Legendary Captain

Chapter 255 Xu Xian Turns to the Ground?

Earlier, when I was chatting with Qin Yue in the lounge, two co-pilots came in and talked, and they mentioned Xu Xian's situation.

Of course, the main content was sarcastic towards Xu Xian. Xu Xian simply thought it was bad luck and decided to mind his own business in the passenger seat from now on, not taking his experience that day seriously. If he hadn't run into the person involved today, Xu Xian probably would have been able to erase that memory from the lounge in ten days or two weeks. But unfortunately, it seems he's run into the person involved.

Xu Xian didn't turn around at all that day, so he didn't see the faces of the two co-pilots. However, he remembered their voices fairly clearly. After all, it was only last week, and his brain wasn't a computer that could delete things on its own.

Xu Xian is quite sensitive to voices and can clearly distinguish whose voice is whose with a high accuracy rate. Less than a week has passed since the incident in the lounge, and the voices from that day are still imprinted in his mind, so when the chubby passenger in the front seat spoke, Xu Xian immediately remembered him.

Xu Xian didn't stare at the co-pilot, but glanced at him discreetly. His appearance matched the ID photo on the flight information. What was his name again? Ye Xin?

When Ye Xin saw Xu Xian approaching, his heart started pounding. This was a classic case of a guilty conscience, especially since Qin Yue had caught him talking badly about Xu Xian to the other passenger in the lounge that day. He had been terrified that Qin Yue would spread the word about their conversation. Moreover, thinking back on it, the back view of the person opposite Qin Yue looked a lot like Xu Xian.

Unlike other ordinary co-pilots, Xu Xian was already somewhat famous for the Kunyang River emergency landing incident before the dangerous goods leak incident on Flight 6333, at least among co-pilots.

As a celebrity, Xu Xian's physique and appearance are well-known to the public.

However, Ye Xin wasn't exactly a close friend of Xu Xian. He only vaguely felt that the person's back resembled Xu Xian's, but he couldn't be sure. The resemblance alone was enough to frighten him. To gossip about someone behind their back, with the person in question present, even if it wasn't Xu Xian, or even an ordinary person, would be a complete loss of face.

A fondness for gossiping is never a desirable trait, especially for a man.

When he was joking around with the other passenger, he was completely brainless, belittling Xu Xian to the point of being worthless. But if Xu Xian had been there, it would have only made them seem even more ridiculous.

When the plan was finalized, he was devastated when he saw Xu Xian's name. He had considered dropping the class, but after searching around, no one was willing to take over.

One reason is that Gu Kangrong's reputation as an instructor had gradually spread among the lower-ranking members, who kept their distance from him due to his bad temper. Another reason is Xu Xian. Some lower-ranking members who didn't know Gu Kangrong chose not to take over the position after seeing Xu Xian's name. This was mainly because Xu Xian's position was rather unique and difficult to get along with.

Although Xu Xian is the co-pilot, the things he's been up to lately are beyond what a co-pilot could handle. You can't exactly be on friendly terms with him when you fly together, can you? Few people are willing to bow and scrape to someone of equal or even lower rank.

Xu Xian is famous, but none of his associates wanted to curry favor with him. However, if they were to actually fly together, it wouldn't be appropriate to treat each other as equals. Rather than creating an awkward situation, it was better not to fly together at all.

Because of the dual presence of Gu Kangrong and Xu Xian, there was simply no one willing to take over Ye Xin's position.

Ye Xin had also considered using tricks like getting diarrhea to ground himself, but perhaps because he was too healthy, he took long cold showers and, apart from shivering from the cold, showed no signs of getting sick.

Later, Ye Xin realized that whether she took sick leave or personal leave, as long as she took leave, she would lose her production incentive bonus for the month, which would cost her several thousand yuan less.

For the sake of the money, Ye Xin decided not to bother anymore. He could just shamelessly fly around for a day as if nothing was wrong; it wouldn't hurt him. But when he actually saw Xu Xian, he regretted it.

Xu Xian didn't even make eye contact with him, but he felt restless and couldn't help but recall what happened in the lounge, feeling extremely ashamed.

Such agonizing interactions were pure torture. At this point, Ye Xin would rather give up the production incentive bonus of several thousand yuan than spend any more time with Xu Xian.

"Hello, I'm having my check-up today, so I'll trouble you to keep an eye on things from behind." Xu Xian naturally extended his hand with a smile, intending to shake hands with Ye Xin.

Aside from a few very formal and solemn occasions, handshakes are actually quite rare in daily life. Especially in this situation, Xu Xian's offer to shake hands seems very abrupt.

Ye Xin was dumbfounded. He really couldn't understand what Xu Xian was trying to do. What did this mean?

