The conference in Tusland lasted about two months. Lu Huai Zheng participated as an attendee, accompanying Professor Jiang Yuan Liang throughout.
Xu Yan Shi accompanied his former mentor, Professor Liang Qin. Regarding his performance on the red carpet that day—countering the media without leaving a trace—both seniors praised him highly. Though not an especially stirring or brilliant quote, it was simple enough to cut to the heart. Everyone understood the principle, but no one had dared to say it.
During a break after the meeting, Lu Huai Zheng and Xu Yan Shi went out for a smoke while the two professors chatted in their seats.
Jiang Yuan Liang patted Liang Qin’s shoulder, praising with a smile: “The young are formidable.”
Liang Qin also smiled, sighing: “It’s that we’ve grown old, considering too much, restrained in our actions. Sometimes their fearless, newborn calf state is quite good. Yan Shi is still somewhat impulsive. Your student is more steady. Watching him sit in meetings, I can tell he’s someone destined for great things.”
Lu Huai Zheng was the type who could absorb everything. Whether in large or small meetings, he always sat quietly listening, rarely distracted. He could listen from beginning to end even in the most boring meetings. If truly bored, he would mentally arrange recent combat plans—never appearing restless or impatient.
Lu Huai Zheng’s temperament had been shaped by his years in the military. Once he put on that uniform, his entire demeanor became extremely serious, especially since he was abroad representing his country’s image.
Jiang Yuan Liang knew this best, waving his hand: “He was the same when he first enlisted. It took years to become like this. He’s endured quite a bit. I told him back then, how nice it would be to stay and research fighter jets with me, but he insisted on going back to Old Li.”
Liang Qin found this interesting. “Is that so?”
Jiang Yuan Liang coughed once. “He’s particularly devoted to the first person who treated him well. You know about his father—Central Guard Regiment, protecting key military figures. The old man had strong revolutionary ideals, was utterly loyal to the organization, absolutely dedicated. When he first enlisted, he met Old Li. Old Li saw this young man’s strength and physical fitness and encouraged him to come to my division. I wanted him to stay, but at graduation, the boy told me if he didn’t return, he’d feel he betrayed his leader. So he went back to find Old Li.”
Liang Qin exclaimed, giving him a sidelong glance: “Quite loyal, isn’t he?”
Jiang Yuan Liang pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth: “Indeed—”
Liang Qin turned his head, and through the magnificent conference room doorway, saw Xu Yan Shi standing tall by the window smoking. Lu Huai Zheng leaned against the window, mindful of his image and not smoking. The two were chatting and laughing. When Lu Huai Zheng smiled, he was very sunny, losing that serious air, still a man full of emotions and desires.
“This young man is remarkable,” Liang Qin whispered, leaning in. “Did you notice earlier when speaking with Tusland’s diplomat? They used Russian without translators. After a back-and-forth conversation, they shook hands, and bam—strategic cooperation established.”
Jiang Yuan Liang smiled, tossing the tissue into a nearby trash can: “Don’t you know their assault team learns a new foreign language every year? They can manage daily communication with all our neighboring countries.”
Liang Qin: “Is that so? Still, they spoke extraordinarily well. It was quite amusing—a Chinese and a Tuslander communicating in Russian while a Belarusian stood beside them looking bewildered, repeatedly praising his Russian, asking where he learned it, whether all Chinese speak such perfect Russian, blah blah blah. Your student answered with three words: ‘Self-taught.'”
Jiang Yuan Liang was startled. “You understood all that?”
Liang Qin teased him: “Yes! Don’t you know I’ve also been privately studying Russian these past few years?”
Jiang Yuan Liang didn’t believe him. “You’re pulling my leg. If you can say one sentence in Russian, I’ll walk backward. Your student translated for you, right?”
Liang Qin didn’t deny it, sighing: “Today’s young people are truly remarkable, with broader perspectives than us. I was chatting with Yan Shi earlier and asked why he didn’t apply to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Guess what he said? He said, ‘Location doesn’t matter. For someone devoted to scientific research, a single oil lamp is enough.’ Think about that.”
