UAAG CH73

July arrived, bringing with it a scorching sun. At only 9:00 AM, the intense summer heat was already unstoppable. Accompanied by the asphalt roads baked hot by the sunlight, it burned the feet of pedestrians. White-collar workers walked hurriedly, partly because the heat made them desperate to get inside buildings and enjoy the air conditioning, and partly because they were almost late.

When Fu Cheng took the elevator to the UAAG headquarters, the moment he stepped out, he saw several workers carrying wooden ladders, busy with renovations.

He glanced at them and walked into the UAAG office.

Just as he entered, he heard Su Fei ask, “What are they doing at the door, Lina? We’re the only ones on this floor. Who are those people renovating for?”

Lina looked up from her computer and smiled faintly. “My dear Fly, since you’ve already said that UAAG is the only one on this floor, who do you think those workers are renovating for?”

Old Joseph was surprised. “For UAAG?”

Lina: “Yes.”

Old Joseph: “Why renovate again suddenly?”

Lina smiled. “Changing the decoration style is a good way to change the mood. The last renovation was a year ago. Old Joseph, don’t you think changing the work environment more often can better stimulate our enthusiasm for work?”

Old Joseph laughed heartily. “If we actually worked in this building instead of running all over the world every time.”

Lina blinked, not intending to debate her luxurious hobby any further.

Fu Cheng walked to his desk and sat down. Seeing him arrive, Su Fei took a packet of small cakes from his drawer and handed it over. “Brother Fu, want to try one? They’re really good.”

Fu Cheng glanced at it and smiled. “I ate breakfast before coming, I’m not hungry.”

The punk teenager nodded and went to share his newly discovered delicacy with Old Joseph instead.

At 10:00 AM, Master Zhuo arrived belatedly.

Having just returned to UAAG after a week-long break, everyone was a bit absent-minded. The morning passed without much work being done. This was the nature of work at UAAG: once they accepted a commission, they would be incredibly busy, pulling all-nighters and often enduring harsh working environments. But without a commission, their daily routine consisted of organizing data and researching directions of interest. Sometimes, Zhuo Huan would find interesting aviation materials for them to study together.

But clearly, Master Zhuo wasn’t interested in anything today.

He walked to Lina’s desk, rapped his knuckles on it, and said indifferently, “Where is my private lounge being planned?”

Lina pointed in a direction.

Su Fei: “Fuck?! So the whole renovation is just to get RIP a bed?”

Old Joseph: “…Extravagant, truly extravagant! Reid, renovations are bad for one’s health. Shouldn’t we take a long vacation?”

Zhuo Huan stood with hands in his pockets, looked up, and clicked his tongue. “You just came back from vacation.”

Old Joseph said sincerely, “I don’t mind resting for a few more days.”

After all, he just had a bad temper, not a lack of humanity. After Su Fei and Old Joseph pleaded a bit more, Zhuo Huan approved everyone’s vacation, allowing them not to come specifically to the UAAG headquarters until the renovations were finished. Everyone cheered, and even Lina curved her red lips, her mood pleasant.

Zhuo Huan looked up and said, “You don’t get a vacation.”

At his desk, the young man who had been sitting calmly raised his head and looked at Zhuo Huan. The two looked at each other quietly. After a few seconds, Fu Cheng asked, “Why?”

Su Fei: “Yeah, why? RIP, why doesn’t Fu Cheng get a vacation?”

Zhuo Huan scoffed. “He has other things to do. Why do you care so much?”

Why do you care so much?
You care about a lot of things, Fu Cheng.

His heart gave a slight jolt. Fu Cheng lowered his eyes and organized the documents on his desk.

Being underage, Su Fei exploded at Zhuo Huan’s words. “What? Can’t I ask a couple of questions? Old Joseph, tell me, isn’t it just RIP suddenly not giving Brother Fu a break? He’s discriminating on his own whim and won’t even let people be curious about it.”

Zhuo Huan ignored him completely, walked to the sofa, and lay down very skillfully. However, this time he didn’t sleep; instead, he held his phone, talking to someone unknown.

Half an hour later, Fu Cheng suddenly received a call. Seeing the name on the screen, he paused slightly. He walked out of the office to answer it. When he returned, Fu Cheng said to Su Fei, “Teacher Zhuo was right. I do have something to do.”

Su Fei: “???”

Fu Cheng didn’t explain further. The punk teenager looked bewildered and poked Old Joseph’s arm. “What’s going on? Why do I feel like something is weird?”

