Chapter 25

Bai Yan pulled open the window latch, but there was no one outside.

She frowned slightly and closed the window again.

Meng Hechuan had something to do today, so Bai Yan came alone.

The office was very free when she was alone. She looked at the list, but her mind was filled with thoughts of how to save money in the future, and she kept writing “Cherish life, stay away from Meng Hechuan” on her pen.

Once her thoughts drifted away, it was difficult to focus again.

Bai Yan simply threw down her pen, got up and took the zither that Meng Hechuan had inexplicably brought over.

After all, she had practiced for over ten years, and her muscles had formed a memory.

As soon as she set up the instrument, a series of notes flowed from her fingertips.

Since there was no one around, she didn’t have to worry about anything, and she sang a song called “Sheng Sheng Man” along with the notes.

The melody was graceful, the tone soft and sweet.

It was like the rain in March, drizzling softly, falling on the heart.

Her singing voice was slightly loud, causing Bai Yan to miss the two knocks on the door.

Soon, the round handle turned, and the wooden door was pushed open a crack.

A corner of a khaki imported windbreaker was blown into the gap, and a hand rested on the doorknob.

The veins were distinct, full of strength.

Because the door was open, Bai Yan’s singing voice couldn’t be hidden, it drifted out.

The soldiers at the end of the corridor, who were eager to catch a glimpse of the young Meng, couldn’t hold back and peeked out. “Are those girls from the art troupe playing music?”

“What are you thinking! Didn’t they say that only Little Meng was in the data room?”

“Shh, who is that person standing at the door? Strangers can’t enter the brigade!”

“That seems to be Chief Engineer Tan from the Shouhang Company. He has a pass to enter and exit because the brigade has been in contact with their company. Hey, why did he go in? Isn’t Little Meng still inside?!”

Tan He’an’s uninvited entry caused Bai Yan’s singing to stop abruptly.

“Chief Engineer Tan?” She hurriedly got up and looked at the door that Tan He’an had closed with a flick of his hand. “You… how did you get here?”

Tan He’an patted the dust off his windbreaker, which he had brushed against the door.

He nodded and smiled at Bai Yan, with one hand behind his back, not directly answering her question. “Teacher Wei said you’ve been taken away by Chief Meng recently.”

Bai Yan thought his words were strange, but who could offend the main character?

She also smiled. “Not really, Chief Meng has work for me.”

He casually said ‘oh’ and changed the subject. “I heard you singing in Suzhou dialect just now? Can you speak Suzhou dialect?”

“My hometown is in Jinling, so I can speak some.”

“You look quite young, how old are you?”

“Twenty…”

“That’s six years younger than Chief Meng, and eight years younger than me.”

Seeing Tan He’an approaching, Bai Yan put down the zither and walked to the window, pushing it open.

One man and one woman, not familiar, in a closed room, Bai Yan felt a little uneasy.

Tan He’an’s eyes flickered, seeing through it but not saying anything.

But he still stopped, standing in front of the desk.

His eyes swept across, just catching sight of the paper that Bai Yan hadn’t had time to put away.

The black ink of the steel pen clearly wrote a big word.

He raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Why can cherishing life mean staying away from Chief Meng?”

Bai Yan reached out to grab the paper, crumpling it into a ball.

She looked at him with a sheepish expression. “Chief Engineer Tan, are you here to see Chief Meng?”

“No.” Tan He’an took out the hand that had been behind his back. “I’m here to see you.”

“Our first meeting was a bit rushed, and there were misunderstandings, so I’ve been wanting to find a chance to see you again. This is a gift to apologize.”

He placed a square box on the table. Bai Yan glanced at it, slightly surprised. “A Walkman?”

Tan He’an had a feeling of giving a good thing to a kindred spirit. “I was right, Miss Bai Yan really recognizes this thing.”

He changed his address for Bai Yan from the first meeting’s ‘Comrade Bai’ to ‘Miss Bai Yan’.

This Walkman was already obsolete in the future, but in the 1980s, it was a rare imported item.

Considering the time, it should have just been developed, and there were probably only a few in China.

It was too expensive, she couldn’t accept it.

Bai Yan was about to refuse when the closed door of the data room was knocked on twice.

“Come in.”

The handle turned, and the door was pushed open, revealing Meng Hechuan.

“Chief Meng!” Bai Yan looked at him as if she had seen a savior, as he entered with a stack of papers in his arms. “You’re here!”

Bai Yan followed closely behind Meng Hechuan, but Meng Hechuan was wary of her, his eyes scanning back and forth between her and Tan He’an.

Tan He’an saw that he wasn’t surprised by his presence, guessing that the soldiers had gone to report.

