At 00:15, a Airbus A320-200, painted in its signature red and blue swallow livery, touched down on the runway at Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport. As the aircraft taxied to a remote stand, the passenger stairs were wheeled into position and connected to its door. Exhausted from the two-hour flight, travelers gathered their carry-ons and, under the guidance of ground staff clad in reflective vests, quickly disembarked. They filed directly onto the waiting shuttle buses parked on the tarmac.
After the last passenger disembarked, I joined my two colleagues from the Economy Class cabin to complete the security sweep of our section. Once we confirmed no items were left behind, we clipped on our CAAC-issued boarding passes, wheeled out our company-issued crew bags along with the kit the purser had handed over, and finally stepped onto the crew bus. Another exhausting day had officially come to an end.
I had just sunk into the soft seat of the crew bus and fastened my seatbelt when the purser in the front row turned around. "Alright, team, good work today. Let's do our post-flight debrief while it's fresh," she began, her tone shifting from casual to focused. "Overall, solid performance. Now, Xiao Guo," she said, her eyes settling on me, "as our newest flight attendant, your service attitude is spot on. Really good. But—your communication skills with passengers need some polish. That's on you to work on. Also, you need to drill those pre-flight safety equipment questions harder. I'll quiz you again next time we fly together. Understood?"
"Got it. Thanks, Purser," I nodded, my gaze already drifting to the window. Outside, a Xiamen Airlines Boeing 737-800 lifted off the runway, its landing gear retracting smoothly into the fuselage as it climbed into the night sky.
This is my life now—constantly on the move between Xiamen and Shanghai, between China and the world. It's the path I've worked toward for years, the dream I held onto. Plenty of my peers tell me this job should be easy, that it's all glamour and smiles. But only I know how hard-won this life truly is.
I watched the busy tarmac through the window and glanced at my watch: 00:45 Beijing Time. Around me, the airport was still very much alive. Shuttle buses ferried arriving passengers toward the terminals. Baggage handlers waited by the carousels, eyes peeled for the first suitcases to emerge. Maintenance crews moved around the aircraft with flashlights, conducting their post-flight checks. Catering trucks were being loaded with meal carts and steel containers, while the cleaning team worked swiftly through the empty cabin. Seeing it all—the rhythm, the grind—my mind began to drift, carrying me back to those months I was forced to spend on the ground, doing my so-called "internship."
Alright, let me introduce myself. My name is Guo Haotian. Male. It's been half a year since I graduated from Donghai Vocational University. I used to be a Cabin Crew/Ground Service Intern at the former Cottonrose Airways, and now I'm an Economy Class Flight Attendant at Redwing Airlines. My total flight time: 0.66 years.
I wheeled my crew bag inside, pushed open the door to my rented apartment, and settled onto the balcony chair. With no flight scheduled tomorrow, I cracked open a can of Asahi Super Dry, powered on my Huawei MateBook 14 resting on the seat, and watched as WPS booted up. Facing the blank document glowing on the screen, I took a slow sip of beer. And then, my mind began to drift—lifting, floating away, as if my feet had left the ground and entered a hazy, weightless space. I looked ahead, groped forward through the mental fog, until a door materialized in front of me. I pushed it open with force.
The scene that unfolded was all too familiar. Rows of desktop computers arranged in five or six clusters, each station spaced apart. At every monitor sat a candidate in casual clothes, focused and silent…
I was back. Back inside the computer-based exam hall at Cottonrose Airways' Country Garden Training Center.
Long time no see, Cottonrose.