Unknowingly, April was already drawing to a close. Following the containment of the epidemic in Tianbei City, the new school semester finally arrived.
After packing her things and bidding farewell to her grandmother and the others, Lin Xinyuan couldn’t wait to set off—
“Be careful on the road, make sure to wear your mask properly…”
“The situation over there is much more serious than here. Remember not to wander around once you get to school!”
“The school procedures are all set. Xiaoyuan, just go there and check into your dormitory…”
“If anything happens, remember to tell Xiaofeng, don’t keep it bottled up inside…”
“Do you understand?”
In the plaza in front of the airport, Lin’s mother frowned slightly, anxiously nagging the young girl. She had originally wanted to accompany her daughter, but Lin Xinyuan had refused. After all, these were extraordinary times; it was better not to travel unless necessary. Nevertheless, she had taken time off work in advance to see Lin Xinyuan off at the boarding gate.
The girl wore a mask, revealing only a pair of beautiful almond eyes. Her gaze held deep longing and urgency, yet she forced herself to suppress her restless heart and listened quietly to her mother’s words.
“I know!” Hearing the question, Lin Xinyuan nodded obediently and quickly, her voice carrying a cheerfulness she hadn’t even noticed herself.
Watching her daughter look completely “head over heels,” Lin’s mother felt a lump in her throat. She couldn’t help but feel a bit worried, but in the end, she said nothing and only sighed inwardly. After all… in this regard, she, as an “unfit” mother, had no right to lecture her daughter on anything…
Checking the time on her phone, Lin’s mother realized it was getting late and had to give up on the rest of her nagging. Reaching out, she gave the girl’s fluffy little head one last pat and offered a smile—even if it was hidden behind her mask and couldn’t be seen.
With eyes full of tenderness and reluctance, she said warmly, “Go on, it’s getting late. Get there early and stay in touch if anything happens.”
“Mhm… Mom, goodbye!” Lin Xinyuan gave her mother one last wave, then pulled her suitcase and turned to leave.
“Goodbye…” The beautiful middle-aged woman waved back, silently watching her daughter enter the terminal building before slowly withdrawing her gaze and turning away.
“Xiaoyuan… you must be happy forever…”
On the other side, after showing her health code and having her temperature checked, the girl successfully entered the terminal.
Looking around at the crowds of people coming and going, she couldn’t help but feel nervous. Aside from it being her first time taking a plane, it was also her first time truly traveling far away under the identity of “Lin Xinyuan.”
Lin Xinyuan, you can do it! You’re going to see Brother Feng!
The girl’s fingers tightened as she mentally cheered herself on.
Finding the counter, Lin Xinyuan felt apprehensive as she handed her new ID card to the staff and waited anxiously. Fortunately, it was just her scaring herself; there were no “accidents” like in a novel, and her boarding pass was processed quickly.
Following the signs in the airport, she checked her luggage, passed through security, and arrived at the waiting hall. Lin Xinyuan found a seat with relatively few people nearby and sat down to wait quietly for boarding.
The girl’s clothes were very ordinary—just a common white floral print shirt and micro-flare jeans, with white flat shoes on her feet—yet she still appeared slender, elegant, and strikingly beautiful. Even with a mask on, those clear and bright almond eyes were particularly eye-catching.
Simply sitting there alone, she unconsciously attracted the gazes of many people nearby, who couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances. However, because it was a special period, people’s vigilance had increased due to public awareness campaigns, and they wouldn’t easily approach a stranger…
This allowed Lin Xinyuan to breathe a sigh of relief. Although those strange looks still made her feel slightly uncomfortable, she wasn’t as sensitive as she used to be. At the very least, she could manage to cope on the surface.
It was morning, and there was still over an hour until boarding, but Lin Xinyuan’s heart remained restless. She couldn’t focus on watching videos to pass the time, so she opened her chat history with a certain someone.
Staring at the word “Okay” that he had replied with a few days ago after she sent the flight screenshot, she gazed blankly at the phone screen in a daze…
It wasn’t until the voice announcement for boarding finally echoed in her ears that Lin Xinyuan snapped back to reality. She stood up immediately, grabbing her suitcase to head for the gate.
