Just уоu.
Ruаn Siхiаn stаred at thеsе wоrds fоr а long time, feеling а burning, swelling sensаtion in her hеаrt thаt mаdе hеr chest fеel tight and heavy.
When this mаn wаs straightfоrward, hе rеаllу didn’t evеn blink.
Оf соursе, Ruan Siхian also didn’t knоw whеther hе truly felt no fluсtuation whilе typing.
Shе stооd thеrе fоr а while. Thе сrew hаd аlrеadу walkеd fаr aheаd, lеaving оnly her still in the lоbby.
After tаррing lightly оn the screеn fоr а momеnt, Ruаn Siхiаn tурed а fеw words.
[Ruаn Sixiаn]: Havе yоu hаd dinnеr yеt?
Тhе mоment she sent it, Ruаn Sixian felt a slight nervоusness.
She and Fu Мingyu hadn’t sеen оr sрokеn to each other in the past two days. She felt there was a subtle, almost "cold war" tension between them.
But now, she was taking the initiative to make peace, right?
Ruan Sixian waited half a minute, then sent another message.
[Ruan Sixian]: President Fu?
Instead of Fu Mingyu’s reply, she received a text from Dong Xian: Ruan Ruan, answer the phone, it’s urgent.
Less than a minute after receiving the text, Dong Xian called.
Seeing that the caller ID wasn’t Fu Mingyu, Ruan Sixian felt a slight disappointment. When she answered the phone, her tone was somewhat resigned.
"What’s wrong?"
Dong Xian: "Your aunt is sick. She just had surgery. Can you come see her?"
Ruan Sixian glanced at the time. "Where?"
"City Third Hospital."
Ruan Sixian’s aunt was Dong Xian’s older sister, named Dong Jing.
She had originally been the head of the admissions office at an elementary school. After Dong Xian remarried, she also resigned from her position at the school and started working in marketing at the Zheng family’s hotel group.
Dong Jing had always done well in the admissions office, but after all, it was a small pond. It was only when she moved to a larger platform that she truly showcased her abilities and thrived.
By the time Ruan Sixian arrived at City Third Hospital, it was already seven in the evening. Autumn nights came early, and the bustle of the hospital felt out of place in the quiet night.
Following the directions, Ruan Sixian went to the cardiothoracic surgery inpatient ward, where Dong Xian was waiting for her outside the room.
It had been years since they last met. The moment Dong Xian saw Ruan Sixian walking over in her uniform, her eyes grew slightly sore.
As she walked toward her, her steps felt somewhat unsteady.
"Ruan Ruan..."
She wanted to say more but was interrupted by Ruan Sixian’s direct question.
"How is Auntie?"
Dong Xian’s intended words caught in her throat. She pointed to the room.
"She hasn’t woken up yet."
"Mm."
Ruan Sixian walked past her into the room and saw Dong Jing lying on the hospital bed with an IV in the back of her hand. A caregiver was busy with various tasks nearby.
Perhaps it was some kind of telepathy, but the moment Ruan Sixian approached the bedside, Dong Jing woke up.
She opened her eyes groggily, looking a bit dazed when she saw Ruan Sixian.
"Auntie." Ruan Sixian leaned closer. "Are you feeling better?"
Dong Jing had been admitted to the hospital early in the morning due to cardiac tamponade and underwent immediate surgery. She had already woken up once in the morning and had regained a bit of her energy by now.
"Ruan Ruan is here?"
She smiled, looking at Ruan Sixian’s uniform. "I heard from your mom that you’re a pilot now. So it’s true."
Ruan Sixian had often visited Dong Jing’s home as a child. At the time, Dong Jing wasn’t married and had no children of her own, treating Ruan Sixian like her own daughter.
Later, after Dong Xian’s divorce, Ruan Sixian lived alone with her father, and her contact with Dong Jing gradually faded.After all, since she was unwilling to go, Dong Jing couldn’t very well keep visiting her home.
Later, when Dong Jing joined the marketing department of the Zheng Group and spent most of her time abroad, the two of them hardly ever saw each other.
