip is probably one or two thousand yuan, not worth it.”
After finishing their steaks, the attractive flight attendant collected the plates and then served a chocolate cake, again on a beautiful porcelain plate, with a silver spoon placed beside it.
He gently scooped a piece of cake with his fork and put it in his mouth. It tasted like freshly baked cake, without that frozen, congealed texture. Liu Chen couldn’t help but squint happily.
“Tsk!”
A sound broke Liu Chen’s enjoyment.
He opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound. It was the girl sitting across the aisle. Sometime earlier, she had removed her eye mask. Now, she was cutting her steak and muttering to the man sitting next to her,
“Ugh, this steak is obviously frozen. It’s killed my appetite. Honey, there’s a decent Western restaurant near the Beijing Hotel where we’re staying. Let’s go tomorrow, shall we?”
Zhu Ying Shao, sitting next to Wei Wan Yan, felt a bit awkward. Surely people who could afford first-class tickets weren’t short of money? If they could eat it, why couldn’t she?
Besides, although the Beijing Hotel sounded prestigious, mentioning it like that felt a bit boastful, as if she were bragging about staying there.
However, after glancing at Wei Wan Yan’s melon-seed face, fox eyes, and her attractive figure, and recalling certain intimate positions from memory, Zhu Ying Shao held back and decided to placate her.
“There, there, Yan Yan, eat a few bites to line your stomach, or you’ll be hungry when we get to the hotel.”
After the meal, the cabin lights dimmed again. Before long, a flight attendant announced that they would be landing in half an hour and that the plane was beginning its descent. Passengers were asked to remain seated.
Liu Chen obediently put away the exercise book his cram school had given him and then heard an argument from across the aisle.
“I need to go to the restroom, why are you blocking me?”
“I apologize, madam, but the restroom cannot be used during descent.”
“Why can’t I use it? No one’s inside!”
“For your safety, madam, madam, please remain in your seat. It is very dangerous!”
The passengers who had been resting were all woken by the commotion and poked their heads out of their seats to see what was happening.
Liu Chen, sitting by the window, couldn’t see exactly what was going on, but he heard the sound of a door being unlocked.
She must have successfully entered the restroom, then?
The flight attendant, Xu Ran, sitting in her seat, couldn't help but roll her eyes. It was the first time she’d encountered someone so unreasonable.
A few minutes later, a roar came from inside the restroom:
“Who locked the door from the outside? Open it!”
Xu Ran took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice calm. “I apologize, madam. During the plane’s descent, the restroom door automatically locks and cannot be opened. Once the plane has landed and is taxiing, the lock will automatically disengage.”
“Pfft!”
Liu Chen couldn’t help but chuckle. Hmph, she knew that woman had been deliberately provoking her and her aunt earlier. Well, now look at her. So proud, so amazing, she’d be stuck in the restroom until the plane landed!
With that little interlude, Liu Chen felt like the plane was already taxiing for landing not long after.
The restroom door finally opened, and Wei Wan Yan stormed out, looking around angrily. She sat down and demanded of her boyfriend why he had laughed at her earlier.
Zhu Ying Shao could only play dumb and say he didn't know, otherwise Wei Wan Yan would have gone to confront the other young woman.
After disembarking, the four of them met up to wait for their luggage. Their bags were manageable, but when Liu Chen saw Ren Mo’s luggage, he was stunned. His godmother’s luggage was definitely overweight!
Three 28-inch suitcases were stacked together, with only Ren Mo’s head peeking out.
“My maternal grandmother’s family is waiting at the exit. Let’s go! Oh, sis, no need, I can push it, really!”
“Pfft, okay, okay, you’re a big boy.”
In the end, Wang Dong quietly helped Ren Mo push the luggage cart out. Showing initiative was about being active at all times!
Wei Wan Yan heard the laugh and sharply turned her gaze to the two sisters who had upgraded their seats.
“Zhu Ying Shao! It was those two sisters! Are you already delighted because they’re good-looking?!”
“Yan Yan, don’t be angry. Why get upset with people like that? It’s not worth making yourself sick. Our time is meant for enjoying life! We’re like parallel lines to them; our lives will never intersect!”
Only Liu Chen didn’t hear this remark, or she might have asked who exactly these people were.
However, Liu Chen didn’t have the time to dwell on what had happened on the plane. She was being tightly hugged by her maternal grandmother, whom she was meeting for the first time.
“Good child, good child, Grandma finally has a granddaughter. Come, call me Grandma.”
Suffocated by the embrace of the white-haired old woman, Liu Chen quickly called out “Godmother Grandma” several times.
“What Godmother Grandma? Call me Grandma!”
“Grandma! Grandma, loosen your grip, cough cough!”
Hearing the two calls of “Grandma,” Shang Gu Lan smiled and released her grip, gesturing to the handsome middle-aged man standing behind her.
“Come, Chen Chen, call your uncle. Let your uncle give you a big red envelope!”
Liu Chen then noticed the handsome middle-aged man standing behind her Godmother Grandma, and her entire body froze.