UAAG CH77

Hesse, Germany. Frankfurt.

Air France had only one route at Frankfurt Airport: from Paris to Frankfurt. In April 2021, an Air France red-eye cargo plane took off from Charles de Gaulle Airport and crashed while landing in Frankfurt.

The three of them first arrived in Paris to understand the situation at Air France headquarters. The next day, they set off for Frankfurt.

A plane that had been torn to pieces was reassembled by EASA investigators using metal frames to form a complete aircraft. The senior EASA investigator in charge of this accident was an old acquaintance.

Gao Yun: “The current investigation has reached the final explosion equivalence experiment. We suspect that cargo in the hold underwent a chemical reaction, causing the explosion and fire. The problem is, why exactly did the explosion occur, and what is the explosion critical threshold for this Boeing 747-8 freighter?”

Everyone nodded. Old Joseph smiled. “You pieced this plane together quite quickly this time.”

Gao Yun also smiled. “After all, it didn’t crash so badly, right? If it had been like last year’s Martha Airlines 123, smashed into pieces against a mountain, believe me, friend, I wouldn’t want to piece it together at all.”

Everyone laughed heartily.

After arriving in Frankfurt, the three quickly got into work mode.

Old Joseph: “I wonder how Reid and Fu are doing. To be honest, this is the first commissioned work without them, and I’m really not used to it.”

Su Fei also scratched his head. “I also feel something’s off. Without RIP backing us up, I feel uncomfortable all over.”

Lina walked over with a cup of coffee. “Perhaps I can bring you some good news.”

“What?”

Lina blinked. “UAAG headquarters has finished renovating. When we finish this job and go back, we can enjoy the new office.”

Su Fei and Old Joseph: “…”

Old Joseph muttered, “That’s really not good news!”

Besides Lina, the first person to actually learn that UAAG headquarters had finished renovating wasn’t Old Joseph or Su Fei, but Fu Cheng.

Lina wasn’t in the country, and the completion required someone to inspect on-site. She asked Fu Cheng for help.

After signing his name on the acceptance form, that afternoon, Fu Cheng took another taxi to the COMAC factory.

Changing into a white lab coat and putting on latex gloves, Fu Cheng entered the laboratory.

Four computers were simulating the takeoff status of the new airfoil. Zhuo Huan and Chief Designer Wu stood on either side of the computer screens. It seemed he hadn’t rested well in a long time—Zhuo Huan’s eyes were tired, but his brows were tightly furrowed and his lips pressed together. Without actual test flights, just computer simulations alone revealed their deep dissatisfaction with the results of this airfoil modification.

Chief Designer Wu: “To have a high lift-to-drag ratio for high-speed cruising, we must first ensure sufficient safe stall margin. And lift is proportional to the circulation formed by the airfoil. To change the effective value of circulation, we need to utilize a highly curved mean camber line while satisfying the Kutta condition…”

After he finished speaking, a few seconds later, Zhuo Huan asked, “What about using both leading and trailing edge loading?”

Wu Hui was stunned. “This is completely different from our initial design concept. It means starting over from scratch.”

Zhuo Huan looked up at Fu Cheng. “What do you think? You have experience flying the McFly F475neo.”

Everyone turned to look at Fu Cheng.

Fu Cheng glanced at Zhuo Huan and answered, “McFly’s neo model didn’t adopt leading and trailing edge loading structures, but based on the two-dimensional experimental results of the wing section…” He paused, recalling the nearly two months he and Zhuo Huan spent in Los Angeles researching McFly’s new model’s lift model. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I think it’s feasible. What do you think, Teacher Zhuo?”

Zhuo Huan’s gaze lingered on him for a long time. After a few seconds, he turned to the COMAC designers. “Readopt the leading and trailing edge loading devices and conduct experiments again.”

“Yes.”

In the entire COMAC design laboratory, only Zhuo Huan had experience designing the world’s most advanced large wide-body aircraft.

