Ваi Yаng fеlt аs if аll the air in thе саr hаd bеen sucked оut, аnd it lasted fоr three minutеs.
Just аs hе wаs struggling tо brеathe, sоmeone promptlу rоlled dоwn the windоw fоr vеntilаtion.
Ваi Yаng thоught tо himself thаt Miss Ruan was аlsо somеone with a dеlayеd reaсtiоn—оnlу nоw rеаlizing that her еаrlier rеmаrks hаd beеn inaррropriаtе, so shе openеd the window to divеrt аttеntion.
Нowever, whеn Ваi Yang glаnсеd in thе rеаrview mirrоr, hе saw it wаs his boss whо had oрenеd thе windоw.
Thеу wеrе currently оn the elevated bridgе leading to Wоrld Airlines, nеar thе аirpоrt and far from the bustling city. The car was moving fast, and the wind outside rushed in noisily.
Ruan Sixian immediately raised her hand to cover her forehead.
When she left home earlier, she had casually tied up her hair, leaving two stray strands of bangs blowing messily around her temples. If this kept up, she’d be mistaken for someone parachuting into World Airlines with a parachute.
Fortunately, before she could say anything, Fu Mingyu closed the window himself.
This brief action was interpreted by Ruan Sixian as Fu Mingyu calming himself down.
That was good—she was happy.
Ruan Sixian tidied her hair against the car window, smoothing her bangs. Just as she was about to tame the last unruly strand, she met Fu Mingyu’s gaze reflected in the window.
Fu Mingyu was looking at her.
“Do you feel uncomfortable if you don’t snap at me?”
Ruan Sixian wasn’t sure if Fu Mingyu could see her expression in the window, but she rolled her eyes in what she thought was a beautiful manner before slowly turning to meet his gaze.
And blinked her lovely eyes.
“Sorry, President Fu. I’m just straightforward when I speak, no ill intentions. You won’t take it to heart, right?”
Even Ruan Sixian was surprised at herself. She had unknowingly mastered the art of playing the innocent victim, all thanks to Fu Mingyu’s influence.
Fu Mingyu didn’t respond. His gaze lingered on her face, scrutinizing her bit by bit.
His stare made Ruan Sixian a little uneasy.
For a moment, she actually regretted being so direct with Fu Mingyu. While it had felt satisfying in the moment, there was no telling what underhanded tricks he might pull behind her back.
At worst, Fu Mingyu could slam the contract in her face and shout, “You’re fired!”—which would at least be a straightforward outcome.
At best, he could meddle with the dispatch department, mess with her flight assignments, or even tip off air traffic control to always put her plane last for takeoff, wasting hours of her time for no reason.
Ultimately, Ruan Sixian felt she shouldn’t let her pride get in the way of her livelihood.
With this thought, her confidence as she faced Fu Mingyu gradually waned, and she even began to avert her eyes.
This momentary evasion was caught by Fu Mingyu, and he suddenly smiled.
Smiled?
Ruan Sixian was certain it wasn’t an “angry smile” but one that subtly conveyed, “You’re really something.”
What’s wrong with him?
Hello, are you a masochist?
Ruan Sixian took a big gulp of water, too annoyed to bother with him.
Just then, the car had reached the main road, less than two hundred meters from the entrance of World Airlines.
“Please pull over here,” Ruan Sixian said. “I’ll get off here.”
The driver didn’t stop immediately but slowed down. Bai Yang, who had been holding his breath in the front seat and nearly suffocating, finally found a chance to speak. “Miss Ruan? This is the side of the main road.”
“I know. I’ll get off here. There are too many people at the main entrance. Better avoid suspicion.”
She emphasized the word “suspicion” heavily, as if it didn’t mean “doubt” but rather “disdain.”Bai Yang wasn't sure if he was imagining things. He glanced back at Fu Mingyu, who merely lowered his head, adjusted his sleeve, and said indifferently, "No need."
No need?
What's no need?
As far as I know, we haven't reached the point where avoiding suspicion is unnecessary, right?
Without Fu Mingyu's approval, the driver naturally wouldn't stop the car, and they drove straight into World Airlines' underground parking lot.
