UAAG CH75

The night was deep. Streetlights on both sides of the road lit up one by one, illuminating the pedestrians rushing back and forth on the sidewalk.

Fu Cheng had intended to say goodbye to Su Qiao immediately after leaving the company. He didn’t really want to have any further involvement with her. However, before he could speak, Su Qiao looked at him with a smile, a small pear dimple rippling at the corner of her mouth: “I heard there’s a delicious restaurant across the street. I’ve always wanted to try it, but I just started at my new company and haven’t gotten to know any colleagues yet. Fu Cheng, shall we go there?”

Startled slightly, Fu Cheng was about to speak when Su Qiao added, “Of course, you don’t have to treat me. Let’s split the bill.”

After a moment of silence, Fu Cheng said, “That’s fine.”

Crossing the street and walking less than a hundred meters, they arrived at a newly opened French restaurant.

Fu Cheng rarely ate French cuisine, but the woman in front of him seemed very familiar with it. Su Qiao ordered a few dishes from the waiter and then expertly ordered a bottle of red wine. Fu Cheng glanced at her, and from the depths of his hazy memory, he suddenly recalled going to eat steak with this girl ten years ago. Back then, she had clutched her white dress rigidly, overwhelmed and afraid to move.

Yet today, this girl knew French cuisine like the back of her hand.

Everyone had changed, including him.

Soon, the appetizers were served. As they ate, Su Qiao introduced Fu Cheng to the details of next month’s class reunion.

Su Qiao: “Do you remember our class study commissary, Zheng Weiqi? He’s the one from a single-parent family; his father passed away when he was very young, leaving him and his mother to depend on each other. Turns out, six months ago, he was suddenly diagnosed with leukemia…”

Holding a silver fork in one hand, the beautiful woman spoke softly. Mentioning her old classmate’s tragic plight, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, revealing a look of sorrow and concern.

Fu Cheng recalled for a moment. “Sorry, I don’t really remember.”

Su Qiao smiled. “Mn, you never liked talking to people in class back then. If I hadn’t dragged you along, you might not have known more than a few people even by the end of the college entrance exams.”

Fu Cheng fell silent, unable to refute.

Since childhood, he had been the type who didn’t like to talk much, though he wasn’t exactly introverted. He wouldn’t actively seek out conversation, but if necessary, he would participate in class activities. This situation improved significantly only after he joined the military.

Exquisite dishes were brought to the table one by one by the waiter. The mellow red wine swirled gently against the walls of the clear glass. Su Qiao suddenly said, “By the way, I got divorced.”

Fu Cheng was somewhat surprised. He paused for a moment before saying, “…Is everything okay?”

Su Qiao shook her head with a smile. “It was an amicable divorce. We just couldn’t continue living together; it’s nothing major.” As if casually mentioning the topic, Su Qiao quickly moved on to something else. “Thinking about it, we really haven’t seen each other in a long time. Has it been two or three months? I remember the last time I ran into you, I was still discussing the divorce, and now it’s already done.”

Fu Cheng: “Mn, about three months.”

After the meal, Fu Cheng saw Su Qiao into a taxi. Only after watching her leave did he take out his phone to call a car for himself.

Sitting in the back seat, looking at the mottled, blurred scenery through the dark window, Fu Cheng picked up his phone after a long while and sent a message.

[Fu Cheng: I will go to the class reunion next month.]

Just as he sent it, the other party replied instantly.

It was a very cute cartoon sticker: a small white dumpling figure holding up a flashing light board with two colorful letters blinking on it: OK.

[Su Qiao: Thanks for the treat today. You ate so little; it was mostly me eating. Next time, it’s my treat.]

Fu Cheng was about to refuse, but she sent another message: [Don’t refuse. If I owe someone a favor, I won’t be able to sleep at night.]

Fu Cheng: “…”

[Fu Cheng: Okay.]

As usual, he washed up and went to sleep.

The next morning, Fu Cheng subconsciously turned on his phone first thing. However, after lighting up the dark screen, he suddenly didn’t know what to do.

He looked at the phone screen silently until it automatically locked.

Fu Cheng got out of bed, changed clothes, and took a sandwich out of the refrigerator.

For many years, only one person had lived in this empty apartment. All these years, he had never felt the house was too big or too empty because, from beginning to end, there was only one person, so he didn’t feel sad. Putting the sandwich into the microwave and watching it rotate and heat up, Fu Cheng stared quietly for a long time.

