Тhе mеаl оnlу took tеn minutеs, during whiсh Ruаn Siхian didn’t say аnоther word tо Fu Mingyu.
Shе rеаsоnаblу believеd that Fu Mingyu had just subtly aсtеd like а jerk.
Whаt mаdе it wоrse wаs thаt shе соuldn’t eаsily refute him—thе mоre shе argued, the mоre off-tоpic it wоuld bесоmе.
Аlthоugh there wеrеn’t manу реoрle in thе rеstaurant, thеrе was а couplе sitting nearby whо wеrе clоse enough tо оvеrheаr thеir соnvеrsаtion.
Аs thе future hеir of а listed cоmpаnу, hоw cоuld hе асt so shamelеssly in public?
Fortunatеly, he wasn’t in Shаnghai, or рeорle wоuldn’t know which trash can to throw him into.
Thankfully, on the way back, Fu Mingyu behaved himself, with no inappropriate words or actions.
Ruan Sixian attributed this mainly to the fact that he received three phone calls during the five-minute drive, leaving him no time to say or do anything else.
It wasn’t until the car entered the apartment complex that he finally had a moment to spare. He glanced sideways at Ruan Sixian.
“Where are you flying tomorrow?”
Ruan Sixian didn’t respond.
Fu Mingyu: “What’s wrong?”
“Can you try to restrain yourself a little?” Ruan Sixian felt her expression and tone were serious enough to serve as a warning to the person beside her. After all, they were in a relationship now, and there should be some heart-to-heart communication. “Be mindful of what you say and how it might come across.”
“Hmm?” Fu Mingyu parked the car downstairs and turned to look at her. “What did I say?”
Bringing up that topic again made Ruan Sixian’s ears turn red.
Fortunately, she had let her hair down after getting off the plane, so Fu Mingyu probably couldn’t see it now.
“During dinner, what were you talking about?”
“What I said during dinner?” Fu Mingyu rested one arm on the steering wheel, a hint of laughter in his voice. “Didn’t you bring it up first?”
Ruan Sixian: “…?”
So it’s my fault now?
Fine.
You’re too good for me, I’m not worthy. Forget about me and find someone else.
In her heart, Ruan Sixian unilaterally broke up with Fu Mingyu and calmly unbuckled her seatbelt, preparing to get out of the car.
Just as her hand touched the door handle, the person behind her suddenly pulled her back, dragging her toward him.
“I have something to do and need to go back to the office. Get some rest early.”
Ruan Sixian nodded at her ex-boyfriend. “Oh.”
A moment later, Ruan Sixian realized her ex-boyfriend was still holding onto her.
Got it!
Are you still not letting go?!
She frowned and turned around, suddenly meeting Fu Mingyu’s intense gaze. Her slight anger instantly vanished.
This was probably the best example of how looking at his face could make her anger disappear.
The car’s interior light was off, with only the dim glow of streetlights filtering in. Tiny specks of dust floated slowly in the beams of light, and even breathing seemed to slow down.
As he leaned closer, Ruan Sixian instinctively closed her eyes.
But the expected kiss never came. Instead, she heard a soft chuckle.
Ruan Sixian opened her eyes. Fu Mingyu was very close to her, smiling as he said, “Did you think I was going to kiss you?”
“…”
Jerk.
Ruan Sixian felt flustered, a mix of embarrassment and anger rising within her. She slapped him across the face.
But he caught her hand and pressed it against his own cheek, then leaned in closer and whispered, “I did want to kiss you.”
With those words, he kissed her.
It was gentle and lingering, but not overly indulgent. Half a minute later, he opened his eyes, held her hand against his face for a moment, and said in a low voice, “Goodnight.”
Ruan Sixian walked to the elevator lobby, pressed the up button, and licked her lips.She realized that no matter the intensity of the kiss, Fu Mingyu always had a way of leading her, making her unconsciously lose herself in it.
