Fang Hao ordered a ride on his phone, but he had to wait for a while as there weren’t many cars available for pickup in Daxing during the early hours of Friday. It had been over a month since autumn started, and now he was really feeling the cold. Under the influence of alcohol, he noticed that his reaction time was slowing down, so much so he didn’t even notice when Chen Jiayu walked up to him.
“Are you taking a cab?” Chen Jiayu asked, looking at Fang Hao, who was shifting on his feet to keep warm.
“Yes,” Fang Hao replied tersely, not much of a talker after a few drinks.
“Come on, I’ll give you a lift.” Chen Jiayu nodded toward the parking lot.
Fang Hao hesitated. “It’s a bit of a hassle. You can just go.”
Chen Jiayu looked at him, “Didn’t Lu Yan say your place is just fifteen minutes away?”
Fang Hao didn’t respond but started walking toward the parking lot. “Where do you live?”
“Over in Shuangjing.” Chen Jiayu replied. Fang Hao was surprised; that was quite a distance.
“Oh, my place is north of here, let me think…” His professional instinct kicked in, and he mentally began calculating the distance and planning the route.
Chen Jiayu smiled. He could guess where Fang Hao lived. There were only a few residential areas near the airport, and he knew quite a few pilots lived there. “Don’t bother calculating; it’s even further south than the airport. We’d end up in Hebei.”
Fang Hao didn’t catch the joke and could only say, “Well, thanks, Brother Jia.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“I’m not lying. It’s really on the way.” Chen Jiayu reassured him.
Chen Jiayu’s car was a sleek white Porsche Macan SUV. It might not have been a flashy sports car, but it still looked quite eye-catching. The car was immaculate, exuding an understated sense of luxury. A captain would typically earn a yearly salary of at least a million yuan, and someone as well-known as Chen Jiayu could earn even more with bonuses and income from various promotions and speeches. When Fang Hao first laid eyes on it, he had a feeling of “just as expected.”
Fang Hao entered his home address, and as soon as Chen Jiayu got into the car, he turned up the warm air and heated seats. The sudden warmth from the car compared to the chilly outdoors made him a bit lightheaded.
“Why do they call you General Fang?” Chen Jiayu wondered and suddenly asked him.
Fang Hao cracked a smile, seemingly reluctant to explain. “Oh, that… It’s just some random nickname the guys came up with.”
“It’s not just Zhou Qichen,” Chen Jiayu added.
Fang Hao inquired, “Who else calls me that?”
Chen Jiayu recalled that he first heard this nickname in a WeChat group where fellow pilots gossiped about Fang Hao behind his back. It wasn’t something he felt like sharing, so he replied, “I’ve heard other pilots use it too.”
Fang Hao jokingly asked, “Does the Director of Air Traffic Control Administration know?”
“Well, not Director Fang Weimin.” Chen Jiayu replied. Then it hit him, “Is Director Fang your father?”
Fang Hao gave a wry smile. “No, my father isn’t around anymore. Those are just rumors,” He glanced out the window and whispered, “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind.”
So, that’s why they call him General Fang, Chen Jiayu finally understood. With Fang Hao’s commanding presence, it was hard for people to believe he didn’t have influential connections. But reality often lacked the drama of rumors. Chen Jiayu looked at Fang Hao’s profile as if beginning to grasp the story behind the nickname.
Fang Hao preferred to avoid talking about his own matters, and after a while, he turned and asked him, “What about you, Brother Jia? Why do you avoid discussing Hong Kong?”
His question had a slightly pointed tone, possibly due to the alcohol. Under normal circumstances, he probably wouldn’t have asked or even thought about it. Chen Jiayu didn’t want to spill all the details, but he also didn’t want to leave it hanging, so he offered a simple response, “I’ve already done what was expected, and repeating it so many times becomes a bit tiresome.”
Fang Hao decided not to push the issue any further. He thought, “Chen Jiayu has been in so many news, interviews, and shows over the years, isn’t that all about repeating the same things over and over? He’s got his salary and bonuses, he’s driving a luxury car now, and yet he’s saying I’m reluctant to spend too much time on excessive publicity? It’s like getting a good deal and still acting modest.” However, despite these thoughts, Fang Hao knew it would be best to keep them to himself as he didn’t want to take things too far.
