On Thursday night, Chen Jiayu struggled to sleep, thoughts of the hospital visit the next day racing through his mind. Memories of the past thirty-three years with Cao Hui flashed through his mind like scenes from a movie reel whenever he closed his eyes. He wondered what his father was doing now—was he enduring pain like him, or had he quietly accepted it?
The only thing that gave him a slight sense of ease and comfort was recalling Fang Hao’s reaction when he dropped him off at the airport. Chen Jiayu had been clear in his confession. The words “I have someone I like” were like a bombshell that echoed through the night, no matter who heard it. After dropping that bomb, Chen Jiayu observed Fang Hao’s response from the side and intuitively felt that there was something.
Logically speaking, Fang Hao hadn’t overtly responded to his statement. He didn’t tease or gossip about him and Kong Xinyi’s affair, nor did he inquire further. But precisely because of this lack of response, Chen Jiayu secretly felt there might be something there. If it were any other straight male friend, hearing such gossip would surely lead to some teasing. Of course, it couldn’t be ruled out that Fang Hao simply didn’t want to intrude into others’ privacy and felt it would be crossing a line. However, having discussed some very uncomfortable topics between them over the past two days, Chen Jiayu felt a certain closeness, and there shouldn’t be any estrangement. Therefore, the only plausible reason for Fang Hao’s silence was that he deliberately avoided the subject. Deliberately avoiding it meant he had something to hide.
On Friday afternoon, he drove Chen Zheng to the hospital. Throughout the journey, they didn’t discuss how last night had been, and the atmosphere was heavy. When they arrived at the hospital, the doctor showed them a stack of test results and forms filled with complex medical terminology that left them overwhelmed and their heads spinning. Yet, the conclusion was clear-cut: they had reached a critical point where the patient and family needed to decide between prolonging life or maintaining its quality. Continuing chemotherapy to sustain the current state was a common medical approach, albeit with significant side effects that would further strain Cao Hui’s already fragile body, severely impacting her quality of life. It’s a painful existence. Given Cao Hui’s strong reactions to previous treatments and the spread of cancer cells to her liver, conservative treatment without further chemotherapy was also a viable choice.
This situation was not far from what Chen Jiayu had anticipated the night before. There were no miracles, no strokes of luck. Before him were his mother’s test samples, lab data, and cold, hard medical facts. Feeling uncomfortable, he excused himself to the restroom and took a brief walk outside.
Eventually, Chen Zheng came out to meet him, calling out, “Whatever it is, we can deal with it later. Let’s go inside and sign the paperwork first.”
Chen Jiayu paused, asking, “Sign what?”
Chen Zheng didn’t notice his son’s emotional state and assumed he was dealing with work or a personal call. Chen Jiayu found it absurd. His father could discuss the performance of a Boeing 737 all night long yet remain oblivious to the apparent emotional strain.
Chen Zheng replied in a matter-of-factly, “The consent form for the next round of treatment.”
It struck Chen Jiayu then that for Chen Zheng, this wasn’t a decision at all—he had already made it on behalf of Cao Hui without her involvement. He sighed at the widening gap between their perspectives and firmly objected: “Whether to continue treatment or not, that’s for Mom to decide, not us.”
Chen Zheng insisted, “Of course, we’ll continue treatment. She doesn’t need to worry about such matters.”
“It’s precisely these matters she needs to consider,” Chen Jiayu countered, challenging his father’s decision. “Whose life and dignity is at stake here?”
They stood against each other, face to face and eye to eye. Chen Jiayu stood half a head taller, his posture straight and resolute. Unusually subdued, Chen Zheng did not argue back but simply said, “Isn’t living itself dignity enough?”
“That may be true for you,” Chen Jiayu replied, holding back harsher words. If it were up to him, he too would choose to live longer because he didn’t want to lose his loved one. Yet, he knew that would be selfish, making Cao Hui endure pain to fulfill his and his father’s illusion of a “complete family.”
