Captain!
The Japanese are behind me!
They are right behind me!
I'll kill you!
You insisted on writing and submitting the report that no one bothers to read.
But be prepared for a demotion and demerit.
Reporting!
Please show some mercy.
Qing!
This guy managed to pull it after all.
BASED ON PAI HSIEN-YUNG'S WORK A GREAT LITERARY FIGURE OF TAIWAN
The oil tank that I pulled this morning
is the one I used to get cold water
on the day you were my beacon.
I thought only Lieutenant Colonel could pull it.
-Jeez! Gong! -Sorry.
I even made a bet with Mo-ting.
Great, now I lost.
Take it.
I didn't expect that you really could pull it off.
Come.
Drink some coffee. It can stop the pain.
How could you?
You should bet on me.
Did he really think that only he can do it?
Did you pull it as part of your military training?
No.
It's just that Lieutenant Colonel
practiced it before in the Air Force Academy.
Back then, he was a head instructor
who shaved his head bald.
He pulled it in front of the entire school.
Lady Qin wanted to be with Lieutenant Colonel.
But her family found out about that.
It wasn't that simple.
At that time, a lot of people came from Lady Qin's hometown
to try to bring her back.
But in the end, they couldn't find her. Do you know where they found her?
In Lieutenant Colonel's dorm.
The people from Lady Qin's hometown were furious.
They kept shouting.
They said that a military soldier kidnapped a civilian girl.
The military school was the crime scene.
If I were him, I would hide the girl in the hangar.
It's much safer than the dorm.
In the end,
Lady Qin was brought back
and locked up.
But it was impossible to separate them both.
So Lady Qin ran away. Lieutenant Colonel won in the end.
Wonderful.
Which part of it?
Lady Qin is now being locked up too.
But this time, she's locked in the Air Force Village.
Actually, Lady Qin wants to teach badly.
But no school is willing to hire her.
But isn't Lady Qin a graduate from Huanan Normal University?
Follow me.
The number on the plane
and this emblem
are drawn by Lieutenant Colonel.
He used to study map making.
He enrolled in a military school before he graduated from a university.
I still remember
the day he got married to Lady Qin.
Everyone was so happy.
They even teased him.
They said
a guy like him who didn't even graduate from a university
managed to marry a top student from the Normal University.
It was a blessing for him.
But eventually,
the jokes went overboard.
Just before Lady Qin's graduation,
she got pregnant with his child.
She got expelled.
He quit school.
At least, he still has a certificate.
But Lady Qin wasn't so lucky.
She got expelled.
And she has no certificate.
Not even a marriage certificate?
She doesn't have that.
Why doesn't she have it?
Her family didn't allow it.
And the registration office refused to process it.
In the end, only the Air Force authorized it.
They gave her a dependent certificate.
The dependent certificate is the same as an identity card.
Isn't that enough? Then, go ahead and take wedding photos too.
It'll be enough.
It's not enough.
It's not the same.
How long have you been in the Air Force?
Seven years.
What will you do after you quit?
I'll become a demobilized soldier.
I did some research before.
Veterans allowance is annual salary times 1.5.
On top of that, according to your merit, times 1.2.
It's 513.
Right, 513.
Be quiet.
I, the Commander in Chief,
order you, Zhen Guo,
to take this commemorative photo.
Then, get the hell out of here.
The Air Force will not acknowledge you.
That seven-year service is now wasted just like that.
And I'd like to say sorry for treating you this way.
You can't leave with your clothes.
It's the military's property.
All those days will be wasted.
You'll have nothing.
All in vain.
You've sacrificed everything, but what you get is a photo.
Won't you feel bad?
If this whole life
is captured in a photo,
it's enough for me.
Then again,
the people in the photo will never get old.
The age on the Air Force's tombstone is younger than the Army.
You won't get old.
But we will.
Attention.
Lieutenant Colonel is going to spot-check stand-by personnel.
I need to go now.
I'm going now, Mo-ting.
