The crash site at Lingdong Airport was cordoned off, bright yellow police tape fluttering in the cold wind, much like the terrified passengers aboard the plane.
After an all-night operation involving evacuations and emergency responses, the chaos only subsided by early morning when the black box was recovered, and the crew was escorted away. Only then was the incident considered resolved.
Next came the news reports.
“Breaking news: At 1:36 AM, a plane en route from Yinghai to Chengdu made an emergency landing at Lingdong Airport after a collision between its wing and a bird. Fortunately, there were no fatalities. Twenty-eight passengers sustained minor injuries, while the rest are undergoing psychological counseling…”
The overnight commotion had disturbed Si Nuocheng’s sleep. The constant news broadcast from the street square outside made it impossible for him to rest, forcing him to get up, rubbing his temples in frustration.
Looking up, he noticed Ji Si’s bed was as neat as if it hadn’t been touched. Ji Si himself was still standing by the window, in the same posture as the night before, gazing up at the sky.
What was he doing?
Unable to hold back, Si Nuocheng asked, “Didn’t you sleep? Why were you standing there all night?”
Ji Si calmly replied, “Observing the celestial patterns.”
Si Nuocheng sighed deeply. “Say something I can actually understand.”
After a brief pause, Ji Si responded, “Stretching my neck.”
Si Nuocheng: …
Conversations that don’t mesh are best cut short. Young Master Si grabbed his phone, swung out of bed, and was about to head to the bathroom when he accidentally opened his social media. What he saw shocked him so much he nearly froze.
Countless messages from his mom, his friends, and numerous missed calls—it took him a moment to realize the cause. The picture he had posted last night, due to the reflection in the window, had captured a silhouette of Ji Si. Although the figure was blurry and upright, one detail stood out—he had long hair!
His friends and family didn’t miss this.
Yu Mingyang commented, “Boss Si, you’re too secretive! When did you get a girlfriend, and why didn’t you tell anyone? You even had me lie to Aunt Shi—have you no conscience?”
His mother chimed in, “Chengcheng, if you have a girlfriend, bring her home to meet us. Don’t hide her away, mom approves! Since you’re living together, you need to be responsible.”
His father added, “Announcing it like this—what will people think of your wife? Where’s your conscience?”
Si Nuocheng: …
The responses he had to make were unbearable to even look at; the gossip, even harder to hear. What could he say? He knew the saying well—no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn’t be able to clear his name, even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
Long hair, oh, long hair! If it wasn’t haunting him at midnight, it was now causing an uproar on social media!
How could Si Nuocheng endure such injustice? His reputation was spotless, his conduct open and honest—not just for his own sake, but for his future partner too. Now, what if he met his true love next year, only to be met with rumors of a hotel hookup and late-night social media show-offs?
He was innocent!
Unable to take it any longer, Si Nuocheng furiously typed a message: “The person staying with me last night was a man!” His anger was palpable between the lines.
Just as he was about to hit send, he hesitated.
After a moment, Si Nuocheng narrowed his eyes, a mischievous grin forming. He methodically deleted the message and replaced it with: “Thank you for your concern about my personal affairs, but I was indeed alone in my room last night. I’m curious about this long-haired ghost in the picture too.”
He attached a photo of the two beds—one messy, with pillows scattered and clearly showing a man’s silhouette, the other perfectly untouched.
Hit send.
The eerie hotel incident only got juicier as Si Nuocheng followed up with another message: “Could this be some sort of scientific ‘afterimage phenomenon’? What do you think?”
Sent again.
Within five minutes, his social media was as quiet as a chicken coop. Si Nuocheng smirked, stepping into the bathroom, and emerged feeling refreshed.
Ha! Try to compete with him!
Noticing his mood, Ji Si was unusually curious. “What happened to make you so cheerful?”
Si Nuocheng calmly replied, “A narrow escape from disaster.”
Ji Si paused, then added, “Please use words I can understand.”
Si Nuocheng paused momentarily, then replied, “As clever as I am.”
Ji Si: …
Once again, a conversation that doesn’t mesh.
…
That night, at exactly eleven o’clock, a torrential downpour began.
The lights were blazing in the Lingdong Police Station, where a business van had been parked outside for hours. Deep within the corridors, in a meeting room, key members of the staff sat, unconsciously holding their breaths as they watched the replay on the big screen. Even after several viewings, they were still shocked by the footage.
It was the video recorded by the plane’s black box.
At 1:34 AM, the plane’s intact wing suddenly broke off as it passed through a specific area of the sky. The broken part vanished completely, and immediately afterward, the clean edge of the remaining wing sparked with flames.
At 1:35 AM, the out-of-control plane hurtled toward the airport. Despite the pilot’s extensive experience, he was unable to avert the impending disaster. Under normal circumstances, the plane would have crashed into the airport, exploded, and caused massive casualties and damage.
But no one expected what happened next—a miracle.
At thirty-three seconds, a thin, mist-like airflow wrapped around the plane. By thirty-five seconds, barely visible, wing-like objects had spread from both sides, forming a translucent umbrella shape, slowing the descent.
At thirty-seven seconds, the plane finally stabilized its angle.
