Chapter One Hundred - Terror in the Sky, Part One

As I was idly entertaining random thoughts while silently circulating my inner force, Siya seemed to have finished her work. She smiled and came over to my side. Before I even had time to react, she sat her shapely backside down on one of my thighs just outside the seat, her long legs in flesh-colored stockings angled beside my shins. I sighed inwardly and leaned back a little, lest my body give itself away and make things awkward for no reason. Did my sworn sister really still think I was the Xiao Qiang of childhood? I was sweating.

Breathing in the faint, lingering fragrance drifting from Siya’s body, I was doing my utmost to guide the true energy within me in hopes of suppressing the thing below that seemed determined to rise up, when I heard her chatting with Chu Qitong. I could only groan to myself. If this posture lasted much longer, it would be a nightmare...

"Miss Chu, has your cousin been getting along better with his girlfriend lately? I heard they even went to Australia for a trip last time. Heh, now you don’t have to blame me for seducing your cousin anymore." Siya gave Chu Qitong a sly, knowing smile, which made Chu Qitong blush.

"Siya, that’s enough. I already apologized last time, didn’t I? I know I blamed you unfairly. I was angry then, that’s all. I’ve long since been blaming myself for being too impulsive." As she spoke, she seemed to glance at me, whether on purpose or not, and her expression cooled. "It’s just that some people are so annoying they make me hate them to death."

Sweat. Why was she bringing me into it again?

I hurriedly coughed awkwardly and lowered my head. Siya naturally caught the meaning behind Chu Qitong’s words, and her smile only grew more ambiguous. "Oh, I see. Yes, my younger brother can be rather irritating. But even the most irritating people have their lovable side, hehe. Miss Chu, you’d better keep a close eye on my brother in the future. Don’t let some other woman seduce him away."

"Sis, what are you talking about?" I knew Siya had definitely misunderstood my relationship with Qitong, and I was just about to protest when I heard Chu Qitong snort coldly beside me. "Sister Siya, how could I be so lucky? Your brother is so popular with women, and he already has someone he likes. How could someone like me even get a place in line?"

Even I could hear the sourness in that remark, let alone Siya, who was also a woman.

Sure enough, Siya immediately shot me a look that said, You brat, I never would have guessed, and she chuckled. "Oh? So that’s why there’s such a strong smell of vinegar here. Miss Chu is jealous."

"Who’s jealous? I’m not!" Chu Qitong’s face flushed bright red as she tried to deny it, but under Siya’s unblinking gaze her head kept lowering and lowering. After a long while, her eyes suddenly reddened and her shoulders began to tremble faintly. In a choked voice, she said, "Yes, I am jealous. I’m just being delusional, all right? I deserve it. I brought this on myself... There are so many men in the world, and yet I had to fall for my best friend’s boyfriend. I deserve it... sob... sob..."

Siya had never expected Chu Qitong to start crying, and she immediately became flustered, hurriedly trying to console her. I couldn’t help but sigh. Wouldn’t it be even more pointless for me to stay here now? I might as well find an excuse to leave.

Thinking that, I gently put an arm around Siya’s slender waist while she was still sitting on my thigh and lifted her slightly. Then I pulled myself free from the seat and stood up, saying to Siya, who had already occupied my place, "Siya, you two keep talking. I’m going to the restroom."

Siya seemed to understand what I was doing. She didn’t say anything, only nodded at me before continuing to comfort Chu Qitong. I turned and walked toward the restroom at the back of the cabin. Looking at myself in the mirror, I felt utterly helpless.

The little witch likes me. Zhang Jing likes me. But can I really accept them? For Su Xin’s sake, the answer was no. I did not believe Su Xin could be magnanimous enough to share her boyfriend with other women. So I could only refuse them, could only watch them be hurt, and do nothing at all. Such trouble...

I deliberately stayed in the restroom a little longer so Siya could console the poor girl, who by now had turned into a tearful, disheveled little cat. Bored, I began to look around the cramped airplane lavatory. In my previous life, I had once flown on an Airbus A380. That kind of large airliner had a lavatory at least three times the size of this one, with much more luxurious equipment. It was like heaven and earth apart.

