Chapter 14
Yan Jiang and the Song sisters had been neighbors from a young age. They lived on the same level in the same building, with just one corridor separating the two main doors.
Song Fei was a teenage genius. Her teachers loved her, her schoolmates were in awe of her, and her neighbors all praised her.
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Song Fei was a star sparkling in the sky while Yan Jiang was dirt on the ground.
Once, Song Fei saw some schoolmates going overboard bullying Yan Jiang. She didn’t help him but just stood from afar, watching him. Yan Jiang dragged his injured body home and saw Song Fei standing at the door of his house. He felt very, very ashamed.
Song Fei leaned against the wall. Unlike other kids, her lovely face never scrunched up in disdain at him.
“Useless.” Song Fei’s voice was as cold as her character.
Yan Jiang’s head hung very low.
He was so cowardly and felt so inferior that he didn’t even dare to rebuke this young girl.
After scolding Yan Jiang, Song Fei whisked out a small glass bottle from her pocket and shoved it into his hands. Yan Jiang finally glanced up and stared at her in confusion.
Fixing her eyes on the bruises on his face, Song Fei said, “The next time they beat you up, just splash this on them.”
Yan Jiang was momentarily stunned before asking, “What is this?”
Song Fei said, “Poison.”
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Yan Jiang asked again, “What will happen if I splash this on them?”
Song Fei answered, “They will die.”
Yan Jiang. “…”
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Thereafter, Yan Jiang gathered his courage and splashed the contents of the bottle on the face of a boy who bullied him.
The boy didn’t die, but boils erupted throughout his face and festered for over two months before finally recovering. The boy never dared to bully Yan Jiang again.
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Song Fei was a poisonous person.
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And the 17-year-old Yan Jiang accidentally touched this poison and endured its effects for nearly ten years.
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As he recalled the past, Yan Jiang reached up to stroke the necklace on his neck. After a long time, he finally gave a bitter laugh. “Song Song.”
Yan Jiang smiled as he gazed at Song Ci. “Song Song, in the future, if you learn of someone’s secrets, don’t tell that secret in front of the person’s face.” His eyes turned reddish as he muttered, “I am a very petty guy. I would like to keep this secret to myself.”
Song Ci’s heart quivered.
“Then do you believe me now?”
Yan Jiang shut his eyes and took a deep breath. “I believe!”
At that, Song Ci’s tightly wound up muscles finally relaxed.
The two of them sat there in silence for a moment. Recalling something, Yan Jiang spoke, “That night at the bar, you told me you finally believed that if you were to die one day and if anyone were to cry for you, that person would be me…”
Yan Jiang’s brows furrowed. With a loving touch, he smoothed down Song Ci’s messy fringe. He asked, “When you died, was I there for you?”
Song Ci had been struggling to hold back her tears, but they all came streaming down now.
She nodded vigorously, her tears dripping on the carpet. “Yes, you were. Ah Jiang, you were there for me the entire time. When I died, you were the only one who cried for me.”
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Yan Jiang smiled.
He had missed Song Fei’s death, but luckily he didn’t let Song Ci die alone.
Yan Jiang stood up and pointed at Song Ci’s face. “This time, no matter what you do, I will be by your side.” Yan Jiang then turned and entered the kitchen.
He brewed two cups of coffee and added several cubes of sugar to Song Ci’s cup. Yan Jiang handed the coffee to her. “Drink this. In the future, don’t drink too much bitter black coffee. Girls should drink sweet things.”
“But why are you so fond of drinking bitter things, then?”
Yan Jiang shook his head.
He poked his chest and shook his head mildly. “It’s all bitterness in here. There’s no way to sweeten things up.”
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Song Ci knew the source of Yan Jiang’s bitterness, but she was helpless.
Since it was still too hot, Song Ci couldn’t drink the coffee yet. She placed it on the table. Yan Jiang asked, “How do you want me to help you?”
Song Ci said, “I want to rescue my elder sister from that villa.”
Yan Jiang’s eyes grew serious as he asked, “How? If you just bring her out now, Mu Mian will definitely grow suspicious.”
Song Ci answered, “Very simple. I will have her leave the convalescent hospital on her own two feet.”
It shocked Yan Jiang.
He looked at Song Ci for a long time before finally realizing what this young girl was planning to do. Yan Jiang took a gulp of coffee to calm his nerves.
That night, Song Ci slept in Yan Jiang’s guestroom.
At five in the morning, the ringing of Song Ci’s phone awoke her.
Song Ci took the call and heard a man’s gentle voice over the line. “Ms. Song, please be at Wangjiang Mountain Airport Terminal 3 Berth 31 before 6:40 a.m. today. You will observe the pilot on a flight to Shunchen City. You will return in three days.”
She was officially on the clock now!
Song Ci was wide awake now. “Alright, I got it.”
She didn’t know when Han Zhan would make an overseas trip, so to be prepared, she had packed her luggage in advance and stored it in the trunk of her car.
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In this way, Song Ci could rush over the moment Han Zhan summoned her!
Song Ci arrived at the airport at 6:20 a.m.
When she arrived, Song Shiqing had already been there 10 minutes earlier. Meeting for the first time, Song Ci took off her baseball cap and greeted Song Shiqing. “Good morning, Brother Song. How did you get here so early?”
Song Shiqing smiled. “To be honest, I rented a house near the airport for this job.” Song Shiqing was a retired military pilot. He had to raise two children, and this job was very important to him. He rented a house near the airport to ensure that he would do a good job.
Hearing his words, Song Ci realized just how frivolous she was.
Brother Song was so sensible and conscientious.
As they spoke, the pilot arrived.
The pilot had been with Han Zhan for three years, and he was called Xiong Jian. He was also a retired military pilot with dark features and small eyes, but those eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s.
Xiong Jian was a man of few words, and he already knew that one of the trainees was a young lady.
He didn’t discriminate against females but was also not the type to behave exceptionally gentle with them.
Xiong Jian allowed Song Ci and Song Shiqing to observe him and learn as he carried out the pre-flight checks. Airport staff would perform the same checks for Han Zhan’s private jet, but Xiong Jian was very meticulous and preferred to conduct the checks again by himself.
One could never be too careful.
Xiong Jian’s checks were very detailed, and he didn’t overlook a single thing. Oil tank, rotor wing, tail unit, pressure ducts… Song Ci did not dare to be careless. She humbly followed behind Xiong Jian, observing his actions.
After conducting his checks and ensuring that everything was normal, Xiong Jian finally checked the boxes in the checklist.
With the checks complete, a group of three men and two ladies walked over to the plane. Han Zhan was in the center of the group. It looked like everyone in the group knew of Han Zhan’s true identity.
After boarding the plane, Li Li and the other four found their respective seats, judiciously leaving the last one for Han Zhan.
Han Zhan sat down and a steward approached him. He bent over and asked, “Mr. Han, what tea would you like today?”
Han Zhan replied, “Wolfberry tea.”
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