Time seemed to stop at this moment.

The microwave dinged. The slender young man stood frozen for a long time before finally standing up, opening the door, and taking out the sandwich inside. In the quiet dining room, the sound of the plastic wrapper being torn open echoed clearly in his ears. Peeling back the plastic wrap, he took a bite, chewed seven times, swallowed, and ate slowly.

Suddenly, a massive wave of nausea surged up from the base of his esophagus.

The young man ran quickly to the sink. The next moment, sounds of tearing retching echoed ferociously in the kitchen. The sandwich he had just eaten, along with the undigested Western food from the night before, were all vomited up cleanly, as if he were trying to expel every organ in his body.

Finally, the terrifying retching sounds slowly faded into silence.

Fu Cheng lowered his head, staring quietly at the stream of water flowing from the faucet. After a long while, he turned and walked to the storage room, taking out a tube of glucose.

The sun rose from the east, and he traveled against the flow of commuter traffic toward the COMAC factory by the East Sea.

It was only 9:00 AM when Fu Cheng arrived at the COMAC factory. However, the designers of the CR939 aircraft, along with Du Sen and the other pilots of the test flight team, had already arrived. Half an hour later, Zhuo Huan arrived as well.

Wearing a white T-shirt, he took off his sunglasses and exchanged a few words with Wu Hui.

Soon, the group moved to the test flight airfield located nearby.

At 1:00 PM, Fu Cheng changed into his uniform and walked into the cockpit.

This test flight was different from the McFly F475 test flight; it was absolutely safe. COMAC had already proven through numerous experiments that this aircraft could take off smoothly. However, they wanted to make improvements to reduce flight costs, so they needed the test pilot to coordinate a series of operations precise to the second to acquire flight data.

Fu Cheng started the engines, completed all preparatory work, and pressed the radio communication button.

“CR939 test aircraft ready.”

The next second, Zhuo Huan’s indifferent voice came through the headset: “Takeoff approved.”

Fu Cheng lowered his eyes: “Yes.”

Such an operation was absolutely overkill for Fu Cheng.

For any excellent Air Force pilot, flying a civil aircraft is extremely easy. Military aircraft test a pilot’s personal skill and flying ability far more. In the boundless, vast sky, a fighter jet is like the pilot’s avatar; whether a pilot’s skills are exquisite can be discerned with the naked eye. For a pilot with slightly inferior skills, flying is a public execution.

But civil airliners are different. While computers provide passengers with greater safety guarantees, they also give pilots an extremely intelligent flight assistant. The most advanced civil airliners, like the McFly F485, can even fly fully automatically for the entire journey. Theoretically, the pilot only needs to sit in the pilot’s seat and watch, and the McFly F485 can take passengers wherever they want to go.

Inside the quiet cockpit, Zhuo Huan occasionally issued requirements for certain maneuvers. Fu Cheng responded softly and then completed them flawlessly.

After the plane landed safely, the ground crew immediately surrounded it to continue collecting data.

After explaining some of his flight conditions to them, Fu Cheng looked up and saw Zhuo Huan and Chief Designer Wu standing under the left wing of the plane, talking about something unknown.

Watching quietly for a few seconds, Fu Cheng withdrew his gaze.

“Senior!”

Fu Cheng turned his head. “Hm?”

The young man with the buzz cut gathered around, unable to hide the admiration in his eyes. “You were so fast when completing the flight commands, and during the landing just now, the rudder control was incredibly steady!”

Fu Cheng: “…”

“This is just a civil airliner.”

Du Sen: “True. It’s a pity I’ve never seen Senior fly a plane before; this is the first time. When I graduated from the training camp, Senior had already gone to fly carrier-based aircraft on the aircraft carrier. By the time I had the chance to be transferred to fly carrier-based aircraft, you had already retired.”

Fu Cheng smiled and looked around. “Where is Zhou Jin?”

As if suddenly remembering something, Du Sen let out an “Ah,” then grinned. “Senior, guess who’s here.”

Fu Cheng paused. “Who?”

Before Du Sen could speak, Fu Cheng heard a muffled harrumph from behind him. His body froze, he turned his head to look, and his eyes widened abruptly. “Regiment Commander?!”

…

A solemn and majestic middle-aged man wearing a white military uniform walked in front. Behind him, Fu Cheng, Du Sen, and Zhou Jin followed one after another. However, halfway there, Regiment Commander Nie turned around, his gaze sharp. “Why are you two following?”