The McFly F485 was one of today’s most outstanding wide-body passenger aircraft in the aviation world.

Regarding the related design of COMAC CR939, when he first arrived at the COMAC factory, no one knew that Zhuo Huan had already spent a full half month reading through all the design blueprints with almost no sleep. COMAC had given this person enormous trust, unreservedly sending him the blueprints even though Zhuo Huan was not a COMAC designer. And Zhuo Huan gave a corresponding response.

Most of CR939’s designs and systems had no problems. Although they didn’t reach the standard of the world’s top wide-body passenger aircraft, they could at least barely approach the Boeing 777 series. If there had to be improvements, what could truly reduce flight costs and become this aircraft’s secret weapon was the new airfoil.

After the third test flight ended, at Zhuo Huan’s request, Fu Cheng also joined the design team because he was one of only two people present who had seen the McFly F475neo and had personally flown it.

Now, Zhuo Huan suddenly decided to completely change the wing’s basic model. This was equivalent to starting from scratch and was a severe test for the entire design team. However, Chief Designer Wu didn’t object, and COMAC’s over a thousand designers didn’t refuse either.

Like screws embedded in an assembly line, everyone buried their heads and silently did their work. Working overtime became the most ordinary thing.

The sensor glass door opened to both sides. Fu Cheng rubbed his sore wrist, walked out of the laboratory, and headed toward the food bar.

He randomly bought a piece of bread from the vending machine, walked to a chair by the window, and sat down. While eating the bread, he looked at his phone. He was looking at his cousin’s Moments post from her Paris trip yesterday when suddenly, his phone vibrated lightly. Fu Cheng clicked on the message, was silent for a moment, and didn’t reply.

Not long after, several more lab technicians came out to eat together.

One young lab technician saw Fu Cheng and waved at him. Several people came to sit beside Fu Cheng.

“You’re only eating this much, Major Fu?”

Fu Cheng smiled. “Yeah, not much appetite.”

Placing his phone face-down on the table, Fu Cheng stopped looking at it. The people at the table began chatting.

These young lab technicians also talked about everyday matters after leaving the laboratory. Sometimes they complained that today’s simple meal at the food bar was too awful, the fish too fishy; sometimes they griped that today’s experimental data exceeded the critical point and had to be recalculated.

Fu Cheng listened to them talk intermittently, slowly eating his bread.

One lab technician turned to look at him. “Major Fu, your phone has vibrated several times. Don’t you need to check it?”

Fu Cheng’s body paused. He said, “Probably app advertisements.”

The lab technicians nodded and didn’t ask further.

After one minute, Fu Cheng had just finished eating his bread when his phone suddenly vibrated violently. His lips pressed together. He flipped over his phone and saw the screen flashing with two characters: “Su Qiao.” After staring at it for a second, Fu Cheng stood up. “I’m going to take a call.”

Cleaning up the plastic bag on the table, Fu Cheng answered the call while walking toward the balcony.

When Zhuo Huan and Chief Designer Wu came out of the laboratory, what they saw was Fu Cheng’s retreating back.

Zhuo Huan looked up at Fu Cheng’s back. Chief Designer Wu, without any airs, sat down directly where Fu Cheng had been sitting. Several lab technicians immediately stood up, nervously calling out, “Hello, Teacher Wu!”

Wu Hui waved his hand with a smile. “Sit down, everyone. Outside the lab, there aren’t so many rules. I’m just here to eat. That was Major Fu just now, right? Finished eating so quickly?”

The lab technician sitting beside Wu Hui nodded. “Major Fu just ate a piece of bread. Much faster than us.”

Wu Hui: “Oh, what’s he doing? That’s not the direction of the laboratory.”

A younger lab technician chuckled. “Seems like he went to answer his girlfriend’s call.”

Wu Hui’s eyes widened. “Little Fu has a girlfriend?”