She realized something was wrong almost instantly. Looking at the electronic screen, she suddenly discovered it wasn’t time for her flight yet. Feeling embarrassed, she could only sit back down silently.
Some people nearby saw her sudden jump and found it a bit funny. Two older women even huddled together, pointing at her and whispering something…
Catching a glimpse of this, Lin Xinyuan’s face flushed instantly, and she lowered her head in shame.
How embarrassing… They must think I’m a country bumpkin…
The girl’s mind wandered as her body grew stiff. Luckily, the mask hid her expression, which prevented her from feeling even more humiliated.
During the dull wait, the boarding time finally arrived, and the announcement rang out again. Lin Xinyuan hurried to the gate to line up and followed the crowd onto the plane.
However, shortly after finding her seat and sitting down, her nervousness intensified. After all, she had seen countless plane crash scenes in movies and novels. Moreover, the various safety announcements playing in the cabin—especially the ones regarding evacuation—only fueled her inner anxiety.
After another long wait, the plane finally began to taxi and take off.
It should have been exciting and tense, but Lin Xinyuan’s experience was far from pleasant. The push-back sensation during takeoff, accompanied by weightlessness and occasional turbulence, along with a feeling of pressure in her ears, made her feel dizzy. Her heart raced, and her whole body felt unwell.
Especially seeing the view outside getting higher and higher, her head felt even worse. It felt as if her stomach acid was churning, and her whole world was turning upside down; she almost threw up her breakfast.
Lin Xinyuan quickly looked away, not daring to look outside again.
After a while, once the fuselage stabilized, she gradually recovered and began to feel a bit better. She couldn’t help but curse in her mind—if she had known it would be this miserable, she wouldn’t have taken a plane…
If it weren’t for Brother Feng… humph…
“Um, is this your first time flying, Miss?”
Suddenly, a voice spoke right into her ear, startling Lin Xinyuan. She quickly turned her head and saw it was the girl sitting next to her.
Lin Xinyuan’s face had been pale from the discomfort, but hearing the girl’s words, her cheeks began to burn, and her complexion seemed to return. Although she felt awkward, she nodded honestly: “Ah, uh… yeah…”
As she replied, she couldn’t help but straighten her back. Being spoken to like this by a girl of the same age made Lin Xinyuan feel inevitably shy.
I used to be a guy, after all… how can my courage be so small? I’m not even as brave as a little girl…
But the girl didn’t realize that her attempt to act calm—especially the way her body was still trembling slightly with stubbornness—looked incredibly cute in the eyes of her neighbor.
The girl’s eyes crinkled into a smile, shining brightly as she looked at Lin Xinyuan. “Miss, has anyone ever told you that you’re very cute?”
“Ah…” Lin Xinyuan was stunned, but a sense of shame quickly flooded her mind.
C-cute? I’m not cute! I’m clearly very handsome!
Lin Xinyuan never expected that one day in her life, she would be described so “offensively” by a total stranger. Her brain felt a bit buzzy. Unconsciously, she thought of a certain guy who often said that to her; her fair little face grew even hotter, but at the same time, her heart began to throb.
If it’s him… …I guess it’s okay… Anyway, no one else is allowed to say that about me!
Lin Xinyuan thought this to herself, but on the outside, she just lowered her head bashfully. No matter how reluctant she was, since the other person was “praising” her, she couldn’t be ungrateful.
So, she could only respond politely: “No… I haven’t, thank you…”
“Eh, is that so? Then maybe those people just don’t have an eye for beauty?”
“Uh…”
Hearing this, Lin Xinyuan truly didn’t know how to respond and fell into silence. After all, she couldn’t shamelessly agree, could she?
But looking at it this way… her Brother Feng… really has a good eye…
As expected of him…
Ugh…
She thought to herself, feeling increasingly bashful. It seemed as though the physical discomfort from the flight had faded quite a bit.
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