Chapter 6 – Already Grounded for Half a Year

The rain finally stopped early the next morning. The airport, washed by the rain, appeared hazy, yet the trees along the path shone bright green. Visibility on the ground was sufficiently high, allowing Bian Ji to land on schedule.

Upon returning to the base, the company did not assign the crew any new flights. Regulations stipulated no more than twelve consecutive hours of flying, and flight incidents triggered lengthy investigations during which no other work could be undertaken. Bian Ji thus had a break of indeterminate length, but apart from sleeping soundly on the day of his medical check-up, he remained busy throughout.

Bian Ji was first summoned to the company to report the incident details, then wrote an extensive accident report. Every detail, from meal serving quantities to broadcast timings, and from fire extinguishing procedures to emergency response protocols, needed to be fully documented and clear. During the responsibility assessment phase, any oversight in a single step could lead to penalties for those on duty.

For an incident of this magnitude, after the briefing, there was still field investigation and experimental verification required to analyze the cause of the accident before submitting a report to the Civil Aviation Administration.

By the time all these procedures were completed, half a month had passed.

Before New Year’s Day, the investigation and evaluation regarding the crew and attendants finally concluded – everyone was blameless, having handled the situation appropriately.

In the building of the Cabin Service Department, Bian Ji signed the accident determination report but lingered, not leaving immediately.

The middle-aged man behind the redwood desk praised him, “I will immediately consult with the Civil Aviation Administration. You’ve worked hard; go home and rest well.”

Bian Ji, having worked at the airline for ten years, had interacted with leaders of various ranks from the supervisory department and headquarters management, earning the favor of many senior colleagues.

After modestly stating it was part of his duties, Bian Ji called out “Director Liang,” seemingly with a request.

Director Liang looked up and asked, “Is there something else?”

“There is indeed a small matter.” Bian Ji sat down on the chair indicated by the director’s finger, asking familiarly, “Do you know Yang Tianru?”

Director Liang nodded.

Yang Tianru, the third position on AD801, had stood guard at the fire source until the very end, reporting to him.

“Tianru was closest to the fire source this time; she suffered burns to her lower leg skin and a minor ankle fracture due to rescue efforts.” Bian Ji pulled out a stack of reports from his file bag, “Their skirts are too narrow, stockings are flammable, and high heels hinder movement, forcing them to take off their shoes and tear off their stockings to run, which not only delays rescue but also poses danger.”

The director adjusted his glasses, “So what?”

“So, in addition to our accident report, we submitted a new report concerning changes to the stewardess uniform style and cabin service management. I see it has been over a week since it reached your desk, so I brought it here in case you haven’t had time to look at it, for your review.” Bian Ji finished speaking, his eyes bending slightly, making it difficult to scold him.

Director Liang suddenly turned serious, leaning forward to look at Bian Ji, “Don’t hand it over, I’ve already read it.”

“You’ve read it?” Bian Ji feigned surprise.

The director didn’t indulge his deliberately rhetorical question, tapping the table, “Bian Ji, do you know how long the cabin service experience has been in place?”

Bian Ji maintained an innocent expression, “Yes, I do.”

“Other companies have similar requirements. And I don’t understand, what does the stewardesses’ uniform have to do with you?”

“Since I’m the chief attendant on AD801, I have to take responsibility for the problems discovered in this incident.” Bian Ji continued to smile warmly.

What Bian Ji said made sense, but the company had just issued a batch of new uniforms last year, and destroying, designing, manufacturing, and distributing them would incur significant costs. The company’s top brass, due to poor business conditions, had just proposed cost-cutting measures, making now an unfavorable time for reform.

Director Liang, who started from regional chief attendant and became the overall manager of the Cabin Service Department, had trained many new flight attendants, including Bian Ji. He found it awkward, “I understand. Just leave the report here, I’ll brief the leadership team about it.”

At this point, Bian Ji couldn’t press further and simply thanked him.

“Alright, thanks for your trouble, Director!” Bian Ji walked out, looking up to see the deep blue sky, sighing deeply.

This month had been chaotic, with no increase in flight hours, yet the crew involved was exhausted.

Before the disaster, Bian Ji had promised to take everyone for hotpot in Kunming, but due to various unforeseen circumstances delaying things until now, they could only make do with a gathering in Shanghai.

Bian Ji paused, sending a message in the group chat from back then, asking if anyone wanted to celebrate and ring in the New Year together.

Yang Tianru was recuperating at home, and the other flight attendants all replied “not going,” citing fatigue as the reason. After all, they had to fly on January 1st and needed to catch up on sleep.

The only one who agreed was Nie Hang. Two years older than Bian Ji and an alumnus from junior high school, years of classmate status plus a life-saving partnership allowed him to speak without reserve.