You guys only start assembling
and start your day
when others go home.
Go home?
Then, who's going to take care of the sky above your heads?
Women alone
can take good care of their home.
When we're tired from flying,
we'll go back ourselves.
Wild pigeon.
Right, all of them are.
-Lieutenant Colonel. -Yes?
Vice Captain.
Your bruises won't heal if you take a cold shower.
Okay.
Here.
Drink some.
-It's good for blood circulation. -Drink.
This one is yours.
No one believed in you.
Only Lieutenant Colonel bet that you could pull it off.
You have the guts to say that?
You purposely said that to embarrass me.
Pulling an aircraft?
I never thought that I could do it.
You must have faith in yourself.
Lieutenant Colonel
You bet too?
And you bet against me?
Next time, I'll bet on you.
Have some.
-Lieutenant Colonel. -Yes?
We didn't lose.
What are you talking about?
My friend who works as a staff officer in the Air Force Committee
said that the air formation practice by the 9th Wing is wasted.
What?
Tomorrow is the National Day. There's not enough time for us to prepare.
The military review on National Day
is canceled.
That's a big news.
That's weird.
I heard
they're busy negotiating with the Eighth Route Army.
Let's drink.
Just as a joke,
if we get into a battle with the 8th Route Army,
your participation will be the same as last time.
Be my wingmen.
Anything for you.
I'm not going to fly.
Why not?
Then, where do you want to go?
You haven't even returned the money you borrowed from Lady Qin.
I know everything she did.
Not really.
Lieutenant Colonel.
You will get a desk job in the General Headquarters
after you finish your training.
You don't need a wingman for that.
There's one thing that
Lady Qin knows in her heart.
The training in the States that you're going to is a staff training.
You won't be coming back to the 11th Wing.
Lady Qin
went to the General Headquarters to ask about this matter.
Did you know that?
The General Headquarters wants to take the 11th Wing away from you.
They can't do that.
It's a staff officer position. A lot of people will fight for it.
If I give up,
somebody else will take the position.
I'll be just the same, taking the same old position of mine.
Lieutenant Colonel of the 11th Wing.
But...
Are you trying to take over my position?
Captain, that's not what I meant.
Lieutenant Colonel.
I'm just joking.
Gong.
Here.
Zhi-jian.
Yes.
One day, you'll be the captain.
But not now.
When Zhen pulled the aircraft,
you should bet on him like I did.
Seriously, you're too cautious.
You want to have everything under your control.
But that's the operation officer's job to plan an operation.
You are the vice-captain.
If I were to be killed
in the battle
with the 8th Route Army,
you would need to replace me.
At that time,
you must rescue your comrades and lead them back to the base.
Don't care about which mountain I crashed into,
or where I landed with my parachute.
Just treat me
as if I'm dead.
Okay?
Remember that.
You and Zhen
must never come back to find me.
-Here. -Lieutenant Colonel.
If what you said really happens...
If we crashed
and got killed in an action,
would we witness that one second that veterans said?
That one second before you crash
will be a long one second.
Very long.
Gong.
Change the cups.
There you go.
There was a mission last time
in Gansu.
Around 6,000 feet above the clouds.
My aircraft's nose was hit.
And I lost control.
But at that time,
I saw Qian-yi.
She stood at the field of Huanan Normal University.
She was looking at me.
That one second
lasted very long.
It was as if time had stopped.
Actually, I was very afraid at that time.
Qian-yi
didn't seem resentful.
It was hard to tell.
I can't describe it.
In that one second,
I couldn't think too much.
I went at full throttle.
I wanted it to end sooner.
That's because
I was facing a woman who looked straight at me.
I felt guilty.
Nothing else.
Also,
there wouldn't be a chance to repay her.
What kind of wine is this?
It's sweet and nice.
It's osmanthus wine.
She always drinks this wine alone.
I won't drink with her if there aren't any side dishes.
Goodness.
The living room was filled with shattered glass.
