Ruаn Siхiаn's rаisеd hаnd remainеd frоzеn mid-аir, hеr mind taking a long mоmеnt to prоcess thе whirlwind оf сhаоtiс emotiоns swirling within her.
There was shoсk, hоrror, guilt, аnd a trасе оf... heаrtасhе.
Тhe sоund of that slaр wаsn’t pаrticularly lоud, but it still drew the аttention оf nеаrbу раtrоns, who turned tо lоok оnе аfter аnothеr.
Sоon, neаrlу evеryone in thе bar was glanсing оvеr, whispеring among themsеlvеs, thеir curiоsitу thоrоughlу рiqued.
Вiаn Xuаn snaрped оut of hеr dаzе at thе suddеn turn оf еvents. Spotting iсe nearby, she quiсkly wrapрed it in a сloth аnd rushеd ovеr to hand it to Ruan Sixian.
Ruan Sixian’s heart was still pounding. Seeing Bian Xuan’s gesture, she instinctively reached out to press the ice against Fu Mingyu’s cheek.
But he tilted his head slightly, avoiding the ice, and stared directly at Ruan Sixian.
“Are you satisfied now?”
When Fu Mingyu asked her this for the second time, the explanation that had risen to the tip of Ruan Sixian’s tongue was swallowed back down.
She pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth, remained silent for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, I’m satisfied.”
“Good. We’re even now.” Without another word or even a lingering glance, Fu Mingyu turned and walked out.
Bian Xuan couldn’t quite follow the logic of what had just happened.
“Wait, why didn’t you explain it to him just now? You didn’t mean to hit him—it was a misunderstanding! What were you thinking? He’s your boss!”
As Bian Xuan chattered beside her, Ruan Sixian’s gaze remained fixed on Fu Mingyu’s retreating figure.
Only after he closed the door behind him did Ruan Sixian speak. “If I explained to him that I hit the wrong person, that I didn’t mean to hit him, then what? This thing between us would never end.”
Bian Xuan nodded, though not entirely convinced. “So by admitting it, you’re saying this matter is completely over?”
“Yes.”
It was only now that Ruan Sixian realized Fu Mingyu’s sudden change in attitude toward her must have been because he’d learned about that incident.
But he was too proud, perhaps never considering apologizing to her.
Still, his indulgence toward her over these past days could be seen as a form of apology in its own way.
And she found she wasn’t angry anymore. Yet, without a clear resolution, it felt like things were left hanging. Rather than letting this entanglement drag on, perhaps this slap could serve as a turning point, allowing the past to be left firmly behind.
“At least for me, it’s over.”
Bian Xuan still couldn’t fully grasp her reasoning. Glancing at the time, she waved Ruan Sixian off. “Alright, alright, you should head home and rest. Don’t you have a flight tomorrow?”
Ruan Sixian was indeed tired. Picking up her bag, she prepared to leave.
But as she pushed the door open, she saw Fu Mingyu still standing by the roadside.
Fu Mingyu’s driver had taken Zheng You’an home, and he couldn’t be bothered to call for another ride so late at night.
He was gazing at the distant stream of traffic, and from Ruan Sixian’s angle, the faint glow of the streetlights made the slap mark on his cheek unmistakably clear.
“…”
Did I really hit him that hard?
The taxi stand was the only one nearby, so Ruan Sixian had no choice but to stand there as well.
Sensing someone beside him, Fu Mingyu glanced back. Their eyes met briefly, but neither seemed to know what to say, and they both looked away in silent understanding.
An awkward tension suddenly enveloped them completely.
The summer night was thick and heavy, the evening breeze carrying a scorching warmth. After standing outside for just a short while, Ruan Sixian could already feel sweat beginning to form.
Fortunately, a taxi finally arrived.The driver stopped the car in front of the two and leaned out to ask, "Need a ride?"
Fu Mingyu turned his head and said, "You first?"
Ruan Sixian replied, "You go ahead."
As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward Fu Mingyu's face.
