UAAG CH45

UK, London, St. Shakespeare’s Church.

Gray-black bricks and semi-circular Roman columns lined both sides of the guest seating, reflecting against the twenty-four stained glass windows. It was a sacred Gothic-style building, most renowned from the Norman era.

Fu Xiao and her husband had chosen this church for their wedding long ago, but they hadn’t been able to secure a slot.

St. Shakespeare’s Church only hosted one wedding per day, and their originally scheduled time was June. However, at the end of last month, the church suddenly notified them that a couple scheduled for March 7th had suddenly broken up because the groom was caught in bed with someone else. March 7th happened to be the anniversary of Fu Xiao and her husband’s relationship. As if destined by fate, the two didn’t hesitate to change the wedding date immediately.

Sitting on both sides of the church were mostly the groom’s relatives and friends. Apart from them, there were also Fu Xiao’s colleagues and friends.

Fu Cheng held his sister’s hand, standing outside the church door. The black iron gates were tightly closed in front of them, and a red carpet covered in fresh flowers spread beneath their feet, extending mysteriously into the church behind the gates.

When the usher told them it was time to enter, the beautiful bride nervously grabbed her brother’s hand.

Fu Cheng smiled slightly and held her hand back.

“I’m here.”

Suddenly gaining fearless courage, Fu Xiao held her brother’s hand, looked at the slowly opening church doors, and walked in.

After the wedding, Fu Cheng did not return to China immediately. He stayed in London for another two days, waiting until the 10th to board the return flight.

At 8:30 in the morning, arriving downstairs at the UAAG headquarters, Fu Cheng bought a cup of black coffee from a coffee cart. He turned around and bumped into Su Fei and Old Joseph.

Su Fei: “Brother Fu, you’re back?!”

Old Joseph: “Long time no see, Fu, you’re finally back.”

The two were wearing long-sleeved sportswear and tight sports pants, with a black sports headband tied around Su Fei’s forehead. Both were sweating profusely. Fu Cheng raised his eyebrows: “You guys went for a run?”

Hearing this, Su Fei immediately made a crying face and started pouring out his grievances: “I’m going crazy, Fu Cheng, I’m really going crazy. I never want to live across from this person again! You don’t know, four days ago, Old Joseph knocked on my door at seven in the morning, saying he wanted to run to UAAG with me!”

Old Joseph said innocently: “Dear Su Fei, it is already spring, the beautiful March. With such fine weather, and the apartment we live in being so close to the UAAG headquarters, it’s just a slow jog of over half an hour. Why don’t we cherish the beautiful spring light, enjoy life properly, and exercise at the same time? Haven’t you noticed that after just four days, you are running more and more easily?”

Su Fei’s mouth twitched. He deliberately leaned close to Fu Cheng and lowered his voice: “Can you tell that Old Joseph is missing a leg? He runs faster than me!”

However, Su Fei didn’t try to hide this from Old Joseph at all. Old Joseph wasn’t angry after hearing it; instead, he laughed heartily and said: “I run faster than you with only one leg. Shouldn’t you reflect on yourself properly? You’re young, so why can’t you even keep up with an old man like me in running!”

Su Fei: “You’re not even sixty, what kind of old man are you!”

Old Joseph ignored him and looked at Fu Cheng: “Fu, do you want to run here with us in the future? We can go to your house to call you. This is a young person’s sport, go!”

Fu Cheng thought for a moment: “Sure, I used to run drills often when I was in the military.”

Old Joseph turned his head and said to Su Fei: “See that? This is a physically strong, healthy, and positive young man. Don’t eat junk food all day; eat something healthy.”

Su Fei: “You say that as if you don’t eat pizza every day.”

At this moment, a taxi stopped not far from the three of them. After the door opened, a handsome man wearing a short-sleeved shirt with a coat draped casually over his shoulders got out. While frowning impatiently and messing up his already unkempt hair, he walked towards the office building. However, even with such a messy hairstyle and extremely casual clothes, his excessively outstanding appearance still attracted everyone’s attention as soon as he got out of the car.

Halfway there, before entering the door, as if suddenly remembering something, Lord Zhuo turned around and walked towards the coffee cart.

