His Untamed Rose novel Chapter 117

Overhead, the loudspeaker crackled to life, announcing the boarding of her flight. Lumina gathered her things, stood up, and joined the long, winding line.

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Almost thirteen hours in the air—Lumina felt every minute drag by in pure exhaustion.

She’d never spent this long in a car, let alone squeezed in an airplane seat.

In the cramped confines of economy class, there was barely enough room for her knees, let alone to stretch her legs. To make matters worse, she was wedged in next to a burly man whose presence seemed to swallow what little space she had. Every time she so much as shifted, her knees bumped against his.

No matter how she tried to get comfortable in the stiff, narrow seat, sleep wouldn’t come. In the end, she gave up, fighting her drowsiness by picking a random movie to watch, her mind drifting in and out as the hours blurred together.

As the plane neared Yuria, the flight attendants began handing out entry forms to the foreign passengers. Lumina had done her homework—she knew this was coming and had made sure to bring a pen.

She hunched over the tiny tray table, carefully filling in each line.

Just as she clicked the cap back onto her pen, she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.

She turned to see a remarkably young woman in the row behind her. The girl’s hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore a gray hoodie emblazoned with blocky letters—she looked every bit the college student, her eyes bright and earnest.

“Excuse me, are you from Zhinora?” she asked.

Lumina nodded. “Yes, I am.”

The girl held up a pen that refused to write. “My pen’s out of ink. Could I borrow yours for a second?”

Lumina handed it over without hesitation.

“Thank you so much! I’ll fill out my form and give it right back,” the girl promised, her gratitude unmistakable. She ducked back into her seat, scribbled quickly, and then returned the pen with a smile. “Are you coming to Yuria as a student, too?”

Lumina shook her head. “No, I’m moving here.”

The girl’s face lit up with warmth. “There’s an empty seat next to me. Want to join me? It’s my first time studying abroad, and I don’t know anyone here. I haven’t slept a wink—I just feel so lonely and miss home terribly.”

Lumina almost refused, but the girl looked so young—barely twenty, if that—that she couldn’t bring herself to say no.

“Alright, I’ll sit with you,” she agreed.

They chatted a while longer before the flight attendants came down the aisle, collecting the entry forms.

Two hours later, the plane finally touched down in this strange, unfamiliar country.

Lumina closed her magazine, gazing out the window at a sky that was growing steadily brighter. The blue above was endless, the clouds floating by—so much like the sky over Banyan Town. Yet she knew, deep in her heart, that she was worlds away from that place, from that person, from that time in her life.

When the plane finally rolled to a stop, everyone should have been able to disembark. But the doors remained stubbornly closed.

Something was going on up front—the cabin crew clustered near the cockpit, murmuring in urgent tones.

Nadia craned her neck to see. “What’s happening?”

Other passengers began to murmur, some getting impatient and trying to pull back the curtain for a look.

At last, a flight attendant burst through, looking flustered. In a loud, clear voice, she announced, “We’re very sorry for the delay. We’ve just received word from the authorities—there’s a missing passenger who needs to be located.”

“Please remain in your seats. Our crew will be conducting a headcount and checking everyone’s documents. We ask for your patience and cooperation.”