Fu Mingyu turned away, not letting her see.
"You first."
"You go ahead, I can wait a little longer."
One had delivered a slap, the other had received it—yet here they were, politely deferring to each other. It was quite surreal.
After two rounds of this, Fu Mingyu nodded calmly, pulled open the car door, and got in.
"To Mingchen Apartments."
The driver agreed but then called out, "Miss, where are you headed? Is Mingchen Apartments on the way?"
Ruan Sixian thought Fu Mingyu probably didn’t want to see her right now, so she shook her head and said, "You go ahead, I’ll wait for another car."
The driver said, "Oh," and was about to step on the gas when Fu Mingyu looked over through the car window, his gaze distant.
After a brief glance, he spoke up, "Let’s go together."
His voice was very soft, almost a whisper, tinged with exhaustion. Ruan Sixian could barely make out the words from his lips.
"Okay."
The ride passed in silence, and even after returning to the apartment and entering the elevator, there was little communication between them. The confined space felt even more awkward than the taxi.
As they stood side by side facing the elevator doors, Ruan Sixian accidentally caught sight of Fu Mingyu’s face in the mirror.
Was his skin just too fair? The imprint of the slap stood out so starkly—
Back home, Ruan Sixian was both tired and hungry. She kicked off her shoes and headed straight for the bathroom.
Just as she was about to undress for a shower, she noticed a bottle of serum on the vanity.
It was a serum she had always liked, designed for skin repair, with noticeable effects.
After a moment’s thought, she picked up the bottle and walked out, grabbing a bucket of ice from the kitchen on her way.
But when she stood outside the elevator, she realized that while she had seen him press the button for the 16th floor, she didn’t know his exact apartment number.
She sent Fu Mingyu a message directly.
[Ruan Sixian]: What’s your apartment number?
After waiting a few minutes with no reply, Ruan Sixian asked Bai Yang instead and quickly got the answer.
Two minutes later, she rang the doorbell of apartment 1601.
The hallway was quiet. Ruan Sixian lowered her head, staring at her toes, and thought again of the slap mark on Fu Mingyu’s face.
He was such a proud person—he probably wouldn’t even open the door if he saw it was her on the monitor.
No sooner had this thought formed than the door in front of her clicked open.
Fu Mingyu had changed into loose-fitting clothes and stood at the doorway. After taking in what Ruan Sixian was holding, his gaze returned to her face, his eyes filled with an indescribable complexity.
"Here to check on the wounded?"
"..."
Ruan Sixian didn’t deny it. She simply handed the items to him. "Apply this, it’ll be much better tomorrow."
The ice bucket was one thing, but Fu Mingyu looked at the other item. "What’s this?"
"Repair serum. It’s very effective."
Fu Mingyu gave a slight tug at the corner of his mouth, took the ice bucket from her hand, and said flatly, "I don’t use that."
He then turned and walked back inside, leaving the door open. Ruan Sixian followed him in and insisted, "It really works! I’ve tried it myself!"
Fu Mingyu paused mid-step, turned to look at her, and frowned. "Do you get hit often?"
Ruan Sixian: "...No! Some of our previous flight routes had severe high-altitude radiation, and my face would get red."Fu Mingyu directly set the ice bucket down on the coffee table, sat on the sofa, leaned loosely against the soft cushion, his expression unreadable.
"Then help me apply it."
Ruan Sixian only paused briefly before walking straight to the sofa and sitting down beside Fu Mingyu.
But when Fu Mingyu saw her approach so naturally, he felt somewhat uneasy instead.
He pursed his lips tightly and turned his face away.
Ruan Sixian busied herself with the bottle, squeezing out a thick liquid onto her palm, then dipped her index finger from her other hand into it and gently dabbed it onto his face.
However, when her fingertip touched his skin, Ruan Sixian’s movements still hesitated for a moment.
Such a clear palm print might not fade completely anytime soon. As a director, how would he face people tomorrow?
Sensing her hesitation, Fu Mingyu turned to look at her, narrowing his eyes.