Du Sen and Zhou Jin were both stunned.

Regiment Commander Nie: “I have words for Fu Cheng.”

Du Sen: “Oh, oh, oh, I’ll go check on the situation in the lab.”

Zhou Jin: “I’ll go too.”

Although the test flight airfield was simple, consisting only of a terminal building the size of an ordinary bus station and a runway, a small catering bar had been set up inside. However, Regiment Commander Nie had no intention of resting and drinking tea there. He passed through the small bar and arrived at a meeting room.

Fu Cheng followed him silently.

The meeting room door closed. Regiment Commander Nie: “Sit.”

Only then did Fu Cheng sit down.

Regiment Commander Nie: “How long has it been, hmm?”

Fu Cheng looked up at him.

Regiment Commander Nie glared with tiger-like eyes. “Still looking? What are you looking at! Answer me.”

Fu Cheng straightened his back. “Reporting to Regiment Commander, two years and three months.”

The stern-looking Air Force Senior Colonel scrutinized the young man before him with a cold gaze. Fu Cheng looked straight ahead with firm eyes, not dodging in the slightest. After a minute, Regiment Commander Nie laughed first. “Alright, you’re already retired, still ‘reporting to Regiment Commander.’ Are you my soldier?”

Fu Cheng looked at him, suddenly at a loss for words.

Regiment Commander Nie: “Hm? Don’t recognize me anymore?”

His stiff body gradually relaxed. For the first time in so many days, the heart in his chest seemed to warm up again. Fu Cheng smiled too, his voice gentle: “Regiment Commander.”

Regiment Commander Nie: “How is the situation at home recently? I remember you have a sister.”

Fu Cheng: “She just got married six months ago. Everything is fine.”

Regiment Commander Nie: “Then how is your health?”

Fu Cheng: “Also quite good.”

Regiment Commander Nie huffed. “I thought that after being retired for so long, your flying skills would have degraded. Looking at it just now, it seems okay, barely passable.”

Fu Cheng smiled and didn’t speak.

The two exchanged a few more words.

Regiment Commander Nie was the direct superior officer managing them after Fu Cheng transferred to become a carrier-based aircraft pilot. Both Fu Cheng and Du Sen had been carrier-based aircraft pilots, so in a sense, they had both been Regiment Commander Nie’s soldiers. When Fu Cheng retired two years ago, it was Regiment Commander Nie who approved the discharge permit.

Upon first contact, everyone would think this old commander was difficult to get along with, rigid and serious. But after spending time together, they knew he was extremely protective of his own, cherishing the soldiers under his command deeply. When Fu Cheng was in service, this old commander had treated him especially well.

“As long as your health is good. Eat more; look how thin you are now, almost the same as when you retired two years ago.” Regiment Commander Nie frowned, speaking bluntly.

Fu Cheng reminded him, “I’m much heavier than back then, at least ten kilograms heavier.”

Regiment Commander Nie glared at him. “Can a normal person be compared to a skeleton! If you looked then like you do now, would I have allowed you to retire?”

Fu Cheng stopped talking.

Thinking of the events from two years ago, Regiment Commander Nie looked at Fu Cheng’s face and sighed softly. After a while, he softened his voice: “It’s good that you’re doing well now. Old Qi’s matter has nothing to do with you; don’t think too much. As for your family matters, it’s been so many years. The living must live well so they can properly miss them.”

Gazing at the floor, Fu Cheng said softly after a few seconds, “Mn.”

Regiment Commander Nie: “Sigh, I came this time not only under orders from above to check on the test flight team but also to see you and Du Sen. Also, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Fu Cheng raised his head. “Please speak.”

Regiment Commander Nie: “You know about Old Qi’s family, right?”

Fu Cheng paused. “Mistress?” [Shimu: Teacher’s wife]

Regiment Commander Nie: “Mn.”

Fu Cheng: “Didn’t Mistress get into a car accident five years ago and has been lying in the hospital in a coma ever since?”

Regiment Commander Nie: “Yes, she was in our Air Force General Hospital the whole time. After Old Qi passed away in the air crash, the unit continued to help take care of her.” Pausing, Regiment Commander Nie continued, “Since I happened to see you, I thought I’d tell you. Last month, her condition worsened, and she went to the ICU twice. In the end, she didn’t make it. She passed away last week.”

Support me on Ko-fi