Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Along with the moving TV cameras, the grandeur of the T3 terminal of the Imperial Capital International Airport appeared on the large screen. Ma Qiqi stood up suddenly. She was shocked to catch a glance from the video. It showed the tall and handsome back of a man in a military uniform. He looked very familiar and should be Gu Nianzhi’s boyfriend, Huo Shao! Ma Qiqi finally learned that Huo Shao was actually the Secretary General of the Supreme Military Council! Ma Qiqi never cared too much about political news before, but she wanted to cry now. Oh my god, just how high was his rank?!
Nianzhi is finally getting rescued now! Although Ma Qiqi had met Huo Shaoheng before, she never really knew what he did. All she knew was that he was in the military and had a fairly high rank, but Gu Nianzhi never really told her what he did. Ma Qiqi also never asked Gu Nianzhi, since she wasn’t a nosy person. If Gu Nianzhi never told Ma Qiqi something, she would never ask. But from what Yin Shixiong said today, along with the TV introduction, she finally understood that Gu Nianzhi’s boyfriend was that impressive!
No way, I have to get to the airport right now to catch him. Otherwise, it’ll be harder than flying to heaven to see him again after this… Ma Qiqi thought this as she combed her hair roughly and picked up her phone and purse to rush out of the dorm building. She walked out of the campus entrance and hailed a cab that sped towards the Imperial Capital International Airport.
Her luck wasn’t too bad. The cab drove smoothly the entire time and didn’t get blocked by traffic at all. It only took 45 minutes to arrive at the T3 terminal of the Imperial Capital International Airport! It typically took 90 minutes. Ma Qiqi stood at the terminal entrance and looked up at the vivid blue sky. A beautifully large, streamlined military aircraft appeared like a white swan as it descended from the cotton clouds.
…
Plainclothes policemen, Secret Service agents, and fully armed soldiers were everywhere inside the airport. Ma Qiqi wandered around the airport for some time before discovering many areas were completely blocked off from entry! How could this be? She held her phone as she stood at the T3 entrance in confusion. Watching the crowds pass by with bright smiles and happy faces, Ma Qiqi’s heart was colder than the deepest winter, and it chilled her to the bone. How could those people be smiling so happily? Don’t they know that an innocent girl is being tortured in a foreign country!? How could you all be smiling?! How could you?!
Ma Qiqi glared at everyone fiercely, and suddenly, in the terminal doorway not far from her, a black elongated Rolls Royce quietly parked. A white-gloved attendant got out of the car first and politely opened the door where an elegant and refined looking lady stepped out. The woman looked up at the tall airport terminal in triumph, then a group of people got out of the car behind and escorted her inside the terminal.
Ma Qiqi’s eyes bulged. Wasn’t this Cai Songyin, the wife of Tan Dongbang whom she had just seen on TV? This was the new First Lady! What was she doing here? Ma Qiqi looked around and instantly thought about how Huo Shao had used the military aircraft to bring Tan Guiren, the daughter of the newest Prime Minister, home! No wonder Tan Guiren’s mother was also here. What’s the big deal with having parents, anyway? Hmph!
Ma Qiqi pouted. She was feeling aggrieved and nervous as her eyes followed the backs of the people moving forward and inside the VIP channel of the T3 Terminal. Hmm? Why did this place sound so familiar? Ma Qiqi looked around and finally recalled that this was the place Yin Shixiong had mentioned to her! He said he had security duty at the airport! Just like a lightbulb going off in her head, Ma Qiqi finally understood what Yin Shixiong meant with his strange words. Ma Qiqi swiftly ran off as she saw the group enter the VIP channel and quickly followed inside.
“Miss, this is the special VIP channel for the terminal. Do you have a special access pass?” A soldier armed with a rifle walked over to stop her. Fully armed soldiers were in charge of security duty inside the T3 VIP channel. It was obvious the security measures here were several grades higher than in other places.
Ma Qiqi stared blankly at the soldier and stammered, “Well… Well… I saw the people ahead go inside, so I thought… I thought…”
“May I ask if you’re here with Mrs. Tan?” The soldier asked politely and still managed to be friendly to her.
Ma Qiqi wanted to say yes but was too embarrassed to lie. Just as she was hesitating, she spied Yin Shixiong coming over from the corner of her eye. She was about to call out to him, but Yin Shixiong seemed to not recognize her and said to the soldier, “Go, look over there. I think a few people walked in there.”
