Chapter 7 Approach to Shanghai, Happy New Year
The cigarette burned out, and the butt burned Xu Songning's fingertip. She came to her senses and threw the rest into the ashtray.
The photo was put back in its original position.
The next day, Lu Xiaomeng helped clean the house and put a sunflower in a vase to add some life to Sister Xu's house. Knowing that Xu Songning usually slept in, she didn't wake her and quietly left.
The captain's time is also very valuable; she's either flying or adjusting her schedule. She didn't take the initiative to contact Song Qing'an and Xiang Yun. Song Qing'an would occasionally send her a few messages to chat, but Xiang Yun remained silent.
The Lunar New Year is just around the corner, and she is still alone this year.
The work group was also lively. "Mediterranean" generously sent a large red envelope in the group, and everyone happily grabbed the red envelope and sent their blessings.
"Mediterranean" sent Xu Songning a private message with a note attached.
"Happy Lunar New Year's Eve, Xiao Xu. You've worked hard overtime."
Xu Songning accepted it and searched for a thank-you message on Baidu, expressing his gratitude to the leader for taking care of him throughout the year.
"Young Xu, don't think that I, a middle-aged or elderly person, can't tell that you copied this, right?"
Xu Songning laughed, packed her things, and went to work.
The airport was filled with a festive atmosphere, with passengers hurrying home for the Chinese New Year.
They happened to run into a flight crew. Xu Songning recognized the person standing at the front at a glance. Just then, Xiang Yun looked up, and their eyes met. They couldn't help but greet each other.
"Captain Xiang, what a coincidence, you're at work too?"
Xu Songning's long hair was casually tied back, held in place by a fluffy panda hair clip, and her cute panda face smiled at Xiang Yun.
“Miss Xu, what a coincidence.”
Xu Songning was amused by his pause, "You don't want to call me Sister Xu too, do you? That's fine, I'll take advantage of it."
Xiang Yun's cold expression finally softened, and a smile appeared on his lips. He had been too tense these past few days, and the two of them weren't particularly close, but after just a few words of conversation, his mind suddenly relaxed.
"On the way back, I wonder if I'll run into Miss Xu giving directions."
"Then it depends on Captain Xiang's luck." Xu Songning blinked.
"Okay." Xiang Yun nodded, then sighed, "I don't think I've ever had very good luck."
"How could that be?" Xu Songning smiled, her eyes crinkling, and patted his shoulder. "Safe takeoff and landing, Captain Xiang. I'll get back to work now."
Xiang Yun's shoulder felt hot, simply because Xu Songning had patted him.
"Big brother, how are we flying today?" The co-pilot came over and tried to put his arm around Xiang Yun's shoulder, but Xiang Yun dodged him.
"I'll fly to Shenzhen, and you'll fly back. Is there a problem?" Xiang Yun asked indifferently.
"No problem." The co-pilot waved his hand dismissively. He was quite casual about who he flew with and how he flew, especially with the experienced Xiang Yun. He had no worries and just wanted to finish the flight as soon as possible and go home for the holiday.
"Hey, Yun-ge, your flight arrives in Shanghai at midnight tonight, just in time for the New Year. Are you staying at a hotel or going home? Your family must be waiting for you, right?"
"Yes, I'm going home," Xiang Yun replied, lifting his long legs to walk forward, leaving Fu Fei behind so he wouldn't be so tactless as to keep asking questions.
There are many flights during the day during the Spring Festival, but fewer at night, as most people are rushing home and nobody wants to spend the holiday on a plane.
Xiang Yun's plane was delayed for almost an hour at the departure airport, causing the passengers to become very anxious and their tempers to worsen.
"It's already been delayed for so long, why aren't you hurrying up?"
"I've already planned my landing arrangements, I don't want to spend the New Year on a plane!"
"Waiter! I asked for a blanket, why hasn't it been brought over yet?"
The flight attendant's expression was one of utter dismay. This passenger had just finished ordering orange juice and was now asking for a blanket. Before she could even finish serving the other passengers their drinks, the passenger started yelling again.
"Please wait a moment, I'll get it for you right away." The flight attendant maintained her signature smile.
As soon as I walked up to the flight attendant, I heard the passenger utter a foul curse, and my eyes immediately welled up with tears.
The flight attendant patted her hand, took the blanket and handed it to her, offering a few words of comfort, but the passenger was completely unable to calm down, so she had to connect to the cockpit intercom.
"Captain Xiang, I'm sorry to bother you. Due to the delay, there are some issues in the cabin. Could you make an announcement over the captain's name? Perhaps the captain's announcement would be more effective than our reassurance."
"It's alright, leave it to me," Xiang Yun replied.
The flight attendant breathed a huge sigh of relief. "That was a real problem."
The call had just ended when a crackling sound of electricity filled the cabin, followed by Xiang Yun's calm voice.
"Good morning, passengers. I am the captain of this flight, Xiang Yun. I am very happy to fly with you all to our destination, Shanghai, on New Year's Eve."
A splash of water was poured into the tense atmosphere of the cabin, causing steam to rise and hiss.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances, this flight is delayed. We sincerely apologize for the delay. The entire crew will do their utmost to ensure you arrive at your destination on time. We hope for your understanding. As the clock strikes midnight, you can look out the window and see the twinkling lights below – fireworks on the ground. This view of the fireworks can only be seen once a year, so please don't miss this rare opportunity. I am Captain Xiang Yun, and the entire crew is with you. We wish you a Happy Lunar New Year's Eve."
"What does the captain mean?"
"You'll be there on time! That's good. I told my wife I couldn't be late at all."
"Watching fireworks from an airplane? I've never seen that before, I'm so excited!"
"The captain's voice is so pleasant! So reliable! Well, I'm not so annoyed anymore. The plane was supposed to arrive in Shanghai at midnight anyway, so it's good that we arrived on time."
The cabin finally returned to calm, and the passenger who had gotten a blanket quickly closed his eyes. Before falling asleep, he nudged his colleague next to him, "Remember to wake me up at midnight to watch the fireworks!"
"Jiaozhou 9777, contact tower 118.3, goodbye, Happy Lunar New Year's Eve."
"Tower 118.3, Jiaozhou 9777, Happy Lunar New Year's Eve!"
"China Southern Airlines 3138, approaching Shanghai, radar detected, descending to altitude 4800, report your intentions."
"Descending to 4800 meters, requesting landing at 36L, China Southern Airlines 3138. There should be few flights today, no need to queue, right?"
"Expected landing at 36L, no need to queue, China Southern Airlines 3138."
"Thank you, Sister Xu! Happy New Year... Oh wait, there are still a few seconds left, let's start with a Happy Lunar New Year's Eve! China Southern Airlines 3138."
Happy Lunar New Year's Eve.
Xu Songning glanced at the time; it was almost midnight, and the pilot's plane still hadn't appeared in her sector. It seemed she had missed it.
"10! 9!..."
“3! 2!…”
"1!"
Along with the countdown, a man's steady voice squeezed into the broadcast channel.
"Happy New Year, Shanghai Approach, Air China 1894, altitude 5400."
"Happy New Year, Captain Xiang, radar detected you." Xu Songning smiled. "Air China 1894, descending to an altitude of 3600 meters, expected to land on runway 36R."
Sitting in the passenger seat, Xiang Yun heard her voice and a smile crept onto his face. The two of them tacitly recalled their meeting at the airport.
"Damn, Brother Yun, does this female approaching officer know you? How did she recognize your voice? She hears so many captains talking every day, how could she still recognize you?" the pilot asked in surprise.
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