He looked up. The trees outside the hospital had turned yellow, and the late October wind in Beijing rustled through the sparse branches against the stark sky. Once, his father had been tall and handsome in his youth. People often remarked to Chen Jiayu, both in praise and in jest, “You’re so much like him.” But were they really alike? Increasingly, he felt it wasn’t about growing apart from his father. It was more about making “not living like Chen Zheng” his life’s mission.
In the end, Chen Zheng couldn’t persuade him to agree. Chen Jiayu was usually known for his diplomatic kindness, avoiding taking too firm a stand and being willing to hear from both sides. But on this matter, he insisted unwaveringly on following Cao Hui’s decision no matter what.
After returning home, they slowly and carefully explained the situation to Cao Hui. Surprisingly, she was the most accepting among them, calmly stating, “Actually, I’ve been thinking about this for a while now” A fact that brought them both a cold comfort.
—-
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.
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When Fang Hao received Chen Jiayu’s message, he had just come back from a run. Since it was a rare free day without a night shift, he had opted for a longer run than usual. The autumn weather was pleasantly cool, and after two hours of running, he felt refreshed and looking forward to a shower.
Checking his phone, he saw a link from a popular review account: “Taishan Xiaoguan Grand Opening Special, 15% off the entire menu until October 31,” followed by a message from Chen Jiayu: [Last few days of the discount, want to go?]
Feeling surprised, Fang Hao hadn’t realized Chen Jiayu was serious about rescheduling their dinner. Fang Hao had mentioned to him once that he wanted to eat at this Taishan restaurant when they had dinner with Fang Shengjie last time. In the end, because Fang Shengjie, who had spent a holiday in Guangdong, was tired of Cantonese food, they went to get Sichuan food instead. Unexpectedly, Chen Jiayu still remembers it until now.
Regarding everything that had happened between him and Chen Jiayu, Fang Hao felt he had figured it out. After all, Chen Jiayu hadn’t explicitly expressed any interest in him, and if he directly rejected Chen Jiayu’s invitation to dinner, he might have seemed too presumptuous or rude. So, he decided to take the simplest approach: be natural. Take it as it comes. Besides, Fang Hao was sure that someone like Chen Jiayu would never be as straightforward as Lang Feng, and make the dinner awkward.
He replied: [Sure. When are you free?]
Meanwhile, Chen Jiayu was eager to drive to Daxing for dinner right away— he needed to do something else, somethingto take away this heavy feeling. Keeping his composure and managed to stay calm, he quickly checked Fang Hao’s schedule and instead asked to meet on Monday night after work. It would fit perfectly into Chen Jiayu’s plan. He had thought it out well. If Fang Hao was on the morning shift, he wouldn’t be driving. They could drive together, and after dinner, he could give Fang Hao a ride home.
—-
On Monday, Fang Hao knew Chen Jiayu’s flight number, and a welcoming voice greeted him warmly over the approach channel as he returned to Beijing: “Air China 1332, radar contact established, descend to 5000 and maintain.”
Chen Jiayu complied smoothly, diligently following the procedures. Glancing at the TCAS radar screen, he noticed a Hainan Airlines plane was about 7 nautical miles ahead at 4200 feet. Calculating the tight horizontal spacing, he began reducing the speed from 300 knots to 250, adhering to the standard recommended 15-mile separation.
Just as Fang Hao was about to instruct a speed reduction to 250, he noticed Chen Jiayu had already intuitively adjusted and maintained the spacing well. With the current minimal air traffic, Fang Hao casually remarked, “Why are you coming back so late this time?” He had the flight schedule, and even if he didn’t, Fang Hao could easily check the take-off and landing times if he wanted to.
“I was delayed again at Baiyun. Another hour and I’d exceed my duty time.”
Fang Hao checked the time and indeed, they were delayed by almost an hour. Fang Hao glanced at Runway 17 Left, where an aircraft from China Eastern had just landed, followed by a plane from Hainan Airlines ten miles behind. Following the order of arrival, he first issued instructions to Hainan Airlines: “Hainan 371, descend to 1800, adjust pressure to 1007, cleared for blind approach, Runway 17 Left.”
