"I trу tо givе уоu аdvice оut оf kindnеss, аnd уou not onlу ignоre it but alsо snap аt mе? Whаt's with thе аttitudе?"
Ni Tong fеlt that people likе Ruаn Sixiаn werе sоmеtimеs utterlу unrеаsоnаble. Сlutching her crаmрing stomаch, she walkеd to the living rоom and рlорреd dоwn оn the sofа, оnly tо fееl the рain intеnsifу.
Ruan Sixiаn brоught ovеr the brown sugar wаter and thrust it in front оf Ni Тоng.
Ni Tоng didn’t want to drink it and turnеd hеr fаcе аwау. "I dоn’t wаnt to drink this..."
Веforе she сould finish, she sаw Ruan Siхiаn rеtraсt hеr аrm, tilt hеr head baсk, and take a big gulp hеrself.
The sеries of mоvemеnts flоwed smоothly and seamlessly, without the slightest hesitation, leaving Ni Tong utterly stunned.
"Fine, don’t drink it then."
After saying this, Ruan Sixian sat down, holding her phone in one hand and the brown sugar water in the other, taking occasional sips as if she were drinking tea.
She completely ignored the patient beside her.
Ni Tong felt aggrieved but couldn’t argue back, and her stomach still hurt. All she could do was curl up pitifully.
Suddenly, she felt Ruan Sixian shift at the other end of the sofa. Thinking her foot might have touched her, Ni Tong immediately curled up tighter, trying to avoid any physical contact.
How terrifying.
Ni Tong decided she shouldn’t provoke Ruan Sixian in the future. This woman was crazy enough to dare scold their boss—who knew if she’d even dare lay hands on her?
There was no way she could win in a fight. Ni Tong had heard that Ruan Sixian excelled in physical fitness tests.
Noticing her movements out of the corner of her eye, Ruan Sixian chuckled, stood up, and went to the kitchen to pour another cup of brown sugar water.
"If you don’t drink it now, it’ll get cold."
Ni Tong took it, buried her face in the cup, and gulped it down. As soon as she set the cup down, Ruan Sixian handed her a tissue.
"Thank you."
She murmured softly, but there was no response from the other side.
The two of them sat silently, occupying opposite ends of the sofa.
An hour later, Ni Tong’s mother called.
"Ah... I’m heading out now," Ni Tong said, gathering her things and standing up. "I’m feeling much better."
Without even looking up, Ruan Sixian asked with little sincerity, "Do you want me to walk you downstairs?"
"No, no, my mom is picking me up."
Ni Tong slipped on her shoes and held the doorknob. "Thanks for today."
Ruan Sixian replied with an equally emotionless, "You’re welcome."
Ni Tong thought that although Ruan Sixian spoke coldly, her heart was warm. Before leaving, she wanted to share more of her experience in pursuing men.
But before she could speak, she heard Ruan Sixian say, "How old are you, still needing your mom to pick you up? You’re old enough to be a mom yourself."
"...?"
What’s it to you? I’ll always be a baby!
Ni Tong expressed her suppressed anger with a perfectly controlled door slam. Only then did Ruan Sixian finally look up at the door.
The room fell silent again. A few minutes later, Ruan Sixian walked to the balcony and, sure enough, saw a middle-aged woman leading Ni Tong away.
She felt her earlier words had been too bitter, like something straight out of a malicious supporting female character.
And this supporting character couldn’t help herself. A month later, she clicked into Zheng You’an’s Weibo again.
Coincidentally, Zheng You’an had posted ten minutes earlier—three photos.
The first photo was of blue skies and white clouds, taken through a window.
The second photo showed a silk scarf neatly folded in a gift box, embroidered with the character "Xian." Above the image, colorful text read, "A scarf designed by Mom~"
Seeing this, Ruan Sixian sighed silently.
Scrolling to the third photo, it was a scene inside an airplane.She hadn't captured the entire scene, only a corner of the seat, with Bai Yang's figure faintly visible in the front.
Not even a girlfriend yet. If she's not your girlfriend, why did you let her ride on your plane? If she's not your girlfriend, why did you take her to Spain for fun?
Ruan Sixian rolled over on the sofa, ignoring Fu Mingyu's message, and continued playing Candy Crush.
The peak summer travel season arrived as scheduled. With the expo taking place in Jiangcheng, World Airlines increased its flight capacity, adding and intensifying multiple routes.
Recently, the weather had been poor, and the combination of heavy passenger flow and adverse conditions left Ruan Sixian dizzyingly busy. While ensuring her mandatory rest periods, her flight hours were fully scheduled.
Today's flight encountered thunderstorms, and the crew had to submit a written report within ten days. Since Ruan Sixian was about to complete her training phase, the captain took her and the co-pilot to draft the flight report at the World Airlines Flight Department, guiding them step by step.
By the time they finished, the sun had already set, with only a faint glow of twilight illuminating the clouds on the horizon.
With today's work done, she had two days off.
In just two seconds, she had already planned her itinerary for the next two days.
—Eat well, go to the gym, and then stay home.
Unless the Earth exploded, nothing could make her leave the house.