"What, feeling sorry for me?"
What was wrong with this person?
"No," Ruan Sixian said immediately. "I was just thinking, I’m not even a heavy-handed person, so how did I manage to hit so hard?"
Fu Mingyu let out a light snort through his nose.
Ruan Sixian dipped her finger into the serum again, applying it bit by bit, carefully covering every part of his cheek.
The chirping of summer insects rose and fell incessantly, each sound drifting through the window, mingling with Fu Mingyu’s breathing as it reached Ruan Sixian’s ears.
Her touch was so light it felt like tickling. Fu Mingyu endured it for a few minutes before finally frowning, unable to bear it any longer.
"Am I using too much force?"
Fu Mingyu pondered for a moment. "No, keep going."
Ruan Sixian let out an "oh," but her touch grew even lighter.
Fu Mingyu’s frown never eased, and even his breathing gradually quickened.
Seeing this, Ruan Sixian lightened her touch even more.
Finally, Fu Mingyu couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up. "Are you applying medicine or touching me?"
Ruan Sixian: "..."
She suddenly pressed a little harder against his cheek. "What do you think?"
Fu Mingyu hissed through his teeth, glaring at Ruan Sixian. "Are you even a woman?"
"If I were a man, you might have died from that slap."
Fu Mingyu suddenly smiled, leaning close to her face and lowering his voice. "If you were a man, would I indulge you like this?"
In that instant, the two were so close they could clearly hear each other’s breathing and see their own reflections in each other’s eyes.
Ruan Sixian thought about his words, "indulge you," spoken in his husky voice, lingering in her ears, refusing to fade.
She felt that he wasn’t expressing how gentlemanly he was but rather stating a fact between them—just between them.
She couldn’t refute his words because it was indeed the truth, but she didn’t know how to respond either.
Fortunately, her stomach came to her rescue.
—It let out two timely "gurgles."
The next morning, Ruan Sixian woke up early for her flight, returning in the afternoon. When she arrived home, she ran into a few colleagues chatting at the entrance. They mentioned that the monthly meeting of the Flight Planning Department had been postponed that day for unknown reasons, but it seemed to be Fu Mingyu’s arrangement.
When Ruan Sixian heard this, she instinctively glanced at her palm.
She really wasn’t heavy-handed.
Another day passed, and Ruan Sixian heard that the monthly meeting of the Dispatch Department had also been canceled that month.
She was stunned for a moment.
Seriously? Was Fu Mingyu’s face so delicate that it hadn’t healed yet?
It wasn’t until the third morning, after finishing the pre-flight briefing, that she caught a distant glimpse of Fu Mingyu’s back and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed he had recovered.This time, her flight was again with Captain Fan. After the meeting, she went to the cafeteria with the cabin crew for breakfast.
At the table, after some casual conversation, Ruan Sixian mentioned that she had been scheduled for an instructor-supervised flight next week.
After becoming a first officer, to accumulate flight experience, the company would arrange flight instructors to supervise them based on flight schedules.
During that time, Ruan Sixian would be able to sit in the pilot’s seat and operate the flight, with the flight instructor beside her, supervising, guiding, and ensuring the safety of the flight throughout.
Before this, Ruan Sixian had also been scheduled for instructor-supervised flights, so she wasn’t particularly excited this time and just mentioned it casually.
Captain Fan casually asked, “Where are you flying to?”
“Lincheng,” Ruan Sixian said. “I’m quite familiar with this route.”
“Familiarity is one thing, but having an instructor by your side is different.”
Although Captain Fan had been a captain for twenty years, he still felt nervous when occasionally encountering instructor spot checks or when instructors, for convenience, temporarily joined his flight as additional crew members.
“Have you checked which instructor it is this time? Let me see if I know them. If I do, I’ll ask them to take extra care of you.”
Ruan Sixian thought for a moment and said, “I don’t remember the name clearly, but I think the surname is He?”
