The moment she said that, the attendant at the counter was visibly stunned.
But she quickly adjusted her mindset, her eyes showing a mix of suspicion and caution.
"Miss, please rest assured. Our flight crew members have undergone rigorous training and selection to ensure your flight safety."
Her smile was like the one she'd use when dealing with a drunken nuisance.
Julia gritted her teeth, her hands gripping the counter surface so tightly that her entire shoulders were trembling.
"Please, you must believe me! What I'm saying is true!"
"Madam, please calm down. As I said, our crew members are highly qualified, and the situation you are describing absolutely will not happen…"
The attendant's smile was becoming strained. While soothing Julia, she signaled to her colleague beside her. The colleague quickly understood, picked up the internal phone, and dialed a number.
Julia naturally saw all of this.
A sudden coldness plunged her heart into an ice pit, and she abruptly realized a cruel truth—
No one would believe her.
Even though she knew the plane would crash, no matter how earnestly she spoke, to everyone else, it was nothing but crazy talk.
What should she do now?
Julia stood outside the counter, countless thoughts flashing through her mind in that instant.
No one believing her meant that she could not stop the plane from taking off on her own.
In that case, all she could do was…
A pang of pain flashed through Julia's eyes, but ultimately, a glimmer of hope reignited. She looked up at the attendant again.
"Then… could you check for two passengers for me? I have their names. You just need to tell me their contact information!"
Check for passengers?
The attendant frowned at that and shook her head without hesitation.
"I'm sorry, Miss. Airline policy stipulates that passenger's private information cannot be disclosed casually."
Julia completely broke down.
She had never been so frustrated in her life at not being part of the privileged class.
Private information cannot be disclosed casually?
In this day and age, what privacy is left? It's all just a tool used by you capitalists for profit!
"FUCK!!!"
Even in her breakdown, she wouldn't vent her anger on a mere attendant. She slammed the table in frustration, then turned and left under the attendant's gaze, which screamed, "She's a lunatic."
Asking others for help was useless; if she didn't have Chuck's contact information, she would have to find him herself!
Julia found a random seat in the departure hall, picked up her phone, and started searching online.
But just as she typed Chuck's name into the search bar and hit the space key to add a keyword, her finger froze in mid-air.
She stared at the screen, her gaze gradually becoming dull.
It was only at this moment that she realized—
She knew absolutely nothing about Chuck's past or his life.
This wasn't because she didn't care. It was just that when they were trapped on the deserted island, they tacitly agreed not to talk about the past, believing it meant they would only have each other in the future. She even once thought it was romantic.
Romantic my ass!
Who would have thought that now, when she needed to save a life, she had no way to start!
Julia was both angry and frustrated, but after sitting for a moment, she quickly lifted her head and firmly slapped her cheeks.
No, this is not the time to give up.
If she couldn't find his contact information, she would go find him in person!
If Chuck intended to board the plane, he would have to check in, go through security, and finally wait at the boarding gate.
Since they were on the same flight, she would definitely find him by carefully searching the boarding gate when the time came!
With this thought, hope surged in Julia's heart again.
However, there were still nearly ten hours until boarding time.
Julia thought for a moment, then stood up, grabbed a quick bite at an airport fast food restaurant—not even taking the time to enjoy the long-missed modern food—and quickly returned to the departure hall after a brief rest.
Even though it was still early, she didn't know when Chuck would arrive at the airport; he might even come very early to check in his luggage.
She couldn't relax.
If she missed him, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
This thought dominated Julia's mind, keeping her in a constant state of tension.
With her phone in her left hand and a bottle of mineral water in her right, she began pacing around the entire airport lobby.
During this time, perhaps because of the attendant's previous call, a female staff member who looked like a security guard proactively approached her and offered her free use of the airport lounge until her flight boarded.
Julia politely declined and continued her aimless search.
Time passed slowly.
The closer it got to boarding time, the more nervous Julia became.
She didn't let go of a single stranger's face that passed by—young, old, even those wearing sunglasses or masks.
But even with such diligence, she still couldn't find the person she was looking for.
It wasn't until the sun rose and the flight was about to board that Julia could only pin her hopes on the final boarding gate.
She glanced at the time. With only one hour left until the plane took off, she hurried to the boarding location she remembered, searching through the queue of people.
The passengers, who were looking down at their phones or chatting with companions, were startled to see a foreign woman, attractive but sporting dark circles and looking utterly exhausted, staring at the crowd so strangely. They all avoided eye contact with her.
No… Not him… Not this one either…
She walked from the front of the line to the back but still couldn't find him. The anxiety in her heart was indescribable. Finally, she couldn't help but call out loudly.
"Chuck? Is Chuck here?"
No one responded.
No one even cared.
In an instant, Julia felt icy cold.
Boarding is about to begin, and he's not here?
Where could he be?
Could it be…
That in this world after her rebirth, he simply doesn't exist?!
The more Julia thought about it, the more terrified she became. Just as she was about to search one more time, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in front of her.
"Miss, are you alright?"
Julia looked up at the sound and was stunned when she saw the figure before her.
A beautiful, mature woman in a floral maxi dress, pulling a suitcase with one hand and holding the hand of a cute girl in overalls with the other, was looking at her with a slight frown and concern in her eyes.
Julia's heart trembled at the sight of the familiar mother and daughter.
It's them!