But Xu Xian's hand was already outstretched in mid-air, so he couldn't ignore it. He could only shake hands with Xu Xian awkwardly, and replied very politely, "It's nothing, don't be so polite."

"No need to be polite?" Xu Xian released his right hand and smiled meaningfully: "If that's what Brother Ye thinks, then that's for the best."

Ye Xin's lips twitched; he always felt that Xu Xian's words had a hidden meaning.

Xu Xian turned his head and found that Ye Xin had not only received the flight information, but had even filled out several lines of the pre-flight preparation card.

"Brother Ye, you don't need to fill this out, you're too kind." Xu Xian put the flight box aside and prepared to take over the pre-flight preparation card.

Just then, a person slowly walked in through another entrance to the flight preparation room. He looked like Instructor Gu Kangrong.

Xu Xian and Ye Xin stopped what they were doing almost simultaneously, their eyes meeting those of Instructor Gu Kangrong. As the instructor approached, they both greeted him politely.

Gu Kangrong looked to be about the same age as Qin Zongyang, and guessed that he was also close to retirement. He thought he should make one last big profit before retiring. However, unlike Qin Zongyang's resolute face, Gu Kangrong looked somewhat fierce.

His brow bones are prominent, which is called "eyebrows pressing down on the eyes" in face reading. In addition, Gu Kangrong has a large jaw, which seems to make his jaw appear to be visible at the back of his head.

Whether it's prominent brow bones or a receding jawline, these are both characteristics of a fierce person in physiognomy. However, these are just feudal remnants; take them with a grain of salt. Before this flight, Xu Xian had already heard of Gu Kangrong's reputation, and coupled with his menacing appearance, he couldn't help but marvel at the wisdom of his ancestors.

As Gu Kangrong entered the preparation room, he saw the two co-pilots greeting him. His gaze swept back and forth between them, his expression unchanged, and he asked, "Which one is Xu Xian?"

Xu Xian stepped forward and quickly replied, "Teacher, I am Xu Xian."

"Are you having your check-up today?" Gu Kangrong asked.

"Yes, yes! Today I'm doing a flight inspection as a fourth-level co-pilot."

Gu Kangrong put the flight case on the table and stretched: "I'll go sign in first."

"Okay, okay!" Xu Xian quickly made way for Gu Kangrong.

After Gu Kangrong walked away, Xu Xian curiously glanced at the back of Gu Kangrong's head and, sure enough, could see two bulging cheeks. Gu Kangrong, this instructor, truly exuded a fierce aura, both from his appearance and the tone of his voice.

When Gu Kangrong was speaking, his mouth was involuntarily wide open, and his eyes would occasionally glare. Although it was unclear whether he did it on purpose, he did look rather fierce.

Actually, the few words he said to Xu Xian just now were all normal, but the way he spoke, coupled with his facial expressions and small gestures, gave the impression that he was about to curse at any moment. No wonder the co-pilots who had flown with him before didn't want to fly with him again; the psychological pressure was too great, and they couldn't afford to mess with him.

Ye Xin was only in third place this time, so he didn't need to take a seat. Even if Gu Kangrong got angry, Xu Xian would take the lead, so he wasn't under much pressure.

Gu Kangrong quickly signed in and returned. He first glanced at the task sheet, and Xu Xian had no idea what he was looking at. After reading the task sheet, he looked at Xu Xian again and suddenly said, "What about the transfer exam?"

"Transfer to a bachelor's degree program?" Xu Xian was taken aback. Why would he want to transfer to a bachelor's degree program at this time? Gu Kangrong's unconventional question caught Xu Xian off guard.

"Teacher, are you planning to transfer to a four-year university now?" Xu Xian asked to confirm.

Gu Kangrong nodded: "Yes, give it to me."

Although he didn't understand what Gu Kangrong wanted to do, Xu Xian still obediently went to the box to get the upgrade book.

Taking the promotion certificate from Xu Xian, Gu Kangrong flipped through a few pages, eventually reaching the page for the fourth-level co-pilot. It contained Xu Xian's experience and number of landings during his promotion application, followed by signatures from departments such as the Flight Standards, Safety Team, and Technical Committee, as well as comments from the squadron leader of Xu Xian's squadron.

Looking through this series of pages, all the way to the very bottom of the page, is the content about flight path checks.

Gu Kangrong stared at the flight path inspection section for a long time, then suddenly blurted out, "Does this require a comment?"

"Huh?" Xu Xian was completely baffled by what Instructor Gu meant. He could understand each of his words, but he couldn't make sense of them when put together.

"At Chimelong, all you have to do is check the box for 'pass' or 'fail,' you don't need to write any comments!" Gu Kangrong complained.

Xu Xian suddenly realized, "Oh, I see." It must be that Chimelong Airlines' transfer application format is slightly different from Star Airlines'. Xu Xian thought he was talking about something else entirely.