As she walked toward the elevator, she glanced up at the ten regional clocks hanging on the wall.
It was almost eight o'clock already.
Above the clocks was the current date.
Saturday.
She felt like someone had mentioned Saturday before.
She paused in front of the elevator.
Just that one second allowed Bai Yang, who had come looking for her, to spot her.
Seeing her about to enter the elevator, Bai Yang quickly called out from behind, "Miss Ruan!"
Ruan Sixian didn't react immediately and stepped into the elevator, while the captain pressed the door close button in front.
Bai Yang hurriedly called out again, "Ruan Sixian!" His voice was louder this time, drawing curious glances from passing employees.
The captain immediately pressed the door open button, and Ruan Sixian leaned out, "What is it?"
Bai Yang waved to Ruan Sixian from a distance. Seeing her unmoving, he walked over to the elevator entrance.
"Mr. Fu wants you to go to his office."
"Me?" Ruan Sixian asked, "What for?"
The captain behind her also inquired, "Is it about today's thunderstorm? I've already drafted the report."
Bai Yang said it wasn't, "He just wants Assistant Captain Ruan to come over."
The captain and co-pilot's gazes immediately focused on Ruan Sixian.
Ruan Sixian tensed up.
What is that dog of a man up to now?
But this was World Airlines, and if Fu Mingyu called her to his office, she had no reason to refuse.
Ruan Sixian stepped out of the elevator and followed Bai Yang into another one.
This was her first time visiting Fu Mingyu's office.
Passing through an automatic sensor glass door, she saw two rows of workstations along the corridor, occupied by four assistants.
As Bai Yang led Ruan Sixian over, two of them looked up curiously.
But their gazes quickly retreated when Bai Yang opened the door to Fu Mingyu's office.
When Ruan Sixian walked in, Fu Mingyu was at his desk, taking off his suit jacket.
Seeing Ruan Sixian arrive, he paused briefly, glanced back without saying a word, and continued removing the half-off jacket.
As he stretched his arms back, the contours of his chest muscles were faintly visible beneath his shirt.
Unaware of Ruan Sixian's gaze, he set down the jacket, loosened his tie with his right hand, and spun the chair to sit down with the other.
If she hadn't known it was Fu Mingyu, Ruan Sixian thought, that scene would have been quite sexy.However, judging by his demeanor, it didn’t seem like he had anything serious to discuss.
Sure enough, the next second, he spoke up: “Haven’t checked your phone?”
“No,” Ruan Sixian asked, “Why?”
Fu Mingyu twirled a pen in his hand, his gaze sweeping briefly over Ruan Sixian’s face before he said, “I have a video conference later. Wait for me, and after it’s over, I’ll take you to dinner.”
Ruan Sixian: “…?”
She was stunned for several seconds, unable to process what Fu Mingyu was doing.
Just as she was about to ask, Fu Mingyu’s phone rang.
Fu Mingyu stopped looking at her, answering the call while opening the laptop in front of him. In a commanding tone, he said, “Wait outside for a while.”
He was indeed busy, so Ruan Sixian didn’t say anything more and turned to leave.
The door behind her closed automatically, cutting off the sound of Fu Mingyu’s voice.
Outside, there was a lounge area. A female assistant brought over a cup of tea and asked Ruan Sixian to sit for a while.
Ruan Sixian instinctively took the cup, took a sip, and had just settled onto the sofa when her mind suddenly cleared.
Why should she wait just because Fu Mingyu told her to?
Besides, it wasn’t even about work—he said they’d go to dinner! That wasn’t work-related; it was her personal time!
Had she lost her mind earlier?
It must have been because she was in the office, surrounded by a serious atmosphere, with Fu Mingyu sitting behind his desk, making her feel a sense of hierarchy between superior and subordinate. That was why she obediently came out to wait.
Ruan Sixian felt like she had been played.
And “take her to dinner”? Did she not have legs or a mouth of her own?
The more she thought about it, the more it didn’t sit right with her.
Go to dinner together?
Why? They didn’t seem like the kind of people who could casually share a meal, did they?
She hadn’t made any mistakes at work, and today’s thunderstorm was mainly the captain’s responsibility, not hers.
Ruan Sixian couldn’t figure it out, her brows furrowed tightly, her confusion written all over her face.
The female assistant noticed and quickly stepped forward to ask, “Is the tea too hot?”
“Huh?” Ruan Sixian snapped back to reality and shook her head. “No, the temperature is just right…”
The assistant sighed in relief and smiled. “That’s good. I won’t disturb you, then.”
After the assistant left, Ruan Sixian took out her phone and checked WeChat. Sure enough, she saw a message from Fu Mingyu sent an hour earlier.
[Fu Mingyu]: I’m back. ?
Why did he need to report to her that he was back?
She set down her teacup and stood up, facing the door to Fu Mingyu’s office. A gut feeling slowly spread within her.
Ruan Sixian was all too familiar with men’s intentions when they tried to show interest. She couldn’t possibly misinterpret something like this.
So, Fu Mingyu—was trying to hit on her?
That dog of a man, Fu Mingyu, had just returned from abroad with another woman and was now rushing to hit on her?!
