After throwing a bag together, she went ahead and started texting Li Min to check on any progress.

[I am looking into it. Is there an emergency?]

Qian Meng knew that her answer would make her secretary think that she was crazy to spontaneously jump on a plane and fly a few hours to stay for a few brief hours before returning. But she didn't care. As far as she was concerned, Li Min could think she had gone out of her mind.

She was going.

When her phone finally rang, she answered it on the first ring.

"Hey," she spoke eagerly.

"Alright. So the same pilot who flew us to Zurich is willing to fly you. I am sending a car to get you. It should be there in an hour. The pilot will beat you to the landing strip and be waiting for your arrival."

A huge smile spread across her face.

"Go to my office and get my checkbook from the first drawer to the right. Pay him double what he tells you."

"Double? Why are you paying? I should be—" she couldn't finish.

"He's doing me a huge favor dropping whatever he may have planned. He is going to stay for the whole day for the round trip."

Qian Meng exhaled.

"It is really nice of him," she admitted him.

"And he is carrying precious cargo." Qian Meng couldn't help but blush at the blatant show of affection.

"Thank you for setting everything up. I'll ask Li Min to stop looking then."

"Of course. I was surprised at your request. But… I am glad you want to come, Qian Meng."

Qian Meng bit her lip. There was so much she was dying to tell him, but she couldn't get wrapped up in all of that just yet. She was a woman on a mission and she had tunnel vision until she was face to face with him.

"What do I do after I land? Where do I go?"

He chuckled. "I will be there to get you. It's going to take around four hours to get here, so you will be here less than twenty hours."

She hummed. "I don't care."

"I have been told as much." She heard the smile in his voice. "I'll be done with work by then. I'll shift around everything so that I can pick you up. Luckily, I did most of the work before you called."

"I am sorry for being a bother, but you have to do what you have to do. I know you are there to work so I will not take up much of your time. I'll just speak and then you can carry on with your business like nothing happened."

He was breathing evenly. "And this all because of the gift I gave you?" he asked, his voice as gentle as water.

She bit her lip. "I am not sure. It's just… everything…" she trailed off, not knowing how to explain herself.

"It's okay, he answered tenderly. "Just get yourself on that plane."

"Even if it's the last thing I do," she swore.

"I have to go. Text me when the car gets you and again when you are about to take off, please," he pleaded.

"Okay. And Qingchen?" she prompted.

"Yesh?"

"Thank you."

'For everything,' she added in her mind

- - - - -

She took in a calming breath before the car had even arrived. She was feeling like a big ball of anticipation. She thought she might spontaneously combust.

Yin Ah was not on the flight. In her place was someone she had never seen before. She couldn't expect people to have as much free time and urgency to throw away all their plans to board a flight.

She didn't want to sit on the flight for three hours. All she wanted was to be with Mo Qingchen and she wanted instant gratification. By the time the car picked her up and made the drive to the airport and they were able to take off, Mo Qingchen would probably be done with work. But it felt like an eternity.

So, she did all she could to relax. She plugged in her headphones and listened to something mellow, hoping it would help.

She clutched at the piece of paper in her hands the whole way. It felt searing hot against her skin, charging her up. She wished she had something of the same intensity to offer to him. But all she had was the courage to finally tell him what she had been afraid to say even in the darkness of the night.

And even that didn't feel enough.

The view from her window as they landed at the small, private airport was breathtaking. The timing had worked out to where they were just landing as the lights in the city came up. She gazed out of the window as the plane began to descend, watching the twinkle of the stars and the lights merging together.

She had never been there before, but she was quickly coming to love it. But despite its beauty, it paled in comparison to the black eyes that she wanted to look into.

The first thing she did before the plane had even come to a stop was text Mo Qingchen.

[Just touched down.]

His response came immediately. [I know. I watched. I'm in the back of the car, pulling up to the runway right now.]

Her heart leaped. She looked out the window again and, sure enough, an SUV made its way towards the plane. Mo Qingchen was in that car, and she could practically taste the anticipation on her tongue.

Her body shook with anticipation and she was dying to get off that plane. She fidgeted impatiently as she waited for the door to be opened. And once it was and the stairs were lowered, she gave the pilot a hurried thank you before disembarking.

She raced down the steps at the same time as the back door of the car opened. It was several meters away from the plane and she had to look carefully to spot Mo Qingchen's feet as he stepped out.