Chapter 25: Business Class? Economy Class?

Lu Mingfei was, of course, unaware that Qiao Yiran was currently lamenting his misfortune and feeling frustrated by his lack of ambition. He gazed at the scenery flashing past the window, silently praying that this journey would go smoothly.

In his past life, every long-distance trip he took had been anything but smooth.

When he first set off for Cassel College during his freshman year, the CC1000 express train was delayed, and he was fined 500 dollars by customs in Chicago for carrying pirated PS2 discs, leaving him so broke that he had to share a single soda with Fingel.

During the summer of his sophomore year, while transporting secret documents with Chu Zihang, they flew all the way to Chicago only to be met with a railway workers' strike, forcing him to share a hotel room with his stone-faced senior for a week.

In his junior year, they weren't heading to Chicago, but flying to Japan. The trip seemed fine at first, but just as they were about to land, the plane lost control, nearly turning them into "prison leaders." Fortunately, the plane made an emergency landing in the ocean, allowing the trio to narrowly escape with their lives.

Later, after he watched an anime called "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" and saw a character named Joseph Joestar crash four planes in four attempts—earning him the nickname "Vehicle Killer"—Lu Mingfei actually felt a sense of camaraderie, as if a hero recognized a hero. He had half a mind to toast him and swear brotherhood, regretting only that the chasm between their dimensions prevented them from meeting.

That was, of course, a joke, but it was true that Lu Mingfei now harbored a deep phobia of long-distance travel.

At the Dongpu International Airport in 2004, the decor and facilities were relatively primitive, and the surrounding area was desolate, a far cry from the prosperous, advanced hub in his memories. This landmark complex, built in 1999, had been in use for less than five years, and the second runway was still under construction, reportedly not set to open until the following year.

Lu Mingfei followed his class line, guided by airport staff to the manual counters to check his luggage, and after selecting his seat, prepared to print his boarding pass.

"Lu Mingfei, what seat are you in?" Just as Lu Mingfei finished printing his pass, Qiao Yiran popped up from behind him like a ghost.

"What do you want?" Lu Mingfei stepped back guardedly, clutching his boarding pass to his chest as if fearing an assault. He strongly suspected this girl was cooking up some scheme, like trying to get Liu Miaomiao seated next to him.

"Pfft, don't flatter yourself, okay?" Qiao Yiran pulled a face at him, her nose crinkling. "Miaomiao’s check-in was done long ago. She paid for a business class upgrade herself; she’s not like us economy-class peasants. I just came to supervise and make sure you didn't sneakily pick a seat next to her."

Lu Mingfei glanced toward Liu Miaomiao, who was indeed holding her boarding pass, chatting and laughing with some girls.

"Don't slander me, I'm innocent," Lu Mingfei showed his pass to Qiao Yiran.

Qiao Yiran’s eyes scanned his boarding pass quickly, a satisfied smile spreading across her face. She hummed a little tune and wandered off to check in, leaving Lu Mingfei standing there, utterly bewildered.

...

The plane landed on time. The sky was clear and cloudless. The weather for the next few days promised to be excellent, as the person in charge of selecting the travel dates had checked the forecast for the next two weeks in advance.

Lu Mingfei held his boarding pass, queued up, and took his seat.

He had chosen seat 1A, a window seat. Looking out, he could see the ground crew busy on the tarmac. Once the plane took off, the people on the ground would shrink, turning from little bugs to smaller than ants, until the plane climbed into the clouds and their figures vanished entirely.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the front. A bulky figure approached, and when Lu Mingfei looked up, he saw a bald, white, muscular man stop at his row. The man wore sunglasses, held his boarding pass, and glanced at the seat number on the wall. The look behind his lenses was naturally imposing, filled with a heavy sense of pressure.

*This guy... he wouldn't happen to be sitting next to me, would he?* Lu Mingfei’s heart skipped a beat.

The burly man shoved his bag into the overhead bin directly above Lu Mingfei and plopped down into seat 1C, the aisle seat.

*Thank goodness, thank goodness,* Lu Mingfei sighed internally.

Not long after the man sat down, Lu Mingfei caught a glimpse of a light figure moving toward the back of the cabin. As fate would have it, the figure stopped at his row.

Lu Mingfei turned toward the aisle. His gaze met Liu Miaomiao’s, who was holding her boarding pass. Suddenly, her pretty face flushed red, and she hastily looked away. A bad premonition rose in Lu Mingfei’s heart.

"Weren't you in business class? Why are you in economy?"

Liu Miaomiao looked down, saying nothing.

"You, you, you..." Lu Mingfei stammered, "You aren't sitting here, are you? Row X, seat B?"

"When we were boarding just now, Yiran told me she wasn't feeling well and wanted to swap seats with me so she could rest in business class, so I switched with her." A shy, delicate blush spread across Liu Miaomiao’s cheeks, and she glanced around nervously. "I didn't expect you to be sitting here either."

*Damn it, it was when she looked at the boarding pass!* Lu Mingfei couldn't help but cover his face. He had calculated everything, but he never accounted for Qiao Yiran booking the seat next to him and then swapping with Liu Miaomiao.

"She definitely did that on purpose," Lu Mingfei sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Would you... like to switch back?"

Liu Miaomiao bit her lip, hesitating for a moment.

"It’s okay, I’ll just sit here. I think she really wasn't feeling well."

Lu Mingfei couldn't help but think to himself that Liu Miaomiao was truly too kind; no wonder she ended up with a scumbag like Zhao Menghua. But she was clearly faking it just to set them up.

*Wait, does using the word 'set up' sound too intimate?*

Although Liu Miaomiao said it was fine, she stood in the aisle, reluctant to move in. At first, Lu Mingfei thought she was hesitating about sitting with him. But when he glanced over, he saw her looking timorously at the bald, burly man in seat C, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

He immediately understood: Liu Miaomiao was intimidated by the bald man’s aura.

"Why don't you take the window seat, Liu Miaomiao? I'll sit in the middle."

"Huh?" A flash of surprise crossed Liu Miaomiao’s face, and she immediately waved her hands. "No, that's okay, Lu Mingfei. You specifically chose the window seat."

"It's really no problem."

Lu Mingfei stood up without further ado, and like a loyal butler, he stood with his hands behind his back, allowing Liu Miaomiao to take seat A.

"Could you please get up for a moment? My friend is sitting in the seat."

Liu Miaomiao blinked, surprised. She hadn't realized Lu Mingfei’s English was so standard—and with a London accent, no less! Plus, his emotional intelligence was surprisingly high to have noticed her hesitation.

Of course, Liu Miaomiao didn't know that Lu Mingfei had studied abroad in his past life. Although Cassel College operated mostly in Chinese and didn't have rigid English requirements, living abroad meant he had naturally mastered daily English communication. As for the London accent... that was from spending too much time with that old geezer, Anjou.

The bald man stood up. Lu Mingfei stepped out first, guarding the space behind him, and let Liu Miaomiao take her seat.

"Thank you," Liu Miaomiao murmured, staring at the floor as she gave him a slight nod.