Xie Lianqing, praised by all as a heaven-sent prodigy, had been the "child from another family" in people's mouths since he was little. His life had gone exactly as planned, following a step-by-step routine of living and studying, with no surprises whatsoever.
Thanks to his outstanding abilities and intelligence, he skipped grades as a matter of course and went abroad for further studies.
Xie Lianqing first met Xu Qingqing at the airport.
He had just returned from a trip back to China at the time. In the bustling foreign airport, a girl with black hair was bossily ordering a boy around: "Zhang Shiyi, are you done yet? Hurry up!"
She was exceptionally beautiful, with fair skin and bright, delicate features. Her black hair was styled in fashionable long, thin curls, with two strands falling by her temples.
Among the crowd of foreigners, she was somewhat petite in stature, yet her proportions were excellent. Dressed in a pretty skirt, holding a cup of coffee, and wearing sunglasses, she carried an imposing air, like a celebrity or model on the move.
In stark contrast to her polished appearance was the slightly disheveled boy beside her. He was quite good-looking too, but at the moment, he was somewhat awkwardly pushing several suitcases with a travel bag slung over his shoulder. Compared to her, he looked like a working assistant.
However, the boy was wearing a matching couple's hat, making their relationship obvious to anyone who saw them.
The girl carried only a simple shoulder bag, chattering excitedly about their plans for the day, her expression full of thrill and anticipation.
She cheered and ran towards the airport exit, showing no consideration for her boyfriend, even turning back to urge him: "Walk faster! We're going to miss our restaurant reservation, and tonight we still have to watch a movie and check in at that spot..."
She's so high-maintenance.
That was Xie Lianqing's first impression of Xu Qingqing.
As an onlooker, Xie Lianqing briefly glanced at this conspicuous couple in the airport and then deeply admired the gentleman being bossed around by her.
To be able to tolerate such a situation, he must love this girl deeply.
Just as Xie Lianqing was musing to himself that perhaps he had been away from China for too many years and didn't understand the domestic scene anymore,
The boyfriend finally couldn't take it anymore and exploded: "I've had enough of you, Xu Qingqing! You're such a drama queen. I've never met a woman as unreasonable as you in my life!"
He looked furious, his voice loud as he yelled, saying agitatedly: "Let's break up!"
After saying that, the boy kicked a suitcase hard, tore off the couple's hat from his head, threw it forcefully to the ground, ran a hand through his hair, and turned to leave.
The pretty girl seemed to be stunned by him, standing frozen in place, her mouth slightly agape.
The commotion attracted the attention of many people in the airport. Someone walked over to ask Xu Qingqing if she needed help.
Xu Qingqing stood in the center of the bustling airport, the suitcases in front of her in disarray, under the gaze of the crowd...
She wasn't tall, appearing somewhat petite. The cute couple's hair clip on her head now seemed childish, especially compared to the mercilessly discarded couple's hat on the ground, making it all seem rather ridiculous.
This was just a minor incident on his journey. His driver was waiting outside, and Xie Lianqing should have left. But he didn't.
He stood there, watching the confused and helpless girl. Her transition from joy to her current despondency had taken less than a minute.
She was still holding that cup of coffee, probably no longer in the mood to enjoy it. And the restaurants and check-in spots she had just listed were likely out of reach now.
Both the girl and her boyfriend—now ex-boyfriend—were speaking Chinese. Being fellow countrymen in a foreign land, Xie Lianqing's sense of chivalry wouldn't allow him to ignore a delicate girl in need of help, even if her personality was indeed a bit spoiled.
Just as Xie Lianqing was watching her, Xu Qingqing squatted down.
She took off her sunglasses, put down her coffee, ran over to pick up the suitcase the boy had kicked, and struggled to set it upright. The suitcase was heavy, and she moved things without a word.
Xie Lianqing walked over and politely asked, "Hello, do you need help?"
Xu Qingqing looked up, staring at him blankly.
In that instant, Xie Lianqing finally saw her face clearly.
