Returning

 Few years later.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your plane has landed at the International Airport. Thank you for choosing Eastern Airlines. See you on your next trip!" The flight attendant's gentle reminder suddenly sounded, waking up the woman who was leaning on the chair and sleeping in a daze.

She pulled off the thin blanket covering her body and removed the eye mask from her head, revealing a pair of beautiful dark almond eyes. Then, she reached out to adjust her messy short hair.

Once the plane came to a stop, she retrieved this summer's latest Gucci sunglasses from her collar and casually put them on, obscuring most of her delicate and petite face. Only a small portion of her warm, fair, and smooth skin was visible, along with her bright red lips, slightly curved like cherries.

If no one didn't know better, they might mistake her for a celebrity or entertainment star.

  ...

Ten minutes later, at the second-floor terminal building exit of the airport, Ling Chen looked up and spotted a slender yet exceedingly refined young man standing there, wearing a welcoming smile. "Sister! welcome back to China!" he greeted, opening his arms.

Ling Chen arched her lips and then gracefully walked towards him on five-centimeter-high heels. As she approached, she removed the sunglasses from her face, revealing her pure and gentle visage. She greeted him with a warm smile and a light hug. "Thank you, brother. I didn't expect you to personally pick me up at the airport."

She had pursued clinical medicine during her undergraduate years but took a year off due to pregnancy. After her divorce from Jian Fu, she had chosen to study abroad, and her senior, Gu Xing, had been a tremendous support. Even her current job back in China had been recommended by him.

After a brief embrace, Gu Xing grinned at Ling Chen. "It was quite an effort to get you back to China, my dear sister. Of course, I had to personally come to welcome you! Let's go!" Ling Chen nodded, put her sunglasses back on, and left the terminal with Gu Xing.

Gu Xing's car was parked in the airport's parking lot. As they reached the underground parking lot after taking the elevator, Gu Xing spoke, "Junior sister, just wait here for a moment. I'll bring the car over." "Sure, I'll wait here," Ling Chen replied.

Unbeknownst to her, less than fifty meters away in the parking lot, a Bentley was stationed, and the man in the driver's seat gripped the steering wheel tightly, his deep, obsidian eyes locked on her form. Despite her shorter hair and sunglasses, he recognized her unmistakably.

"Ling Chen," he muttered, his voice dripping with resentment. "It's been so long, and now you finally return."

A few minutes later, Gu Xing arrived in a discreet gray Porsche. Although Ling Chen wasn't well-versed in cars, she could tell that this model started at a minimum of six million yuan. Given her income, affording such an expensive car was out of the question, but it wasn't surprising that Mr. Gu could.

After parking next to Ling Chen, Gu Xing stepped out, placed her suitcase in the trunk, and opened the rear door. As Ling Chen bent to enter the car, he gently placed his left hand on the car door to prevent her from bumping her head. "Please, little sister."

This considerate gesture warmed Ling Chen's heart. After the decline of the Jiang family, many of her former classmates distanced themselves from her, but Senior Gu remained one of the few who treated her the same as before.

Gu Xing closed the car door after she got in and walked to the driver's seat. Every move of the two was observed by the man not far away.

Seeing Ling Chen smile at Gu Xing, his cold and stern countenance was consumed by coldness and derision.

"Ling Chen, it's been years, and you've certainly made quite a few connections with men."