Today, Beijing is shrouded in a heavy haze that blankets the city, and Fang Hao is calmly directing inside the approach tower in an orderly manner.
“Phoenix 367, continue climbing to 6000 meters and maintain.”
“Arrow 1732, descend to 2000, adjust the altimeter to 1009.”
“Eastern 3536, turn left to heading 330, exit procedure ETUDE-01, continue climbing to 2400 meters and maintain, adjust altimeter to 1009.”
“Heading 330, ETUDE-01, climb to 2400 meters, altimeter adjustment to 1009. Eastern 3536.”
The pilot was slightly late in responding on the radio, but Fang Hao heard the heading and procedure readback were correct. He briefly glanced at the approach – at this moment, two or three aircraft were approaching tightly. He focused on adjusting the spacing between the incoming aircraft, assigning altitudes one by one to ensure proper separation between different planes. Then, he looked back, only to find that Eastern 3536 had unexpectedly made a right turn!
There was clearly a misunderstanding as the pilot interpreted it as a continuous right turn heading 330.
Fang Hao’s voice rose as he urgently shouted into the microphone: “Eastern 3536, turn left immediately! Left turn to heading 330.”
Departures from large airports follow a specific set of procedures, where everyone queues and flies to one point before proceeding to the next. He watched as Eastern 3536 veered to the right. Although no planes were nearby, continuing in that direction for another half minute would bring them dangerously close to the nearest passenger jet, which could trigger a proximity alert. While triggering an alert differs from an actual collision, it is considered a serious operational mistake, and even the controller could face penalties.
Fortunately, after a few seconds, they received a reply from the Eastern crew, “Left turn heading 330, Eastern 3536. Confirming continuous left turn, correct?”
Fang Hao replied, “Correct.” After a moment, seeing the plane begin to turn left, feeling relieved, he added over the channel, “How did you misread the navigation chart and turn in the wrong direction? That was extremely dangerous. Please be more cautious and cross-check in the future.”
The Eastern crew realized the seriousness of the problem and quickly explained, “Beijing, apologies, we thought it was a continuous right turn to heading 330.”
It would be chaos if everyone flew based on what they thought! Fang Hao thought, exasperated, “Don’t rely on “what you think.” Next time, repeat and confirm your intentions. If anything is unclear, get it confirmed.”
The captain on the other side, obediently accepted the scolding and replied, “Understood. Eastern 3536.”
After hearing the response, Fang Hao didn’t press further. Had it been an arriving plane, he would have directed them straight to the tower for questioning. However, upon careful reflection, Fang Hao realized that after he had instructed the left turn to heading 330, Eastern 3536 hadn’t repeated the “left turn” part. If scrutinized, he too might not emerge entirely blameless.
Due to the incident with Eastern 3536 taking a wrong turn, Fang Hao remained on high alert for the rest of his shift, unable to relax even slightly, and by three in the afternoon, he was already extremely exhausted.
—
Today, Chen Jiayu flew two flights from Beijing to Shenzhen and then back again. He finished his workday just after four o’clock and coincidentally met up with Zheng Xiaoxu, who had returned from New York a bit earlier. They sat down for a meal and a chat at the airport restaurant.
Zheng Xiaoxu hesitated a bit before speaking, “Um, Brother Jia, I wanted to ask you something.”
Seeing Zheng Xiaoxu’s expression, Chen Jiayu could guess what it was about, “You’ve taken a fancy to another flight attendant again?”
Embarrassed by the accurate guess, Zheng Xiaoxu laughed and said, “Not a flight attendant, but… the one we had dinner with the other day, along with Sister Yan’er.”
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.
Chen Jiayu instantly understood. Among the ladies present, excluding Lu Yan, Su Li was a confident and assertive female captain. Chen Jiayu was sure that Zheng Xiaoxu wouldn’t dare to pursue her, which meant that the only option left was the youngest, Chu Yirou.
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Zheng Xiaoxu self-consciously covered his face with his hand, “I chickened out.”
Not wanting to make it too hard on him, Chen Jiayu suggested, “Well, ask Lu Yan then. I’m not that familiar with little Chu, and I don’t have her WeChat.”
Zheng Xiaoxu replied, “Uhm, you know what Sister Yan’er is like. She’ll probably tell the other right away. I thought, seeing as you’re well-liked, you could help me ask.”
The ladies are close to each other, and Lu Yan always looks out for her younger ‘sisters,’ let alone Chu Yirou.
Chen Jiayu thought Zheng Xiaoxu had a point, “Alright. I’ll see what I can find out for you.”