Jiang Yuan Liang: “He’s younger than Huai Zheng, still an idealist.”
Liang Qin was about to speak when he noticed the other’s expression change. He looked at him with concern: “Old Jiang if you can’t hold up, let your student take you back to rest. I’m here.”
Jiang Yuan Liang waved his hand: “It’s fine. I’ll sit a bit longer.”
Liang Qin: “Does your student know about your health condition?”
“No, I haven’t told him.”
“You should tell him early. Don’t let him be unable to handle the shock later.”
Jiang Yuan Liang finally turned to look through the doorway. Lu Huai Zheng was no longer there; only Xu Yan Shi remained standing against the wall. He shook his head, coughed once, and said: “You know what this project means to me. Remember what the old Secretary said? ‘In the future world, land is limited; whoever controls the airspace will have a voice.’ Do you want history to repeat itself? Territorial concessions, indemnities, being at others’ mercy—do you want that again? The world hasn’t changed. I’ll make you a bet: future air supremacy will certainly belong to the country with the most advanced stealth aircraft.”
Liang Qin certainly understood him. They had worked day and night on this project for over a decade. Finally seeing some progress, even if he were in Jiang’s position, he wouldn’t leave either. The debut of “Black Hawk” was critically important for China.
Stubborn old men like Jiang Yuan Liang, couldn’t and didn’t want to persuade him otherwise.
For them, if there was any meaning to staying alive, “Black Hawk” was the only one.
However, in the afternoon meeting, during discussions about aircraft materials and maneuverability, Jiang Yuan Liang had a heated argument with one of Tusland’s military experts.
Stealth aircraft use radar-absorbing materials that don’t reflect radar waves to avoid detection but directly absorb the radar wave energy. At the same time, stealth aircraft need to sacrifice some maneuverability to hide themselves. The Tusland representatives insisted that sacrificing maneuverability was completely unnecessary, which confused Jiang Yuan Liang. After so many years of research, he had never seen such an approach. Even with the SR-71, the designers ultimately converted the aircraft’s thermal energy to fuel before dissipating it.
Without sacrificing maneuverability, the aircraft’s noise would be quite loud, completely defeating the purpose of a stealth aircraft.
The Tusland representatives maintained that sacrificing maneuverability was unnecessary—just improve the materials and expand the effective reflection area.
Liang Qin asked, “But have you considered the pilot’s safety?”
The other side responded, “The aircraft we’ve developed is called ‘Guardian.’ It’s our ultimate weapon. Pilots should have extremely professional standards.”
Even Lu Huai Zheng frowned upon hearing this. He remembered his first class when Jiang Yuan Liang asked them, “How many missiles does the J-20 carry in total?”
Everyone answered in unison: eight.
But Jiang Yuan Liang shook his head saying: “No, nine. You and your aircraft are the final ones.”
After hearing this, all the students lowered their heads in silence.
Jiang Yuan Liang tapped the desk and added: “I hope you never have to use that final missile.”
What they meant by not sacrificing aircraft maneuverability essentially meant sacrificing the pilot’s life. Even though technology could go further, they chose this radical approach. Jiang Yuan Liang immediately began arguing with them.
The other side retorted: “Didn’t your ancient emperors cultivate death squads? I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hadrian, precisely because of that, our imperial autocracy era ended long ago. The Qing Dynasty fell over a hundred years ago…” Jiang Yuan Liang suddenly began coughing violently, his face turning red.
Hadrian across from him tried to calm him: “Professor Jiang, please don’t get excited. We’re not plagiarizing your ideas, just offering an example. I believe the principle of man and machine perishing together should be part of every pilot’s ideological awareness, right?”
The entire conference hall fell silent, with only Jiang Yuan Liang’s persistent coughing. A blonde, blue-eyed Belarusian woman sitting nearby asked Lu Huai Zheng: “Should we call Dr. Lerui for Professor Jiang?”