He politely extended his hand, introducing himself. “Chief Meng, I’m sorry to interrupt, I came here specifically to see Miss Bai Yan.”

Meng Hechuan shook his hand and placed the materials on the table.

He stood by the window, casually closing it before asking, “Is that so? Then what business does Chief Engineer Tan have with someone I know?”

“Giving a gift.” Tan He’an didn’t hide it, tapping the table with his hand. “Since Comrade Bai Yan is a translator, I think she should need to listen to some English tapes. A friend of mine gave me this thing, saying it’s a new product from Japan, you can put tapes in it and listen to them, a Walkman.”

Bai Yan felt that she didn’t know Tan He’an at all, and there was no reason to accept a gift, so she directly refused. “Chief Engineer Tan, this is too expensive, I can’t accept it.”

“It’s for use, this thing is useless to me, but it’s beneficial to you, don’t feel burdened.”

Facing such a slippery old hand, Bai Yan was at a loss, instinctively looking to Meng Hechuan for help.

Tan He’an chuckled, as if unintentionally, as if deliberately, his tone teasing. “Strictly speaking, Miss Bai Yan doesn’t belong to the brigade, and she’s not Chief Meng’s soldier or subordinate, right?”

Meng Hechuan nodded with a smile.

Tan He’an pushed the Walkman box with two fingers. “Since that’s the case, Miss Bai Yan, you’re also twenty years old, you can decide whether to accept the gift or not, you don’t need Chief Meng’s permission.”

Tan He’an took the initiative to open the box, took out the Walkman, and then took out a tape from the box and put it in.

The first generation Walkman had wired, headband-style headphones.

“Miss Bai Yan, why don’t you try it first?”

Tan He’an walked towards Bai Yan, suddenly reaching out, holding the headphones and putting them on her head.

The warmth of the man’s palm was on both sides of her earlobes, but what she heard was a melodious English song.

The volume wasn’t adjusted properly, it was at the highest volume.

Unexpectedly, it made Bai Yan’s eardrums hurt.

“Did I scare you?” Tan He’an hurriedly took the headphones off her head, but he also messed up her tied hair.

Bai Yan rubbed her earlobes with both hands, forcing a smile. “It’s okay.”

“Chief Meng, do you want to try it?” Tan He’an held the headphones and asked Meng Hechuan again.

Meng Hechuan’s bent fingers were rubbing the watch on his wrist. Hearing this, he smiled warmly. “Okay.”

He turned his head and looked at Bai Yan. “Bai Yan, get it for me and let me try it.”

Bai Yan did as she was told.

When she put the headphones on his head, the man’s short hair stubble brushed against the back of her hand.

It was rough.

Meng Hechuan smiled and listened for a while, then took off the headphones and casually waved them. “It’s a new thing, just a bit harsh, see if you get used to using it, if you don’t, there’s another tape player inside, you can borrow it.”

This was said to Bai Yan.

Bai Yan was still sensible and could tell that there was something behind Meng Hechuan’s words.

She honestly nodded. “Chief Engineer Tan, thank you for your kindness, it’s just that this thing is too expensive, and I’m not used to using it, so don’t waste it.”

Tan He’an didn’t show any embarrassment at being rejected. He just smiled and put away the Walkman.

After chatting for a few more words, Tan He’an left, claiming that Teacher Wei was waiting for him, taking the Walkman with him.

Meng Hechuan sat back down on the stool, his hand casually flipping through the stack of materials he had brought.

These days, he often brought stacks of materials over, all documents that needed translation.

A few days ago, Bai Yan dared to complain in front of him, saying that she wasn’t a donkey in a production team.

Even Chief Lu agreed that she could rest for a few days, why was Chief Meng chasing after her to increase her workload?

At that time, Meng Hechuan did feel a little sorry for her.

After all, he himself understood that many document translations weren’t as simple as they seemed.

In the past, the Aerospace Brigade didn’t have a single translator.

The state allocated funds, and the Chief also hinted that the entire brigade should do its best to cooperate with the translators’ needs.

It’s just that most of those translators hadn’t received systematic training, and aircraft manufacturing was an extremely complex project, with a huge workload for translation.

From time to time, they also had to look up dictionaries to understand those non-English content.

It was quite difficult.

Several translators couldn’t handle the pressure and workload, they left after a few days.

Bai Yan, who was a self-taught wildcat, had entered the brigade by chance, and Meng Hechuan didn’t have high hopes for her at first.

But unexpectedly, after a few days, although Bai Yan didn’t suffer losses verbally, complaining and crying, the work was done beautifully.

Meng Hechuan had just changed his opinion of her, and in a blink of an eye, he caught her meeting Tan He’an privately.

