On the night before their departure, Bai Luo Yin went to bed early to sleep—thinking about returning to Beijing the next day, his mood was outstandingly buoyant! All the other pilots were tossing and turning in bed, feeling tense with anxiety about the following day's flight performance, which made it impossible for them to sleep. Good thing that obstacle was not riling Bai Luo Yin's mind, since he passed out the moment he dug into the blankets.
At seven o'clock in the morning, those pilots got up and conducted the last collaborative practice. So far, there were genuinely only ten pilots participating in the final flight performance. With the exception of Zhou Ling Yun, there were nine, including Bai Luo Yin and Liu Chong.
"There is no need for everyone to be nervous today. If there are any mistakes, I'll come find you later!"
All the soldiers' faces collapsed. Commander… no, Master Zhou, is this how you comfort people?
Once nine o'clock peacefully rolled in, ten fighter jets steadily rose into the sky and started to advance toward Beijing in a uniform velocity.[1] Perhaps God was empathizing with those pilots for their arduous training regime, since the sky of Beijing was remarkably clear and boundless, making the flying conditions just perfect!
Gu Hai sat at the outer stage of the arena and looked up at the sky, feeling extremely anxious, with absolutely no excessive expectation. While others hoped to see a brilliant performance, he only hoped for Bai Luo Yin to safely complete the mission. It did not matter if he was a bit inferior to the others or made a mistake, as long as he could reach the ground, it was more than enough to assuage the tension in Gu Hai's mind.
"Hey, who are you? How come I've never seen you before," an air force officer asked Gu Hai.
Gu Hai responded with indifference. "I'm not in the military, just a family member of one of the pilots."
"No wonder," The officer ridiculed. "I can see that you're more nervous than they are."
No kidding!!Gu Hai mentally roared, throw your wife into the sky for a try and see how it feels!!
Bai Han Qi also sat at the outer stage, viewing the performance when he was asked the same question, and gave the other person the same exact answer. The venue there did not permit in spectators outside of the military, therefore, Bai Han Qi's solo entry only occurred due to Gu Hai's strenuous efforts. That was for nothing else but to let him see how much his son was worthy of being his pride.
After each finger was abused by no one else but himself, five fighter jets finally flew into Gu Hai's line of sight.
Obviously, all five fighter jets were identical in every way possible, and were in five parallel positions. However, Gu Hai could easily make out which was controlled by Bai Luo Yin with just one glance.
Soon, the five fighter jets accelerated up and pulled out horizontally into five different directions,with each of the tails dragging along a plume of colorful smoke—the bright and gorgeous smoke was similar to an enormous Chinese Redbud[2] in full blossom, and those pilots were using the blue sky as a drawing board, expressing the comforting freedom of the sky to their heart's content.
"Wow, wow, wowwww…"
A burst of cheers flooded Gu Hai's ears while both his hands felt as though they were being pressed down by a ton of huge boulder, making it impossible for him to lift them, even the slightest.
In a matter of just twenty minutes, three fighter jets ascended, flipped over and dispersed in separate ways. Then, four soared high into a blooming pattern, before nine finally moved up and down into a group and flared out, hauling polychromatic smoke behind them… more than a dozen sets of highly difficult performances were staged in the sky one after another; with the jets all closely linked together,the degree of brilliance was astonishing to see—so much so that it left no room for anyone to take a breath before the next group of performances were welcomed in.
After the collaborative performances ended, the individual performances began.
Zhou Ling Yun took the lead in piloting his fighter jet in this 'battle'. Following the conductor's order, the fighter jet he controlled flew out magnificently, like an arrow being released from its bow before the nose was suddenly lifted up in an almost vertical angle as it ascended. The speed of the lift was unimaginable. Even the senior officials at the viewing stage were stunned beyond belief as their eyes widened. No one had ever dared to attempt that kind of performance before.
As Zhou Ling Yun's fighter jet gradually faded out of sight, Bai Luo Yin's fighter jet followed closely behind.