Based on that half-minute kiss alone, she decided to forgive Fu Mingyu, unilaterally reconcile with him, and sent him a message reminding him to remember to eat dinner.
After going upstairs, Ruan Sixian took a shower, put on a face mask, and sat on the sofa scrolling through her phone.
She felt she should tell her close friends about having a boyfriend, so she opened the group chat and sent a message.
Ruan Sixian : I just got myself a boyfriend today.
Half a minute later.
Ruan Sixian : What’s wrong? Is it that shocking?
Si Xiaozhen : Not really, is it President Fu?
Bian Xuan : What kind of question is that? Who else could it be? Is our Ruan Ruan the kind of person who’d be fickle?
Wait, what did these two mean by that?
She herself had found it so sudden that it took her a whole evening to digest the fact that Fu Mingyu was now her boyfriend.
Si Xiaozhen : So, is it him or not?
Bian Xuan : See, I knew it.
Ruan Sixian: "..."
Si Xiaozhen : Ah! It really is President Fu! Tell us all the details, quick!
Ruan Sixian : What’s there to say? It’s just how it is.
Si Xiaozhen : What I mean is, I want to know how someone like a CEO confesses. Is it especially cool and flashy?
Confession?
Ruan Sixian thought about it. Apart from tonight’s line, "Don’t you know what type I like?" Fu Mingyu hadn’t given her a proper confession.
No wonder she felt something was missing.
Tonight’s line didn’t count.
Without a formal confession, she wasn’t even sure what Fu Mingyu’s intentions toward her were.
It seemed like he had never once said "I like you" before taking action.
Ruan Sixian : There wasn’t one.
Bian Xuan : CEOs really do prioritize efficiency, holding onto confidence with an iron grip.
He was indeed confident, chasing someone without even bothering to confess.
The next morning, Ruan Sixian was still hung up on this.
She felt she was really a bit stubborn, going along with someone without even a proper confession.
No confession was one thing, but on the first day of their relationship, he had praised a female celebrity on TV right in front of her, saying she was good-looking.
Oh, and not just that—he could even call out her name.
A name even she, someone who often browsed Weibo, couldn’t recall.
Ruan Sixian suddenly realized, did she know too little about Fu Mingyu?
When others got a boyfriend, they practically investigated his entire household registration, but aside from her boyfriend’s name, age, and job, she knew almost nothing?-
However, she had a long-haul flight today, and these thoughts were forcibly pushed to the back of her mind the moment she entered the World Airlines building.
This flight was to X City, and the assigned captain was a middle-aged man. Whether it was genetics or something else, by his fifties, his hair had already turned mostly white.
Moreover, he was an extremely serious and unsmiling person. From the pre-flight briefing to boarding, he hardly spoke.
It wasn’t until they entered the cockpit that he finally said, "I hope nothing goes wrong today," with a hint of distrust toward Ruan Sixian.
This wasn’t the first time Ruan Sixian had encountered such a situation, so she didn’t take it to heart.But perhaps it was a case of speaking something into existence, as today's flight did indeed encounter a problem.
Seven minutes after takeoff, Ruan Sixian, sitting in the co-pilot's seat, suddenly heard a loud bang.
She immediately turned to look at the captain.
The captain glanced back at her, pressing his headset, trying to listen carefully for any other sounds.
By then, Ruan Sixian had already caught the smell of something burning.
"Captain, it might be a bird strike."
Meaning the plane had collided with a bird.
Despite the plane's massive size, it was genuinely vulnerable to birds in the air.
Though birds are small, planes move fast enough—especially during ascent—that the kinetic energy from a collision could destroy an engine.
Moreover, she could already smell the burning, indicating the situation was far from optimistic.
The usually stern captain didn't say much at this moment. He simply stared at the instrument panel, thought it over, and made a decision.
"Contact the control tower. We're turning back."