Then, just as I was about to leave, the plane suddenly gave a violent lurch. My whole body was thrown hard to the right!

I was almost slammed into the right-hand armrest, but with a sharp backward twist I managed to grab the rail on the left and steady myself. Before long, however, the plane returned to normal and leveled out again.

What on earth was going on?

I was completely baffled by the sudden tilt. Civil airliners were not fighter jets; there was no way they could perform such violent maneuvers. If the aircraft had tilted like that, it likely meant something had gone wrong with the flight.

Could the plane be in trouble?

The more I thought about it, the more likely that seemed. I rushed out of the restroom and back into the cabin.

By then Siya had already left my seat. Only Chu Qitong remained there, her little face deathly pale as she clutched the armrests tightly on both sides. Her seat belt was fastened so tightly it seemed to dig into her. Looking around the cabin, the other passengers were all pale as well, clearly badly frightened. I sat down, buckled my seat belt, and asked Chu Qitong in a low voice, "What just happened? What’s wrong with the plane?"

The moment she saw me, she quickly grabbed my arm in panic and shook her head. "I-I don’t know. Sister Siya seems to have gone to ask. Xiao Qiang, could the plane really be in trouble? It won’t be, right?"

"Don’t worry. Airplanes are the safest form of transport. They don’t have accidents that easily." I held her soft little hand and smiled. "We’ll be fine. We’ll definitely reach the capital safely, all right?"

"Xiao Qiang, I’m really scared." Chu Qitong was genuinely terrified. Her whole body was trembling faintly, and although her icy hand was warm in mine, it still felt stiff and rigid. "My sister died in a plane crash... sob... I’m really scared I’ll end up like her..."

As she spoke, she began crying again, her tear-streaked face heartbreaking to see.

So Chu Qitong’s older sister had died in a plane crash. No wonder the girl was so terrified.

I gently held her in my arms and slowly patted her back. "Don’t be afraid. With me here, you’ll be fine."

"Ah! It’s smoking! It’s smoking!! Look, the engine is smoking!!" Just as Chu Qitong was finally starting to calm down under my comfort, one of the passengers near the window suddenly screamed like a madman. The passengers seated by the windows hurriedly pulled down the shades in panic and looked outside.

At once, Chu Qitong became even more frightened, and even Fu Ming beside her went deathly pale.

"Dear passengers, the aircraft has encountered a major malfunction during this flight. One of the engines is currently out of control due to a mechanical failure. Please do not panic. The pilot has already begun adjustments and is preparing to contact base to request an emergency landing at the nearest airport. We will do everything possible to ensure the safety of all passengers. Please fasten your seat belts and, under no circumstances, move about."

The voice of the flight attendant came through the loudspeaker. Her tone was still sweet, but one could not miss the faint traces of panic beneath it.

My brow furrowed slightly.

The engine was smoking?

Didn’t that mean it was about to catch fire?

How could that be?

Normally, a medium-sized airliner like a Boeing should maintain an altitude of around ten thousand meters during flight, within the stratosphere, where the air is thin and the pressure outside the cabin is greater than inside. How could an engine be smoking?

There was only one possible reason: the plane had been flying with insufficient pressure for a long time, which proved that it had not reached its designated cruising altitude.

And even more absurd was this: they clearly knew the engine was smoking, yet they still intended to descend? If the malfunction had been caused by the engine being obstructed, producing friction and smoke, then an emergency descent at this point would only cause the engine to catch fire for real!

In an instant, I remembered a plane crash from 2004. That accident had happened because the aircraft never reached its required altitude, causing an engine malfunction and smoke. The pilot then attempted an emergency landing, which led to the engine catching fire and exploding. If this aircraft’s accident was for the same reason, then the pilot’s decision would kill everyone on board.

Without another thought, I quickly helped Fu Ming to her seat, let her sit in my place, and held the panicked Chu Qitong in my arms. Then I rushed straight toward the cockpit.

I had to save every passenger on this plane before that foolish pilot found an airport for an emergency landing!