"Рrеsidеnt Fu, thе disраtch deраrtmеnt just саlled. Some flights оn thе Arctiс route tоmоrrоw hаvе bеen urgentlу canceled and rеquirе..."
Bаi Yang wаlkеd in with his рhоne, his stерs hurriеd. It wаsn’t until hе stoоd behind Fu Mingyu thаt hе notiсed the strangе atmosрhere in thе rооm, аnd his vоiсе naturallу trаiled оff. "...уоur cоnfirmatiоn аnd signature."
"Ruаn Siхian, whаt do you mеan by this?"
Fu Mingуu sееmed nоt to have hеаrd Вai Yаng’s wоrds, his gаzе fiхеd intentlу оn Ruan Siхian. Тhe suspiсions hе hаd hаrborеd fоr а lоng time were nоw confirmed, as if the аnswer was on thе verge оf being rеvеalеd, waiting only for the person before him to speak.
"What do I mean? And what do you mean? What do you mean by ‘I’m more interested in you’? Who do you think you are?"
Ruan Sixian believed that while delivering this tongue twister, her eyes were sharp and her expression cold, achieving a perfect blend of disdain and indifference. She had struck right at Fu Mingyu’s sore spot and successfully ignited his anger.
Sure enough, Fu Mingyu’s gaze turned icy.
Bai Yang rubbed his neck, feeling as if the temperature around them had instantly dropped by over ten degrees.
But Yan An, oblivious, leaned in with a questioning look, inserting himself between the two.
"What’s going on?"
How embarrassing.
Ruan Sixian felt that both she and Fu Mingyu looked utterly ridiculous.
"Nothing." Tilting her head slightly, Ruan Sixian maintained her composure, rolling only half her eyes before turning to leave first.
"Let’s go, President Yan."
"Ruan Sixian, come back here."
The extremely cold yet faintly angry voice drifted over from behind, causing even Yan An’s footsteps to pause for a moment.
But Ruan Sixian acted as if she hadn’t heard and quickened her pace toward Yan An’s car.
Yan An’s gaze shifted between Ruan Sixian’s retreating figure and Fu Mingyu’s expression. After a moment’s thought, he chose to follow her.
He didn’t press further about the earlier topic, nor did he probe Ruan Sixian’s expression. Instead, he simply opened the car door for her—a move Yan An was adept at handling.
After getting into the car, Ruan Sixian glanced at Fu Mingyu through the gap beside Yan An’s figure.
And finished rolling the other half of her eyes.
The moment their eyes met, the urge to investigate surged back, and Bai Yang’s voice in her ears instantly faded away.
In her mind, tangled memories of the past churned repeatedly. Some faint recollections surfaced but never fully revealed themselves, finally coming to an abrupt halt as she slammed the car door shut with force.
The morning breeze rustled through the leaves, carrying the fresh scent of rain into the hall. Yet Fu Mingyu felt nothing but extreme irritation. He loosened his tie and quickened his pace.
Even if Bai Yang didn’t know the details, he could sense that Ruan Sixian’s attitude earlier was off. After a moment’s thought, he lowered his voice and said, "What’s wrong with Miss Ruan? Is that any way to treat a superior..."
Fu Mingyu glanced back at him, his expression inscrutable, a faint, cold smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
He was furious. Bai Yang could tell that this time, Fu Mingyu was truly angry.
After all, not everyone could tolerate a woman’s repeated provocations without limit—
In the car, Ruan Sixian sat upright, her gaze fixed straight ahead, but that didn’t mean she was unaware of Yan An’s frequent glances.
"What’s wrong?"
Yan An raised a fist to his mouth, unable to hide his smile. "Although I don’t know what’s going on between you and Fu Mingyu, seeing him get snubbed like that in person for the first time—I’m absolutely thrilled."
Though Yan An’s words carried a hint of probing for details, they weren’t explicitly stated, leaving Ruan Sixian room to choose.
Naturally, she tossed the question back to him."What grudge do you have against him?"
