There were rows of LED strips on the ground of the runway outside the airport, which were particularly eye-catching in the dark night. Ni Jingxi almost stared at those small orange lights and counted them one by one.
In the end, Huo Shenyan tugged at her arm and said, "Rest for a while."
Ni Jingxi nodded obediently, and Huo Shenyan asked the flight attendant to bring a clean blanket to cover her.
She pulled the blanket up to cover her face.
Huo Shenyan was worried that she would be uncomfortable covering herself like that, and was about to reach out to pull it off for her, but she pulled it down again herself, revealing a clean and white face.
The nightlight above her head was still on. When Ni Jingxi showed her face, the light shone on her face, and the shadows of her long eyelashes fell on her eyelids, forming such a dense little patch.
Then she blinked.
The small shadow began to move.
Surprisingly, it's also a bit playful and cute.
Ni Jingxi turned to look at him, her expression a little conflicted: "I still can't sleep."
Huo Shenyan smiled. From the moment she pulled the blanket up to cover her face and then pulled it down again, it took about three seconds. Even if you give her a generous estimate, five seconds should be enough.
She actually said she couldn't sleep.
Huo Shenyan deliberately kept a straight face and said in a low voice, "Go back to sleep."
Ni Jingxi took a deep breath and closed her eyes again. Huo Shenyan was waiting beside her, but this time she didn't open her eyes because she spoke with her eyes closed.
"Be careful what you say, what kind of person is my dad now?"
Ni Jingxi was genuinely curious. So many years had passed, which amounted to thousands of days and nights. She really couldn't guess what he would be like now.
Even Ni Jingxi has changed; she was only 1.68 meters tall when she graduated from high school.
Who knew that after entering university, he would grow another two centimeters.
Amazing, isn't it?
In high school, her hair was shoulder-length because high school students have heavy study loads, and long hair is particularly troublesome to manage.
And at that time, her favorite hairstyle was a ponytail.
Now, her hair is waist-length, and even during this year in Israel, despite the severe water shortage there, she never thought of cutting her long hair.
Because Huo Shenyan liked her thick, long hair.
She herself has changed so much; her father must have changed a lot too.
Thoughts swirled in her mind like a game of cat and mouse, never ceasing. Until, with the slight swaying of the plane, she drifted into a deep sleep.
This time, the end of her dream was all she had hoped for.
*
When Ni Jingxi arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, she was immediately enveloped in a wave of heat. Although the weather in Shanghai was gradually warming up, it hadn't yet reached scorching levels.
Although she was eager to see Ni Pingsen, she also knew that haste makes waste.
Tang Mian didn't come along this time, but someone had already arranged everything for them, since Lao Sun was in Ho Chi Minh City at the time. He personally drove to the airport to pick up Huo Shenyan and Ni Jingxi.
Vietnam is not as poor as people imagine; at least the streets are fairly spacious.
The journey from the airport to the hotel was quite long, and Ni Jingxi was already getting impatient. Almost as soon as the car left the airport, she looked at Old Sun in the passenger seat and asked, "Is my father really in Ho Chi Minh City?"
“This time it’s for real, I’ve gone to see it myself,” Old Sun said.
Before Ni Jingxi could ask anything else, Old Sun said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Madam, because the matter was urgent, I didn't consult you before I had your father's DNA tested."
Ni Jingxi was taken aback.
She was initially wondering if they were just people who looked very similar, since the world is full of wonders and it's not impossible for two people who have no blood relation to each other to look very similar.
When Lao Sun said this, Ni Jingxi understood that he wouldn't have made this call to Huo Shenyan without concrete evidence, and Huo Shenyan would never have brought her from Shanghai overnight.
This time, they really found their father.
But……
Since Ni Pingsen is still alive, why doesn't he come back?
Ni Jingxi didn't ask. She didn't want to ask anyone, because she wanted to find the answer herself. Ni Jingxi covered her face with her hand, let out a long breath, and calmed herself down again.
The hotel Lao Sun booked for them was the most luxurious five-star hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, with a level of comfort comparable to hotels in Shanghai. The sky was gradually brightening; what had been pitch black when they landed was slowly turning a pale white.
Ni Jingxi did not lie down to rest in bed, but sat on the sofa by the window, quietly gazing out the window.
Huo Shenyan ordered room service. The breakfast at this restaurant was quite plentiful. When the waiter pushed a cart of breakfast in, Ni Jingxi was pulled up.
"After we finish eating, I'll take you there," Huo Shenyan said, his forehead pressed against hers, his voice coaxing.
Ni Jingxi looked at him, her eyes gleaming, and finally revealed a faint smile.
After dinner, Huo Shenyan really took her downstairs.
This time, the driver was Lao Sun. After the two got in the car, Lao Sun drove off immediately.
This was Ni Jingxi's first time in Vietnam. It was morning, and the streets were bustling with pedestrians and cars. Although she saw other people with yellow skin and black eyes outside her car, the unfamiliar words on the billboards on the street kept reminding her of the dangers of the world.
