'SEE YOU MORNING' 133 Malaya's Maiden Voyage

It seemed that Malaya’s return always came with new missions. She would accompany him on the trip to Las Vegas for an industry exhibition, and they would also need to carry some professional testing and maintenance equipment. Li Haojun was somewhat puzzled. At the same time, Qin Wenjing and Kesiya were arranged to travel together to fulfill their previous mission in the northern region. The public security in this area was still good, and the two of them could look after each other and cultivate their relationship. Li Haojun was quite satisfied with this arrangement.
This trip to Las Vegas was a long-term mission, although Li Haojun himself didn’t quite understand why an industry exhibition would be long-term. The whole afternoon would be spent traveling. After lunch, he sat across from Qin Wenjing at the small square table by the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, drinking afternoon tea and waiting for the transportation arranged by Malaya to pick him up.
The summer sun was at a high angle, and only a small patch near the window could shine into the room, passing through the strands of hair by Qin Wenjing’s cheeks to illuminate her face. The shifting sunlight and the familiar face seemed to be telling the story of the passage of time.
“Did that little girl capture your heart this time?” Qin Wenjing stared at her teacup, swirled it, then looked up at Li Haojun and asked,
“Hehe,” Li Haojun smiled sheepishly, then continued,
“It’s been about half a year since we last saw each other. She’s grown up a lot. Her appearance and figure have both changed a great deal, but the most important thing is the change in her temperament. Hey, why don’t you meet her too when she comes to pick me up?”
“Sure,” Qin Wenjing answered briefly and crisply, then lowered her head and drank her tea in silence.
Li Haojun reached under the table and took Qin Wenjing’s hand, holding her fingertips in his palm to feel if her hands were cold.
“It’s a good thing Kesiya will come find you tomorrow for the business trip together, otherwise I’d be leaving you home alone again. I’m afraid you’d be lonely.” As he said this, Li Haojun tugged her hand, hoping to cheer her up,
“Mm,” Qin Wenjing glanced at Li Haojun across from her and smiled,
“Don’t worry either. I know my place in your heart is special,”
Qin Wenjing seemed to be comforting herself. Li Haojun, sitting across from her, looked at her peaceful face in the afternoon sunlight and quickly said,
“Yes.”
Seeing him so eager to declare his feelings, Qin Wenjing burst out laughing and asked playfully,
“What, you remember everything now?”
Hearing her ask this, Li Haojun thought for a moment and had to answer, “Oh, no.”
Hahaha, both of them laughed.
“Then tell me?” Li Haojun pressed on,
“Tell me how special you were in my heart back then? How did I…”
Before he could finish, the roar of jet engines from the street outside had already interrupted their conversation.
“Alright, your little sweetheart is here to pick you up. Better hurry up and go,” Qin Wenjing said loudly in a teasing tone,
“You haven’t told me yet how special you were in my heart back then!” Li Haojun grabbed Qin Wenjing with one hand and pulled the suitcase with the other, still asking unwillingly as they walked,
“I won’t tell you.” Qin Wenjing’s eyes sparkled with mischief as she acted coquettishly again.
Walking out of the courtyard, they saw a vertical takeoff and landing four-engine jet parked on the road. The front of the aircraft dipped downward while the rear wings curved upward, looking like a flattened X from the front, with rotatable jet engines at the wingtips.
From a distance, they could see it was Malaya sitting in the cockpit. Li Haojun had initially assumed she would arrive in a mature unmanned commercial aircraft, but it seemed she was piloting it herself, which made him feel a bit worried.
Qin Wenjing also walked up to the cockpit, opened the door, and greeted her in person with a few words of pleasantries. After all, they hadn’t seen each other in a long time.
Malaya had braided her hair into a French-style low bun today, suited for a pilot’s need for neatness. She wore a silver-gray form-fitting jumpsuit with black decorative stripes along the sides, which seemed to be some kind of functional garment. It hugged her youthful figure tightly, making her look even more alluring.
Li Haojun thought this seemed somewhat inappropriate, because he remembered how a few days ago, when Kesiya wore tight pants, other men had coveted her beauty, and he had felt sour about it. Malaya’s uniform was fine for flying, but if she wore it in the exhibition hall, it would be like putting herself on display. So he told the two women and went back inside to get two of Qin Wenjing’s blouses.
At this moment, Qin Wenjing was walking back from the plane and met Li Haojun head-on. She smiled slightly, said nothing, and passed by him.
Li Haojun quickly grabbed her hand, pulled her back around, and said softly,
“Be careful too.” After saying that, he gently kissed her lips,
“Aren’t you afraid your little sister will get jealous?” Qin Wenjing asked with a smile. At this moment, Li Haojun was just blocking Malaya’s line of sight, and Qin Wenjing wasn’t craning her neck to look in Malaya’s direction either,
“Let me make you happy first, then I’ll go make her happy, okay?” Li Haojun gently pinched Qin Wenjing’s cheek with his hand,
“Go on, hurry up,” Qin Wenjing said with a laugh, giving him a push. She looked into his eyes, then turned and walked back,
When the two of them lifted off in the aircraft, Qin Wenjing was at the door waving goodbye to them.
Malaya piloted the plane, climbing and turning, quickly reaching the cloud layer and leveling off,
“Cruising altitude twelve thousand feet, heading 175, speed four hundred sixty knots. Welcome aboard Malaya Airlines’ maiden voyage. Are you scared?” Malaya turned her head to ask Li Haojun in the back cabin,
“Not scared.”
“Really? Then why are you sitting in the back?”
“Counterweight. Besides, I’m afraid I’d interfere with your operation.”
“Afraid of interfering with my operation? Afraid I’ll get nervous?”
“A little. I get nervous when people watch me.”
“So you are scared after all.”
“Hahaha,” Li Haojun laughed helplessly,
Malaya engaged the autopilot, then reclined her seat and turned to face Li Haojun beside her, looking at him in silence,
This familiar scene reminded Li Haojun of their trip to New York last year. She had flown with him just like this, talking about going on adventures with words he couldn’t quite understand. In an instant, scenes of that young Malaya from before seemed to appear before his eyes again.
“Do you really like the me from back then? Is it because you lost her and can never find her again that you miss her so much in your heart?” Malaya asked softly,
Am I being too greedy? Li Haojun questioned his own heart but found no trace of ever wanting to possess Malaya. So why was he still so attached to her from back then? He pondered but couldn’t figure it out, so he answered,
“I don’t know either. Maybe it’s just nostalgia for the past.”
“Don’t you miss the past you had with my sister?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then why can’t you miss the past you had with me?”
Li Haojun’s eyes lit up as he looked into her eyes. This was still that Malaya, still so sharp, cutting straight to the depths of the soul.
Had he always liked that mischievous little girl? It was just that she had left so suddenly, and his heart hadn’t had time to say goodbye to her.