Chapter 1 “If Required, I Am Ready At Any Time.”
🌺Translated by Beanie 🌺
“Boom—”
The heat waves rolled out, the air was thick and the huge sound of the engine was like a roar, tearing apart the smooth blue sky. A blue and white plane dived down from the air, taxied forward for more than two thousand meters and then slowly stopped. The airport ground handling and tractors swarmed up, everyone was wrapped in a layer of sticky sweat and sent the newly landed plane to the terminal.
In the terminal building, a kilometer away from the airport runway, there were a dozen children lying next to the clear and tall French windows. The children’s jet black eyes glowed with bright light, and their eyes were fixed to the plane closest to the terminal building, chattering nonstop.
“The plane I was on when I came —”
“So big!”
“Mom, will we go up that big plane!”
Fu Cheng dragged his suitcase through the children’s excited shouts.
Translated by The Red Oak Tree
www.theredoaktree.com
Today was the Independence Day holiday. There were tourists coming to New York from everywhere, and the airport traffic was obviously much heavier than normal.
It was almost time to board the plane. He quickened his pace and walked to Gate 67.
“Evan!”
The shouts were immediately drowned in the noisy voices of the airport.
“Evan Fu!”
There was an inaudible rubbing sound between the leather shoes and marble floor. Fu Cheng turned his head and saw the blond man walking towards him.
A thick layer of hairspray was applied to the golden medium-length hair, and he stroked it backwards, letting it cling to the scalp and exposing the owner’s imperfect hairline. He strode to the front of Fu Cheng and was about to introduce himself when he saw the young man in front of him with lips raised, a spring breeze blowing on his face, and he reached out his hand.
“Richard, we met in Newark.”
“So you remember me.” Richard bared his white teeth, and he stretched out his hand and shook Fu Cheng’s hand. “I haven’t seen you in a few months. Why are you here? There are very few international flights from LaGuardia Airport. Which city are you going to?”
Translated by The Red Oak Tree
www.theredoaktree.com
The skin colour of most Chinese was not as white as that of Westerners, but the light falling on his face made it seem as white as porcelain, and outlined his clear and smooth jaw line, which made Richard sigh in his heart.
“Boston.”
The clear voice made him regain his senses, and Richard said, “Boston? Huh, how did you get to the terminal without directly finding a crew member to get a ride? Oh, I remember, you Chinese people always don’t like to do this. Going through your own back door, even if it’s such a common thing. You didn’t go through the VIP channel, did you buy a business class ticket?”
Fu Cheng showed helplessness, “It’s the Independence Day holiday, you know, it’s good enough to be able to buy economy class tickets. I will be boarding the plane in forty minutes.”
Richard looked up at the giant LED screen hanging near the top of the airport and found his flight information, “American Airlines Flight 2186? I’ll take you to the crew lounge, say hello and board the plane with the rest of the crew.”
“That’s so embarrassing—”
Richard smiled, and before he spoke, the dark haired young man twisted his suitcase’s hand, and his thin wrist turned out at an imperceptible angle. His posture changed, as if he had been following him from behind since the beginning.
Translated by The Red Oak Tree
www.theredoaktree.com
“Where is the lounge?”
Richard froze for a moment, then laughed.
“Follow me.”
The crew lounge was not far from the boarding gate, and Fu Cheng pulled his suitcase and followed Richard to the door of the lounge.
The long and quiet corridor separated the lounge from the airport lobby, halfway through. There was no noise, only the echo of footsteps could be heard. The well-dressed stewardess stood in front of the automatic glass door of the lounge, with blond hair and blue eyes, bright red lips, bowing and smiling at the people passing by.
Richard walked over, “This is a friend of mine, a companion. Is it convenient for him to enter the lounge and board the plane with the crew?”
Unexpectedly, the flight attendant showed a surprised look. She glanced at Fu Cheng and whispered to Richard, “Captain, there are some problems.”
The flight attendant’s nervous expression made Richard aware of the abnormality. He turned to Fu Cheng and said, “Evan, let me ask what happened first.” He and the flight attendant walked aside and spoke a few words to each other softly. Richard came back soon. He sighed and apologised, “I’m sorry, my friend. A special guest has arrived in the lounge. Several high-level officers are also in it, as well as several captains. I’m afraid I will have to go in and have a look too. I can’t take you on the plane. I really don’t know what to say.”