Passing by Fu Cheng and the other two without looking sideways, after buying a burger and a cup of coffee, Zhuo Huan turned his head and finally noticed them. His gaze paused abruptly the moment he saw Fu Cheng. After several seconds, Zhuo Huan withdrew his gaze, swept a glance lightly over his three subordinates, and chuckled softly at Fu Cheng: “Back?”

Fu Cheng raised his eyebrows.

The tone doesn’t seem quite right?

Su Fei laughed sarcastically, pointing at the burger in Zhuo Huan’s hand: “There, see that? That is the real junk food!”

Lord Zhuo unceremoniously threw the white sugar and creamer packets at Su Fei.

Su Fei: “What are you doing?”

Zhuo Huan: “Open them for me.”

Su Fei: “…”

“Don’t you have hands!”

“Mm, holding a burger and coffee, no hands.”

Old Joseph laughed heartily and was about to help pour the sugar and creamer when a slender, fair hand beat him to it, taking the burger from Zhuo Huan’s hand.

Zhuo Huan: “?”

Fu Cheng: “Now you have hands.”

Zhuo Huan: “…”

Fuck.

Fu Cheng held the burger, while Su Fei and Old Joseph helped tear open the sugar and creamer packets. Zhuo Huan expressionlessly poured three packets of sugar and two bags of creamer into the coffee, stirred it evenly, and took a sip.

The four of them got on the elevator together.

UAAG’s headquarters was located in a prime location with extremely expensive rent, but this didn’t mean there were fewer people working in this building. On the contrary, it was packed with large companies and numerous employees. There were eight elevators in total; the four waited for a round before getting on. But as soon as they entered, another bunch of white-collar workers crowded in.

The four from UAAG were the first to enter, so they were squeezed into the very back.

Old Joseph and Su Fei were discussing what time to run tomorrow morning, with Su Fei bargaining to sleep for ten more minutes.

Fu Cheng’s back was pressed against the cold elevator wall. He looked calmly at the floor numbers, silently calculating how long it would take to get out. Suddenly, his right waist was touched lightly. Being naturally ticklish, his body and mind trembled. Fortunately, it was just a simple touch, and then it withdrew.

Fu Cheng composed himself and looked at the man leaning in the corner of the elevator.

Zhuo Huan took a bite of the burger and another sip of coffee. Sensing Fu Cheng’s gaze, the corners of his mouth hooked up, and his eyes shifted.

In the crowded elevator, Su Fei and Old Joseph were in front of them, their bodies blocking almost all prying eyes from the outside. The man’s hand slowly reached around to the back. Although the young man’s back was pressed almost tightly against the metal wall, the beautiful curve of his lower back left an imaginative arc, creating a gap from the wall.

Fu Cheng felt the man’s hand moving against his lower back and the elevator wall, winding around to his left side, and then quietly putting an arm around him.

The fingers holding the paper coffee cup tightened slightly as he raised his eyes to look at Zhuo Huan.

Their eyes met; Zhuo Huan tilted his head, his hair falling to one side.

Fu Cheng was silent for a moment, withdrew his gaze, and did not push the person’s hand away.

Half a minute later, with a ding, the elevator arrived at the 37th floor.

Everyone else in the elevator had already left. Su Fei and Old Joseph were still arguing over the trivial issue of what time to get up tomorrow as they noisily exited. After the elevator doors opened, Zhuo Huan let go. Fu Cheng turned his head to look at him. After a long while:

“Teacher Zhuo, I don’t like this.”

“But you like me.”

Breath instantly choked in his throat. Fu Cheng looked at Zhuo Huan, unable to say a word.

Zhuo Huan chuckled, stepped past him, and exited the elevator first.

“Zhuo Huan.”

Zhuo Huan stopped and turned his head to look at him.

The morning sun of spring shone through the large floor-to-ceiling glass at the end of the corridor, illuminating the young man’s soft hair and reflecting dappled gold. Fu Cheng looked at him with an indifferent expression and said: “Illusion.”

You like me.

Illusion.

After speaking, Fu Cheng walked forward, bypassed the man, and entered the luxurious gate of UAAG.

Upon entering the office, Lina was watering the flowers.

