Visa On Arrival Chapter 5

Going Home

Through the thin fabric of her pajamas, Qi Ranyue’s shoulder felt warm and soft.

Chen Rong nudged her gently and whispered, “Wake up, Yueyue. It’s time to get up.”

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, but her eyelids didn’t move. She let out a muffled “mm” from her throat, sounding like a mix of acting spoiled and protesting. Then she rolled over, pulled the blanket up, and sank deeper into the bed.

Chen Rong couldn’t help but smile.

Neo woke up from sleep mode, its large eye blinking as its two pairs of wings vibrated rapidly, hovering in the air.

“Good morning! Rongrong, Yueyue!” The voice was crisp and energetic, like the first bird’s chirp of the morning, clear and bright.

Chen Rong stood by the electric kettle, holding a glass of warm water.

Hearing Neo’s greeting, she nodded slightly, her lips curving into a polite arc. “Morning.”

“Morning to you too!” Qi Ranyue hopped out of the bathroom, white toothpaste foam at the corner of her mouth and a toothbrush still in her hand. Her voice was louder than Chen Rong’s, full of vitality.

Chen Rong smiled at the sight.

It was a light, faint smile, hidden at the corners of her mouth as if she were afraid of being discovered. Yet the light in her eyes as she looked at her was impossible to hide.

As if suddenly remembering something, Neo turned around and hovered back and forth between the two of them. “Rongrong, Yueyue, to make up for the unpleasant experience during your visit, our boss specifically instructed me to express his apologies. These are two breakfast vouchers for our park’s most special offerings. Our boss said you must go and try them.”

“Your boss is so nice and generous,” Qi Ranyue teased.

On white porcelain plates, two sunny-side-up eggs lay side by side, accompanied by several slices of perfectly fried bacon and two thick-cut pieces of smoked salmon.

Croissants leaned against a small wicker basket, their surfaces baked to a golden crisp.

Fruit was cut into neat shapes, piled into a small hill in a glass yogurt bowl.

The coffee pot sat in the middle of the table, its steam carrying a rich aroma that slowly spread through the room.

There was also a small dish of cherry-colored jam, pale butter on the side, and two biscotti to go with the coffee. Silver cutlery was neatly arranged on the white tablecloth.

Qi Ranyue finished her last sip of coffee, placed the cup gently back on the table, and leaned back.

Chen Rong turned to look at her, her eyes curving into crescents.

“Full?”

“Mm.”

Chen Rong naturally reached out to finish the leftovers in front of her.

“Little Neo, is the passage back open?” Qi Ranyue asked.

“Not yet, don’t be in such a hurry.” Neo blinked its large eye. Several lines of green code appeared on the blue light of its display panel. “After you finish breakfast, take a walk to help your digestion. It should be time by then.”

“Alright, then take us there now,” Chen Rong said. “We can just wait there directly.”

Though called a passage back, it looked more like an elevator.

It was a cylindrical elevator with a transparent glass surface, no buttons, and no floor display. Above the center of this cylindrical object was a steel pipe about thirty to forty centimeters in diameter, extending directly to the top of the Safe Zone. The surface of the cylinder was glass-like.

“This is the passage back? It’s just like an elevator.” Qi Ranyue had expected something novel and felt a bit disappointed.

Sniff, sniff.

Neo was crying again, its large eye blinking frantically.

“I can’t bear to let you go. Can you… stay and keep me company?”

“Never mind, you should go back.”

“Can we… take a photo together?”

“You are my first friends here. You know, I’ve never been outside of this place.”

Neo lowered its head, muttering to itself, every word filled with reluctance.

“Come here!” Qi Ranyue took out her travel camera and made a peace sign at the lens. “Rongrong, come quick.”

“Neo, you come too.”

Click!

The lens froze that moment in time.

Qi Ranyue tilted her head slightly toward Chen Rong, her eyes curving as she smiled, the curve of her cheeks soft.

Chen Rong’s lips turned up slightly in a faint smile, her aura cool and elegant. Their heads leaned slightly toward each other.

Between them was Neo, the square, large-eyed box with two pairs of wings.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Neo spun rapidly above their heads. “This is my first photo!” Sniff, sniff.

A man walked straight toward them and stopped in front of them, bowing slightly.

Then he reached out his hand.

“Hello.”

The two girls’ gazes slowly swept over his face.

He was about thirty years old, roughly 185 centimeters tall.

His shoulders were broad, and his back was straight and strong.

Dressed in a set of light gray linen casual wear, he possessed an aura of warm sunlight just by standing there.

His gaze was gentle, his eyes clear like autumn water, possessing a noble and bright character.

“Hello!” Chen Rong politely shook his hand.

After letting go, he didn’t rush to withdraw his hand. Instead, he moved it in a natural arc toward Qi Ranyue and shook hers as well. “Hello!”

“This is my boss,” Neo whispered.

“Hello, I am the person in charge here, Ran Jin,” the man introduced himself. “The Safe Zone project has only just started and is still being continuously refined. Due to a mistake in our work, you had an unpleasant experience. I would like to apologize first and ask for your understanding.”

Hearing Ran Jin’s words, Qi Ranyue smiled and waved her hand, her movement light as if brushing away something non-existent. “Oh, no, no. Actually, we were just saying how comfortable the atmosphere is. The experience was actually quite a pleasant surprise.”

“Thank you, thank you!” Ran Jin saw that the passage had opened. “The passage back is open. Next time, once I’ve upgraded the project, I guarantee your experience will be on a whole new level.”

“I’ll see you out. Have a safe trip.”

“Okay, goodbye!”

“Neo, bye-bye!”

The transparent glass elevator rose slowly.

Outside the elevator, Ran Jin’s gaze followed them the entire time.

That gaze was complex and inscrutable, soft like a thin layer of light. A lingering reluctance was gathered between his brows, and his eyes were so soft they were almost paternal.

As the elevator rose higher and their outlines grew smaller, he remained standing in the same spot, looking up.

After returning home that night, Qi Ranyue developed a high fever. Fever reducers brought it down, but it would spike again, repeating over and over.

The next day, she began having nightmares. Random images were shoved into her mind like someone was haphazardly stuffing film negatives into her brain.

She saw a man holding a tiny infant, with another man beside him trying to make the baby happy.

The infant looked very familiar, but when she tried to see the faces of the other two clearly, the world seemed to crack, and the entire image shattered into pieces.

She saw the monsters from the amusement park all staring at her. Behind the group of monsters, there was an even larger one observing her with a strange look in its eyes.

Then she saw someone secretly pick up the child from the stroller and walk away without looking back.

…

She woke up, her clothes soaked with cold sweat.

She wanted to roll over, but her body wouldn’t move. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but that she simply couldn’t make it obey.

Slowly, she drifted back into a deep sleep.

In her daze, she heard people talking. She wanted to open her eyes to see and hear the content of the conversation, but she was powerless and fainted again.

Her condition showed no signs of improvement.

Her parents sent her to the hospital.