But Jiang Yuan Liang raised his hand to stop her.
Hadrian was a very casual scientific researcher who often stirred controversy in international forums with his bold statements.
Before coming, Lu Huai Zheng had heard from Xu Yan Shi that Hadrian was a person without moral standards or boundaries, willing to sacrifice anything for scientific research.
Hadrian seemed to have more to say but was stopped by the conference chair: “Please mind your wording.”
Hadrian nodded casually, indicating okay. Since he had to watch his words, he had nothing more to say.
Lu Huai Zheng appeared to want to speak. He had a stomach full of words he wanted to argue about with Hadrian, but Jiang Yuan Liang stopped him. “We can’t make him understand. Just maintain our principles. What he wants to do, we can’t stop, so don’t waste time with him. If Island wasn’t hosting, do you think Hadrian would even be allowed in the venue? A perfectly good researcher, deliberately seeking attention and making himself like this.”
Mentioning this, Liang Qin recalled something: “Old Jiang, do you know that our country also produced a female Hadrian?”
Jiang Yuan Liang coughed.
“Who?”
“A psychology PhD, a radical with the same attitude as Hadrian, absolutely unscrupulous in research. Do you think she was influenced by Hadrian? What’s scarier is that while Hadrian’s reputation precedes him, this female doctor is different—she has many fans in China. I heard that a few days ago because someone proposed an idea different from hers, this doctor’s fans went to her lecture and threw sulfuric acid.”
Lu Huai Zheng hadn’t yet processed this.
“Too many lunatics these days,” said Jiang Yuan Liang.
After the meeting, Lu Huai Zheng took Jiang Yuan Liang back to his room, watched him take his medicine, and waited until he fell asleep.
Then he went to the corridor window and stood silently. Though extremely tired, he still stood straight, one hand resting on the windowsill, fingers holding a cigarette. In the darkness, wisps of smoke curled around, hazily illuminating his silhouette.
Gazing at the perfectly round, egg-yolk-yellow moon, he imagined seeing Yu Hao’s face—round and plump, smiling brightly in the sky.
He could understand her. After all, he wasn’t by her side at that time. Another man was, and it was normal for her to have feelings.
But he was also afraid.
If Shen Xi Yuan hadn’t gone abroad back then, would they have broken up?
Would he have had no chance?
Just thinking about it made his heart tremble with fear. The hand resting on the windowsill involuntarily tightened until his knuckles turned white. He raised his hand, taking a deep drag, cheeks hollowing, eyes slightly narrowed. The dense smoke slowly slid from his chest into his lungs, the acrid nicotine completely stimulating his visual nerves. His eyes reflected thousands of worries, carrying too many concerns.
After finishing, he placed his hand back on the windowsill, the other still in his pocket, motionless. With slightly lowered brows, smoke scattered as he turned to lean lazily against the wall.
The passing Belarusian woman thought: This Chinese man is quite attractive.
When Xu Yan Shi came out of Liang Qin’s room, the Belarusian woman was trying to chat up Lu Huai Zheng. The man leaned against the wall, completely unmoved, saying lightly: “I’m sorry, I’m married with no plans for divorce.”
The Belarusian woman showed a regretful expression but graciously said, “I wish you happiness.”
“Thank you.”
That night, Jiang Yuan Liang developed a fever, becoming drowsy and speaking unclearly.
Lu Huai Zheng had noticed something wrong several days earlier. He had asked Jiang Yuan Liang what medicine he was taking. Jiang Yuan Liang said it was an ordinary anti-inflammatory medication. He didn’t believe it and wanted to find the medicine bottle, but whenever he went to his room, he couldn’t find it—everything was locked away. Only Liang Qin knew about this matter, and now he sat in Jiang Yuan Liang’s room silently wiping tears: “Old Jiang’s only wish is to see Black Hawk’s debut before he passes. But Black Hawk has hit a bottleneck, and that’s what worries him most.”
