Chapter 90: He came back 1
The Capital at night, where neon lights flicker like stars.
On New Year’s Eve, the airport wasn’t crowded. The only busy area was the arrival gate where passengers who had just disembarked were bustling about with those who had come to pick them up.
Suddenly, a tall and handsome man emerged from the arrival gate. He moved swiftly, casually carrying a black leather bag in his right hand. Dressed in a brown leather jacket, he looked extremely cool, with his stylish hair flying and sunglasses on his face. One glance, and anyone could tell he had just returned from abroad, exuding a westernized aura as he walked like a moving fashion show, capturing the attention of passersby.
Uninformed onlookers might’ve thought he was some celebrity in disguise, returning to the country, given his striking good looks. That was until someone across the way called out, “Doctor Cao Yong.”
The man stopped in his tracks.
The person calling out hurried over to him. He was a short young man dressed neatly in a suit, and said to him, “Dr. Cao, I’m here on behalf of the dean to pick you up. My last name is Du, you can call me Xiao Du.”
As he spoke, Xiao Du extended his hand to take the black handle of the luggage bag from Cao Yong’s grasp.
Cao Yong didn’t compete and let him take the bag, while he slipped his sunglasses into the chest pocket of his leather jacket.
“Dr. Cao, is this the only piece of luggage you have?” Xiao Du asked, since it was rare to see someone returning from abroad with so little baggage.
“There is other luggage, it will be shipped back by friends in a few days. I’ve returned ahead,” Cao Yong explained.
Once he understood, Xiao Du said, “The car that’s picking you up is at the airport entrance, I’ll take you there.”
“What is your relationship to the dean?” Cao Yong asked.
“I guess I’m the dean’s assistant. I work in the hospital’s personnel department. I’m new, so Dr. Cao doesn’t recognize me,” Xiao Du replied, clearly nervous.
“The dean sent you to pick me up. Didn’t I say that there was no need for someone to come?” Cao Yong asked again.
“Dr. Cao, you spent three years abroad for advanced studies and you’re returning for the New Year. The dean said you’ve had a tough journey, so he sent me to pick you up. Also, he mentioned that on the first day of Spring Festival tomorrow, you should go to his house to eat dumplings.”
It seemed that eating dumplings was the main point. Cao Yong raised an eyebrow, “Okay, I understand.”
The two of them went out of the airport and boarded a small sedan that had been waiting for them.
Once in the car, Cao Yong took out his cell phone and dialed the number of his old classmate, Ren Chongda.
“You’re back?” Ren Chongda was surprised to receive his call.
“Yes, I’ve just landed,” said Cao Yong.
“When did you come back? You didn’t notify us you were arriving today; we thought you’d be returning after the New Year,” Ren Chongda murmured a complaint about Handsome Cao not giving them a heads-up.
“How could I not return to my country and home for the New Year,” said Cao Yong lightly, and then chided his old classmate for making a fuss, “I just went to study and exchange, nothing big, no need to make a fuss about picking me at the airport.”
“Isn’t it right to pick you up? You’ve been away for three years. It’s been over three years since we last saw each other, right?”
The three-year advanced study was, in reality, even longer when counting the preparation before departure, plus another half a year.
Listening to his old classmate’s lament, Cao Yong casually glanced out the window at the roadside scenery passing by.
Every scene looked familiar, yet somehow distant. In the three or more years he was gone, the city had been under continuous renovation and had already changed beyond recognition.