One lab technician quickly said, “I just heard Major Fu answer the phone. It was a woman’s voice. So… should be his girlfriend, right?”

Wu Hui sighed. “Youth is wonderful.”

Zhuo Huan walked past this table expressionlessly. He walked to the vending machine, stood looking for a long time, then finally bought a bottle of cola.

These lab technicians weren’t wrong. Fu Cheng did answer a woman’s call—Su Qiao’s.

Since that class reunion when he took Su Qiao home and rejected her confession, Fu Cheng no longer contacted her. However, while WeChat messages could be ignored, phone calls couldn’t go unanswered. After answering the call and learning her intention, Fu Cheng was silent for a moment. “It’s fine. It’s just a meal.”

The woman’s sweet voice sounded even softer over the phone. “How can that be okay? Last time you treated me to French food, and I still haven’t treated you back. Fu Cheng, you already agreed before—you said you’d let me treat you too. Is it because of what I said to you last week that you don’t want to see me anymore?”

“…No.”

“Then let me treat you to a meal.”

“Really, it’s fine.”

Su Qiao laughed. “Alright, I’ll be honest with you—I have an ulterior motive for treating you to dinner.”

Fu Cheng was slightly startled.

Before he could speak, Su Qiao continued, “I’m moving this week, so I wanted to ask you to help. Just this weekend, I’m moving and have already called a truck, but there’s still a lot of stuff. I asked other people, but they all happened to be busy. Fu Cheng, can you help me move? I’ll treat you to dinner. Please, please please.”

After a long silence, Fu Cheng said, “Alright.”

Su Qiao and Zhuo Huan lived in the same building.

Fu Cheng hadn’t expected that he would enter this building again to help someone move.

Su Qiao lived on the seventh floor, in a space more than half the size of Zhuo Huan’s place. Upon entering, many things were already packed, and the floor was full of cardboard boxes. But there were still many miscellaneous items not yet organized. After Fu Cheng helped pack two more large boxes, it was already eleven o’clock noon.

Su Qiao rubbed her shoulders. “Alright, thank you, Fu Cheng. Just waiting for the moving company this afternoon to haul all this stuff away.”

Fu Cheng shook his head. “No problem.”

Su Qiao looked into his eyes. After a while, she smiled. “Let’s go. I’ll treat you to a meal. I’ve already reserved a spot, just nearby.”

The restaurant Su Qiao had reserved was diagonally across from the residential complex—a Western restaurant.

Melodious, soothing piano music flowed slowly through the quiet restaurant. Each seat was separated by some distance, ensuring relative privacy. There weren’t many people in the restaurant—very peaceful. After the two sat down, they ordered seasonal food according to the daily menu and began talking and chatting.

Mainly, it was Su Qiao talking.

As if it had become a default habit in their interactions, from their first meeting ten years ago until now, Fu Cheng was always the listener while the girl chattered in his ear. Ten years ago, after the girl said a whole bunch and received a soft “mm” from the boy, she would pout and complain, “Fu Cheng, are you even listening to me? Do you not like me anymore?”

But now, Fu Cheng still had that gentle, calm appearance, yet Su Qiao could no longer ask that question.

Looking at the handsome, beautiful young man across the table, Su Qiao slowly tightened her grip on the wine glass stem, a deep light flickering in her eyes. When Fu Cheng turned his gaze from outside the window back to her, she immediately covered her lips and laughed softly, her tone helpless yet sad, like she was acting spoiled. “You’re not curious about me at all. Don’t you want to ask why I’m suddenly moving?”

After a moment of silence, Fu Cheng asked, “Why?”

The beautiful woman let out a heavy sigh. “After the divorce, life is hard. Living in such a big house, the utilities are so expensive.”

Fu Cheng: “…Mm.”

Su Qiao: “…”

A moment later, “Fu Cheng, can’t you say two more words!”

Words that should have been complaints, coming from this woman’s mouth, sounded melodious and pleasant.

