Chapter 94 Xu Songning's Former Master
The "Ming Ge" that Sister Wang mentioned is a 45-year-old Level 1 air traffic controller in Shanghai. He has worked in this position for 16 years and has handled several special situations in his career, preventing extreme incidents and promptly directing emergency aircraft to land safely.
Level 1 controllers are expert-level figures. Even a controller as capable as him could not escape the torment of illness and could no longer stay in the high-intensity front-line work position. He chose to become a university teacher and train new people.
Ming has always been an idol for many air traffic controllers, and he is also Xu Songning's idol.
She certainly hopes for a flight accident-free career and ideally, for no emergencies to occur during her professional life. But if one does happen, she hopes that she will be able to handle emergencies with the same strong ability and decisive judgment as her mentor.
Learning from her mentor was actually a very tough process. Although her knowledge and practical skills were better than those of other interns, she was still overwhelmed by her mentor's high demands and strict assessments. She was often so nervous that she felt nauseous and wanted to vomit. During that time, she almost bit her fingernails off.
Other trainee controllers envied her for having a good mentor. She was both grateful that her mentor was so capable and also under pressure from him.
She was probably about to leave this position, and her master's demands on her became even stricter, almost forcing her to quit. But what kind of person was Xu Songning? Even when she went back at night, she would review the knowledge points taught by her master in her dreams, integrate them, and make them her own.
During that period, everyone's concerns about the newcomer Xu Songning were not unfounded. Not everyone who was a trainee air traffic controller could stay on, and Xu Songning had two prestigious titles to his name.
Ming's apprentice, Xu Enxia's daughter.
Everyone seemed to assume that she could do these things well, and that she could definitely do things that others couldn't.
These invisible pressures and stares were eroding her focus, and her master tapped her hand hard with his pen to remind her.
"You hold the line of aviation safety in your hands; you can never let your guard down!"
Ultimately, Xu Songning was one of only two trainee air traffic controllers to remain. She passed the solo flight assessment, demonstrating her ability to independently direct flights, and became a Level 5 air traffic controller.
The day the notice was issued, my mentor also successfully transferred to a university to teach and train more air traffic controllers.
Xu Songning always respected his master and would visit him at the school whenever he had free time.
But later, too many things happened, and Xu Songning completely lost contact with her master. She began to not want to hear that name and subconsciously avoided it.
When Sister Wang said those words, she was in a daze for a moment. It wasn't until Sister Wang patted her arm that she snapped out of her reverie and refocused her attention.
"I don't quite remember, it's been a long time." Xu Songning smiled and shook the headphones in her hand. "I'm going to work now, Sister Wang, you go ahead and get busy."
Sister Wang watched her departing figure with a sigh. Last year, the department organized an activity to visit Ming Ge at the university. As his apprentice, Xu Songning should have taken the lead. Unexpectedly, Xu Songning said she wouldn't go even though she was off work. Some people said behind her back that she was ungrateful and a heartless ingrate.
Wang Jie didn't believe what others said, but Xu Songning's attitude was really abnormal. In the first year, she went more enthusiastically than anyone else, but later she simply stopped going altogether, as if the two of them had developed some kind of estrangement.
As outsiders, no one knew what had happened between them; they could only whisper a few words behind their backs.
Xu Songning leaned back in her chair, massaging her neck with her eyes closed. When she heard someone enter the lounge, she opened her eyes and saw that she was looking directly into the eyes of Sister Wang's apprentice.
"Is there something you need?"
"Ah, no, no! I just came to rest for a bit." The young man was still shy, but his eyes were burning with desire as he looked at her.
Xu Songning isn't stupid, nor is she a little girl anymore; how could she not understand what he meant by looking at his eyes?
She started a conversation, "Do you like this job? Do you want to stay?"
The young man was thrilled to see her talking to him. He found a seat, sat down, and rubbed his knees. "I...I don't know."
"Don't know?" Xu Songning laughed and shook her head. "How could you not even know your own goals? Then why did you choose this profession?"
"I chose this because others recommended it. Air traffic control sounds really prestigious, like you can command aircraft, and some people can even command fighter jets," the young man said shyly.
Xu Songning's hair clip came loose. As she tidied her hair, she said, "What's so high-class about it? After you started working here, did you find that this job is actually exhausting? It's completely different from what you imagined."
"Yeah, it's so different from what I expected. I'm under a lot of pressure, and I'm afraid of making a mistake." The young man lowered his head and spoke in a low voice.
Xu Songning didn't want to discourage him, but she also hoped he would see reality clearly.
The hardships behind what may seem like "high-class" professions are only truly understood by those who work in them.
"So, do you want to stay? Sister Wang has been teaching you so diligently, but you don't seem to care much. If you're not serious about this job, you're not suited for this industry. You have to be responsible for every passenger and crew member on every plane, and always keep your hairpins in place, instead of being so listless as you are now."
The young man immediately sat up straight, clearly concerned about her opinion of him. He tossed his hair and said, "You're energetic! Whether I can stay or not isn't up to me alone. It depends on Sister Wang's approval and the organization's review."
Xu Songning shook his head again, "Actually, whether you stay or not depends on you. If you don't want to stay here, no one can keep you. If you're not focused on your work at all, then no one can keep you."
The words sounded like a tongue twister, but the young man understood them. He blushed, not because of Xu Songning, but because he was embarrassed. He felt ashamed that a woman he liked had directly pointed out his flaw.
"What if I stay for someone else?" The young man stared intently at her, completely forgetting what Sister Wang had told him: Xu Songning was not a woman he could control.
Xu Songning admired his courage to speak out, but also despised him for staying not to pursue his own heart, but for someone else.
“I would never easily decide my fate because of anyone. I love this job, so I stayed back then. If you don’t like this line of work, you should leave as soon as possible. There’s no room for error in the aerospace safety line.” Xu Songning stood up to leave.
The young man seemed to have something else to say, but Xu Songning stopped him with a gesture of silencing.
“I know what you’re going to say,” Xu Songning smiled brightly, and continued, “You’re not my type, and I don’t like developing relationships with colleagues. If you can’t find a suitable boundary to distance yourself from me, or stay for some other lame reason, then I’ll advise Sister Wang not to give you an evaluation.”
She looked him up and down. "Anyway, you won't pass the review, so don't embarrass the controllers. Go back and change careers."
The young man felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and stood frozen in place, unable to move.
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