Chapter 141 part1
As soon as the car drove onto the national highway, everyone instantly felt thoroughly exhausted, and even the last bit of strength was sapped from their bodies.
Huang Ting turned on the navigation and input the direction to the neighbouring city’s airport. Chen Yekai was still worried that the local police would catch up with them and asked Huang Ting, “The police won’t care?”
“I’ve already talked to them,” Huang Ting said, “They’re not willing to dispatch their people to help and will at most not help either side. Heaven is high, and the emperor is far away, can’t be helped.”
In the back seat, Zhou Sheng and Yu Hao were on high alert. Ou Qihang said, “I thought we’d have to be on the move for a while, didn’t expect it to end with just one fight.”
“Your appearance was our key support.” Chen Yekai turned his head sideways and said to Ou Qihang.
Everyone laughed. Yu Hao thought that since Huang Ting had notified this side and taken their Golden Crow Wheel away, then he should have notified the system through his connections in the organisation to not interfere in their rescue plan this time.
“Kid, you’ve gotten even better at fighting.” Zhou Sheng bypa.s.sed Fu Liqun’s shoulders and patted Ou Qihang.
“Hehe.” Ou Qihang answered, “I’m preparing to partic.i.p.ate in an amateur compet.i.tion.”
Zhou Sheng said nonchalantly, “Let’s spar a little after we get back to Beijing?”
Ou Qihang, “Uh…I can’t match up to Sheng Ge.”
Zhou Sheng suddenly said, “If you know you can’t match up to me, then aren’t you gonna get your hands off my wife?! If you’re not asking for a fight then what are you doing?!”
Everyone roared with laughter. Only three people could sit in the back of the jeep, but now that four big men had squeezed in, they were practically packed like sardines. Their order was messed up when getting into the car too, so Yu Hao and Zhou Sheng were each stuck to one door respectively. Yu Hao could only lean forward, while Ou Qihang had no place to put his hand so he could only place it on Yu Hao’s back.
Yu Hao laughed so hard his stomach started to hurt. Chen Yekai said, “Pa.s.s me your camera.” Then he took the camera and took a selfie from the pa.s.senger seat with all six of them in frame.
When Yu Hao took the camera, he realised that Huang Ting was looking at him through the rear mirror with a hint of a sly smile in his gaze.
Fu Liqun leaned against the seat to rest. Ou Qihang took out a Snickers bar for him to eat, and Fu Liqun said, “Thank you, thank you!” Then he wolfed it down, then quickly downed a lot of water in one go.
“It’s fine as long as you’re okay.” Huang Ting said, “Just treat it as a lesson learnt.”
“Un.” Fu Liqun had already gotten over it and said, “I’ve worried everyone.”
Ou Qihang, “We’re just here for an interview, no one was worried about you.”
Yu Hao said, “That’s right, I’m just here to finish my research project.”
Zhou Sheng, “Yeah, I’m just accompanying him for an interview. Don’t stick gold onto your face, would you?”
Chen Yekai said, “This project is too difficult to do.”
Yu Hao said, “Thank you everyone for helping me obtain a full-time post, I’m so moved.”
Everyone answered in unison, ‘don’t mention it, don’t mention it,’ and Fu Liqun didn’t know if he should cry or laugh for a moment.
Ou Qihang patted Fu Liqun’s back, and Zhou Sheng patted him as well. Fu Liqun asked, “Is there anything else to eat?”
“I’m really hungry too.” Yu Hao said, “I’ve been on tenterhooks the whole afternoon, so I didn’t eat anything.”
Zhou Sheng, “I’ll cook up a good meal for you guys when we get back home, it’ll be the New Year soon.”
Ou Qihang took out all the snacks he had, and everyone split them up on the car. Chen Yekai took some food as well and fed Huang Ting a biscuit in pa.s.sing. Huang Ting bit it, his brows furrowed, and he automatically ate the biscuit.
“I didn’t think that you’d be startled into action too.” Chen Yekai casually said.
Yu Hao and Zhou Sheng had been listening attentively to the dialogue between Chen Yekai and Huang Ting from the start.
Huang Ting answered, “We’re all on the same side; I should’ve come in the first place.”
Chen Yekai continued, “I said that I would be accompanying them, nothing should have happened.”
Huang Ting mocked, “I didn’t think so.”
Yu Hao seldom heard such a dialogue occurring between Chen Yekai and Huang Ting; it was as if there were subtle jabs hidden underneath. Zhou Sheng interjected, “Where are we going next?”
“I’m flying back to Beijing.” Huang Ting answered, “I’m still on duty for the New Year.”
Ou Qihang said, “I’m going home.”
“Let’s go together bei?” Zhou Sheng said, “Go back to Ying City, we’ve been away for a while.”
“Ai?” Yu Hao was roused, “Are we going back?”
“We’re going to spend New Year together anyway, does it matter where we do it?” Zhou Sheng said to Yu Hao, “You want to go somewhere to play?”
Yu Hao answered his phone, Cen Shan had called him again.
“We were planning on going to the airport.” Yu Hao covered his phone with one hand as he didn’t want to let Fu Liqun see, “Un…We’ll be going back to Ying City ba? We haven’t thought about it in detail yet…Sure, we have some time off anyway.”
Yu Hao did miss Ying City a little, so it was agreed that after arriving at the airport, Huang Ting would return to Beijing by himself while the rest would go back to Ying City.