She was truly stunning, with a small nose, round, clear, bright eyes. Her lips were a cute pink, and her skin was fair and translucent.
Xie Lianqing suddenly thought she shouldn't have worn those sunglasses earlier.
If she had revealed this exquisitely perfect face, perhaps that gentleman would have had a bit more patience with her and wouldn't have lost his temper so severely.
When Xu Qingqing looked up, there was still a hint of confusion in her eyes, seemingly still caught up in what had just happened.
Noticing the redness around her eyes, Xie Lianqing felt a pang of pity. The man who fled was truly lacking in grace. Even if he had reached his limit, he shouldn't have abandoned his girlfriend in a foreign country like that. He should have at least taken her to a safe place before discussing a breakup.
He had to repeat his question: "Hello, do you need help?"
Xu Qingqing snapped back to reality and then said, "No, thank you."
She refused him.
Xie Lianqing was somewhat surprised by the rejection. Based on her personality, he had assumed she was accustomed to relying on and ordering boys around. It seemed now that she only treated her boyfriend that way.
Though a bit unexpected, Xie Lianqing simply smiled and prepared to leave.
As he turned to go, he happened to hear Xu Qingqing complain behind him: "It's not just my stuff in the suitcases, why get so mad? I told him to let the assistant come with us, but he insisted on having a 'couple's world,' and now he runs off and leaves me!"
She muttered to herself, then changed her tune: "Hmph, dumping me. When you come crawling back to make up, I won't forgive you. Jerk, jerk, big jerk!"
After a moment, she added, talking to herself: "I've always been the one to break up with others. I should have dumped him first!"
At a moment like this, this girl named Xu Qingqing was still hung up on the question of who dumped whom.
Xie Lianqing's lips curved into a smile.
The next time he saw Xu Qingqing was outside the airport. His driver, delayed by traffic, hadn't arrived in time to pick him up. It was raining outside, and many people with umbrellas were trying to hail taxis.
And there was that girl, struggling alone to push several large suitcases as she made her way out. When Xie Lianqing saw her, he heard her using broken English to talk to someone: "where... uh, are you uh, what's the next word?!"
Xie Lianqing passed by her, and as they brushed shoulders, he finally couldn't help but laugh, the corners of his mouth lifting.
Outside the airport, the rain fell softly, the night heavy as ink. Yet, accompanied by Xu Qingqing's muttered little complaints, even the rainy day seemed to become fresh and lively.
After hanging up that call, Xu Qingqing was busy calling someone else. As soon as the call connected, she complained to the person on the other end: "Zhang Shiyi dumped me!! I'm standing here all alone, like a fool!"
"No one is paying attention to me. I should have just come to find you in England..." There was a touch of stubbornness in her voice, yet it also revealed a hint of pitifulness, like a homeless kitten.
Xie Lianqing had already been rejected once. Naturally, he wouldn't go up and ask her again if she needed help. Otherwise, in the eyes of others, his actions could easily be misconstrued as those of a creep or someone with ulterior motives.
So, he calmly walked past Xu Qingqing.
Xie Lianqing thought he would never cross paths with that girl again. That was until he received a call from his old friend, Zhou Chenyu.
Zhou Chenyu sounded frantic on the other end of the line, saying, "I remember you're in New York right now? I need you to go to the airport and pick someone up for me. I don't know what she's wearing today, but the most stunning one there, the one who looks the most haughty and proud, that's her."
As his friend described her, the figure of Xu Qingqing from earlier quickly surfaced in Xie Lianqing's mind.
Zhou Chenyu's voice was filled with annoyance: "That bastard Zhang Shiyi better never set foot back in City A. I always said Xu Qingqing has terrible taste in boyfriends."
For the next while, Xie Lianqing listened to his friend's complaints. From the fragmented account, he pieced together the gist of the situation.
He knew Zhou Chenyu had a childhood friend, and he'd heard this girl wasn't exactly easy to get along with, but he never expected to run into her today.
By the time Xie Lianqing hurried back to the airport, most of the passengers from that flight had already left. Only a few stragglers remained, gazing alone into the rainy night.