At fifty seconds, the plane scraped the ground, its rapid friction finally coming to a halt after several hundred meters. Perhaps it was an illusion, but a thin mist seemed to rise first, dispersing into the air.
At 1:36 AM, the cabin doors opened, and passengers scrambled out.
“Did you see it clearly this time?” someone asked.
“I saw it clearly,” another replied.
“It’s really strange,” affirmed a seasoned policewoman. “The wing disappeared out of nowhere, the plane grew wings, and it slowed down—I can’t explain this ‘unknown’ with any ‘known’ knowledge. It’s beyond my understanding.”
“There’s only one thing for sure…” She stood up, pointing at the initial scene in the footage. “There really was something in that part of the sky where the wing broke off.”
There really was something.
Something invisible to human eyes, undetectable by modern technology, lurking there. It was uncertain whether it had left or was still there.
“I can’t accept that explanation,” someone scoffed. “Although the recording shows it, many phenomena are simply beyond our current scientific understanding.”
“To change an airline’s established routes and paths based on such an undetermined situation would be the biggest joke since the founding of the nation. Where is the common sense? Where is the science? Are you mad?”
In the end, this reasoning prevailed.
“I’m not opposed to sending drones to check it out, but based on this kind of recording… I hope everyone keeps their heads on straight. There are many things science can’t explain, but let’s not attribute everything to superstition.”
“As for last night’s online videos of ‘clearing clouds to reveal stars’ and the posts about ‘ripples spreading in the sky,’ guide the public where necessary and debunk misinformation where needed. Understood?”
“Understood.”
…
Morning and afternoon, the journey stretched over hundreds of miles.
The SUV roared toward the central cities, speeding past mountains, lakes, rivers, and seas. As long as there was fuel, driving all day was no problem. After all, a new car to a man is like a romantic notion of a steed to a horse trainer.
As they neared their overnight destination, Si Nuocheng tossed his phone into Ji Si’s lap. “The password is six ones. Unlock it and book a hotel for me. Start with a five-star, the most expensive suite.”
Ji Si nodded in acknowledgment.
Si Nuocheng’s current state resembled that of a wealthy team captain—someone who loved speeding, splurging on luxury items, and spending not on what was practical, but on what was expensive, all for the sake of pride and appearances.
If Si Nuocheng suddenly said, “In five minutes, I want all the information on this woman,” or, “It’s getting cold, time to bankrupt the Wang family,” it would seem as though they were siblings from different mothers.
Ji Si tapped the phone lightly.
Hmm, a black screen?
He tapped it again, but the screen remained dark.
At that moment, Si Nuocheng, with a slight smirk as though regaining the upper hand, asked, “What’s wrong? Scared by the price of the most expensive suite? Don’t worry, just book it.”
Ji Si flashed an awkward yet polite smile. “Your phone is out of power.”
Si Nuocheng: …
As a man who has everything—or almost everything—Si Nuocheng certainly doesn’t carry a charger or a data cable when he travels. That’s what secretaries and housekeepers are for. They handle the trivial matters, so his phone never runs out of power.
The established pattern had ingrained a habit. If not for this trip, he wouldn’t have realized what he was missing.
However, for the sake of pride and dignity, Si Nuocheng held his ground. “Out of power? Do you think I would go out and buy a data cable and charger just to charge my phone?”
Ji Si shook his head. “You wouldn’t,” he replied smoothly. “You’d just buy a whole bunch of fully charged new phones because yours is out of power, right?”
Si Nuocheng: …Why are you so good at this?
“How could that be?” Si Nuocheng scoffed. “It’s just charging, no need to waste money. I wouldn’t do something so foolish.”
That evening, in the lobby of a five-star hotel, Si Nuocheng pulled out a stack of cash and pointed to a box of rental power banks at the bar. “I’ll take them all,” he said.
Ji Si: …
These incomprehensible Earthlings!
Si Nuocheng booked two rooms: he took 1704, and Ji Si took 1705. Unless absolutely necessary, Si Nuocheng no longer wanted to share a room with Ji Si after the social media fiasco from the day before.
What if someone video-called him while they were in the same room? That would be a mess he couldn’t clean up.
Both rooms were on the 17th floor, the prime location. Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, one could overlook the entire cityscape. At that moment, Si Nuocheng, fresh out of the shower, was drying his hair when a video call invitation from Yu Mingyang popped up.
Just as expected…
Good thing he was prepared.
Si Nuocheng answered the call. “What’s up so late?”
Yu Mingyang was about to speak when his expression suddenly shifted. His eyes narrowed as he stared at something behind Si Nuocheng. “Boss Si, you said you didn’t have a girlfriend. So who’s that girl behind you?”
Si Nuocheng: …
He scoffed and grabbed the nearest object—a power bank!
He knew this scenario all too well. There were always people with ulterior motives, eagerly throwing themselves at him. He was ready to see who had the audacity to covet him now.
Author’s Note:
Ji Si: I calculated that someone would bite the dust tonight, so I rushed over to check, only to be greeted by… a power bank.
Si Nuocheng: Transcending the physical!
Ji Si: …Never thought I’d be the one biting the dust. ==
