Legendary Captain

Chapter 287 The Changing Times

"Rumors about you?" The reporters pondered the question for a moment, then suddenly realized what the hottest gossip had been recently: that Xu Xian was Xu Qing's illegitimate son.

Whether it's Xu Qing, a veteran in the civil aviation industry, or Xu Xian, who's been making headlines recently, they're both prominent figures. Now, a piece of gossip has brought these two together; it's no wonder things are about to explode.

In fact, it is not difficult to verify whether Xu Xian is Xu Qing's illegitimate son. Xu Xian and Xu Qing have never deliberately hidden their past. With a little effort, it is definitely possible to figure out the relationship between Xu Xian and Xu Qing. However, none of the media reporters are willing to do so.

It's not that I can't, it's that I don't want to.

Xu Qing's complete retirement from the civil aviation industry is already a long way off. Once he's completely gone, he'll have virtually no news value left. It's normal for him to contribute a little bit before he loses his last bit of value.

It has to be said that Xu Qing's gossip this time has really fed the media a lot. There's no way around it; Xu Qing has never had any gossip before, and this first one is so explosive, how could the hype not reach record highs?

Xu Xian was undoubtedly implicated in this incident and certainly suffered injustice. However, Xu Xian's future rise still requires media support, so even if he suffers some injustice, he will likely have to endure it.

However, in reality, Xu Xian didn't care about his relationship with the media at all, and even made some harsh remarks.

To be honest, the media reporters hadn't expected Xu Xianzheng to be such a hothead, someone who had never considered such a passive or reserved approach. This caught them off guard.

"Xu Xian, you still have a long way to go, and you'll need to cooperate with us a lot in the future. Isn't it inappropriate for you to talk like that?" one of the reporters said with a half-smile. Although his tone was slow and deliberate, the threat was obvious.

This reporter's words undoubtedly reflected the thoughts of most journalists. No matter how talented Xu Xian is, if he wants to become a benchmark figure in civil aviation, he still needs media publicity.

Good wine needs no bush? Times have changed!

However, Xu Xian wasn't buying it at all, retorting, "You seem to think too highly of yourselves. You need to understand one thing: your current success is entirely due to the person sitting up there. Without him, at least 80% of your media outlets would have to close down. You need to understand cause and effect. Do you really think we're going to be beholden to you? We're quitting. Let's see who else will listen to us then!"

Xu Xian's shocking remarks immediately stunned the media reporters present, who turned pale with fright.

Some older journalists remember how bleak the civil aviation news industry was before Xu Qing appeared. The only one that was doing relatively well, Pengteng Information, made its money entirely by digging up scandalous affairs between pilots and flight attendants. Other media outlets with a bit more self-respect, unwilling to report such vulgar gossip, were all struggling to make ends meet.

In that era, you either had to swallow your pride and kneel to earn money, or stand and starve; you ultimately had to choose one. However, following Xu Qing's "broken window effect," the level of attention given to civil aviation exploded. Today, civil aviation media can earn money while maintaining a respectable image.

Perhaps due to their long-term comfortable lives, these media reporters have forgotten who their benefactors are.

While current civil aviation traffic is indeed far greater than it was twenty years ago, it still exhibits a winner-takes-all dynamic. In other words, nearly 70% of civil aviation news traffic is concentrated on a small group of people.

Xu Qing and Han Qi were like that before, and Xu Xian also has the potential to become like that.

However, these media outlets have never grasped one point: figures like Xu Qing or Han Qi, who can support a huge audience in an industry, are not figures they can create themselves.

If Xu Xian's ultimate goal is merely to achieve a status similar to that of a celebrity, then he should indeed cultivate good relationships with the media. However, Xu Xian's aim is to become a top figure in the entire civil aviation industry, like Xu Qing. In the end, he can only rely on himself; the media's hype will not enable him to take that final step.

When he was a child, Xu Xian felt that Xu Qing's brilliance was so dazzling, as untouchable as the sun. But now, Xu Xian is only one step away, really only one step away, from reaching the same height as Xu Qing.

"Perhaps you've all been spoiled rotten in recent years, and you've lost all sense of direction. If you still want to continue living your comfortable lives, then you should understand that those who support this industry are cutting off their own pillars, and you can expect to starve." Ever since the internet was flooded with news that he was Xu Qing's illegitimate son a few days ago, Xu Xian had been holding back his anger towards those shameless media outlets. However, the main target of this matter was still Xu Qing, and he had to wait for Xu Qing to make a statement before expressing his own opinion in line with Xu Qing's stance.

Xu Xian is not the kind of person who would unconditionally compromise himself for the sake of others, so he can sometimes appear very straightforward. As a result, there are not many people who can truly confide in him.

