Тhis fееling wаs uttеrlу surreal.
Аftеr rеturning hоmе, Ruan Sixian lеаned agаinst the doоr аnd stаrеd blаnklу for a lоng while.
She had actuallу kissеd Fu Mingуu.
Evеn nоw, shе сould still fееl his рrеsеncе lingering around hеr, аnd the sоund seemed tо echо in her eаrs.
Неr mind fеlt аs if it wеrе no longеr undеr her соntrоl, driven bу primаl hоrmones.
Whеn thе elеvator doоrs openеd, еvеn though Fu Мingyu had shieldеd hеr сomрlеtеlу, shе сould still imаginе the оld ladу outside giving thеm the сlаssiс "old mаn squinting аt а рhone" eхpression upon sеeing them.
At this thоught, Ruan Sixiаn’s legs wеnt wеak, аnd she nearly collapsed right there in her own home.
This was too much. What kind of spell had Fu Mingyu cast on her? His kissing skills were so varied and overwhelming that she couldn’t handle it at all. If she hadn’t kicked him in the end, he might not have even thought about stopping.
Maybe it was the alcohol messing with his head.
She couldn’t tell whether he had been drunk or sober tonight.
Ruan Sixian slowly made her way into the living room. As she passed a cabinet with a mirror, she caught a glimpse of her nearly faded lipstick—the original bright red had turned into a faint orange-red, smudged messily around the edges of her lips.
It seemed to be reminding her once again of what she had just done with Fu Mingyu.
Ruan Sixian changed her clothes and sank into the bathtub, soaking for a long time. Her phone kept buzzing incessantly, the constant beeping driving her crazy.
She casually picked it up and glanced at the screen. It was Si Xiaozhen and Bian Xuan chatting idly in a group chat.
Si Xiaozhen had posted a few screenshots from a Korean drama in the group.
[Si Xiaozhen]: Wuwuwu, this elevator kiss, my heart is melting.
Ruan Sixian: "..."
She put down her phone and stared at the ceiling for a while. Feeling it vibrate again, she picked it up to look.
To be honest, the pose in that screenshot was quite similar to theirs today.
The male lead was also wearing a suit, pinning the female lead in a corner as he kissed her deeply.
Even his back looked a bit like Fu Mingyu’s.
[Si Xiaozhen]: Wuwuwu, when will it be my turn for such a sweet, passionate kiss? I’ve already got my pose ready.
Ruan Sixian: "..."
[Si Xiaozhen]: Wuwuwu, I want a man who will pin me against an elevator and kiss me deeply.
Ruan Sixian: "..."
Ruan Sixian remained a silent lurker in the group chat, lying in the bathtub with her heart still racing. The steam swirled around her, making her feel dizzy and lightheaded.
She felt as if Fu Mingyu’s kisses had left her completely disoriented today.
The weather had been gloomy all day, with dark clouds hanging low and threatening to burst into rain at any moment. But by nightfall, the moon had broken through the thick fog, revealing a slender crescent.
Fu Mingyu walked downstairs and wiped the corner of his lips with his thumb. Under the moonlight, the faint shimmer of lipstick residue was visible on his fingertip.
His driver was still waiting by the roadside. After getting into the car, he took a tissue and wiped the lipstick clean from his mouth.
The faint red stain transferred from his lips to the white tissue. The visual stimulus instantly triggered sensory memories. Fu Mingyu rubbed his neck, recalling the scene from earlier.
Just as the elevator doors were about to close again, Ruan Sixian seemed to snap out of her daze and instinctively bit him—hard enough that the corner of his mouth still stung slightly.
With her hands pressed against his chest, she panted in a daze for a while, her face flushed all the way down to her neck, before finally saying, "Someone in your family is sick, and you’re not going back yet? Instead, you’re doing this and that... Fu Mingyu, are you even human?"
Whether it was more amusing or irritating, Fu Mingyu wasn’t sure. He crumpled the tissue in his hand, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"To Huguang Residence."Earlier, He Lanxiang had suddenly called him, saying Doudou was sick, paralyzed, and about to die, urging him to hurry back and see his dog.
Her tone was impatient, her sharp voice tinged with harshness, making it sound less like she was talking about a pet and more like she was accusing Fu Mingyu of abandoning his own child.
Based on Fu Mingyu’s understanding of He Lanxiang, he could predict that tonight would be difficult.
Half an hour later, the car stopped at the entrance of the villa.
As soon as Fu Mingyu pushed open the front door on the first floor, Doudou came bounding over, full of energy.