Madam Zhang collapsed right after she lashed out.
We used safflower oil to make her feel at ease.
But the house was then filled with the safflower oil's pungent smell.
It was so disgusting.
But this lady
acted like nothing happened.
She drank her osmanthus wine right there.
She didn't even bother to clean the shattered glass.
She kept on drinking until midnight.
She said it could dispel the safflower oil's smell.
Their husbands
were brought out by their squadron captain,
but didn't manage to come back.
A woman's debt must be collected from another woman.
Letting them mess with our house
is a way to let the captain
pay them back a little bit.
What are you spacing out for?
Are you drunk?
There were shattered glasses all over.
Lady Qin didn't clean it up
because you were waiting for Captain to come back.
Shouldn't I clean it up
before he gets home?
If you cleaned it all up back to its original state,
Lieutenant Colonel would feel that he didn't do justice.
Besides,
if Lady Qin faced the predicament and cleaned the mess alone,
his feeling of guilt and sorry would pile up.
That's why Lady Qin left the mess behind
so that Captain could clean up with her
and he wouldn't be so upset.
Such a clever girl.
How weird. Where did this pungent smell come from?
What is going on?
Uncle Guo pretended to be ground soldier and he pulled an aircraft today.
I heard from their captain.
He said that Gretchen from the school went to the base and complained.
He said that he went to apologize to you,
but you almost destroyed your dorm.
Did you not clean it up
because you were waiting for his help?
I've cleaned it up.
And I even moved to another dorm.
Even if he comes again, he won't be able to find me.
There isn't anything that they couldn't do.
If only I wasn't married to a pilot here, I could have probably left this village.
Qian-yi.
If we were young again and free without them,
we would probably have a townhouse at Dongbei by now.
We could be neighbors like now.
We would leave a woodshed for you.
You could make tea and cook meals for us every single day.
Here.
I would rather be a tutor than a servant.
Okay, then.
Lady Qin and Madam Zhou
are each others' best friends.
I came to Nanjing alone.
So I don't really have many friends.
You don't have friends in Nanjing.
Because we are sisters by now.
You're right.
Qian-yi and I are best friends.
Can you recall our memories when we studied at Huanan Normal University?
When you woke up every morning,
I would always sit beside your bed.
Yes.
You were worried that the seniors might bully me.
That was not the reason.
I did so because when you were asleep,
part of your thigh would get exposed.
It looked nice.
So I sat beside her bed every morning
pinching on it.
No wonder
that I always had bruises on my thigh.
That wasn't me.
Those bruises
were Wei-cheng's doing, right?
Stop talking nonsense.
Go back to your Zhi-jian.
Can you stop mentioning that blockhead?
When he reached home and saw me,
he'd say "Hi, Wei-xun."
He even thanked me for fixing him food.
That's all right.
When you wake up in the morning,
just tell him,
"You're welcome, Zhi-jian."
Why would I do that?
What should I do if he thanks me again?
Then, just continue. Keep playing polite with each other.
How annoying. Now you're talking nonsense.
Stop focusing on me.
Let me tell you something.
When we just got married, our bridal chamber was in the hangar.
It was built with a wooden board.
Wei-cheng and her was just right beside me.
-They were so passionate. -Stop it.
JIANG'S RESIDENCE
Can you go faster?
No, you need to expect the unexpected.
Just like the operation plan, we need to avoid any possibilities.
What kind of logic is that? Why would we need a plan?
More calculation leads to victory.
Less calculation leads to failure.
The pilots always say that.
But in the end,
all of them left their coordinates far behind.
They'll start a formation.
And when nobody issues any order,
it'll get dismissed automatically.
You were drunk in Lady Qin's house, so I sent you back.
I have fed 513
and moved your stuff to the attic.
It's best for you to move there.
513's report is completed.
Reporting at 6:25 a.m. when the wind blows towards north east.
Clear weather.
I'm going to be late for class.
-Help me to pass these on. -Okay.