However, if it is someone Xu Xian truly approves of, he is willing to restrain his thoughts for them, just like Xu Qing.

Even though he was furious, he waited for Xu Qing to express his opinion first before continuing to speak in accordance with Xu Qing's wishes.

Just now, when Lu Xinyu came out, Xu Xian already knew Xu Qing's attitude.

Xu Qing ultimately did not forgive those media outlets that spread rumors and caused trouble!

Xu Qing defied public opinion by replacing Xu Xian to perform this flight demonstration in order to prove that he is still as skilled as ever. Although he did not complete the ultra-low altitude leveling maneuver, he performed a more difficult single-wheel touchdown maneuver, and the desired effect was achieved.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have already stepped out of the cabin and been greeted by countless flashes of light. But Xu Qing refused to go out, determined not to let the media capture him exiting the cabin.

In fact, since Xu Qing didn't leave the cabin, everyone could deduce that the person on the plane was Xu Qing; it was almost obvious. But without footage of him leaving the cabin, there was no concrete evidence, and those media reporters must have felt a thorn in their side, unable to find any satisfaction.

Someone impersonated Xu Xian to complete an extremely difficult flight performance, and that person is highly likely to be Xu Qing. However, there is no photographic or video evidence; the entire press release is based on speculation. What kind of nonsense is this? Readers prefer to see actual evidence, not a detective novel written by a journalist.

Several reporters couldn't hold back any longer and, camera in hand, prepared to rush toward the passenger boarding stairs.

However, the security personnel who were prepared tackled the reporters who tried to force their way in.

"Dear reporters, you all signed the regulations agreement when you came in. We haven't even settled accounts with you for disregarding the airspace restrictions on our runway and forcibly maneuvering your drones into the restricted area. Now you're going to break the rules again and force your way in with your planes? Do you really think our airport is made of paper?" At this moment, Wen Jingshu pushed through the crowd and slowly walked over, saying to the security personnel in front of her, "Record the work ID numbers, names, and work units of all those who forced their way in. Their superiors are still on the list. I'll go and demand an explanation from their superiors one by one later."

All media reporters present were recorded upon entering and signed a code of conduct agreement. Any violation of airport regulations will result in penalties for the individual and their organization.

The event was nominally organized by Star Travel Airlines, but Hamchi Airport, as the host and venue provider, would also lose face if problems arose.

Those reporters had already violated regulations by disregarding airspace restrictions and flying drones over the runway; now they dared to force their way through the security line, clearly showing no respect for Hamchi Airport. Hamchi Airport is a property of the Wen Group, and these reporters' disregard for the rules infuriated Wen Jingshu.

Therefore, Wen Jingshu will definitely not let the reporters who just caused the incident off easily; she will make an example of them to warn others.

The reporters who had rushed in just now immediately changed their expressions. Their leader was indeed in a detached building not far behind. If they really came to their door because of this, they would probably be in deep trouble.

"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!" The reporters immediately backed down and tried to distance themselves from the security personnel.

"They'll just go wherever they want, leave whenever they want, and a misunderstanding will make everything alright? Are you kidding me?" Wen Jingshu instructed the security personnel: "Be quick and record all their information. Once you've recorded it, let them go, but be careful not to hurt anyone."

Even though Wen Jingshu was angry, she was still clear-headed. All she needed to do was find out these people's personal and organizational information, and then hold their superiors accountable; there was no need to escalate the situation to the point of bloodshed.

The reporters knew that if their personal and organizational information were recorded, they would be severely punished, so they tightly covered their work IDs and refused to show them to the security personnel.

It's true that the security personnel were all strong and capable, but they were reluctant to use excessive force and injure the reporters. If a reporter were injured during a conflict, they would lose their grounds even if they were in the right.

Now that they were more cautious, those few slender reporters held onto their work IDs tightly, refusing to let go no matter what.

For a moment, the situation became somewhat deadlocked.

The scene here made Wen Jingshu slightly displeased.

Just then, a mature woman suddenly stepped out from the crowd. She was tall and had an extraordinary temperament. She was Ye Jing, the editor-in-chief of Tianyan Magazine.

Ye Jing crossed the security line without being stopped, as if it had been planned beforehand.

Ye Jing glanced at the reporters arguing with the security personnel, paused briefly, and then turned to Wen Jingshu and said softly, "I know these people. Don't bother asking them for information. I'll tell you later."

Wen Jingshu nodded slightly: "Okay."

With that, Wen Jingshu signaled to the security personnel that they could release the reporters.

Although the reporters were released, their tension did not ease; instead, they became even more anxious. They looked at Ye Jing pleadingly, "Editor-in-Chief Ye, we're all in the same line of work, please leave us a way out."

