Chapter 117: Leaving Home Young, Returning Old, Meeting But Not Recognizing |
'That being said... how am I supposed to "reunite" with these people?'
Shi Rang stood a short distance away, openly observing the group of people craning their necks at the arrivals gate.
Seeing that they truly hadn't noticed him, and finding it impossible to initiate a conversation, he deliberately squeezed to the front of the crowd. He stood in the empty space left by dispersing passengers, waiting for them to approach him on their own.
Even though he wouldn't be able to recognize Shi Shixin either, based on his childhood impressions, there was absolutely no way the man would deign to come to the airport in person to meet a son he considered a thorn in his side. Since Shi Shixin's position as General Manager of the Charity Foundation was currently unstable because of him, with numerous enemies glaring like tigers watching their prey, it was highly likely that the people holding the welcome signs here weren't even his father's subordinates.
Although Shi Rang did not mind defecting to the enemy and providing some assistance to Shi Shixin's rivals within the Charity Foundation, the previous accident where he inadvertently dragged both the Alliance and the Ascension Society into the Sector 257 Exploration Operation had taught him a harsh lesson: never rashly introduce external factions before fully grasping the overall situation.
Thinking along these lines, he realized there was something incredibly bizarre about this entire situation.
'Since Deacon Huo is clearly in charge of the "God's Eye" operation, why is he targeting the Charity Foundation?'
'That shouldn't be part of his mission.'
Deacon Huo was a social master who had made a rather favorable impression on him, but that did not mean Shi Rang wouldn't suspect the man of using him.
Now, Shi Rang deeply suspected that Deacon Huo intended to monopolize the credit for dealing with the Charity Foundation.
'Could the big shot that Jing Zi mentioned have something to do with this?'
'Now that I have realized this, perhaps I can hint at this debt of Favors to Deacon Huo later?'
Shi Rang's thoughts were always crystal clear when it came to logical deduction, but translating them into actual action was another story entirely.
After all his meticulous analysis, the group not only failed to approach him but even began discussing among themselves in a state of anxiety.
"Everyone's gone. What's going on? Weren't we told he would be getting off at this arrivals gate?"
"Could he have intentionally slipped out through another exit?"
"We haven't received any news from the other gates. Let's wait a bit longer. He might just be running late."
The six people responsible for the airport pickup were led by a rather well-dressed man who looked like an Old Scholar.
At this moment, the Old Scholar was wiping sweat with a handkerchief, constantly glancing left and right. His gaze swept over Shi Rang time and time again, yet it simply refused to linger.
Shi Rang felt a profound sense of helplessness.
He took a few deep breaths to calm the usual nervousness he felt before speaking to strangers, then took the initiative to approach them, giving a small wave.
"Um... I, uh... who are you all looking for?"
Sure enough, the moment he opened his mouth, his carefully prepared Mental Draft vanished without a trace.
Without the defensive Masks of Dump Truck or Deer Hunter, talking to strangers truly was difficult.
"We are waiting for someone. He still hasn't come out yet."
One of them replied rather politely.
Shi Rang was secretly surprised.
He had assumed they would all be like the petty gang thugs from the Tenth District. In his imagination, Shi Shixin was nothing more than a mob boss.
"You just got off this flight too, right? Have you seen this person?" The Old Scholar lowered his handkerchief and showed him a Photograph. "A young man in his twenties, returning from the outer districts."
"Um..."
'Does a twenty-eight-year-old really still count as a young man?'
Shi Rang scrutinized the Passport Photograph he had used back when he fled to the Tenth District for a moment.
He truly looked haggard back then.
"Actually, don't you think I look a bit like the person in this picture?"
The lackey who had answered Shi Rang earlier scoffed. "Stop joking around, old man. If you don't have any actual business, just leave. We still have someone to wait for."
'Old man?'
'Do I really look that old now that I've lost so much weight?'
"No, what I mean is, is it possible that I am this 'Shi Tiantian'?"
This sincere phrasing failed to move them in the slightest.
"We already told you we're busy here. Stop messing around." Another lackey grew somewhat impatient, waving his hand at Shi Rang as if shooing away a fly. "Shoo, shoo, go do whatever it is you need to do."
...
"May I ask what your name is?"
"It's Brother Li, alright? Now hurry up and leave."
Shi Rang could only sigh and head off to exchange his currency.
It wasn't that he was refusing to make contact; it was that these people simply couldn't recognize him.
