Chapter 3533

On the way back, Sun Mengmeng had been deliberately controlling the speed of her car.

She didn't dare drive too fast to take Xiao Churan home, because she was worried that if they got back too early, Ye Chen in Yanjing might not have boarded his flight yet, and if Xiao Changkun and Ma Lan's couple had something wrong with their heads and sent Ye Chen a message asking something, everything would be ruined.

So she thought, as long as Xiao Churan stayed with her and had no contact with the outside world before the plane took off, all risks could naturally be eliminated.

Moreover, to ensure nothing went wrong this time, they even used their connections to have the WiFi module on the plane Ye Chen was taking dismantled and inspected in advance.

Now many overseas flights offer free or paid internet service; generally speaking, first class has free internet available. If they didn't shut down this plane's WiFi, Ye Chen could possibly receive messages throughout the entire flight.

After the WiFi function was shut down, all passengers on the plane would temporarily lose contact with the outside world ten minutes after takeoff, and would not regain it until shortly before landing.

5:30 p. m.

The plane Ye Chen was on took off on time.

Ten minutes later, the plane climbed to an altitude of 3,500 meters, at which point the phone had completely lost all signal.

Sun Mengmeng's hairpin on her head vibrated three times faintly; this was their internally agreed-upon communication method—three vibrations meant Ye Chen was now in a state of communication cutoff.

Then she sped up and took Xiao Churan to the home at Tang Chen Yi Pin.

Xiao Changkun was already home at this time, sitting with Ma Lan in the living room watching TV.

Seeing Xiao Churan enter alone, both immediately looked over, and Xiao Changkun chuckled: "Ah, my daughter's back! Did you have fun in Yanjing this time?"

Xiao Churan smiled faintly: "Pretty good."

Ma Lan looked left and right but didn't see Ye Chen's shadow behind her, and asked somewhat surprised: "Daughter, didn't Ye Chen come back?"

"No." Xiao Churan unnaturally smoothed her hair and said: "Ye Chen went to Australia; Master Hong asked him for help, saying a friend needed him to check the feng shui, so I came back first."

Upon hearing "Master Hong," Xiao Changkun hurriedly asked: "Is it Master Hong Wu?"

"Yes." Xiao Churan nodded.

Xiao Changkun chuckled: "Ah, Master Hong Wu and Ye Chen really do have a good relationship—clients always think of him, not bad, not bad."

In Xiao Changkun's view, whether he could return to his former position as vice-chairman of the Calligraphy and Painting Association depended entirely on whether Master Hong Wu was willing to lend him a hand.

Earlier, he had done something shameful and was demoted in the Calligraphy and Painting Association, but everyone in the circle knew the unspoken rules: being demoted during a storm means you can quickly find a chance to be promoted again once the wind dies down—it just depends on whether those above are willing to give you the opportunity.

Xiao Changkun knew he had no real foundation, but as long as Master Hong Wu helped, this matter would definitely be fine.

So, as long as Ye Chen maintained a close cooperative relationship with Master Hong Wu, he felt his own situation would definitely still have a chance.

Xiao Churan could roughly tell from her father's expression what he was thinking, but she also clearly knew in her heart that her parents were about to leave Jin Ling and might never return; the Calligraphy and Painting Association, everything was just fleeting clouds.

Immediately, she said to the two: "By the way, Mom and Dad, our company hasn't been busy lately, things have been light after the New Year, and a friend just introduced us to a cruise travel project—departing from Dao Cheng and heading all the way to Tahiti, said to have excellent facilities and be a lot of fun, so let's set off tonight!"

"Tonight?" Xiao Changkun said, somewhat surprised: "That's so sudden?"

Ma Lan asked curiously from the side: "Tahiti? Is that the Tahiti famous for producing pearls?"

Xiao Churan nodded and said to Ma Lan: "Yes, Mom, that's the Tahiti—supposedly even better than the Maldives, just not as heavily promoted and hyped as the Maldives."

After saying that, she turned to Xiao Changkun and said: "Dad, the cruise ship departs early tomorrow morning, we live far away, so to catch it we must leave now; their company has already arranged a business car for us, waiting right at the door—go back to your rooms, pack a few things, and we'll leave directly."

Ma Lan asked concerned: "Daughter, going so far by cruise ship will definitely cost a lot of money, right?"

Xiao Churan knew her mother loved getting a bargain, so she followed her lead: "Supposedly it's super luxurious first class—one ticket costs over 200,000, and all meals and drinks are completely free."

Ma Lan immediately perked up, excitedly saying: "Go! We definitely have to go!"

Xiao Changkun was a bit embarrassed, saying: "Ah, this is too sudden—we still have a lot of things to hand over at the association; just up and leaving isn't quite appropriate!"

Ma Lan blurted out: "What's inappropriate about it? You guys don't have any serious business anyway—just a bunch of old men and old women fussing over trivialities all day. Besides, President Pei and you are so close; if there's anything, just have him arrange it for you—it definitely wouldn't be a problem for him."

Xiao Changkun smacked his lips and asked again: "Then if we take the cruise out, this round trip will at least take a month—should we call Ye Chen to let him know?"

Xiao Churan lied: "This project is actually run by Ye Chen's friend; they're giving us this opportunity for free out of respect for Ye Chen. Ye Chen's trip to Australia originally required a long time anyway, and he's worried we'd be bored at home, so he arranged this trip for us."

"Oh, I see." Xiao Changkun nodded slightly and said: "Then I'll call President Pei to let him know and have him help arrange things."