If they are here, then Chuck must be here too!
Julia was about to tell the mother and daughter the truth that the plane was going to crash, but the words caught in her throat.
No, she couldn't tell them directly, or they would definitely treat her like a lunatic too.
Julia pondered for a moment and came up with a perfect excuse.
"I'm looking for an important friend. He got separated from me at the airport, and I'm a foreigner and not familiar with this place. Can you help me?"
"An important friend?"
Gu Yitong frowned at the question.
Then, she checked the time on her phone. After a slight hesitation, she nodded.
"Alright, I'll help you."
She then turned to Gu Mòmo, who was looking down beside her, and softly instructed her. The little lolita obediently nodded, then pulled the suitcase and sat down alone in a waiting area nearby.
"The plane is about to start boarding. Let's hurry. Come with me."
Gu Yitong took two steps forward, speaking quickly to her, then walked ahead in her flip-flops.
Watching her back, a sense of security inexplicably rose in Julia's heart, which then overlapped with the memory of her shameless bitch persona on the island.
Perhaps she should have been a little nicer to her back on the island?
She shook her head, chasing these distracting thoughts away.
Following Gu Yitong, they walked through the departure hall and arrived at the check-in counter where Julia had been earlier, stopping at a window marked "Information Desk."
"Excuse me, could you page a passenger for me?"
Gu Yitong got straight to the point, handing her boarding pass through the window to the staff member.
The staff member was about to refuse, but looking down, her back instantly straightened at the sight of the platinum identifier in the upper right corner of the boarding pass. She quickly handed the boarding pass back.
"No problem, madam. Please provide the name of the passenger you are looking for and the flight number."
Gu Yitong then turned to Julia, stepping back slightly.
Julia immediately understood, gratefully nodded at her, and quickly stepped forward to provide the details.
Two minutes later, Chuck's name echoed throughout the entire airport lobby.
"Wait here for a while. I need to go back for boarding now. I'll take my leave."
Gu Yitong put away her boarding pass, nodded at Julia, and prepared to return to the boarding gate.
But the next second, her wrist was grabbed.
Seeing her turn back to look at her in astonishment, Julia was internally struggling.
She finally spoke in a low voice.
"I don't know what to say to make you believe me, but please, you absolutely must not board the plane! It will crash!"
"…"
Gu Yitong's expression visibly froze after hearing the extraordinary statement.
Then, she lowered her head and remained silent for a moment. A smile that felt strangely familiar to Julia appeared on her beautiful face.
"I understand. I believe you."
After saying that, she gently patted Julia's hand and calmly turned to leave.
Julia could only stand there, staring blankly at her retreating back.
Did she really believe her?
The staff member behind the counter looked at her with obvious pity and helplessness, just like they would at any unreasonable customer.
Time continued to tick by, minute by minute.
With only forty minutes left until takeoff, passengers finally began boarding in an orderly manner.
Julia waited for a long time but still didn't see Chuck. Finally, unable to wait any longer, she told the attendant at the check-in window to tell anyone who came looking for her to go to the boarding gate for flight XXX.
She then rushed back toward the boarding gate.
Rushing back, more than half of the long queue had already passed through the boarding gate. Julia scanned the crowd again.
Still no sign of Chuck.
Even the Gu mother and daughter were gone. She didn't know if they had really listened to her and left, or if they had also treated her like a lunatic and boarded the plane as usual.
At this moment, Julia stood at the end of the long queue, watching the stream of people passing through the gate and stepping onto the plane that was destined to crash.
An overwhelming sense of powerlessness, like a landslide and tsunami, instantly engulfed her.
The hours of intense stress, combined with the series of setbacks she had experienced, finally caused Julia's emotions to completely break down.
She crouched down on the spot, covering her face, and began to sob uncontrollably in the noisy departure hall.
"Waaaah…"
She was like a helpless child.
The surrounding passengers frowned and avoided her. Some busybodies even picked up their phones to take photos and videos.
After an unknown period, someone finally approached and gently tapped Julia's shoulder.
"Sweetie, what's the matter?"
Julia sniffled and looked up, teary-eyed.
It was a cleaning lady in a "Janitorial" uniform, pulling a packet of tissues from her pocket and offering it to her.
"Don't cry. Nothing's so bad it can't be overcome, alright?"
The cleaning lady smiled, then waved her mop and walked away.
Julia squatted there, pulling out a tissue to wipe the moisture from her face, and finally slowly stood up.
She looked down at her phone screen.
Only half an hour left until the plane took off.
Her fists slowly clenched.
Julia raised her hand, wiped away her tears, and her fists gradually tightened.
Yes, nothing is so bad it can't be overcome.
At worst, she would start over.
But before that…
She looked down and opened her phone's contact list. The top contact's last call record showed it was a week ago.
That was when she had left home in a fit of pique and flown alone across the ocean.
Coming back again, even if they couldn't meet, she should at least say goodbye properly.
Julia took a few deep breaths, calming herself as much as possible, then dialed the person's FACETIME number.
The familiar ringtone sounded. After a brief moment, the image of a slightly plump, blonde woman in her early forties appeared on the screen.
"Hey, sweetie."
The woman's face broke into a gentle smile the moment she saw Julia.
"Hey… Mom."
But at the sight of the woman, Julia, who had just managed to calm down, instantly had tears well up in her eyes again.