Chapter 678: An Unexpected Encounter
"Careful."
On instinct, Lu Ke extended his hands in a protective gesture, one on each side of the petite figure in front of him. He didn't directly grab her but instead provided a safety net. If she lost her balance, he could catch her immediately, but if she could regain her footing on her own, then they wouldn't need to touch each other.
"Thank you."
Emma Watson frantically raised her hands and managed to steady herself and keep her balance, avoiding an embarrassing fall.
After she collected herself, she immediately noticed the tall young man in front of her. His cautious movements were a bit stiff, and he looked clumsy because of his large and strong body, but his expression remained focused and polite, carefully maintaining a gentleman's distance.
In a moment of crisis, even if he had grabbed her to help her, it would not have been wrong. But even in such a tense situation, Lu Ke still maintained his etiquette, not carelessly touching a woman and avoiding any possibility of impropriety. Such small details often reveal one's character and upbringing.
At this moment, Emma noticed his concerned look as he asked, "Are you okay?"
Emma then realized that her gaze was fixed on the man's face, and she was in a daze, which made her embarrassed. She quickly looked away, pretending to check her ankle, and then nodded, saying, "I'm fine. I'm okay."
Then, Emma realized that her right hand was on his left forearm. Her palm immediately felt hot, and she quickly let go, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and politely saying, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he said with a smile.
Emma felt that her series of actions just now were too clumsy, and she didn't want to stay there any longer. She nodded quickly, turned around, and walked to her seat, quickly sitting down and shrinking behind the business class partition. She covered her face with her hands and grimaced in annoyance.
After waiting for a while, her surroundings gradually calmed down. The commotion in the business class had completely disappeared, and she could only faintly hear the restless sounds coming from the economy class. Emma let out a sigh of relief and couldn't help but feel lucky. It was a good thing that the man didn't pester her. Otherwise, she would have to deal with such trivial matters throughout the flight and would not be able to have any peace.
As one of the main actors in the "Harry Potter" series, Emma's acting career had an extraordinarily high starting point. But the halo, popularity, and harassment that came with it never stopped. She lost her time and space and her private life. She was surrounded by eyes, cameras, and lights at all times.
So, after the series wrapped up in 2010, she left the entertainment industry and went back to college, trying to live her youth on solid ground. Then, she transferred from Brown University to Oxford University to complete her studies in the UK. Although the attention was still everywhere, she was finally able to catch her breath.
Not long ago, after her final exams, Emma came to Maui, Hawaii, for a vacation alone. To get away from the gloomy and rainy winter weather in London, she wanted to enjoy some downtime. The reason she chose Maui was to avoid the crowds of tourists on Oahu.
She had finally enjoyed a rare vacation and hoped to continue it on the last leg of her return journey.
The little incident just now was obviously unexpected. Fortunately, it didn't escalate any further.
Slowly, the plane left the jet bridge and taxied toward the runway. Then it took off smoothly. With a gentle shake, it finally entered a stable cruising phase. She could see the flight attendants unbuckling their seat belts, preparing to provide cabin service. Soon after, the seat belt sign also went out.
It was quiet. Too quiet.
Emma felt that something was off.
For the past thirty minutes, she couldn't help but recall the clues from earlier. The strange feeling became more and more obvious. No, something was really wrong. Everything that the tall young man did was too strange. Did he not recognize her?
She was sure he saw her.
Today, she was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses that covered most of her face, but she was also aware that the sunglasses were too eye-catching and would easily attract attention.
If they hadn't looked at each other, that would have been one thing. But they clearly made eye contact through her sunglasses. How could he not have gotten a good look at her? How could he not have been curious?
Even the most ordinary person would have been curious, but he didn't do anything extra. Not only that, but he also politely moved aside! Did this mean... he recognized her, so he was intentionally keeping his distance?
To put it another way, even if he didn't recognize her the first time, he must have recognized her the second time they made eye contact.