Ma Lan jumped up happily, saying: "I'll hurry upstairs to pack my luggage—don't want to delay tomorrow's boarding! Recently we've always flown when going out; I've never experienced a luxury cruise before!"

Xiao Changkun then pulled out his phone and called President Pei.

As soon as the call connected, he said to President Pei: "Old Pei, let me tell you something—my son-in-law, together with Master Hong, went to Australia to handle some business."

President Pei on the other end asked curiously: "Together with Master Hong Wu?"

Xiao Changkun laughed: "Ah yes yes yes, it's Master Hong Wu—you know, this Master Hong Wu is always begging my son-in-law for help, and my son-in-law is too embarrassed to refuse."

President Pei praised: "Who let Ye Chen have real talent! All the wealthy and powerful people in Jin Ling respectfully call him Ye Master."

Xiao Changkun felt pleased, chuckling: "Yes yes yes, my son-in-law indeed has some ability—by the way, Old Pei, what I wanted to tell you isn't this; mainly, my son-in-law, this time going to Australia might take a long time, he's worried I, Ma Lan, and Xiao Churan would be bored, so he arranged for us a luxury cruise to Tahiti, possibly taking a month, and it departs tomorrow—I didn't expect it to be so sudden; there's so much to handle in the association that we won't have time to deal with it all."

Upon hearing this, President Pei understood Xiao Changkun's intention—after having tricked Xiao Changkun once before, his long-awaited chance for promotion was gone, and since then he realized he must placate Xiao Changkun, otherwise his future would likely be stalled in the Calligraphy and Painting Association, with no chance to rise higher in this lifetime.

Now Xiao Changkun wants to take leave for an outing—normally no one could get a month off to play, but since it's Xiao Changkun, he definitely couldn't refuse.

So he said with a smile: "Changkun, go enjoy yourself—I'll handle everything on the association's side; you can rest assured!"

Xiao Changkun breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: "Then thank you, President Pei."

President Pei quickly said: "Changkun, we're all our own people—just say hello if you need something; why be so formal? Too distant."

Xiao Changkun greatly enjoyed this feeling of being valued, laughing: "Alright, Old Pei—our relationship like this, I won't stand on ceremony with you; I'll bring you a gift when I come back!"

Twenty minutes later, Xiao Changkun and Ma Lan had finished packing their luggage.

Xiao Churan then hid in her and Ye Chen's bedroom, pulled the covers over her head, and cried bitterly.

After crying, she wiped her tears, used pen and paper to leave a note for Ye Chen on the bedside table.

Then she simply packed a few clothes and necessities, washed her face with cold water, and only then walked out of the room.

In the living room, Xiao Changkun and Ma Lan were using their phones to search for Tahiti travel guides; seeing Xiao Churan come down, Ma Lan said: "Good daughter, we've been waiting for you—let's hurry and set off, Tahiti!"

At this moment, Sun Mengmeng was waiting in the courtyard; seeing the three come out, she hurried forward to help Ma Lan take her luggage first, respectfully saying: "Uncle, Aunt, you two get in the car first—I'll handle loading the luggage."

After saying that, she turned to Xiao Churan and said: "Ms. Xiao, you sit in the front passenger seat; let Uncle and Aunt sit in the second row."

Xiao Churan nodded and said to her parents: "Mom and Dad, you sit in the back."

"Okay." The two readily agreed and directly got into the car, sitting in the back row of the business vehicle.

The most comfortable seats in the high-end business vehicle are the two first-class-style seats in the second row; the two knew they'd be driving a long distance, so as soon as they sat down, they adjusted the seats according to their needs and preferences, as if they'd done it countless times before.

Xiao Churan knew her parents would soon be anesthetized, and she felt somewhat worried.

Sun Mengmeng could see her concern, so she smiled and said, "Ms. Xiao, don't worry, everything is very safe—let Uncle and Auntie rest well."

"Okay." Xiao Churan also knew that now was the point of no return, and no matter what, she could not stay behind to drag Ye Chen down.

So she helped Sun Mengmeng load the luggage into the car, then directly got into the passenger seat.

Soon, the business car drove out of Tang Chen Yi Pin.

Xiao Changkun and Ma Lan in the back seat had not yet noticed anything abnormal, their minds full of the upcoming luxurious cruise trip to Tahiti.

When the business car drove out of Tang Chen Yi Pin, several parked vehicles nearby immediately followed, keeping a distance of several tens to several hundred meters; these vehicles and their occupants were all subordinates of An Chengxi, who would escort Xiao Churan and her parents all the way to Island City.

The convoy drove out of the city and entered the highway.

At this time, the sky had completely darkened; Sun Mengmeng, while driving, said to Xiao Changkun and Ma Lan, "Uncle and Auntie, won't you get bored sitting in the car? If not, I'll raise the middle TV and play a promotional video of our Tahiti cruise route for you two!"

"Sure!" Ma Lan immediately agreed, smiling and saying, "We were just thinking of doing some homework first! You go ahead and let us learn more!"

Sun Mengmeng immediately pressed the switch, and the partition between the rear cabin and the driver's cabin slowly rose, separated by a widescreen TV.

Then the TV played a promotional video of Tahiti, with breathtakingly beautiful scenery that captivated Xiao Changkun and Ma Lan, who stared without blinking.

At that moment, the air vent released a stream of colorless, odorless gas; as the two watched entranced, they only felt drowsy, their eyelids beginning to flutter, and then they uncontrollably sank into deep sleep...