Chapter 176: Trying To Snatch Her Seat

Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Trying To Snatch Her Seat

Jiang Suhan had never once halted an ongoing corporate discussion just to glance at a random notification.

Yet this time, he had retrieved his phone and read the message without a single second of hesitation.

Jiang Suhan remained completely oblivious to the stunned, bewildered looks his staff were throwing his way. His attention was entirely captured by Qiao Meixia’s text.

She was going to be away from the estate for the weekend again.

Was she heading out to work on the custom painting she had promised to create for his office?

Well, he thought warmly, there was really no need for her to rush the process. He was more than willing to wait. She could take as much time as she required to finish the piece, and he would be perfectly content.

Besides, since she explicitly mentioned staying at her friend’s private residence, Jiang Suhan naturally assumed she would be spending the majority of her time relaxing indoors. Knowing she was in a safe, quiet home, he felt zero anxiety about her wandering off or encountering trouble.

He quickly typed out a warm reply and sent it back to her line.

’Take good care of yourself, and make sure you eat your meals on time.’

He had absolutely zero idea that Qiao Meixia was not planning on spending a cozy weekend relaxing indoors at a friend’s house. Instead, she was currently boarding a flight to Huishan Country to trek up a dangerous mountain.

After dispatching the text, Jiang Suhan slid his phone back into his pocket and lifted his head.

Only then did he realise that every single manager in the boardroom was staring at him with strange, wide-eyed expressions.

"What are you all staring at? Continue the presentation." Jiang Suhan instructed calmly, his voice dropping back into its usual professional tone.

The presenter snapped out of his daze instantly, cleared his throat, and scrambled to resume his slide deck.

Meanwhile, high above the ground, Qiao Meixia never received Jiang Suhan’s reply because her phone was already set to flight mode.

The flight ended up delayed by fifteen minutes due to a minor scheduling conflict on the tarmac. However, she did not bother inquiring about the details. It was not as though she could alter the flight schedule anyway.

She had already settled comfortably into her spacious first-class seat, fastened her seat belt securely, and placed her noise-cancelling headphones over her ears. With nothing pressing to attend to, she closed her eyes and listened to music while waiting for the aircraft to push back from the gate.

After some time had passed, the familiar chime rang through the cabin, accompanied by the captain’s announcement informing the passengers that they were cleared for takeoff. She remained relaxed in her seat, enjoying her music as the plane taxied down the runway and prepped for ascent.

A few minutes later, the aircraft roared down the strip and lifted off smoothly into the sky.

Eventually, the seat belt indicator light above her overhead pod clicked off, signalling to the cabin that passengers were free to unfasten their restraints if they wished to move around.

Qiao Meixia, however, did not bother releasing her buckle. She simply kept it snapped in place. It did not restrict her movement or cause her any discomfort, so she saw no practical reason to take it off.

Then, while she was peacefully enjoying her music, she suddenly felt someone aggressively tugging at her sleeve. Before she had a chance to react, her noise-cancelling headphones were rudely yanked off her head by an unseen hand.

Qiao Meixia immediately flicked her eyes open and saw a young boy who looked to be around nine years old standing right beside her aisle seat.

The moment the boy caught Qiao Meixia opening her eyes, he let out a dramatic wail and suddenly burst into loud, theatrical tears.

Qiao Meixia frowned deeply as the boy started sobbing out of nowhere. She unbuckled her seat belt and looked up at him with a thoroughly puzzled expression.

A flight attendant rushed over to the aisle, eager to investigate the sudden disturbance.

"What on earth is going on here?" The flight attendant demanded sharply.

In truth, she had already formed a biased judgment of Qiao Meixia based entirely on her youthful appearance and unpretentious clothing. She immediately assumed that this teenage passenger must have done something inappropriate to make the child cry. Seeing that Qiao Meixia remained remarkably calm and unbothered by the scene, the flight attendant felt justified in launching into an immediate lecture.

"Young lady, you really should not go around bullying and scaring small children like that." The flight attendant scolded unprofessionally.

Qiao Meixia stared at the flight attendant with an utterly bewildered expression, as though she could not quite fathom the sheer absurdity of what she was hearing.

"Furthermore, what are you even doing sitting up here in the first-class cabin? You need to return to your assigned seat in economy immediately." The flight attendant continued, her tone dripping with unwarranted condescension.

As it turned out, this particular flight attendant had not been stationed at the boarding bridge when passengers initially entered the aircraft. Consequently, she had zero awareness of the fact that Qiao Meixia was a legitimate first-class ticket holder.

"Hand over your boarding pass right now. I need to verify your ticket." The flight attendant demanded, holding out her hand authoritatively.

Before Qiao Meixia could even open her mouth to reply, another individual came barreling down the aisle toward the boy.

"My poor, precious baby! Why are you crying like this? Tell Grandma right now who hurt you!" An elderly woman shrieked loudly as she pulled the boy into a theatrical embrace.

She spoke in an ear-splitting, deliberately exaggerated voice, instantly drawing the annoyed glares of every single passenger in the cabin.

The surrounding travellers frowned deeply. They had shelled out small fortunes for first-class tickets specifically to enjoy a quiet, luxurious, and peaceful journey, yet this obnoxious commotion was completely shattering their rest.

A second flight attendant quickly hurried over, alerted by the growing noise. She stepped into the row and calmly asked what had transpired.

The first flight attendant immediately jumped in to give her own heavily biased version of the narrative.

Hearing the first flight attendant’s skewed account, the old woman whipped her head around toward Qiao Meixia and launched into a furious tirade.

"You vicious little brat... How dare you lay a hand on my precious grandson?! I swear I will make you pay dearly for this!" The old woman screamed hysterically.

Qiao Meixia’s dark eyes narrowed into cold slits. She instantly recognised that grating, obnoxious voice. It was the exact same voice that had triggered a massive, disruptive argument with the airline staff back at the departure terminal earlier that afternoon.

When the old woman locked eyes with Qiao Meixia’s piercing, ice-cold gaze, her heart skipped an involuntary beat. For some inexplicable reason, a sudden wave of primal fear washed over her as she looked into the girl’s steady eyes.

It was the very first time in her life she had ever felt genuinely intimidated by someone so young.

However, she quickly forced down the panic and rallied her courage. After all, she had a crew member and a crying child backing her up. She certainly did not expect to have to handle the girl on her own.

"I did not touch your grandson. In fact, he was the one who wandered over here and aggressively disturbed my peace." Qiao Meixia stated in a level, composed tone.

Though her voice remained entirely calm, her expression was freezing cold.

"Disturbed you?! Your seat is not even supposed to be in this section!" The first flight attendant immediately chimed in, attempting to back the grandmother up.

Before Qiao Meixia could even offer a rebuttal, the second flight attendant stepped forward, cutting the argument short.

"What on earth are you talking about? She is a fully authorised first-class passenger. I personally checked her boarding pass and verified her ticket when she stepped onto the aircraft." The second flight attendant stated firmly, glaring at her coworker.

The first flight attendant looked completely stunned, her mouth dropping open in shock. She had not anticipated that the teenage girl was actually a legitimate first-class patron.

"Even so, she should not be so cold and unfeeling toward a child." The first flight attendant insisted, stubbornly refusing to admit her blatant error.

At that exact moment, the affluent female passenger seated directly beside Qiao Meixia could no longer sit back in silence. She decided she had heard enough and intervened to set the record straight. She was already physically exhausted and wanted nothing more than to catch some sleep.

All she desired was for the chaotic disturbance to end as quickly as humanly possible so that she could finally enjoy some uninterrupted peace and rest.

***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that means it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko***