The distance from Yundong to Jiang City was a thousand kilometers, requiring nearly two hours by plane.
Xu Muchan slept for a while. When he woke again, he heard the thunderous hum of the airplane landing.
Qiu Ze stood up and patted him. “Second Young Master, we’re here. Let’s get ready to get off.”
Xu Muchan opened his eyes and felt his way to his feet. He then reminded him that the schoolbag in the overhead compartment had not been taken down yet.
Qiu Ze said, “Oh,” and stepped into the aisle to retrieve the schoolbag.
He was tall, so with only a slight lift of his head, he could see inside the overhead compartment. He then gave a puzzled “Huh?”
“How did the zipper on this schoolbag get opened?”
He clearly remembered that the zipper had only been opened a little earlier, perhaps half the width of a palm.
But now, the schoolbag in the overhead compartment had been completely unzipped, revealing a vermilion wooden object inside.
The vermilion color looked especially old and gloomy under the dim lighting of the overhead compartment, like some eerie prop that could only appear in a horror movie.
Moreover, whether it was an illusion or not, Qiu Ze always felt that the vermilion wood looked somewhat familiar.
For a moment, however, he could not remember where he had seen it.
Frowning, he reached out to take it while asking Xu Muchan, “Second Young Master, it looks like someone opened your schoolbag. There aren’t any valuables inside, are there?”
Xu Muchan frowned slightly and felt his way two steps toward the aisle.
“There are no valuables. I’ll take it myself.”
How could Qiu Ze possibly let a blind child retrieve something himself?
He repeatedly told him to sit down, while he grabbed the schoolbag strap and lifted it down in one motion.
However, the sensation of the schoolbag in his hands was somewhat strange.
It was slippery and had a little softness and elasticity. It did not feel like fabric. Instead, it felt like some kind of soft leather.
This bizarre texture made Qiu Ze feel nauseated.
He lowered his head suspiciously to look at the schoolbag, only to meet the gaze of an eye that happened to be exposed through the gap in the schoolbag.
At that instant, Qiu Ze’s mind went completely numb.
He could not even make the most basic reaction.
His throat felt blocked, his stomach violently cramped, producing an intense feeling of nausea. His breathing also became extremely difficult.
Yet no matter what, he could not tear his gaze away.
That was definitely not a human eye.
A human pupil could not be packed throughout the entire eye socket like a bean inside a pod.
Qiu Ze stood frozen in place.
Under the immense terror, the only sound his throat could produce was a hoarse, breathy “Hah… hah…”
The people behind him did not understand what was happening and impatiently urged him, “Hey, could the person in front move? Don’t block the aisle.”
The voice seemed to come from an extremely distant place, muffled and distorted as though separated by a thick layer of water.
Qiu Ze’s pupils widened in terror. He was incapable of making any response.
Xu Muchan seemed to sense something.
He sighed softly, felt around, and grabbed Qiu Ze’s arm, pulling him back to his seat.
Qiu Ze staggered.
His fingers, stiff from excessive tension, slowly loosened one joint at a time. The schoolbag fell onto the seat with a dull thud.
Xu Muchan pulled the schoolbag over.
His fingers felt along its surface, accurately finding the zipper pull.
The sound of the zipper closing was unusually clear even amid the noisy cabin.
After zipping it shut, he gently patted the schoolbag before turning his face toward Qiu Ze.
“Assistant Qiu? Aren’t we getting off?”
Qiu Ze finally broke free from his extreme terror, like a drowning person being dragged ashore.
He could not speak.
He could only gasp heavily, his terrified gaze fixed on the schoolbag Xu Muchan was clutching protectively in his arms.
After a long while, he finally managed to speak with great difficulty.
“You… What did you put in your bag?”
Xu Muchan was visibly hesitant for a moment, but he still answered, “It’s a shrine. My Big Brother’s memorial tablet is enshrined inside. He’s my only family, so I brought it with me… Some people may be rather superstitious about this kind of thing, so I didn’t mention it.”
The boy became somewhat cautious.
He hunched his shoulders and hugged the schoolbag tightly against his chest, as if afraid Qiu Ze might object and refuse to let him bring it along.
Qiu Ze finally understood where that familiar feeling had come from.
A shrine.
His hometown also had similar shrines, though they were larger and more ornate.
They usually enshrined statues of Guanyin Bodhisattva, Guan Gong, or Tudigong, or else ancestral memorial tablets.
On the first and fifteenth days of every lunar month, his grandmother would carefully wipe the shrine and the statues inside before making offerings and worshiping.
After years of being exposed to incense smoke, the shrine would become glossy and brightly colored.
But the shrine he had just seen was extremely old and dull in color, faintly carrying a decayed, gloomy hue.
And there were those eyes staring at him through the gap…
Qiu Ze did not dare think about it anymore.
He looked at the schoolbag with lingering fear and swallowed hard.
He wanted to ask something, but some inexplicable apprehension made him stop.
In the end, he shifted his gaze away and did not dare look at the schoolbag in the boy’s arms again.
He merely supported Xu Muchan’s arm lightly and said, “Let’s get off first. Everyone’s already gone.”
The boy softly said, “Oh.”
He did not resist and allowed Qiu Ze to lead him off the plane.
They had been seated in business class, so after landing, they took the VIP passage.
They soon met Zhou Yang, whom Xu Qingming had arranged to pick them up, in the VIP terminal.
Qiu Ze finally saw the person taking over from him and breathed a huge sigh of relief.
He helped Xu Muchan into the back seat, then walked around to the front passenger seat himself.
Through the rearview mirror, Zhou Yang glanced at the quiet boy in the back and instructed them, “Someone leaked the news that Second Young Master had been found. There will probably be quite a few media outlets waiting along the way back to the villa. But Second Young Master doesn’t need to worry. You don’t have to say anything when the time comes. Don’t speak; just follow me. Everything will be fine once we get home.”
