The Humble Hero

The biting wind continued to pour relentlessly into the cockpit through the shattered windshield, chilling the chief flight attendant to the bone. She shivered violently, rubbing her hands together, while frost began to form on her eyebrows and hair. On the other side, Hou Rui’s face had grown numb from the cold, his nose threatening to run uncontrollably; even his fingers gripping the control stick had lost all sensation.

Suddenly, a knocking sounded behind Hou Rui. When the nearly frozen chief flight attendant mustered the strength to open the door, she found that the flight attendants had brought hot coffee and several blankets.

As Hou Rui hurried to wrap himself tightly, one of the flight attendants leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Sir, we’ll take good care of your girlfriend. A gentleman in first class volunteered to swap seats with her—she’s right behind you now, so please don’t worry. We wish you a pleasant flight.”

“Thank you!” Hou Rui replied, sighing inwardly—at last, he was receiving a bit of the hero’s treatment.

The flight attendant, unable to endure the icy cockpit, quickly retreated. The European man who had been standing guard at the cockpit door nodded at Hou Rui before closing the secure door once more.

More than five hours later—

Hou Rui slowly unclenched his numb hands, collapsing against the captain’s seat in exhaustion. Cheers from the cabin filled his ears. After more than nine harrowing hours in the air, the beleaguered A330 had finally landed safely at Cairo Airport.

“Mr. Hou, on behalf of EgyptAir and all the passengers on flight 330, I thank you once again. It was you who averted a disaster,” the chief flight attendant stammered, her complexion deathly pale from hours in the freezing wind. She was likely to fall seriously ill once they disembarked; even now, as she spoke to Hou Rui, her hands kept rubbing her shoulders for warmth.

“No need for thanks,” Hou Rui replied. What was he supposed to say? That he hadn’t really wanted to save them, only himself and his girlfriend, and had only helped out of necessity? He could only respond with a perfunctory phrase.

“Respected Mr. Hou, your handling was beautiful. The A330 only suffered minor turbulence during landing—this was truly the skill of a veteran captain. May I ask which airline you work for? Would you be interested in joining EgyptAir? We have many young pilots eager to learn from you.” Even the ground control liaison began to shower Hou Rui with compliments, leaving him both amused and exasperated.

A veteran captain? He had learned to fly in a scrapyard—technically, it was unlicensed piloting. Never mind teaching anyone; if they knew the truth, they’d be terrified.

“I’m just glad I could help and that there were no further injuries. If you need anything, let’s talk after I get through customs.” With a few polite words, Hou Rui stood, stretching his stiff limbs and hanging his headset on the plane’s altitude lever.

As soon as Hou Rui opened the cockpit door, a tidal wave of applause greeted him. First class was packed to bursting—nearly every passenger from the A330 had crowded forward to pay their respects to the Eastern hero who had saved their lives.

The big-eyed flight attendant, overcome with excitement, rushed up and planted a vivid lipstick mark on Hou Rui’s cheek. Cairo’s temperature was over thirty degrees; after being enveloped in the hot air for a while, the symptoms of his hypothermia finally began to subside. Only then did he truly feel the sensation of the flight attendant’s lips against his skin.

Blushing from the unexpected kiss, Hou Rui nodded shyly and smiled at everyone before weaving through the crowd. Pushing past the blue-eyed, tearful strongman, he finally spotted Jin Shanshan—or rather, a mountain of gifts and parcels.

At that moment, Jin Shanshan’s hands, arms, and the seats beside her were piled high with boxes, packages, and plastic bags—a miscellaneous heap from who knows where.

“Sweetheart, what’s all this?” Hou Rui asked, moving aside a shoebox to see her face.

“Gifts from everyone—hundreds of them! I couldn’t refuse,” Jin Shanshan replied, half-laughing, half-exasperated, a mix of pride and embarrassment in her voice.

“Well, it’s all heartfelt. Just accept them. I’m off for now—see you in the arrivals hall.” With that, Hou Rui made to slip away, not quite ready to invent a story for Jin Shanshan.

“Monkey, you dare?” The young policewoman exploded, leaping to her feet. The mountain of gifts instantly toppled, burying Hou Rui beneath.