“How long has it been?” Lu Huai Zheng’s voice was hoarse.
Liang Qin, red-eyed, sighed: “Not long. When Old Jiang felt unwell, he went to the hospital for several checks, but they couldn’t diagnose him definitively. The doctors’ reports only mentioned pancreatitis. Later, as Old Jiang grew thinner, we suspected something was wrong and urged him not to ignore it, to get thoroughly checked. Just last month, it was confirmed—pancreatic cancer.”
That night, Lu Huai Zheng contacted pancreatic cancer specialists in China. After communicating with the conference chair, Li Hong Wen’s side directly arranged an aircraft to send Professor Jiang Yuan Liang back to China.
Meanwhile, completely unaware, Yu Hao was trying to persuade Zhao Dai Lin and Xiang Yuan to accompany her for drinks.
The three had created a small group chat with a video. Zhao Dai Lin had just finished showering and was contemplating life with a wine glass, while Xiang Yuan had bought a new SIM card and registered a new Weibo account, currently engaged in a 300-round battle with Xu Yan Shi’s fans.
“Let’s go drinking,” Yu Hao suggested.
Zhao Dai Lin gave her a lazy glance. “Aren’t you afraid your Lu Huai Zheng will whip you when he returns?”
“I’m worried I can’t even see him now.”
“Heh, women.” Zhao Dai Lin sipped her wine, asking Xiang Yuan: “Little sister Xiang, are you going?”
Xiang Yuan, facing the video: “Of course! Why not? Not only am I going, but I’m also posting it on Moments!”
The three immediately agreed. Zhao Dai Lin drove over to pick up Yu Hao and Xiang Yuan. After successfully rendezvousing, the three young women finally marched with bold, revolutionary steps toward the small bar.
Xiang Yuan had chosen the bar, saying she knew the owner, and it was safer for three girls to drink at a familiar place. She completely forgot that another shareholder was her brother. As soon as the girls entered the establishment, Xiang Jia Mian arrived right behind them.
Grabbing Xiang Yuan’s ear, he scolded her: “Where have you been these past few days? Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you? Do you have any conscience…” Turning his head, he saw Yu Hao sitting with a beautiful woman. He greeted Yu Hao, smiling respectfully: “Sister-in-law.”
Zhao Dai Lin glanced at Yu Hao. “An acquaintance?”
Yu Hao now wanted nothing more than to strangle Xiang Yuan. “Lu Huai Zheng’s friend.”
She truly wanted to see Lu Huai Zheng, but she also genuinely craved a drink. Knowing Lu Huai Zheng couldn’t return from Tusland, she wanted to take this opportunity to have a few sips and enjoy herself. After all, he wouldn’t know when he returned. Now, with Xiang Jia Mian knowing, he would tell Lu Huai Zheng, inevitably leading to another lecture.
Xiang Yuan, Xiang Yuan, can’t you stop causing trouble for your sister-in-law?
“Should we try another place?” Zhao Dai Lin suggested.
Yu Hao nodded vigorously, like a pecking chick.
Jia Mian overheard and glared fiercely at Xiang Yuan before hurriedly stopping the two. He scratched his ear, looking at Yu Hao: “No, I was wrong before. I’ve been worried about finding an opportunity to apologize to you. Tonight, it’s my treat. Drink as much as you want here.”
Seeing Yu Hao’s hesitant expression, Jia Mian patted his chest, gritted his teeth, and declared: “No matter how much! As long as you’re happy tonight! If I even frown once, I lose!”
Xiang Yuan’s heart trembled. Trouble—the iron rooster was plucking his feathers! What could this mean? The sky must be falling!
“Brother, wake up—”
Thinking he had gone crazy over girls, Xiang Yuan tugged at Jia Mian’s clothes, carefully reminding him: “These two both have partners. What are you thinking, brother… Aren’t you afraid Brother Huai Zheng will kill you?”