Not only Gu Hai was sweating profusely for Bai Luo Yin, but even Gu Wei Ting, who was sitting at the center of the viewing stage.
After ascending, Bai Luo Yin initiated his solo dance in the air—drawing up a spiral at the maximum allowable slope, then executing several semi-somersault invert stunts, rising vertically and horizontally at top speed; each new and high level maneuver being replaced by another. From the viewing stage, loud and ebullient cheers echoed from time to time. It was truly magnificent!
However, Gu Hai silently commented to himself, you're almost there, you're almost there, can you not turn another somersault? Don't suddenly dive down, you're scaring me, you know?The whole performance was not only a challenge for Bai Luo Yin's body's endurability, but it was also a challenge for Gu Hai's psychological endurance.
Just as everyone was shouting with great satisfaction and enjoying it, Bai Luo Yin's fighter jet started to fall freely all of a sudden. It was like an iron leaf fluttering in the wind, dropping precipitously in front of everyone's startled eyes.
At that moment Gu Hai's heart was frozen cold, while all his blood vessels nearly ruptured.
Just when the fighter jet was on the verge of striking the ground, it suddenly rose once again. In mere seconds, it turned continuously, 360 degrees, 720 degrees, 850 degrees…
Those sets of death-defying maneuvers were more than enough to make Gu Hai go insane. Then, having to hear all the applauses and screams resonate beside him, Gu Hai wished he could tear those people's cawing mouths off. You bastards only know how to enjoy the bustling scene!! You all actually have the nerve to laugh?! With those kinds of maneuvers, my Yin Zi's body must be suffering from complete torture!!
But if everyone's brows were locked as tight as Gu Hai's were right now— and he had caught such a sight— he would be raging furiously. My wife's performance was brilliant, flawless, why the hell are you all wearing that expression?!
Although his heart was aching, he couldn't help but to be proud.
He wished he could declare to everyone in the entire world that, the person flying above the sky is mine.
The moment Bai Han Qi detected the 'Bai's clan' aura encircling the fighter jet, he immediately threw Gu Hai's warnings to the back of his mind. Then he grabbed the hands of the soldiers around him and excitedly repeated without end:
"Quickly look, that's my son!"
For a son who returned home less than ten times in a year, to display the fruit of his hard work in such an awe-inspiring manner, all the sorrow in Bai Han Qi's heart was completely destroyed in that moment of pride.
Even the Military Commission Committee member at the viewing stage took notice. He pointed at the fighter jet that was still in the sky and turned to the Senior Official of the Air Force. "What is the name of that pilot?"
The Senior Official immediately replied, "Bai Luo Yin."
The person beside him added, "That is Lao Gu's stepson."
Soon after, more than a dozen eyes swept toward Gu Wei Ting. Gu Wei Ting laughed heartily at once. "Not my stepson, he's my real son."
Finally, Zhou Ling Yun led the nine fighter jets behind him to form a super intensive triangular formation— drawing the multi-colored smoke from behind their tails, and then sweeping over the crowd, gave the performance an absolutely perfect ending.
Soon, that group of pilots returned to their unit.
After a short congratulatory event, Bai Luo Yin and his comrade-in-arms went to have dinner together at a restaurant.
He did not know at all that Gu Hai had seen his performance, or that Bai Han Qi had also seen it. He simply regarded that as any other ordinary task, and once the task was completed, he could wholeheartedly loosen up.
"Battalion Commander, I heard the Senior Official of the Air Force praised you by name," a young officer said.
Bai Luo Yin absent-mindedly replied, "Really?"
From the side, Liu Chong burst with excitement, "You've received another merit!!"
Hearing that, Bai Luo Yin merely exposed a lazy smile and continued eating the food in his bowl. His heart and mind were simply not there. Now that the mission had been accomplished with satisfaction, he could take a short break. Since Gu Hai's company has already been listed, has he withdrawn from management duties and smoothly become a Chairman?