“Why are you in the hospital all of a sudden?” Ruan Sixian asked.
“What do you mean ‘all of a sudden’?” Dong Jing waved her hand, gesturing for Ruan Sixian to come closer. “All these years of working odd hours and traveling for business have taken a toll on my health. And you never found the time to visit your aunt.”
While Ruan Sixian and Dong Jing were talking, Dong Xian stood silently behind them, watching without saying a word.
After about ten minutes, Ruan Sixian noticed that Dong Jing seemed to be struggling to speak and decided it was time to leave.
Dong Jing sensed her intention and quickly grabbed her hand. “Ruan Ruan, let me tell you something else.”
“Hmm?”
Dong Jing glanced at her sister behind her and sighed. “Look, when your parents divorced, you didn’t want to go with your mom. Later, when your dad passed away and your mom asked you to come live with her, you still refused. I know divorce affects children deeply, but so many years have passed, and you’ve grown up now. You should be able to understand your mom’s choice back then. Sometimes, marriage isn’t something you can control. When feelings fade, they fade, and staying together only leads to mutual suffering. But parents always love their children. Don’t keep holding on to this stubbornness. You only have one mother—where else are you going to find another?”
As Dong Jing spoke, Ruan Sixian glanced back at Dong Xian. Her brows were furrowed, her eyes red. The moment their gazes met, Ruan Sixian felt a pang in her nose, and her eyes immediately welled up.
Ruan Sixian turned back and continued listening to Dong Jing.
Her aunt was essentially urging her not to hold a grudge against Dong Xian anymore—or if she must, that so many years of it should be enough. In this day and age, there are so many divorced families, but she had never seen anyone like Ruan Sixian, who cut off all contact with her mother.
Ruan Sixian responded with agreement to everything her aunt said, no matter what it was.
Only when Dong Jing grew tired again, her eyes barely able to stay open, did Ruan Sixian finally leave.
“Auntie, rest well. I’ll come see you another day.”
By the time she said this, Dong Jing was already asleep and didn’t respond. Ruan Sixian gathered her things and walked out, with Dong Xian following her.
“Ruan Ruan.” At the door of the hospital room, Dong Xian called out to her. “Let me take you home.”
“No need, I’ll take a taxi.” Ruan Sixian turned to face her. “Also, please don’t wait outside my house anymore. It’s annoying.”
Hearing the word “annoying,” Dong Xian finally understood that all the agreement Ruan Sixian had shown earlier was just to placate her aunt.
Her softened expression slowly crumbled.
Ruan Sixian took a card from her bag and shoved it into Dong Xian’s hand.
“This is all the money you’ve sent me over the years. I haven’t touched a single cent. Keep it for yourself.”
Dong Xian didn’t take it, and the card fell to the floor, where neither of them picked it up.
Staring at the worn card on the ground, all the confusion and helplessness she had suppressed for over a decade erupted in that moment.
When she divorced, she hadn’t failed to consider the harm it would cause her child. But the end of a marriage wasn’t solely her fault. Back then, Ruan Sixian was young and didn’t understand, so she could be patient. But now that Ruan Sixian was in her twenties and still acting this way, she simply couldn’t comprehend it."Ruan Ruan, why can't you accept the fact that your father and I are divorced? I admit, back then, to spare your feelings, your father and I never argued or showed any conflict in front of you. So when we suddenly brought up divorce, it might have been hard for you to accept. But could you really not see the changes in us during that time?"
Ruan Sixian pressed her tongue against the inside of her cheek and said nothing.
Of course, she didn't believe divorce was necessarily wrong. But how could Dong Xian be so self-righteous, thinking she knew nothing?
They divorced when Ruan Sixian was fourteen, in her third year of junior high.
Third-year students had one more class in the afternoon than first- and second-year students, finishing school at six every day. It took twenty minutes to walk home from school, but there was a shortcut that only took ten minutes, though it involved climbing over a low wall.
Ruan Sixian was a bit of a troublemaker back then. The girl she usually walked with didn't want to climb the wall, so she took the shortcut alone every day.