The matter was settled, but Zheng Xiaoxu wasn’t done yet and wanted to share some gossip, “My god, you missed it today. An Eastern Airlines plane took off in the wrong direction during departure. It was a complete mess.”
Chen Jiayu was surprised, “Flew in the wrong direction?” Such a basic mistake is unthinkable, not just for a captain but for any trained pilot.
Zheng Xiaoxu said, “Exactly, it seemed like they turned left when they were supposed to turn right. No idea what the captain was thinking, but they got scolded by the approach controller right on the spot. It was really tense.”
Chen Jiayu’s interest was piqued, “Who was it?”
Zheng Xiaoxu said, “An Eastern captain, I don’t know them, probably some youngster.”
“I meant from approach.” Chen Jiayu corrected him.
Zheng Xiaoxu thought for a moment and said, “Based on the voice, it sounded like our Fang Hao. Brother Jia, you may not have experienced it, but he sure knows how to lecture people.”
Hearing this, Chen Jiayu thought, how do you know I haven’t? Not only have I experienced it, but I have also been lectured.
While they were talking, as if on cue, Chen Jiayu saw Fang Hao and Chu Yirou walking towards them at the airport. Speak of Cao Cao, and he appears.
He gave Zheng Xiaoxu a look and then called out to Fang Hao and Chu Yirou. He waved, but they didn’t see him amidst the bustling crowd. It was peak hour at the airport, around four in the afternoon, so it wasn’t surprising. Chen Jiayu then shouted, “Fang Hao!”
When Fang Hao heard his name being called in the crowd, he was momentarily startled but then quickly located the source and saw Chen Jiayu. Glancing at Chu Yirou, she nodded and said, “Go ahead, I’ll bring back whatever you need.”
Fang Hao thanked her, “Just a cold brew. Thanks.”
As a result, Fang Hao came alone.
“Brother Jia, Big Brother Zheng.”
Being as familiar as Chen Jiayu, Zheng Xiaoxu quickly asked, “What year were you born?” Then, after doing some quick math, he said, “No need for “big brother” or formalities. Just call me by my name.”
Fang Hao looked at both of them and inquired, “Have you finished the last flight for today?”
Chen Jiayu replied, “Just one roundtrip today.”
Fang Hao thought about it but couldn’t remember if he had heard his voice during his shift. “Did I handle your flight? Flight 1518? Oh, it’s Flight 3307, right? You came back from Shenzhen?” Vaguely remembered what Chen Jiayu had mentioned about his schedule last week when he had invited him for coffee.
Chen Jiayu was once again amazed by Fang Hao’s excellent memory, “Yes, it was flight 3307.”
Fang Hao glanced at Zheng Xiaoxu and said, “Xiaoxu, you were on Flight 560, coming back from New York, right?”
Zheng Xiaoxu nodded. He didn’t have his radio on during this flight, but Fang Hao knew his usual routes, and since he had just returned, it wasn’t hard to figure this out.
Curious about the situation earlier, Chen Jiayu asked, “What happened just now?”
Fang Hao guessed that when Zheng Xiaoxu arrived, he overheard the captains discussing the Eastern Airline on the wave channel.
“I instructed a left turn, but the Eastern Airline Captain made a continued right turn. It really caught me off guard and gave me a fright.”
Chen Jiayu asked, “Were there any other planes nearby?”
Fang Hao’s brow furrowed, “During departure, there was no one nearby. If there had been, I would have… just quit right away.” He seemed visibly upset.
Zheng Xiaoxu gestured for him to sit, “It’s that serious? Come on, sit down and have something to eat.”
Fang Hao flapped his hand, “No, it’s fine. You two have a good meal. I won’t disturb you further.”
Chen Jiayu noticed Fang Hao’s polite refusal, even though he had invited him over. He gave Zheng Xiaoxu a meaningful look and winked, leaving Fang Hao puzzled. What are these two doing, winking at each other?
Zheng Xiaoxu caught on and said, “Uhm, Fang Hao, I have a small request.”
Fang Hao thought he understood and frowned, “You want to land on Runway 17L, too?” He vaguely remembered that today, Air China 560 was a long-haul flight operated by a Boeing 777, and they were assigned the farthest runway. This big guy had to taxi for a long time.
Zheng Xiaoxu quickly denied, “No, no, it’s not about that. It’s just…” He hesitated for a while and struggled to find the words, feeling a bit embarrassed in front of Fang Hao. His face even reddening, but he couldn’t get the words out.