He bent down to pat Doudou’s head, then strolled into the living room, but He Lanxiang was nowhere to be seen.
Auntie Luo came over to take the coat he had taken off and gestured toward the second floor.
Fu Mingyu didn’t pay it much mind, first going to get a glass of water and standing by the window to drink it slowly.
Halfway through the glass, a familiar voice echoed from the staircase.
“So you finally remember to come back? You still remember you have a home?”
Fu Mingyu turned and said, “That outfit looks nice.”
But He Lanxiang wasn’t having it. She stood on the stairs with her arms crossed, the height giving her an advantage in presence.
“I thought you were busy, so I didn’t mind not seeing you. But what’s the meaning of having all the model planes moved out? Are you planning to move out for good?”
Fu Mingyu looked up but didn’t deny it.
He seemed to have that idea.
Just then, Auntie Luo came upstairs with Fu Mingyu’s coat, heading to the workroom to clean it. As she passed He Lanxiang, the faint scent of a woman’s perfume drifted over.
He Lanxiang smiled. “I knew it. If you’re gone for ten days or half a month without a trace, you must have a girlfriend. If I hadn’t called you, you might’ve even forgotten the way home, right?”
Remembering the kiss that hadn’t been rejected earlier that evening, Fu Mingyu neither confirmed nor denied the term “girlfriend.”
He Lanxiang gracefully descended the stairs, stopping about a meter away from him, her gaze slowly sweeping over him from head to toe.
“That’s fine on its own, but not long ago, that slap mark on your face…”
Fu Mingyu raised his eyebrows. “Bai Yang told you?”
“Why would I need Bai Yang to tell me?” He Lanxiang’s voice instantly rose two octaves. “I gave birth to you. Don’t I know you? Did you really think I wouldn’t notice just because you wore a mask? If you’re so capable, wear it twenty-four hours a day and don’t take it off even when you eat.”
Fu Mingyu felt a heaviness in his head and didn’t want to continue the topic. Just as he was about to turn and go upstairs to shower, He Lanxiang grabbed him.
“Aren’t you going to explain who hit you? It was a woman, wasn’t it?” She thought, no man would slap someone like that, so she pointed to her own face and said, “And now you have a girlfriend… Could it be… you’re messing around with women?”
He Lanxiang felt she had hit the nail on the head.
Planning to move out, never home, smelling of perfume, and getting slapped—there was no other explanation besides messy relationships.
“Fu Mingyu, I’m telling you, you can’t do things like this. I, He Lanxiang, can’t bear the shame.”
Fu Mingyu rubbed his temples, unsure how to communicate with his mother, whose thoughts often veered off to Siberia.
“It’s just a bit of fun. Don’t worry about it.”
He Lanxiang was stunned for a moment before she realized what Fu Mingyu meant.
“Oh.”
You young people sure know how to have fun—The night was cool as water, the autumn moon pure white, filtering through the curtains into the room, casting a hazy, soft glow—quiet and gentle.
Yet Fu Mingyu’s dream was not as gentle as this night; the scenes from the evening replayed once more.
He saw Ruan Sixian’s eyes again, misty with moisture, more blurred than the moonlight, faintly reflecting his own image.
Her arms were wrapped around his neck, her chin nuzzling against his jaw, the movements stretched impossibly slow.
He lowered his gaze, looking at the epaulets on her uniform, the buttons, his eyes shifting inch by inch down to her waist…
Waking from the dream in the middle of the night, Fu Mingyu opened his eyes to look out the window. The moonlight was bright, its curve as gentle as the smile at the corner of her lips.
He let out a long breath, got up, and went to take his second shower of the night.
At five in the morning, the alarm rang on time.
Ruan Sixian opened her eyes, stared at the ceiling, and blinked several times before her thoughts finally settled.
Her body still felt warm. She patted her chest and immediately got out of bed to wash up.
Whether she had a flight assignment that day or not, her morning run was an unshakable habit—not only to maintain her physical fitness but also to calm her mind.
An hour and a half later, Ruan Sixian appeared at the World Airlines building.
Early mornings were always the busiest time. Flight crew members pulled their flight cases through various corridors, the sound of rolling wheels chaotic and unending. Dispatch was a flurry of papers, and the flight planning department buzzed with incessant phone calls.
On the way, Ruan Sixian ran into the other members of her crew, and together they headed toward the conference room. Around her, there were yawns and casual chatter, a jumble of sounds that vanished into a vacuum the moment she caught sight of Fu Mingyu’s figure.
As if sensing her gaze, Fu Mingyu stood at the end of the glass corridor, turned his head slightly to glance her way, then continued toward the elevator.