“Roger, Chief.” The soldier carried his rifle and walked away. Only Yin Shixiong and Ma Qiqi remained in the VIP channel. The other soldiers that remained were different from the one who left. They carried rifles and wore helmets, standing motionless like statues or like a background with no freedom of mobility. They only listened to Yin Shixiong’s commands, because they were under his direct command and complied completely with him. However, Yin Shixiong didn’t look at Ma Qiqi but walked to a well ventilated area and looked down to light a cigarette. Watching the blue skies outside, he replied casually, “Shouldn’t you get going?”
Ma Qiqi stiffened then darted out like the wind once she understood. She followed the group of people with Cai Songyin, Tan Guiren’s mom. The security personnel in the VIP channel were Secret Service agents who thought it was strange to see Ma Qiqi, but because they knew she had passed through the most secure VIP channel and was going in the same direction as the First Lady’s group, they assumed she was with them. Also, Ma Qiqi was dressed rather nicely and looked like she belonged in the same class as the newly elected Prime Minister’s family, so no one stopped her for questioning.
Ma Qiqi’s luck was off the charts today. She followed the First Lady’s group the entire way, and they actually took a shortcut to where the swan-like military aircraft had landed nearby. The hatch hadn’t opened yet, and the stairs had just unfolded with a bright red carpet laid out from the cabin door to a long distance ahead. Cai Songyin, the wife of the newly elected Prime Minister, Tan Dongbang, stood on the red carpet and watched the cabin door excitedly.
Ma Qiqi also held her breath and quietly stood behind the group. She was tall and saw right past the crowd to clearly witness what was happening on the stairs. In that moment, the white cabin door opened, and a pretty girl in a pink dress stood at the entryway. She smiled and waved politely at the people standing below. This should be Tan Guiren, the daughter of the newly elected Prime Minister.
Ma Qiqi couldn’t help pouting again and thought that Tan Guiren was merely the Prime Minister’s daughter; she wasn’t the Prime Minister himself. Why was she making a big deal like she was some important leader? Did she get permission from all the Hua Xia citizens?! Ma Qiqi had never rolled her eyes this much in her entire 20 some years alive, and her eyelids were about to twitch.
Just as she was rolling her eyes again, she saw a tall and handsome man in a military uniform appear behind Tan Guiren. He wore huge sunglasses that covered half his face. Tan Guiren shifted slightly and said something to him behind her, and he nodded slightly. A bashful smile appeared on Tan Guiren’s face, and her head hung slightly as she held the handrail and carefully made her way down.
Cai Songyin stood on the red carpet not far away from the stairs and smiled at her daughter as well as the young Major General behind her with unlimited future potential. She was extremely satisfied. Her husband was successful, and her daughter was intelligent. All she was missing was a capable son-in-law. With that, her life could be considered a huge success.
Tan Guiren was actually very nervous as she held the handrail and made her way down the stairs; she wasn’t actually as calm as she appeared. Protected impeccably all her life, she had truly grown up in an ivory tower. But Tan Guien knew the TV stations were broadcasting her live, so she tried hard to maintain the most perfect posture and elegant manners as she walked down the stairs like a princess. The red carpet extended out all the way, and like her bright future, all she could see ahead was an endless path of red. But to Ma Qiqi, the red carpet looked like blood, and her eyes stung with tears.
Suddenly, Tan Guiren’s body wavered as she walked down the stairs, and it seemed like she missed a step before losing her footing. Huo Shaoheng smoothly gripped her arm with gentle support, then immediately let go of her.
Ma Qiqi was speechless.
Cai Songyin smiled even more kindly. Tan Guiren’s face flushed tomato red and complemented the pink color of her dress, making her appear even more alluring. All the single men watching the live broadcast on TV had their eyes glaze over, and all of them couldn’t help posting online to pronounce Tan Guiren, the new Prime Minister’s only daughter, as the new “National Goddess.”
Finally, both Tan Guiren and Huo Shaoheng stepped off the stairs. A little girl in a Snow White costume walked up to Tan Guiren to present a bouquet of flowers to her. Tan Guiren accepted it happily and stroked the little girl’s head. She loved children more than anything. Then she smoothly handed the flowers to Huo Shaoheng and bent down slightly to kiss the little girl’s cheek.
Ma Qiqi hadn’t expected this to happen. She balled her hands into tight fists and full body tremors wracked her. She had never experienced such a thing, from excited anticipation to helpless confusion, then finally complete unacceptance. Her eyes saw red, and she stepped forward to bypass the crowd. Standing alone on the edge of the red carpet, she pointed in Huo Shaoheng’s direction and shouted in the loudest voice she could muster, “Huo Shao! Your girlfriend was kidnapped, and she’s being tortured with electrocution right now! And you’re actually in the mood to escort a princess! Nianzhi must be blind! You scumbag! You’ll have retribution!”