Bai Yan pretended not to see his suspicion, and for once took the initiative to step forward, wanting to take the materials from him. “Chief Meng, are these the documents to be translated today…”

But Meng Hechuan’s hand directly pressed down on the paper, preventing Bai Yan from taking the materials.

Bai Yan awkwardly held her hand suspended in the air.

“You and Tan He’an…”

His probing eyes scanned Bai Yan from head to toe. Meng Hechuan had doubts in his heart, but he couldn’t decide how to ask.

This Tan He’an, he couldn’t see through him.

From his return to China as an overseas Chinese, to his founding of the Shouhang Company, he had done very well in just two years.

He also provided the Aerospace Brigade with a lot of research funds as a private entrepreneur, and shared some foreign technologies.

That’s why he had the privilege of entering and exiting the brigade.

People outside were praising the Tan family as a model for overseas Chinese, never forgetting their roots.

Even Lu Zhenhua was very polite to him, although they were separated by a generation, Lu Zhenhua considered him a bosom friend.

But the one who should have the closest connection with him, Chief Meng, was actually very cold towards him.

The two of them rarely even discussed professional topics about aircraft manufacturing.

And every time they met, the atmosphere around them would become colder by a few degrees.

In the end, everyone attributed it to the ‘King does not see King’ law.

From ancient times to the present, there has always been ‘If there is Yu, there is no need for Liang’.

There was Meng Hechuan, and then there was Tan He’an, naturally, the two of them would not see eye to eye.

Meng Hechuan pondered his words, and when he spoke again, his speech was smoother. “Besides talking about Walkmans, did you and Tan He’an talk about anything else?”

“Nothing else, and we were talking with the window open.”

Bai Yan thought that since Meng Hechuan was the future villain, of course, he would be wary of the protagonist of the righteous side.

She didn’t want to be involved in such a reckless dispute, so she pulled down her face and took the initiative to thank him. “Chief Meng, thank you.”

This chapter is not over yet, please continue reading for more exciting content!

Meng Hechuan was distracted by her words and asked back. “Thank me?”

“I want to thank you, otherwise I wouldn’t know how to refuse Chief Engineer Tan’s gift. He suddenly came to visit, I was alone in the office, I couldn’t refuse, luckily you came and helped me refuse Chief Engineer Tan’s kindness.”

Bai Yan guessed correctly, after hearing her say this, Meng Da Gongzi’s face improved a lot.

He gently tapped the materials he was pressing down on. “You don’t want to accept his things?”

“I don’t know him well, there’s no reason to accept Chief Engineer Tan’s things.”

The corners of Meng Hechuan’s lips curled up. “Bai Yan.” He smiled teasingly. “You don’t need to deliberately emphasize that you don’t know him well.”

Bai Yan was smiling falsely, but she was thinking to herself, if I didn’t take the initiative to say this, would you, Meng Da Gongzi, let me off easily?

In a moment, Meng Hechuan made a decision.

He decided to believe Bai Yan.

After all, when he entered, the window in the office was open.

If they were going to say anything secret, opening the window wouldn’t be a wise choice.

Meng Hechuan moved his hand away from the materials, his warning tone was unusually serious. “Bai Yan, I can’t see through this Tan He’an, he’s an overseas Chinese, his identity is a bit awkward, if you don’t have any other intentions, then have less contact with him.”

Bai Yan nodded repeatedly.

She definitely wouldn’t have any other intentions.

As for whether you, Chief Meng, would have other thoughts in the future, it’s none of her business.

…

Since things had been cleared up, there was no need to dwell on it.

Meng Hechuan handed her the materials he had brought. “These materials are from the SU Union, some of the information inside may be able to explain the problems the team is currently facing with the research of spare parts.”

Bai Yan glanced at it. “This doesn’t seem to be English?”

“Foreign countries are very wary of our independent research of domestic aircraft, although the SU Union has a technical mutual assistance agreement with us, but they have also used some tactics in private, the materials they provide often have other non-English languages interspersed.”

“I’ve been to the SU Union for training and have been exposed to it, I have a Russian dictionary here, can I help you find the Russian words?”

Bai Yan whispered a thank you and focused on her work.

Meng Hechuan took a pen and found the translations for the Russian words Bai Yan circled in the dictionary, writing the Chinese next to them.

Bai Yan then reorganized the meaning of the entire paragraph in the materials based on the meaning of those words, writing it down on white paper.

The workload was really not small.

Plus, all the translation work had to be done by hand, requiring a high level of concentration.

From the moment they started working, neither of them spoke another word.

The materials silently passed between their hands. There was no interruption, the cooperation was very tacit.

It was hard to imagine that they were still suspicious of each other, each with their own thoughts, just a moment ago.

In the vast data room, there was only the sound of the pen tip scratching across the white paper.