Many people followed behind him, none noticing this subtle movement.
But Ruan Sixian knew—he had been looking at her.
Perhaps because of what happened last night, even a distant glance exchanged across a crowd felt far from simple now.
The warmth in her cheeks began to rise again.
What are you doing?
Can’t you stay calm?
It was just a kiss.
Just a little tangle of tongues.
What’s there to blush about?
He’s expressionless, completely unaffected—why are you blushing?!
She cleared her throat softly and strode toward the conference room.
The next second, her phone rang.
As if she had some premonition, she took it out and saw that it was indeed a message from Fu Mingyu.
[Fu Mingyu]: Send me a message after you land on the return flight.
See, how composed he is—
The captain had arrived early, already signed the flight documents, and even had the fuel topped up, so once everyone was gathered, they got straight to the point.
With clear weather, a familiar route, and no VIP passengers, the briefing was short. After it ended, the crew prepared to board the aircraft.
Since there was still time, a flight attendant pulled Ruan Sixian along to the terminal to buy some snacks.
It was the weekend, and the terminal was especially crowded. Zheng You’an and Dong Xian walked gracefully toward the first-class lounge, their pent-up complaints from the night before still not fully vented even after ten minutes."Originally, my dislike for Fu Mingyu was only at a seven out of ten, but that night when I drank with her, her criticisms were even more precise than mine. It made my aversion to him instantly shoot up to a full ten. Yet, she quickly ended up with Fu Mingyu. What kind of tactic is that? Was she doing it on purpose? Am I just too inexperienced? Is this how you fend off a love rival?"
Dong Xian listened to Zheng You'an's complaints along the way. Although she didn't know who she was talking about, she felt it was just childish games and didn't take it to heart.
"Let bygones be bygones. Why dwell on it?"
"No, I just can't wrap my head around it. I feel like I was played."
Dong Xian slowed her pace and glanced at her leisurely. "Do you still like Fu Mingyu?"
"Don't be ridiculous." Zheng You'an rolled her eyes. "Right now, I think even Yan An is better than him."
Dong Xian chuckled lightly. "Aren't they all the same? Hasn't Yan An had his fair share of scandals? It's just that one made it public while the other kept it hidden. Neither of them are good people."
Hearing this, Zheng You'an fell silent, feeling a bit guilty.
Back then, she was so angry with Fu Mingyu that she swore she would never reconcile with him for the rest of her life. But her father didn’t think it was a big deal. In fact, he felt Fu Mingyu had done nothing wrong. Compared to the interests of their two families, it was just a minor squabble, and he insisted she continue interacting with Fu Mingyu.
Zheng You'an believed that no matter how highly Fu Mingyu was regarded by the elders, insulting her artistic talent was a matter of values. If their values didn’t align, there was no way they could be together.
But her father kept nagging in her ear, telling her to lower her pride a little, that Fu Mingyu really had no flaws to pick on, and that if she missed this opportunity, there wouldn’t be another.
She couldn’t take it anymore, so she spread a little... small rumor, precisely targeting Fu Mingyu's image in her father’s mind.
For example, she said that when they went to Spain together, Fu Mingyu couldn’t take his eyes off the samba dancers, flirting with them. Later, he refused to ride in the same car with her—who knows who was in that car.
At the same time, she mentioned that he seemed to have unclear relationships with female employees at the company. She had seen it when she went to World Airlines for a shoot.
These vague and suggestive stories carried some weight, and since Zheng You'an was a well-behaved girl, her father didn’t think she was lying. After careful consideration, given Fu Mingyu’s status and looks, this seemed more plausible.
Feelings could be cultivated over time, but he didn’t believe in stories of playboys turning over a new leaf. No matter how beneficial the marriage alliance between the two families might be, he wasn’t willing to let his daughter marry someone like that. So, the matter was dropped.
But Zheng You'an’s father was extremely tight-lipped. He never gossiped about others, at most discussing things with Dong Xian, who also disliked spreading rumors. So, such gossip definitely wouldn’t get out, which was why Zheng You'an dared to do it.
"Anyway, I think it’s really unfair." Zheng You'an circled back to the topic. "I trusted her so much back then, pouring my heart out to her even though we’d only met a few times, and look how she turned out."
As they reached the entrance of the first-class lounge, the hostess greeted them. Zheng You'an fell silent and casually glanced around, spotting a familiar figure at the nearby beverage counter. She immediately stopped in her tracks.
"Ah! Speak of the devil."
Dong Xian turned around. "What?""That's her, the person I was just talking about."