Her home was in an old alley. The north side faced the main road, while the south side led to a small path that was usually deserted. After climbing over the low wall and passing through an abandoned construction site, you'd reach this path.
She couldn't remember exactly which day it was, but as she jumped off the low wall with her backpack, she saw her mother getting out of a Mercedes-Benz car just after passing the construction site.
She hid behind an abandoned prefab house and watched from a distance until Dong Xian turned into the small path before coming out.
For a long time after that, Ruan Sixian saw that Mercedes-Benz several times.
Sometimes they would park there for a long time, talking in the car about who knows what.
Sometimes the man would get out, open the trunk, and give Dong Xian some things.
Ruan Sixian never got a clear look at the man's face, only that he was somewhat plump and old.
Once, she saw the man give Dong Xian a small box. Dong Xian took it, put it in her bag, and turned to go home.
Ruan Sixian arrived home shortly after and, while Dong Xian was cooking, rummaged through her bag. She found a necklace.
Ruan Sixian's family was poor, and she had never seen much jewelry, but she guessed it must have been quite valuable.
So Dong Xian didn't know—the divorce wasn't Ruan Sixian's real issue. This was.
A few months later, Dong Xian asked Ruan Sixian's father for a divorce.
The divorce dragged on for months, during which Dong Xian moved out. Ruan Sixian didn't know where she lived—perhaps with that man.
Eventually, Ruan Sixian's father agreed to the divorce and asked her who she wanted to live with.
Without hesitation, Ruan Sixian said she wanted to live with her father.
Then the two of them sat facing each other for a long time without speaking.
Finally, Dong Xian stood up and said, "Okay."
At the time, Ruan Sixian couldn't quite describe what she felt. She thought Dong Xian would talk to her at length, try to persuade her to live with her, but all she said was "okay."
It wasn't until several days later, when all traces of Dong Xian were gone from the house, that it finally dawned on Ruan Sixian.
Ah, so I really was abandoned after all.
Ruan Sixian remained lost in thought for a long time until Dong Xian's words pulled her back.
"Ruan Ruan, the divorce between your father and me wasn't just my fault. It's unfair of you to treat me this way."
"My father may be poor and not very capable, but at least he was devoted to you."
With just that one sentence, Ruan Sixian turned and walked away.
Dong Xian was slow to react, unable to understand what Ruan Sixian meant or why she had brought up "devotion."By the time she regained her senses, Ruan Sixian’s figure had already disappeared into the elevator.
When she walked out of the inpatient building, the sky had turned completely dark.
Ruan Sixian stood by the roadside waiting for a taxi, staring blankly at the flow of traffic, not noticing a black sedan slowly pulling up in front of her.
Zheng You’an rolled down the window, adjusted her sunglasses, and after confirming it was Ruan Sixian, asked, “What are you doing here?”
Ruan Sixian snapped back to reality, glanced at her, and Zheng You’an asked again, “Are you sick?”
“No,” Ruan Sixian said. “I came to visit a relative.”
“Oh, I’m here to visit a relative too,” Zheng You’an said. “How is everything on your end? Is everything okay?”
Ruan Sixian looked at Zheng You’an, unsure of what to say.
She thought that if she hadn’t seen that car back then, or if Dong Xian had been a little more forceful, she might have followed Dong Xian and left. Now, she and Zheng You’an might have been good sisters.
“Everything’s fine, you should go in now,” Ruan Sixian said. “There’s a car coming behind you.”
After Zheng You’an left, Ruan Sixian hailed a taxi. The driver asked her where she was going, and after thinking for a moment, she gave the address of Bian Xuan’s bar.
When she arrived, she realized it was the weekend, and the place was packed with customers. Bian Xuan was so busy she could barely keep up.
Ruan Sixian sat for a while before heading back.
During this time, her phone kept ringing. Annoyed, she turned it to silent mode and even thought about changing her phone number.
It was not yet ten o’clock when she arrived at Mingchen Apartments. She walked slowly and even encountered an elderly woman walking her dog on the way.
The Chihuahua was fierce, barking loudly at Ruan Sixian and startling her into taking several steps back.
