Chapter 283: Meeting an Old Friend Again

3:04 PM, Nandu International Airport.

Parking the car in the lot, Sun Cheng got out, took out his phone to check the time, and his face beamed with a rich smile.

When Lu Nan came to the company to visit him this morning, he had suddenly received a phone call that disrupted his plans for the day.

And the person with the influence to make Sun Cheng postpone his schedule for her was none other than the girl he had been thinking of day and night—Ye Qi.

"The flight was at 1:54, and it takes at most an hour from Shencheng to Nandu; she should have arrived by now!"

Calculating the time and realizing he was already late, he hurried out of the parking lot and rushed toward the nearby arrivals hall.

There was no helping it!

As the administrative center of China, several locations in Nandu would experience varying degrees of congestion during the daily morning and evening rush hours.

For example, the Government Affairs Center between the Capitol Building and the Presidential Palace, the Central Business District in Xinjiekou, or the route between Nandu West Station and the international airport.

Although Sun Cheng had set off an hour early and deliberately avoided several intersections prone to traffic jams, he had still underestimated the terrifying flow of traffic during work hours, resulting in a forty-minute delay on the road; combined with the time lost waiting for traffic lights and avoiding pedestrians, he was late after all.

Jogging toward the arrivals hall, Sun Cheng was actually full of doubts.

Ye Qi had indeed notified him a few days ago that she was coming to Nandu, so he wasn't surprised by that.

What truly made him curious was that this girl, who had lived with him for nearly ten years, had always had a bit of a fear of heights; even when traveling a bit further, which would be tiring, Ye Qi would choose high-speed rail over flying, and even if she had to choose a coach and go through the trouble, she would absolutely never dare to leave the ground.

Yet this time, when coming to Nandu, she had actually flown!

Every time he thought of this, the joy in Sun Cheng's heart faded a little, and his brows even furrowed imperceptibly.

If there wasn't someone accompanying her, and a very close friend at that, it would be impossible for Ye Qi to voluntarily attempt to fly.

This girl, his foster sister in name, was someone Sun Cheng had been secretly in love with for eight years; he did not hope for, and absolutely could not accept, there being an extra person by Ye Qi's side when they met again.

Jogging all the way, Sun Cheng only slowed his pace once he entered the arrivals hall.

After not seeing a familiar figure near the entrance, he had no choice but to take Xiao Wu out of his pocket and dial her phone number.

After the ringing tone sounded for a while, the phone was quickly answered, and that familiar voice he was obsessed with rang out.

"Hello, A-Cheng. Haven't you arrived yet?"

"Sister, I was delayed by traffic on the way, I've already reached the airport. Where are you now? I'm here at the entrance of the arrivals hall; if you've already arrived, tell me a spot and I'll come over..."

"Just wait there for us, we're coming over now. Alright, hanging up the phone now..."

The phone was quickly hung up, and the smile on Sun Cheng's face had already gradually faded.

In the call just now, he had clearly heard the word "we" in Ye Qi's speech, a term he found very annoying, and the joy in his heart vanished instantly.

His eyes couldn't help but turn a bit cold; Sun Cheng tucked the Apple phone that Xiao Wu had transformed into back into his pocket, stepped slightly aside to leave a path for other people meeting arrivals, and stood there waiting.

Staring intently at the entrance, as if sensing the chill coming from him, several people who were originally standing around waiting to meet others actually squeezed away uncomfortably, leaving a patch of empty space around him instead.

As it turned out, this actually made things easier for him!

When Ye Qi and her friends appeared together and walked to the entrance of the arrivals hall, Sun Cheng spotted them immediately.

"Sister... over here..."

Realizing he had overthought things, as the people appearing with Ye Qi were two tall young women, the irritation in Sun Cheng's heart vanished as quickly as it had come.

He waved his hand to greet them, then squeezed past the few people standing in front and walked over to take the luggage.

Ye Qi didn't stand on ceremony with him; she pushed the suitcase she was carrying directly in front of him and then let go of the handle.

Then, half-turning her body, she smiled and introduced him to the two female companions beside her: "Xiao Lan, Ai Jie, this is my younger brother—Sun Cheng!"

The two female companions accompanying Ye Qi were both young women with tall figures no less than her own.

Although both young women were wearing hats and sunglasses with large lenses, obscuring most of their faces, Sun Cheng could easily draw a conclusion just from their facial lines and the proportions of their features, even at a first meeting.

Both young women had outstanding appearances; even if they were slightly inferior to Ye Qi, they wouldn't be far off—they were the kind of focus that would immediately attract the attention of the whole street when walking on it.

As long as they weren't potential romantic rivals, it was fine. Although he couldn't see their faces clearly, Sun Cheng still smiled and nodded, "Hello! My car is in the parking lot, let me take the luggage!"

He was eleven years old when he was adopted by Ye Qi's family after his parents died in a car accident; at that time, Sun Cheng was old enough to remember many things, so Ye Qi's family did not force him to change his surname.

However, outsiders didn't know about this, so not only some distant relatives and less-close colleagues of the Ye family, but even Ye Qi's friends would often ask a nosy question when she introduced him.

Upon first meeting, Sun Cheng unexpectedly didn't hear her two companions ask, and after a moment's thought, he understood: they were likely already aware of his family situation.

His tone couldn't help but become a bit more polite, but Ye Qi's two friends reacted differently.

The companion she called "Xiao Lan" took off her sunglasses and gave Sun Cheng a shy smile, but tightened her grip on her own small travel bag and shook her head, answering, "Thank you, but I don't need it. There's nothing in the bag, it's not heavy!"

The voice of this girl called "Xiao Lan" was soft and crisp, very alluring.

Once the sunglasses were off, Sun Cheng finally saw clearly that this girl called "Xiao Lan" was a cute girl with the petite, delicate nose common to Asian women and a pair of watery eyes; she looked even younger than Sun Cheng, with skin as white and tender as jade, and although she wore a wide sun hat, it didn't affect her long, brown, slightly curly, fluffy hair at all, making her look as lovable as a princess.

Sun Cheng nodded. Compared to this cute girl called "Xiao Lan," the woman standing next to Ye Qi whom she called "Ai Jie" very decisively pushed her own suitcase in front of him as well, then let go of the handle.

"Since you are Qiqi's younger brother, then I'll trouble you!"

As soon as "Ai Jie" spoke, that familiar and unforgettable voice immediately made Sun Cheng's eyelids twitch uncontrollably.

His pair of eyes