Translated by The Red Oak Tree
www.theredoaktree.com
Fu Cheng was disappointed, but shook his head and said, “Thank you for your kindness, Richard.”
Richard watched the young man disappear at the end of the corridor while pulling his suitcase.
Both sides of the automatic glass doors of the lounge and Richard strode into the lounge. An elegant symphony was slowly flowing out of the high-end speakers, which made him slow down. When passing the sofa seat by the window, the high-level officers and the captains surrounded the corner seat, revealing only a little gap.
Behind the gap was the busy airport runway of LaGuardia Airport. Richard vaguely saw a touch of black hair appearing through the gap. He seemed to be wearing a white Bluetooth headset, and his back was exposed to the sun. The runway was a sharp contrast to its blatant white.
Well, let him see which special guest it is.
***
Translated by The Red Oak Tree
www.theredoaktree.com
There are especially many passengers departing from New York to Boston. Fu Cheng sat at the back of the economy class. Looking forward, one could only see black heads.
After boarding the plane, he found that a 10-year-old girl was sitting beside him.
This is too strange. Common sense said that parents would definitely sit with their children. If they didn’t buy a ticket for seats next to each other, Fu Cheng would be happy to exchange seats with the other party. Soon, he understood the reason. A mother came to New York with her two children on a trip. Her five-year-old son was arranged to sit next to her and her ten-year-old daughter could only sit across the aisle.
American Airlines Flight 2186 uses an ERJ-190 aircraft with four seats in a row in economy class, separated two by two.
At the request of the girl’s mother, Fu Cheng promised to help take care of the little girl.
Did he look a lot like the kind of person who could take care of children?
Children’s interest in airplanes would not diminish because they have been in or on a few flights. They would always enjoy it.
Until the plane took off, the girl did not calm down, looking at the sky and the earth outside the window with wide eyes.
Translated by The Red Oak Tree
www.theredoaktree.com
Fu Cheng suddenly said, “Do you see that river?”
The girl nodded excitedly, “That’s the Hudson River!”
Fu Cheng’s voice was graceful and gentle, like the pied piper of Hamelin, who bewitched children into a swamp. While turning on the LED screen in front of the girl to the music screen, he picked up the headphones for her and told her, “I think this song is very suitable for listening now.”
The girl looked at the words on the screen and exclaimed, “This is “Blue Danube”, that is the Hudson River!”
Fu Cheng looked at her seriously, “This plane will take you to the beautiful Blue Danube.”
The girl looked at the young man’s red eyes from staying up late. At this moment, Fu Cheng gently put the earphones into her ears. The cold temperature of his fingertips touched her skin, but her face felt hot. The natural shyness of interacting with a person of the opposite sex with outstanding looks did not change with age. As her heart beat faster, the girl avoided his sight, muttered and nodded, listening to the song obediently and stopped talking.
After staying up all night, he was almost exhausted as he crossed the Pacific Ocean, flying from China to the United States.
When the girl calmed down, Fu Cheng closed his eyes and fell asleep groggily.
Translated by The Red Oak Tree
www.theredoaktree.com
As his consciousness sank…
Countless figures shook in front of him. The camera clicks, the flashes piercing his eyes. A man’s voice passed through the microphone and came through the speaker. All the sounds around him disappeared in an instant. He felt like he was falling into an ice cellar. His once obsession and longing suddenly became the coldest piece of ice in the depths of the polar cold river. He burned his enthusiasm to chase it, but was met with the same indifference.
Just like the voice of the person announcing the death penalty, it was so ruthless that no ups and downs could be heard.
“I announce that on June 13, 2019, all investigations on the Rouge Airlines Flight 318 accident will be completely stopped.”
“Don’t!”
All his blood froze.
He used both hands together, like a wild beast, pushing away all the reporters and security guards blocking him. His body felt empty, and his heart was empty, leaving only his remaining muscles and strong desires, supporting him crazily wanting to see that person’s face again.