Hainan 371, an Airbus A320 from Tokyo, acknowledged with a familiar voice: “Roger, blind approach to 17 Left. Hainan 371.”
Recognizing Zhou Qichen’s voice, Fang Hao was in a good mood. This approach would be lively. He instructed, “Hainan 371, continue approach,” then turned to Chen Jiayu and the others, saying, *”Air China 1332, blind approach to 17 Right.”The implication was: see, I tried, but I can’t help more today.
Chen Jiayu chuckled over the channel, his voice low and deep, “Hainan 371—let’s settle the scores on the ground.”
Zhou Qichen laughed and replied nonchalantly, “Air China 1332, just follow behind slowly.”
Fang Hao smiled as he issued the clearance for Zhou Qichen to establish the blind approach, then turned to give Chen Jiayu the final instruction: “Air China 1332, left turn heading 330, continue approach, radar service terminated. Contact tower on 123.4. Have a good landing.”
Chen Jiayu repeated, “Left turn heading 330, continue approach, Air China 1332, 123.4,” then added, “See you later.”
Zhou Qichen had just turned off the radio frequency when he caught the last second of Chen Jiayu saying, *”See you later.”*Stepping out of the cabin, the first thing he did was to message Chen Jiayu, testing to see about joining him for dinner to confirm his guess.
Chen Jiayu refused bluntly: “Not this time, I’m waiting for someone. Maybe next time.”
Zhou Qichen had a sixth sense for such matters and had been at the forefront of gossip for several years. Putting together what he had heard on the radio today, he directly asked, “Did you make an appointment with Fang Hao?”
Chen Jiayu confirmed with a confident: “Yes.”
Zhou Qichen felt like he had discovered something incredible.
————————
After finishing his shift at the control tower, Fang Hao received a message from Lang Feng asking him to wait at Terminal 1; he had something to give him. The last time they had spoken was when Fang Hao had given Lang Feng Zhou Qichen’s contact info. Fang Hao rubbed the back of his head—what had become of that? He had long since forgotten about it. It seemed his matchmaking skills were severely lacking.
Lang Feng greeted him with a smile, holding a small bag. Fang Hao frowned inwardly upon seeing it. He didn’t think Lang Feng was the type to persist. When he had expressed disinterest, Lang Feng had gracefully backed off. He hoped it wasn’t something expensive because he really didn’t want to receive such a valuable gift. If he accept it, he would feel obligated to reciprocate, which could be awkward.
“Long time no see, Fang Hao,” Lang Feng greeted, getting straight to the point. “Since you wouldn’t let me treat you to a meal that day, I thought I’d bring you a little something to express my thanks.” With that, he handed over the bag.
Fang Hao glanced at it and noticed the Air France logo—not KLM’s. With a curious look, he took the gift out of the bag. The moment he took it out, he was even more surprised. It wasn’t a luxury watch or a branded wallet but an aircraft model.
Not just any model, but a Concorde —the joint development of Air France and British Airways, one of only two supersonic passenger planes in the world and the only one with a delta wing design, cruising at Mach 2.2. Its high nose resembled a bird’s beak, and its wingspan allowed it to soar like an eagle in the blue sky. Although it was retired in 2003 due to economic losses and the tragedy of Air France 4590, it was a brilliant chapter in civil aviation technology and flight history.
Fang Hao loved it instantly and thanked Lang Feng, saying, “I never expected to receive a Concorde model. How did you manage to get it?”
Lang Feng smiled. “It’s a limited edition. I asked a friend at Air France to arrange it in Europe and brought it back on a transatlantic flight.”
“Thank you,” Fang Hao said again. “This is the best gift I’ve received this year.” He held onto it, clearly reluctant to let go. After a moment, he thought of a more pressing question. “How did you know that I… collect these?”
Lang Feng hesitated briefly but decided to be honest. “Oh, I asked Zhou Qichen.”
Feeling a bit embarrassed about very hands-off matchmaking behavior, Fang Hao wondered whether he should ask the question or not.
