"When do you plan to go back to McKinney?" Shawn Norton, who had been busy all day, seed a bit tired, his expression showing weariness, but his eyes were still bright and sharp, visibly happy from within.
Nathalie Quinlan sat beside him, her hand swirling a glass, not filled with wine but with Cola. The bubbles in the Cola fizzed upwards, which at a glance looked very much like red wine.
After taking a sip, the carbonation uncomfortable, she put down the glass and said slowly, "Tomorrow, I guess."
Nathalie rembered that Alfred Garland hadn’t replied to her ssages in the last two days, nor had he sent her any. Sothing in her heart constantly kept vigil, leaving her unsettled here in Beijing, but she couldn’t pinpoint what she was dwelling on, only feeling anxious and restless every ti she thought about not hearing from Alfred, unable to calm down.
"Tomorrow morning," she considered for a mont, then provided a more precise ti.
Sadam Vinson chid in from the side, "That soon?"
Govert Griffin also spoke up with a chuckle, "Ms. Quinlan, if there’s no hurry, you don’t need to rush back. Stay in Beijing for a couple more days. Mr. Vinson and I even ntioned taking you around to see the nearby sights. You haven’t been to the Great Wall yet, have you? The scenery there is quite impressive, a place of both beauty and inspiration. Since you’re here, you really should go see it. And there’s Nutziland Lane—it’s different from the Great Wall, a whole street filled with food. Delicacies from all corners of the earth, there’s bound to be sothing you’d love to eat."
"Yeah, since you’re already here, it would be a sha not to explore a bit," Sadam Vinson agreed, slipping his hands into his pockets with a nonchalant air, "Govert’s right; you’re already here, so why rush back."
Shawn Norton looked at her, equally filled with expectation.
Facing three pairs of eyes all at once, Nathalie felt a bit of a headache coming on and shook her head with steadfast determination, "I’m leaving tomorrow morning—next ti."
Although disappointed, Shawn Norton knew she wouldn’t change her plans and asked, "Well, what about tonight then? Do you have any plans?"
Sadam Vinson just rembered that it’s still not too late for a second round.
Before he could speak, he saw the girl pick up the phone from the table, stand up, and with a low and powerful voice, said to Shawn, "I’ve got sothing going on tonight, I have to et soone."
Last ti she was in Beijing, she had to leave in a hurry and didn’t get to see Mr. Zachmann, so this ti she definitely wanted to pay him a visit.
So she was going to the nursing ho later.
By the ti she returned from the nursing ho, it would be late, and since she had decided to leave early the next morning, she didn’t want to stay out all night.
Shawn Norton looked up at her calm and serene face, helplessly comnting, "You, oh you, trying to invite you out for a al is harder than reaching the heavens, sigh!"
Considering that he himself was rarely available for others to invite, and yet, trying to invite her for a al, he couldn’t even get on the list.
Nathalie raised her eyebrows and tugged on the brim of her cap, "Next ti."
"Alright. Since you’re busy tonight, I won’t keep you any longer; go on with what you have to do," Shawn Norton waved her off, urging her to hurry along.
Nathalie smiled, picked up her belongings without lingering, said goodbye to Sadam Vinson and the others, and turned to leave with a carefree stride.
*
The next day.
Early in the morning, Nathalie checked out of her hotel and headed to the airport. She went through ticketing and security seamlessly and boarded the airplane within half an hour.
The airplane soared into the sky.
Three hours later, she arrived at McKinney Airport.
She hadn’t slept on the flight, got off the plane and first went to the vending machine to buy a bottle of water. Unscrewing the cap, she took a sip, then turned her phone back on.
A quick glance.
Still no ssages from Alfred or soone else.
She opened the chat records with Amadeus Yancey and it was still on the ssage where he had sent her Sadam Vinson’s phone numbers.
User Comments
0 comments from readers