Shi Shixin's network of Connections was just as exaggerated as he had imagined. As Shi Rang finished exchanging his currency and stood by the counter counting his money, the group scrambled over to the exchange booth, frantically observing every passerby. When his Mobile Phone popped up a notification that it had detected a SIM card, the group hastily sprinted outside the telecom branch store, spinning around like Headless Flies.
Perhaps because the foot traffic at the Capital International Airport was too massive, they entirely overlooked Shi Rang in the crowd, anxiously searching for someone who bore a closer resemblance to the "Shi Tiantian" in the photograph.
"Is that him over there?"
"He's dressed sharply, but the face doesn't match."
"What about the one wearing Headphones under the sign?"
"We are looking for someone traveling alone."
"Maybe he found a female companion the moment he landed? Don't young masters from wealthy families always act like that?"
Listening to their wild guesses, Shi Rang felt an ache of exasperation, but he also felt that his character—and the character of others—was being slandered.
Just as he was about to go over and put a stop to their fantastical deductions, his phone suddenly rang.
He had just set up a Second District SIM card, but someone was calling his Tenth District number.
"Hello?"
"Excuse me, is this 'Shi Tiantian'?" The voice on the other end was unfamiliar, its tone cautious.
"Who is this?"
The person audibly breathed a sigh of relief. "I am your father's assistant. You can just call me Little Chen. Where are you right now? Shall I send a car to pick you up?"
"Why isn't he calling me himself?"
"General Manager Shi is currently in a meeting. He instructed me to make absolutely sure that I pick you up, Young Master. Are you currently—"
"What is he planning? Does he want to meet with me or what? If his intention is to pay me off and send me right back where I came from, my answer is: not a chance."
The person on the other end was momentarily rendered speechless, seemingly not having anticipated that the relationship between this father and son would be so hostile.
Just the mere mention of Shi Shixin ignited Shi Rang's temper. However, the person speaking to him right now wasn't that man, and this assistant was treating him—someone who was, in a societal sense, a complete failure—with an affectionate respect. Regardless of whether it was feigned, Shi Rang didn't want to make things too difficult for him.
Subordinates caught in the middle and pressured from both sides always had the hardest time.
He had experienced that bitter taste himself and was unwilling to force it upon anyone else.
"I don't want to make things difficult for you. I will send a text message, and you just forward it directly to him."
"Young Master, this..."
"Do you really think it would be better for you to personally relay words he absolutely won't want to hear? What do you think?"
After hanging up, Shi Rang typed out a text message.
[You have one day to contact me. Otherwise, I will stir up trouble in the Capital and then publicly announce, "My dad is Shi Shixin, the General Manager of the Charity Foundation." Would that satisfy you?]
Less than a minute after the message successfully sent, Shi Shixin—who was supposedly in a meeting—immediately called him.
Shi Rang braced himself, fully prepared to be berated the moment he answered, just like every time he had interacted with his father during his childhood. However, what he heard instead was a new voice, an aged and hoarse one.
"What do you want?"
Realizing that this voice belonged to Shi Shixin, blood rushed to Shi Rang's head, instantly blurring the sound of the airport announcements in his ears.
"I don't want to have too much involvement with you, and after this, I won't come looking for you ever again," Shi Rang fired back in a tone laced with suppressed fury. "Let's meet. Alone. Just you and me."
"How did I ever raise such an ungrateful—"
Without waiting for the man to finish, Shi Rang hung up the phone. His rapidly pounding heart made him feel deeply uncomfortable.
He took deep breath after deep breath, attempting to exhale all the pent-up hostility festering in his chest.
Sure enough, no matter what status or figure Shi Shixin had become, he never wanted to have any more dealings with him in this lifetime. That profound disgust and hatred had seeped deep into his bones; it was impossible to erase.
He adjusted his backpack and once again walked toward the pickup team that was discussing their countermeasures a short distance away.
That short-tempered lackey noticed him from a mile away.
"What are you doing back here? Didn't we tell you that this has nothing to do with you?"
Right at that moment, the Old Scholar's phone rang.
Shi Rang gestured at him. "You take that first."
The Old Scholar shot him a frowning glance before looking down at the caller ID on his phone. A tense expression instantly crossed his face. He pressed the phone to his ear, listening for a second, then two... constantly nodding in agreement while his body bowed in subservience. After the brief call ended, he pulled out his handkerchief to wipe his sweat again, suddenly his eyes widened in shock. His hand trembled, and the handkerchief fluttered to the ground.
The Old Scholar swiftly looked back up at this passenger who had been "repeatedly causing trouble." Swallowing hard, he carefully asked:
"Shi Tiantian?"
"I go by Rang now."