144 The Plane’s Damaged (2/2)
”I'll go back and consider. I'll give you a call after I decide!” Chen Fan gave a perfunctory reply before pressing his cap down and walking out.
”Damn it!” Chen Fan drove the old car for a long distance before taking off his cap and throwing it aside. ”If I had known there were so many rich people here, I would have just deposited everything in one go.” Nevertheless, Chen Fan couldn't be blamed for being so cautious. An amount close to 500 million USD was still considered a huge sum even to the Swiss bank, which was used to seeing large amounts of assets. No matter how the Swiss bank boasted, anyone with this sum of money would still be cautious.
...….
Chen Fan got onto the ”electric eel ship” and headed to Miami to meet Wu Ruoyu, who was waiting there. Inside an office on the 27th floor of the Swiss bank's Road Town Branch, the bank president, Calder, keyed in an extremely complex password three times before successfully retrieving the account opening information of a company named ”Cruiser”.
The information was very simple. The company only had one employee including the director who was Chen Xiaohu, and there was a string of bank account number of the offshore company bound to him.
”President, should we adjust his account information to that of a Grade A client?” The employee who had passed Chen Fan the VIP card was standing in front of Calder's desk. After shifting his eyes away from the screen, he said in English, ”This young man must have an extremely strong power or enterprise backing him up. From what I know, although there are many rich men in that country, few are willing to deposit so much money in a bank. They're into industrial investments, and not too interested in international finance.”
”Um...I heard from the guards that he deposited more than once. He probably felt that it was too troublesome and eventually got the guards over to help.” Calder closed the data column and nodded, but shook his head again. ”Put him as B+ for now. Change him to Grade A if he has other huge deposits in the future.”
...….
Four hours later in Miami, local time 530 p.m.
”I've waited more than an hour for you, why are you so late?” Sitting in a Chinese restaurant, Wu Ruoyu pouted. ”I've already bought the air ticket for you, 8 p.m. flight.”
”I lost my way!” Chen Fan touched his hair, which was still a little wet. ”How much is the ticket, I'll pay you.”
”1,400 USD!” Wu Ruoyu wouldn't stand on ceremony with him.
After counting and passing 14 US bills to her, Chen Fan took the luggage beside Wu Ruoyu and said, ”Let's go, we have to reach the airport two hours in advance! It's meaningless to stay here in this unfamiliar place, anyway.”
If not for the huge pile of US dollars backing him up mentally, Chen Fan thought that he would probably shed tears from being homesick, not being able to speak English in the States. As such, he suddenly felt warm when he saw his neighbor Wu Ruoyu.
”Yeah, it's more comfy back at home, after all!” Wu Ruoyu sat up and followed Chen Fan outside.
Miami International Airport wasn't far from the restaurant, and the two reached the departure hall by cab in 20 minutes. Sitting on the chairs, Wu Ruoyu read a fashion magazine with great interest while Chen Fan closed his eyes as he controlled the electric eel to rush toward Zhongyun in advance.
After around 40 minutes, Wu Ruoyu gently pushed Chen Fan's arm, signaling to him that it was time to change the boarding pass.
It was already after 8 p.m. when the plane soared into the clouds. Wu Ruoyu wanted to chat with Chen Fan, but saw that he was closing his eyes, looking unperturbed and completely treating her as if she were invisible. Feeling annoyed, she simply turned her head away and stared boringly at the dark sky outside the window.
The electric eel was traveling in a completely opposite direction as the plane; one was traveling in the Western Hemisphere and the other was traveling in the Eastern Hemisphere, joining at Zhongyun after making a perfect arc of the earth.
Chen Fan was immersed in the electric eel when the Boeing 747 suddenly shook violently, forcing him to pull his thoughts back.
”What happened?” Chen Fan immediately opened his eyes and said to Wu Ruoyu beside him.
”Maybe it was turbulence?” Wu Ruoyu was also perplexed.
As her voice trailed off, the plane started shaking again.
”Dear passengers, there is a glitch in the engine on the left side of the plane. We will be landing at Phoenix Airport in the state of Arizona in 20 minutes. Please fasten your seatbelts and do not panic Our plane has a total of four engines. We are still able to land safely when one breaks down. Please do not panic.”
”What did it say?” It was Chen Fan's turn to be perplexed. Although the plane was vibrating at a low frequency, it was kept at a fixed frequency.
”Dear passengers…” The announcement this time was in Mandarin. After listening to it carefully, Chen Fan's heart almost popped out.
Oh my goodness, why is it like in the movies? First they would say it was a small problem and there was no need to worry. After that it would be ”Please have faith in our pilot's skills…” After that, they would give each person a pen and a paper, ”Everyone, please write your will!”