It's yours.
Hi.
It's yours.
Thank you.
Student on Duty: Zhen Guo, First Lieutenant Pilot
This one is yours.
On sick leave: Qing Zhu
Qing doesn't want me to salute you, but I'll still do it anyway.
I'm not admitting defeat. It's simply my respect for you.
You need proof to take a sick leave.
Then, I'll need to ask Lady Qin and Madam Zhou to give you some proof.
Because last night, Qing drank with them.
She got drunk.
You don't need to then.
Qing.
I helped you apply for a sick leave.
And your senior has approved.
I'll get going now.
I forgot the handouts. I'll be back.
It's fine.
Someone helped you to distribute them.
Did you see that?
What are you talking about?
That's our one second.
Do you think that only pilots can see that?
A ground staff like me can see it too.
Our one second
is when we install the parts that we stole
and start the engine.
Listen to it.
The engine has started!
In that one last second,
I saw a lot of female students cheering.
Then, the pilots will fly.
With that one second, they could only see a student.
Ground staff like us could see a lot of them.
Gong.
Gong!
What is it?
This is the pigeon I sent to Qing.
-It came back. -I see.
Feed it some water, and let it fly back.
Okay, no problem.
Thank you.
Okay, now you're full and good to go.
Good.
There's a note here.
Pigeon post?
Be careful!
Sir, a pilot took Number 417 aircraft.
What? Hurry up!
Gong!
I'm going to see that one second.
Wait! Zhen!
Stop!
Darn you!
Didn't you tell him that the oil funnel isn't in yet?
You just let him go with it.
Do you want him to die in there?
Is that one second worth it?
I don't see her.
Qing!
What's wrong?
Gong!
Did someone just call my name?
Goodness!
We're in trouble this time.
Three, two, one, start.
Start.
It's 1.5, 1.4, 1.3.
Damn it.
Pull up!
It's all right now.
I saw her.
Do you want to eat your meal here?
I would dare to do so in the past.
But you're a major general now, I'll pass.
Getting promoted to the General Headquarters
only means that the aeronautical chart is bigger.
Once the chart becomes bigger,
the wing becomes insignificant.
Pilots
become less important.
Now,
the Army has fired a lot of people.
And the navy has caught tons of others.
We're not doing so bad.
A sum of money will be given to the discharged pilots.
Chief.
Can you just lock Zhen up for half a year?
The Air Force isn't that barbaric.
After the war,
those that are ineligible or old must give up their position.
Am I ineligible and old then?
You are eligible.
But just a bit old.
Can't you really give Zhen another chance?
Those who should be leaving must do so.
The new commander is from the Army.
New officials
will need to beat the dog before lion.
If he passes up this chance now,
he will be leaving without a single cent.
Oh, right.
Find a chance
to write a recommendation letter for him.
Let him look for a job in the government sector,
so he can make a living.
When you've made up your mind one day,
I'll write one for you too.
Lady Qin.
Can you tell me more about Qing?
She's a female student.
That's obvious.
You said that her relative is coming.
Who is it?
-Zhen. -Yes?
What plan do you have for the future?
Lieutenant Colonel!
Good.
I've packed your box.
You can bring it back with you later.
I thought that by submitting the report, the worst you could get is a demotion.
But the Chief said
that the new official is coming.
I've never seen one before.
Lady Qin.
Can you help me open it?
"First Lieutenant, pilot Zhen Guo,
went into a combat unauthorized during the war.
He lost his teammates.
Lacked discipline during exercise.
Caused damage to the battle jets.
Deemed as ineligible personnel by the Air Force.
To be discharged.
Effective on 25th November."
Zhen.
I've discussed with Qian-yi.
Follow me to the General Headquarters tomorrow.
Just say that you followed my order to combat.
Worst comes to worst, I'll be punished and won't be able to go to the States.
Don't worry about it.
I don't want to stay anyway.
When an Army soldier is discharged, he is given a train ticket.
