On the way home

Givenchy, who had been waiting patiently, opened his arms to welcome her, saying, "Audrey, my dear friend." The lady in the wheelchair affectionately kissed her friend on the cheek.

Then came the handshake Givenchy and Robert.

Henry was going through departure procedures with customs officials because the plane was leaving the United States for Europe.

Previously, Henry had always believed that the privilege of using the VIP or diplomatic channels when leaving customs was the highest level of treatment. Who knew that when he took this Mellon family plane, customs officers would personally come to the tarmac to handle the formalities. There were no unnecessary checks; they just stamped the documents right away.

This opened Henry's eyes and showed him true privilege.

The woman, rising from her wheelchair and aided by her two beloved men, boarded the Gulfstream airliner. The interior was adorned with flowers; anyone with hay fever wouldn't even need an allergic reaction to see such a sight—it would be enough to send chills down their spine.

Henry, who carried the wheelchair onto the plane, marveled at the romantic ways foreigners enjoy themselves. No matter how old they are, they can still have a lot of fun, as long as there is still romance between the two of them.

They helped Ms. Hepburn onto the specially made hospital bed, raising the front half so she could sit comfortably. Henry and the flight attendant, who was a qualified nurse, were checking the seatbelts on the bed. These necessary fastenings were essential.

However, the roar of the plane's engines still made Audrey Hepburn feel uncomfortable and raised her eyebrows.

Robert noticed the uncomfortable look on his face and asked, "What's wrong?"

Audrey Hepburn said helplessly, "The engine is a bit noisy. Maybe it will be better after takeoff."

In fact, the Gulfstream aircraft already had excellent sound insulation and airtightness, but unfortunately, the frail Ms. Hepburn could not withstand this kind of ordeal.

Henry, who was prepared, took out an over-ear headphone and a Walkman from his luggage, put them on the lady's ears, and pressed play.

Henry asked, "Are you feeling better?"

Audrey Hepburn was surprised by the quality of the headphones, and of course, because of their function, she couldn't hear what Henry was saying clearly.

She simply gave a wide-eyed, surprised look.

Left with no other option, Henry could only move one of the earcups aside and ask, "Is the engine noise any better after you put on the headphones?"

"Yes, it's much better."

"So, what kind of music would you like to listen to?" Henry opened a small handbag in front of the lady, which was full of cassette tapes. There were classical music and pop music.

She shook the Walkman in her hand; it was playing Mozart, slow and soothing. Ms. Hepburn said, "This one will do. We'll change it when we're done."

"Okay." With that, Henry removed the earmuffs, allowing the lady to sit comfortably on the hospital bed.

Givenchy and Robert were both amazed by the performance of the Walkman Henry had brought out, and asked, "Can listening to music while flying really reduce the discomfort caused by external noise? Why didn't I feel any effect when I did it before?"

Henry, sitting down, pointed to his ears and replied, "It's not the Walkman or the music effect, it's the function of the headphones. You know how noisy the cockpit of an airplane or helicopter is, it's a big problem for pilots to communicate and contact the control tower."

"To ensure that pilots can communicate with people, their headsets are specially designed with noise cancellation. This technology has been patented for 34 years, but it was only used in headsets in 1978, and mass production began three years ago."

"The headphone manufacturer only supplies them to the military and has never produced them for civilian use. I thought they might come in handy, so I made a set myself in preparation."

Since this technology already exists, it's not exactly a groundbreaking event. Therefore, it's not Givenchy and Robert, who weren't technologists, could claim.

They didn't think it was anything special. Their only concern was, "Can't you buy it in stores?"

After thinking for a moment, Henry said, "Maybe it will be a few more years. Besides, wearing noise-canceling headphones for extended periods isn't good either, because the brain hears fewer types of sounds over time, and without sufficient external stimulation and training, it will affect its ability to filter sounds."

"At that time, when multiple people are talking, it may be difficult to concentrate on listening to what a particular person is saying, or to distinguish the distance or location of the sound."

"But as long as you don't wear them for extended periods, you won't have this problem. They're also great for listening to music, although it's still not as good as listening in a concert hall. Are you interested? If so, I'll make one for you when I have some free time."

Upon hearing the drawbacks, Givenchy and Robert immediately lost interest. Actually, the noise on the plane wasn't that unbearable. They each found a seat and waited for takeoff.

Unlike regular airliners, private jets do not have dedicated flight attendants who provide pre-flight briefings. This is only done if the passenger has a specific preference or requests.

So very quickly, the plane took off and headed towards the Europe continent.

The lady was dozing off, but the three men on the plane weren't so indifferent; they were chatting idly. Henry and Givenchy were playing chess, just playing around without thinking about the best moves.

Robert, flipping through the newspaper, suddenly asked, "Have you been following that rumor lately?"

Another Riddler. Henry wanted to hit someone, what to do? But he still cooperated and asked, "What rumor?"

"I heard that the United States, inspired by Audrey's speech at the United Nations, has decided to increase its intervention in Somalia and send troops to resolve the local civil unrest. Otherwise, the famine problem there will never be resolved."

"It should have been done long ago." "Oh." Givenchy and Henry's responses were contrasting: one warm, the other cold.

Robert and Givenchy looked at Henry simultaneously, and, feeling puzzled, asked, "Don't you think this is a good thing?"

Henry put down his chess piece, feigning indifference, and said, "With the victory in the First Gulf War, the Red Empire collapsed, and United States's dominance as a world superpower has returned. Do you think this is a good thing?"

Robert was rather sarcastic about political matters, asked, "Isn't that so?"

Henry countered, "Since World War II, where has true peace been achieved in any place that the United States has helped, or to put it bluntly, intervened in?"

Robert thought for a moment, but couldn't think of a counterexample. He asked, "Really not?"

Henry bluntly stated, "Regional conflicts, internal strife, poverty, and corruption—they're bound to be involved in at least one of these. And when the U.S. military intervenes, they're never going to do it for Reason. They're always there to grab some benefits and take them home."

"The ability to justify robbery so brazenly is probably British Empire before the World Wars could do. In that case,..."

These two countries are truly like father and son. If he really wants world peace, he should leave the whole world alone.

The two listeners chuckled and laughed heartily.

Since one of them was France and the other Netherlands, Henry's self-deprecating humor as United States hit the nail on the head. Little did they know, Henry was a fake United States, actually an alien and a time traveler, a strange character.

However, Audrey Hepburn, who was feigning sleep, couldn't hear the men's conversation because she was wearing noise-canceling headphones. She could only watch them laughing and chuckling, completely bewildered.