That’s not you…
Translated by The Red Oak Tree
www.theredoaktree.com
That’s not you!
Zhuo…
Zhuo, Zhuo…
“Boom—”
A loud explosion came from outside the cabin. Fu Cheng opened his eyes instantly and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s. At almost the same time as the explosion sounded, he used his left hand to hold the girl next to him and shielded her upper body with his own arms.
Screams and cries flooded the cabin, one or two luggage racks were knocked open and the scattered luggage hit people on their heads.
The plane jolted violently, and the seat belt tied around their waists gripped everyone tenaciously, preventing them from being thrown off due to the irregular movement of the plane.
The girl in his arms cried out with fear.
“Boom—”
There was another explosion sound, as if a roller coaster had encountered another curve, the plane fell quickly, and the weightlessness penetrated their upper scalp from the soles of their feet, and the sky was spinning around.
Translated by The Red Oak Tree
www.theredoaktree.com
F***!
Fu Cheng raised his head and shouted loudly, “Brace position!”
“Bend down, bow your head, hug your knees!”
At this time, there was no more screaming, only crying.
The plane was like a high-altitude roller coaster, bumping up and down, shaking the world in front of them into afterimages.
A second stretched into a time extremely long.
Perhaps after a minute, or perhaps a year, the plane slowly stabilised.
Fu Cheng held the girl and waited for thirty seconds before raising his head. The first thing he looked at was the left wing. He was sitting on the left. His eyes widened at a speed visible to the naked eye. There was a pitch-black gap lying directly above the left wing. After the aluminium alloy was cut, the edges became jagged and rolled outwards. A dark red fire loomed from the depths of the crack, like a dark fire from hell.
The engine was blocked under the wing and was not clear from his position.
The passengers were in shock, shaking their bodies, raising their heads and looking around like Fu Cheng.
Translated by The Red Oak Tree
www.theredoaktree.com
“Boom—”
“Ahhhh, God, God!”
“Am I going to die…”
“Help me, please help me.”
The plane was unsteady for another half minute before calming down.
This was the opportunity for the flight attendants to come out of the preparation room, soothe the uneasy hearts of the passengers and teach them how to protect themselves.
Vomiting and crying was heard in the cabin, Fu Cheng gritted his teeth and carefully checked whether the seat belt was fastened for the girl, then he raised his hand.
The stewardess staggered over.
A few strands of hair that should have been meticulously pulled back were pulled out by the collision, and fell on her cheeks messily. The wound on her forehead was no longer bleeding, but the terrifying injury was still scary. No one dared to think about whether the stewardess was sitting in a chair and had fastened her seat belt at the moment when the plane shook.
Translated by The Red Oak Tree
www.theredoaktree.com
Despite this, she still pulled out a smile with difficulty, leaned over and asked, “Sir, what seems to be the problem?”
Fu Cheng lowered his voice and pointed to the left wing quietly outside the porthole, “There is a crack in the left wing near the cabin, visually about 30cm, and there is a fire on the left wing. The engine is suspect to be damaged, the broken body exploded on the inside of the wing and engine internal combustion has happened.”
The flight attendant’s face changed suddenly when she saw the huge gap.
“Thank you sir. I will report this to the cockpit.”
“And one more thing.”
“Sir?”
The dark-haired young man had dark eyes, as if they had been immersed in the deep night. But it was not darkness, but the shining starry sky at night, containing self-confidence, tenacity, determination and hope. He spoke word by word, his tone was confident, making it deeply convincing.
“In addition, tell the captain that there is an active Chinese Donghua Airlines pilot on board, who is proficient in all types of active service aircraft and has the ERJ-190 flight qualification permit—”
Translated by The Red Oak Tree
www.theredoaktree.com
“If necessary, I will be ready at any time.”
The astonishment on the stewardess’s face slowly turned into surprise. The despair buried deep in her heart that she did not dare to think too much of seemed to be relieved at that moment. The young man in front of her ignited a light, reflecting through the abyss, illuminating her heart which had almost given up.
She bowed deeply.
“Thank you, I am going now!”
Translated by The Red Oak Tree
www.theredoaktree.com
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