Chapter 182: Chapter 183: Ten Minutes, I’ll Only Give You Ten Minutes
Levi didn’t drop her off at the subway station but took her all the way to the airport.
After getting in the car, Levi found out she was heading to the airport. So when they passed the subway station and Thea Lynch tried to get him to stop, he didn’t oblige.
"You’re going to the airport, right? I’m faster than the subway."
"Don’t worry, don’t worry. Just now, there was severe hail in our area, but it gets lighter as we move forward."
"See, what did I say! There’s no hail here; it’s just heavy rain."
When getting out of the car, Levi handed her an umbrella, which Thea Lynch didn’t take. After thanking him, she rushed into the airport lobby.
Levi, a bit awkward, pulled back his hand, feeling somewhat helpless: "Who exactly is she going to meet?"
Because the rain was too heavy, Levi didn’t leave either. He casually parked the car and followed her to see what was going on.
Just after passing security, he spotted Thea Lynch.
She was inquiring with the staff about flight information.
Due to the flight delays, the entire airport was overcrowded, and the staff was overwhelmed.
"Please wait a moment, we need to verify the information."
No matter how Thea Lynch asked, the staff always gave this answer.
Thea Lynch is not someone who likes to lose her temper, but at this moment, she was somewhat losing her patience. Recalling the need to maintain her demeanor in public, she chose to continue the conversation patiently.
Levi stood by watching for a while, then grabbed her arm and pulled her away.
"Stop asking, look how busy they are. Who knows how long you’d have to wait for them to respond?"
"Here’s the plan, let’s find it ourselves."
"..." Thea Lynch was taken aback, "Do you know how big this airport is?"
"Don’t we have a target?" Levi caught some key information from her conversation with the staff, "Let’s head to the lounge first."
"If he hasn’t boarded, he should be in the lounge now."
"That’s where we’ll look for him."
"There are many VIP lounges here." Thea Lynch has flown through this airport many times.
Levi glanced around and finally said, "Is he taking a private flight?"
Thea Lynch was uncertain about this.
"He should be."
"Let’s go. Follow me!" Levi said without a second thought, pulling her forward as they ran.
——
"We need to broadcast an announcement to find someone."
Without giving the staff a chance to respond, Levi pushed Thea Lynch inside, "Hurry up."
Just as the staff was about to intercept, Levi swiftly grabbed him and pulled him outside, taking control.
"Easy, easy, brother, we really need to find someone."
"...Then why are you pulling me?"
"Why were you stopping her?"
"Who said I was stopping her? She doesn’t know how to operate the equipment, I was just going to help."
"..." Levi immediately let go, raised his hands high, and apologized with a grin, "Sorry, sorry."
Once inside, the staff helped Thea Lynch by asking for basic information and began broadcasting.
"Sorry for the interruption, we’re now making an announcement to find someone. Mr. Ian Preston taking the 4:30 PM flight to Amsley Airport this afternoon, please proceed to the first-floor broadcast room upon hearing this announcement."
"Repeating, Mr. Ian Preston taking the..."
Being a foreigner, the staff pronounced Ian Preston’s name with a noticeably awkward accent.
Levi looked at Thea Lynch in puzzlement: "Who is this person they’re calling out?"
Being a foreigner himself, he couldn’t quite understand.
"Let me do it." Thea Lynch stepped forward, "Excuse me, can I have a try?"
The staff didn’t quite understand but felt somewhat confident.
Levi pulled him aside and explained quietly, "Your pronunciation isn’t precise."
"Impossible! I just got back from China last month!" He insisted and even recited a tongue twister.
Levi gave him a sideways look and then pronounced a section in authentic, standard Mandarin.
"Brother, this is the proper way."
"..."
The two foreigners started a friendly battle of showcasing their Mandarin skills in front of Thea Lynch, each refusing to back down.
Thea Lynch, overwhelmed by their noise, took a deep breath, pressed the equipment, and rebroadcasted.
"Sorry for the interruption everyone, we’re now broadcasting a message to find someone." After speaking in English, Thea Lynch switched to Mandarin, "Mr. Ian Preston taking the private flight at 4:30 PM to Amsley Airport today, please proceed to the first-floor broadcast room upon hearing this announcement."
She quickly repeated it once more.
Other than the sound of her own heartbeat, Thea Lynch couldn’t hear anything.
She didn’t even realize her hand was shaking as she steadied the mic.
After a two-second silence, Thea Lynch suddenly tightened her grip and raised her voice: "Ian Preston. First-floor broadcast room! Ten minutes, I’m giving you only ten minutes!"
"If I don’t see you in ten minutes, there’s no need to ever see each other again."
With that, she raised her hand and turned off the equipment in a fluid motion.
"..." Levi and the staff were taken aback by her voice, startled, and stood on the side.
The two instinctively kept quiet, silently watching Thea Lynch walk over to a sofa and sit down.
The staff asked, "Is your friend okay?"
On the sofa, Thea Lynch sat with her head down in the corner, suddenly becoming quiet, leaving Levi momentarily unsure.
In his memory, Thea Lynch had always been in a very silent state, never arguing or complaining, preferring to quietly stay in the lab, exploring things.
She didn’t like interacting with people, even when others took the initiative to chat with her, she was extremely perfunctory. When he first met Thea Lynch, she was just like this.
At that time, it seemed she was in her sophomore year.
Although she had been at the school for over a year, she didn’t have a single friend around her, not even anyone to eat or chat with.
Initially, he thought Thea Lynch was being isolated by others, but later discovered this was indeed the case. However, it seemed more like Thea Lynch was isolating others.
He found the girl quite interesting, so he actively befriended her.
She didn’t agree, yet he persisted. Eventually, they were both in the same club, shared the same mentor, and thus began communicating more often.
However, even after becoming familiar, Thea Lynch still didn’t appear particularly enthusiastic or lively.
Still, she maintained a very reserved demeanor.
Back then, he really liked a Chinese movie and felt Thea Lynch resembled the leading lady in a cheongsam from the film.
Seemingly indifferent, but getting to know her showed her virtues, she never spoke loudly, was very polite, and gave off a very proper vibe.
Like an aristocratic lady stepping out of a Republic-era film.
He had genuinely never seen Thea Lynch lose her temper, or even say anything loud. Throughout the years of knowing her, her emotional stability was eerily remarkable, and somewhat terrifying.
Amongst the people he knew, Thea Lynch was definitely the most emotionally stable.
After all, nowadays, young people often act erratically.
In the end, Levi chose not to disturb Thea Lynch, allowing her to process her emotions.
Meanwhile, in the second-floor VIP lounge.
Due to the weather, Ian Preston had not boarded the flight, and the meeting turned into an online session.
Wearing headphones, he was deeply focused on the video call with the opposite group’s executives.
Suddenly, his assistant tapped his shoulder, signaling him to remove his headset—
