Chapter 31: The Future Cannot Be Changed
First time.
Everyone has precious firsts. The first breath, the first time opening their eyes, the first time calling out “Mom” and “Dad,” the first time walking… The word “first” always evokes a sense of solemn importance. Every breath, every blink, every clash of lips and tongues afterwards, never holds the same excitement and anticipation as the first time. Many years later, when he recalled his first time, he would still laugh like an innocent child.
What about the first time his heart fluttered?
Lu Li held the guidance letter from the dean’s office, anxiously running his fingers through his hair. The teacher in the logistics office actually said that his game club didn’t have enough active members and wanted to revoke their venue qualification. How could that be? He had put in a lot of effort to secure an activity classroom, running back and forth between teachers, finally getting an empty room that no one wanted. Now those two fat guys in the logistics office wanted to take it back with just a piece of paper?!
Maybe he should ask the Class Monitor for help? He heard she had connections… An image of a girl with her hands on her hips appeared in Lu Li’s mind, then he shook his head. No, she didn’t seem easy to get along with. It was better to keep his distance.
Lu Li sighed and walked towards Building Three. He suddenly noticed that the door to his activity classroom was open. He worried that someone had broken in. After all, his only valuable possessions were in that room! Thinking of this, Lu Li strode into the classroom and saw a figure slumped over a desk in the corner. Before he could see who it was, Lu Li went to the podium first, checking that his small safe was still there, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hey… How did you get in?” Lu Li frowned and called out to the person in the corner.
No answer.
Lu Li slowly walked closer and saw long blonde hair glowing orange-red in the sunset. It was a girl. And she was sleeping on the desk.
Lu Li tilted his head, observing the girl’s face. She looked like a foreigner, and unbelievably beautiful. Almost as beautiful as An Baili?
Just as Lu Li was carefully evaluating her in his mind, the girl suddenly opened her eyes, revealing a pair of light-colored eyes, as deep as the ocean abyss, as distant as the starry sky. In that instant, Lu Li suddenly understood the meaning of “adding the finishing touch.” He felt like she could see right through him, leaving him nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape.
“…Who are you?” Her voice was also pleasant, cool and clear, like a mountain spring in spring.
“…”
“Mr. XXX, Mr. XXX, please go to the airport police station on the second floor to claim your ID card.”
“Mr. XXX, Mr. XXX, please go to the airport police station on the second floor to claim your ID card.”
The airport announcement pulled Lu Li back from his memories. His phone showed 3:35 p.m. Although the driver had tried his best to speed, he still couldn’t reach the airport before 3:30.
“Dear passengers, we regret to inform you that flight CA4336 from Chuanhai to XX has been delayed due to weather conditions. The estimated…”
CA4336 was the flight to America scheduled for 3:30 p.m. If Lu Li wasn’t mistaken, Wen Hupo should be on this flight. That meant he still had a chance to stop her.
The sky outside was ominously dark, yet it was only drizzling, making one worry if the dark clouds were brewing some sinister plot. Chuanhai was prone to rain after entering summer, but this kind of oppressive gloom was rare.
The airport was bustling with people. Lu Li quickly scanned the crowd, trying to find the blonde woman. He soon realized that this was too inefficient, and Wen Hupo was likely already waiting in the departure lounge. So he went to the information desk and asked them to make an announcement. However, after the announcer called her name three times and Lu Li waited anxiously for another seven or eight minutes, Wen Hupo still didn’t appear.
“Sir, the person you’re looking for might not be at our airport,” the announcer said politely.
No. She wasn’t absent. She just didn’t want to come.
Lu Li’s gaze fell on the security checkpoint. His only option now was to rush in and find her himself. But forcing his way through airport security was too risky, and he didn’t have a ticket. How could he reasonably get past security?
Time ticked by, and Lu Li grew increasingly anxious.
Just as Lu Li was racking his brain, the announcement came again: “Flight CA4336 from Chuanhai to XX is now boarding. Please proceed to the gate.”
“Flight CA4336 from Chuanhai to XX is now boarding. Please proceed to the gate.”
So soon?!
There was no time to think anymore. Lu Li looked down. CA4336 was boarding at the international terminal on the first floor. He had to get there as fast as possible. Lu Li tensed his muscles and walked towards the security checkpoint, where only a few people remained. Airport security was always the strictest, and he knew the consequences of forcing his way through… But… but… He could deal with the consequences later. If Wen Hupo left, she would never come back!
Soon it was Lu Li’s turn. The security personnel asked for his boarding pass and ID card. Lu Li had neither, but he pretended to search his pockets for a while. In those brief seconds, what was going through the mind of this reborn Lu Li? He didn’t know. Even when he thought back on it later, he couldn’t recall his exact thoughts.
He said, “You dropped your keys.”
Then, he bolted, sprinting towards the security gate like his life depended on it.
First second: The two security personnel looked down for the “keys.”
Second second: The woman sitting behind the security scanner shouted, “Hey!”
Third second: The security gate turned red, emitting a piercing alarm.
Fourth second: Lu Li had already passed through security and was running towards the stairs to the first floor.
Fifth second: Police officers in black uniforms appeared out of nowhere and rushed towards him.
Everything happened in a flash.
Lu Li didn’t run down the stairs, he leaped down, taking several steps at a time. Even though his legs were numb, he forced them to keep moving. He heard someone talking on a walkie-talkie behind him and saw more than a dozen police officers blocking his way at the bottom of the stairs. Despair washed over him. Weren’t they supposed to be Chinese? How could they be so efficient?
But… almost there… If he could just reach that spot…
When he was only seven or eight steps away from the bottom of the stairs, Lu Li was surrounded by police officers. He shouted towards the departure lounge on the first floor, “Wen Hupo—!!”
The next second, he was tackled to the ground by the police officers. Four or five pairs of hands pinned him down, searching him for dangerous items.
“Wen Hupo!!” he shouted again. He wasn’t calling out to the blonde girl, not Shirley Amber, not even Wen Hupo. He was calling out to that first moment his heart fluttered. He hoped Wen Hupo would hear his voice and change her mind, hoped that stubborn girl wouldn’t hesitate like him, hoped that no one would have any more regrets in this life.
But until flight CA4336 with the red tail marking took off, until Lu Li was handcuffed by the police, Wen Hupo never appeared. The plane ruthlessly ascended into the sky and disappeared from Lu Li’s sight.
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