Chapter 25

“Since everyone is here, let’s go grab something to eat,” Lin Qin pretended as if nothing had happened.

Yun Xin, carrying her suitcase, looked innocent. “I just got fired.”

“Triple salary! You’re rehired!” Lin Qin didn’t hesitate.

Yun Xin immediately agreed.

But while the five-person group before boarding the plane consisted of the secretary, a rich young master, two bodyguards in black, and a young colleague, now only four were standing here.

“Why is one missing?” Yun Xin wondered.

The secretary, much more enthusiastic than before, proactively answered, “Brother Qiu got a head injury and is unconscious, so he went to the hospital by ambulance for treatment.”

An occupational injury.

Yun Xin sighed. Being a bodyguard had this downside: wherever the employer went, they had to follow. Whether it was sky or sea, as long as the employer was interested, they had to keep up no matter what.

Catching a glimpse of a minor injury, Yun Xin asked, “You’re hurt? Shouldn’t you go to the hospital for a bandage?”

The secretary just smiled awkwardly, glanced at the boss, and said nothing.

She did want to go to the hospital for treatment. Even though it was a minor injury, it was still inconvenient. But the clueless boss, having no injuries himself, assumed everyone else was fine and didn’t mention going to the hospital at all.

The secretary even grumbled in her mind if, in the boss’s eyes, only the severely injured like Brother Qiu, who had to be sent to the hospital by ambulance, were considered hurt.

Actually, Lin Qin hadn’t noticed at all.

Now that Yun Xin mentioned it, he realized and told the secretary to go get bandaged and join them after.

The secretary gave Yun Xin a grateful look and quickly left.

The remaining four found a coffee shop to sit in.

One had to admit, the coffee shops in the Federation were great. They sold not only coffee but also cakes. And not just cakes, but also boxed meals.

Yun Xin ordered a drink and a deluxe boxed meal and sat down to enjoy it, knowing the boss would pay.

Lin Qin, Brother Zhao, and Lu Lei sat down but didn’t speak.

Brother Zhao, with his big build and tough-guy face, looked like the type to talk less and do more.

Lu Lei had a thoughtful expression, lost in his thoughts.

As the boss, Lin Qin took a sip of coffee, feeling a bit calmer. He suddenly remembered something, his expression changed, and he gulped down several more sips, finishing half his coffee in one go.

Yun Xin suspected he was treating the coffee like alcohol.

“The plane had an incident and couldn’t take off on time. Are we going to miss that important event?” Yun Xin asked, guessing it must be a multi-billion-dollar deal for him to insist on boarding the plane despite her warnings and not wait for the next flight.

Lin Qin’s expression changed again.

He raised his wrist and checked his watch, then immediately exclaimed, “Damn! We’re going to miss the concert!”

Lin Qin stood up and tried to rush out but saw the bodyguard and Lu Lei looking pale, with two employees missing. He sighed and sat back down.

Yun Xin blinked. Did she hear correctly? Did the boss just say “concert”?

Lin Qin met Yun Xin’s gaze and realized he had let something slip, feeling a bit embarrassed. He didn’t want to explain, but since the secretary wasn’t around, and the bodyguards and Lu Lei weren’t the talkative types, he had no choice. “It’s for the superstar Kailin’s concert, front row tickets! Everyone has a ticket!”

Yun Xin: So it really was an important event, the star-chasing kind of event.

But…

“So, we’re skipping work to chase a star?” Yun Xin asked, puzzled.

Lin Qin responded, “What’s so great about work? Kailin’s concert happens only once every few years!”

“In the past, when countries fought each other, we couldn’t even go if we wanted to. Now, with the victorious country annexing the defeated one, the whole planet is a federation, and we’re all one big family. We can finally attend the concert in person!”

“Kailin is over 50 this year. How many more tours can she hold? We have to catch each concert while we still can!”

The more Lin Qin spoke, the more excited he became, eventually abandoning any pretense of maintaining his image.

“If you want to go to the concert, you could go alone. Why take the employees on a business trip too?” Yun Xin was puzzled.

Lin Qin replied seriously, “It’s an employee benefit.”

Yun Xin raised her hand, “Can I opt-out?”

She wasn’t very keen on this kind of benefit.

Lin Qin was about to glare at her but then remembered the recent plane incident and deflated, “No, you must accompany the boss on business trips, going crazy for love and smashing walls for idols together.”

Goodness.

Yun Xin finally understood. This was a star-chasing company, with star-chasing as the main business and design as a side job, led by a star-chasing boss.

Wait!

Yun Xin looked at the boss, her expression a bit awkward. “The merchandise our company designs, is it star-related?”

“Of course,” Lin Qin said proudly, raising his chin. “The merchandise designed by our company is well-known. Every time we release a limited edition, it sells out instantly, and the servers crash from the high traffic.”

“The boss doesn’t seem short of money. Why not buy a helicopter?” Yun Xin asked curiously. “Wouldn’t it be more convenient to fly there directly?”

