Legendary Captain

Chapter 104 Right Eye Twitching: A Disaster?

"What do you mean? Why can't Xu Xian get ten points?" In the fleet office, Qin Zongyang stared wide-eyed at a young staff member.

Qin Zongyang's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, his posture as if he were speaking with a knife in hand, exuding murderous intent. Qin Zongyang was never one to have a good temper, and now that it concerned Xu Xian's promotion points, how could he possibly put on a pleasant, negotiable act?

That staff member was just a recorder, following the rules, but Qin Zongyang was being unreasonable and there was really nothing he could do!

"President Qin, only the person in charge of a successful emergency response gets ten points. Xu Xian... Xu Xian gets a maximum of five points!" The staff member explained the bonus rules to Qin Zongyang again, hoping that Qin Zongyang could understand.

Adding ten promotion points means you'd need to catch someone flying eighty or ninety times on average. Qin Zongyang's upper and lower lips slapped together for ten points—it was practically robbery.

Only the person primarily responsible for a successful emergency response receives ten points, while those who assist receive three to five. In Xu Xian's case, even five points would be too many.

Furthermore, who is Han Qi? Does it make a difference whether Xu Xian goes up to cooperate or not, and tells Han Qi that he can fly the plane to Qianyang by himself?

From the staff's perspective, Xu Xian simply got the credit for nothing; he just got incredibly lucky. Given this situation, expecting him to get ten more points is unreasonable!

Even the staff felt that giving it five stars was too much; three stars would be more appropriate!

If they were to back down this time and give Xu Xian a perfect score, and that got out, he'd be torn to pieces by the entire group of pilots.

"Five cents? That's like throwing money at a beggar!" Qin Zongyang protested. "Young comrade, can't you broaden your horizons a bit?"

The staff member looked at Qin Zongyang suspiciously, sensing that Qin Zongyang was about to spew some nonsense again, and frowned: "What do you mean?"

"Your perspective is too narrow. This co-pilot's incapacitation, while not a major incident, and Xu Xian may not have contributed much, is still a problem! Who was the captain on duty? Han Qi!" Qin Zongyang became increasingly agitated, practically drooling. "Isn't this a great opportunity to showcase the spirit of Xingyou Airlines? Xingyou's trainees stepped forward when a co-pilot from another company was incapacitated—isn't that something to be celebrated? By the way, I think we should definitely contact the publicity department and spread this word, letting the outside world see the spirit of Xingyou Airlines' pilots!"

Qin Zongyang was already out of control, having gotten addicted to playing the teacher, and continued to argue with the staff: "Why are you so fixated on such a trivial matter as the co-pilot's incapacity? Is the co-pilot's incapacity the key issue? The key issue is Xu Xian's heroic act! Isn't that spirit worthy of praise?"

To be honest, Qin Zongyang still had his pride. The co-pilot's incapacitation wasn't really a serious matter, and he couldn't bring himself to say how much Xu Xian had contributed. Especially with Han Qi as the captain on duty, even he himself felt Xu Xian was lucky and had gotten all the credit for nothing.

If this point can't be argued, then let's look at it from another angle. When it comes to verbal sparring, Qin Zongyang has never been afraid of anyone!

The staff member was completely dumbfounded by Qin Zongyang's words. He really didn't expect the publicity effect of Xu Xian's incident. After thinking about it briefly, it seemed that there was some truth to it.

Seeing that the staff seemed interested, Qin Zongyang chuckled to himself, thinking how easily the young people could be fooled.

Just then, an older instructor on the other side couldn't stand it anymore and shouted to the staff, "Xiao Zhang, don't listen to this old geezer's nonsense. Is it something we can publicize about the co-pilot's incapacity? If the publicity department dares to spread this, Kunlong Airlines will be knocking on our door the next day."

After saying that, he turned to Qin Zongyang: "Old Qin, you too! For a few points, is it really necessary to fool Xiao Zhang like this? Have you no shame?"

If the co-pilot's incapacitation on Kunlong Airlines was truly due to some objective physical reason, that would be one thing. But the real reason is that the co-pilot experienced hyperventilation due to mental stress—in short, he was frightened. For Xingyou Airlines to publicize such a shameful incident so openly will undoubtedly provoke Kunlong Airlines to fight back fiercely.

