UAAG CH28

Military airports are mostly located in remote areas. Driving south for about ten minutes, signs of human habitation finally appeared.

Fu Cheng held the coat in his arms, looking ahead: “There’s no special reason, training was getting a bit hard to keep up with, and there were some matters at home. I didn’t have much time for training, so I retired. Teacher Zhuo should know that although civil aviation is also busy, frequently flying various international routes, compared to the air force, especially carrier-based air force, there is still a lot of time.”

Zhuo Huan glanced at Fu Cheng. The black-haired young man was talking about his affairs in a very calm tone. Viewed from the side, his eyelashes were long and dense; when he lowered his eyes slightly, a faint shadow fell on his lower eyelids. Because of his fair skin, it was more obvious, inexplicably giving him a melancholic and quiet temperament.

A phrase “Really?” rushed to his lips, but somehow, he swallowed it back.

His well-defined fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel. Zhuo Huan’s voice was languid and gentle, as if humming lightly from his nose, carrying a trace of a prolonged nasal tone: “Are the matters at home finished then?”

Fu Cheng was slightly surprised and turned his head to look at him.

Zhuo Huan held the steering wheel with one hand, eyes on the road: “Checking on a subordinate, is there a problem?”

After a long time.

Fu Cheng said: “Finished.”

Zhuo Huan gave an “Oh.”

Fu Cheng: “What about Teacher Zhuo, why did you suddenly resign from McFly?”

As if hearing something funny, just as they hit a red light, Zhuo Huan turned to look at Fu Cheng: “Old Joseph should have told you, right?”

Fu Cheng paused.

“About me having 5% of McFly’s shares.”

So it was this matter. Fu Cheng: “Mn, he said it.”

Zhuo Huan tsked and stepped on the gas: “Do you know what this 5% share means?”

“What?”

“It means that it took you one second to say the word ‘what.’ And in this one second, my bank account has increased by 7 US dollars.”

Fu Cheng: “…”

Zhuo Huan: “In the blink of an eye, 7 US dollars comes into your hands. Since I can get it without doing anything, isn’t my resignation easier to understand than your retirement…”

“Money does fall from the sky, Fu Cheng.”

Fu Cheng.

The man’s lazy voice softly pronounced this name, ambiguously wrapping around the tip of his tongue. Zhuo Huan smiled arrogantly. Just as Lina said, if one day someone wanted to write an autobiography for this man, one sentence could represent his whole life—

A proud and conceited life.

It just so happened that he possessed enough capital to be this arrogant.

However.

“Really?”

The smile, conceited and dazzling like the scorching sun, suddenly paused for an instant. Moving slowly, Zhuo Huan looked at Fu Cheng: “Mn?”

Fu Cheng hugged the coat, leaned back on the seat, nodded, and spoke as if to himself: “7 US dollars per second, I really can’t imagine what that feels like.”

So he was talking about this.

Zhuo Huan: “Heh.”

When returning to Shanghai city center, it happened to be the evening rush hour.

An hour later, the two finally returned to the UAAG headquarters.

The people from the Air Crash Investigation program team were still in the building. As soon as the elevator opened, seeing the unfamiliar staff with blond hair and blue eyes, Zhuo Huan frowned and found Lina: “Not finished yet?”

Lina smiled: “Professor Tsunai just finished his interview; now it’s Su Fei’s turn. But I think it will take a long time.”

“Mn?”

“He’s nervous.”

Hearing this, Fu Cheng followed Lina’s helpless gaze. He saw a conference room cleared out by the program team to serve as an interview room. High-wattage lighting and huge reflectors were placed in the most reasonable positions, creating an extremely three-dimensional effect on the person’s face against the shadows. Su Fei sat in the middle, facing several pitch-black cameras.

Fu Cheng: “Did they put makeup on him?”

Lina: “I did his makeup.”

Fu Cheng was surprised: “You did it?”

Lina blinked: “Kids have thin skin, easily blush.”

Everyone laughed immediately. Even Zhuo Huan glanced at Su Fei, who was stiff all over and sitting motionless in the chair, and hooked up the corner of his mouth.

Zhuo Huan: “You said before they really wanted to interview me?”

Lina looked up: “Reid?”

“Then let them interview me this time.”

For the first time, Lina didn’t catch her friend’s meaning. She was very surprised: “Didn’t you always dislike this kind of public event…”

“Is it really okay to bully Su Fei like this?” Fu Cheng laughed.

Hearing this, Zhuo Huan paused, looked up at Fu Cheng, and revealed a meaningful expression.

Only then did Lina suddenly realize. She kept a straight face and scolded her friend: “This cold joke isn’t funny at all.”

Fu Cheng was stunned, thinking to himself: I thought it was pretty funny.

An hour later, Su Fei’s interview finally ended. Seeing Zhuo Huan back, the program team proposed to interview him again, which was gently refused by Lina. If they could invite Reid Irvin Patrick onto the show, it would definitely create a more sensational effect. It was just a pity that Mr. Patrick never showed his face on such occasions; he rarely even attended industry gatherings.

