Stuvey Taylor didn't want to hand over his passport. Having it in someone else's hands felt like having his eggs squeezed.
But at the moment, there seemed to be no choice but to comply. He glanced at the surveillance camera on the ceiling—even though there were no windows, if anything happened in this room, it would surely be noticed immediately.
"Well, thank you," Stuvey said with a smile, handing the passport to Xiao Chen.
Oddly, Xiao Chen didn't seem eager to pass it to her superior right away. Instead, she tried flipping it open.
"Hurry up, Xiao Chen!" Section Chief Zhang snapped at her.
Before she could fully open it, Xiao Chen had to quickly hand the passport over to Zhang, laughing awkwardly. "Sorry, force of habit, force of habit..."
"It's fine, let's not drag this out. It's past midnight, and this gentleman is waiting..." Zhang didn't reprimand her.
That remark made Stuvey think slightly better of him.
Once he had Stuvey's passport in hand, Zhang rubbed the cover with a faint smile, as if it were a counterfeit bill detector.
But when he opened to the first page and saw Stuvey's personal information, he froze—for barely half a second, but Stuvey caught it.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing..." Zhang shook his head vigorously, his expression quickly returning to its earlier ease. "Just saw your name—it's the same as an old friend of mine."
"Really?" Stuvey was deeply skeptical but couldn't show it. He chuckled. "Haha, it's a pretty common name. Sounds like 'Mayday,' so people often mix it up with the band. But translated, it means 'Mayday'—not something anyone in aviation wants to hear..."
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Xiao Chen give a slight shudder when she heard his name.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm no expert, but I've heard from air traffic control friends that once a 'Mayday' signal goes out, trouble's brewing," Zhang said, nodding along as he placed Stuvey's passport on the device next to the computer.
The moment he did, the astonishment on Zhang's face could no longer be masked by his frozen smile.
Stuvey saw it all, and his suspicions deepened.
He kept a close watch on Zhang's expression while glancing at Xiao Chen. If even a hint of hostility surfaces, I'll strike first!
But no hostility emerged—not even a trace.
Instead, Zhang's gaze through his black-framed glasses grew increasingly gentle as he stared at the screen. Then, within that gentleness, a flash of resolve appeared. His right hand clicked the mouse firmly.
"Alright, Mr. Taylor, your passport is fully functional now. Welcome back home," he said, handing the passport directly back to Stuvey.
"Thanks. So... I'm cleared to enter?" Stuvey asked.
"Yes, no issues. Need directions? Xiao Chen can escort you."
"Before I go, can I ask one question?"
"Go ahead."
"What was wrong with my passport? Why wasn't it working?"
Zhang seemed to have anticipated this. Casually, he replied, "There was nothing wrong with it. Probably just a glitch in the automated gate's system. I'll have Xiao Chen check it after she sees you out."
"Alright... good." Stuvey knew Zhang wouldn't tell him the truth, so he quickly ended the conversation. "It's the middle of the night—no need to trouble this lovely lady. I know the way."
Before either could react, he darted out of the room and headed deeper into the airport.
He walked a long distance without stopping, afraid someone might be tailing him. Only when he merged into the crowd near the last spinning baggage carousel in the arrivals hall did he finally relax.
Xiao Chen wasn't behind him. Using the crowd as cover, he stole a few glances back and confirmed it.
Those two are definitely suspicious!
Something about Zhang and Xiao Chen had felt off the entire time.
But now, exhausted from jet lag, anxiety, and hunger, Stuvey let his guard down slightly. His body ached with fatigue.
He slumped into a chair, watching the conveyor belt while keeping an eye on the customs entrance from his periphery.
More and more people collected their luggage. The number of suitcases on the belt and the crowd around it gradually thinned.
Finally, only a few scattered bags remained on the carousel, and like Stuvey, the number of people still waiting had dwindled to almost none.
Damn it, why did I have to use a regular passport for this New York trip? If I'd used our usual one, I'd be in bed by now!
His patience had run out. He decided to go to the airline counter and demand an explanation.
"Sir, how may I assist you?" asked the middle-aged woman with straight bangs behind the counter.
Her tone suggested she'd repeated this line countless times today—mechanical, devoid of life.
"Could you check on my luggage? It's from the flight that just arrived from New York. Still hasn't shown up," Stuvey said, handing over his passport and baggage claim ticket, forcing politeness.
"Of course, one moment," she said, taking the documents.
Their eyes never met, but Stuvey couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.
He deliberately shifted his posture, using the movement to glance behind him. No one was in line.
The other baggage carousels had stopped by now, and the arrivals hall was nearly empty. Time seemed to stand still. The bustling Dongdu Airport had finally caught a brief reprieve in the dead of night.
Am I imagining things? Or is it just the long-haul flight messing with me?
The woman behind the counter interrupted his thoughts. "Mr. Taylor, I can't find any record of you in the system."
"You mean my luggage isn't there?"
"Yes."
"How? It was a direct flight—I definitely checked it in when I boarded!"
"No, listen—it's strange. Not just your luggage. There's no record of you boarding at all. Are you sure you were on this flight?" The woman looked up, puzzled. For the first time, their eyes met.
"What, you think I came here in the middle of the night just to mess with you?" A surge of anger flared in Stuvey's chest, but it died the moment he met her gaze.
He had to admit—her eyes were actually quite striking, even if they'd lost their spark after a long day of dealing with passengers like him.
But it made him think of Sylvia again.