This guy really makes enemies everywhere.
Yan An coughed and vaguely replied, "Well, we're competitors, aren't we?"
Ruan Sixian didn't buy that. The two airlines originally split from the same company and still adhered to a non-zero-sum game model, competing and cooperating to achieve mutual success. Everyone knew that the chairmen of World Airlines and North Airlines occasionally got together for golf or to brew some kung fu tea. Even second-generation heirs like Fu Mingyu and Yan An had practically grown up together.
But since Ruan Sixian didn't believe him, Yan An felt too embarrassed to tell the truth.
He and Fu Mingyu had never gotten along since childhood. Yan An had always aspired to be the kind of rich second-generation heir who could serve as a cautionary tale in moral education textbooks—carefree and irresponsible all day long. However, due to strict family discipline, he never dared to do anything too outrageous, which made him feel he didn't even deserve the label of "playboy" his teachers had bestowed upon him.
But Fu Mingyu and his circle had always been starkly different from Yan An's group, like oil and water.
Not that Fu Mingyu was some model student—he broke school rules plenty of times. Whether it was his deceivingly innocent face or his consistently outstanding report cards, teachers always held him close to their hearts. Even during his senior year winter break, when he was photographed driving a sports car in his school uniform and cutting off another car, causing a stir at school, the teachers had smoothed things over before his parents even got involved.
Of course, in Yan An's eyes, that wasn't a big deal. What he still resented was the girl he had a crush on for two years but never dared to approach. She took the initiative to befriend him, spent a month as his friend, and even specially invited him to her birthday party, completely enchanting him. In the end, she said, "Oh, by the way, could you invite Fu Mingyu too?"
It was embarrassing to admit, but Yan An had held a grudge against Fu Mingyu for nearly ten years over this.
But today, Yan An had finally turned the tables. Ruan Sixian had truly given him face.
Thinking of this, Yan An felt his fondness for Ruan Sixian grow a little more. He glanced at her uniform and sighed, "Ah, forget about Fu Mingyu. I still feel regret whenever I think about you not joining North Airlines. But I'm a magnanimous person—I only wish you success wherever you go."
Ruan Sixian touched her epaulet and smiled. "Thank you."
"No need for thanks. You'll have another surprise when you get to the airport."
"What is it?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
The atmosphere in the car was harmonious, and at that moment, someone in World Airlines' flight attendant department was also riding high.
Jiang Ziyue strode briskly toward the meeting room, pulling her flight case behind her. Her black flat-heeled leather shoes made no loud sounds on the clean floor, but that did nothing to diminish her commanding presence.
She quickened her pace, the smile on her lips growing more pronounced.
Ni Tong ran into her halfway and walked over cheerfully to greet her. "Master! Good morning, you look especially beautiful today."
Jiang Ziyue stopped, placing her hands on the handle of her flight case and standing naturally with her feet in a T-stance.
"You seem quite free. Haven't you boarded yet?"
"The pre-flight briefing hasn't started." Ni Tong blinked. "You're in such great form today. The reporters' cameras will all be focused on you later. Remember to show your left side more—your dimple is there, it looks even better."
Flattered by the praise, Jiang Ziyue said she'd catch up later and strode into the elevator, pulling her flight case behind her.The meeting room was already occupied by five flight attendants, each meticulously selected for their dignified and elegant features and tall stature. Even chatting together, they presented a pleasing sight.
Someone greeted Jiang Ziyue when she arrived, though not with much warmth.
After all, the cabin crew department had many employees, and Jiang Ziyue had just transferred from international routes to domestic ones, so she was largely unfamiliar with most of the attendants here.
Moreover, the topic these attendants had been discussing was related to her—not exactly malicious, but certainly not complimentary—so they naturally fell silent.
Originally, today’s chief flight attendant wasn’t supposed to be Jiang Ziyue but an experienced senior chief from the domestic routes.