Just as he was hesitating, he saw Chen Jiayu emerge from a nearby gate. From a distance, he also spotted Fang Hao, exchanged a few words with his co-pilot, before walking over on his own.
Fang Hao had no choice but to introduce Chen Jiayu and Lang Feng to each other. In fact, Chen Jiayu had bumped into both of them once before outside the Italian restaurant. Since then, Fang Hao had only seen Lang Feng twice, and Chen Jiayu had run into them both times. There was nothing unusual about this. Terminal 1 was the busiest terminal at Daxing, with multiple flights taking off and returning during rush hours. It was common to bump into familiar faces among the dozen or so crew members shuttling through the terminal. Chen Jiayu had seen Lang Feng several times before, but as he was with a foreign airline, they hadn’t directly interacted.
Chen Jiayu calmly stepped forward and politely shook hands with Lang Feng, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Lang Feng enthusiastically returned the handshake, saying quickly, “No, no, I should say this. The pleasure is all mine.”
Chen Jiayu raised an eyebrow and did not comment. He glanced down and saw what Fang Hao was holding, “A Concorde model? That’s quite impressive. Is it a special occasion? Your birthday, perhaps?”
Fang Hao quickly denied it, “Oh, no, it’s not.”
Chen Jiayu suddenly recalled something and turned to Lang Feng, bringing up an old incident, “You were the one who had a tire blowout on runway 17 left, right?”
Lang Feng nodded, “Yes, thanks to Fang Hao spotting it. I came here to thank him. If it had been someone else, I might have circled for another twenty minutes before I could get down.”
Fang Hao smiled and said, “It’s not a big deal.”
But Chen Jiayu couldn’t help but think to himself. He was thankful to Lang Feng. If it hadn’t been for the blown tire incident that caused a heated argument with Fang Hao over the channel, he wouldn’t have met Fang Hao at all.
Knowing that Chen Jiayu had come to see Fang Hao, Lang Feng tactfully exchanged a few pleasantries and took his leave. As he walked away, he couldn’t help but glance back at the two. His intuition told him there was a subtle tension between them, especially recalling the last time at the Italian restaurant. Fang Hao was engrossed in his phone, unaware of Chen Jiayu standing outside the window, and looked over them several times. However, thinking back to Fang Hao’s firm statement about not getting involved with people from their circle, Lang Feng shook his head, feeling he might be overthinking it.
As he walked further away, he didn’t hear Chen Jiayu’s question to Fang Hao, nor Fang Hao’s quiet reply, “My birthday is November 12.”
Translator notes: 2nd chapter of 3! 🙂
Funny enough, there is an actual “Union Hospital” in Beijing, but it’s a medical collage. Although, it looks like they do take patients. XD
it’s so amusing how pretty much everyone can smell the romance in the air around these two haha
I agree with Chen Jiayu on his mother’s situation, dignity in life and death is important. I’m glad this novel is taking a moment to talk about palliative care.
thanks for the chapter 💜
Love is blind. I guess it affects all area in life 😂
Thanks for the chapter❤️, can you please make it a bit more clear for me about his mother’s decision? (I somehow didn’t get it)
Aaahhj the author didn’t specify. It’s only that she didn’t have long to live. I’m actually not too sure what she chose. 😅 but I think it was implied that she wants the more holistic approach, since the side effects was too harsh on her.
Hoho, the peacook showing his tail~
Thank You for the new chapter (´∩｡• ᵕ •｡∩`) ♡
Yes! He’s such a peacock isn’t he? Always wanted to show off his good side. I can imagine a chibi Jiayu showing off, while shouting inside his head “look at me, look at me “ at Fang Hao hahahah
Actually… it could be his theme song. Attention by Doja Cat… “look at me, look at me, you looking?”😂😂😂
Haha, I totally can see it! Or him having puppy ears, because he guarding Fh like a doggo~! 🤭
I feel bad for Cao Hui. I was hoping she would magically recover but it seems like it won’t happen.
Thank you for the chapter!
ugh. I wish She’ll get better too.
Thanks for the updates