Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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It was the end of July and the summer was scorching.
Inside Terminal 1 of K City International Airport, a group of young people, chatting and laughing, walked out of the international arrival gate one after another, facing the blindingly bright sunlight pouring in through the panoramic skylight.
“Oh, I slept all the way, it was so comfortable!”
“You must be feeling comfortable. Your snoring kept us awake.”
“Ah? Did I snore? Hey, sorry, everyone. It’s my first time sleeping in business class. I’m so embarrassed.”
“It’s my first time sitting in business class. It’s much more spacious and comfortable than economy class. If I had sat in economy class if the school sponsored the competition, I would have been stiff after curling up in such a narrow seat for seven or eight hours.”
“We have to thank our team leader for the upgrade reward… Hey? Speaking of Brother Zhan, where is he?”
The first person in the group to make the discovery was the one who made it. Everyone else followed suit and stopped, looking around with confused expressions.
“Yes, where is Brother Zhan?”
“F**k, the team leader is missing?”
“Weren’t we the last to get off the plane? There were no other passengers getting off with us. How could he get lost?”
“The jet bridge was still there when I got out of the plane just now, how come he suddenly disappeared?”
“…”
“Hey, Xueyu, weren’t you walking behind with Brother Zhan? Did you see where he went?”
Following the last person’s words, the gazes of the INT group participating in the Songke Cup fell to the back.
Meng Xueyu was not prepared to suddenly become the focus of everyone’s attention, and his expression was a little awkward.
He bent his index finger and pushed up his glasses, then pointed behind him in a low voice: “He just stopped to the side to answer a phone call and told us not to wait for him.”
Several people were stunned.
When they realized what was happening, someone started laughing: “He told us not to wait, and you really followed us without saying anything. You’re not an ungrateful person, right?”
Meng Xueyu opened his mouth and wanted to say something in his defense but finally suppressed it.
“Alright, alright, Xueyu didn’t do it on purpose. Don’t blame him.”
“Hey, look behind you, isn’t Brother Zhan here?”
“Brother Zhan, here!”
“…”
Luo Zhan, holding his phone, stopped and looked towards the source of the sound. Seeing that everyone was waiting at the exit and looking at him eagerly, Luo Zhan had no choice but to raise his hand to signal.
Then he frowned, dragged the suitcase forward, and whispered, “Why is Ran Ran coming to pick us up? Didn’t I tell you to keep the news of my return a secret?”
On the other side of the phone, Tan Yunchang sounded aggrieved.
“Can you blame me for this? As soon as you won the first prize in the Songke Cup, the science and technology editions of various electronic publications published it in the newspapers. Sister Tang Ran was also keeping an eye on your movements every day. With my idol’s all-powerful background, she can find out anything she wants – how can I hide this?”
“Since you can’t hide it, why don’t you just reveal our flight schedule as well?” Luo Zhan asked coldly.
Tan Yunchang was speechless for a few seconds and tried to evade the question with a chuckle: “Grandfather, this is what I think. You will have to see her sooner or later, right? And something happened in the middle of your race and delayed you for half a month. Now Sister Tang’s stitches have been removed. Even if she recognized you and got a little emotional, it should be fine. It won’t affect the recovery of her eyes…right?”
Tan Yunchang felt more and more guilty the more he spoke, and Luo Zhan fell into an uneasy silence.
He couldn’t predict Tang Ran’s reaction when she discovered the truth, and he was even more worried that one of those reactions would lead things to a bad outcome.
This was first time Luo Zhan had faced something where he found himself so worried that he chose to escape.
Luo Zhan ruffled his hair in annoyance. “There are a lot of people in the terminal. I’ll go out with them later. I’ll find a chance to leave from the back. If Ran Ran asks, just find an excuse to cover it up.”
Tan Yunchang: “Ah? Then what reason should I find?”
Luo Zhan drooped his eyelids expressionlessly: “Just say that my leg was broken and I was sent home.”
Tan Yunchang: “…Ancestor, we don’t need to curse ourselves so harshly, right? And if this is the reason, sister Tang Ran will definitely be more anxious to see you.”
Luo Zhan: “Then you think about it.”
“Eh? How can I——”
Before Tan Yunchang could finish speaking, Luo Zhan hung up the phone in frustration.
At this time, he had already walked in front of the Songke Cup project team of the INT laboratory. Luo Zhan did not stop but walked past with his eyes downcast and no expression, dragging the suitcase.
“Let’s go.”
“Brother Zhan, who’s calling?” Someone nearby came up to him with a smile, “Is it your girlfriend checking up on you?”
Luo Zhan was too lazy to explain: “Tan Yunchang.”
“Oh, Senior Tan, they are already outside the airport, right? But, why did you specifically avoid us to answer the phone. I thought there would soon be a sister-in-law in our laboratory.”
Luo Zhan paused and said nothing.