People care about their reputation, but airlines don't?

Qin Zongyang felt a tiny bit embarrassed that his little scheme had been exposed on the spot. However, was the usually competitive Qin Zongyang the type to be easily swayed by criticism? Clearly not!

"There's no other way! Old Li, you're destined to be an instructor your whole life, so points are useless to you. I'm hoping to become the general manager of the flight department, so I have to swallow my pride!" Qin Zongyang had never lost a verbal battle in his life.

The old instructor was so angry at Qin Zongyang's counterattack that he almost died on the spot. In the end, it was the staff member who mediated, saying, "Mr. Qin, adding ten points is too much. I can't decide on this side. I'll report it to the president and let her decide."

"No... can't our flight department decide its own affairs?" Upon hearing that the matter was going to escalate to the president's level, Qin Zongyang immediately deflated. He knew in his heart that, frankly speaking, there was absolutely no way he could get a perfect score on Xu Xian's case. He just wanted to use his remaining influence within the flight department to argue his way out and resolve the issue internally. If it went upstairs, the matter would be beyond his control.

Those high-ranking leaders are quite shrewd; they've already calculated how many points they can get. Three to five points are possible, but ten points are absolutely out of the question!

Staff member: "Previously, the ten points awarded for special situations were all approved by the president. The flight department can only decide on bonus points of five points or less!"

"Damn it! Why didn't you say so earlier? Was I just wasting my breath?" Qin Zongyang was stunned. If he had known that adding ten points required the president's approval, why was he even bothering to explain?

"Should we still send an email?" the staff member asked.

"Send it, why not send it? What if we just get lucky again?" Qin Zongyang said, rubbing his temples.

The CEO's office.

Standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, Wen Jingshu's view encompassed a large area of ​​Yunnan Airport, giving her a feeling of being on top of the world.

Just then, a person entered; it was Li Yuan, the secretary from the president's office.

Li Yuan: "President Wen, the fleet office sent an email inquiring about the bonus points awarded for Xu Xian's incapacitated co-pilot incident at Kunlong Airlines."

Many emails that require the president's decision are not sent directly to Wen Jingshu's inbox. Most emails are first sent to the president's office, where staff will organize them and then report them to Wen Jingshu.

Wen Jingshu turned around, revealing a stunningly beautiful face. She wore no makeup, yet exuded feminine charm and a natural air of nobility.

Unlike the Xu family, which was somewhat nouveau riche, the Wen family had been in business for generations. Wen Jingshu had been pampered with fine clothes and food since childhood, so she naturally had a unique temperament.

"There are rules for promotion points, why should I have to decide such a small matter? Are all the people in the fleet illiterate?" Wen Jingshu tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, leaned against the railing, and stared at Li Yuan with her beautiful eyes.

Li Yuan explained, "Qin Zongyang insisted on adding ten points, and the fleet was unsure, so they came to ask for our opinion."

"Ten points? He actually dares to say that!" Wen Jingshu sneered. "Company rules aren't just for show; three points are more than enough!"

"Yes, I will reply to the fleet immediately."

"Wait a minute," Wen Jingshu suddenly called out to Li Yuan, "I'll reply in a few days."

Li Yuan immediately understood: "I will wait and see how things go within the company before replying to the fleet."

Wen Jingshu's meaning was simple: adding three points to Xu Xian's score was indeed a bit too little. If the decision to add points to Xu Xian's score were made public at this point, with so many eyes watching, it might cause dissatisfaction among the pilots.

Once this matter cools down and nobody pays attention anymore, announcing the bonus point decision at a quiet time won't cause any stir.

It's best to handle certain unfair situations with a cold shoulder. As for why Wen Jingshu was so harsh on Xu Xian, Li Yuan couldn't understand the reason, but she already knew Wen Jingshu's attitude.

It was Fu Xing, the student team assistant she had contacted, who tripped up Xu Xian back then.

"By the way, what did Xu Xian say? Is he cooperating with the simulator without any worries?" Wen Jingshu asked.

