He dashed toward the little girl and swooped her up in his arms. Just milliseconds later, the trolley swooshed past him and hit the conveyor belt. It made a huge clang sound as it hit the metal surface. All the luggage that was on it scattered on the ground.

Jared's sudden and unexpected action, combined with the racket caused by the collision, frightened the little girl. She began to bawl.

"Shh, it's okay... You're safe, now." Jared cooed to her in his arms, rubbing her back.

The man who had lost control of the trolley quickly approached them. "I'm really sorry, sir."

"You shouldn't have put that much luggage on the cart," Jared said in a bitter voice. "The child could have been severely hurt."

Several members of the airport personnel also came to make sure that no one got injured.

Knowing that he was in the wrong, the man profusely bowed and apologized.

The little girl, who had stopped wailing, looked at Jared with her big, bright, but still tearful eyes. She understood this uncle had protected her from being hit by the big cart. Still hiccuping from the sobs, she instinctively hugged Jared's neck and buried her face in his shoulder.

Her action startled Jared. A certain kind of warmth filled his chest. 

Not wanting to agitate the little girl more, he quickly dismissed the man who was still apologizing to him and reassured the airport staff. His hands never stopped patting the little girl's back. 

"Where are your parents?" he asked as he stepped away from the crowd.

Still holding on tightly to Jared, the little girl answered, "Mommy picking Minna up."

Jared raised an eyebrow. So, her name was Minna, and she wasn't with her mom.

"What about your dad?"

Little Minna raised her head from Jared's shoulder. Without saying anything, she pouted her lips and shook her head.

Jared frowned. She wasn't with her dad either? If she weren't with either of her parents, then whom was she with?

"Were you here with an uncle or auntie?"

The girl nodded. "En! Uncle Chawlie!"

"Charlie? You're here with your uncle, Charlie?"

The girl nodded again.

Jared released a sigh of relief. So, she wasn't all by herself.

But his irritation soon flared. Where was this Uncle Charlie? How could he let his niece roam around unsupervised like this?

As though she could read his mind, Little Minna told him, "Uncle Chawlie went pee-pee!"

Ah! It looked like she had slipped away while her uncle was taking nature's call.

"Does Uncle Charlie know you were going to watch the moving bags?"

Little Minna looked at Jared guiltily. She started to fiddle with her hands and shook her head. 

Seeing those large, innocent eyes peering at him remorsefully, Jared couldn't help but chuckle. He wiped away the remnants of tears on Little Minna's face and bopped her on the nose. "Your Uncle Charlie must be looking for you. Let's look for him, okay?"

Little Minna nodded. "En!"

She then realized she wasn't holding her rabbit doll anymore. She looked around and saw the stuffed toy lying on the ground.

She looked at Jared, pointing to it. "Mr. Bunny!"

Jared glanced at the soft toy that had been tossed further away from where it was. He walked toward it and was about to pick it up when he heard a high-pitched voice shouting, "Minna!"

A man strode in their direction, looking panicky. He immediately tried to take Minna away from Jared, but Jared didn't budge. Instead, he impulsively pushed the guy away in a protective stance.

The guy staggered backward and gasped in bewilderment. "Ohoh!? Mister! Who are you!? What do you want to do with Little Minmin? Let go of her, or I'll call the police!" he chastised Jared, standing akimbo.

Jared studied the super stylish man in front of him. Clad in tight white jeans and a vibrant purple and teal shirt, the man reminded him of a peacock. If his eyes didn't betray him, Jared was even sure the man had some make-up on.

His logic told him this must be the Uncle Charlie that Little Minna spoke of. How else would this man know her name? Jared knew he should have relinquished when the guy tried to take the little girl from him. After all, weren't they about to look for him? Shouldn't he be happy they didn't have to look far before Little Minna got reunited with her uncle again?

But for reasons he couldn't explain, he just wanted to punch the guy the moment he tried to snatch the little girl away from him.

He asked in a calm voice, "Are you her uncle, Charlie?"

The man gasped again. "How did you know my name?" he asked before turning a suspicious gaze to Minna. "Little Minmin, did you tell him my name?"

Little Minna giggled and nodded, obviously finding it all very entertaining.

"Little Minmin!" the man chided her. "What'd you do that for? You shouldn't go around telling strangers Uncle Charlie's name just like that!" He added with a whisper, "Even when the stranger is as handsome as this uncle. What if he's a pervert and tries to stalk Uncle Charlie?"

Jared's brows drew together. "Excuse me, I can hear you, and I'm neither a pervert nor a stalker." 

Charlie tossed his head and jutted his hip. "Well, you can't be too careful." He took his time roaming his eyes over Jared's body. "Besides, you know what they say about the handsome ones. They're..."—he zigzagged his finger up and down— "...trouble." 

Jared flinched and shook his head. "We're straying off the topic. Look, even if you're Charlie, her uncle, you're not her parent. Show me the consent letter from her parents, stating their permission for their child to travel with you."

Charlie's mouth fell open in incredulity. "Un...believable!" he screeched as he put his hands on his hips. "You're suspecting me? I should be the one calling the police right now! Alright, let me call the police!" He proceeded to take out his phone from his pocket when a bystander, who saw the whole thing, decided to chime in, "Young Man, you should thank this man here. If not for him, your niece would have been hit by that trolley over there."

Charlie turned around to see where the bystander lady was pointing at and saw the broken trolley. "Your niece was standing right over there. This man pulled her away just before the trolley crashed into the belt. You ought to thank him," the lady explained.

Upon hearing what had happened, Charlie immediately took fright. "Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh!" he shrieked. "Little Minmin!" He went on to check Minna's arms and knees for scrapes. Frantically. "You okay!? You hurt anywhere? Oh my gosh, Little Minmin."

