Just like three years ago, Xu Qingya, dressed in military uniform and bearing the rank of Air Force Lieutenant, dragged a heavy suitcase out of the station exit. Xu Qingya had neat, short, choppy hair, and her well-fitting Air Force spring/autumn uniform accentuated her perfect figure. Beneath the brim of her peaked cap, a pair of captivating eyes seemed to speak volumes. Below her high nose was a beautiful cherry-like mouth. Although her skin was fair and delicate, she still exuded a spirited and heroic air.
Because of the weight of her luggage, fine beads of sweat appeared on Xu Qingya's nose and temples.
Chen Yang felt his mouth dry, his heart pounding as if it would stop. He stared at Xu Qingya's figure, his hand trembling slightly in his pocket. Chen Yang's eyes followed Xu Qingya's every move, feeling as if he were in another world.
Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared in Chen Yang's line of sight, and he frowned.
A slick-haired, well-groomed young man strode out and chased after Xu Qingya. He was decked out in designer brands from head to toe: a Prada suit, Dupont shoes, and a Vacheron Constantin watch—an outfit worth hundreds of thousands of yuan. But on him, it looked utterly mismatched, like a pile of jewels arranged in a haphazard, garish way, a complete eyesore.
Fan Zihong? What's he doing here? Chen Yang wondered to himself.
Chen Yang knew this young man well. He was the second son of the third generation of the Fan family. Unlike Chen Yang, Fan Zihong was a typical good-for-nothing playboy. What Chen Yang despised even more was that the Fan family was a powerful clan on par with the Fang family; countless women would have willingly thrown themselves at them if they wanted women. But this second young master Fan preferred to use force, having abused countless innocent girls since his teens.
Due to differing political ideologies, the Fang and Fan families had long been at odds, with numerous open and covert struggles among their three generations. In his previous life, Chen Yang, with his unparalleled genius, consistently outshone Fan Zihong, making the Third Young Master Fang and the Second Young Master Fan prominent figures in Beijing's elite circles.
The sudden arrival of this notorious playboy on the same flight as Xu Qingya in Rongcheng stirred a sense of unease in Chen Yang.
"Qingya! Qingya!" Fan Zihong quickly caught up, his face pale from years of indulging in wine and women. He gasped for breath, "Why are you walking so fast? Come on, let me help you with your suitcase!"
Xu Qingya frowned slightly, a hint of disgust in her voice.
"No need! I can carry it myself!"
After taking a few quick steps, Xu Qingya turned back and said,
"Fan Zihong, I'm warning you, don't follow me anymore!"
Fan Zihong, however, was like a leech. He followed Xu Qingya closely, grinning, and said,
"Qingya! Don't be like that! Before we came, Uncle Xu repeatedly told me to take good care of you in Rongcheng. Besides, you're my fiancée, who else would I follow?"
Chen Yang, following behind them, felt his head buzz when he heard the word "fiancée," and almost lost his footing. A turning point in history occurred at the very moment Chen Yang least wanted to accept. In this life, the Fang family no longer had the exceptionally talented Chen Yang, yet Xu Qingya of the Xu family was still arranged for a marriage alliance, and her betrothed was none other than Fan Er, the good-for-nothing playboy from the Fan family.
Chen Yang suppressed the urge to rush forward and beat Fan Zihong to a pulp, and followed the two men out of the airport terminal at a respectful distance.
Fan Zihong buzzed around Xu Qingya like a fly, showering her with flattering words, but Xu Qingya remained coldly indifferent. Just then, a black Mercedes silently pulled up, and two men in suits stepped out.
Fan Zihong said solicitously,
"Qingya, my car's here, let me give you a ride!"
Xu Qingya finally couldn't take it anymore, abruptly stopping and shouting,
"Fan Zihong, can't you listen to a human? I told you not to follow me anymore! Don't you understand?"
"Cousin! Sorry, there was traffic, I'm late!" A clear voice rang out. Chen Yang looked closely and saw Liu Xinyao standing prettily in front of Xu Qingya, with a sergeant beside her, presumably the driver.
Liu Xinyao's mother was Xu Qingya's aunt, a result of a marriage between two generations. However, Liu Xinyao's parents were quite loving. In his previous life, Chen Yang was Liu Xinyao's cousin-in-law, but Liu Xinyao had always lived with her father in the Southeast Province, and Chen Yang had only met her once in his previous life. Seeing Liu Xinyao's stunning beauty, Fan Zihong's heart fluttered. He greeted her with a fawning smile:
"Oh! It's Xinyao! Long time no see!"
Liu Xinyao sensed the lewd intent in Fan Zihong's blatant gaze. Having long heard of Fan Zihong's infamous reputation, Liu Xinyao felt a surge of discomfort. She frowned, ignoring Fan Zihong completely, and said to the sergeant beside her:
"Xiao He, move the luggage!"
After being ignored, Fan Zihong chuckled dryly and stood aside. The burly sergeant, Xiao He, deftly lifted Xu Qingya's luggage and placed it on the off-road command vehicle. Fan Zihong glanced at him, opened his mouth, but ultimately remained silent.
Liu Xinyao stepped forward and took Xu Qingya's hand, smiling as she said,
"Cousin, that's great! You've come to Rongcheng too, so we can see each other more often!"
Chen Yang felt a temporary sense of relief seeing Liu Xinyao come to pick up Xu Qingya. He then crossed the road to catch a bus back to the city—Xu Qingya was his destiny, and Chen Yang would not yield an inch, but this matter required further consideration. What comforted Chen Yang was that at least Xu Qingya's attitude towards Fan Zihong was resistant.