"By the way, what kind of comments are usually written if the inspection passes?" Gu Kangrong blurted out again.

Xu Xian was momentarily speechless. He really couldn't understand why a transfer to a four-year university required such a thorough examination. However, he patiently explained, "Teacher, there's no fixed format for these comments. To put it simply, just write that it meets the transfer requirements."

Few people pay attention to the comments above; the most important thing is to see which option is checked in the "pass" or "fail" section.

"Meets the promotion requirements, is that all?"

"yes!"

Gu Kangrong pondered for a moment, then took out a pen from the inner pocket of his coat, removed the cap, and prepared to write on the rotating page.

Xu Xian didn't notice at first, but by the time he saw it, Gu Kangrong had already written a stroke on the transfer certificate.

"Teacher, you can't write now!" Xu Xian quickly stopped Gu Kangrong. What kind of situation was this? They hadn't even checked the comments yet, and they were already writing them?

Gu Kangrong frowned: "Why can't I write it?"

"Instructor, it hasn't even flown yet, how can you start writing? That doesn't follow the procedure."

"Tch, I have to sign it anyway, what's the difference?" Gu Kangrong shoved Xu Xian's hand away. "By the way, I remember there's another form to sign for the flight path inspection, right?"

Xu Xian said helplessly, "Yes, there's also a flight path inspection work order. But instructor, isn't this inappropriate? If others find out, it's against the rules."

"Who would know?" Gu Kangrong asked, writing comments with his head down. "Only the two of us would know. If it leaks out, it's because you can't keep a secret."

As he finished speaking, Gu Kangrong looked up, pointed at Ye Xin next to Xu Xian, and warned, "If this matter is leaked, it will be your responsibility. You'll see how I deal with you then."

Gu Kangrong already had a fierce appearance, and when he glared at Ye Xin, Ye Xin was so frightened that she almost lost her mind. She quickly nodded and said, "Don't worry, teacher, I will definitely keep my mouth shut."

"Hmph!" Gu Kangrong withdrew his gaze, checked the box in the "pass" column, signed his name, and after confirming that there were no problems, handed the transfer certificate back to Xu Xian: "Take a look and see if there are any problems. Also, give me that work order form, I'll sign it too."

Xu Xian was speechless. However, since the transfer to a higher degree program had already been signed, it would be hypocritical to say that he couldn't sign it now. So he had no choice but to hand over the flight path inspection work order to Gu Kangrong as well.

A flight checklist is a list of all the check items, such as pre-flight preparation, cockpit preparation, radio communication, standard announcements, and operational procedures at each stage, covering all aspects of flight operations.

Each item is graded into four levels: A, B, C, and D, with A being the highest and D the lowest. Only grades A and B are considered acceptable. If more than 20% of the items scored in the C or D categories are graded, the upgrade requirements are not met, and the route inspection will fail.

Gu Kangrong took the flight line inspection worksheet, glanced at it briefly, wrote "Qualified" in the final conclusion column, signed his name, handed it back to Xu Xian, and said, "Check the rest yourself, don't just give all A's, be a little more realistic."

Ye Xin, who had witnessed everything, twitched on one side of her face. So, Instructor Gu actually knew to make it seem more realistic, huh? But isn't your current behavior just ridiculous?

After finishing everything, Gu Kangrong yawned: "All done. Do you want to fly today? If you don't want to fly, this kid can fly instead."

"Instructor, I'll fly instead." Signing in advance was already excessive, but not even flying would be outrageous.

Gu Kangrong pulled up a chair and sat down: "Whatever, we can't afford to offend you anyway, do whatever you want."

"Can't afford to offend him?" Xu Xian didn't understand what Gu Kangrong meant. That's right, Xu Xian had a little bit of fame now, but he was definitely not someone who was untouchable.

Reputation, unless it's as great as that of Xu Qing and Han Qi, doesn't have much practical significance, especially in the aviation industry.

Gu Kangrong put his pen back in his inner pocket and looked at Xu Xian with a grin: "Don't you know you're a hot potato right now? Actually, today's flight path inspection doesn't matter at all. No matter the result, it won't mean anything to you. You're going to switch to ground transport anyway, so what difference does it make?"

"Transfer to the ground?" Xu Xian narrowed his eyes: "Instructor, I don't know where you got this information from. No one informed me of this, and no one here has mentioned it either."

"Of course not here!" Gu Kangrong clicked his tongue. "The Chimelong volcanic ash incident, the Kunyang River emergency landing, the hazardous materials leak—the insurance companies would rather default than cancel the policy. You're something else. However, it seems the insurance company has proposed a compromise: if you stop flying, they can consider continuing the insurance business. The group's board of directors is discussing this now, and they should have a decision in a couple of days. The situation doesn't seem very good for you!"

(End of this chapter)