Fu Cheng truly didn’t know what to say. He sensed Su Qiao’s meaning, but his heart was dead silent. Even with a girl he once liked sitting before him, hinting and explicitly showing interest, he couldn’t give any response. After a brief silence, Fu Cheng was about to speak when he heard a deliberately raised voice from behind him. “Wow, what a coincidence.”

His body stiffened abruptly in that instant.

Su Qiao looked up at that handsome, indifferent face. The next moment, she remembered his identity. She raised her hand to tuck the hair by her ear, smiling with crescent eyes. “Hello, I remember you’re Fu Cheng’s friend?”

Zhuo Huan propped up the frame of his sunglasses with one hand and held a convenience store plastic bag in the other. He glanced down at the woman sitting across from him, then lowered his head to Fu Cheng. “Fu Cheng, having a meal?” His tone was casual and carefree.

Slowly raising his head, Fu Cheng looked calmly at the man before him. “Mm. Teacher Zhuo, are you also out for a meal?”

Looking at him, Zhuo Huan smiled. “Yeah, you don’t mind if I join, do you?”

Before Fu Cheng could respond, Su Qiao said, “We don’t mind. Join us.”

Having already agreed to join, refusing now would be too deliberate. Fu Cheng moved toward the inside of the sofa, making room for Zhuo Huan.

The server quickly came over. After Zhuo Huan finished ordering, he closed the menu and said to the server, “Bring a bottle of Pétrus.”

Hearing this, Su Qiao’s expression changed.

The server didn’t seem to find anything unusual. He asked, “Sir, we currently have one bottle of ’09 Pétrus in the store. Is that acceptable?”

Zhuo Huan raised an eyebrow slightly, reluctantly saying, “Fine.”

After the server left, Su Qiao smiled. “Fu Cheng, you haven’t introduced me to this friend of yours. What’s his name?”

Fu Cheng said flatly, “His name is Zhuo Huan. Teacher Zhuo, this is my high school classmate, Su Qiao.”

Su Qiao tilted her head with a smile. “So it’s Mr. Zhuo. Does Mr. Zhuo also study wine? I drank a bottle of Pétrus a long time ago, the ’02. The taste was truly very mellow with a rich aftertaste.”

Zhuo Huan looked at her and smiled faintly. “I have some shares in Pétrus.”

Su Qiao: “…”

Zhuo Huan: “Last time I saw Miss Su downstairs at my building. Does Miss Su also live in that building?”

Su Qiao: “I’m moving today. I used to live there.”

Zhuo Huan took off his sunglasses and handed them to Fu Cheng, leisurely saying “Oh.” “Why the sudden move?”

Zhuo Huan’s action of handing over his sunglasses was so matter-of-fact that Su Qiao didn’t think anything was wrong. But Fu Cheng looked down at the sunglasses, not reaching out to take them for a long time. After his hand hung in the air for a few seconds, Zhuo Huan turned to look at Fu Cheng.

Their eyes met.

After a long while, the smile on Zhuo Huan’s face gradually faded. He withdrew his hand.

Fu Cheng: “I’ll pay for this meal today.”

Su Qiao looked at him in surprise. “Fu Cheng?”

Zhuo Huan’s gaze shifted between the two of them, asking casually, “Oh, so Miss Su is treating?”

Su Qiao said helplessly, “Yes, Fu Cheng helped me move today. Plus, he treated me to a meal last time, so I want to return the favor.”

Zhuo Huan: “Oh, no need. I’ll pay my own bill.”

Su Qiao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Soon, the appetizers were served first.

Fu Cheng wasn’t talkative to begin with, and now with Zhuo Huan suddenly added, Su Qiao also felt a bit awkward. However, she was very good at socializing and quickly found an appropriate topic.

“Mr. Zhuo, are you and Fu Cheng colleagues?”

Fu Cheng: “He’s my superior.”

Su Qiao laughed softly, revealing two delicate dimples at the corners of her mouth. “Mr. Zhuo is truly young and accomplished.”