About half an hour later, as Hou Rui and Jin Shanshan appeared at Cairo Airport customs, they were met with more rounds of applause and stares. When Jin Shanshan, noticing the lipstick marks on Hou Rui’s face, pinched him discreetly, a vice president from EgyptAir was already gripping Hou Rui’s hands tightly.

“Honored Mr. Hou, on behalf of the airline, I thank you again. You not only saved an A330 and hundreds of important passengers, but also preserved the reputation of EgyptAir. To show our gratitude for your immense help, the airline has decided to cover all your and your companion’s expenses for your stay in Egypt—accommodation, meals, and tours. We’ve reserved a suite for you at the Le Méridien Pyramids Hotel in Cairo. Later, there will also be a grand press conference and a welcome banquet in your honor.”

After finishing, the vice president, dressed in traditional Arab attire, gave Hou Rui a massive bear hug. Despite himself, Hou Rui inadvertently wiped his nose on the vice president’s sleeve.

“I’ll accept the hotel room, but the press conference and banquet aren’t necessary. Over-publicizing this incident wouldn’t be good for your company’s reputation.” While embraced, Hou Rui whispered in the vice president’s ear.

“Mr. Hou, are you sure? Wouldn’t that be unfair to you?” The shrewd vice president’s eyes lit up; he could hardly believe his ears. Who would give up such a golden opportunity for fame and fortune?

“I really don’t mind. I just want to enjoy my time in Cairo. Everything else is unimportant.” With that, Hou Rui extricated himself from the embrace, patted the vice president’s shoulder to let him handle it as he saw fit, and then took Jin Shanshan’s hand to leave customs.

Watching Hou Rui’s departing figure, the vice president, his eyes darting, immediately summoned an assistant. “Cancel the press conference and banquet at once, and have PR minimize the incident’s exposure.”

“But what about the passengers? Many of them have already posted videos of the event on Facebook—the whole internet is abuzz!” the assistant protested, doubting it would be easy to suppress the news.

“Have customs intercept all passengers from flight 804. Negotiate with them one by one—offer them ten thousand kilometers of free flights, ten thousand dollars in cash, and Egyptian handicrafts. I don’t care what it takes, but by tonight, I want all video evidence of this incident gone from the internet.”

“Won’t that be too costly?”

“You don’t understand! If this is handled perfectly, the company’s stock price won’t fluctuate much. A 0.1% reduction in volatility will more than make up for these costs.”

Meanwhile, having finally escaped the vice president, Hou Rui spotted local media waiting near the exit. Without hesitation, he grabbed Jin Shanshan and slipped down another corridor, fleeing the airport.

About an hour later, they arrived at the Le Méridien Pyramids Hotel in a luxurious car arranged by EgyptAir. From this exquisite hotel, the pyramids could be seen in the distance. Hou Rui and Jin Shanshan, her eyes sparkling with excitement, received the treatment of super VIPs.

Accompanied by their private butler, they opened the door to the lavish presidential suite on the top floor and were instantly awestruck by the world-class accommodation.

Just standing at the entrance, they were greeted by a refreshing mist—a stark contrast to the dry air after landing, as if they’d entered another world entirely.

In the center of the room lay a circular indoor swimming pool, fully ten meters in diameter, its sparkling waters lending a sense of coolness and luxury to the suite. Two smaller round pools, clearly meant for children, adjoined the main pool.

The floor around the pool was set with fine stones arranged in concentric patterns—from deep blue near the water, to light brown, and finally white—giving the pool an exquisite and refined appearance.

In front of the pool, three enormous floor-to-ceiling windows served as walls. Bathed in the sunset’s afterglow, the iconic Egyptian pyramids were clearly visible. Judging by the view alone, Hou Rui was certain this was the most luxurious experience Cairo had to offer.

“Please, come in. The master bedroom is upstairs, the media and living rooms are to the right, the dressing room and guest bedrooms to the left. From the great hall, you have the best view of Cairo’s sunset—a point of pride for our hotel. My name is Moody, and I am the chief butler of the Le Méridien Pyramids. I will be at your service and available for consultation 24 hours a day during your stay.” Bowing slightly, Moody, distinguished by his red cap and matching vest, looked every bit the consummate professional.

“Oh, I understand,” Hou Rui replied, though somewhat absently. Jin Shanshan, meanwhile, was already dashing about the suite, her eyes alight with joy, sprinting through the pure white halls, unable to contain her excitement.