Li Yuan nodded: "I asked Fei Biao and the fleet, and he also takes over other people's shifts during the breaks between using the simulator."

Wen Jingshu: "Inform the flight department that all of Xu Xian's inspections will be conducted strictly from now on, and no leniency will be allowed."

"Also, how's Lu Xinyu doing?"

Li Yuan recalled the information she had gathered earlier and immediately reported, "He went to see Xu Qing's friend at Blue Sky Airlines, Yan Zhen."

"Through those veteran instructors?"

"Yes! Recently, Lu Xinyu has taken the initiative to befriend them, and Yan Zhen's connection was established by those veteran instructors."

Wen Jingshu looked disdainful: "They really are a bunch of profit-driven old fogies."

After finishing her report, Li Yuan hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't help asking, "President Wen, there's something I don't understand. Inviting Xu Qingming was clearly impossible, so why did you have Lu Xinyu do it?"

Wen Jingshu was quite satisfied with her secretary, who had been with her for some time, so she patiently explained, "The result is not the goal; the process is!"

"You can see that Lu Xinyu is more suitable to be the general manager of the flight department than Qin Zongyang. However, he has a fatal flaw!" Wen Jingshu said.

Li Yuan was quick-witted: "President Wen, are you saying that Lu Xinyu is unpopular?"

"That's right!" Wen Jingshu liked this kind of quick-witted person: "Lu Xinyu rose too fast and never paid attention to others, which resulted in him not being well-liked in the flight team, especially by the senior instructors. Flying is a job with a strong mentor-apprentice relationship, and seniority is very important in the fleet. The students and grand-students of those senior instructors are almost all over the entire fleet. If Lu Xinyu can't handle the relationship with the senior instructor group, then he won't be able to control the entire flight department. What I need is not a flight department that can't get through to its superiors, but a flight department that can reach directly to the grassroots level."

"Lu Xinyu is too arrogant, but if he wants to become the general manager of the flight department, he needs to learn to compromise. This time, inviting Xu Qing requires him to reconcile with the old instructors through their connections. Only then can he have a glimmer of hope. It is through this that Lu Xinyu can understand that he cannot decide many things on his own. Only by going with the flow can he achieve something."

Wen Jingshu's meaning was simple! Lu Xinyu's so-called arrogance led him to resolutely distance himself from the senior instructors' group. However, Lu Xinyu was still relatively inexperienced, and without the help of the senior instructors, he simply couldn't control the entire flight department. Wen Jingshu wanted to use this impossible task to let Lu Xinyu know that he also needed to rely on others, needed to compromise, and needed to let go of his arrogance.

This shows that Wen Jingshu truly regarded Lu Xinyu as the top candidate for general manager of the flight department.

"President Wen, since you're interested in Lu Xinyu, you only need to issue orders to him separately. Why assign tasks to Qin Zongyang as well? It's completely pointless!" Li Yuan asked, puzzled.

Lu Xinyu not only surpasses Qin Zongyang in personal ability, but also enjoys a better reputation among leaders. Wen Jingshu has almost decided that Lu Xinyu will be the next general manager of the flight department. All that's left is for Lu Xinyu to successfully manage his relationship with the flight team, and he will be able to take over the position smoothly.

Since a decision has already been made, why give Qin Zongyang another chance?

Logically speaking, even if Qin Zongyang has a powerful network of connections, the possibility of him getting Xu Qing to come to him is virtually nonexistent. However, things are unpredictable. What if Qin Zongyang uses some means to get Xu Qing to come? How will things end then?

Should we really reassess our choice between Lu Xinyu and Qin Zongyang?

"Useless effort? When have I ever done anything useless?" A strange light flashed in Wen Jingshu's eyes: "Although Qin Zongyang is not as good as Lu Xinyu, he actually has a higher chance of success in inviting Xu Qing. Notify the reception department to prepare a separate reception plan according to Xu Qing's standards."

"President Wen, is this really necessary?" Li Yuan still didn't understand Wen Jingshu's considerations! Was it really necessary to devise a separate reception plan for such a vague possibility?