Liu Xinyao, arm in arm with Xu Qingya, walked towards the Mengshi command vehicle with the license plate of the A Group Army. Inadvertently, she caught sight of Chen Yang waiting for the bus by the roadside, and couldn't help but let out a soft "Huh," her brows furrowing slightly.
Xu Qingya asked curiously,
"Yaoyao, what's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing, just saw a classmate." Liu Xinyao looked at Chen Yang from afar and said, "Let's go, cousin!"
Xu Qingya followed Liu Xinyao's gaze and said with a smile,
"Your classmate seems to be waiting for a bus! Let's give him a ride!"
"No, we're not that close!" Liu Xinyao felt a little uncomfortable thinking about Chen Yang and Ning Qiaoqian's ambiguous relationship last night, and a rare girlish expression appeared on her face.
Xu Qingya looked at Liu Xinyao with amusement and said,
"Since he's your classmate, why not give him a ride? Yaoyao, this young man isn't your…"
"Cousin! What are you thinking!" Liu Xinyao playfully punched Xu Qingya's shoulder, "We really aren't close!"
Chen Yang waited absentmindedly by the roadside for a bus, secretly observing Xu Qingya's movements out of the corner of his eye. He saw Xu Qingya and the others get into the Mengshi command vehicle. After slowly starting, the vehicle turned around and drove straight towards him.
Chen Yang's heart pounded with anxiety. The usually fearless young master was now surprisingly hesitant.
The Mengshi slowly pulled up beside him, the rear window rolled down, revealing Liu Xinyao's pretty face. She was as taciturn as ever in front of the boy, simply saying:
"Get in!"
Chen Yang was stunned. He had imagined countless times what it would be like to see Xu Qingya again, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
Seeing Chen Yang standing there dumbfounded, Liu Xinyao said impatiently:
"My cousin said she'd give you a ride. Are you coming or not?"
"Oh! Yes, yes, yes! Thanks!" Chen Yang readily agreed, hopping around the front of the car and getting in the passenger seat.
Not far away, Fan Zihong, his face grim, stood beside the Mercedes-Benz, staring at the departing Mengshi vehicle, gritting his teeth and saying:
"Two little bitches! One day I'll make you cry and beg for mercy at my feet!"
After getting into the car, the driver respectfully asked:
"Young Master, where are we going?"
"Let's go to Uncle Jiu's first!" Fan Zihong considered for a moment and said to his attendant in the passenger seat, "Find out who that kid who got into Liu Xinyao's car just now is!"
"Yes!" the attendant replied respectfully.
The Mengshi command vehicle steadily drove out of the airport avenue, without stopping at the highway entrance, directly entering the airport expressway through the ETC lane. At high speed, Chen Yang felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. After he got in, Liu Xinyao sat behind the driver, to his side, while Xu Qingya sat directly behind Chen Yang.
This was the first time since his rebirth that Chen Yang had been so close to the woman he loved. Liu Xinyao didn't introduce Chen Yang and Xu Qingya to each other, and Chen Yang, not wanting to be impulsive, kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, not daring to tilt his head even slightly.
In his past life, only Fang Qiao could make Chen Yang so nervous and flustered; in this life, Xu Qingya was another one.
This was what they called being blinded by concern.
The car was very quiet. Because of Chen Yang's presence, Liu Xinyao couldn't discuss anything private with Xu Qingya. She couldn't help but secretly blame Xu Qingya for letting Chen Yang ride, making it inconvenient to talk now. Liu Xinyao glanced at Chen Yang, sitting upright in the passenger seat, somewhat surprised by his obedient behavior.
Wasn't this guy supposed to be quite a womanizer? Why is he acting so strangely today? My cousin isn't any less attractive than that vixen at the bar! Liu Xinyao's mind wandered aimlessly. Chen Yang's recent behavior had already earned him the label of a womanizer from Liu Xinyao.
"It's a pity it wasn't you who stayed with me until the end..." A melodious cell phone ringtone suddenly sounded in the car.
It was still that ringtone... Chen Yang sighed inwardly. In his past life, Xu Qingya had always used this song as her ringtone, and it hadn't changed for over three years.
Xu Qingya glanced at the caller ID, hesitated for a few seconds, and then answered the phone:
"Hello, Dad... The plane just landed, I'm on my way to the city... Um, Yaoyao is here to pick me up... I don't need it! The army provides dormitories, I'll just go to my uncle's house this weekend!"
Xu Qingya's voice rose considerably as she spoke. Chen Yang listened intently; it seemed Xu Qingya's father's voice was also quite loud on the other end. After a long pause, Xu Qingya said helplessly:
"Dad, please don't pressure me, okay? I came to Rongcheng to avoid any contact with the Fan family. I'm an adult, and I hope you respect my personal feelings."
With that, Xu Qingya slammed the phone shut. A few seconds later, the phone rang again relentlessly. Xu Qingya simply opened the back cover, removed the battery, and leaned heavily against the back of her chair, breathing heavily, seemingly very agitated.
Liu Xinyao asked with concern,
"Cousin, what did Uncle say?"
Xu Qingya said weakly,
"It's the same old story, telling me to prioritize the family's interests and try to get in touch with him!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Xinyao immediately exclaimed,
"How could Uncle say that! Doesn't he know what kind of person Fan Zihong is? He's practically pushing you into a fire pit! Is he even your biological father?!"
At that moment, everything went dark as the car entered a tunnel. Chen Yang, who had been eavesdropping on Xu Qingya and Liu Xinyao's conversation, suddenly saw a blinding red brake light ahead. His heart skipped a beat, and he shouted, "Watch out!"