As the appetizer was served, the server also brought the wine.

After decanting, the server poured wine for all three. Zhuo Huan didn’t say the wine was ordered by him alone. Seeing Fu Cheng remain silent, Su Qiao didn’t specifically mention it either. She accepted the wine.

Taking a small sip, Su Qiao looked at the rich red color like pure black in the wine glass. “The truffle aroma, and the slightly astringent tannin taste—still the taste from memory.”

Zhuo Huan: “Miss Su studies wine?”

Su Qiao smiled. “I occasionally taste some. I’ve tasted quite a bit before, so I understand a little.”

Zhuo Huan said with a half-smile, “This is an expensive hobby. Very costly. Has to be cultivated from childhood.”

Su Qiao’s smile stiffened somewhat.

Zhuo Huan: “Of Bordeaux’s four most famous wine regions, I like Pomerol the most. And among Pomerol’s wineries, Pétrus is the finest. Has Miss Su been to France?”

Su Qiao vaguely sensed a strange hostility but didn’t know the reason. She could only smile in response. “I’ve been to Paris once.”

Zhuo Huan: “Have you been to the Maldives?”

Su Qiao’s body stiffened. “I have. Why does Mr. Zhuo ask?”

Zhuo Huan looked at her forced composure and let out a mocking laugh. He was about to speak when Fu Cheng suddenly stood up. “I’m going to the restroom.”

Zhuo Huan looked at him. “I’ll go too.”

Fu Cheng didn’t respond.

The two walked toward the restroom one after the other. Su Qiao held the wine glass stem, watching their departing backs. After they both left, this charming woman slightly raised her chin, looking at the convenience store plastic bag Zhuo Huan had casually placed on the sofa. She narrowed her eyes and began pondering.

After coming out of the restroom, Fu Cheng immediately saw the man leaning against the door. His steps paused, then he walked straight to the sink and began washing his hands.

The sound of rushing water was the only noise.

Dim yellow light reflected from the carved wall lamps, shining on Zhuo Huan’s slightly long hair, creating a faint pale golden hue. The restroom was scented with a light citrus fragrance. Zhuo Huan had both hands in his pockets, looking up at the young man in the mirror.

After a few seconds, he smiled faintly and spoke. “So you like that kind of woman, Fu Cheng.”

Fu Cheng lowered his head, washing his hands, not making a sound.

Zhuo Huan: “Are you two dating?”

Fu Cheng still didn’t speak.

Zhuo Huan clicked his tongue lightly, as if asking and answering himself. “Doesn’t seem like it. When you’re dating, do you like having women treat you? Are you chasing her, or is she chasing you?” He paused. “Oh, she’s chasing you.”

Fu Cheng turned off the faucet and reached for a towel to dry his hands.

Zhuo Huan: “She’s fairly good-looking. Why must she chase you? When I saw her, I felt a sense of déjà vu. This type of woman looks so familiar. Do you know where I’ve seen her before?” As if he never expected an answer from the young man, Zhuo Huan directly answered, “In my father’s bed.”

Fu Cheng suddenly looked up, saying coldly, “Teacher Zhuo, you’ve gone too far.”

Zhuo Huan slowly withdrew his smile, asking indifferently, “How have I gone too far?”

Fu Cheng: “Saying such things about a girl—don’t you think this behavior is extremely disgusting?”

As if hearing something ridiculous, Zhuo Huan laughed incredulously and exaggeratedly twice. Fu Cheng clenched his fingers, turned to leave, but was grabbed by the wrist by Zhuo Huan.

“How the fuck am I disgusting?”

“Every word you say disgusts me.”

“Fuck!”

Zhuo Huan grabbed his wrist and pressed him against the wall. He was practically grinding his teeth, each word forcefully smashing from between his teeth onto the ground. “I disgust you? That woman out there, half a year ago she gave birth to a son for a sixty-year-old man, took five million and left. And you fucking say I disgust you?”