Xiang Jia Mian flicked Xiang Yuan’s forehead. “What are you thinking?! When have you ever seen me steal someone else’s partner?”
Hearing this, Xiang Yuan grew more nervous, wrapping herself tightly: “Then you and I are even more impossible—that’s incest.”
Xiang Jia Mian pretended to hit her, raising his foot: “Should I kick you to death?”
Xiang Yuan quickly hid behind Yu Hao, peeking out to glare at her brother.
Yu Hao coughed, about to seriously explain to Xiang Jia Mian when Zhao Dai Lin waved her hand and settled it: “Then we’ll drink here.”
Hmph.
Yu Hao disagreed. This guy would tell Lu Huai Zheng, wouldn’t he? When he returned, she would die a miserable death.
Zhao Dai Lin snorted: “What’s with this fear of your husband since getting married? So what if he knows? He hasn’t contacted you for so many days. What’s wrong with having a drink to soothe your sorrows? Just act coy with him later, and I guarantee he’ll instantly soften. Damn, I haven’t met such a silly person in a long time! I can’t just let this go.” Realizing her words might be inappropriate, she looked at Xiang Yuan and added: “Sorry, I don’t mean to belittle your brother. I just think your brother is adorable.”
Xiang Yuan nodded rapidly: “Sister Dai Lin, you don’t need to explain. My brother is a bit silly. When they were young, Brother Huai Zheng and the others all called him Big Fool.”
Zhao Dai Lin looked back at Yu Hao: “Even if you leave now, he already knows you intended to drink. If he accidentally mentions it to Lu Huai Zheng someday, you’ll still suffer. I think, since we’re here tonight, we need to find a way to subtly seal his lips—”
Before Zhao Dai Lin finished, Yu Hao had already eagerly sat down on the sofa. “Come on, let’s start.”
The three sat on the sofa, eyes gleaming, ready to begin.
Xiang Jia Mian sat opposite them, bending down to bring out several bottles of beer, and arranging them neatly on the table. Then he gestured toward the bottle openings, making an inviting motion.
Zhao Dai Lin and Yu Hao exchanged glances, looking at the row of golden Budweiser bottles on the glass table. They burst into laughter, Yu Hao’s lips curving almost imperceptibly. Zhao Dai Lin raised an eyebrow at Xiang Jia Mian: “Just this?”
Xiang Jia Mian looked back at the half-box of beer left on the floor. “This half-box is yours too.”
“Just this?”
Xiang Jia Mian leaned back on the sofa and laughed: “I was already worried you wouldn’t finish this much!”
Zhao Dai Lin couldn’t stop laughing and beckoned to Xiang Jia Mian: “Come here.”
Xiang Jia Mian leaned his ear over.
Zhao Dai Lin whispered in his ear, “Don’t you have any good liquor here?”
“If I didn’t have good liquor, why would I open a wine bar? Good liquor is strong—can you ladies handle it? Xiang Yuan definitely can’t.”
Zhao Dai Lin snapped her fingers crisply, her gaze watery as she looked at Xiang Jia Mian: “Fine, we two want the strong stuff. Give your sister Budweiser. Since we’re making a bet, we’re not wasteful people. We won’t waste a single thread of the people’s resources. If Yu Hao and I throw up tonight, we’ll pay for the drinks ourselves. Don’t think we came as a group to trick you.”
The bar was dim, with the small orange lamp on the table casting flickering shadows on Zhao Dai Lin’s face. Faintly, he caught a whiff of fresh fragrance.
Looking back at Yu Hao with her refined face, a phrase suddenly came to mind: “Like a lotus rising from the mud, unsullied; rinsed in clear ripples, not seductive.”
Xiang Jia Mian sighed. Who were these two?
Xiang Jia Mian ran to the bathroom and vomited three times, becoming dizzy and weak as he clung to the sink trying to clear his head. His phone rang, buzzing in his pocket, the screen’s light leaking through the fabric.
He pulled it out to see “Lord Lu” flashing on the screen.