Jiang Ziyue herself had misunderstood this. At Wang Lekang’s office, she had only seen a corner of the candidate list but mistakenly thought the decision had been finalized. She returned happily from Spain, checked the backend system, and found no ACJ31 maiden flight assignment. After some discreet inquiries, she realized she hadn’t been selected in the end.
Though it was her own misunderstanding that led to the dashed hopes, she had already shared the news with close friends. Now, having to retract her own words felt like a slap in the face, leaving her frustrated. Last night, she even gathered a few girlfriends to vent.
Who would have thought that upon returning home, she’d receive a call from Wang Lekang saying the originally assigned chief flight attendant had acute appendicitis and she was to step in?
At that moment, Jiang Ziyue felt as though what was meant to be hers could never truly slip away—even experiencing the illusion of reclaiming something that had been taken. She immediately got out of bed and applied a La Mer face mask.
This was precisely what had been discussed in the meeting room earlier—everyone agreed Jiang Ziyue’s luck was simply too good.
Being a flight attendant might seem like a respectable profession, but how many outsiders truly understood the hardships? High-altitude radiation, noise exposure—none of it was trivial.
Career advancement was also limited, often lacking long-term prospects. And as a service industry job, dealing with difficult situations was routine. Many had their patience worn thin yet couldn’t show the slightest hint of impatience toward passengers.
Thus, tasks like the maiden flight of a new aircraft model, covered by media reports and carrying commemorative significance, with cameras capturing photos for news coverage, were regarded as rare highlights in one’s career.
Suddenly having such an opportunity fall into her lap, the others weren’t exactly envious, but they quietly felt sorry for the original senior chief flight attendant.
Jiang Ziyue could somewhat sense the group’s mood but paid it no mind. She sat down confidently and asked, “Have the pilots arrived yet?”
One of them replied, “Not yet, but they should be here soon.”
Jiang Ziyue nodded and pulled out the passenger list.
This flight mission was unusual, with not all cabin seats open to the public. A significant portion of the passengers were invited guests, including traditional media personnel and some online self-media operators. Among them was also Fu Mingyu.
According to the cabin crew department, he wasn’t deliberately taking this flight but happened to be traveling to Lincheng for business today, with the timing aligning.
Jiang Ziyue reviewed the passenger list once more, then checked the crew and cabin crew rosters.
Yesterday’s call had come abruptly, and she had been busy with her face mask, so she had only carefully examined the passenger list. The crew and cabin crew rosters hadn’t been reviewed yet.Just as her gaze landed on the information board, whispers continued to reach her ears: "Huh? That female pilot is on our flight? I thought she was assigned to shadow the foreign captain?"
"You just noticed? I knew last night, even before the shadowing list came out."
Jiang Ziyue's eyes paused, looking down, but she only saw two names on the crew list: "Fan Mingzhi" and "Yu Yangshuo," both clearly male names.
"What female pilot?"
"You haven't downloaded it?" a flight attendant said. "The shadowing list updated this morning—the new female pilot is on our flight."
As the other person pushed the list over, the whispers continued.
—"That name sounds familiar..."
—"I haven't heard of her."
—"Why do I feel like I have?"
The voices gradually faded as footsteps approached from outside. The meeting room door opened, and three people in white uniforms with black epaulets appeared.
A deep male voice rang out: "Is everyone here?"
Jiang Ziyue looked toward the sound and saw the person she had just met last night standing beside two men.
"..."
The meeting room fell silent for a moment.
The other flight attendants were silent because they saw a female pilot whose beauty exceeded their imagination tenfold. Along with their awe, there was also a hint of envy and admiration typical of young women.
But another person's silence was due to being caught in a massive internal struggle.
She was clearly at the bar last night...
How could...
In her daze, Jiang Ziyue saw Ruan Sixian's gaze meet hers.
In that instant, Jiang Ziyue felt as if Ruan Sixian knew everything.
Jiang Ziyue's face flushed crimson instantly, the heat rushing straight to her brain. Her hands on the table subtly curled, her nails digging lightly into her palms. The slight pain was just enough to suppress the buzzing in her head.