And using such a commanding tone?!-
Half an hour later, Fu Mingyu emerged from his office.
His gaze swept across the room. Aside from the four assistants, there was no one else.
Fu Mingyu looked at the female assistant in charge of reception and asked, “Where is she?”
The assistant stood up, hesitating for a moment before saying, “Vice Captain Ruan said she wouldn’t wait for you and left first.”
Although Fu Mingyu had already guessed as much, hearing it from the assistant firsthand still made him rub his brow.
The assistant discreetly observed his expression, relieved that she had rephrased Ruan Sixian’s words when relaying them.
—“Tell your President Fu he can go eat alone!”-Ruan Sixian returned home, too tired to change out of her uniform. She kicked off her shoes and collapsed onto the sofa.
Staring at the ceiling, she felt her lungs ache with anger.
After cursing Fu Mingyu a hundred and eighty times in her mind, the doorbell interrupted her before she could reach the hundred and eighty-first.
Ruan Sixian sat up and called out, "Who is it?"
An unfamiliar voice came from outside, "Your food delivery is here."
Ruan Sixian remembered she had indeed ordered takeout before coming home. She scrambled up and hurried to open the door.
But the person standing at the door wasn’t wearing a yellow delivery uniform—instead, he was dressed in a black suit.
He handed two large bags to Ruan Sixian.
"Your food delivery. Please enjoy your meal."
Ruan Sixian was taken aback. She had ordered claypot rice—did the restaurant really send her a whole pot? Why were there two such large bags?
"Are you sure you have the right address? This isn’t what I ordered, is it?"
"Mingchen Apartment, Building 3, Unit 1601, Miss Ruan Sixian, right?"
"Yes."
"Then it’s correct. This is your order."
Ruan Sixian took the two bags, closed the door, placed them on the table, and pulled out two wooden meal boxes engraved with the words "West Wing Banquet."
She knew this was a high-end Chinese restaurant nearby, but she hadn’t ordered from there.
As she hesitated, the doorbell rang again.
This time, Ruan Sixian didn’t ask who it was. Instead, she checked the security monitor.
"..."
It was Fu Mingyu.
Sure enough, he was the one who had sent the food.
Ruan Sixian watched Fu Mingyu on the monitor but didn’t open the door.
After waiting for a while without a response, the person outside pressed the doorbell again.
Ruan Sixian nodded to herself.
Fine, let’s see what you want.
She opened the door, leaning against the frame, blocking Fu Mingyu’s way.
"President Fu, what do you want?"
Fu Mingyu had his suit jacket draped over his arm, his tie removed, and the top two buttons of his shirt undone. His eyes were lowered, lacking their usual sharpness, and he looked somewhat weary.
"Has the food arrived?"
His voice was a bit hoarse.
"It’s here," Ruan Sixian said. "What’s your intention?"
"Didn’t I say we’d have dinner together tonight?"
"No, I’m not talking about that. You just got back from Spain with your girlfriend, and now you’re asking me out to dinner? What’s the meaning of this?"
"I’ve already told you, she’s not my girlfriend."
Fu Mingyu had been on a flight for over ten hours, attended a video conference at World Airlines as soon as he landed, and then came straight here. He hadn’t rested at all the entire day.
Faced with Ruan Sixian’s accusatory tone, he couldn’t believe he was patiently explaining himself again.
Women were truly difficult to placate when they got jealous.
"She’s the daughter of a partner company’s owner. We went to Spain for business, and she just happened to be on my flight."
Ruan Sixian paused, let out an "oh," and fell silent, though her eyes shifted as if she were thinking about something.
Fu Mingyu took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, afraid she would steer the conversation back to Zheng You’an, so he took the initiative.
"The food is already here. Aren’t you going to let me in?"
Ruan Sixian didn’t move.
Fu Mingyu didn’t move either.
After a brief standoff, Ruan Sixian’s fingers, which had been gripping the door, gradually loosened.
It was just a meal, nothing major.
She stepped aside, and Fu Mingyu strode in.
He placed his jacket on the sofa, turned to the table, opened the boxes, and began arranging the dishes one by one.His movements were actually quite swift, yet they carried a sense of leisurely grace, as if he were handling not just food but exquisite works of art.
Ruan Sixian walked over to take a look.
The dishes were quite varied—meat and vegetables, fragrant and steaming, with wisps of heat curling upward.
In another box, there were actually four plump hairy crabs.
Ruan Sixian picked one up and started trying to untie the rope.
But the way this restaurant tied the ropes was quite intricate. After struggling with it for a while without success, she muttered, "Why is it tied so tightly?"
Fu Mingyu glanced at her.
"Go get the scissors."
"Okay."
Ruan Sixian put down the crab and turned to look for the scissors, only to see Fu Mingyu's jacket lying on her sofa.
She paused and said, "You’ll leave after you finish eating."
It was a statement, not a question.
Hearing this, Fu Mingyu stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her.
"Or else?"
Ruan Sixian: "...?"
Why are you smiling while you talk?
"Or else I’ll tie you to a straw boat and borrow some arrows."
OpenNovel