Jared, with Minna still in his arms, instinctively stepped back, swatting Charlie's hands away indignantly. "She's fine. Stop touching her," he grumbled.

Charlie glared at Jared, but it wasn't long before his look softened. He sighed. "Look, Mister, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I thought—" He abruptly halted before waving his hand dismissively. "Never mind what I thought. Thank you so much for saving her." 

He then took out his passport and the child travel consent form signed by Minna's mother from his bag. He showed them to Jared. "See, do you believe me now? I didn't kidnap her or anything. Her mom is my best friend. There was a situation where she needed me to—" Charlie stopped mid-sentence again. "Ah, I don't know why I'm telling you this." He smiled at Jared. "Anyway, you're a hero, Mister..."—he gave Jared a wink— "Handsome." 

"Little Minmin!" Charlie shifted his gaze to Minna and reprimanded her. "That wasn't nice! Didn't Uncle Charlie tell you to stay where you were with the nice flight attendant auntie? She said you ran away from her! Your mommy would kill me if something happened to you!"

Little Minna looked down, pouting. She hadn't run away from the flight attendant auntie. She'd told the auntie she was going to watch the moving bags from up close. The auntie was busy talking on the phone, but she'd nodded at her. A nod meant a yes, so Little Mina thought the auntie had given her permission.

She wanted to tell Uncle Charlie that, but she knew she'd also made a boo-boo. Uncle Charlie had told her to stay where she was, but she hadn't. So, she decided not to say anything about the flight attendant auntie knowing where she was going, and instead, she apologized. "Sowwy, Uncle Chawlie."

Jared didn't feel too good seeing the little girl's dejected look. But he knew it wasn't his place to say anything at that moment. She also needed to learn right from wrong. So, he stayed quiet, but he held her tighter to console her.

After making peace with Minna, Charlie shifted his gaze to Jared and said in a suggestive voice, "Thank you so much, again, Mister Handsome." He leaned in, raising a finger to touch Jared's bicep, but stopped when the owner of said bicep glared at him. He quickly retracted his hand and cleared his throat. "Well, we should be going now. Her mom should already be waiting outside." He extended his arms, indicating that Jared should hand Minna over to him.

Jared let out a long sigh before reluctantly passing Minna to Charlie. The moment the little girl left his arms, the warmth that previously filled his chest dissipated.

But Little Minna didn't seem eager to part with Jared either. Perhaps it was because he'd made her feel so safe. As soon as Uncle Charlie took her away from the new uncle, tears filled her eyes. Whining, she tried to return to Jared's arms.

"Aiyo..." Charlie was flabbergasted. He'd never seen the little girl act this way before. "We have to leave now, Little Minmin. Your mommy is waiting. Say bye-bye to this handsome uncle, now." He coaxed her, "Come on, say bye-bye."

Little Minna looked very conflicted. She wanted to see her mommy again, but she also didn't want to say bye-bye to the new uncle.

Jared pursed his lips and noticed the rabbit doll that was still lying on the ground. He picked it up and gave it to the sad little girl. "You don't want to leave because I still haven't told you my name, right?" He smiled at her.

Minna took the stuffed toy and slowly nodded, still looking glum.

"I'm Jared." Jared took out a business card from his wallet and gave it to her. "If you want to talk to me again, you can ask your mommy or Uncle Charlie to call the number on this card, okay?"

He then looked at Charlie and said, "This is my private number. She can call me anytime."

Charlie took the card from Jared and grinned at Minna. "Did you hear that, Little Minmin? You'll be able to talk to Uncle Jared anytime you want. So, say thank you and bye-bye now. Your mommy will be worried if she waits too long."

Minna started to cheer up again. "En!" She nodded excitedly. "Thank you, Uncle Jawed!" She then reached out to give Jared a peck on his cheek and said, "Minna will call!"

After thanking Jared once more and saying their farewell, Charlie took Minna to where their suitcases were and proceeded toward the exit. Minna still wore a big smile on her face as she waved at Jared. Jared waved back at her, also smiling.

Only after they had passed the customs did Charlie take a look at the card. He saw the name and the title on the card and dropped his jaws. That man was the CEO of Lee Telecom Global? Wait a minute... Jared Lee of the Lee Telecom Global? The Jared Lee? 

Charlie might have never seen a picture of Jared Lee before, but he'd heard of his name. Charlie knew Jared Lee was the only son of the Lee family. Besides, who in Hong Kong didn't know the formidable Lee family? The Lee family always kept a low profile. Not a lot of their pictures were made available to the public. Every time a picture of them was leaked without their permission, it was always taken down immediately. That was how tight their privacy was.

He looked at Minna and told her, "Little Minmin, you hit the jackpot today!"

Minna repeated the word in her kiddish voice, "Jackpot!"

Charlie laughed. "That's right. Jackpot!"

Minna spotted her mom in the crowd and immediately beamed. "Mommy! Mommy!"

***

After seeing the two move past customs and disappear into the exit, Jared walked back to the conveyor belt while checking his watch. He sighed, knowing he would be late for the appointment with Claire and the wedding planner. Fortunately, it didn't take long for him to spot his luggage. As soon as he retrieved it, he fetched his phone from his pocket and dialed Claire's number to inform her of his delay. Holding his phone to his ear, he turned around and headed in the direction of customs.

Then a sight that nearly made his heart stop caught his eye...

♡──── ❝ Author's Note ❞ ────♡

I hope you enjoyed this one. Happy weekend, everyone!

It would mean a lot to me if you could share your thoughts about this chapter in the comment section. And please consider voting if you liked it.

Thank you so much for reading!

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