Old Mr. Zhang found his voice again: "That Mu Rongfeng talks nothing but nonsense. If he dares to come here again, I'll break his legs."
Then, turning his gaze to Sheng Yuxiao, he asked: "So I've managed to enlighten you?"
Sheng Yuxiao, now much calmer, quickly poured a cup of tea for Old Mr. Zhang: "Please don't be angry..."
Old Mr. Zhang didn't take the tea and said coldly: "What you were just thinking about, did you figure it out?"
"There are some things I still don't understand."
"Oh?"
"As you know, Little Duck and I met when we were very young. When she was in middle school, I felt lost when I thought she was becoming distant from me. Now, my reluctance to see her with Mu Bai - is it really any different from that feeling of loss back then?"
"Wait, what does Mu Bai have to do with this?" The old man frowned.
Sheng Yuxiao recounted what Mu Rongfeng had said at the birthday banquet.
This time, Old Mr. Zhang was truly furious. He snatched the teacup from Sheng Yuxiao's hand and slammed it on the table, shattering it and spilling tea everywhere.
"Mu Rongfeng! I really should break his legs! He's talking nonsense! Does he have a death wish? She's my precious granddaughter! Xi Nian's only daughter! What makes his Mu family worthy?"
"What noble family? To hell with that! Does Little Duck need their money? They should never dream of tainting Little Duck with their dirty business!"
"Little Duck deserves someone who will always be loyal to her, someone whose love for her will never waver!"
Sheng Yuxiao reached out to pick up the broken pieces of porcelain in front of Old Mr. Zhang.
Old Mr. Zhang noticed his action and took a breath, calming down somewhat.
He looked at Sheng Yuxiao's hands.
These were the hands that had pulled Little Duck out of the mud ditch.
...Always loyal to her, love that would never waver.
There was one such person.
From the very beginning, without any ulterior motives.
No connection through blood relations.
No adult attraction based on appearances.
For a long time, Old Mr. Zhang had been certain that when he became too old to move and faced death.
Sheng Yuxiao would still be by Little Duck's side.
Just like many years ago, when no one else had found Little Duck, he had firmly stood by her side...
Sheng Yuxiao poured another cup of tea for Old Mr. Zhang.
This time he accepted it.
"Have you ever been in love?" Old Mr. Zhang asked.
Sheng Yuxiao replied: "No."
Old Mr. Zhang: "Didn't you like anyone during school?"
Sheng Yuxiao: "Never found it interesting."
"..."
Old Mr. Zhang wiped his face. Still need my help, huh?
"Little Duck's grandmother and I, we knew each other since we were kids in the children's brigade. That was a childhood friendship, deep and meaningful! Later, when we grew up, she thought I had died in the war, even built a memorial stone for me, burned incense every year. She always insisted on writing my name on that yellow paper, worried I wouldn't receive it in the underworld and would be bullied for having no money."
"Later, when I came back and saw that memorial stone, I cried. I didn't even know why I was crying. She told me that usually only family members burn paper offerings, and she had always worried that even with my name written on it, I wouldn't receive her offerings because she wasn't really anyone to me."
"At that time, her family was trying to arrange matches for her. I thought I should help check these suitors out, since she had shown such loyalty to me. But I kept finding fault with everyone until she got angry and stopped talking to me. When I couldn't see her, I dreamed of her every night."
"Then I had to go on another military mission. This time, I was afraid of dying out there myself. I was afraid that if I died, I'd have nightmares every night. I kept thinking that if I died, she might marry one of those unsuitable men."
"We were young then, still immature. My head was full of thoughts like, 'If that happens, I'll die with regret, my ghost will come back to haunt her window.'"
"But then I worried that if I died, I wouldn't even have a ghost, couldn't even look at her one more time as a spirit. You understand? That's what love is."
Sheng Yuxiao listened in shock, his throat moving slightly: "Grandpa Zhang, I understand now."
Old Mr. Zhang wiped the corner of his eye: "Oh my, trying to teach you ended up making this old man cry."