Seeing Fu Cheng come in, she was about to speak but stopped when she saw his expression. A few seconds later, seeing Zhuo Huan walk in, Lina thought for a moment and called out to the person walking behind.

She whispered: “Reid, what did you do?”

Zhuo Huan: “Didn’t do anything.”

Lina decided in her heart: Definitely did something.

“Fu just came back, and with that expression, I don’t believe you didn’t do anything.”

Hearing this, Zhuo Huan smiled: “Just did something I like to do.”

Leaving this sentence behind, Lord Zhuo threw the empty burger wrapper into the trash can. When passing Fu Cheng’s desk, he placed the coffee, which had only been sipped twice, onto the desk.

Fu Cheng looked up: “?”

Zhuo Huan: “For you to drink.”

Fu Cheng: “…” He said politely, “First, I bought coffee myself. Second, I don’t like drinking coffee with sugar. Finally, why should I drink something someone else has drunk?”

Am I someone else?

This sentence was not spoken aloud.

Zhuo Huan turned his head and said to Lina: “Can you go down and buy a new cup of coffee for me?”

Lina smiled: “If you want to give someone coffee, buy it yourself, Reid.”

Zhuo Huan: “Oh.”

Of course, he didn’t go downstairs to buy coffee. Zhuo Huan took the coffee away, drank a few mouthfuls, and threw it into the trash can after it got cold.

Su Fei leaned over to Fu Cheng curiously: “Why did RIP want to give you coffee?”

Old Joseph also found it very strange and pulled a chair over to sit.

Fu Cheng was silent for a moment, then slowly curled his lips: “Nothing, Teacher Zhuo accidentally stepped on my foot in the elevator just now. Maybe he wanted to use the coffee as an apology?”

Su Fei: “Woah, stepped on your foot and wants to solve it with a cup of coffee?” He hurriedly stood up and said to Zhuo Huan, who was lying on the sofa looking at his phone: “RIP, let me tell you, a cup of coffee won’t do. Treat us to a meal; we want a big feast!”

Zhuo Huan: “Heh, I’ll give you ‘Sweet Honey’ too.”

Su Fei: “…”

Three months of 2021 had already passed. The world was at peace, without any major events.

The aviation industry rarely had such peaceful days. There were no crashes involving large aircraft; even for small planes and business jets, there were only minor incidents causing no fatalities.

Towards the end of the month, on March 23rd, Lina received an email from EASA.

Lina: ” The trial results for Gerard’s crash have come out, Martha Airlines Flight 123.”

On October 2, 2020, Martha Airlines Flight 123, a cargo plane, crashed in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. The plane hit a mountain, and both pilots were killed. After the incident, because the co-pilot was Lina’s friend, UAAG rushed to Schaffhausen immediately to participate in the accident investigation.

The final investigation result was very clear. The main cause was the use of substandard screws during aircraft maintenance, which caused the tail fin to fall off suddenly during the flight. Other reasons included the airline’s exploitation and abuse of the two young pilots, which made it impossible for them to have a chance to save the plane when encountering danger.

The investigation results were undeniable, but the airline, the shell company, and even the third-party maintenance company were still wrangling over who should bear the main responsibility and how much compensation should be paid.

They eventually resorted to the court, and after half a year, there was finally a final judgment.

Lina looked at the words in the email: “Martha Airlines bears the main responsibility and will compensate the families of the two victims 2.43 million euros and 2.13 million euros respectively. Then, Martha Airlines sued the shell company and the third-party maintenance company. I heard that Martha Airlines is already going through bankruptcy proceedings.”

Even for such a simple and clear air crash, it took half a year to truly handle it and get a final outcome.

However, this was for the airline and the public.

For the relatives of the victims, what they had to bear was a lifetime of pain and suffering.

EASA had to serve as a witness again, participating in the case of Martha Airlines appealing against the shell company and the maintenance company. Gao Yun sent an email; since this was a new case, he needed UAAG to provide them with some written proof again.

Lina told Zhuo Huan about this.

Zhuo Huan: “Whatever, you handle it.”

Lina smiled: “Mm, it’s already handled and sent to Gao Yun. By the way, Reid, are we having a dinner party at your place tonight?”

Zhuo Huan froze physically and looked up: “Huh?”

