The Mushroom Effect - ZhanYi

Chapter 17

At 7:40 AM, the neatly dressed crew members boarded the plane on time.

The airline catering staff came on board to distribute meals. Xiao Zhan stayed in the cabin for a while, waiting for Wang Yibo to approach. He patted his shoulder and said, "Keep the medicine in your pocket and keep it close to you."

"Yeah, it's securely in place" Wang Yibo nodded and looked back. In the cramped space, with all eyes on them, he felt a bit awkward. He accidentally brushed against Xiao Zhan's waist with the back of his hand and quickly said, "Don't worry about me. Go and do your thing."

Xiao Zhan smiled and ruffled his hair, then turned and walked towards the cockpit.

The catering staff of the company finished setting up the meals and handed the checklist to Li Hongmian for inspection. After Li Hongmian signed and confirmed, she picked up the intercom and said, "Flight attendants, please check the emergency equipment in your assigned positions."

As the sun gradually rose, passengers began arriving at the boarding gate, and luggage carts for checked baggage were parked under the plane, marking the start of a day's work.

After Wang Yibo finished checking his designated area, he handed the checklist to Li Hongmian and smiled, saying, "Chief Flight Attendant, emergency equipment check for Position 4 is complete."

"Okay" Li Hongmian took back the checklist and nodded.

"Chief Flight Attendant, emergency equipment check for Positions 2, 3, and 5 is complete. Everything is in order."

"Understood" Li Hongmian collected the checklists for each position and then broadcasted, "Please check the emergency evacuation signals and lights."

On the other side, the door to the cockpit was knocked, and Xiao Zhan turned around to see Yu Heng standing there. The inspector smiled and handed him a report, saying, "Captain, the aircraft is fine. Please sign here."

"Good" Xiao Zhan took the report, glanced at it, and signed his name at the bottom before returning it to the inspector. He turned around and continued checking the equipment. Song Li, who was standing nearby, reported on the equipment check results, "Weather radar turned off, landing gear handle down, wiper switch turned off. External power control switch is engaged..."

The doorbell rang, interrupting Song Li's words. Xiao Zhan turned around, and Wang Yibo's face appeared on the small screen. He was a bit puzzled, but Yu Heng opened the door, and Wang Yibo leaned in, saying, "Zhan ge, I'll take the flight record sheet."

Xiao Zhan handed him the manual and asked, "Why did you come to get it? Where's the chief flight attendant?"

"The chief flight attendant is checking and signing off on the cleaning status. She asked me to get it" Wang Yibo handed over three bottles of mineral water from his arms and said, "I'm also delivering water."

His lips curved slightly, and Xiao Zhan accepted the flight record sheet, causing him to smile as well. Song Li took the mineral water and said loudly, "Thanks, Yibo ge."

Wang Yibo shifted his gaze and saw that Song Li was holding the checklist, with some annotations on it, most likely reporting on the equipment check. He and Xiao Zhan were wearing almost identical captain uniforms, with only slight differences in their insignia, one in the captain's seat and the other in the co-pilot seat.

Wang Yibo suddenly thought, If I hadn't been split into an Omega, the person sitting next to Xiao Zhan would have been me.

He was astonished by his own thoughts and quickly stopped himself. He held onto the flight record form and stepped back, saying, "You're welcome. I'll leave now, you guys continue with the inspection."

The cabin door closed again, and Xiao Zhan's attention was focused on his work, oblivious to Wang Yibo's slight emotional change. He let Song Li continue reporting the situation.

Wang Yibo returned to the passenger area and handed the flight record form to Li Hongmian, saying, "Hong jie, here's the record form. I'll go check the aft cabin door."

"Okay." Li Hongmian glanced at Wang Yibo and said, "Wear a smile, Yibo. We're boarding in less than five minutes."

Wang Yibo was taken aback and didn't think there was anything wrong with not smiling while handing something over. Then he realized that Li Hongmian was just picking on him. He put on a smile and said, "Sorry, Hong jie, I understand. Thank you."

"Go ahead and check the aft cabin door."

"Okay." Wang Yibo turned around and walked a short distance before his face fell, and he exhaled deeply. He entered the aft cabin for inspection, and Cabin Crew Member Qiu Liang was checking the L2 cabin door. When he saw Wang Yibo approaching, he smiled and asked in a low voice, "Did you just get scolded by the chief flight attendent?"

Wang Yibo was somewhat acquainted with this male Omega cabin crew member. Qiu Liang was also one of Chen Zhihuan's students and had flown with him several times, making him Wang Yibo's senior. But Wang Yibo maintained a polite distance with everyone, and he politely replied, "No, how can you call it being scolded? It was just a reminder, I didn't do well."

"Look at you, with such a good temper, no one can bully you, huh?" Qiu Liang glanced inside and leaned in, whispering, "Let me tell you, you can't be polite to people like her. If you take a step back, the sea will be wide and the sky will be high. If you back down, she'll step all over you. The captain is your husband, and he never pays attention to her. What are you afraid of? After getting off the plane, you can go lovey-dovey with Captain Xiao and see who gets mad."

Wang Yibo couldn't help but laugh and glanced at him, saying, "You seem to have a lot of experience."

"Oh, nothing special, just a few years older than you, seen a few more scheming bitches, nothing worth mentioning." Qiu Liang waved his hand, smiling, and went back to check.

"Thank you." Wang Yibo said softly and then turned to look out the window, thinking again about the scene in the cockpit.

He felt strange about himself. If it was about saving face and not wanting others to covet Xiao Zhan, he should find Li Hongmian annoying, after all, she was genuinely untrustworthy. And Song Li seemed more like a good buddy to Xiao Zhan.

Regardless of how good their relationship was, they were both Alphas. It would take a lot of frustration for them to get together. But what was really strange was that he had no feeling towards Li Hongmian, yet he was still bothered by Song Li.

Wang Yibo knew he couldn't be considered a smart person. It was common for his brain to not be able to figure things out. But this time, the puzzle was particularly confusing, and after all these days, he was already feeling dizzy.

He raised his hand and rubbed his forehead, gathering his thoughts and immersing himself in his work. After finishing the inspection of the aft cabin, he picked up the intercom and said, "Reporting to the chief flight attendant, there are no unauthorized personnel in the aft cabin. Requesting to close the cabin door."

Li Hongmian's voice came a moment later, "Alright, you can close the door."

Wang Yibo walked to the L2 cabin door, and Qiu Liang said, "I'll do it."

Wang Yibo nodded, closed the cabin door, and then returned to the passenger cabin with Qiu Liang. "Chief Flight attendant, the L2 cabin door is closed."

Li Hongmian nodded, and Song Li, who had finished the aircraft check, returned from the cockpit. One minute later, the three of them walked out together with the two captains.

Xiao Zhan looked around and stopped in the middle of the cabin. He asked Li Hongmian, "Chief Flight attendant, is the inspection on your end complete?"

Li Hongmian smiled and nodded, walking with the other cabin crew members to the middle of the cabin.

Xiao Zhan cleared his throat and said, "According to the meteorological forecast data, the aircraft will pass through an area of turbulence about an hour after takeoff. However, the duration will be short. Everyone should be aware of the effects of turbulence. Chief Flight attendant, let's stick to the usual rules: no bell for mild turbulence, one bell for moderate, and three bells for severe."

"Alright, no problem" Li Hongmian stood at the front and smiled in response.