The Alpha’s Hidden Marriage, Public Obsession - Chapter 72.1

The flight was originally scheduled for the evening, but due to issues with the airline, it was rescheduled for 10 a.m. the next morning, a full nine hours earlier than planned.

Jiang Xue pulled her suitcase along as she followed the group to hail a taxi to the airport. Her mood wasn’t great, and she remained silent for most of the ride, staring out the window with an expressionless face, her eyes downcast as if weighed down by heavy thoughts.

A colleague traveling with her had initially wanted to tease her, joking that Jiang Xue must be thinking about her significant other. But Jiang Xue clearly wasn’t in the mood to engage, not even lifting her eyes in response. In the end, the colleague could only awkwardly lower their head and scroll through their phone.

Only Chu Yuan understood.

Chu Yuan knew exactly why Jiang Xue was in such a bad mood. She leaned in close and whispered, “How about I call your woman and have her come see you off? What do you think?”

At those words, Jiang Xue immediately turned her head back. “What’s the point of her coming? Would that really make me feel better?”

But isn’t your bad mood precisely because she didn’t come to see you off?

So stubborn!

Chu Yuan didn’t dare say that out loud, though she was afraid Jiang Xue might just smack her. Instead, she said, “I’m not the one to blame here, but why do you have to live so conflicted? If you want her to come see you off, just say it. Why bottle it up? And don’t blame me when you end up making yourself sick from all this repression!”

Jiang Xue ignored her and turned back to the window.

It wasn’t that she was upset because Lin Yulan hadn’t come to see her off. If that were the case, she would’ve told Lin Yulan yesterday that her flight was at 10 a.m. this morning. The real reason for her bad mood was something even she couldn’t pinpoint.

It was as if she’d suddenly been hit by an inexplicable wave of gloom, leaving her sullen and withdrawn, yet with no tangible cause for it.

Jiang Xue chose to stay silent, afraid that if her mood worsened, she might take it out on someone else.

About an hour and a half later, the taxi pulled up at the airport entrance.

Jiang Xue got out with her suitcase, just like everyone else. But unlike the others, she lingered for a moment, staring back in the direction they’d come from, as if reluctant to leave something behind. It took Chu Yuan calling her name several times before Jiang Xue snapped out of it, pulling her suitcase along as they headed inside to check in.

Meanwhile, Lin Yulan was in her office, having arrived early to tackle a busy project. She stared at the documents her assistant had brought in, rubbing her temples in frustration.

Not only was her head pounding, but her heart was also racing inexplicably, making her wonder if all her late nights had finally caught up with her and caused heart problems.

But as it turned out, her heart was perfectly fine, she was just too slow to recognize the ominous intuition her sixth sense was trying to warn her about.

It wasn’t until her assistant rushed into the office again, hesitating at the door, that Lin Yulan finally realized what was happening.

“What’s the matter? What do they want from me now?” Lin Yulan was so fed up with those annoying business partners that she felt like cursing up a storm. Given the chance, she could rant about them for three days and nights straight. “Go on, what do they want? It’s so early in the morning, how are they all so free already?”

Her assistant hesitated for a long moment before finally saying, “It’s not the clients. It’s Xiao Zhao she called this morning and said, said…”

“Said what?” Lin Yulan instantly had a bad feeling, her eyelids twitching uncontrollably. “Spit it out already! What’s with the stalling?!”

The assistant quickly replied, “Xiao Zhao called this morning to say that the young madam took a flight this morning. She’s probably already at the airport by now.”

“What did you say?!”

“N-no, it’s not that Xiao Zhao didn’t report it in time. The young madam and her group took a taxi there. Xiao Zhao didn’t know at first, but the more she thought about it, the more something felt off. She asked the school administrators and only then found out the young madam was among them.”

Lin Yulan felt like her entire world had just collapsed. The intel she’d gathered earlier had indicated Jiang Xue’s flight was at nine o’clock today, which was why she hadn’t rushed over first thing in the morning. But now she was being told Jiang Xue was already at the airport, the plane might have even taken off by now. Furious, Lin Yulan kicked her chair hard.

But after a moment’s thought, she realized losing her temper at her subordinates wouldn’t help. It wasn’t their fault to begin with. She gave the assistant a few quick instructions, grabbed her coat, and headed downstairs to drive to the airport.

The flight was supposedly at ten, but in reality, it didn’t take off until past 10:10.

Jiang Xue sat in the waiting area with her team, Chu Yuan beside her. As boarding time approached, Chu Yuan couldn’t help but ask, “Xue, why don’t you call your wife and let her know? If you just disappear like this, won’t she worry about you?”

That wasn’t really a concern. With modern communication and the internet, any worries could be resolved with a simple phone call.

But Chu Yuan was overthinking it.

Jiang Xue replied, “She doesn’t have my contact info.”

“W-what?”

“I blocked her before. She doesn’t have my number now.”

Chu Yuan let out an “Ah,” thinking to herself that their argument must have been really serious if they’d even blocked each other. But then again, for Jiang Xue, it made perfect sense. “Then, you’re not going to tell her anything? That doesn’t seem right, does it?”

Jiang Xue didn’t respond. She didn’t see anything wrong with it. If Lin Yulan really cared, she’d find a way to check up on her. “No need. Let it be.”

That’s what she said, but just before boarding, Chu Yuan noticed Jiang Xue doing something likely leaving a message for Lin Yulan through the staff. Chu Yuan didn’t know the specifics, but it was definitely about Lin Yulan.

She’d known all along Jiang Xue wasn’t that heartless.

“Let’s go.”

In the end, Lin Yulan still arrived too late. Though the company wasn’t far from the airport just a ten-minute drive getting out of the office, navigating through traffic lights, and everything else meant it took over twenty minutes.

By the time Lin Yulan arrived, the plane had already taken off. She didn’t even catch a glimpse of Jiang Xue only a tiny speck flying in the distant sky. Clenching her fists helplessly, she stood frozen at the boarding gate, staring blankly at the sky.

Jiang Xue was really gone.

She had left without a word.

This reminded Lin Yulan of how Qu Mengxin had once left the same way. The only difference between the two was that Qu Mengxin had done it deliberately, while Jiang Xue’s silent departure was entirely Lin Yulan’s own fault.

Her eyes involuntarily reddened. A nearby staff member noticed her expression and found her oddly familiar. After studying her for a while, the staff member finally confirmed her identity.

“Excuse me, are you Ms. Lin Yulan?”

Lin Yulan slowly raised her head, looking at the staff member with slight confusion. “Yes, I am. What is it?”

The staff member handed her a slip of paper. “Ms. Jiang Xue asked us to pass this to you before she left. Please take a look and confirm.”

It was just an ordinary note with a contact method, an email address. Jiang Xue hadn’t forgiven her, but she also didn’t want Lin Yulan to worry. After some thought, she had decided to leave her email with the airport staff to pass on.

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