At that moment, Ruan Sixian realized she had overthought things.
Fu Mingyu's parking spot wasn't in the employee parking area at all, so there really was no need to avoid suspicion.
After getting out of the car, Ruan Sixian lowered her head to straighten her clothes. When she looked up, Fu Mingyu was already gone.
"Huh?"
Walking so fast—did he borrow those legs and need to return them in a hurry?
Fu Mingyu wasn't in a hurry to return any borrowed legs. Upon reaching the 16th floor, he headed straight to his office.
The administrative secretary and assistants waiting at the door quickly followed him in. As Fu Mingyu took his seat behind the desk, reports on this month's medium- to long-term flight plans, flight tracking, and dynamic monitoring were already placed in front of him.
Fu Mingyu picked up the top file, but after flipping through it for a moment, his gaze suddenly paused.
The assistant who had compiled the report tensed up, already prepared to call the head of the flight department. However, Fu Mingyu set the file aside and looked up at the administrative secretary.
"Where are the things I asked you to prepare last night?"
The administrative secretary immediately produced a file as thick as a book and placed it in front of Fu Mingyu. "This contains all your itinerary information from the past two years, including flight details, hotel stays, and specific meeting or activity records."
Seeing such a thick stack, Fu Mingyu rubbed his temples. The administrative secretary added, "It's already categorized and labeled by country and region."
Fu Mingyu nodded. "You can leave now."
Ruan Sixian waited in the flight department for about half an hour before the crew for the next day had all assembled.
There were only two ACJ31 aircraft assigned to the Jiangcheng base, so naturally, the corresponding pilots were limited. Including other standby crew members, there were over ten people in total. They all boarded the crew bus and took the dedicated channel to the tarmac.
The moment they stepped off the bus, a strong gust of wind swept across the vast, open tarmac. Unprotected, the group walked against the wind and gathered beneath the aircraft's wings.
The captains led everyone in a walk-around inspection.
—Truthfully, there wasn't much to inspect today. It was mostly about admiring the beauty of the new aircraft.
Afterward, they boarded the plane and entered the cockpit, repeatedly familiarizing themselves with the instrument panels and controls.
These things were already second nature to Ruan Sixian, but the other captains and co-pilots had undergone conversion training and were more nervous than a newcomer like her. Each of them took turns familiarizing themselves with the controls several times.
By the time they finished, it was already noon. They had lunch at the airport and continued working intermittently until the afternoon. Once all preparations were complete, everyone dispersed.
It wasn't until Ruan Sixian returned to World Airlines that the excitement finally subsided.
Although she had appeared calm, composed, and steady in her speech earlier—exuding the demeanor expected of the most sought-after trainee—heaven knew she had been screaming internally.
Tomorrow, just tomorrow, she would shed her trainee status and officially board the aircraft, beginning her three-and-a-half-month period of supervised flying from the backseat.
Of course, this supervised flying period had been shortened by World Airlines' flight department, taking into account her qualifications and the shortage of pilots.In just three and a half months, she would be sitting on the right side of the cockpit, becoming a co-pilot.
If she performed well enough, perhaps in just two years, she could be promoted to captain.
—Of course, this was also part of the original agreement World Airlines had made with her.
Perhaps it was the strong wind today, stirring up dust from the ground, but Ruan Sixian actually felt like crying.
If she had a friend by her side now, she would definitely hug them and spin around ten times to vent her excitement.
She was so overjoyed that when Yan An sent a message asking if she wanted to have dinner together that evening, she agreed without hesitation.
However, a few seconds later, she realized something.
What had they just talked about?
Yan An had asked her how things went with the car last night, and Ruan Sixian said it was resolved smoothly, thanking him for his help along the way.
Yan An said it was nothing, just a small favor, but then "casually" asked if she had time to have dinner together that evening.
No matter how you looked at it, this seemed like a deliberate attempt to ask her out.
The moment she realized this, Ruan Sixian felt a twinge of regret. She didn’t seem to have any romantic interest in Yan An at all.
But then again, both were single, he had good qualities, and their personalities seemed compatible—why not give it a try?