Old Joseph’s gaze shifted between Zhuo Huan and Fu Cheng. Recalling the scene he saw at Fu Cheng’s door a few months ago, he chuckled. “You’re just a kid; what do you know? Aren’t we on vacation? Let’s go. What should we eat for lunch?”

Su Fei and Old Joseph left first. Lina confirmed some procedures with the construction team and also left ahead of them.

Before leaving, the beautiful blonde woman stood by the glass door and asked with a smile, “Do you need me to arrange your itinerary for the coming period?”

Fu Cheng asked, “…You know what we’re going to do, Lina?”

Lina smiled. “Of course. Although Reid didn’t tell me, I’ve guessed the general situation. COMAC’s factories and laboratories are by the sea, very far from where you live. Do you need me to arrange a car?”

“I bought a car.”

Lina looked at her friend in surprise. “When did you buy a car, Reid?”

Lying on the sofa, Zhuo Huan answered while looking at his phone, “Last week.”

Lina smiled. “Alright, then it seems I don’t need to arrange your itinerary. See you after the renovations are done?”

Fu Cheng: “Goodbye.”

Zhuo Huan waved the hand holding his phone.

The automatic glass door clicked softly as it closed. inside the quiet office, the central air conditioner blew cold wind with a low hum. Fu Cheng was replying to emails. Aside from the whirring of the AC, there was only the crackling sound of typing on the keyboard. After a long while, the last word was typed and sent.

The sound of typing stopped abruptly.

Fu Cheng sat in his swivel chair, looking at the flickering computer screen. Not far behind him was the man lying on the sofa playing on his phone. He could clearly sense that the person wasn’t looking at him; he was just looking at his phone. Yet, in this long, desolate silence, the air seemed to solidify everything.

He didn’t know how to move, nor what to say.

Every second felt like a year.

It wasn’t until he received a reply email that Fu Cheng turned his chair and spoke: “To the COMAC factory at 2:00 PM? That’s what the email I received says.”

Zhuo Huan’s gaze shifted from the phone screen for a second, glanced at him, then returned. “Mn.”

Fu Cheng didn’t know what else to say, so he turned back around.

A long time passed. Rustling sounds came from behind. Zhuo Huan stood up and walked over. “Lunch together?”

Fu Cheng looked up at him. “No thanks.”

Zhuo Huan lowered his head, staring at him intently. Suddenly, he smiled. “What’s the big deal? It’s just a meal. After eating, we go to COMAC.”

Fu Cheng: “I bought some bread. Teacher Zhuo, would you like to eat bread with me?”

Zhuo Huan: “Oh.”

He didn’t agree, nor did he refuse. But the man strode past his desk, walked straight to the UAAG entrance, and didn’t look back. Finally alone in the spacious office, Fu Cheng’s stiff body suddenly relaxed after a long while, as if only now realizing his back was soaked with sweat.

Fu Cheng sat in the chair, drained of strength. A few minutes later, he opened the drawer and took out a piece of bread. He stood up and took a few steps, but went back to open the drawer again, taking out a bottle of oral glucose.

At 11:30 AM, Fu Cheng received a message from Zhuo Huan to meet in the underground parking garage.

After waiting in the parking garage for a minute, Zhuo Huan drove up and stopped in front of him. Fu Cheng opened the door and sat in the passenger seat.

It was a Ferrari, understated black with a chassis that wasn’t particularly low. Zhuo Huan wore sunglasses, turning the steering wheel with one hand. As the car drove out of the underground garage, dazzling sunlight pierced through the windshield, reflecting on the man’s slightly raised chin. Chewing gum, he reached out and turned on the car stereo.

Amidst the melodious English songs, neither of them spoke.

Two hours later, they arrived at COMAC’s T1 factory by the East Sea.

Author’s Note:
This chapter is a bit shorter and not angsty; let’s relax a bit.
Just right for me to think about the plot of the new volume.
The Heathcliff of the last volume was Zhuo RIP, but since we are talking about people—and main characters at that—it’s impossible to finish telling everything about them in one volume like the previous plane crash arcs. So, even though this chapter starts a new volume, I will continue to tell the story of Zhuo Anxi and Fu Chengcheng, not just one of them~

TL Note: COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd.) is the Chinese state-owned aerospace manufacturer mentioned as “Huaguo Shangfei” (China Commercial Aircraft) in the text.

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