As UAAG’s administrative head, Lina arranged all guest receptions in perfect order. Just after sending off the staff of Air Crash Investigation, she booked a table: UAAG had previously asked Professor Teichi Tsunai to help investigate the JAL 917 case, so treating him to dinner this time was a thank-you gift.

Actually, Lina had proposed giving remuneration early on, but Professor Tsunai didn’t agree, so there was this dinner.

It was high-end Japanese cuisine served individually.

The six people sat on tatami mats. Waiters dressed in white kimonos gently placed small dishes containing food in front of everyone, providing traditional kneeling service.

Teichi Tsunai sat opposite Zhuo Huan; this was a seat deliberately arranged by Lina. Professor Tsunai was the guest of honor, so it was only natural for Lord Zhuo to entertain him personally. However, neither of them seemed inclined to speak to the other. Until the last dessert was served, Teichi Tsunai wiped his lips with a white handkerchief, placed his hands on his knees, and looked up at Zhuo Huan.

“Zhuo-kun, will you go to the World Physics Conference in a few days?”

Zhuo Huan: “Not going.”

Teichi Tsunai: “Oh? This is the first time it’s being held in China, and in Shanghai too, very close to you.”

Zhuo Huan: “Not much interest.”

Teichi Tsunai thought for a moment and didn’t speak again.

Lina smiled knowingly. She lowered her head, her gaze happening to meet Fu Cheng’s beside her. She beckoned to Fu Cheng, and the two sat closer. She lowered her voice: “To get an invitation to the World Physics Conference, one must have published papers in several major physics journals in the past year. The last time Reid published a paper seems to be three years ago. Before, he could get an invitation because the invitation was addressed to McFly. This year…”

Everything was understood without words.

Fu Cheng looked up at Lord Zhuo and Teichi Tsunai.

The former clearly hadn’t received an invitation at all, yet remained perfectly calm and composed.

The latter showed regret on his face, seemingly very sorry.

The group bid farewell to Teichi Tsunai at the entrance of the Japanese restaurant.

Just after sending off this internationally renowned physicist, a cold voice rang out in the cold winter night: “Were you speaking ill of me behind my back?”

Fu Cheng and Lina were stunned, and both looked at Lord Zhuo together.

Zhuo Huan had his hands in his coat pockets, chewing gum he casually picked up from the Japanese restaurant, looking down at the two people in front of him. In the watery moonlight, his expression was obscure, cold and indifferent, revealing no expression or emotion.

Lina: “Did we?” Saying this, she looked at Fu Cheng.

Fu Cheng showed a surprised expression: “No, right? Did Teacher Zhuo mishear something?”

Heh, keep pretending.

Zhuo Huan gave a light snort: “I’m not going to the Physics Conference because we won’t be in the country this weekend.”

Fu Cheng keenly caught the keyword: “We?”

Zhuo Huan gave an affirmation: “Old Joseph should know, American Airlines 4012.”

Old Joseph’s body shook, astonished: “US Airways 4012? That plane flying from London to Boston that disappeared over the Atlantic? found it?!”

“Mn… it came back from the mud at the bottom of the Atlantic.”

August 19, 2020, US Airways Flight 4012, flying from London to Boston.

Ten minutes after entering the Boston air traffic control area, US Airways 4012, which should have landed at Logan International Airport an hour later, suddenly disappeared from the radar detector. Half an hour later, air traffic control confirmed that US Airways Flight 4012 was missing and dialed the emergency number.

An international flight mysteriously disappearing over the ocean inevitably made everyone think of Flight Rogue 318 four years ago.

Within two days, the government confirmed US Airways 4012 was officially missing. Three days later, it was confirmed that the plane crashed into the Atlantic.

Afterward, the US immediately salvaged the plane. Everyone was worried that this plane would also be lost in the vast boundless ocean like Rogue 318, never to be found again. Fortunately, the tragedy of Rogue 318 did not repeat itself. A week after the incident, the salvage company found a piece of wreckage from the plane in the Atlantic, confirming it was US Airways 4012.

The truth of Rogue 318 sank into the mysterious and deep Pacific Ocean, known to no one.

But the truth of US Airways 4012 has finally broken out of the cocoon and reappeared in the world today.

On Friday, Lina booked the tickets, and the five flew together to Boston across the ocean.

At 10:00 AM, a Rolls-Royce picked up the five and arrived at Shanghai Airport together. After entering the VIP lounge, Lina went to the front desk to confirm the flight details for this trip. Su Fei was very excitedly telling Old Joseph and Fu Cheng about his few years of university life in Boston.

“Once I was reading in Lamont Library until 5 AM. When I woke up, the classmate next to me actually took a picture of me drooling and posted it on social media! Jesus! That’s why I hate those social butterflies the most…”

Old Joseph laughed heartily and said: “Where is the photo? Let me see.”

Su Fei couldn’t believe it: “You actually want to see it?”

Fu Cheng laughed. Suddenly catching a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye, he restrained his smile. After a while, he stepped forward to follow, walking into the smoking room.

The smoking room in the airport VIP lounge is cleaned many times a day. The faint smell of smoke permeated the air, not particularly stuffy, but instead carrying a trace of melancholy and softness because it was mixed with air freshener.

