Chen Jiayu’s first visit to Fang Hao’s home revealed a living room with a cabinet full of airplane models. Despite living alone, Fang Hao’s place felt warm and cozy. While Fang Hao stood at the door catching up with a few friends, Fang Shengjie gave Chen Jiayu a tour. Picking up an airplane model and covering its markings, Chen Jiayu teased, “Shengjie, let’s test if you know this one. What kind of plane is this?”
Cluelessly, Fang Shengjie stammered and blindly guessed: “Uh… a 747?”
Chen Jiayu laughed. “Nope, it’s a 737. You’ve actually flown on the same one while I piloted from Shenzhen to Beijing Daxing.”
Fang Shengjie playfully stuck out his tongue.
Fang Hao watched the two discussing airplanes from a distance and couldn’t believe how unreal the scene felt. Just two months ago, he wouldn’t have believed it himself.
Somehow, word of Fang Hao’s gathering had spread, attracting half of the aviation community. Everyone knew there was a party at the air traffic controller’s house on Friday night. The doorbell had been ringing non-stop since half past nine. At its busiest, his 100-square-meter house was packed with nearly thirty people. Fang Hao turned to Zhou Qichen and said, “I knew you were the one inviting everyone. Everyone here is either a pilot or cabin crew. It definitely wasn’t the controllers who spread the word. It couldn’t have been Zheng Xiaoxu or Chen Jiayu, so it must be you.”
Fortunately, they had ample alcohol reserves, with Lang Feng even bringing a few bottles of champagne as a birthday gift. Opening the fridge, Fang Hao brought out a crate of beer and several bottles of spirits and prepared soda, limes, and salt, ready-to-mix cocktails for everyone.
Feeling somewhat guilty, Zhou Qichen urged Fang Hao to socialize with friends while he took charge of mixing drinks. The kitchen and living room in Fang Hao’s home were separated by a high divider, almost like a bar counter. Zhou Qichen expertly mixed a simple gin and tonic for Chen Jiayu and a Margarita for Chu Yirou, all while taking more cocktail requests.
He was in the midst of serving when a familiar face approached and called out, “Qichen ge. Long time no see.”
Zhou Qichen looked up to meet a smiling face—it was Luo Xiao, a flight attendant from the same company, fair-skinned and handsome. They had hooked up once about six months ago but hadn’t seen each other since. It was quite a surprise to see him here.
Caught off guard, he had no choice but to greet him. Zhou Qichen nodded. “Yeah, it’s been a while. What can I get you?”
“Whatever you think suits me,” Luo Xiao said flirtatiously, moving around to stand closer, right by Zhou Qichen’s arm.
Zhou Qichen decided on a simple gin and tonic, hoping to keep things quick and easy.
Luo Xiao clearly had other thoughts and asked him, “Qichen ge, you haven’t been in touch lately.”
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.
“Fw… P’nf yffc j ilaaif yers ijafis, rbggs.” Lf qea atf uijrr bc atf yjg jcv rilv la ab Oeb Wljb, “Gglcx ribkis, tjnf oec.”
Llr yijmx K-rtlga kjr kfa ogbw rqliifv kjafg, rtbklcu boo tlr abcfv jgw wermifr. Qtfc tf aegcfv tlr tfjv jcv rwlifv, la kjr raglxlcuis wjrmeilcf jcv ifoa Oeb Wljb raeccfv.
Not only was Luo Xiao watching, but across the room, Chen Jiayu, Fang Hao, and Lang Feng were watching, too. Chen Jiayu joked, “Who invited all these people? Your place has become the new hotspot; it’s quite lively.”
Fang Hao laughed, “He must have invited them himself.”
Zhou Qichen had a bit of a playboy reputation. Since joining the aviation industry, he’d had more freedom and fewer family concerns, making him quite experienced in the dating scene over the past few years. But as they say, you can’t always walk by the river without getting your shoes wet. Little did he know, Luo Xiao wasn’t actually invited by Zhou Qichen; it might have just been word of mouth.
Glancing at Lang Feng standing nearby, Fang Hao realized his remark wasn’t appropriate. After all, he had invited Lang Feng today to introduce the two. Just as he was about to say something, Lang Feng spoke up, “I’ll go grab a drink, too.”
Fang Hao thought that was perfect and nodded, relieved that he didn’t need to make the introduction himself.
————————
Luo Xiao left, and Langfeng came over and asked, “Can I have a Margarita?”
Zhou Qichen glanced at him and nodded. He sliced a lime, moistened the glass rim with his hand and dipped it in a salt-rimmed plate, added ice, syrup, went through the steps one by one, and carefully poured twice the amount of tequila inside.
While waiting, Lang Feng casually struck up a conversation, “Are you a friend of Fang Hao? What should I call you?”
“…” Zhou Qichen looked up, surprised by the question. Lang Feng actually didn’t recognize him! Previously, he had sensed some meaningful looks from Lang Feng in the car, but evidently, he had overthought.
“I’m Zhou Qichen,” he said. “We’ve actually talked before.” As he thought about it, he realized they never met up after Lang Feng added him on WeChat. His profile didn’t have his photo, and his Moments never featured pictures of himself, so from Lang Feng’s perspective, he might as well have added a ghost account.
Lang Feng also remembered hearing the name, feeling a bit awkward now. He recalled Zhou Qichen’s blunt “Forget it, let’s not meet” from before. “We didn’t meet at the airport either… Are you a pilot, too?”