“She went to the Maldives as a prostitute, slept with who knows how many people, and you fucking say I disgust you?”

“That house, the one you fucking helped her move from, the one you helped her pack—why is she moving? Because that house isn’t even hers. Now she doesn’t want to be a prostitute anymore. She wants to get married. She found you. She wants to marry you, Fu Cheng, and you fucking say I disgust you?”

Hearing these words, Fu Cheng had long since changed from initial shock to deep numbness. He silently lowered his head, not saying a word.

Zhuo Huan was amused by his anger. He reached out to lift his chin but was dodged.

The air suddenly froze.

After a long while, Fu Cheng lowered his head, his voice hoarse as he asked, “Why did you investigate Su Qiao?”

His body stiffened slightly. Zhuo Huan sneered, “Aren’t you the one who likes women?”

Fu Cheng looked up at him.

Zhuo Huan smiled maliciously, his tone casual and sarcastic. “Oh, so this is the kind of woman you like.”

His gaze silently fixed on this man’s face. Fu Cheng looked quietly, calmly shaking off this person’s hand and turning toward the door. Each step felt unbearably long, his feet seemingly filled with lead. His heart ached, his throat choked, but there was nothing to say. Nothing at all to say.

Fu Cheng reached the door and pressed the handle.

The next moment, rapid footsteps sounded from behind. Fu Cheng instinctively turned around, and a burning kiss suddenly fell, sealing his breath. His eyes flew wide open. Zhuo Huan’s scent overwhelmingly invaded. After a few seconds, he remembered to struggle, but Zhuo Huan cupped his face with both hands, pressed him between his body and the door, and kissed him forcefully.

Unable to hold back any longer, the man’s tongue invaded the young man’s mouth, frantically sucking and licking.

Fu Cheng began pushing him away, but Zhuo Huan said hoarsely, as if pleading, “Don’t.”

That sound seemed like a hallucination.

But Fu Cheng froze.

When he came back to his senses, one of the man’s hands was around his waist, the other at the back of his head. Eyes closed, biting his lips, kissing lingeringly. Fu Cheng also involuntarily closed his eyes. He first tentatively kissed back, that familiar taste called Zhuo Huan. In the end, it became a passionate kiss in return.

Behind the thin door panel came faint knocking sounds.

Su Qiao asked from outside, “Fu Cheng, aren’t you done yet?”

“Mr. Zhuo?”

The woman’s voice didn’t stop their kiss—instead, it intensified. As if wanting to devour the young man before him whole, almost wanting to take him right here, Zhuo Huan kissed his nose, his eyes. Finally, he sealed those constantly gasping lips again in an ambiguous, grinding kiss.

Su Qiao knocked a few times before finally giving up.

Fu Cheng breathed deeply, calming his breathing. After one minute, he recovered, raised his hand to wipe the moist saliva from the corner of his mouth, turned to open the door and go back out. Zhuo Huan embraced him from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder.

“Fu Cheng.”

The man’s voice was sexy and low.

Fu Cheng closed his eyes, then pried open his arms.

Zhuo Huan lowered his head, his long hair brushing against Fu Cheng’s cheek.

In the restroom, the faucet wasn’t tightly closed. Water droplets fell on the marble surface. Drop by drop. Drip, drop. Drip, drop.

“…Come back, okay?”

Author’s Note:

Regarding readers asking about the plot line—if you want to see the previous unit-drama style plots, I suggest waiting until it’s fattened up for the next volume. The next volume, also the final volume, is titled “Heart of the Ocean.”

I personally don’t think only hardcore content counts as plot. This volume mainly introduces the two protagonists’ pasts. For example, Instructor Qi from the previous chapter—his name didn’t first appear in the previous chapter but appeared before the VIP chapters. This volume’s plot line mainly introduces these past events, telling you what these two people experienced to become who they are now.

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