This is a foreign country.
As the car gradually entered a somewhat dilapidated and old neighborhood, the buildings on both sides of the street were all in the Chinese style, which made people feel a sense of familiarity.
What's even more welcoming is that most of the billboards here are written in both Chinese and Vietnamese.
As he was driving, Lao Sun said, "This is the Cholon district, the largest Chinatown in Vietnam."
Ni Jingxi turned to look out the window. This place looked like an old town that had stood the test of time. Although it was now just a mess and noisy place, it was not hard to imagine the prosperity it had been twenty or even half a century ago.
Unfortunately, time flies, and some glories eventually return to dust.
When the car stopped at the side of the street, Old Sun looked up at a small storefront across the street: "That's Liu Liu Restaurant."
Ni Jingxi looked over and saw that the restaurant was not open yet, probably because it was morning, with only its vermilion facade standing out.
She stared at the name on the storefront for a long time.
Willow Restaurant...
“Madam, they usually live upstairs. If you would like to see them, may I knock on their door now?” Old Sun turned to ask for her opinion.
Ni Jingxi was silent for a while, then finally spoke: "Them?"
After uttering those two words as if in amusement, she looked at Old Sun and asked, "Who are they?"
Old Sun was stunned, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "Miss Ni, it seems your father has some memory problems, he..."
As he spoke, Ni Jingxi trembled violently.
So Lao Sun subconsciously looked at Huo Shenyan, until Huo Shenyan shook his head almost imperceptibly.
After waiting for an unknown amount of time, there was finally some movement from the storefront across the street. The roller shutter door, which had been closed, suddenly made a sharp sound, and Ni Jingxi, who had been looking in that direction, was now completely drawn to look over.
Finally, the roller shutter was slowly rolled up.
Then, a man wearing a gray short-sleeved T-shirt came out. His hair was a bit short, but he looked very energetic. He didn't look very old, maybe in his forties.
Ni Jingxi's eyes narrowed completely at that moment.
Her fingers gripped the back of the passenger seat in front of her, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force. Even from just a side view, she recognized her.
"dad."
Ni Jingxi's cry was choked with sobs, so heartbreaking.
Huo Shenyan sat beside her, taking in every change in her expression. The emotions she was trying to maintain finally crumbled when the man opposite her turned his head completely, his face facing the car window.
Just five meters away, outside the car window, was the person she had been searching for all along.
Ni Jingxi reached out to open the car door. She wanted to go over and hug him, and then tell him how much she missed him.
Just as the car door was opened, revealing a crack, another woman emerged from the restaurant across the street. She was extremely slender, wearing a fitted long dress that accentuated her slim waist beautifully.
The woman didn't look very old, probably in her early thirties.
As soon as she came out, she hugged Ni Pingsen's waist, but Ni Pingsen looked around a few times and then pushed her away.
However, it wasn't because he disliked it; it seemed to be just because he was shy.
He was very tall, and Ni Jingxi inherited his height from him; at this moment, the woman could only crane her neck to look at him. The woman seemed a little unhappy until Ni Pingsen said a few words, and a smile gradually appeared on her face.
Until Ni Pingsen bent down and hugged her, it was a light but gentle touch.
His embrace was as gentle and tender as the expression on his face at that moment.
Finally, Ni Jingxi had to confront the problem she had been avoiding all along.
who are they?
So, is it Ni Pingsen and this woman?
Seeing her sitting there as if petrified, Huo Shenyan felt extremely heartbroken. He understood all too well how Ni Jingxi had longed to find Ni Pingsen all these years.
This scene was a huge blow to her.
In fact, she had already prepared herself for this. Since Ni Pingsen was alive but had not returned, there must be a reason.
But if the reason is that he has completely forgotten his daughter, then how cruel is that reason?
He must be feeling so much pain for this girl he loves so much.
He reached out and pulled Ni Jingxi into his arms, patting her back gently. "It's okay, Jingxi, you're not in pain."
Ni Jingxi gripped his clothes with her hands and rested her head against his chest.
But what could she do? Her heart ached terribly.
*
Liu Liu Restaurant is the most ordinary yet most extraordinary Chinese restaurant on this street. It's ordinary because there are just too many Chinese restaurants on the embankment. As for being extraordinary, it's because Liu Liu Restaurant is incredibly popular.
Not only do the locals on this street enjoy eating here, but many Chinese tourists visiting Vietnam also come here.
The restaurant is packed every day at lunchtime.
Today, they opened around nine o'clock as usual. The proprietress, Liu Hui, did some accounting at the front desk for a while, then the vegetable deliveryman arrived at the door, and Ah Sen came out from the kitchen.
He is the owner of this restaurant and used to be the head chef, but later he hired a more experienced chef.
Around 11 o'clock, the restaurant started to have guests.