Chapter One

  Traffic jam, traffic jam, still traffic jam.

  His hands rested casually on the steering wheel, but his brow was already slightly furrowed with impatience. The car's radio was playing a report about the road conditions ahead, accompanied by soft static, which only added to the oppressive atmosphere in the quiet space.

  Wen Ge couldn't help but jump out of the car and shout, covering his eyes with his right hand as he gazed at the endless convoy, cursing loudly.

  An Ran felt increasingly annoyed and frustrated as she listened, so she pressed the horn with her hand. When Jian Song looked over, she hooked her finger to signal him to come up first.

  Wen Ge pouted and stomped her foot, reluctantly crawling back to the passenger seat: "Every time I take this road during rush hour, it's always congested, so annoying!"

  "It's on the way to the store anyway, what can you do." She bowed her head and tuned into a familiar radio station.

  Wen Ge had one hand propped against the car window, supporting her chin with a look of displeasure: "When are you going to S City?"

  "In three days." She picked up a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap and took a sip, then slowly added: "Temporary transfer for one month."

  "A month?" Wen Ge cried out in a mournful voice, her face almost buried in her knees. "Then won't I be bored to death, depressed to death, and lonely to death during this time?"

  "You're not going to die yet..." She put down the water bottle and adjusted the air conditioner's direction with a swing of her hand, "I'm bored, go find your Wen Xiao Shu."

  He looked at her with a sorrowful and resentful gaze, then closed his mouth and stopped talking.

  After walking and stopping for almost half an hour, the road conditions were only slightly better than inching along. An Ran absent-mindedly listened to the radio broadcast, casting a sideways glance at the not-too-distant front.

  At first glance, I couldn't take my eyes off it.

  Among the familiar models such as Volkswagen and Hyundai in the traffic ahead, a Land Rover Evoque stands out particularly.

  Her gaze shifted from the car body to the license plate, and the numbers on it were simple and easy to remember: 1225, Christmas Day, which was also his birthday.

  The distance between the two cars was neither far nor near, and she could see the figure on the driver's seat through the black car window.

  "Anran, what are you staring at so intently?"

  "Nothing."

  After a few more minutes, this train of cars finally started to move smoothly, and she stepped on the gas pedal with ease. As she passed by that Land Rover, she turned her head back for a glance.

  In the fleeting moment of passing by, I only had time to see his hands grasping the steering wheel, slender, fair, and with distinct joints.

  A month later, S city.

  She was temporarily transferred to work in S city's branch company Shengyuan Hotel as a temporary lobby manager, and today is the second last day of her working at Shengyuan Hotel.

  She had just finished patrolling the room and returned to the office when she received a call from Wen Ge.

  "An Ran, how about I pick you up at the airport the day after tomorrow and we go to that restaurant downstairs your place for a meal?" The clear voice on the phone made her cloudy mind clearer.

  He casually picked up his teacup, took a glance at it, walked to the water dispenser to refill it, and only then slowly said, "You can go whenever you're free."

  "Of course I have time, you're not here, and I've already lost interest." Wen Ge frowned and complained, picking up a piece of milk candy and putting it in her mouth.

  An Ran smiled slightly and curved her lips, took a sip of water after receiving it, and slowly responded.

  "It's settled then." As soon as the words left her mouth, she seemed to remember something and exclaimed loudly before asking: "I heard from my younger uncle that your Uncle Jingfan went to S city two days ago to clear his mind. Didn't you two run into each other?"

  "...distracted?"

  "Jingfan Shu's company has encountered some problems..." She paused, then continued: "I just heard about it a few days ago. I was going to tell you, but when I called you several times that day, you didn't answer... and then I forgot."

  After thinking calmly for a moment, I recalled that it was just a few days ago...

  That day was inauspicious, and she encountered several troublesome customers. She was busy to the point of being flustered, with no time to answer her phone.

  After getting off work, I went home and fell asleep as soon as I lay down on the bed. When I woke up, I had already forgotten about this matter.

  "It's all right..."

  "An Ran, can you hear me?"

  "I'm listening." She bowed her head, took a sip of water, pulled out the chair and sat down. "I didn't meet him, I don't know if he lives in Shengyuan or not, I didn't handle his check-in."

  Wen Ge let out an "oh" and roughly told her about the crisis situation of Jing Fan Shu's company that she had heard from Wen Shao Yu.

  She listened quietly, and as she listened, her mind wandered off.

