Time passed second by second amid the deep and excited singing voices. Everyone’s hearts were suspended on the two men grappling desperately outside the window.
The elderly, children, and women had already been arranged to sit in the cabin.
The men stood in a row, lined up neatly at the boarding gate, singing the national anthem to cheer on Lu Huaizheng and Zhou Tao.
Inside the cabin, someone used their phone to record this scene and uploaded it to Weibo.
“Just before takeoff, two soldiers are still fighting with militants and couldn’t board…”
The video was blurry, not very clear, and the sound wasn’t distinct, but someone with keen ears picked up on it: “Is that the national anthem? I hear you singing the national anthem.”
The blogger replied: “Yes. Everyone is very emotional. Chinese people are very united.”
A netizen responded: “That’s good. Hope you evacuate safely.”
There was no further reply.
Zhao Dailin had sharp eyes and seemed to spot Sun Kai’s figure in the video—just a thin silhouette that flashed by, but she was certain it was him. It had to be him.
In the same moment, Yu Hao had replayed the video hundreds of times but couldn’t see Lu Huaizheng anywhere. Seeing her disappointed expression, Zhao Dailin offered some words of comfort.
Yu Hao turned off her phone and forced a smile: “Guess who’s fighting with someone outside? Could it be him?”
Zhao Dailin leaned back on the sofa, silent for a moment. “Yu Hao, be strong. Yesterday you were the one consoling me. He promised you he would come back.”
Yu Hao’s lips paled, looking somewhat dry. She licked them, as if regaining consciousness, and nodded almost imperceptibly, her gaze unfocused as she murmured: “Yes, he promised me he would come back.”
Zhao Dailin stroked her head, tucking loose strands of hair behind her ear. “So, don’t worry, okay?”
Yu Hao covered her eyes, her palms hot and wet, suddenly choking up: “But he also told me this was his responsibility, and sometimes he might not have a choice. Senior, what if he really can’t make it onto the plane?”
Zhao Dailin embraced her, comforting her softly: “There must be other ways. His leaders value him so much, that they would surely send another plane to pick him up. And if not, there are ships. As long as he doesn’t die, he can come back. Sun Kai said he’s the only Chinese soldier who received a medal in Venezuela. Don’t worry, this kind of situation surely isn’t his first time.” After saying this, Zhao Dailin gently wiped away the tears from the corner of her eye. “Don’t cry anymore, he’ll be heartbroken when he returns.”
“I’m not crying,” she stubbornly said. “My eyes are just a bit irritated.”
Zhao Dailin: “…”
Meanwhile, Ms. Feng had just arrived at her office. Before she could put down her bag, someone eagerly pulled her aside to gossip. The person approached her with a cup of tea, gesturing with her chin and glancing at the seat opposite hers. “Do you know why Professor Yang didn’t come to work today?”
Ms. Feng showed little interest. She put down her bag, preparing to pour herself a cup of water, and replied indifferently: “It’s not like she went to rescue people in Tuslan, right?”
The person was surprised: “So you’ve seen the news too?”
Ms. Feng had her back turned as she poured water. “It’s been all over the place, how could I not pay attention?”
The person casually commented: “My son watched the news these past two days and now he’s clamoring to join the army. It’s giving me a headache.”
Ms. Feng didn’t turn around, focusing on filling her cup, and unexpectedly said: “That’s fine. It’s good for a child to have patriotic feelings.”
“Then what’s the point of all the money I’ve spent on his education?!” After saying this, the person felt something was off and scrutinized Feng Yanzhi at the water dispenser. “Wait, that’s not your usual attitude. When did your thinking become so progressive?”
Feng Yanzhi smiled noncommittally, returning with her water cup to sit across from her colleague. She deflected with humor: “Sorry, I just attended a Party meeting a few days ago. Our ideological levels are not on the same plane anymore.”
The person laughed at her: “Come on, be honest. After watching those videos on Weibo, I was pretty moved too. There’s nothing wrong with joining the army, but nobody wants their child to suffer. When there are better paths available, why choose the difficult one?”
“What videos?” Feng Yanzhi took a sip of tea, asking casually.
“The one with people singing the national anthem! Haven’t you seen it? I heard two soldiers couldn’t board the plane in time because they were rescuing people, and everyone started singing the national anthem at the airport to cheer them on.”