On the other side of him, someone jokingly took over the conversation: “How can Brother Zhan have a girlfriend with this temper? There was a joke circulating in school a few years ago, saying that among the areas that Luo is best at, AI is only second, and the first one is being ruthless and cruel – in terms of the degree of indifference, he must be unprecedented and unmatched on the list of school idols.”
“I know this, I’ve seen it with my own eyes! Last time we were leaving the lab building, a very pretty and bold girl stopped at the front door to confess her love to Brother Zhan – she was expressing her love sincerely, but Brother Zhan actually yawned and walked around through the side door!”
“Yes.” The first person who spoke laughed frivolously, “Even if he has a girlfriend, he would definitely forget what she looks like and her name if he doesn’t see her for three days. This is a fate that is naturally suited to a career in science. Ordinary people like us who can’t get rid of our emotions can forget about it.”
“Hahaha, so according to you, the reason why we are bad is that our six senses are not pure?”
“You do not say.”
“…”
Luo Zhan had been a popular figure since he entered the K University Junior Class at the age of 14. In addition, he didn’t take anything to heart and was too lazy to argue with anyone, so he was often joked about in the laboratory.
Luo Zhan had long been accustomed to this.
At this moment, he was thinking about how to get away and how to prepare for his formal “meeting” with Tang Ran after leaving, so he didn’t care what those people were talking about.
As they were getting closer to the airport exit, there were more and more people. Luo Zhan took out a baseball cap from the outer pocket of the suitcase, put it on his head, lowered the brim, and it automatically fell to the back half.
The INT group walked out from the terminal and after a few steps they saw Tan Yunchang who had come to pick them up at the airport.
“Senior Tan? It’s really you who came to pick us up at the airport. Brother Zhan just said…” The leader was about to turn around to look for Luo Zhan when he was suddenly hugged by Tan Yunchang.
Tan Yunchang patted the man on the back vigorously, looking as if tears were about to well up in his eyes: “Warm welcome to the return of the hero! Comrades, you have worked hard!”
The man was stunned by the welcome and for a moment he forgot what he was going to say.
The other people around him were not stunned, but at this moment, one by one, they were staring at the girl standing one or two meters behind Tan Yunchang with strange eyes.
It was the height of summer, and even though the central air-conditioning in the terminal was blowing cold air, the dazzling sunlight still made people feel the heat.
But the girl in the light apricot mid-length skirt stood in the sunlight, her exposed neck and arms with graceful curves looked as white as snow, as if they had rarely seen the light, and their whiteness was crystal clear and beautiful.
She had long black hair and warm eyes.
Her eyes were not as lively and agile as those of girls of the same age, and seemed a little dim, but inexplicably revealed a kind of static and sickly beauty.
Several boys who were just stung by the hot sunlight in China were at the age of full blood. As soon as they came out, they were hit by such a “critical attack”. The fastest reacted in several seconds before they came back to their senses.
“Senior Tan, where did you get this beauty from? Do you still get this benefit after winning the first prize and returning home? If I had known, I would have brought back a room full of trophies and medals for you, believe it or not!”
“Get lost,” Tan Yunchang scolded with a smile, “You want sex over life, don’t you? How dare you covet someone else’s person?”
“Ah?” Someone came back to his senses and wailed, “She’s already taken?”
“What kind of bullshit is this? If you take the initiative to stand up, we can still spare him——”
“Luo Luo!”
The girl, who had been quietly suppressing her impatience, suddenly turned in a certain direction and shouted.
Everyone from INT was stunned.
“Does our lab have a person called this?”
“Luo Luo? But it sounds like a girl’s name?”
“But she did come with Senior Tan, so he should be someone from our team… Wait, what’s Brother Zhan’s last name?”
“…”
When they saw the little beauty’s excitement, they immediately locked onto the only suspect whose name contained the word “Luo” (to be lost), and then they all stood there in a daze.
Some of them still refused to give up and followed the girl’s gaze to look behind them.
The tall young man, wearing a black sports suit and a black baseball cap pulled down low, was carrying a suitcase and had his back to them, as if he was about to leave in another direction.
At this moment, the man stopped for some reason, with his arms half exposed after rolling up the sleeves of his sportswear, and his slender white finger bones clenched tightly, gripping the handle of the suitcase.
Clenched very stiffly.
Several people from INT gathered together.
“It’s over, it’s over. There’s no hope. She really wants to confess to Brother Zhan.”
“She chased him all the way to the airport, so impressive… But isn’t this too bold? I remember that when the seniors were still in the lab, they said that they had developed an AI voice assistant with this name, and the person who came up with the name was almost killed – did this girl know this from Senior Tan? She actually dared to shout it out directly.”
“But you see that Brother Zhan has stopped. Maybe this is a good way to attract attention?”
“The possible consequences of this method are too terrible, okay?”
Just when they were worried about this seemingly fragile and pretty little girl, they heard the little girl speak again.
“Luo Luo…”
Unlike the last time, her voice dropped, as if she was trying hard to hide the grievance but failed.
“Don’t you want to see me?”
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