But in the Air Force,
they just gave me a medal.
Zhi-jian is guarding the base.
Let's drink.
I wish Qing is here too.
Then, I can tell her
that I got a medal at least.
I did get something.
And my life is not in vain.
Lieutenant Colonel.
When that day comes for me to leave the base,
will the guards at the door
still salute me?
I'll lead the entire wing to salute you.
We'll send you off one last time.
Uncle, when are you leaving?
In a couple of days.
I can help you buy the ticket.
Ticket?
I bought two tickets already.
You're following me to Guangxi.
It's safer here.
How could this place be safer?
I can see so many police officers, which means there are many criminals.
It's best for you to study at Guangxi.
Although it's a bit remote,
it's safe.
The bank won't be able to find you too.
By the way, I just came from the old house.
The matter in Zhejiang has now turned serious.
It's dangerous for you to stay in Nanjing.
If so, let me go back to school and settle my things first.
Okay.
I'm staying at Lizhi Club.
Find me once you're done with your business at school.
Okay.
Now that I know what he looks like,
I'm not going to cling to this note anymore.
I'll return it to its writer.
I'm going to be discharged
at the end of November.
I'll leave Nanjing.
Are you not going to fly anymore?
Regardless of how much I want to,
the higher-ups would still think that I'm not eligible.
And I agree with them.
You're still young.
Have you thought about your future?
I haven't thought that far ahead.
Now that I'll be discharged soon,
I don't even know what my next job will be.
Hey.
Maybe after I settle down, I'll write to you.
I'll come visit when I'm free. Is it okay?
You haven't even settled down,
but you're already thinking about all of that.
When will you stop fooling around?
I won't be in Nanjing all the time.
What do you mean?
You still have a few years before you graduate.
We'll see each other then.
It's not that long from now.
After this semester ends,
I'll leave Nanjing too.
We're really destined to each other.
We'll even leave this place together.
Except that we'll be heading in different directions.
-Excuse me. -Sorry.
My uncle's bag is a bit big.
-Sorry. -Okay.
Hello, sir.
He's my new friend in Nanjing.
We are friends who will be going our separate ways, sir.
But you're going the same way as me. Get on the train.
Qing and I will reach the same destination eventually.
I'll hop on later.
This is what you called escort in the Air Force.
Yes.
Please give us a moment. I have something to tell Qing.
Roger that.
Where is your bag?
Uncle.
I want to stay until the end of the semester.
You'll not graduate here anyway.
Why are you so eager to finish the semester?
I don't know how long I will have to hide in Guangxi.
In my entire life,
I only have this one time to visit Nanjing.
I want to stay here for a little longer.
You've thought about this for a while.
Have you planned out the future?
After the semester ends, I'll go to Guangxi to look for you.
Okay.
Go over there.
You can only take a hasty glance on the ground when you're in the air.
Your outcome hasn't been good enough.
You come in, fire some bullets, and leave.
The Army is more thorough than you.
We don't leave anything behind.
If the bullets don't work, we'll use the bayonet.
If something happens to Qing,
no matter how trivial the matter is, I'll find you.
Understood?
Roger that.
Take care.
Your uncle is pretty serious.
He is from the Army.
But he's more humble than you.
That day on the streets before you met your uncle,
you said you have something for me.
What is it?
A note.
Is it the note that I randomly wrote?
You really took it.
Is that one second worth it?
What do you mean by "one second"?
It's a legend among the veterans.
It's about the time before you land.
That one final second
is when you see an image
that you would never forget.
Lieutenant Colonel saw it before.
There was someone standing there, waiting for him.
Who?
Lady Qin.
That time, when I flew,
I saw you.
You were standing there, waiting for me.
It was worth it.
It wasn't worth it.
The entire life
is captured in one second.
How can it not be worth it?
Look at Lady Qin.
She lost her child
and was disowned by her family.
She couldn't even teach when she wanted to.
To the girl you saw in that one second,
that one second
was just filled with suffering.
