It was monsoon season in all of southern China, so it rained heavily non-stop. Having originally booked a flight for ten in the morning, Han Zhifan waited in the VIP lounge of the hotel till one in the afternoon without any updates on his delayed departure.
The end-of-production party was booked for seven in the evening, so there were only six hours left. Han Zhifan made a mental calculation and he didn't know just how much time he would continue to waste at the airport. He was afraid he wouldn't make it to the party.
Han Zhifan thought about it for a moment then ordered the driver to get the car started. He also asked his secretary to book a ticket for the high-speed train.
The train station was quite some distance away from the airport. As there were too many flights on standby, a lot of flight passengers were now trying to get to the high-speed train instead, so there was more traffic on the roads than usual. When Han Zhifan reached the train station, it was already three in the afternoon.
At a quarter past three, Han Zhifan got on the high-speed train.
He wasted practically a whole day at the airport. He still had a lot of work to attend to, so Han Zhifan took out his laptop and started to get busy.
It was already dark outside when he finished his work. He glanced at the time to find that it was already half past seven. The end-of-production party had already started, and he was still about two hours away from Shanghai.
At half past nine, the train arrived on time. The doors opened, and as soon as Han Zhifan stepped out, he saw the driver arranged for him by the Shanghai branch.
After he got into the car, he didn't wait for the driver to ask where he was heading and beat him to the chase with: "Head right for Starlight."
Han Zhifan was afraid he wouldn't be able to make it before the party ended, so he urged the driver to step on the gas throughout the entire journey as he checked the time constantly.
At ten o'clock, the car reached the entrance to the Starlight lobby. Han Zhifan ordered the driver: "Take my things up to room 1002" then ignored the doorman's polite greeting. He strode into the revolving doors and headed right for the elevator.
As he stepped out of the elevator, Han Zhifan saw many people in uniforms coming out from the hall, one after the other.
She... couldn't have already left, right?
Han Zhifan naturally walked faster while muttering "Excuse me" as he hurriedly threaded through the crowd and into the hall.
The lobby was empty. Aside from a dozen or so hotel attendants, there was barely anyone else there.
Han Zhifan scanned the large hall carefully, but after he confirmed that Cheng Weiwan was nowhere in sight, he suddenly felt a deep sense of annoyance.
After hurrying over, I still wasn't able to get here on time?
Han Zhifan raised his hand and tugged on his collar a little. He let out a few stifled breaths of air before turning around and walking out of the hall.
In his rush over to the hotel, Han Zhifan hadn't even gotten a chance to use the restroom. Before he headed up to his hotel room, he happened to notice a restroom sign and walked right in.
As he came out of the stall, Han Zhifan was about to walk over to the sink when he heard the sound of vomiting nearby.
He instinctively lifted his eyelids and glanced over. Through the mirror, he watched as a familiar silhouette came into view.
Han Zhifan's footsteps stopped for a moment as he stared at the woman, who was vomiting non-stop with her head lowered, for some time. Then he silently backed away, gestured for a nearby attendant, and asked her to get a bottle of water.
Soon enough, the waitress brought over a bottle of water to him.
Han Zhifan gave his thanks then popped the lid of the bottle open and stepped back into the restroom.
He walked over to the sink. After waiting for the woman to finish throwing up, he put the bottle of water down before her eyes.
Just as she was about to turn the tap on to rinse her mouth out with cold water, Cheng Weiwan suddenly froze when she saw the bottle of water in front of her.