She had never imagined Ruan Sixian would reappear at World Airlines, so much so that the moment she saw her, she felt as if she had already nailed herself to the chopping block, as if Ruan Sixian could question her at any moment.
Everyone stood up to greet them. Captain Fan waved his hand. "No need to be so formal, everyone. Please sit."
Only then did Jiang Ziyue snap back to reality. She wanted to stand up but saw that everyone had already taken their seats.
She watched as Ruan Sixian sat down, a faint smile on her lips, nodding at her as if to say, "Long time no see."
Long time no see what...
Jiang Ziyue recalled last night's WeChat message, feeling as if Ruan Sixian's words, "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future," carried a hidden meaning.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ziyue couldn't bring herself to look up and meet Ruan Sixian's gaze.
In truth, Ruan Sixian didn't mean anything else. She simply felt it would be strange to catch up so abruptly in this setting.
Fan Mingzhi flipped through the route map twice before standing up. "Let's introduce ourselves. I'm Captain Fan Mingzhi for this flight."
Yu Yangshuo, sitting beside him, continued, "I'm First Officer Yu Yangshuo for this flight."
As his words fell, the five flight attendants across from them fixed their gazes on Ruan Sixian.
She stood up, cleared her throat, and said, "I'm the trainee first officer for this flight, Ruan Sixian."
After speaking, she glanced at the five flight attendants opposite her. "Is there something on my face?"
The one sitting at the front smiled faintly. "No, we're just admiring how pretty you are."
The remark lightened the atmosphere in the meeting room, though it seemed Jiang Ziyue was the only one left out.Ruan Sixian glanced over a few times, and each time their eyes met, she would unnaturally look away.
There was nothing more to say; that expression alone confirmed Ruan Sixian's suspicions.
How boring.
Ruan Sixian leaned back in her seat when the captain suddenly called out to her, "Do you have any questions?"
"Huh?" Ruan Sixian immediately straightened up. "No, I don't."
"Alright, then I'll just go over the final reminders," the captain said, holding a list and reading word by word. "First, there are media reports today, so boarding will begin twenty minutes early. Second, there may be turbulence one hour and five minutes after takeoff, so make sure to remind passengers. Also, in case of emergencies like a fire, report to the cockpit immediately."
After speaking, he looked at Jiang Ziyue, who didn't respond.
Ruan Sixian tapped the table with her pen. "Chief Flight Attendant?"
Jiang Ziyue snapped back to attention, opened her mouth, and faced Ruan Sixian's gaze, momentarily speechless.
"What's wrong?" the captain asked. "Any issues?"
"No, no," Jiang Ziyue immediately stood up, inhaling and tightening her abdomen. "I just have two points. One, the ratio of cold to hot water should be 3:7. Pay attention to the temperature to prevent passengers from getting scalded. Also, keep an eye on passengers who change seats arbitrarily to avoid an imbalance in the aircraft's load distribution."
"Alright, good. What about you two?"
The captain turned to Ruan Sixian and Yu Yangshuo.
Yu Yangshuo shook his head, while Ruan Sixian twirled her pen and tilted her head, saying, "Let me add something off-topic."
Everyone in the meeting room looked at her, especially the flight attendants, who smiled brightly, like blooming flowers.
"Today's situation is special, with media coverage, so everyone should watch their words," Ruan Sixian glanced toward Jiang Ziyue. "If you don't know what to say, it's better to stay silent. Understood?"
Jiang Ziyue simply looked at Ruan Sixian, her palms sweating, yet she maintained a professional smile.
"Okay, understood."
"Good," the captain stood up. "Let's head over."
Everyone promptly rose, and Ruan Sixian followed behind the captain. A few flight attendants approached her to chat, and Ruan Sixian responded briefly before turning back to see Jiang Ziyue walking at the very end.
Ruan Sixian slowed her pace, tilting her head to look at her. "Sister Jiang?"
