Chapter 188 - Flight Delay

scarf for both warmth and disguise.

A coffee-colored coat paired with a gray checkered scarf and a matching knitted beanie concealed most of Qingyi’s face. Even up close, he looked like an ordinary, handsome young man, reducing the risk of being recognized at the airport.

Indeed, this disguise worked. Over the next half-hour, although many people passed by, no one realized that Qingyi was a member of the popular idol group, ONE.

Glancing at the time, Qingyi slipped his phone back into his pocket, rubbed his slightly chilled fingers, and muttered half-jokingly, half-complaining, “It’s already 8 o’clock. Why isn’t Mu Han here yet?”

Chu Qianqian picked up her phone and checked the weather in City A. Her brows furrowed with concern as she replied, “The weather over there isn’t great. Mu Han’s flight might be delayed.”

As if her words had jinxed it, an announcement came over the loudspeaker about ten minutes later:

“Ladies and gentlemen, HU7243 from City A has been delayed by one hour due to snowstorms. We kindly ask for your patience…”

Looking at each other, Qingyi and Chu Qianqian saw the shared helplessness in their eyes. Neither had expected this to happen.

Checking his phone again, Qingyi frowned deeply when he saw the updated weather forecast for City A, which now showed snow. He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and grumbled, “Why is City A’s snow so early this year? December isn’t even here yet, and City B hasn’t even seen any snow.”

Perhaps because she had already mentally prepared herself, Chu Qianqian wasn’t as upset as Qingyi. Standing up, she glanced at the visibly frustrated Qingyi, smiled, and said, “Don’t stress about it. Weather is beyond our control. Let’s go look around and kill some time. An hour will fly by.”

“Hmm… Alright, I’m not really mad. I’m just thinking, by the time we pick up Mu Han and get back, it’ll already be so late. Ziyu’s still waiting for me to bring him some food.”

Thinking of Chu Ziyu, Chu Qianqian suddenly remembered his pale face when they said their goodbyes. She paused briefly and then suggested, “Let me call him first. I’ll tell him to order some takeout for now. We can bring him something else later.”

“What should we get?” Qingyi’s voice was filled with anticipation. “Can we buy him a gift?”

“Of course! I was thinking of getting him a hot water bag. I meant to buy one before, but I got busy when we switched to indoor filming, so I forgot.”

“That’s a great idea. Ziyu gets cold so easily, and it looks like this winter will be especially harsh. Since you’re getting him a hot water bag, I’ll get him a scarf-maybe one with a cat pattern on it.”

“Haha, you better watch out. If you pick something like that, Ziyu might refuse to wear it.”

“No way! Ziyu isn’t that picky. Last year, I gave him one with a bunny pattern, and he wore it just fine.”

Mu Han’s original flight was scheduled for 5 p.m. Since City A and City B are fairly close, it would only take about thirty minutes to fly between them. The timing would have allowed him to have dinner with Qingyi.

However, as if his trip was destined to face misfortune, a last-minute emergency derailed his plans. Just as he was about to leave his office, Li Yan showed up unannounced with an urgent document in hand. Mu Han spent long, exasperated moments locked in a silent battle of stares with Assistant Li, but eventually, he had no choice but to surrender. Pinching his nose in irritation, he put his plans aside and dove into work, trying to get the matter resolved.

The document turned out to be both critical and highly complex, with an extremely tight deadline. By the time Mu Han finished, it was already 6 p.m. Calculating the time it would take to get to the airport-30 minutes without traffic, or an hour if delayed-he asked Li Yan to book the 7:30 p.m. flight instead. Although the new timing meant he would miss the chance to have dinner with Qingyi, it still gave him enough time to catch up with both Qingyi and Chu Qianqian upon his arrival.

But fate had other plans.

Midway through the drive to the airport, the weather took a sudden, ominous turn. By the time Mu Han arrived at the terminal, snow had begun to fall.

Snow!

The heavy snowfall was highly unusual, coming two weeks earlier than any of City A’s recent winters. The airport’s snow preparation measures had clearly not been implemented in time, and-as expected-the flights were delayed.

If the snowstorm and the last-minute work had been the only setbacks, Mu Han’s mood could merely be described as terrible, but not to the point of breaking. What truly pushed him over the edge was that, after the exhausting flight and the anticipation of being picked up, he arrived to find that the people who had promised to pick him up were nowhere to be seen.

After circling the waiting lounge and confirming that the two familiar figures were nowhere to be found, Mu Han felt the veins on his forehead throbbing as if they’d been injected with adrenaline. Barely keeping his anger in check, Mu Han decided to give them one last chance. He dialed their number.

“Beep… Beep… Beep…”

By the tenth “beep,” the metaphorical barrel of gasoline overflowing in Mu Han’s chest finally “exploded” with a resounding mental bang.

“Chu Qianqian, if I don’t see you within ten minutes, you’re on your own!”

Rushing as fast as they could, Chu Qianqian and Qingyi finally arrived at the airport entrance with just thirty seconds to spare on the ten-minute countdown.

The moment they stepped into the airport’s vicinity, Chu Qianqian spotted Mu Han from a distance.

It wasn’t because Chu Qianqian had exceptional eyesight, but rather because there was only one man standing still at the airport entrance, scanning the surroundings repeatedly, obviously searching for someone.

As they got closer, Chu Qianqian noticed that Mu Han was empty-handed-no luggage in sight-and was wearing a fitted suit completely unsuited for the current weather. The suit was immaculately tailored, perfectly accentuating his tall and lean yet muscular frame.

However…

Chu Qianqian furrowed her brows, her voice carrying a hint of dissatisfaction as she said, “President Mu, have you forgotten what season it is? Or are you suggesting that snowy City A is somehow warmer than City B?”

“Heh.” Mu Han let out a sarcastic chuckle, clearly provoked by Chu Qianqian’s question. All the pent-up anger he’d been holding in found a new outlet as he fired back, his tone icy.

“Now that you mention it, I’d love to ask the same question. Who promised to pick me up from the airport? And who abandoned me here while going off to have fun?” His gaze dropped to the shopping bag hanging from Chu Qianqian’s hand, and the smirk on his face turned colder. “Correction-off shopping. I’d really like to know who this person might be.”

Mu Han’s sharp retort hit its mark perfectly. The response Chu Qianqian had prepared lodged itself in her throat, leaving her unable to come up with a reply.