Xu Zixi originally thought that only she and Yan Yincheng would be returning to Fengcheng this time. But when the car arrived at the airport, she found that two familiar figures were already waiting there.
Why two?
One of them was naturally Xie Shi, and the other...
Standing beside Xie Shi was a beautiful woman in a plain winter outfit. Even though she was getting on in years, she was still as elegant and outstanding as a plum blossom braving the snow. Her appearance bore a striking resemblance to Yan Yincheng beside her, about 70 - 80%.
But what surprised Xu Zixi the most was not her appearance, but her eyes...
A few days ago, when she took the two kids out for morning exercise, she had encountered a woman wearing a mask who fell to the ground. That woman had cried uncontrollably in front of her and the two kids at that time, leaving a deep impression on her of those tear - filled eyes.
It turned out that Yuan Xiaoxu was right. That was indeed their grandma, Yan Yincheng's biological mother.
Seeing Xu Zixi, Xie Shi looked surprised. "Miss Yuan, are you also going back to Fengcheng with us?"
Xu Zixi temporarily put aside her scrutiny of Yin Shulan and nodded slightly at Xie Shi, smiling. "Yes, Master Xie."
"Don't call me Master Xie. It sounds so formal. Just call me Aunt Shi like Xiaocheng does." Xie Shi said with a smile and winked at Xu Zixi. "See, what did I say yesterday? We meet again today."
Remembering the misunderstanding from yesterday, Xu Zixi smiled sheepishly. Then she looked at Yin Shulan, who had remained silent all this time, and took the initiative to reach out her hand. "Hello, I'm Yuan Xi."
Yin Shulan shook her hand and nodded slightly. "I'm Yan Yincheng's mother, Yin Shulan."
The two exchanged a meaningful look and didn't mention the fact that they had met before. They tacitly kept that experience to themselves.
At 8 o'clock sharp, Yan Yincheng's private jet took off from Haicheng Airport on time. It took two hours to fly from Haicheng to Fengcheng. This wasn't a long time, but since they had gotten up early, everyone closed their eyes to catch up on sleep after getting on the plane.
Xu Zixi wasn't sleepy. Instead, she leaned against the window and got lost in thought looking at the scenery outside.
She wondered if Fengcheng in this world would be different from Beijing in her previous life. Would those once - familiar landmark buildings also exist in this world? She squinted slightly, full of anticipation for the upcoming short trip.
Maybe she would see a lot of familiar faces at this wedding.
The Yuan family's parents, Yuan Ya'er, Yan Zhen, perhaps even her biological parents who had heartlessly turned away the pregnant original owner, and even that domestic - violence - prone man who had almost married the original owner.
She was really looking forward to seeing how these people would react when they saw her again.
Two hours later, the plane landed in Fengcheng smoothly. Compared to the warm Haicheng, the winter in Fengcheng was bitterly cold. Even inside the plane, one could feel the chill. But this familiar temperature made Xu Zixi extremely nostalgic. She put on a thick but warm overcoat. When she walked out of the cabin, she couldn't help but exhale into the air.
The thick white mist rose into the air, giving a feeling of exhaling like an immortal. This was her favorite thing to do in winter when she was a child.
Long time no see, Fengcheng. Or rather, Beijing.
Xu Zixi smiled with a childish look on her face.
At this time, the car sent by the Yan family to pick them up was already waiting on the tarmac. Yan Yincheng originally planned to let Xu Zixi get in the car with him, but Xu Zixi refused.
"I won't trouble Brother Cheng. I'll leave with Aunt Shi."
She hooked her arm through Xie Shi's and smiled playfully.
On the plane, Xu Zixi's seat was next to Xie Shi's. Thanks to their shared experience as judges in the cooking competition, the two naturally started chatting. Through this conversation, they found that their temperaments and interests were very similar, and they felt like they had known each other for a long time. So they were a bit reluctant to part after getting off the plane.
Xie Shi also laughed. "Yes, Acheng. You can rest assured and leave Xiaoxi to me."
Yan Yincheng's lips drooped, feeling a bit jealous. He thought to himself that he shouldn't have introduced them. Now even Aunt Shi was competing with him for his wife. Why did he feel like he was losing ground? However, he still left Wei Shu behind and asked him to follow them to the hotel to arrange everything for Xu Zixi.
Before closing the car door, his well - defined hand rested on the handle as he said to Xu Zixi and Xie Shi, "See you at the wedding venue."
Watching the Maybach, the same model as in Haicheng, gradually drive away, Xu Zixi hooked her arm through Xie Shi's, with Wei Shu carrying the luggage behind them, and they walked towards the parking lot together. It was already twenty minutes later when Xie Shi, Xu Zixi, and Wei Shu also got in the car and left.
"Don't rush to leave after the wedding. Come to Aunt Shi's studio. Aunt Shi will cook delicious food for you. Whatever you want to eat, Aunt Shi will make it for you. Of course, if you can have a cooking competition with Aunt Shi, Aunt Shi will be even happier."
Xie Shi said with a smile to Xu Zixi in the passenger seat while driving.
"Okay!" Xu Zixi readily agreed. "I also want to have a cooking competition with Aunt Shi!"
"While Acheng is not around, I'll tell you a little secret about Acheng."
Xu Zixi perked up and pricked up her ears. "Oh? What little secret does he have?"
"When Acheng was a child..."
Sitting in the back row, Wei Shu listened as Xie Shi casually revealed his master's secret in a few words. He silently turned his face towards the window, pretending not to know anything.
After the car got off the airport expressway, it drove towards the city center.
However, for some reason, even though the car was driving very steadily, Xu Zixi's heart suddenly started pounding violently, and the beats were getting faster and faster.
That feeling was exactly the same as when she was driving a racing car in the mountains in her previous life. In order to avoid a sudden squirrel, she suddenly found that the brakes had failed.
Panic, suffocation, fear.
It wasn't even her driving. Why did she always feel like she was about to lose control? Was it because she had returned to Fengcheng, which might be the same city as Beijing?
Or was it the resistant reaction of the original owner's body because she knew she was going to attend Yan Zhen's wedding?
She inexplicably wanted to find something to relieve this sudden pressure. Her fingers randomly grabbed at her neck and caught the diamond ring she had put on before leaving in the morning. She held the small diamond ring tightly in her palm, and it hurt her palm a bit.
Noticing that her expression was a bit tense and her face looked a bit pale, Xie Shi asked with concern, "Xiaoxi, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"
Xu Zixi shook her head, and her voice became a bit hoarse. "No, Aunt Shi. I'm fine."
"Is my driving speed too fast? I'm sorry. I've always driven like this. I forgot there were others in the car for a moment. I'll slow down right away."
The car slowed down a bit, but Xu Zixi didn't feel any better.
Suddenly, Xie Shi's phone rang. Hearing the ringtone, Xu Zixi's heart skipped another heavy beat.
Xie Shi's phone was connected to the car's central control system via Bluetooth, and the name of the caller showed up on the screen. It was Yin Shulan.
Xie Shi pressed the answer button and said, "Lan, what's wrong?"
Yin Shulan's suppressed, sobbing voice came through the speaker and filled the entire car:
"Ashi... Hurry, hurry and save Acheng!"