Captain Fan opened his mouth and pondered. “He Lanfeng?”
“Yes, that’s the name.”
“Him?” Captain Fan was astonished and put down his chopsticks. “Are you sure it’s him?”
“Yes, why?”
“Then you’re really lucky,” Captain Fan said. “This instructor is extraordinary. He comes from an air force background with outstanding achievements. After retiring, he joined World Airlines. At that time, World Airlines had just established its fleet, and he was quite remarkable—the first chief captain back then. His skills are unmatched by many. I remember one year, due to an air traffic control error, the plane he was piloting came dangerously close to another Airbus A320 mid-air, nearly colliding. Even the air traffic controller fainted from fright—literally passed out. But he managed to turn the situation around and avoid a disaster. He was even commended by the aviation authority for that.”
As Captain Fan spoke, everyone at the table listened intently.
“What’s even more impressive about this senior is that he excels at everything he does. Later, he transitioned to being an instructor, and his teaching results were unparalleled.” Captain Fan sighed as he spoke. “However, his daughter fell ill later, and he wanted to spend more time at home with her, so it became difficult to fly with him. Back then, anyone scheduled for a flight with him would boast about it. And about four or five years ago, I heard he was hired as an instructor at a flight school abroad. I thought he wouldn’t be around anymore. Why has he suddenly returned to supervise flights now…”
Ruan Sixian had already moved past her initial excitement, but after hearing Captain Fan’s words, she became thrilled again, completely ignoring his confusion.
“Was it the mid-air incident in 2007? I read about it in the news. So it was him!”
“Yes,” Captain Fan said, noticing the anticipation in Ruan Sixian’s eyes, then lowered his voice. “But he’s also known for being strict. Once, when supervising a first officer who didn’t perform well, he directly assigned them to practice circuits and landings.”
Circuits and landings are also a form of supervised training, but they don’t involve actual flights. Instead, the pilot practices takeoffs and landings in an empty plane at the airport.
No first officer wants to go through this, as it implies their skills are lacking.A new flight attendant nearby clicked her tongue twice. "Does an instructor really have that much power?"
"Let's not even talk about whether an instructor has that much power," Captain Fan chuckled, lowering his voice. "Do you know who he is? Chairman Fu's brother-in-law, the uncle of President Fu. Sending a captain back to being a copilot is just a word from him."
After saying that, he turned to look at Ruan Sixian again. "So you're really lucky, but you also have to be careful. He's very strict. If you make a low-level mistake, watch out—you might end up only flying the five-leg pattern."
Ruan Sixian nodded repeatedly. "I'll definitely perform well."
Because of this, Ruan Sixian was in a great mood all day. In the afternoon, on the return flight, she leisurely pulled her flight case home, humming a song while waiting for the elevator.
"I want to fly higher~ fly higher~ dance like a storm~ break free from the embrace~ I want to fly higher~ fly higher~"
But the moment the elevator door opened, Ruan Sixian's ethereal singing abruptly stopped.
Fu Mingyu stood inside, holding a bag of medicine, wearing a mask, and looking at her lazily.
"Did air traffic control allow you to fly higher?"
Ruan Sixian: "..."
She silently walked in and stood shoulder to shoulder with Fu Mingyu, neither of them saying a word.
As the elevator slowly ascended, Ruan Sixian glanced twice at Fu Mingyu's mask and then at the medicine in his hand before asking, "Do you have a cold?"
Fu Mingyu glanced down at her but didn't answer. Instead, he took off his mask.
"Do you think it's exciting for me to go to meetings like this, meeting my subordinates and employees?"
Ruan Sixian: "..."
No way, three days had passed, and there were still faint marks on Fu Mingyu's face.
Her 50-kilogram arm presses really weren't in vain, and her pull-ups weren't wasted either.
Ruan Sixian looked at his face, pondered for a moment, and asked softly, "Does it hurt a lot?"
Fu Mingyu said with a half-smile, "It hurts. It hurts so much that I'll never forget you for the rest of my life."
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