Zhuo Huan stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, facing large airliners taking off and landing one by one. Wisps of smoke curled upward from his fingertips, spiraling and hiding in the air. Hearing footsteps, he turned around, saw clearly who it was, and then withdrew his gaze.

When Fu Cheng walked to his side, he took out a beautiful silver metal cigarette case, pressed lightly, and a slender cigarette popped out.

Fu Cheng: “…”

Silent for a moment, he took the cigarette: “Thank you.”

Zhuo Huan looked at him in surprise, seemingly not expecting that the young man didn’t refuse this time but accepted it.

Having the cigarette, but it wasn’t lit yet.

Reasonably speaking, places like smoking rooms are equipped with lighters, but Fu Cheng looked around and didn’t find one immediately.

“Need a light?”

Fu Cheng turned his head to look at Zhuo Huan.

Zhuo Huan lowered his head slightly. holding that half-burnt long cigarette in his mouth, he leaned close to Fu Cheng with a light smile. After a long silence, Fu Cheng bit the cigarette filter and leaned over. The white tip touched the other already lit cigarette. He breathed slightly; the wind in his mouth drove the air flow, and soon the cigarette was lit.

Fu Cheng took a deep breath and slowly exhaled the smoke.

Perhaps it was an illusion; when the two cigarettes touched, it seemed that a little bit of that man’s taste remained between his teeth and cheeks.

Fu Cheng suddenly became irritable. Holding the cigarette between his fingers, he leaned against the metal railing and watched a plane taking off outside the window.

Coincidentally, it was exactly a McFly F485.

“What does it feel like to see a plane designed by yourself take off, Teacher Zhuo?”

Zhuo Huan took a drag of smoke: “No feeling.”

Fu Cheng didn’t quite believe it.

“I didn’t design it alone. McFly established this project nineteen years ago; I was just a ten-year-old kid then.” Today, Zhuo Huan seemed to be in a good mood. Looking at the planes docked by the terminal building downstairs, he picked out three McFly F485s at a glance. “The improvement of the trailing edge flaps, do you know who designed it?”

Fu Cheng: “Not you?”

Since he asked this way, it must not be Zhuo Huan.

Zhuo Huan: “Design Group A9, there are twenty-four people; they are specifically responsible for the flaps. Behind this plane are more than 3,000 people, spanning fifteen years of painstaking effort.”

After a while.

Fu Cheng: “You seem to be in a very good mood today.”

Zhuo Huan’s radiant expression suddenly stopped. He turned his head and looked at Fu Cheng. He raised an eyebrow: “No, you felt wrong.”

Fu Cheng was about to speak again when Zhuo Huan pointed slightly with the hand holding the cigarette towards the outside of the room.

“Then who do you think is different between those two today?”

Fu Cheng looked in the direction his finger pointed.

Outside the smoking room, the punk teenager was dancing with joy as he told Old Joseph about his university life, and Old Joseph was laughing heartily at his amusement.

Fu Cheng: “Su Fei. After winning the IMO gold medal, he went to Boston for university and stayed there for many years. Now that we are going to Boston, he is very excited.”

Zhuo Huan smiled: “Hard Joseph.”

“Old Joseph?” Fu Cheng asked in surprise.

Zhuo Huan looked at the blue sky outside the window: “January 17, 2003, US Airways Flight 384 accident; he was the captain. He lost a leg. Oh right, you know that; he said it.”

Fu Cheng frowned.

Zhuo Huan: “What he didn’t say is that in that air crash, he survived by luck. He was very lucky, or rather, the people on that plane were basically very lucky. The Goddess of Luck favored them; the plane plunged headfirst into the lawn outside the airport runway, and the entire cockpit was almost completely destroyed. But not a single flight attendant or passenger in the cabin died; they all survived. If one must speak of misfortune, the two pilots were quite unfortunate; one lost his right leg, and the other never woke up again.”

Fu Cheng suddenly realized: “You mean the co-pilot?”

“Died on the spot.”

Fu Cheng opened his mouth.

“Do you know what the cause of the crash was?” Zhuo Huan turned his head slightly, hair falling along the slender neckline onto his collarbone.

“What?”

Knowing that this accident was related to Old Joseph, Fu Cheng had deliberately avoided it. He didn’t want to inquire privately about Old Joseph’s past. Firstly, he didn’t want to poke at others’ wounds; secondly, putting himself in others’ shoes, if it were him, he wouldn’t want others to inquire about his affairs privately either.

Zhuo Huan: “The direct cause was poor weather. Secondly, under extremely poor weather conditions, the co-pilot made a visual approach, operated incorrectly, and the plane crashed. And this co-pilot had only one son… Seventeen years later, as a co-pilot for US Airways, he flew an Airbus A390 and crashed into the Atlantic.”

“And this Airbus A390 was US Airways 4012.”

Author’s Note:

Zhuo Rest-in-Peace: Heh, money does fall from the sky, Fu Cheng.
Lina [smiling]: But wives don’t fall from the sky, Reid.

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