Old Mr. Zhang's tone suddenly became serious: "Then there's another question I need to ask you."
"Please ask."
"Little Duck is close to you now, but what if it's just because she's grateful for everything you did back then in Li Family Village?"
Old Mr. Zhang paused, watching his expression closely, and slowly spoke the cruel words: "What if... you're the only one who has developed these feelings, while Little Duck doesn't feel the same way?"
Sheng Yuxiao clenched his fingers.
In his mind, he recalled Little Duck's words, "So someone better than him would be fine, is that it?"
He lowered his gaze, his voice tense: "Then everything stays as it is now. Little Duck will never know about my feelings."
"So you'll continue to protect her like before? Keep her in an important position in your life?"
"Yes."
"And every time you see her, you'll have to suppress your unfulfilled desires. Can you handle that?"
"What makes us human is having more self-control than animals."
Old Mr. Zhang smiled: "Is it really that easy to endure? When you truly love someone, it tears at your heart, keeps you tossing and turning at night, makes everything seem wrong."
"At least... I can still see her," Sheng Yuxiao said, his lips tight.
"Oh, such noble thinking," Old Mr. Zhang commented.
He paused before continuing: "Later, before I left, I went to find Little Duck's grandmother. I told her, 'Let's get married. That way, I'll definitely receive the paper offerings you burn for me.'"
"She agreed."
"But the next day, I was the one who regretted it. I felt like such a scoundrel. What if I really died? She would become a widow. Why should she have to become a widow for my sake when she was perfectly fine?"
"Longing and possessiveness are love, but isn't self-restraint also love?"
Old Mr. Zhang exhaled and stood up: "I need to go burn some incense for her."
Call him selfish if you will, but he was indeed satisfied with Sheng Yuxiao's answer.
Of course he favored his granddaughter.
He hoped that even if Little Duck didn't have those feelings for Sheng Yuxiao, he would remain unchanged in his devotion to her.
After Old Mr. Zhang left, Sheng Yuxiao sat alone for a long time.
If Little Duck didn't share his feelings...
How could he make himself endure it?
Perhaps he could personally help select some excellent rich young men for her, and when her gaze passed over them... that would be desensitization training, one time after another.
Until one day.
Those unattainable emotions could be properly locked away.
It's not difficult, Sheng Yuxiao.
He told himself.
Yet his fingers on the table edge betrayed him, turning white with pressure.
*
Meanwhile.
The Qiu Lan couple quickly understood the situation.
Qiu Lan asked: "So now, you're going to try to land the plane?"
Zhang Ruoshui nodded, unbuckled her seatbelt and pushed aside the headless pilot.
The Qiu Lan couple, who often traveled for research and had experienced many harsh environments, considered themselves quite seasoned, but when their eyes fell on the headless pilot, they couldn't help but feel a chill.
Little Duck was too impressive.
She could actually sit in the pilot's seat without changing expression.
"How is it, young lady?" someone peeked in, "Can you fly it?"
"I'll try," Zhang Ruoshui answered conservatively.
The person frowned and said: "Try? That's not a good answer. We can't experiment with so many lives..."
Qiu Lan interrupted: "Can you fly it?"
The person was stunned: "I can't, but..."
"Then be quiet," Qiu Lan stopped him, "If you really want to help, perhaps you could try broadcasting to see if there are any retired fighter pilots on board, though the probability is very low."
The man left with a dark face to find the broadcast control room.
After his full thirty seconds of broadcasting for help, no retired pilots were found, but the emotions in the cabin became increasingly unstable.
Because of this broadcast, the passengers in the back suddenly realized... something had happened to the pilot! The plane was out of control!
Hearing the chaos from behind.
Zhang Ruoshui turned her head briefly: "Where's the flight attendant?"
"I'm here, Miss, I'm right here." The flight attendant straightened her messy hair, raising her reddened eyes.
"Reassure the passengers. Tell them we've found a replacement pilot. We'll circle in the air for one to two hours to reduce the fuel weight to a safe landing level, and then we'll land."