Now that she thought about it, Emma was certain. Because she was unbalanced, her sunglasses slid down to the tip of her nose, revealing her eyes. When she looked up at him, there was nothing between them. She could even catch a glimpse of his dark pupils. That's why she panicked.
He recognized her.
He definitely recognized her.
But why didn't he react at all? Not even a curious glance, let alone a question or a look of inquiry. He was so calm as if he didn't even know who she was. This... this was so wrong!
Thinking about this, Emma sat up straight and secretly peeked from behind the partition. She slowly looked around, searching for the tall young man. Unintentionally, her gaze met the eyes on the other side of the aisle. It was him!
Her sneaky action was caught by the other person, and Emma became even more embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed and burned.
Before Emma could react, the man politely nodded, not being overly friendly or intentionally distant. He was just showing the same friendliness a stranger would show when passing each other on the street. And then... there was nothing else, because the man adjusted his seat, leaned back slightly, pulled up his blanket, and lay down.
He just! Lay! Down!
No acknowledgment, no conversation, not even an extra glance, as if she were a rock, an insignificant rock. Was this normal? This was definitely not normal!
Emma sat up straight in one swift motion, without hesitation. She extended her right hand and gently knocked on the partition across the aisle, as if knocking on a door. "Knock, knock," "knock." She waited quietly for a while. It seemed the sound was too soft, and the other person didn't hear it. Emma had to knock harder. "Knock, knock," and the crisp sound became louder.
"Yes?" The man finally reacted and sat up. But by accident, the earbud from his headset was pulled out, which tugged at his ear and made him grimace. It turned out he was wearing earbuds, which was why he didn't hear her.
"Yes? He actually answered 'yes'? As if he had no idea what was going on!" Emma rolled her eyes inwardly. She became more and more agitated. She thought and thought, but she couldn't find a reasonable way to express it. The words swirled on the tip of her tongue, and in the end, she just said it in a simple and direct way.
"Don't you know who I am?"
Lu Ke was slightly stunned. He didn't understand the purpose of this question.
Emma Watson, of course, he knew who she was. "Harry Potter" was a childhood memory for his generation. He not only had the entire set of original novels but had also watched every movie. Even if he wasn't a fanatic, there was no way he wouldn't recognize "Miss Hermione Granger."
The problem was, he thought she didn't want to be recognized.
The large sunglasses, the hurried glances away, the raised partition... Weren't these signals clear enough? She might as well have put up a "Do Not Disturb" sign from a hotel room.
Just now, Lu Ke himself had experienced the feeling of being "watched by all," which was comparable to "being pierced by ten thousand arrows." Although he didn't know what video was on YouTube, Lu Ke knew that sometimes people needed a little private space. This was true for everyone, and it was especially true for actors who lived in the spotlight.
So, Lu Ke showed his respect and didn't intrude on her.
But now, what was this about?
"Hello?" After waiting for a moment, Emma didn't get a response. She had to wave her right hand to get Lu Ke's attention and asked the question again, "Don't you know who I am?"
Lu Ke laughed wryly and nodded slightly. "Are you talking about Miss Emma Watson? Or Miss Hermione Granger?"
Emma's expression froze slightly, and then she smiled. She was right! He had recognized her all along! Her intuition was correct!
"You clearly recognized me, so why didn't you show it at all?" Emma still asked the question she had in her heart.
Lu Ke showed a helpless smile. "I was showing some respect."
This answer immediately made Emma come to her senses, and a hint of awkward embarrassment appeared in her eyes. It was then that she realized that if she hadn't broken the silence, she could have enjoyed a quiet journey, but... it was too late now.
"Emma, you can call me Emma." She generously extended her right hand.
Lu Ke's gaze fell on her fair and slender hand. Then he also extended his right hand and introduced himself. "Lu Ke."
Across the plane's aisle, their two hands met.
"Rumble."
The plane shook again, as if it had encountered turbulence. They both let go of each other's hands, breaking the connection. But their eyes met, and they realized how familiar the scene was. They both laughed.
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