Jiang Ziyue stopped at the call, keeping a two-meter distance from Ruan Sixian. "What is it?"
Just as Ruan Sixian was about to say something, a small commotion erupted ahead. She looked up to see a man in a suit striding over with a large bouquet of fiery red roses.
A vibrant sea of red, likely over a hundred roses, obscured half of the man carrying them, naturally drawing the attention of everyone nearby.
The man walked directly toward Ruan Sixian under everyone's gaze.
"Miss Ruan, these flowers are for you."
Caught off guard by such a bouquet, Ruan Sixian took a moment to react before remembering Yan An's mention of a "surprise" in the car earlier that day.
This was certainly surprising enough.
Ruan Sixian forced a stiff smile, accepted the flowers, and found the card inside. It was indeed from Yan An, wishing her a smooth first flight.
"Thank you."
The man was a receptionist from World Airlines and left after delivering the flowers.
Holding such a bouquet, Ruan Sixian felt somewhat at a loss under everyone's envious gazes.
She couldn't possibly bring the flowers onto the plane.While looking around for a place to deal with the bouquet, the door of the International Conference Room in the Flight Department across the way opened from inside. Two women in professional attire pushed the door open and stood outside. Fu Mingyu strode out, followed by Bai Yang and over a dozen other meeting attendees.
The group wore solemn expressions, with two or three middle managers looking particularly grim. Even from a distance, it was clear they had been criticized during the meeting.
That serious atmosphere spread to Ruan Sixian’s side, and the flight attendants behind her fell silent.
When Fu Mingyu’s gaze swept over, they quietly wheeled their flight cases around, afraid of accidentally getting caught in the crossfire.
Half of Ruan Sixian’s face was hidden behind the flowers, leaving only her eyes staring directly at Fu Mingyu.
The surroundings fell silent as if a mute button had been pressed.
Thus, Fu Mingyu’s footsteps were inexplicably amplified. He walked step by step toward Ruan Sixian, stopping in front of her. His eyes lowered, sweeping over the bouquet of roses, and a faint curve tugged at the corner of his mouth.
That curve felt particularly grating to Ruan Sixian.
What’s wrong with me receiving flowers? Wherever I go, people adore me, flowers bloom for me, and even CEOs fall for me. Who are you to give me that sarcastic smile?
I haven’t even settled the score with you for what you said this morning, and now you’re throwing me a cold smirk?
“Something wrong?” Ruan Sixian asked.
Fu Mingyu seemed to find the bouquet an eyesore. He reached out and pushed it aside, revealing Ruan Sixian’s entire face.
“After we return, you’d better explain to me what you meant by what you said this morning.”
Ruan Sixian looked into his eyes and seemed to see a gaze that said, “If you can’t give me a proper explanation, you’re finished.”
So, big boss, you want me to recount the mess you made yourself?
Ruan Sixian mimicked his expression, curling her lips. “Who knows when we’ll return? Weather is unpredictable, after all.”
Fu Mingyu, accustomed to giving orders rather than negotiating, clearly didn’t have much time for small talk. Before his flight, he still had a large stack of MEL/CDL project sheets to review.
“I can wait for you.”
With that, he turned to leave but heard a voice from behind.
—“Then you might need to borrow another five hundred years from heaven.”
“...”
The air in the corridor seemed to vanish instantly. Even Jiang Ziyue, who had been quietly eavesdropping, retreated silently to a corner.
This time, Fu Mingyu turned back to look at Ruan Sixian, narrowing his eyes.
There was no need to guess further—Ruan Sixian clearly harbored hostility toward him, or rather, deep-seated malice.
He pressed his tongue against his jaw, nodded with a smile, and walked away.
That expression made Bai Yang, standing nearby, interpret it as, “If I let you run wild this time, I might as well have wasted all those shares I hold in this company.”
Silently lighting a metaphorical candle for Ruan Sixian in his heart, Bai Yang followed beside Fu Mingyu and said quietly, “I’ve already asked HR to pull Ruan Sixian’s resume, but her qualifications only list her experience at Commercial Aviation. I’ve contacted Commercial Aviation. Since it involves privacy, it’ll take some maneuvering, but her resume should be sent over in half an hour.”