Feng Yanzhi’s heart tightened upon hearing this. “Did they make it in the end?”
“I don’t know. The blogger hasn’t posted an update, but I’m following them closely. As soon as they post on Weibo, I’ll get a notification.”
“Let me know when you hear anything.” Returning to their previous topic, Feng Yanzhi added: “But you don’t need to worry about kids nowadays. They have their ideas. How could they completely follow our wishes? It’s not like when we were young anymore. Now it’s an era where all flowers bloom and all roads lead to Rome.”
“Your ideological awareness is quite high.”
“I just suddenly realized we can’t impose our thinking on our children. If we can’t fly ourselves, we shouldn’t expect our children to fly for us. Children have their fortunes. Look at Professor Wang’s kid from the neighboring department, singing songs online all day.” Feng Yanzhi made a gesture indicating a number. “They make this much in a month. Look at you, exhausting yourself sending your son to this tutoring class and that tutoring class, and in the future, he still might not earn a fraction of what others make.”
This touched a nerve. The colleague impatiently waved her hand: “Alright, alright, don’t mention that girl. I don’t know if this internet age is good or bad. Every time that girl comes to the department, I feel uncomfortable looking at her. What is she wearing? All tattered and torn. Even a garbage collector wears more than she does. My son better not find someone like that in the future, or I’ll die of anger.”
Feng Yanzhi just smiled without saying anything.
“Anyway,” the person turned around. “What were we talking about?”
Feng Yanzhi pulled out a chair and sat down, reminding her: “Professor Yang.”
The person slapped her forehead, remembering: “Did you know that Ranran secretly got married? Her partner is three years younger and just graduated from college—a boy who hasn’t even grown his beard yet. They just went and got a marriage certificate without even notifying their families. Professor Yang fainted from anger.”
“Fainted? Is she in the hospital?”
“Indeed she is, lying there. I went to see her yesterday, all alone. Her husband is out of town, and no one is taking care of her. Ranran has disappeared who knows where. It’s true what they say about married daughters being like spilled water.”
Feng Yanzhi shook her head speechlessly: “What a calamity. So, don’t be too extreme in life, be kind to others. Making trouble day in and day out, this is karma coming back around.”
In Tuslan, three minutes remained before the plane’s departure. The cabin door was wide open, with Sun Kai arranging for the last few people to enter.
As he glanced down at his watch, a signal came from the command center—it was Li Hongwen.
“Are you all on the plane yet?”
Sun Kai held his forehead, gritting his teeth: “Lu Huaizheng and Zhou Tao aren’t yet.”
Li Hongwen also grew anxious, his voice rough: “What are those two doing?! Playing around?!”
“He’s engaged with the enemy!”
“He can’t even handle one militant now?!” Li Hongwen completely lost control, slamming the desk in frustration.
Sun Kai stood at the windy boarding gate, the wind howling around him, his mind in chaos. He couldn’t help shouting: “He’s injured! Can you give him a little time? Just five minutes!”
If Lu Huaizheng missed the plane, Li Hongwen would probably have been more upset than anyone, but despite this, when it came time to make sacrifices, he remained resolute. Gritting his teeth, he squeezed out between clenched teeth: “No, takeoff precisely in three minutes!”
Damn!
Sun Kai cursed!
At that moment, he suddenly removed his earpiece and sprinted toward the terminal building.
Completely ignoring Li Hongwen’s furious voice in the earpiece: “You better be on that plane in three minutes!! Do you hear me?!! Sun Kai! I’m talking to you!”
The earpiece hung around his neck, swaying in the wind as he rushed toward Lu Huaizheng’s position, disregarding everything else.
Behind him, Wu Heping also reacted and immediately tried to follow, but Sun Kai turned back and shouted: “Go back! The cabin door closes in exactly three minutes. Take your team and evacuate first!”
Wu Heping gradually slowed his pace, his eyes growing warm. He tilted his head slightly upward, controlling himself to prevent tears from falling.
And at that moment.
Lu Huaizheng, who had been hanging over the railing, suddenly arched his body backward, gripped the railing, trapped the opponent’s neck between his legs, and with a twisting motion, there was a crisp “crack.” He directly threw the man to the ground, then released his grip and rolled off the railing. He swiftly picked up the gun that had been knocked to the ground and, before the man could recover from the pain, fired twice, blowing his head off.