Chen Jiayu noticed Fang Hao’s silence and asked, “Feeling a bit rough from the drinks?”
Fang Hao shook his head and said, “I’m okay. I drank slowly. Just feeling a bit tired. I had a late-night shift yesterday.” He had only returned home at 8 AM, and despite having slept for a full eight hours, he still felt exhausted.
Maybe because the car felt a bit stuffy, Chen Jiayu switched to a different topic, “So, what do you usually do in your free time?”
Fang Hao replied honestly, “I don’t have many hobbies, just some running, and occasionally, I go out with friends to take pictures of landscapes.”
Chen Jiayu seemed to remember something, “Oh, I remember you were on the track and field team in college, weren’t you?”
Fang Hao was surprised by his good memory and responded, “Yes, that’s right. I used to run the 10,000 meters and represented the school in a few races, but I was just an average runner.”
Chen Jiayu complimented him, saying, “Running the 10,000 meters is impressive.”
Fang Hao modestly replied, “It’s not that long, and I’m not particularly good at it.”
Chen Jiayu then asked, “So, do you run marathons?”
Fang Hao nodded, “Yeah, I run – marathons and even ultra-marathons, like 50 to 100 kilometers. But I haven’t competed in two years. Competing requires preparation, and preparation requires running, which takes time. Right now, time is what I’m lacking the most.”
Chen Jiayu naturally understood, “Daxing Control Tower must be short-staffed, especially with it being a new airport.”
Fang Hao nodded and looked at him, hesitated for a moment, then continued, “Frontline air traffic control has always been short-staffed. Right now, one person is doing the work of two. Sometimes, when we have to implement flow control for flights in the early morning or during bad weather, it’s really overwhelming.” His voice was softer now compared to when he was in command. He was sitting close to Chen Jiayu, and combined with the faint fragrance in the car, it was strange that they had only met twice, with the first encounter being tense, and now it felt like they had a sense of familiarity.
His heartfelt explanation made Chen Jiayu feel guilty. No matter how he looked at it, he realized that he truly didn’t see the bigger picture on that Friday. Fang Hao must have been under a lot of pressure while directing KLM for over an hour, and his mind was probably preoccupied, leaving him with no time to discuss the gate allocation issues.
Fang Hao had initially wanted to chat a bit more with Chen Jiayu about their encounter outside the coffee shop. Looking back, he realized that he had spoken quite brusquely at the time. He understood that his words might have made any other captain uncomfortable, let alone someone as protective of their reputation as Chen Jiayu. However, they had been in the car for ten minutes, and Chen Jiayu hadn’t brought up the incident at all. Fang Hao thought to himself that it seemed like Chen Jiayu had already moved past it.
Chen Jiayu drove into the residential complex and insisted on dropping Fang Hao off at the entrance of his building. He waited until Fang Hao entered the building and watched the door slowly close before reversing and leaving. Throughout the journey back to Lijing, Chen Jiayu couldn’t help but think over what Fang Hao had told him moments ago.
Translator comments: I have to go back and edit the “General Fang” nickname. At first, I thought it Mr. Fang or Chief Fang was ok, but “General Fang” makes Fang Hao sound sharper and uncompromising during work.
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that commute is tough 😔 fighting, Chen Jiayu! such a good son 😭
thanks for the chapter 💜
They had some bonding conversation, I can only hope their relationship will just grow from now on.
Thank you for the chapter!
They are getting there! 😀
omg, I hate running the most, so I’m in awe for him! ><
Thank You for the new chapter ✧✰(♡´❍`♡)✧✰
I’m in awe too! I’m not even consistent with my workout. XD
I appreciate the explanation and illustration on your translator’s note, now that’s dedication 👌🏼
An hour drive to go to work seems common here due to traffic jam in my area.
Thanks for the consistent updates 🤍
XD I was too curious LOL
Thanks for the translations! Love this story so far! Do you have a page for donations? Would love to support your work.
Hello! Thank you for reading! This is my first translation, so I don’t have a donation page yet. But thank you for your support. 💜
Thanks for the chapter 💕
I love how natural the plot and progression of this novel feels. Perhaps I should check out more in this genre 👀
They finally had a proper conversation! And both acted like mature adults about/acknowledged their parts in the issue! Amazing 🤩
Honestly, for some reason, reversible couple novels are all mature and have good plot. Well, that’s the case for most of the ones I have read.