The saying goes, "every profession has its own secrets," and these reporters weren't actually afraid of Wen Jingshu; no matter how powerful the Wen Group was, they couldn't penetrate the media industry. But Ye Jing was different; she represented the leading company in the civil aviation media sector, Tianyan Magazine.

Ye Jing's blow to them had a greater impact than that of three or four Wen Jingshus.

Ye Jing completely ignored the reporters, only glancing at Xu Xian in the crowd: "Xu Xian, what are you still doing there? Come here!"

Xu Xian had initially been watching the show, but unexpectedly, he found himself caught in the middle of it. Pointing at himself, he asked, "Me? Should I go up?"

"That's right!" Ye Jing smiled.

"Why should I go up there?" Although Xu Xian didn't know why Ye Jing was calling him, he still pushed through the crowd and walked towards Ye Jing.

Seeing Xu Xian arrive, Ye Jing boarded the passenger elevator first, leaving behind only a burst of laughter: "Didn't I tell you about the annual cover story interview? Let's start the interview now!"

When Xu Xian entered the plane cabin, Xu Qing was leisurely drinking tea in the first-class area, while Ye Jing was sitting next to Xu Qing.

Seeing Xu Xian enter, Xu Qing patted the empty seat to his right: "Sit down and let's talk."

In front of Xu Qing, Xu Xian still appeared quite obedient, sitting quietly in the empty seat to Xu Qing's right.

After Xu Xian sat down, Xu Qing smiled and said to Ye Jing, "Sister Jing, this should be the last time you interview me."

This sentence alone shows that Xu Qing and Ye Jing have a very good relationship in private.

Ye Jing sighed: "Have you really decided to completely withdraw?"

"I've made up my mind. I'm tired of it. I've compromised for a long time for the X10 project. Now that the X10 project is on track, how it develops is no longer my concern. I should let go." Xu Qing said, pointing to Xu Xian, "From now on, this kid will need your help to promote him."

Ye Jing glanced at Xu Xian and smiled, "He's already made it big enough, he doesn't need me to flatter him anymore."

"Tianyan Magazine is different from those clowns down there." Xu Qing shook his head: "My last interview will be in the next issue, which will feature Xu Xian on the cover."

Ye Jing nodded: "Just like we agreed before, I've already taken care of things with the editorial department. We can start once the photographer arrives with his equipment. Xu Xian, you should also get ready for your cover interview; let's get started this time too."

Xu Xian had received a notification from Star Travel Airlines that Tianyan Magazine would be conducting an interview during the event, and he had even dressed up for it. He originally thought that Tianyan Magazine would only interview him after the event was completely over, and he really didn't expect to be interviewed in the cabin with Xu Qing.

This time, Xu Qing replaced Xu Xian and completed an extremely difficult single-round grounding maneuver. Anyone who reported this big news would definitely attract a lot of attention. However, Xu Qing cleverly avoided leaving the cabin and showing his face. The media outlets below could only rely on their own deductions to publish this news, which was not very appealing.

However, Xu Qing's disgust for the media does not mean that he should completely waste this opportunity to showcase the event in a single round. He simply handed over all the reporting rights for this event to Tianyan Magazine.

Tianyan Magazine remained completely out of place during the period when rumors were rampant. This was a major reason why Xu Qing chose Tianyan Magazine.

This interview with Xu Qing is not only about this one-off ground trip, but also Xu Qing's farewell interview. Moreover, since only Tianyan Magazine can report on it, it is almost certain that the next issue of Tianyan Magazine will be a bestseller.

Meanwhile, the next issue of Tianyan Magazine happens to be the one featuring Xu Xian on the cover. Although Xu Xian seems to be very famous now and has a high level of online discussion, some things are really hard to predict.

There have been numerous cases where singers enjoy immense online popularity, only to see their popularity plummet once they release an album.

It's not that Xu Xian is just a pretty face, but some things are truly unpredictable and risky. If the magazine featuring Xu Xian as the cover star for the next issue doesn't sell well, it will inevitably give people the impression that she's undeserving of the title.

Therefore, Xu Qingning would rather sacrifice his own popularity to support Xu Xian, at least giving Xu Xian a completely respectable start.

Xu Xian is now just one step away from takeoff, and he can't afford to stumble at this crucial moment.

Xu Qing felt somewhat apologetic towards Xu Xian, as this rumor incident had implicated Xu Xian, and since he had impersonated Xu Xian, Xu Xian would certainly be punished as well. Therefore, this action could be considered as repaying Xu Xian's debt of gratitude.

Looking at the old man and the young girl in front of her, Ye Jing couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.

Xu Qing's era has come to an end, and Xu Xian's era has finally begun.

(End of this chapter)