"O-okay," the flight attendant responded, turning to make the announcement.
Qiu Lan grabbed her: "Wait, let someone else do it."
The flight attendant froze.
Qiu Lan said, "Your voice was trembling when you answered her. Through the microphone, your panic will only be amplified."
The flight attendant mumbled, "But... but who wouldn't be nervous?"
She looked at Qiu Lan: "You? Why don't you try? You could do it, right?"
Qiu Lan shook her head and looked toward Zhang Ruoshui's back: "Little Duck, can you step away from the control panel? You should make the announcement."
Zhang Ruoshui was surprised: "Me?"
"Your voice is young, calm, clear, and determined. Most importantly, it's pleasant to hear."
Qiu Lan paused: "It might sound strange, but human nature is such that when people hear a beautiful voice, they instinctively pause to listen carefully to what's being said."
"During wartime, female broadcasters were specially selected. Gentle voices can disperse people's will, while determined voices can inspire endless hope... That's the miraculous nature of humans."
Zhang Ruoshui lowered her eyes to look at the instrument panel.
At this moment, Xu Huishan noticed Wei Wenqing seemed anxious.
But he couldn't speak.
Wei Wenqing's hands were firmly holding down Wei Zhen, unable to let go or help communicate.
Xu Huishan quickly went over to ask: "What's wrong?"
Wei Wenqing nodded his chin and lowered his gaze.
Xu Huishan understood: "You can't hold him down alone, right?" He hurried to help press down.
Wei Wenqing immediately withdrew his force and quickly walked to Zhang Ruoshui's side, using his voice device: "Little Duck, I can fly it."
Zhang Ruoshui's eyes widened slightly in surprise, just as she used to do when she was young.
She quickly made way for Wei Wenqing and went to make the announcement in place of the flight attendant.
Meanwhile, Xu Huishan was struggling: "Oh no, oh no, I can't hold him! Qiu Lan! Help!"
His colleagues rushed over to help hold the man down, searching everywhere for rope.
These intellectuals suddenly burst out cursing: "Damn, damn, damn, why is he harder to hold down than a pig?"
The passengers who couldn't help watched this scene in amazement, finally realizing what an incredible feat it had been when that young girl and the mute man had worked together to subdue this person so quickly!
"Dear passengers, you must be wondering what's happening. Please listen..." Zhang Ruoshui's voice suddenly came through the broadcast.
Just as Qiu Lan had said, the cabin indeed fell strangely quiet.
Her voice was not only clear but also incredibly penetrating.
Even with eyes closed, one could imagine the image of a tender sprout breaking through soil, overflowing with vitality.
*
In the early hours of the morning, Sheng Yuxiao pulled the curtains tight and sat under the lamp, its dim light illuminating his face.
He rubbed the back of his phone, calculating the time, preparing to call Little Duck to ask if she had landed.
It should be daytime over there.
But his phone rang first.
"Hello? Uncle?"
"I haven't received any safety confirmation call from your elder uncle and the others..."
Sheng Yuxiao's chest tightened: "Which airline were they flying? I'll have someone check."
"I've already checked. The flight hasn't arrived at its destination airport, and I can't find any other information. I suspect something's happened, and the airline is covering it up! There's not a single news report about it..."
After hanging up, Sheng Yuxiao immediately called Wei Wenjuan.
Multiple channels of investigation would be faster!
"Which flight?" Wei Wenjuan asked.
"The one to Peru..." Sheng Yuxiao hadn't finished speaking.
Wei Wenjuan's tone changed: "To Peru? Are you sure?" He recited a flight number, his voice urgent: "Is it this one? Little Duck is on the same flight!"
Wasn't she... flying to New York?
Sheng Yuxiao's vision darkened, his heart seemingly stopping for a moment.
"I'm afraid of death"
"I'm afraid I won't become a ghost, I'm afraid I won't see her"
Old Mr. Zhang's words still echoed in his ears.