Qiu Ze was puzzled. “How did the news get leaked? Are there many media outlets coming?”
“I don’t know. Anyway, everyone who should and shouldn’t be here has come.”
Zhou Yang was Xu Qingming’s special assistant.
He shrugged helplessly, then glanced through the rearview mirror at the boy with his eyes lowered.
“What happened to Second Young Master’s eyes?”
They had only learned that this Second Young Master was blind after Qiu Ze arrived in Yundong and found him.
Qiu Ze curled his lips at him and made an indescribable expression.
“I’m not entirely sure myself. I found Second Young Master at the hospital. There was a sudden landslide in Leigong Village at the time, and the entire village was buried. There were quite a few casualties. Fortunately, Second Young Master only suffered some superficial injuries.”
“His eyes were injured in that accident?”
“Probably. I asked the other villagers. His eyes had no problems before; he only became blind recently. The hospital in that small place couldn’t figure out what was wrong either, so we can only have him examined again after returning to Jiang City.”
The bizarre scene on the plane had made Qiu Ze reluctant to discuss Xu Muchan’s condition in front of him.
Although the boy was sitting silently in the back seat, Qiu Ze kept feeling a chill crawl over his back, as if a pair of eyes had been watching him the entire time.
That eerie feeling made Qiu Ze deliberately change the subject.
“How are we going to deal with those media outlets later?”
Zhou Yang said, “President Xu said that since we can’t avoid them, we might as well let them take pictures openly. Second Young Master has finally been found. It’s a happy occasion, and there’s nothing shameful about it. Besides, this matter is also an opportunity…”
The rest of what he wanted to say was not suitable to say in front of Xu Muchan, so Zhou Yang did not finish his sentence. He merely winked and gestured at Qiu Ze.
Qiu Ze understood.
The Xu Group had businesses in many fields, including an entertainment company under its umbrella called Hengyue Media.
Hengyue was quite well-known in the industry. It had produced many popular celebrities and hit dramas. Because of the special nature of the entertainment industry, it had always attracted a great deal of attention. As the chairman of the Xu Group, which was Hengyue Media’s largest shareholder, Xu Qingming naturally received considerable attention as well.
The kidnapping of the Xu family’s second young master in his childhood was no secret. In order to find their second young master, the Xu Group had continuously offered a high monetary reward to the public for information.
When Xu Qingming first entered the public eye and became a well-known entrepreneur, this matter had also attracted tremendous attention. Quite a few people had flocked to provide clues, but not a single one had been genuine.
Later, as time passed, the attention surrounding the matter gradually faded.
The Xu family, however, had never given up searching for him.
Until not long ago, the police in Yundong suddenly contacted Xu Qingming and said that they had found a match in the DNA database. They had found the child who had been abducted all those years ago.
Only then did Xu Qingming hurriedly arrange for Qiu Ze to go pick him up.
The news had originally been kept confidential. No one knew how it had leaked, but not only had the media found out, it had also appeared on the trending searches several times.
As a result, these past few days, the Jiang City airport and the area around the Xu family villa had been surrounded by media outlets of all kinds. Even numerous independent-media bloggers had rushed over after hearing the news. Everyone wanted to see the true appearance of the Xu family’s second young master, who had finally been found after fifteen years.
If handled properly, this would be an excellent opportunity for positive publicity, both for Xu Qingming personally and for the entire Xu Group.
What a heartwarming family reunion!
Of course, these matters were the job of Zhou Yang, the special assistant. Qiu Ze had no intention of getting involved.
The black Audi sped onto the airport expressway, racing toward the Xu family villa.
Just as Zhou Yang had said, the area around the Xu family villa was packed with waiting media outlets. Long-lens cameras, microphones, live-streaming phones, and tripods were lined up one after another, while flashes went off incessantly.
The moment Xu Muchan got out of the car, countless microphones desperately thrust themselves toward him. All kinds of questions converged into a piercing buzzing sound that was almost unbearable.
The blind boy wore a blue school uniform that had been washed until it had faded white. His face was pale, and he hunched his shoulders as he tightly hugged the schoolbag in his arms. With Zhou Yang supporting him by the shoulder from behind, he staggered forward.
The reporters also captured this scene with a series of clicks.
Amid the continuous sound of camera shutters, Xu Muchan was protected by Zhou Yang as he passed through the crowd and finally reached the Xu family.
When Xu Zhifei saw the thin boy in his old school uniform, her eyes immediately reddened. She rushed forward and pulled him into her arms, choking back tears as she said, “Muchan, Mom has finally found you.”
Xu Muchan stood rigidly where he was.
Most of his small, pointed, oval-shaped face was concealed by his overly long black hair. Only his straight nose and the slightly pursed lips beneath it could be seen.
The boy who had just reunited with his family seemed somewhat at a loss. He could only stand there stiffly.
At this moment, Xu Qingming also stepped forward and forcefully patted the boy on the shoulder. His voice was hoarse.
“You’re home now. You’re home now.”
Xu Wangchuan, who had been pushed to the edge of the crowd, watched the reunited family of three from behind everyone.
For a brief moment, his handsome and refined face was completely expressionless.
But he quickly composed himself, pushed through the crowd, and came forward. Spreading his arms, he embraced both his adoptive mother and his newly found younger brother.
With a bright smile, he said, “A-Chan, welcome home.”
Xu Muchan turned his face slightly in his direction.
Xu Wangchuan took the opportunity to lean close to his ear and speak softly and quickly.
“Although this is the first time we’ve met, I’ve known about you for a long time.”
He paused.
The smile on his lips remained unchanged, but his voice suddenly dropped, carrying an indescribable meaning.
“You really are very likable.”