By then, two minutes remained.
He put his earpiece back on and decisively said: “Zhou Tao, retreat!”
“Received!”
Then, he was seen carrying his gun in one hand, supporting himself on the terrace railing with the other, and athletically flipping down to the terrace below—extremely quick and clean. Then, with lightning speed, he descended from the fifth floor to the second-floor boarding platform.
A young woman sitting by the window inside the cabin witnessed this entire process and quickly recorded the last two levels on her phone, excitedly sharing it with her friends: “My God, so cool, just like parkour, right?”
Her friend looked outside and saw several figures racing at the boarding gate, suddenly becoming excited: “They’re back! How many minutes until they close the door?!”
“One minute left!”
A man in the front row couldn’t contain himself and rushed to the cabin door, shouting at Lu Huaizheng and the others: “Hurry!! One minute left!!”
“Fifty seconds!”
“Thirty seconds!!”
Everyone in the cabin craned their necks, incredibly anxious, until they heard “clang, clang” footsteps in the boarding corridor. The metal echo was loud; the men running sounded like tanks rolling through.
Everyone in the cabin grew excited, counting down in unison.
“Twenty seconds!!”
“Ten seconds!!”
Clap! One foot came in first, followed immediately by three tall figures who burst through the cabin door, panting heavily!
Simultaneously, inside the cabin, enthusiastic applause erupted, passionate and unending, like it was echoing throughout the vast universe.
The three men were panting, but they didn’t relax or lean crookedly against the wall.
Lu Huaizheng bent over, both hands supporting himself on his knees, slightly regulating his breathing, then slowly straightened up, saluted the applauding passengers, and sat down in an available seat. Sun Kai and Zhou Tao exchanged glances and also gave proper military salutes.
Lu Huaizheng’s arm was injured, and a medic came to treat his wound. Fearing it might frighten the children, he prepared to switch seats with a young man in a suit in front of him.
But the child suddenly tugged at his sleeve and timidly said, “Uncle, sit here. I’m not afraid. I feel safe with you here.”
Lu Huaizheng smiled a rare occurrence. He raised his sleeve and gently waved it in front of the child, saying softly: “You’re not afraid of blood?”
The child, with bright, round eyes, shook his head. “I’m not afraid. Does it hurt?”
Lu Huaizheng raised his arm, letting the medic bandage it, staring at the child for a moment. Suddenly, he lowered his head with a smile and reached out to ruffle the child’s hair. “Yes, it hurts. What do you do when you’re in pain?”
“I ask my mom to buy me candy. What about you, uncle?”
“I also have someone who buys me candy.”
The child wanted to ask more but was stopped by his mother. “Let the uncle rest, okay? He’s very tired and injured. Please don’t disturb him, alright?”
The child obediently closed his mouth.
The woman looked at Lu Huaizheng with an apology: “I’m sorry, my child talks too much. Please rest a bit.”
“It’s fine. He’s quite amusing,” he said, unbothered.
The medic finished treating him. “For now, we can only stop the bleeding like this. Once we land, you’ll be sent to the hospital immediately.”
It was not too bad. Apart from the initial pain, there was now some numbness and his right arm was almost without sensation.
However, just as he had begun to rest, the cabin passengers were too enthusiastic. They kept offering water and food to these “heroes.” Anything good to eat or drink was sent to Lu Huaizheng and Sun Kai. A portly middle-aged man approached them to ask for their names and units, intending to send a commemorative banner to their unit’s entrance.
This left Lu Huaizheng both amused and exasperated. Leaning back in his seat, he said: “Please don’t send anything. If you do, it wouldn’t be appropriate to display it anywhere.”
“That won’t do. My wife insists we must send something. If it weren’t for you all, who knows where we’d be now!”
Sun Kai was greatly amused. “So you’re afraid of your wife? What a coincidence, my brother here is also afraid of his wife. And his wife says we can’t accept even a needle or thread from the masses, so we can’t accept it.” As he spoke, he placed his hand on Lu Huaizheng’s shoulder, grinning.
Lu Huaizheng chuckled, shrugging off his hand, not bothering to respond.
The middle-aged man took him seriously, furrowing his brow thoughtfully: “That is difficult. Alright, if you can’t accept gifts, that’s fine. But I still must thank you. Can I at least write a letter of thanks?”