Finally, Chen Jiayu helped him out, “He wants to know if little Chu is single and if you could introduce them.”
“Oh,” Fang Hao chuckled, not expecting this, “You should ask her directly. I can’t decide for her. Should I call her over?”
Zheng Xiaoxu hurriedly stopped him, “No, no. If she already has a boyfriend, it would be awkward.”
Fang Hao reassured him, “She should be single. Let me call her over. You guys aren’t planning to leave just yet, right? Don’t leave in a hurry.”
Being quite efficient, Fang Hao didn’t wait for Zheng Xiaoxu to respond and was already turning to leave. Quickly, Chen Jiayu pulled him back and motioned for him to lean closer.
Fang Hao found himself compelled to lean in closer, and Chen Jiayu cupped his hand, making it seem like he didn’t want Zheng Xiaoxu to hear. He whispered softly into Fang Hao’s ear, “Help him with a few kind words before calling her over.” His voice was low and husky, and his breath brushed against Fang Hao’s ear.
Fang Hao promised.
Zheng Xiaoxu couldn’t hear what the two were whispering, but his heart began to race.
Fang Hao called out to Chu Yirou, and she seemed a bit puzzled by the situation. He explained to her, “The Air China captain we had dinner with at Sister Lu Yan’s dinner that day, the one with the surnamed Zheng, seems interested in getting your phone number.”
Chu Yirou thought for a moment, “The one surnamed Zheng?” She couldn’t recall who it was.
After a while, she said, “He seems like a nice person, so sure, you can add him.”
Fang Hao hurriedly said, “Yes, he’s a good guy. Why don’t you go over and talk to him? I’ll head back first.”
—
Zheng Xiaoxu added Chu Yirou on WeChat and chatted with her for a while. He was all smiles. After Chu Yirou left, he suddenly remembered something and turned to Chen Jiayu, “Brother Jia, do you think there’s something between Fang Hao and Yirou?”
Chen Jiayu gave him a disdainful look, “Have some confidence in yourself. Besides, they’ve been working together for over a year now. If there was something between them, it would have happened by now.”
“Oh,” Zheng Xiaoxu said, “You said Fang Hao is a talented person, so you have to keep an eye out on him for me.”
Chen Jiayu chuckled. He thought Zheng Xiaoxu was a bit cute like this,”I’ll keep an eye on him for you. But in love matters, you have to rely on yourself.”
Suddenly, Zheng Xiaoxu asked, “Why did Fang Hao mention Runway 17L? Did you try to bribe him while no one was looking?”
Seeing him bring up this matter, Chen Jiayu admitted, “Bribery only counts if it works,” then added, “If you want, I think it would be more feasible for you to bribe little Chu. The tower is directly responsible for the runways.”
Zheng Xiaoxu refused the idea and said, “No, that won’t work. I want to approach her honestly.” He believed that a date should be based on sincerity and not used as an excuse to take advantage of the tower. What does a little extra taxiing matter in the face of love?
—
Translator notes: I had some trouble translating the second part of this chapter. I don’t know why, it’s like my mind is not computing. Let me know if something doesn’t make sense. XD
Chen Jiayu: put in some good words for him.
Fang Hao: .. yes. He’s a good guy.
Poor Fang Hao had such a fright. It’s pretty tough for ATC to be responsible for hundreds of aircrafts and thousands of lives daily, it’s not an easy job.
We have another side CP already brewing but the main one is still on friendly terms, it’s somehow funny 😅
Thank you for the chapter!
It’s almost slow burn at this rate 😂
( ´艸`) hehe. Keep in mind we only reached chapter 13.
I’ll agree with the slow burn if they’re not together by chapter 150. 😂👍🏻
Btw. I know this novel only has 84 chapters. (⁄ ⁄>⁄ 艸 ⁄<⁄ ⁄)
Fang Hao’s approach might not be the subtlest, but to me it sounds more sincere than empty praises for some guy haha It would just seem fake
I do love him for it. It’s straightforward and clear lol.
Good luck, ZXX! Try your best
Thank You for the new chapter ♡(ŐωŐ人)
Thanks for reading! 🙂
This truly made my day. It would be hilarious if the side cp started dating and our main cp are still at getting to know each other stage. 😆
It’s just a small decent act of whispering at each other and my heart is already satisfied.
Thank you for this chapter dear! 🤍
It’s like victorian ankles 😩 the author is teasing us.
Lol then I should hope for a striptease next chapter. 😩👌🏼
Thanks for the chapter ~♡