Wu Ruoyu's face was completely white, and her left hand uncontrollably grabbed Chen Fan's arms. It was obvious that she was highly doubtful of the cabin crew's words!
”Fasten your seatbelt!” Chen Fan's throat was dry. Damn it, if I survive this time, I'll never take a plane again. I'll only take the electric eel!
”Oh…” Wu Ruoyu removed of her shaking left hand, trembling as she fastened her seatbelt. After that, she simply pulled Chen Fan's arm over and held it firmly in her hands.
Although it was impossible to see what was wrong with the engine in the dark night, its unusual roaring sound gradually got to the ears of everyone. Of the passengers in the plane, half were foreigners and half were Chinese. Although they could still manage to stay calm, the fear on their faces couldn't be hidden.
”Don't be scared, don't be scared.” Chen Fan patted the shoulder of the trembling Wu Ruoyu. ”I have a feeling that there wouldn't be any danger this time.” As though confirming Chen Fan's words, the roaring sound suddenly disappeared and the plane suddenly stopped shaking.
Just as everyone was about to heave a sigh of relief, the dreadful voice of the announcer came from the speaker again.
”Dear passengers, we have already shut off the second engine on the left, and the plane will tilt to the left and the right. However, our pilot who has over 10,000 hours of flying experience can guarantee that the plane will be stabilized by continuously adjusting the direction of the rudder. Please have faith in the flying techniques of our pilot…”
Chen Fan wanted to give the announcer a few slaps. Why did he have to say the same lines as in the movies? Fortunately, the flying technique of the pilot was quite good. Although the plane shook to the left and the right, it was only around five degrees.
”Do you think we will…” Wu Ruoyu turned her pale face at Chen Fan.
”How can we die so easily? Don't worry, we're good-fortuned!” Chen Fan was naturally also scared. After all, a plane is known to be unstable. Even a small bird could damage it, let alone a faulty engine? Nonetheless, as a man he could only force himself to say consoling words.
Twenty minutes later, as the plane wobbled and touched the runway before giving out a huge tire screeching sound, everyone finally put their heart at ease, gradually.
Due to the time difference between the east and the west, it was already around midnight in Phoenix. Other than the blinking lights in the airport, there were only light spots a distance away in the dark.
After unfastening his seat belt and standing up, Chen Fan could only feel his legs trembling like the plane 10 minutes before.
”You...you alright?” Chen Fan stretched out his hand as a signal to Wu Ruoyu to grab his arm to stand up.
”I'm...okay...should be fine!” Wu Ruoyu blinked hard to dispel her fear before grabbing Chen Fan's arm and standing up.
At this moment, the cabin door opened slowly and was linked immediately by two passenger steps. Then, a large group of airport staff rushed in to console the passengers in English, promising to compensate everyone for the various losses.
As the crowd walked into the airport, dozens of staffs brought over hot coffee and hot dogs to help everyone get over the shock.
”Phew!” Chen Fan heaved a long sigh before gulping the hot coffee in the cup. It was a great feeling to have survived an ordeal, especially after drinking a hot beverage when the outdoor temperature was only over 10 degree Celsius.
”Why are you like a bull?” Wrapped in a white blanket, Wu Ruoyu smiled as she turned a cup in her hands.
After experiencing huge fluctuations in emotions, she felt especially warm when she saw her neighbor Chen Fan, that even the awkwardness that Chen Fan caused her when he got drunk the previous time was no longer an issue.
However, her smile was short-lived. As this was just a small ordinary airport between cities, it suddenly became extremely crowded with 500 more people at one go. The second provisional redeployed aircraft would only arrive at 8 a.m. After arranging all the places of accommodation, Chen Fan and Wu Ruoyu, who were chatting happily, were naturally taken as a couple by the airport staff and allocated to one room.
It was fine if Wu Ruoyu didn't agree to it, since the airport staff were all ready to stay overnight in the departure hall. Even the air stewardesses had to squeeze in the conference room, so she could squeeze with them if she didn't mind. As for the other passengers, they were mostly couples or with families, and the remaining 10 over single ones were all men.
She could get out and stay in a hotel, but there was no one to take her, and she had to go a few dozen miles to stay in one! After some hesitation, Wu Ruoyu agreed to the airport's arrangement. After all, it was just staying in the same room, not sleeping on the same bed.
However, when she and Chen Fan walked into the room, Wu Ruoyu's face suddenly turned as red as a watermelon. There was only one bed in the small room, and it was a single bed which could barely sleep two thin people!
”This...this…” Chen Fan suppressed the excitement inside him as he stood at the door scratching his head. He wasn't going to act gentlemanly, as that was only for honorable and upright people. As a normal man, he wasn't going to reject this ”luck with women.” Neither would he say things like ”Don't worry, just sleep. I'll stand guard on the side.”