Nie Hang asked, [Why are you only @ing them and not me? I’m coming.] Bian Ji replied, [Are you invited just because you say you’re coming?] Nie Hang wasn’t pleased, [What’s wrong with that, am I not worthy of eating mushrooms?]

Jokes aside, Bian Ji still found a popular Yunnanese restaurant nearby and posted it in the group.

The others still said they didn’t want to move, so Bian Ji didn’t insist, saying they’d meet another time, then separately @ed Nie Hang, saying he planned to queue up for a table first.

During the New Year holiday, the people of Shanghai were even more enthusiastic about going out than usual, and seeing the queue number “103 tables” away, Bian Ji wasn’t in a hurry to leave: “We probably won’t get our turn for another two hours. How about we leave at seven-thirty?”

Nie Hang called Bian Ji, asking, “Is anyone else coming tonight?”

Bian Ji scrolled through the chat records, confirming, “No one else, right?”

“In that case, can I bring someone else? I’ll treat you.” Nie Hang said, “You know him, Qiao Yuan.”

“Oh, Brother Yuan!” This person Bian Ji indeed knew, a renowned captain from a friendly airline, who had appeared in the news several times and was also his fellow townsman, seen at various gatherings. Bian Ji wondered, “He talked about meeting up last time, isn’t he flying today?”

“Not flying, he — ” Nie Hang hesitated, “Well, never mind, anyway, there’s a bunch of stuff going on. We’ll talk when we meet.”

Nie Hang’s implication was that since each of the three had their own troubles, they might as well sit down together, drown their sorrows in alcohol, and celebrate the New Year.

Bian Ji had a good impression of Qiao Yuan, and since the table he had queued for was large, he readily agreed.

Unlike the deep-colored yellow-cuff attendant uniform required onboard, Bian Ji preferred light-colored clothing for daily outings. Today, to match the New Year atmosphere, he even wore a red scarf, making him appear five years younger.

The restaurant was near Jing’an Temple, and Bian Ji encountered rush hour traffic when he left, taking over half an hour to arrive. Nie Hang and Qiao Yuan had already been sitting and chatting for some time, both dressed in black, exuding a strong aura just by sitting there.

Qiao Yuan hadn’t seen Bian Ji for quite some time, naturally inquiring about the situation with that incident first, “Have the results of your investigation come out? What was the cause?”

“Preliminary determination is that circuit fatigue led to overheating and fire, fan overload rupture, debris thrown into the duct causing engine surge.” Aircraft weren’t Bian Ji’s specialty, and remembering these terms showed good memory, but he couldn’t provide detailed explanations, “Hey, you two captains are here, why am I talking nonsense in front of experts? You two chat!”

Captain Nie wore an expression of “don’t pull my leg.”

“My god, that’s terrifying.” Qiao Yuan sucked in a cold breath, “Thankfully you handled the evacuation properly, otherwise hundreds of people would have been in trouble.”

“It’s also thanks to the passengers’ cooperation; otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to do much, no matter how capable we were.” Bian Ji said.

When the conversation reached this point, Nie Hang suddenly remembered something, asking, “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask. That day, I saw you talking to a passenger for a long time, was he a friend?”

Reminded by Nie Hang, Bian Ji recalled that after parting ways at the airport, Yan Ankuo had vanished along with the fire. Unfortunately, Bian Ji’s memory was too good, and because of the rare event of his contact request being rejected, Yan Ankuo’s presence in his mind grew disproportionately.

Being rejected wasn’t a dignified affair, so Bian Ji spoke partially about the encounter, “Brother Nie, don’t exaggerate. He was just a passenger who helped out on the plane.”

“Hmm?” Nie Hang raised his eyebrows, implying something, “From what I saw, he was pretty tall, handsome, seemed like your type.”

“Really?” Bian Ji didn’t respond, “Didn’t notice.”

Nie Hang chuckled coldly, “You better not have.”

Qiao Yuan, having only met Bian Ji a few times, didn’t comment much on his personal matters, merely chuckling along.

Up to this point in the meal, two of the three men’s distresses had been shared. Bian Ji empathetically prompted Qiao Yuan, “How has Brother Yuan been recently?”

“Compared to you guys dealing with a fire, it’s definitely better.” Qiao Yuan opened a can of soda with one hand, mocking himself, “But it’s not great either.”

Bian Ji exchanged a glance with Nie Hang, not daring to speak much, only asking, “What happened?”

Qiao Yuan took a swig of beer, continuing, “I’ve been grounded.”

Bian Ji choked on his water, surprised, “Grounded?!”

“Yeah,” Qiao Yuan held the soda can, his eyes looking out at the distant, gray-blue sky, “Actually, I’ve been grounded for half a year already.”