Lina: “All of us, dinner at your place, tonight.”

As the words fell, Fu Cheng and the other two looked up one after another at Lina.

Zhuo Huan: “Why?”

Lina said in surprise: “It’s your birthday.”

Zhuo Huan: “…”

He forgot.

His lips moved; just as Zhuo Huan wanted to refuse, Lina said: “I’ve already prepared the BBQ grill and the meat.”

With a swish, Su Fei stood up excitedly: “Eating BBQ tonight?”

Lina turned back to look at him and smiled: “Mm, everything is ready.”

Su Fei: “Good, I’ll grill the meat. My grilling skills are excellent!”

Zhuo Huan’s lips moved, but he looked at the excited Su Fei, Old Joseph who was discussing it enthusiastically, and Lina who was smiling at him. Finally, his gaze stopped on Fu Cheng.

The black-haired young man seemed quite happy too, smiling as he talked with Su Fei and Old Joseph.

After a long time, Zhuo Huan leaned his head back against the chair and said to Lina: “000618.”

Lina: “What?”

Zhuo Huan put his hands in his pockets: “Didn’t you want someone to set up the grill and put the meat in the fridge beforehand? 000618, my house password.”

Old Joseph chuckled: “618, what does this number mean, Reid? Is it your ex-girlfriend’s birthday?”

Zhuo Huan sneered disdainfully. Just as he was about to explain, Su Fei beat him to it: “Old Joseph, I look down on you for this. 0.618, the Golden Ratio, understand?”

Fu Cheng: “Teacher Zhuo made the password public just like that. Doesn’t that mean all of us can go?”

Zhuo Huan: “Then you come.”

His voice paused. Fu Cheng’s eyes swept lightly toward Zhuo Huan, and Zhuo Huan also tilted his head, looking at him with a faint smile.

In the vast, almost empty office, Su Fei and Old Joseph’s voices were noisy and chaotic, and Lina went to call workers to set up the grill. Looking past the others, the gazes of the two men were tightly entangled with each other.

Su Fei: “By the way, Fu Cheng, do you love eating pork belly? Old Joseph actually said he doesn’t eat it.”

Fu Cheng turned his head: “I eat everything.”

Zhuo Huan gave him a deep look, then looked up and said to Lina: “It’s the penthouse duplex by the river, not the previous villa.”

Lina asked in surprise: “Didn’t you still live in that villa last month?”

“Sold it.”

Lina contacted the workers to send the grill and ingredients to Zhuo Huan’s house.

At 4 PM, everyone got off work early. Lord Zhuo very generously approved this matter, but Fu Cheng, Su Fei, and Old Joseph didn’t go to Zhuo Huan’s house immediately. The three said they had to go home to collect laundry and left first, saying they would take a taxi there later.

Watching the backs of the three leaving together, Lina said: “Do you think they are going home to collect laundry, Reid?”

Zhuo Huan raised an eyebrow: “Does the apartment you rented for them allow drying clothes outside the window?”

Lina laughed: “Guess what they are doing.”

“Tch, buying gifts. Let’s go.”

Lina had known for a long time that today was Lord Zhuo’s birthday, but Su Fei and the others certainly didn’t know.

Old Joseph: “Why didn’t Lina tell us earlier? She used to be very thoughtful. She is Lina; she should have told us early in the morning so we could buy gifts in advance.”

Fu Cheng thought for a moment: “Maybe she didn’t expect Teacher Zhuo to actually agree to let us have a dinner party at his house?”

Old Joseph: “Is that the reason? You’re overthinking it, Fu.”

Fu Cheng was noncommittal.

On the other side, Zhuo Huan and Lina got into the car. Lina: “Reid, I didn’t expect you to agree to this gathering. Luckily, I prepared a gift in advance and ordered a cake. I originally thought that even if you disagreed, I could have someone send it over directly.” She blinked: “Why did you agree?”

Zhuo Huan: “Didn’t someone say they wanted to grill meat for me? Open mouth, eat food; it’s up to you guys.”

Lina showed a meaningful smile: “Why do I feel that’s not the reason?”

Zhuo Huan closed his eyes to rest and didn’t answer the question.

For Lord Zhuo’s gift, of course, it couldn’t be casual.

