[Please proceed to Gate 2 for boarding for passengers heading to S City, China.]
The announcement echoed in the waiting hall, and passengers who had taken a brief rest stood up and queued at the gate.
In the first-class cabin, there were mostly business people. Pei Rong was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to control his little child alone, potentially disrupting their work. Therefore, he took his son outside to look at the plane through the glass, spending a considerable amount of time before finally entering.
When he saw a group coming out of the business area, the silhouette of the person in the middle was unmistakably Lu Qin. Pei Rong nearly dropped his son to the ground.
Pei Xiaoge slid down a bit and suddenly hugged his father’s neck tightly.
The VIP lounge was divided into business, leisure, and children’s areas. Pei Ge, upon seeing the children’s facilities, became eager, “Daddy—”
His voice was childish but surprisingly penetrating, as if he was not calling Pei Rong, who was nearby, but someone twenty meters away.
Pei Rong’s scalp tingled. Help! When would this little troublemaker learn to speak quietly? He covered the child’s mouth and calmly walked away.
Pei Xiaoge nodded vigorously, making muffled sounds.
Pei Rong let go of his hand.
Pei Xiaoge whispered, “Daddy, are we not taking the plane?”
Mischievous as he was, Pei Xiaoge’s greatest skill was causing mischief when his dad was distracted, rather than crying and making a fuss right under Pei Rong’s nose.
Pei Rong: “There are bad people on the plane. We’ll take the next one.”
With Lu Qin in the first-class cabin and the high probability of being recognized in the economy class, this plane was not an option.
Pei Ge’s eyes lit up, immediately turning his head to lean on Pei Rong’s shoulder, observing who the bad guys were.
Those in all-black attire must be the villains.
In the VIP lounge, after all passengers passed through Gate 2, the staff checked the list.
Pei Rong, holding his child, felt assured of his safety and walked slower. Just as he was about to put the little troublemaker down, a thunderous announcement struck.
[Mr. Pei Rong heading to S City, China, please proceed to Gate 2 for ticket inspection.]
[Mr. Pei Rong heading to S City, China, please proceed to Gate 2 for ticket inspection.]
The broadcast pronounced “Pei Rong” very slowly, syllable by syllable, as if afraid someone in the entire hall might not hear it clearly.
Pei Rong: “…”
Lu Qin, who had already boarded the shuttle, caught the lingering sound of the announcement, and his gaze suddenly deepened.
The commercial team that knew about Pei Rong exchanged glances, keeping silent about it.
Pei Rong was also on this flight.
Lu Qin closed his eyes for a moment, returned to the waiting hall in large strides, instructed his secretary to watch the exit, searched every possible hiding spot, even had female staff check the women’s restroom.
But all efforts were in vain.
He approached the work desk and said to the staff, “He might not make it. Call his reserved phone number.”
No matter how explosive his inner turmoil was, Lu Qin maintained a courteous demeanor, refraining from making unreasonable requests for a phone number.
Pei Rong heard the announcement and hid in the restroom. When the phone rang, he had the illusion that Lu Qin was waiting outside the door. He cleared his throat and answered the call.
“I won’t make it. I’ll reschedule later myself, thank you.”
The airport staff hung up, telling colleagues, “Mr. Pei rescheduled, no need to wait for him, you can depart.”
Pei Rong’s voice on the phone sounded lazy, just like his habit of sleeping until noon.
Hearing the result, Lu Qin coldly smirked; not catching the flight seemed better than seeing him hide.
Even without checking, Lu Qin knew Pei Rong didn’t embark on a global journey; claiming to be a laid-back person, he probably stayed put in Country M. Without alerting the enemy, expressing the desire to return home was a good sign, wasn’t it?
He pointed to a secretary Pei Rong hadn’t seen before. “You stay here and wait for his next flight.”
Secretary: “Alright.”
Setting up camp at the airport, it was quite like a 007 operation.
With everything arranged, Lu Qin turned around, momentarily unsure how to walk, then took a step forward after a while.
Pei Rong, checking the flight on the app, came out with Pei Ge after the plane took off, leaving the airport openly.
He wasn’t sure if Lu Qin’s people were still at the airport, but he couldn’t act guilty. Holding his child, he seemed entirely innocent.