Sun Kai nodded. “That’s fine. Just remember to thank the country and the government. No need to thank us two.”
The man noted down their unit number and left satisfied.
Behind them, two young women sighed softly, “So they’re already married.”
Sun Kai overheard and turned around, nudging Lu Huaizheng with his elbow. “If you didn’t have Yu Hao, how many girls would be fighting to marry you?”
Lu Huaizheng rested against the seat with his eyes closed, not even bothering to lift his eyelids, and said presumptuously: “If you were a woman, wouldn’t you want to as well?”
Although the two often joked crudely, they were both standard straight men who would never make this kind of joke. When Lu Huaizheng said this, Sun Kai was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped. He hastily wrapped his military coat tighter: “You have such filthy thoughts about me?”
Lu Huaizheng still hadn’t opened his eyes and snorted with laughter: “Sorry, I’m only interested in women.”
“Then what do you mean by saying that?”
Lu Huaizheng opened his eyes and turned to look at him, no longer joking: “I just hope that next time in this kind of situation, you’ll be more professional. Don’t pull that ‘brotherly love’ routine. What’s the point? Go back and wait for Old Li to scold you. Don’t expect me to speak up for you.”
Surprisingly, Sun Kai didn’t argue back. He shrank to the side like a submissive wife and didn’t speak to Lu Huaizheng again until the plane landed.
As the workday was ending, Feng Yanzhi was packing up her things when she heard a notification sound from her colleague’s phone.
Simultaneously, the phone’s owner instinctively looked down—it was a Weibo special alert.
Feng Yanzhi eagerly asked, “So, any news?”
The phone owner nodded solemnly. “Yes! Let me check.”
Feng Yanzhi had already stood up from her chair and moved behind her, looking down at the phone.
Special Alert: Cherry is my Little Sun: “My patriotism, which had wavered countless times, was firmly gripped today, at this moment, by these Chinese soldiers. In the future, I will work hard. I may not bring glory to the country, but I will not disappoint these soldiers who fought to snatch us back from the jaws of death. Reporting our safety to everyone—all people successfully boarded the plane.”
Some even proudly displayed their passports. “Thank heavens, I love China.”
Seven in the evening.
Yu Hao returned late and was eating dinner. Feng Yanzhi had already finished and was clearing the dishes. The atmosphere was silent until she suddenly asked: “Is he coming back today?”
“Probably.”
Feng Yanzhi paused her table wiping. “So he was on a mission this time?”
“Mm, probably so.”
Feng Yanzhi frowned, putting down the cloth and looking at her daughter: “Why is everything ‘probably’ with you? Don’t you know anything certain about what your boyfriend does?”
Yu Hao put down her rice bowl and said seriously: “Since you’re asking, let me properly introduce him. He is an airborne soldier, belonging to the Air Force. I’ll also be an Air Force family member in the future, with lots of benefits, like ticket purchasing and such.”
“Bah, get to the point,” Feng Yanzhi spat.
Yu Hao cleared her throat and continued, “He’s the captain of the assault team in the Airborne XX Brigade. A few months ago, he was promoted to Colonel, now he’s an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, I think. His main job is handling large-scale disaster relief or foreign rescue operations, similar to this Tuslan earthquake and evacuation, and so on.”
Just as she finished speaking, Yu Hao’s phone on the table rang. It was Zhao Dailin, who said breathlessly: “Quick, go to the Air Force Hospital. Lu Huaizheng is injured!”
Yu Hao’s head buzzed, instantly panicking.
“It’s just an arm injury, don’t be alarmed.”
“Can’t you say everything at once? I almost rushed out just now. How serious is it? How did he call you? Why didn’t he call me?”
“Don’t ask me how I know. I found out through connections. These two turtle’s eggs were trying to hide it from us. I’m already on my way there. You need to leave now.”
“I’m coming right away.”
With that, Yu Hao stopped eating, held her phone, and went to the entryway to change her shoes.
To her surprise, Ms. Feng was already standing at the door with her bag, as if she had been waiting for a long time.
“Mom, what are you doing?”
“I’m going with you to see him. This kind of surprise is the most interesting, don’t you think?”
With that, Ms. Feng winked at her playfully.