“Yeah, Hainan Airlines,” Zhou Qichen replied, thinking, but I’ve seen you before.
They had barely exchanged a few words when the doorbell rang again. The room was so noisy that no one heard it at first. Just as Fang Shengjie was about to answer, the door opened, and in walked Fan Ruolan, holding a cake.
The living room fell silent for a second, and everyone seemed to guess who had arrived. All eyes turned towards the kitchen, where open beer cans and liquor bottles were scattered. Fang Hao and a few others were smoking by the window. The place was a mess. But Fan Ruolan, seeing the scene, didn’t criticize. She quickly waved her hand and said, “You guys continue playing. I just came to deliver a cake.”
“Mom!” Fang Hao and Fang Shengjie both exclaimed in surprise. This was indeed a surprise, as Fan Ruolan had told Fang Hao she would come tomorrow. Fang Hao quickly stubbed out his cigarette to take the cake, while Fang Shengjie was screaming inside his head, thinking, Oh no, she’s here to drag me away—it’s already past midnight.
“I know you don’t like things too sweet, so I made you a matcha cake.” Fan Ruolan said, “I didn’t know you had so many friends over, so it might not be enough.”
From a distance, Chen Jiayu observed. Fan Ruolan wore a long strappy dress with a white shirt over it. Though in her fifties, she still looked stunning, mainly due to her exceptional poise and stylish, vibrant appearance. Fang Hao’s features resembled hers more than Fang Shengjie’s. Holding the cake, Fan Ruolan stood flanked by Fang Hao and Fang Shengjie, creating a scene so harmonious it looked like a painting.
Fang Hao took the cake and opened the box. Fan Ruolan leaned in and whispered, “Fang Hao, is your partner here today? Let me have a look.”
“Mom,” Fang Hao said helplessly, “Don’t be nosy. It’s embarrassing.”
As expected, Fan Ruolan called Fang Shengjie away. Before leaving, he said, “Wait a minute,” and rushed over to Chen Jiayu, saying, “Brother Jiayu, let’s add each other as friends! Next time, come to our house and play Switch.” Fang Hao saw this but couldn’t stop it, watching as Chen Jiayu happily added Fang Shengjie as a friend. Little did he know, on the way back, Fang Shengjie would tell Fan Ruolan that the last person he went to find was his brother’s potential partner, adding with a hint of mischief, “Handsome, isn’t he? And quite famous too.”
In the kitchen, the matcha cake Fan Ruolan brought was opened. It was decorated to look like a green lawn, with a runway in the middle, a simple plane drawn beside it, and the letters “ZBAD,” which is the ICAO code for Daxing Airport. Everyone praised the unique gift. Fang Hao, who was never one to show off, felt particularly touched at that moment.
Chen Jiayu whispered in his ear, “Auntie really put her heart into this.”
Throughout the evening, Fang Hao and Chen Jiayu barely had any time to talk alone. As the host, Fang Hao had to ensure everyone was entertained, while Chen Jiayu, being quite popular himself, was always engaged in conversation with others. This was their first chance to speak face-to-face alone.
Fang Hao smiled, “We never made it this grand before, and I don’t even like eating cake. “Maybe it’s because… I’m hitting the big 30 this year.”
The room was noisy, so Chen Jiayu had to lean in closer to speak to him: “I got you a birthday gift, too. Want to see it now?”
“Sure,” Fang Hao replied.
Chen Jiayu, finally getting a moment alone with him, retrieved the gift from a corner and handed it over. Fang Hao saw the huge box and knew it must have been expensive.
“Wow…” Fang Hao exclaimed as he unwrapped the gift to reveal the logo and immediately knew what it was. It was a Breville semi-automatic home espresso machine. The silver machine was large, heavy, and high-end. It could grind beans and froth milk—the latest model. Though Fang Hao didn’t know the exact price, he knew it wasn’t cheap.
Standing beside him, Chen Jiayu explained, “I wasn’t sure what to get you, so I went with something I knew.”
“Thank you, Jia Ge.” Fang Hao said as he looked into Chen Jiayu’s eyes.
“Mm.” Chen Jiayu met his gaze and didn’t look away.
“Guess I won’t need you to treat me to coffee anymore.” Fang Hao grinned.
Chen Jiayu laughed and replied, “17 Left is closed too, so I won’t be able to bribe you anymore.”
Translator note: birthday part 2. The author is still cooking…
EDIT! I just found out there is radio drama? O.O This is one of the trailer at bilibili : https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1m4421Q7jL/
With official art.
I need to do a deeper dive…
oh an update so fast? thank you!
Fang Hao might still be on fence but to Fang Shenji there’s no doubt that Chen Jiayu is his brother-in-law to-be haha
hahahah. It’s a goodie! Mostly because they are birthday part posts. XD
Well, Fang Hao is getting there… also I just found out they have a trailer! Look at this: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1m4421Q7jL/
Also, I think it was Fang Hao who said: “and he is my beloved.” at the end of the video 😭
owwn ❤❤❤
they are looking so good in the official art
Wow they lok awesome in the art.
Thank you for the chapter!
They look so good. 😭
Hoho, first impression for future in-laws is the most important~
Thank You for the new chapter (๑ơ ₃ ơ)♥
Chen Jiayu is probably the in-laws fav. hahaha
The official art looks awesome. 🙈💯😌❤
The art fits the descriptions of them so well!