So Ruan Sixian obediently waited at the entrance of World Airlines for Yan An to pick her up.
A few minutes later, Yan An, who had just come out of the North Airlines office at the airport, parked his car boldly right in front of the World Airlines entrance. He even personally got out to open the passenger door for Ruan Sixian, guiding her inside.
Fu Mingyu and Zhu Dong’s car slowly emerged from the parking lot, just in time to witness this harmonious scene.
"Hey? Isn’t that Yan An?" Zhu Dong rolled down the window and leaned halfway out. "What kind of tornado blew him here today?"
He paused, then added, "Oh, a beauty, no wonder."
Zhu Dong turned back to look at Fu Mingyu and noticed his gaze fixed on Yan An’s car. Only when the car had driven far away did Fu Mingyu finally look away.
Though he didn’t say a word, Zhu Dong could sense the tension in the air.
During their gathering at the manor that afternoon, Zhu Dong remembered Yan An mentioning that he was pursuing a female pilot from World Airlines. He had thought it was just a joke, but judging by the woman who got into his car just now, it was likely that very pilot.
In that case, Fu Mingyu’s reaction made perfect sense.
Though there was no written rule, what was a core pilot from World Airlines doing dating a junior executive from North Airlines?
If Zhu Dong were in his shoes, he wouldn’t be happy either.
But he couldn’t judge—after all, he was in the tourism business. He was here today to discuss a project with Fu Mingyu, and in a few days, he would be heading to North Airlines for a partnership meeting. Offending either side was out of the question, so he naturally steered the conversation elsewhere.
"Did you hear that Qin Jiamu is getting married? I’m sure the invitation has already been sent." He snorted twice. "This young master Qin sure knows how to play his cards. He knows exactly what his father despises, and he’s pushing it to this extent."
Fu Mingyu didn’t respond, so Zhu Dong continued talking to himself. "He’s been useless his whole life, just growing older without learning anything, and now he wants to compete with his sister for a share of the pie. He doesn’t even realize he’s not cut out for it."
"But I really didn’t expect him to pull such a move—making a grand show of marrying a woman whose father was in prison and whose mother is still someone’s mistress."
"If he pushes his father, who values face more than life itself, too far, he might actually throw him a piece of the pie just to shut him up.""It's just a pity for that woman, still eagerly thinking Qin Jiamu is standing up to his family for her."
"She doesn't even consider what kind of person Qin Jiamu is. If Chairman Qin refuses to budge, won't Qin Jiamu just obediently comply? Does he have the leverage to break with Chairman Qin?"
"To think of using a woman—that's a tactic most people couldn't pull off."
Zhu Dong believed his words were pearls of wisdom. This gossip might not spark Fu Mingyu's desire for casual conversation, but at least it could get him to mock Qin Jiamu's lowly tactics a bit, and the earlier incident with Yan An would be brushed aside. Yet, several minutes after he finished speaking, Fu Mingyu still hadn't responded.
Zhu Dong turned his head to look at him. "I'm talking to you, what are you thinking about?"
Fu Mingyu shook his head, pushing down the tangle of thoughts in his mind.
He casually picked up a bottle of water and was about to twist the cap when he remembered something.
Leaning back against the seat, he pinched the bridge of his nose and asked, "I was wondering what it means when a woman inexplicably shows hostility toward me."
What kind of unrelated question was this?
Zhu Dong leaned closer and asked, "Did you offend her?"
Fu Mingyu lifted his eyelids slightly. "If I had offended her, wouldn't I know the reason?"
"Oh..." Zhu Dong rubbed his nose. "What kind of hostility?"
What kind of hostility?
Fu Mingyu felt it wasn't really a big deal. After all, those subtle hints were just his own speculations, and Ruan Sixian had only snapped at him a few times to his face.
"Just some verbal sparring."
Hearing this, Zhu Dong roughly understood. He didn't even need to think before laughing immediately. "Some girls are just like that. As long as she's not actually fighting you, what other reason could there be? She's interested in you, trying to get your attention."
Fu Mingyu glanced at him, then lowered his gaze in thought. After a few seconds, he shook his head slightly. "She wouldn't go that far."
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