PS: The last two chapters weren't tight enough; after re-checking my sources I've rewritten them. If you've already read them, please take another look—thanks!~
He remembered Lu Xun's words: "You can't stop someone from stepping into a different feeling, but neither can you stop him from still loving the one he loved before."
That was exactly Jiang Cheng's state at this moment.
No matter how many women stood beside him, right now his love for Zhou Ying was utterly, undeniably real.
"Think of something—get that gliding plane to stop!"
Hearing Jiang Cheng's question, everyone answered by instinct.
"The aircraft gliding on the runway can't be stopped; its ground speed is already 240 km/h. Even full braking won't help. Following the B320's approach path, the two planes are heading straight at each other—collision is a real possibility..."
Just as Jiang Cheng's heart burned with panic, a crisp "ding!" from the system rang in his mind.
"Host detected under extreme stress; system has calculated a possible solution."
The sound was a ray of light in darkness, loosening the iron band around Jiang Cheng's chest.
Although the system had offered a clue,
until the crisis was truly over his mind was drowning in dread for Zhou Ying's safety.
Inside the emergency command centre the air was stretched as tight as a bow-string.
After frantic adjustments and calls, the tower finally linked to the B320 Zhou Ying was aboard.
Yet even with the connection, time had already slipped too far.
If the two aircraft had been warned even a minute earlier, disaster might have been averted.
But by the moment they spotted each other, they were terrifyingly close.
Worse, the B500 still racing along the runway remained out of contact.
Its transponder gave no reply.
When Zhou Ying's B320 saw another aircraft about to take off ahead, panic flared.
The plane had already touched down;
to climb again and go around would demand instant acceleration.
But directly ahead another aircraft was accelerating for take-off.
A go-around would require a rapid burst of speed.
There was far too little time to calculate the precise instant the two jets could safely pass.
Freshly landed, the plane would roll 1,500–2,500 metres before stopping.
It would inevitably cross the B500's oblique runway.
With luck they might scrape past each other.
But the slightest error—one tiny clip—would doom not just the fuselage,
every soul on both aircraft would almost certainly perish.
The co-pilot's voice cracked: "Captain—runway incursion! A plane's crossing ahead, preparing for take-off!"
The captain, just beginning to relax, froze at the tower's words, eyes wide in disbelief.
"How? How did this happen?"
"No idea—we never got the call. We only heard after touchdown. What do we do..."
Seeing the co-pilot trembling so hard he could barely grip the controls,
the B320 captain drew a shaky, resolute breath.
Forcing calm, he announced: "Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts. We have an emergency—remain calm!"
The moment the announcement ended the cabin erupted in screams.
Passengers clung to armrests, terror in their eyes.
Some turned paper-white, bodies quivering uncontrollably.
"What's going on?"
"We've landed—what's wrong? Are we in danger?"
"Am I going to die? Is this a hijack?"
"I want my mum..."
Fear swept through the cabin in waves.
Some passengers frantically tapped out messages on their phones.
A few young men opened secret folders and, teeth clenched, deleted everything.
Flight Attendants edged along the aisle, forcing faint smiles as they tried to soothe the panic.
Yet their own voices trembled, rippling the charged air.
Zhou Ying, who moments earlier had been gazing happily out the window,
felt her heart lurch as if seized by an icy hand.
She snatched her phone; during the landing
its Wi-Fi had inexplicably cut out.
The instant it reconnected, dozens of messages from Jiang Cheng flooded in.
Jiang Cheng: "Quick—tell your captain to go around—another aircraft on the runway."
Jiang Cheng: "Quick—tell your captain to go around—another aircraft on the runway."
Jiang Cheng: "Quick—tell your captain to go around—another aircraft on the runway."
...The repeated lines exploded in her mind.
Those few offline minutes had been enough for him to send this torrent.
She could feel his frantic worry.
Reading his words while passengers screamed, she grasped the full horror.
In that instant the shadow of death closed over her.
Am I going to die today?
The thought sent every cell in her body shaking, nerves coiling in dread.
Yet beneath the terror, instinct moved her thumbs.
Zhou Ying: "Jiang Cheng, I love you. I'm afraid I won't see you again. These months with you have been the happiest of my short life. I hope you'll be happy. I don't have the courage to send this to my mother—if I'm gone, please take care of her for me."