Actually, Lieutenant Colonel didn't want to go for training.
Didn't he want to bring Lady Qin to get some rest?
He wanted to.
But he wasn't too keen about it.
He plans to give up his desk job as a staff officer
after he returns from the States.
He'll return to the 11th Wing and will continue as the Lieutenant Colonel.
Then he could fly freely
in the blue sky.
Pilots.
Lady Qin worries about you pilots every single day
just because of that damn one second.
I think the captain is selfish too.
I have a plan.
Maybe after tonight,
Lady Qin will no longer have to be worried.
But I need you to go with me.
Try some.
I spent a lot of time making it.
Chew properly.
Wei-xun.
I forgot to go to the Registration Office.
Dependent certificate is just the same as the identity card.
It's fine.
Thank you.
Wei-xun Zhou, Zhi-jian Shao
It'll be bad if this gets out.
You are two years younger than me!
During war, it's normal to lie about our age when we enroll in the military school.
We have never lied to you pilots!
A year younger is nominal age, the actual age...
What nominal age?
Spit it!
What else did you hide from me?
You know I got promoted.
You don't need to know anything else.
Zhi-jian.
Go back to the base.
I don't want to have dinner with a liar.
Zhi-jian...
Zhi-jian, what are you doing?
You and Mo-ting are having a hard time.
I've failed you.
But I didn't kill Vice-Captain Jin.
What do you want me to do?
How good would it be
if I could change and start again?
You were the one who said that one second wasn't worth it.
Don't you want to go in with me to tell her?
Lieutenant Colonel will really give up on that desk job
and go back to the 11th Wing.
Do you want her to be worried forever?
I'm worried that it will cause a dispute between Lady Qin and Lieutenant Colonel.
You go tell her yourself.
Hey.
It'll be worse because they have never fought before.
If I tell her that by myself,
I'll get shot by Lieutenant Colonel on the spot.
At least, he'll care for his image if you are there with me.
Let's go.
Wait.
Later, the Captain will say, "Qing, you go home first."
And he'll ask me to stay with him.
Don't leave me there.
Otherwise, I'll get shot.
Lieutenant Colonel.
Lady Qin and Madam Zhou.
Why did this pilot come after the other one just left?
Why? Do you want to get married?
It's too spicy.
I want to propose a toast.
Lieutenant Colonel.
After your training,
you'll give up the desk job in the General Headquarters
and continue serving for the 11th Wing.
When you take a new position...
No.
When you return to your old post, I should give you a toast.
But I don't think I'll have the chance to do it then.
With this opportunity, I wish you a great journey...
Qing.
I'll ask someone to send you back.
-Sir, there's no one in the troop... -Sit down.
Qian-yi.
Zhen hasn't finished his words.
Zhen, maybe you have forgotten
the words I told you when we were drinking the other day.
-Qian-yi is here now. Explain it to her. -I knew it already.
Your captain has discussed with me already.
Both of you, go back now.
Thank you, Lady Qin.
Yes, I should leave now.
Let's go.
Qian-yi.
You knew about it?
That's bullshit.
You're still protecting him at this point to save his face?
Wei-cheng.
Zhi-jian worked hard in battle too.
Can't you let him be the captain?
Can't you let me be Lady Zhou?
Qian-yi lost her child,
but you didn't even bring her to a vacation.
You pilots are such a hateful bunch.
Every woman
has a bad reputation because of the pilots.
Qian-yi was disowned just to be with you.
Zhi-jian tricked me with his age,
making me an old wife.
I should have married an Army man.
My life would have been poor but easy.
Don't you think that's cruel
to use the word "war" on your own family?
Did any woman come looking for the vice-captain?
Who allowed you to fly?
Vice-Captain, it's you.
If you go, I'll get a divorce!
My husband's unit is in trouble.
I need to rush back to Nanjing with him.
How long has it been?
An hour.
Hurry!
Subtitle translation by Blue