Chapter 47

Lin Sen went to the front of the plane for less than five minutes and then returned to his seat.

"What happened?" Dina asked, a rare hint of tension in her voice. "Could it be..."

Obviously, the situation announced on the plane was so serious that even if Lin Sen were a miraculous doctor, it would be unlikely for him to cure the patient in such a short time. Therefore, there seemed to be only one possibility left.

"He won't die," Lin Sen said irritably.

In fact, it's not uncommon for unexpected events like a passenger falling ill to occur on a plane. As a former doctor, Lin Sen naturally felt responsible. However, when he and the tall flight attendant who had been staring at him arrived in first class, he found that the emergency announced over the intercom was actually just a simple dislocation. An Arab man had fallen down the stairs and dislocated his shoulder. It wasn't a big deal, but considering the man's likely high status, the crew was understandably nervous.

After Lin Sen took a look, he quickly reset the arm in a few movements and then left without waiting for any reaction from the others. It wasn't that Lin Sen was trying to act superior; he just felt that if a similar situation had occurred in economy class, the crew wouldn't have been so anxious. The Arab man might have been of high status, but the overreaction had made everyone uneasy. This differential treatment left Lin Sen with a bad impression.

A moment later, the tall flight attendant came back to Lin Sen and politely said that the passenger in first class wanted to thank him in person. When the flight attendant finished speaking, Dina frowned. She had heard of people thanking someone in person, but not of someone going to be thanked. What was this all about?

Seeing Dina about to speak, Lin Sen quickly waved to stop her. Although the other party was arrogant, their intention was good. Considering the earlier incident, it might have been the crew's idea. It was better to avoid unnecessary trouble. Lin Sen had no intention of going to first class just for a thank you. He simply told the flight attendant to convey his message that it was a small matter, not worth mentioning.

The tall flight attendant seemed a bit hesitant but soon left with a warm professional smile.

It seemed that the matter was over. A few hours later, the plane landed at Tian Nan International Airport.

At this moment, Dina nudged Lin Sen with her shoulder and pointed in a direction with interest. Lin Sen turned his head and saw that the tall flight attendant was holding something like a signature board and hesitantly walking toward him.

"Sir, could you sign this for me?" the tall flight attendant asked hopefully as she approached Lin Sen.

"Sign? Do you know who I am?" Lin Sen was taken aback. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation, and he was a bit puzzled.

"Yes, you were the head coach of Atlético Madrid, weren't you?"

"Uh... yes, I was... once..." Lin Sen felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Then there's no mistake. Could you sign this for me? My brother is a big fan of yours; he loves football."

"Sure," Lin Sen understood. He took the signature board and quickly wrote a message of blessing, then signed his name neatly.

After receiving the signature, the tall flight attendant thanked him repeatedly and left with a happy face. Dina, standing nearby, asked with a strange smile, "Disappointed?"

Disappointed?

Lin Sen now understood Dina's meaning. His romantic luck had suddenly turned into a different kind of luck. He was a bit disappointed, but more so, he felt a strange emotion. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time someone had asked him for a signature. Although he was insignificant in European football, it seemed he was not unknown in his distant homeland. However, Lin Sen himself didn't know how famous he was.

But the reality soon proved that Lin Sen wasn't famous enough to cause a stir. At the airport, he didn't cause any commotion, and the few curious glances he received were quickly dismissed, as most people couldn't be sure if he was the "Lin Sen." In contrast, Dina, dressed in a light blue denim short skirt and a light gray fitted T-shirt, received many admiring glances. From the passage to the exit, a few bold individuals even tried to approach her, but Lin Sen didn't interfere. He just watched with a pitiful look as they were defeated one by one by Dina's queen-like aura.

Since this return to China was a spur-of-the-moment decision and Lin Sen hadn't notified his family in advance, no one came to pick them up. After leaving the airport, Lin Sen quickly hailed a taxi and headed straight for his hometown in the suburbs.