Lin Qin’s confident tone faltered.

Bodyguard Brother Zhao looked over. “Because his card was frozen.”

Those few words contained a lot of information.

Lin Qin was furious, “How can a man bow down for money?”

Brother Zhao said calmly, “If we didn’t bow down, who would come out to work?”

Lin Qin was even angrier, “Whose side are you on?”

Brother Zhao looked at the sky. “The salary is paid by the family. I stand with whoever pays me.”

Lin Qin, “…”

He almost forgot that the bodyguards’ salaries were paid by his family, and they were just there to ensure his personal safety.

LinThe secretary instantly regained her usual efficient demeanor. She nodded, “Okay, I’ll book the tickets online right away.”

In the train waiting room, Lin Qin noticed that the others were sneaking glances at Yun Xin.

How outrageous!

Lin Qin was very displeased. Who was the boss here? Why were they all paying attention to the new employee?

While he was grumbling to himself, the secretary smiled and chatted with Yun Xin, “How are you feeling? Any discomfort?”

Although Lin Qin didn’t look over, his ears perked up to listen carefully. Realizing what he was doing, he felt a bit ashamed—complaining about others while he himself was also watching her closely!

“No discomfort,” Yun Xin said, knowing what they were worried about. “I’m full of energy, feeling great.”

“That’s good,” the secretary finally felt reassured.

Lin Qin didn’t say anything but felt comfortable enough to take out his phone and start playing games to pass the time.

Lu Lei quietly observed Yun Xin, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

Yun Xin happily snacked while waiting.

Soon, the train arrived. The five of them boarded in sequence. The secretary had bought consecutive seats in the third carriage.

Lin Qin intended to continue playing on his phone, but the secretary took out a deck of cards and suggested they play a game.

Brother Zhao was the first to decline.

Then Lu Lei also said he wasn’t good at card games.

The remaining three started playing Dou Dizhu (Fight the Landlord).

The secretary played cautiously, but Yun Xin was ruthless, playing with fierce determination.

In one round where Yun Xin was the landlord, Lin Qin didn’t get a chance to play a single card before losing the game.

“This is boring, I’m not playing anymore,” Lin Qin refused to continue with such a childish game. Dou Dizhu was only fun when he had good cards, otherwise, it was quite dull.

“Lu Lei, do you want to play?” the secretary asked Lu Lei. “It doesn’t matter if you’re not good at it, just to pass the time on the road.”

“I…”

Just as Lu Lei was about to speak, Yun Xin stood up, staring in one direction, “I’m not playing anymore.” She then started walking towards another carriage.

“What’s wrong with her?” Lin Qin asked.

The secretary shook her head.

Standing up suddenly, quitting the game suddenly, leaving suddenly, everything happened so suddenly.

Lu Lei speculated, “Could she be sensing something again?”

The four of them looked at each other, feeling a chill.

Especially Lin Qin, who had just been playing on his phone. The system kept pushing him videos about the plane accident that happened five hours ago.

After watching other people’s analysis, Lin Qin realized how dangerous it had been.

The accident was caused by a malfunction in the plane’s electric motor, which led to the cabin door accidentally opening. Additionally, a severe design flaw in the cargo hold’s electric door lock further worsened the situation.

Passengers, along with their seats, were sucked out, some into the fan blades, and some free-falling for four minutes before their deaths.

Compared to that, the oxygen system being destroyed, nearly causing passengers to suffocate, seemed minor.

Investigations revealed that the plane’s wing had been damaged.

Before landing, if the captain hadn’t decisively released the fuel, the landing would have faced greater challenges, with a high risk of explosion afterward.

If the pilot had been anyone other than the experienced captain, the landing wouldn’t have been so steady in the middle of the runway. Crashing into a building with fatalities wouldn’t have been impossible.

Lin Qin deeply felt that surviving was a stroke of luck.

To exaggerate a bit, in that half-hour journey, there were five or six different ways to die. Any small mistake could have been fatal.

The most infuriating part was that the airline company had long known about the design flaw, which could have been fixed simply by replacing aluminum fasteners with steel ones. 

However, since all planes were of the same model, the replacement would mean grounding all planes for several months for modifications.

Hence, the company’s top management kept hesitating.

During this hesitation, the accident occurred. Eight passengers lost their lives, paying the price for the company’s indecision.

…

After watching the video, Lin Qin broke out in a cold sweat, feeling uneasy. He wanted to ask Yun Xin if she had any particular feelings at that moment. Not for any reason, just for peace of mind.

Before he could ask, Yun Xin stood up, stopped playing cards, and left the carriage.

No exaggeration, Yun Xin’s every move now affected the other four. Her sudden action made everyone feel inexplicably uneasy.

“Should we follow her?” the secretary suggested.

Lin Qin put his phone in his pocket and was the first to follow, “Let’s go!”