Seeing Ruan Sixian’s eyes turn red, the old woman immediately picked up the dog and apologized, “Oh, young lady, I’m sorry. My dog is just a bit fierce, but it doesn’t bite. Don’t be scared.”
Ruan Sixian didn’t say anything and hurried into the elevator.
The elevator ride took only a dozen seconds, not enough time for Ruan Sixian to compose herself.
Dragging her flight case, she walked toward her apartment while rubbing her eyes.
The motion-sensor light flickered on, and when she looked up, she saw Fu Mingyu standing at her doorstep.
“Where have you been?”
“Why are you here?”
They spoke in unison, and after saying this, Fu Mingyu noticed Ruan Sixian’s unusual expression.
He slowly approached, leaning in to sniff near her face. “Have you been drinking again?”
This time, Ruan Sixian didn’t deny it, responding softly before stepping past Fu Mingyu to open the door.
She walked into the living room and set down her flight case. Fu Mingyu followed her inside, standing beside the television.
“I finished my work and saw your message, but no one answered when I called.”
“Oh, I didn’t check my phone. Sorry.”
Ruan Sixian turned around and looked at Fu Mingyu, her throat suddenly feeling scratchy.
Earlier, she had only casually turned on the light in the entryway, which cast a faint, flickering glow into the living room, making Fu Mingyu seem almost unreal.
Yet, even so, his presence there made Ruan Sixian feel an urge to hug him.
Ruan Sixian touched her lower abdomen.
Perhaps it was because she was ovulating recently, and her oxytocin levels were unusually high, causing this feeling.
Drinking more water to speed up her metabolism would help.
She looked at Fu Mingyu and said, “President Fu, I want some water.”
Fu Mingyu stared into her eyes, trying to discern something from them.
A few seconds later, he gave up and turned to the kitchen to pour a glass of hot water.
When he returned, Ruan Sixian had already taken off her shoes and was sitting on the sofa, curled up with her knees hugged to her chest.Fu Mingyu handed her the water glass.
Ruan Sixian took it and drank it all in one go, even choking a little at the end.
Fu Mingyu sat down beside her and patted her back, the distance between them less than a fist’s width.
When he reached out to pat Ruan Sixian’s back, his arm formed a circle, wrapping around her.
As his palm gently landed, it felt as though he had embraced her.
But the next second, his hand lifted again, and the sense of being encircled vanished, leaving an emptiness in her heart.
Every second, Ruan Sixian longed to grasp that fleeting feeling of being held, wishing he wouldn’t lift his hand and would just leave it resting on her back.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Fu Mingyu didn’t get a response. He lowered his head to look at her, but she buried her face completely in her knees, curling up like a baby in the womb. “Do you need a hug?”
Ruan Sixian: “...”
Before she could figure out how to respond, Fu Mingyu suddenly reached out, wrapped his arm around her, and pressed her head against his chest.
“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as your consent.”
Ruan Sixian, of course, had nothing to say.
She felt insecure and wanted a comforting embrace to indulge in and rely on.
And his embrace was just the right temperature, carrying a crisp, pleasant scent.
Ruan Sixian greedily sniffed twice, pressing her face tightly against his chest, the rise and fall of his breathing tickling her slightly.
The room was silent, and outside the window, rain began to fall again.
Autumn rain is even more lingering than spring rain, drifting sparsely through the leaves, producing a soft, intimate sound that intertwined with Fu Mingyu’s breathing, inseparable from one another.
It was unclear how much time had passed when the rain finally stopped, and the myriad lights outside gradually dimmed.
Ruan Sixian felt a few stray strands of hair brushed against her cheek by Fu Mingyu’s breath, tickling her, so she shifted slightly.
A voice suddenly sounded above her head.
“Stop rubbing against me, or I’ll start charging interest.”
Ruan Sixian lifted her head instantly. “What interest?”
As she straightened up to look at Fu Mingyu, his hand naturally slid down to her waist.
Fu Mingyu tilted his head slightly, looking down at her. “For example, a kiss?”
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