“Last night, I had a dream.” Fu Liqun opened his eyes and said to Zhou Sheng.
Zhou Sheng signalled to him with his gaze, and astonishment could be seen in Fu Liqun’s eyes. Yet Ou Qihang said, “Did you dream of us coming to save you?”
Fu Liqun smiled. He draped an arm around Ou Qihang and said, “Yeah. And didn’t you guys come in the end?”
“How did you guys find this place?” Huang Ting said.
“Duped it out of someone.” Zhou Sheng answered, “We tricked Huang Zheng, told him we wanted to tour the training grounds for their team, so he brought us over.”
Huang Ting didn’t ask much. Yu Hao thought that it was really vexing…everyone on this car was clearly well aware of everything, yet they were still testing and poking at one another here and there.
“When you go back, take note of the contents of your report.” Huang Ting parked the car at the airport. He then used his phone to contact the car rental company to come over and get the car, then continued, “But you should understand the severity of this case.”
“Un.” Yu Hao said, “Don’t worry. Thank you, Ting Ge.”
Huang Ting glanced at Zhou Sheng and seemed like he still had more to say. He waved at them, completed the procedures for self-boarding, then went straight through the security checks.
At 7:30 PM, Chen Yekai finished buying tickets for everyone. Only the tickets for the last flight at 10:40 PM was left.
Fu Liqun rubbed his face. Yu Hao was looking around and saw Cen Shan standing alone outside the security checkpoint.
Cen Shan stood in the midst of this crowded airport. Yu Hao pulled Zhou Sheng’s arm; Zhou Sheng was in the middle of sending a WeChat message, and he was stunned too. Everyone retreated discreetly. Fu Liqun stood outside the security checkpoint, looking desolate with his bag on his back as he and Cen Shan stared at each other from afar.
Fu Liqun hasn’t shaved his beard, and it has been a long time since he cut his hair. He was all dirty, wearing a checkered shirt, as if he had been picking up rubbish. His shoes were covered in mud too.
Cen Shan looked at Fu Liqun with much sorrow and kept choking back sobs. The airport floor that was cleaned so well it gleamed brightly like a mirror reflected their figures.
Fu Liqun’s mouth moved as if to say something. Cen Shan raised her hand, covered her mouth, and her tears gushed out uncontrollably. Then, she continued standing by herself on the spot and wailed loudly as if n.o.body else was present.
Fu Liqun quickly walked forward, his eyes thoroughly red. Yu Hao stood far away and adjusted his lens, wanting to take pictures for them. Zhou Sheng, Chen Yekai, and Ou Qihang looked at the couple. Ou Qihang said, “Is that Qun Ge’s lover?’
Chen Yekai uttered an “un“.
“I’m sorry.” Fu Liqun said, “I’m sorry…”
Cen Shan sobbed even harder, as if she had done something wrong. She looked away as she dared not even look at Fu Liqun.
Just when Yu Hao thought Fu Liqun was going to hug her, and his camera would snap a still shot of that moment, Fu Liqun took out a packet of tissues from his pocket…
Yu Hao, “……”
“Oh my G.o.d.” Zhou Sheng didn’t know if he should laugh or cry; Fu Liqun was really too much of a straight dude.
Fortunately, they still hugged in the end. Night had fallen, and behind the ma.s.sive French windows, the planes outside took off and landed, while the airport glittered with resplendent lights. Fu Liqun held Cen Shan’s hand and held her in his arms as he whispered into her ear. Cen Shan’s face was awash with tears, and her whole body couldn’t stop trembling.
“She really loves Qun Ge ah.” Ou Qihang was in a bit of a daze, “A girl like her came to an unfamiliar place all by herself without fearing any danger at all…”
Yu Hao’s nose felt a little sour as well. They came to save Fu Liqun by relying on Chen Yekai, Zhou Sheng, the Golden Crow Wheel, his colleagues at the newspaper office…they had relied on a lot of forces. Yet Cen Shan had nothing, and after Yu Hao was blamed by Zhou Sheng, he stopped informing her of their itinerary and their progress in the case. Cen Shan then burned with anxiety as she waited in Vienna and finally decided to return to the country in the end.
Her father didn’t support them. Cen Shan didn’t have the support of her family and didn’t have the a.s.sistance of her friends either, but she still had just taken a plane home like that by herself from so far away.
“Sis-in-law is really a little silly sometimes.” Zhou Sheng stood on tiptoe and had one arm around Yu Hao’s shoulders. Yu Hao looked down at his camera and rolled the pictures back. There were pictures of Fu Liqun walking towards Cen Shan and hugging her at the end. His movements were already very calm, and there was no hesitation at all.
“Sis-in-law isn’t silly.” Yu Hao glanced at Zhou Sheng.
Zhou Sheng, “How is she not? What can she do after coming alone? Go around asking for information? After getting off the plane, she wouldn’t even know how to take the bus, how is she gonna save anyone like that? Run to the pyramid scheme nest and say ‘return my boyfriend to me, I’ll pay you any amount you want’? The south is so d.a.m.n chaotic, she’d just be waiting to get kidnapped ba.”
Ever since Yu Hao knew Cen Shan, she has always maintained the image of a young, rich lady. She didn’t know how to take the bus and subway and didn’t know how to call for a Didi either. She even needed Yu Hao to help her buy a high-speed railway ticket to go home.
Yu Hao shed a single tear, and it dropped onto his camera screen. He looked up at Zhou Sheng and smiled.