  Wen Jingfan's SY investment company is not in A City, but in S City. Although it can't be compared to a first-tier city like A City, the company's momentum has been steadily rising, showing a dark horse posture.

  Until a month ago when she handled his accommodation, she knew that he had moved his focus to A city, but it doesn't seem to be going smoothly at the moment.

  She took another sip of water and leaned against the table beside her, slowly drinking, her expression barely concealing her fatigue.

  She didn't hear what Wen Ge said next. After hanging up the phone, she looked out the window at the gloomy sky and the rapidly increasing wind power, and pinched her brow with a headache.

  The typhoon is coming——

  She finished her shift and returned to the hotel room specially arranged for employees to rest. When she woke up from sleep, the sky outside was darker than in the morning, and the howling wind could be heard clearly even in the room where she was.

  She had originally planned to go shopping in the afternoon and bring a gift for Wen Ge, but this weather seemed to make it impossible to go out.

  Just as I was about to fall back asleep, the phone on my desk rang. I glanced at the caller ID and slightly furrowed my brow - it was a call from the duty manager of the lobby.

  It's a typhoon day, there are two young children at home, my husband is on a business trip and hasn't returned yet, there is only one elderly person at home, I need to take the afternoon off temporarily.

  She let out a soft sigh and reluctantly agreed. When she went to take over, the manager thanked her profusely before immediately preparing to leave.

  She flipped through the files and suddenly asked casually: "Wang sister, have you ever received Mr. Wen Jingfan's check-in?"

  Just as Wang was about to leave, she paused for a moment, seemingly thinking, shook her head: "Are you talking about Mr. Wen from SY Investment Company? I've never received him, but he's always low-key, and it wasn't until he checked out at the front desk that I knew he had stayed here many times."

  He casually replied and didn't ask further questions.

  The typhoon is coming, and the hotel must make preparations in advance. She came and went hastily to check the arrangements, and it wasn't until an hour later that she finally took a break.

  The girl at the front desk saw that it was her turn for the night shift again and couldn't help but be surprised: "Hey, Manager Zou, why is it you on duty again?"

  Su Anran smiled and explained: "A typhoon is coming, Wang's family has two children, and only one old man is at home, so I swapped shifts with him."

  The receptionist nodded, somewhat helplessly: "Having kids to take care of, can't be helped. Following the manager, do you have a boyfriend?"

  "Not yet."

  "It's the same, I'm busy with work all the time and my days and nights are upside down, where can I find a boyfriend...” The front desk girl complained for a few sentences, looked at the sky outside, and felt even more depressed: "The typhoon is about to arrive, and it's said that this time it's an super strong one."

  She smiled and said nothing more.

  This was her first time facing a super typhoon alone, although she had confidence in the hotel's various anti-typhoon measures, but still couldn't help feeling uneasy. Taking advantage of the wind being relatively calm, she went to inspect the hotel as usual and only rested after confirming that the hotel had made all necessary preparations, then went to the tea room to make some tea.

  Several managers from the customer department were watching news broadcasts in the pantry and invited her over to watch the news when they saw her walk in.

  "China Weather Network, Central Meteorological Observatory, September 8th, 15:00, continues to issue typhoon forecast: The center of this year's No. 15 super typhoon 'Losa' is located on the sea surface about 370 kilometers north of L City at 15:00 today, with a maximum wind force of 17 levels (58 meters/second) near the center and a minimum central pressure of 925 hectopascals. It is expected that 'Losa' will move southwest to northwest at a speed of around 15 kilometers per hour, landing in S City at 19:00 tonight, bringing □□ rain..."

  He calmly sipped his tea and stared intently at the TV screen.

  The huge waves stirred up by the typhoon were like ferocious beasts, rushing forward violently. The fishing boats moored on the surface of the sea rose and fell with the waves, occasionally colliding with each other, making a loud crashing sound.

  The reporter stood in this wind and explained with great effort.

  The sound of rain blurred his intermittent explanations, leaving only the wind howling "whooshing" in waves.

  At that moment, Su An's right eyelid twitched violently several times, making her feel flustered and anxious.

  She walked out with a cup of tea, the quiet corridor had no one walking around, the warm orange light fell down, making the entire corridor feel warmer.

  She glanced sideways at the window and thought for a moment before picking up her phone and dialing another number to her home in L City.

  Looking out of the window, the rain is getting stronger and stronger. There are not many pedestrians on the road, and occasionally a private car drives by, being extra careful.

  After confirming that everything was safe at home, she finally let out a sigh of relief and quickly went downstairs.