It's important to understand that preparing for the reception of someone of Xu Qing's stature requires a significant amount of manpower and resources. Yes, nothing in this world is absolute, but is it really worthwhile to spend so much money based on a theoretical probability?

"Hmm?" Wen Jingshu's eyes gradually turned cold. "Do you think there's something wrong with my decision?"

"I am..." Li Yuan wanted to explain further, but a clear voice suddenly came from behind her: "Li Yuan, go back to your business!"

Li Yuan turned around and saw that Yang Ning had entered at some point.

Yang Ning walked over to Li Yuan and said with a smile, "There are a lot of things to take care of over there, go ahead and get busy!"

Li Yuan glanced at the expressionless Wen Jingshu, then at Yang Ning, and said, "President Wen, I'll head back now."

Wen Jingshu didn't answer. Only after Li Yuan left did she ask Yang Ning, "Aunt Ning, have I been too good to them?"

Yang Ning is already in her early forties, but she is very well-maintained, and her temperament is completely different from Wen Jingshu's; she has a gentle and breezy feel to her.

"He's just a kid!" Yang Ning said softly. "But if Xu Xian finds out about this, he should understand that you're using him, Miss."

If Xu Xian knew that Wen Jingshu was the mastermind behind this, anyone with a sharp mind would understand the significance of Wen Jingshu's actions. Because Wen Jingshu knew about Xu Xian's relationship with Xu Qing, if Xu Xian were to intervene, it was quite possible he could actually persuade Xu Qing to come forward.

In this way, Wen Jingshu was actually using Xu Xian to achieve her goal of persuading Xu Qing. If Xu Xian found out that he had been used, wouldn't the already broken relationship between Xu Xian and Wen Jingshu be further clouded?

Regardless of the outcome of the competition between Qin Zongyang and Lu Xinyu, Wen Jingshu will always gain something – that's the tactic of the second young lady of the Wen family!

Everything is under control!

"Use him?" Wen Jingshu sneered. "What's wrong with using a heartless and ungrateful person? He should be grateful that he still has some value!"

Yang Ning sighed softly. The matter between Wen Jingshu and Xu Xian was truly a tangled mess, and she had no idea when it would end.

"Is the house matter settled?" Wen Jingshu sat down and gestured for Yang Ning to sit down as well.

Yang Ning sat down opposite Wen Jingshu and said, "The formalities are all done. However, it seems Xu Xian has found another place to rent."

Wen Jingshu muttered coldly to herself, "It seems they haven't reached their dead end yet!"

"There's something I need to tell you." Yang Ning paused slightly, organizing his thoughts: "The people I arranged to follow Xu Jingyang reported back that Xu Jingyang recently went to the hospital for a coronary angiography, and it seems his coronary heart disease has worsened!"

Yang Ning was Wen Jingshu's true confidante, or more precisely, the Wen family's confidante. Years ago, Yang Ning was Wen Jingshu's father's secretary. Later, Wen Jingshu's father even wanted to offer Yang Ning the position of managing director of Chimelong Airlines. However, Yang Ning refused. She preferred the role of a steward.

After realizing that Wen Jingshu's father didn't need her to worry about him, she now stays by Wen Jingshu's side. Even Wen Jingshu has to call her Aunt Ning.

She watched Wen Jingshu and Xu Xian go from meeting to falling in love, and finally getting engaged. For Wen Jingshu's sake, she secretly investigated Xu Xian's family, and of course, she also knew that Xu Jingyang had been suffering from coronary heart disease.

Logically speaking, Xu Jingyang had undergone coronary stent surgery before and had no problems in recent years. Moreover, given Xu Jingyang's financial resources at the time, the stents he chose should have been of high quality and shouldn't have caused any issues.

However, the only explanation for Xu Jingyang's coronary angiography was that his condition had worsened. It was highly likely that the coronary stent had restenosis!

"What are the details?" Wen Jingshu asked.

"Hospital electronic medical records are confidential, so it's not easy to find out about them!" Yang Ning said.

"Forget it!" Wen Jingshu said, "It's just retribution, no need to worry about it."

Back then, it was Xu Jingyang who personally went to her father's house to persuade him to cancel the engagement banquet that was already on the agenda.