The person beside him didn’t even bother with a cold smile.
Bai Yang had already dug a metaphorical grave for Ruan Sixian in his mind.
This was just too bold. Even if it were him instead of Fu Mingyu, he’d have to put someone like Ruan Sixian, who repeatedly challenged his patience, on a blacklist.
He glanced at Fu Mingyu’s profile. The gloomy expression on his face was even darker than during the meeting.
In the over a year he had been here, he had never seen Fu Mingyu this angry.Half an hour later, the maintenance department meeting concluded, and the dedicated crew vehicle was already waiting downstairs to take Fu Mingyu, Bai Yang, and two assistants to the terminal.
In the car, Bai Yang handed over the resume he had just received.
He skimmed through it first, but when he flipped to the second page, his heart skipped a beat, filled with confusion.
However, this wasn’t his problem to solve. After a moment of thought, he said, "President Fu, Ruan Sixian she..."
Before Bai Yang could finish, Fu Mingyu took the resume, impatiently flipped to the first page, glanced over it briefly, his expression unchanged.
His gaze paused only when he reached the second page, "Previous Work Experience."
The car stopped immediately, and Bai Yang asked again, "Mr. Fu, shall we board first?"
Fu Mingyu slowly shifted his gaze away from "Hengshi Airlines Jiangcheng Headquarters, Cabin Crew Department Four" and looked up toward the boarding bridge.
Behind the transparent plastic-steel wall, three figures in uniforms were faintly visible at the aircraft entrance.
Three years ago...
Fu Mingyu stepped toward the boarding bridge and instructed Bai Yang to call his former secretary, who was currently in North Africa.
Some clues were slowly surfacing in his mind, but they seemed too dramatic, and Fu Mingyu wasn’t entirely certain.
By the time the call connected to North Africa, Fu Mingyu had already entered the boarding bridge.
Within less than twenty meters, Ruan Sixian stood beside the captain, her posture straight, a radiant smile on her face, her gaze slowly shifting to him.
Fu Mingyu’s ears caught the voice of his former secretary.
"Ruan Sixian? I remember her. I have a deep impression of her."
"Three years ago, when we went to London to acquire W.T Airport, she appeared several times."
"She brought coffee a few times. Do you remember?"
Fu Mingyu suddenly looked up, his steps never faltering, but his gaze carried a hint of realization.
The voice in his ear continued.
"Later, she also appeared at Alvin’s private yacht party. Didn’t you give her a room card that day?"
"She resigned after that day. I mentioned it to you."
"As for the rest... The only thing I recall is that before I was transferred to North Africa, while organizing your work email, I found that Ruan Sixian had sent you over ten emails during that period, all related to the Soaring Plan."
"Seeing her sincerity at the time, I incidentally pulled up her records. That year, she had already passed the Soaring Plan assessment and was the top candidate."
As the former secretary explained, Fu Mingyu gradually approached the aircraft entrance, now less than two meters away.
"It wasn’t a big deal originally, and I never brought it up again later. But at the time, I felt that perhaps not only you, Mr. Fu, but even I had misunderstood that girl."
"Maybe she had no other intentions—she just wanted to become a pilot."
As the words fell, Fu Mingyu was already standing in front of Ruan Sixian.
Less than half a step separated the two.
A breeze seemed to sweep past Fu Mingyu’s ears, carrying away the captain’s greeting, leaving only one person in his sight.
Her posture was upright, her uniform impeccable, the two epaulets on her shoulders particularly prominent, signifying her identity.
She curved her lips into a gentle smile and said, "Mr. Fu, welcome aboard. Ruan Sixian, the trainee co-pilot of this flight, is at your service."
For a long time, a strange atmosphere lingered in the air.
Ruan Sixian looked up and saw Fu Mingyu’s lips part.
"...Oh."
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