Chapter 85 — Going to City M
Jiang Philip: "..."
His friend was too cruel!
But seriously, he had to admit that he felt an attraction to Su Qianhua, and it bothered him that she didn't seem interested in him at all. He was not narcissistic, neither did he think every girl would like him, but why was it that many girls threw themselves at him, but the one he finally took a fancy to wouldn't even look his way?
Could it be karma?
Li Chuanmo sat in his study, scrolling through his gallery. He stopped at a particular picture of Pei Yueran. He took it the day she returned home.
In the picture, she was doing something on her phone, her head bent. The sunlight streamed into the room at an angle, highlighting the brown of her eyes and hair. She looked focused, elegant and absolutely gorgeous.
He was missing her terribly. Hopefully, she would be back the next day like she said she would. He made the picture his screensaver and then sent her a message.
Since he promised he was not going to go to City A, he could at least pick them up from the airport.
Tomorrow could not come fast enough.
*****
When Pei Yueran received his message, she had just settled in for the night. She smiled indulgently. It had only been two days. Was he missing her that much already?
Fine, the truth was that she was missing him too, a lot.
She briefly wondered how she could feel something so strong and yet so different. She didn't feel like this with Han Lei, but she knew with every fibre of her being that she loved him very much.
Now she was as well crazy about Li Chuanmo. This thing called love was really unpredictable.
She sent him a message agreeing to meet him at the airport. She also sent him the flight details before pulling the covers over her head.
Thankfully, Han Yichen was all packed and ready to go. Her heart was also longing for City M. It was time to go.
That night, she had the dream again. But it was slightly different.
She began to shake when she saw the familiar back, walking step by step into the thick darkness ahead, leaving behind a trail of red. This time though, she didn't shout for him, she only shook in silent distress.
But for the first time, the man turned, giving a view of his face.
It was Han Lei, and he was smiling.
*****
No doubt, Pei Yueran woke up with more energy and spunk for the day ahead.
The flight was for noon, so they had to be at the airport at least an hour before the time.
She double checked Han Yichen's belongings while Director Zhou stood by the side, wiping her tears. She was going to be alone again.
Pei Yueran sighed and went to hug her. "Mom, don't cry. Won't you come and visit us? And we will come to visit you too, don't worry."
She nodded shakily as she tried to calm down. She didn't want Han Yichen to see her in this state. It would sadden him.
Han Yichen was currently at the orphanage, saying his final goodbyes to the friends he had made so far.
The scene at the orphanage was particularly touching. His age mates were milling around him with red eyes. The little children were sobbing, shouting "Brother Yichen".
For a moment, the expressionless look on Han Yichen's face cracked. He stiffly stretched out his hands to rub their heads in an attempt to console them.
This was the scene Pei Yueran saw when she came to call him. She would have laughed at how awkward he looked if not for the sad atmosphere. The children were very unhappy.
She went closer, bent down to the eye level of most of the children and comforted them, "Don't worry, your Brother Yichen will come and visit you from time to time."
All eyes turned towards her, as if asking her to confirm her words. She nodded. They started sniffling, trying to stop the flow of tears.
She then left with Han Yichen. Getting back to the apartment, the taxi they called had already arrived.
They loaded his bags into the car. Han Yichen gave his grandma one last hug before turning to get into the car.
"Brother Chen!" A soft, childish and tearful voice sounded.
Han Yichen turned back at the sound of his name.
Qiaoyi, Chao Wen and Xijue were looking at him.
It was obvious who spoke. Big teardrops were rolling down her face. It was one of the rare words she had spoken since she came to the orphanage.
She was much shorter than him, so he had to bend slightly. "Brother Chen, I'll miss you." She said tearfully.
"I'll miss you too, but I'll come visit. Take care of yourself. Study hard and speak more."
She nodded.
He waved to Chao Wen and Xijue, who waved back. "See you soon", they chorused.
Han Yichen nodded and entered the car.
Long after the taxi drove off, the three of them were still waving.
The flight was uneventful. It was Han Yichen's first time flying, so his attention was soon focused on the structure of the airplane and the announcements being delivered by the air hostess.
He figured out how to fasten his seatbelt, adjust his seat and operate the seat-back screen. Pei Yueran was happy to see him so occupied. She smiled at what he was watching.
Leave it to Han Yichen to watch a video of how airplanes work, more flight instructions, as well as a virtual tour of their destination.
When the plane was about to land, she finally told him that Li Chuanmo will be at the airport to pick them up.
"You call him that?"
"What?"
"You just said Chairman Li will be coming to pick us up. You still call him that?"
'Of course not', Pei Yueran thought in her heart. "Oh, not really. I just thought you won't be comfortable calling him Uncle Li."
"Why not? I can even call him Daddy. What's a mere Uncle?" He said, looking at her seriously. Actually he wasn't sure if he felt fine calling someone else Dad, but he had considered it seriously and arrived at two conclusions.
First, he had been very young when his father died, so he was not used to calling anyone Daddy, plain and simple. It could be a good time to start.
Secondly, he knew this was one of the ways he could show his mother that he was in full support of her new relationship.
Thinking it through, he really didn't mind.
Pei Yueran did not have an answer to that, but she was glad he genuinely seemed accepting of her new relationship. She planned not to force him into anything he didn't want to do.
She ruffled his hair. "Thank you, Xiao Chen."