Wasn't it because the Wen family didn't help the Xu family when they fell on hard times? It was for this reason that Xu Jingyang held a grudge and forcibly separated her from Xu Xian. It's no wonder she ended up like this today.

If she and Xu Xian were to marry, would the Wen family treat them badly?

"It's just that pathetic pride!" Thinking of this, Wen Jingshu felt even more hateful towards Xu Jingyang!

Yang Ning wasn't surprised by Wen Jingshu's cold attitude towards Xu Jingyang. Xu Jingyang had played a significant role in pushing Xu Xian and Wen Jingshu apart. Wen Jingshu certainly remembered that!

"If there's nothing else, I'll head back now!" Yang Ning said, getting up to return to his office after finishing his business.

However, just as she reached the door, Wen Jingshu called her back.

After hesitating for a moment, Wen Jingshu finally said, "Aunt Ning, please tell the person watching Xu Jingyang that if anything happens to him, he should be taken to the hospital immediately, and he will pay the expenses in his own name first."

Yang Ning agreed, and afterwards he was quite moved.

Wen Jingshu appeared to only feel disgust towards Xu Xian, but in reality, she feared that if Xu Xian found out she hadn't helped Xu Jingyang in his time of need, he might come to hate her. At that point, they would truly be strangers, with no possibility of anything happening between them!

Wen Jingshu didn't say it, but she still cared about Xu Xian. However, the relationship between the two of them was very strained, and it made others feel uncomfortable.

Even someone like Wen Jingshu, when it comes to matters of love, isn't she completely out of her element? Acting incredibly childish?

At this moment, Yang Ning felt that being single until now was a wise choice!

Xu Xian's mother, Huang Ying, divorced Xu Jingyang after a major disagreement and took her daughter, Xu Sheng, to settle abroad.

Huang Ying didn't want to see the arrogant Xu Jingyang anymore, but that didn't include Xu Xian. Xu Sheng would return to China for a period during long holidays each year. At these times, Xu Xian would also go back for a while, the siblings would catch up, and last time Huang Ying even came back with him. However, Huang Ying resolutely refused to see Xu Jingyang.

Although Xu Jingyang's personality has changed a lot, he still hasn't won his ex-wife's forgiveness and can only obediently stay in Yunnan.

Xu Xian knew his mother's attitude; with his parents in such a state, there was really nothing he could do. He could only hope that time would ease the rift between them.

The distance from Yunnan to Qinghu is several thousand kilometers, and the high-speed rail ticket is even more expensive than an air ticket. Therefore, the high-speed rail was ruled out by Xu Xian first.

However, Star Travel doesn't have a route from Yunnan to Qinghu, so it can't add more crew. Fortunately, Star Travel's parent company, Chimelong Airlines, does have a route from Yunnan to Qinghu.

Unlike other companies where subsidiary pilots can join the parent company's crew, Star Cruises' flight crew are not allowed to join Chimelong Airlines' crew for personal reasons. To fly with Chimelong Airlines, you must purchase your own ticket.

Chimelong Airlines is the only company in China that treats its subsidiary in this way.

However, while it's not possible to add extra crew members for personal reasons, Star Travel's flight attendants enjoy significant discounts when purchasing Chimelong Airlines tickets. Except for a few routes, most flights can be purchased for NT$88. Of course, this discount is only offered three times a year and can only be purchased using one's own ID card or a relative registered in the social security system.

Eighty-eight yuan for a plane ticket is very cheap, and Xu Xian thinks it's acceptable. Moreover, the service quality of Chimelong Airlines has very high ratings online, so Xu Xian might as well try it out.

Internal staff need to purchase airline tickets through the company intranet, and they don't pick them up at the check-in counter, but rather at the marketing department.

Star Travel's base building is right next to the airport, so you can just stop by the company on your way to the airport, which isn't too much trouble.

However, after Xu Xian picked up his plane ticket from the marketing department, he kept feeling his right eyelid twitching. The saying goes, "A twitching left eyelid means good fortune, a twitching right eyelid means bad luck," and although Xu Xian was an atheist, such frequent twitching was definitely not a good omen.

(End of this chapter)