**Chapter 105: Unrecognizable Upon Meeting**

Anson was a bit panicked.

Although it wasn't 2023 yet, so there wasn't the same level of hypersensitivity, even in the year 2000, certain things remained the same—

Wait, why were all the passengers looking at him like he was some kind of sleazy jerk?

Guys, seriously, it's not what you think. I swear!

However.

The girl couldn't control herself. Not only did she fail to keep it together, but she completely broke down, crying harder and harder until she was sobbing uncontrollably.

"...I...I just finished working for twelve hours and haven't slept, then had to catch two connecting flights and flew for seventeen hours without any decent sleep. I'm so tired, really so tired..."

Her speech was garbled, a complete jumble of sounds with random syllables popping out, making it sound like an alien language. Not a single word was clear, leaving Anson utterly bewildered. "Airplane? What about the airplane?"

He felt like he desperately needed a language patch.

"Sob, sob, sob..." Her crying was so intense it was as if she was malfunctioning, hiccuping between sobs, her tears and snot mingling together. "I just wanted to sleep a little, or else I won't have the energy to work. I'm also scared, I don't know what's happening, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen, so now what do I do..."

Anson: "Huh?"

"Slow down, speak clearly, take your time."

The girl finally lowered her hands and looked up, her face flushed and streaked with tears, filled with sorrow. She glanced again at Anson's soaked left shoulder.

"I really didn't mean to; I wanted to help you clean it, but I don't know how. I tried wiping the stain, but it wouldn't go away. After we land, I could take your shirt to the dry cleaners, but then my mom will see the bill, and when she asks me about it, what do I say..."

Anson: ???

The girl looked up, her eyes meeting Anson's.

Anson also stared back at her, equally bewildered.

Their gazes locked, but both were utterly confused.

Hic!

Without warning, the girl hiccuped—

She had been crying so hard that she couldn't catch her breath.

Her eyes widened in shock, her cheeks turning red at a visible speed. She tried to hold her breath to stop it, but the more she tried, the less control she had.

Hic!

Another hiccup. Again.

Then, with a loud "Waaah!" the girl completely lost it. She slumped her shoulders, crying helplessly and hopelessly, no longer caring about appearances.

She mumbled through her sobs, "So! Embarrassed! I! Want! To! Die!"

At least that part Anson understood.

Anson blinked, and blinked again—

He looked at the girl, then down at his wet shoulder. "Ahem, actually, it's not that big of a deal. The sun will dry it in no time."

Anson felt awkward and out of his depth. In both his lifetimes, he had never encountered a situation like this, and for a moment, his mind froze, unable to come up with any response.

So, how exactly does one comfort a crying girl?

That said...

If he looked closely at the water stain on his shoulder, it kind of resembled an elephant—complete with a long trunk. It was surprisingly lifelike.

Pfft.

Anson almost lost his composure and had to forcefully hold back his smile. He cleared his throat once again, preparing to choose his words carefully to comfort the girl in front of him.

Maybe he could still give it a try.

However, he didn't expect that the flight attendants, having noticed the commotion, unbuckled their seat belts and immediately came over after the plane had landed and was taxiing smoothly.

Anson tried to explain, but how should he explain the situation without making things worse? If he told the truth, the girl might be even more embarrassed and cry harder—what should he do?

It was just a moment of hesitation, but the flight attendant glanced warily at Anson, bypassed him, and gently asked the girl inside.

"Miss, may I ask what happened?"

The girl looked up, her eyes red and filled with tears, and now even her nose was as red as a clown's, which made her look a bit funny.

She stared blankly at the flight attendant and quickly realized her disheveled appearance. Instinctively, she raised her hands to cover her cheeks but didn't know how to respond.

The flight attendant glanced at Anson again, ready to speak in an attempt to protect the victim.

At that moment, Anson spoke up from the side, "When the plane landed, she was sleeping, lost her balance, and accidentally bumped her nose against my shoulder."

"Sorry, it was my fault. I should have been more protective."

The girl had no idea that the situation could be explained this way.

She cautiously spread her fingers slightly, peeking through the gap at Anson, and her cheeks immediately flushed with embarrassment.

The flight attendant looked at Anson—

Since finishing an audition, Anson had been growing his hair out for a role, waiting for the film crew's stylists to trim it according to the character's needs.

So now, Anson's hair was particularly long and slightly disheveled, giving him a somewhat romantic, bohemian artist vibe. His eyes, hidden behind his hair, weren't as clear, but they were still sincere, and the look in his eyes conveyed honesty.

Almost instinctively, the flight attendant believed Anson.

She let out a small sigh of relief—if it wasn't a big deal, then that was good.

However, the flight attendant still remained somewhat cautious because Anson appeared older, while the girl sitting by the window looked underage.

So, the flight attendant turned to the girl again, "Miss, is this true? Do you need us to notify the police?"

Suddenly, the girl straightened her back, looking flustered. If the police were called and things escalated, she would be utterly humiliated once they found out the truth. She quickly waved her hands, "No, no need, the situation...the situation is just as he said. There's really no need to call the police."

But—

Seeing her reaction, the flight attendant became even more suspicious. She immediately thought that Anson might be threatening the girl and deliberately avoided looking at him.

Leaning forward slightly, the flight attendant reached over Anson to gently pat the girl on the shoulder, lowering her voice and whispering in the girl's ear.

"If you need help, just blink twice."

What now?

Anne Hathaway grew increasingly embarrassed.

At this point, she finally realized that her earlier actions might have backfired, putting them both in a difficult position.

So, what now?

Anne was conflicted, biting her lower lip.

But she didn't want to cause trouble for anyone, especially since the man next to her wasn't at fault at all—it was entirely her responsibility.

If that was the case, she'd rather embarrass herself than drag someone else down.

So Anne leaned forward slightly, closer to the flight attendant's ear, and quietly explained what had just happened.

Anne could hardly believe it—during her last audition for "The Princess Diaries," she was so nervous that she fell off her chair, which was already embarrassing enough. She thought she'd used up all her embarrassing moments for the year, but reality hit her with another blow, pushing her further beyond her limits.

Her only hope now was that this would be her final embarrassing moment of the year, and that she and the gentleman beside her would never meet again. Otherwise, she wasn't sure if she might end up performing a live pratfall the next time they met, throwing all her ladylike manners out the window.

As for now?

Since things had already reached this point, she might as well let the storm rage on!

End of chapter one.