Su Fei said seriously: “When giving birthday gifts to classmates before, I usually gave out-of-print books. Or directly helped him solve his recent project. Usually, after doing this, my classmates would cry with gratitude and then never interact with me again. Sigh, genius is so lonely.”

Old Joseph laughed heartily: “I usually give golf clubs or something. But it looks like that kind of thing doesn’t suit Reid. Fu, what about you? What do you think we should give? Hey, I got it. How about this? Let’s pool our money together to buy one gift. That way we can buy Reid a watch.”

Fu Cheng was stunned.

“…Mm, then let’s buy it together.”

After buying a watch, the three of them took a taxi to Lord Zhuo’s house, immediately holding their heads high with confidence.

However, upon actually reaching the destination, Su Fei stood downstairs looking at the magnificent top-tier residential complex, and that confidence instantly deflated. “It’s a good thing we bought this Patek Philippe and didn’t go cheap with that Jaeger-LeCoultre. We would have almost been looked down upon by RIP!”

Old Joseph also sighed with emotion: “Rich, truly rich.”

Fu Cheng stood downstairs, looking up for a long time.

Old Joseph: “When it’s our birthdays, we must make Reid buy us gifts too! When are your birthdays?”

Su Fei: “Damn, December! Last year on my birthday, we were busy with the American Airlines case in Boston; I forgot all about it!”

“What about you, Fu?”

“Another half year.”

Old Joseph made an OK gesture: “Don’t worry, I will definitely help you hint at Reid in various ways so he won’t forget your gifts. And then… hehe, next month is my birthday, you know.”

Fu Cheng: “…”

Su Fei: “…”

After the three went upstairs, as soon as the elevator doors opened, they were stunned in place.

It was a high-end residence with direct elevator access. The entire floor, over 300 square meters, spanned two stories, with the winding Huangpu River beneath its feet. The side facing the river featured a living room with a void deck and floor-to-ceiling glass windows up to seven meters high, offering an unobstructed view of Shencheng’s dazzling and magnificent night scenery.

It was Lina who opened the door for them. She smiled: “I’m mixing the sauce. Su Fei and Old Joseph, you go wash and cut the vegetables. Fu, you and Reid skewer the meat and vegetables onto the iron skewers together.”

“Alright!”

Lina had only asked the workers to assemble the grill and put the vegetables and meat in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage. She didn’t have anyone prepare all the ingredients directly.

“If you don’t do it yourself at all and just simply eat BBQ, don’t you think it’s too meaningless?”

Zhuo Huan: “Grilling meat is also doing it yourself.”

Lina reminded with a smile: “Reid, that will be Su Fei grilling the meat, not you. Now you are participating, aren’t you?”

Answering her was Lord Zhuo’s contemptuous sneer, then he lowered his head and continued to skewer the beef expressionlessly.

Fu Cheng and the other two followed Lina into the kitchen.

Upon entering the room, seeing Zhuo Huan and glancing at the gift bag he was carrying, Su Fei immediately felt confident: “RIP, happy birthday to you. We prepared a gift for you long ago.”

Zhuo Huan: “Didn’t you just go buy it? What did you buy, a crystal ball?”

Su Fei: “You…!”

Su Fei handed the bag in his hand to Fu Cheng: “I have no common language with him! Brother Fu, you go, give the thing to him. Crystal ball? Let him see what we gave, slap him in the face!”

Fu Cheng took the bag, stepped forward, and placed the bag with the Patek Philippe logo on the table.

Zhuo Huan was slightly stunned, raising an eyebrow: “Patek Philippe?”

Lina was also a bit surprised: “So generous?”

A Patek Philippe watch cost nearly a hundred thousand at the minimum.

Fu Cheng smiled and said: “A gift from the three of us together. Teacher Zhuo, happy birthday to you.”

Zhuo Huan stared fixedly at this gift. After a long while, he raised his eyes, the clear depths reflecting the shining lights: “From the three of you together… You didn’t give one separately?”

Fu Cheng looked at him and said very seriously: “Too expensive, I can’t afford to give it alone.”

Zhuo Huan looked at him quietly. After a long time, he let out a cold laugh of displeasure, lowered his head to pick up a piece of beef, and continued skewering.

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