Having drunk a bit too much, his mind was foggy, and he couldn’t immediately recall who “Lord Lu” was. Squinting, he thought for a moment—oh, the newspaper delivery guy downstairs.
Click. He hung up.
After washing his face, he staggered back out like a zombie.
With a “thud,” he collapsed at Yu Hao and Zhao Dai Lin’s table, sprawling like a puddle of mud. His head buried on the table, he shakily raised his hand with a thumbs up, indicating surrender. After a while, he propped his head on the table, eyes unfocused, drunkenly asking: “You two, really don’t plan to throw up?”
Honestly, all three were drunk, leaving only Xiang Yuan sitting aside quietly drinking her draft beer, occasionally glancing at them.
Yu Hao was reaching her limit.
She was completely flushed, her head foggy and heavy. Zhao Dai Lin was also a bit drunk, both hands on Yu Hao’s shoulders, earnestly saying: “Comrade Yu Hao, hang in there. If you vomit now, our half-year’s work will be wasted!!”
Yu Hao nodded vaguely, squinting at Zhao Dai Lin, fingers making a swearing gesture: “The organization can rest assured, I can endure!”
Xiang Jia Mian completely surrendered: “You two are impressive! I concede defeat.”
Yu Hao tilted her head, leaning on Zhao Dai Lin’s shoulder, pouting: “I miss my husband…”
Zhao Dai Lin turned her head, also resting on Yu Hao’s head: “Me too.”
She also desperately missed someone.
Especially in times of exhaustion like this, she wished she could go home and have someone embrace her.
Yu Hao buried her head deeper.
“Men are just bastards. Once they get what they want, they don’t cherish it.”
Surprisingly, Xiang Yuan empathized: “Yes, yes.”
“Before marriage, he was so attentive, saying he would protect me forever, protect only me. Even when busy in the military, he would still text me. After marriage, no news for over two months. What protection, my ass.”
Alcohol was a good thing, like having an outlet. She complained endlessly to Xiang Yuan about her recent grievances. She truly missed him, missed him to the point of madness.
Xiang Yuan comforted her: “My brother has a special profession. Sister-in-law, you should understand.”
Yu Hao drunkenly shook her head: “I understand, very much so, but why is it that among all the people who went with him, others have sent news back, except him? He hasn’t given me a single call. I’m really angry. I want a divorce.”
As Lu Huai Zheng entered, he heard Yu Hao’s vehement declaration, “I want a divorce,” and his face darkened.
Yu Hao had her back to him, completely unaware of his approach. Xiang Yuan faced them and immediately spotted the tall, travel-worn figure—dressed in all black, standing clean and neat at the entrance. She thought she was hallucinating, or perhaps Yu Hao’s longing was so powerful it had summoned her brother directly back from Tusland.
Just as Xiang Yuan was about to speak, Lu Huai Zheng shushed her, indicating she should remain silent.
Xiang Yuan obediently covered her mouth, not saying a word.
Yu Hao remained oblivious: “Now all I do is think about him, think about him, and think about him some more. I can’t do anything else. I feel like I’ve become a different person. Xiang Yuan, can you understand this feeling?”
Xiang Yuan covered her mouth, nodding desperately. She wanted to signal Yu Hao, but Lu Huai Zheng stood behind with folded arms, his expression threatening death if she dared to alert Yu Hao.
She was caught in the middle, torn between both sides.
Yu Hao curiously tilted her head, looking at her: “Hey, why do you keep covering your mouth? Come talk to me. You’ve known your brother for so long—did he ever like any girls before? Or had any secret girlfriends I don’t know about?”
Xiang Yuan shook her head in panic.
“Oh, why are you so afraid? Your brother isn’t here anyway. Just tell me secretly.” Yu Hao drunkenly schemed, “That way, when he returns, I’ll bring up old accounts as groundwork before divorcing him.”
Xiang Yuan’s face fell: Oh my goodness, please shut up now!