Because of Fu Mingyu, Ruan Sixian hadn't had to wait long for flow control in quite some time. Usually, as soon as the passengers boarded, the plane was nearly ready to push back, so today she had also turned off her phone as soon as she entered the cockpit.
By the time they returned in the afternoon, the sky had darkened, with signs of impending rain.
As soon as she turned on her phone, a flood of WeChat messages poured in. She read and replied to them one by one, scrolling down until she found the message Fu Mingyu had sent her that morning.
After a moment's thought, Ruan Sixian replied with a "squeak."
Fu Mingyu asked her to wait for him in the underground parking lot, saying he would be there soon.
Ruan Sixian glanced at the weather—it looked like rain within the next twenty minutes.
Over this period, she had almost grown accustomed to Fu Mingyu picking her up and dropping her off, so she turned and headed for the parking lot.
World Airlines had designated a special area for its senior executives' parking spots. It was usually quiet, with few people around.
After taking the elevator down, Ruan Sixian wasn't sure where Fu Mingyu's parking spot was, so she stood in the elevator lobby, scrolling through her phone.
While browsing Weibo, a text message popped up, its preview visible in the notification bar.
Dong Xian: I have something to tell you. Please answer the phone.
Ruan Sixian usually answered Dong Xian's calls depending on her mood, but when there was something important, she wouldn't be stubborn. For instance, when her aunt had fallen ill last time, if she hadn't answered, she might still not know about it.
A few seconds later, Dong Xian's call came through.
Ruan Sixian answered directly, asking, "I'll go see Auntie in a couple of days."
"It's not about that," Dong Xian said. She had just gotten off the plane and deliberately avoided Zheng You'an, making the call from the restroom.
"What is it, then?"
Dong Xian hesitated for a moment.
Even basic daily communication between her and Ruan Sixian was difficult to maintain. Bringing up such a topic now, she wasn't sure how to begin.
But after hearing from Zheng You'an about Ruan Sixian's relationship with Fu Mingyu, she had thought about it for a while on the plane and decided to discuss it with Ruan Sixian.
"You and Fu Mingyu... are you together?"
Ruan Sixian froze at the question, her other hand tightening around the handle of her flight case.
"Did Zheng You'an tell you?"
"You know her?"
"If she told you about this, how could we not know each other?"
Dong Xian took a breath, her tone growing even softer. "She told me. I only found out today."
A strange sense of unease settled in Ruan Sixian's heart.
So she only found out today and immediately called, speaking so cautiously—was she afraid Ruan Sixian would steal Zheng You'an's man?
"Do you understand Fu Mingyu? I mean, his circumstances might indeed be attractive to women, but there are things you might not know. Maybe he isn't quite right for you..."
"And do you understand me? How do you know we're not right for each other?" Ruan Sixian felt a surge of anger at these words and didn't want to continue the conversation. "I'm in my twenties, I have my own judgment. You don't need to tell me these things."
Dong Xian was taken aback. "Just listen to me first..."
"You don't need to say anything. We are together, and I don't need to learn about my boyfriend from someone else's mouth. That's it."
Ruan Sixian hung up directly.
But before the emotions stirred by the call could settle, another wave of unease washed over her.
—Through the marble wall in front of her, she saw someone standing behind her.
Without turning around, she knew exactly who it was.Recalling what she had just said, Ruan Sixian’s mind buzzed with a sudden urge to vanish on the spot.
She remained frozen, and the person behind her didn’t move either.
Her phone chimed.
[Fu Mingyu]: I overheard a conversation in the parking lot.
Ruan Sixian: “…”
[Fu Mingyu]: That person seems to be my girlfriend.
Ruan Sixian: “…”
[Fu Mingyu]: Judging by the back, it looks like you.
Ruan Sixian: “…”
Driven by a final stubborn streak, Ruan Sixian stiffened her neck and sent a reply, desperately hoping to break the awkward standoff.
[Ruan Sixian]: Recognizing me just by my back—truly, a father’s love is as steadfast as a mountain.
After sending the message, there was no reply, but she felt the person behind her drawing closer, leaning down beside her ear. A familiar scent of firwood enveloped her.
“Whether you meant it in anger or not, I’m taking it seriously.”
Ruan Sixian: “…”
She still kept her back to Fu Mingyu, not even turning her head.
His breath lingered near her cheek.
Just like last night, it was soft and lingering, carrying a hint of his scent—ticklish and somewhat intoxicating.
After a long while, Ruan Sixian finally spoke. “It wasn’t… out of anger.”
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