---

On the way, Dina, who had been like a queen on the plane, turned into a curious little girl. She pointed at everything outside the car window, and Lin Sen patiently answered her questions. Although they were speaking Spanish, the old driver, Mr. Huang, was infected by their casual conversation and started talking. Lin Sen, who hadn't been back for three years, was unfamiliar with many changes, so he acted as a temporary translator, adding a lot of fun to the journey.

The old driver, Mr. Huang, whose full name was Huang Tanding, a typical Chinese name, had been a driver for over thirty years and was like a living map of the city. Tian Nan was a special economic zone, and its development had been rapid in recent years, with property prices soaring. It was said that without a piece of land passed down from ancestors, it would take an ordinary person a lifetime of hard work to own a place in the city. However, there were always a few exceptions, and Lin Village was one of them.

Mr. Huang's impression of Lin Village was that it was mysterious. Even the latest navigation systems couldn't find any driving routes to this well-known place. It seemed to exist only in people's mouths. Once, out of curiosity, he had tried to find Lin Village and indeed found a road, not a winding path but a standard national highway with straight trees and a clean road. However, the road was strangely empty, and he eventually turned back before reaching the end. Mr. Huang thought he would never drive on that road again, but today, he had two passengers whose destination was there.

The young man, by today's standards, was quite handsome, and the woman was even more beautiful. It was only because of this young couple that Mr. Huang dared to drive there. Otherwise, he wouldn't have. Indeed, since he got on that road, he hadn't seen any other vehicles.

Twenty minutes later, a row of stone pillars blocked the car, and in the distance, at the foot of the mountain, a small village with neatly arranged houses came into view. Behind the stone pillars was an old stone arch bridge, and a clear stream flowed around the village. Between the stream and the village was a field of green crops. The village, which seemed to consist mainly of old buildings, showed no signs of decay. From the bridge, except for a few power poles, there were no modern traces. The small bridge, clear stream, white walls, and red tiles, along with a few green willows, formed a typical picture of a southern Chinese village, looking absolutely beautiful.

Mr. Huang's eyes nearly popped out. He never imagined that such a place, which seemed like a paradise, could exist next to one of the most modern cities in China. Compared to this, the steel city a few kilometers away seemed uninhabitable. Mr. Huang was not a refined person; he was just an ordinary man. So, he could only measure the place in a mundane way: the price of a square meter in the city would take him several months of work, but here? It would take several years...

At this moment, the two young people got out of the car. The man paid the fare and kindly told the driver to drive carefully, then walked across the stone bridge with the woman, slowly heading toward the village. Mr. Huang parked the car on the side, intending to explore the village, but as he was about to step onto the bridge, he subconsciously stopped. He just stood outside the village, looking at it with a near-reverent gaze for a long time before reluctantly driving away.

"This is your hometown? There is such a beautiful place in the world."

Not only Mr. Huang was amazed; Dina was also deeply impressed by this village, which perfectly combined nature and culture. To Dina, who had grown up with European architecture, this delicate village seemed like something out of a fairy tale. She now regretted not bringing a camera.

"No," Lin Sen replied casually, his steps light, without any sentimentality.

This was indeed not his hometown, or rather, he didn't consider it his hometown, even though it looked perfect. Born abroad, he had only spent a short time here with his grandparents as a child, then moved around with his parents. The concept of "hometown" was always very faint in his heart. Perhaps the phrase "where my heart finds peace is my home" suited Lin Sen's definition of his hometown better.

Dina asked only once and didn't ask again, her attention completely drawn to the surroundings.

The village was not large, with only a few dozen households. As Lin Sen and Dina walked through the village, they occasionally passed by villagers, and Lin Sen always greeted them first. Although he received responses, most were out of politeness, as their puzzled expressions showed. Lin Sen followed the familiar alley in his memory to the other end of the village, the side closest to the mountain.

Soon, Lin Sen arrived at the door of a very old-fashioned courtyard.