When Jiang Yan hurriedly came to pick him up, he was speechless, “How did you manage this coincidence?”
Pei Rong: “Maybe you leaked the information.”
Jiang Yan: “I wish! I’ll ask President Lu another day how much he’ll pay me; if it’s more than eight digits, I’ll do it. So, what’s your plan now?”
Pei Rong: “Take a few more connecting flights.”
Starting with a train to the north in Country C, then a plane to a third country, before finally making his way back to China.
Three days later.
Carrying a suitcase and the little child, Pei Rong stood in front of his suburban villa on the outskirts of S City, a myriad of emotions swirling within him.
Due to a series of twists and turns, the retirement life that should have begun long ago was only commencing today.
After a long journey of transfers, the little child had become somewhat disheveled.
Pei Rong took off the little child’s jacket, which somehow had two large holes in it, and tossed it into the trash bin by the door.
It’s the tail end of summer now, and the sun was still quite intense. Pei Ge was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, revealing chubby little arms with skin as fair as milk, quite robust to the touch. To anyone looking, he appeared like a baby who needed to be carried when walking and fed when eating.
“Dad, is this our home?” Pei Ge exclaimed, pointing at the numerous trees, some even bearing fruits, more than Uncle Jiang’s house!
The fruit trees, which were taken care of by two families over the past few years, have yielded a high quantity of fruit.
Uncle Yu and Uncle Zhang came over to discuss matters related to the orchard. Pei Rong handed each of them a red envelope and said, “Leave about a dozen fruits on each tree. Take the rest with you to sell or give away.”
The two placed the red envelopes back on the table. “The fruits are worth a good sum of money; we won’t take the red envelopes.”
Pei Rong rubbed his son’s head. “Accept it. In the future, if Pei Ge troubles you, I hope you won’t resign.”
Pei Ge asked, “Can I go pick fruits with Grandpa?”
The orchard was not dangerous, and the fishpond was fenced with iron wire. Pei Rong agreed, “Go ahead.”
With permission granted, the little child was as excited as a wild boar released from its pen. He did a somersault in place, and when he got up, the fluff on his head trembled, leaving the two old men in astonishment.
Their grandchildren, at this age, still wobbled when walking and only spoke one word at a time.
Pei Rong remained calm, dragging the suitcase to the second floor and doing a quick cleanup.
Most of his belongings were shipped back directly and arrived early. Uncle Yu helped carry them to the cloakroom, now needing to be sorted out.
After working for half an hour, Pei Rong felt he should hire a live-in housekeeper.
He squatted for a while, feeling a bit thirsty, wanting something sweet and sour to cool down.
“Dad! Eat honey!”
The little child held up a piece of honeycomb filled with golden honey, presenting it to Pei Rong like a treasure.
With one hand holding the honeycomb and the other a piece of honeycomb larger than his face, he eagerly took a bite, smearing his face with the sweet honey, resembling a little bear.
Pei Rong, watching his son’s excitement as if poking a hornet’s nest, felt a bit suffocated. “Where did you get this?”
He carefully examined all of his exposed skin, making sure he hadn’t been stung.
Pei Ge licked the honey on the back of his hand and proudly said, “I found it, and Grandpa Zhang helped me. Dad, hurry and eat.”
The beehive could survive in the villa for so long without being discovered, undoubtedly hidden. Pei Ge must have a keen sense of smell.
Pei Rong got up and closed all the doors and windows, fearing that the bees would smell it and seek revenge on him, then end up having honey forcibly stuffed into his mouth.
“Even ants would have to move out overnight when they see you.”
After eating for a while, Pei Ge’s beehive was confiscated by his dad, who said he would put it in the fridge to brew tea.
Regretfully, Pei Ge licked his palms clean and squatted on the steps, watching the ants go about their business.
As Pei Rong predicted, the weather in the afternoon was gloomy, and a heavy rainstorm was approaching, accompanied by strong winds.
Pei Ge’s hair was tousled by the wind as he squatted on the steps, staring intently at the busy ants through the cracks.
“Achoo!” He rubbed his nose, realizing the consequences of something he did, and his small face suddenly turned pale.
