My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Their confusion was answered soon. As they got through the connecting corridor, a slick, huge and dazzlingly bright airplane had been waiting for them. Its machine roared wildly. Along the way, Shi Nian could see people loading their luggage into the plane. The corridor led directly to the gate where flight attendants had been waiting for them. Three beautiful, tall slim women in uniform smiled professionally. "Welcome to XBC-0000, we hope you will enjoy the flight."

The interior was unlike what Shi Nian had seen on the internet before. Instead of rows of seats, there were small sofas arranged in half circles with a low table in front of them. The atmosphere was cozy as the sun poured through the thick window pane. The floor was covered in a thick, soft carpet and warm, yellow light shone from above their heads.

A man in a trench coat and black sunglasses sat on the nearest sofa to the door, his head bowed as his fingers swiped on the tablet. As their group entered, he lifted his head and took off his glasses. Cool and handsome, suave and domineering. The man stood up and went straight to Qiang Fei. "Madam Shi, it's an honor to meet you. My name is Xu Binchen."

Qiang Fei was so stupefied by the appearance of this man with rich, domineering CEO aura that she took a moment to snap out of her thoughts. Years of professionalism made her recompose her expression soon and she offered her hand. "Nice to meet you too, Mr…eh?" Only then did she realize that the man's name was precisely the same as the detective that was handling her daughter's case. "Oh! Detective Xu! I'm very sorry for my rudeness," She smiled sheepishly. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter. Niannian, come here and greet Detective Xu."

Shi Nian obediently stepped forward and bowed in gratitude.

Xu Binchen's eyes softened unnoticeably as they fell onto her. "It's okay, I am just doing my job."

Ru Meiqi bypassed them and asked. "Where is Comrade Wang? Still haven't arrived yet?"

A plump hand reached out from behind one of the sofas, followed by a severely sleep deprived face. "I am here. I have been here since early in the morning." Wang Chengbing expended all of his effort to pry his eyes open and greeted Qiang Fei. "Hello, Madam Shi. My name is Wang Chengbing."

"Hello, Mr. Wang. It's very nice to meet you. Thank you for taking care of my daughter."

"Okay, save the formality for later on." Ru Meiqi clapped and sauntered to sit on the nearby sofa. "Can I ask for the menu? I haven't eaten breakfast yet."

Xu Binchen waved his hand and a flight attendant went to serve Ru Meiqi.

Qiang Fei and Shi Nian were like two statues that had long frozen due to this special and luxurious treatment. Qiang Fei fidgeted nervously. This Detective Xu...seemed a bit too different from the one that Shi Nian described...

"Sit down wherever you want, no need to be polite." Xu Binchen returned to his seat and ordered another flight attendant nearby. "You can tell Captain Hu that we are ready to depart now."

Qiang Fei pulled Shi Nian to sit near Xu Binchen and Ru Meiqi. The four of them were on the same sofa with Qiang Fei and Shi Nian in the middle. Ru Meiqi sat by the former's side while Xu Binchen sat by Shi Nian's side. Yet the four of them could see each other clearly because of the half circle sofa.

Ever since Qiang Fei stepped onto the plane, she had broken into cold sweat.

As the only woman in the police's team, she felt more comfortable with Ru Meiqi thus she leaned forward to inquire. "Miss Ru…isn't it too exaggerated to rent a private plane only for the five of us?"

Ru Meiqi lifted her head from the menu but who knew that Xu Binchen had super hearing that he could hear such a small whisper and said, "It's free."

Qiang Fei: "Huh?"

"It's free of charge." He repeated. "Don't worry about the fee, Madam Shi. I can even lend it to you if you want. Just tell your daughter to inform me in advance."

"Yes," Ru Meiqi coughed to warn Xu Binchen to think before he spoke. "Madam Shi, this is Detective Xu's private plane. Don't worry, he…is hella rich. It's he who volunteered to lend his plane for us."

Qiang Fei's mouth was so wide that egg could enter it. In the end, she blinked and blinked before finally recovering herself. She had been through so much shock that she could only mumble an 'okay'.

Shi Nian who sat beside her was equally shocked but compared to Qiang Fei, she had known Xu Binchen longer. From the way Xu Binchen carried himself, she had her own doubts regarding the man's background. Thus, instead of shock from Xu Binchen's wealth, there was more of 'so, it was like that'.

"Mr.Xu, we are ready to depart now." The flight attendant came to inform which Xu Binchen replied with a curt nod.

When Xu Binchen averted his gaze, coincidentally or not, his eyes met Shi Nian's. The man raised a brow and mouthed. "What?"

Very…arrogant and haughty.

Suddenly, Shi Nian had the urge to laugh and tease him. She changed her phone to airplane mode and typed on the memo. [Mr.Hella Rich Xu Binchen, thank you for gracing us with your precious plane. How can this lowly one[1] repay you?]

The first second Shi Nian showed the text to him, she had already regretted her action. As expected, amidst the dimming light and the buzzing plane, Xu Binchen leaned forward and spoke with a voice that only the two of them could hear. Even though the man's face hadn't changed ever since, the faint mirth swirling on his dark eyes told Shi Nian that the man was currently in an exuberant mood.

"No need to be so anxious. You can slowly repay me later."

Shi Nian: "…"

Why did my fingers have to itch?!

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[1] This lowly one = basically, it's just like how a person address someone in a much higher status, often used in ancient era.. Shi Nian is just humbling herself to tease him.