Then, do I have to give him a call and tell him that I have already returned?
A few people next to him were chatting happily when they suddenly heard a loud bang. They turned around for a look only to see that Bai Luo Yin's bowl had already fallen and the person himself was lying over the dinner table, unconscious.
"What's going on?"
The comrades-in-arm panicked and quickly got up with the intention of carrying Bai Luo Yin to the infirmary.
"Don't touch him!"
Suddenly, a strange voice interrupted those people's movements.
Gu Hai came over, looked at those people and hushed them before making his way to Bai Luo Yin. Hegently took him in his arms and whispered, "He just fell asleep."
After a few nervous faces heard that sentence, their expressions instantly became lifeless.
Gu Hai stooped down, placed both of Bai Luo Yin's arms on his shoulders, then hooked his arms under his legs and easily lifted Bai Luo Yin onto his back. In front of everyone's surprised gazed, he piggybacked Bai Luo Yin out of the restaurant.
"That…" one of the officers spoke. "He won’t plot anything against our Battalion Commander, right?"
Liu Chong shot him a side glance. "That is our Commander's family member."
"Ah… just take it as if I didn't say anything," said the officer as he lowered his head and continued eating.
Another officer couldn't help but to sigh. "Falling asleep while eating… that level of skill is remarkable!"
A burst of laughter resounded soon after.
Both of Bai Luo Yin's arms were hanging over Gu Hai's shoulder, and the pair of chopsticks that were being firmly held in his hand kept swaying in front of Gu Hai's eyes. Afraid that they would poke him in the eyes, Gu Hai freed one hand and reached out to grab the chopsticks, but in the end, he actually couldn't get a hold of them.
How hungry are you, huh?
The chopsticks in Bai Luo Yin's hand moved back and forth in the air for a moment before they were brought to his mouth.
Gu Hai laughed so hard his insides hurt. "Look a bit. Don't poke your throat or eyes."
Just then, Bai Luo Yin woke up—his mouth was near the muscles at the back of Gu Hai's neck; it was strong yet delicate and completely flexible, and looked extremely delicious. Bai Luo Yin sucked on his lips and firmly bit down.
With that secured bite, the blue veins on Gu Hai's forehead rose.
"Lightly." That word was squeezed out from the gap between his teeth.
After reluctantly loosening his mouth, Bai Luo Yin rest his cheek on that big teeth mark and lazily asked, "Where are we going?"
"Home."
A faint smile drew at the corners of Bai Luo Yin's mouth. Home.
"Just now, I dreamt that we returned to our school days, and at that house from before, you boiled an egg for me to eat… and then I… ¥%¥… &…"
Translator's Note:
[1] uniform velocity
The first law of motion states – An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Velocity is the change in the speed of a moving object with respect to time. A change in the speed of a moving object occurs when there is either acceleration or deceleration.
A body is said to be moving at uniform velocity when it is moving in a straight line, without any acceleration, which means that neither the speed nor the direction of the object is changing. (“Uniform” meaning that the speed and/or the direction has not changed)
A body is said to be moving at a constant velocity when the speed of the object has not changed even though the direction may have changed. In other words, constant velocity is a motion with zero acceleration. (“Constant” meaning steady speed)
Some of the maneuvers they might have done in the collaborative flight performances:
[2] cercis chinensis 'avondale' (Chinese Redbud) – is an upright, deciduous shrub or small tree with profuse, densely-clustered, tiny, rose-to-magenta flowers that arise before the foliage in spring. The cheerful blossoms literally cover the tree in a spectacular floral display. They last for several weeks before being joined by large, heart-shaped, glossy green leaves, tinted red-purple when they unfurl. As summer turns to fall, the foliage turns yellow. This graceful tree is regarded as one of the most profuse flowering of all Redbuds.
Due to all the maneuvers involved in this chapter, read about how load factor work in relation to those maneuvers. (if you want)