A 0.45-kilogram bird colliding with a plane traveling at 800 kilometers per hour could generate an impact force of 153 kilograms, let alone when they couldn't predict the size of the bird and the plane's speed exceeded 800 kilometers per hour.
Turning back now was to ensure safety.
Though such situations were rare, they were still within controllable limits. At least the plane had another engine to keep it flying, so Ruan Sixian wasn't panicked, just somewhat reflective. She had only been in the co-pilot's seat for a little over half a year and had already encountered two abnormal situations.
One diversion, one return.
Quite an eventful record.
But she hadn't expected the real trouble to come after successfully returning.
The original flight plan was to reach Xishi in three hours, with many passengers connecting to other flights.
Although the captain had notified the cabin half an hour after deciding to turn back, when the plane finally landed at Jiangcheng International Airport two and a half hours later, the passengers' emotions were still difficult to contain.
A flight attendant entered the cockpit, saying a passenger was blocking the cabin entrance, demanding an explanation.
The captain sighed, rubbing his shoulder as he stood up. "Let's go, let's see what's happening."
If necessary, both of them would have to stand outside with the cabin crew to apologize to the passengers.
But before Ruan Sixian and the captain could reach the cabin entrance, they heard the loud voice of a middle-aged man.
His voice was booming, tinged with sobs, completely drowning out others' explanations.
When they stepped out, they saw it was indeed a burly middle-aged man.
Ni Tong, the chief flight attendant for this flight, was patiently bowing and explaining to him again and again: "Sir, please calm down. This flight encountered a bird strike, and turning back was for safety reasons..."
"I don't believe a bird could crash a plane! Such a huge aircraft—who are you trying to fool?" the man shouted, cutting Ni Tong off. "How can I calm down? My father is lying on his deathbed back home, waiting for me to see him one last time. You're making it impossible for me to see my father before he passes..."
At this point, the man could no longer control his emotions and broke into loud sobs.
Ni Tong spoke again: "We will arrange a replacement flight as soon as possible.""Fix it, fix it! Can my father wait that long?!" The man could barely stand, leaning unsteadily against the cabin door. Seeing two people in pilot uniforms emerge from behind, he immediately pointed at them and shouted, "I knew an old man and a woman couldn't be trusted! What kind of birds or sparrows are you? It's clearly your own problem! You're going to make me regret this for the rest of my life! Don't any of you have fathers?! You're making it impossible for me to see my dad one last time!"
Hearing this, Ruan Sixian paused slightly.
She glanced at the captain—his expression wasn't optimistic either.
The woman accompanying the man was his wife. Though less agitated, she seemed embarrassed by his outburst and handed him a thermos. "Have some water first. What's the point of shouting here?"
The thermos contained scalding hot water. As it reached his lips, the man calmed down slightly and blew on the spout.
His wife then turned to Ni Tong and asked, "When can we arrange a new flight?"
Ni Tong exchanged a glance with the captain, frowning as she replied, "That's uncertain at the moment. Based on past experience, if things go smoothly, we might be able to take off this afternoon, or—"
Before she could finish, the man's eyes widened at the words "take off this afternoon." In a fit of rage, he flung the thermos toward Ni Tong.
Ni Tong screamed and stumbled backward. Ruan Sixian reacted swiftly, pulling Ni Tong aside and shielding her. While she managed to prevent the scalding water from hitting Ni Tong's face, both Ni Tong's chest and Ruan Sixian's neck were splashed.
The security officer acted quickly, subduing the man. But in the ensuing chaos, another passenger tried to push through the crowd, causing the man with the thermos to fall to the ground.
For a moment, the cabin entrance descended into pandemonium.
The scalding water seared her skin, sending waves of sharp pain across her neck. Amid the chaotic shouting, Ruan Sixian clenched her eyes shut, her mind buzzing.
"They're attacking passengers! The airline is attacking passengers! I'm going to file a complaint against you!"
Priorities had to be sorted out, and the entire crew had to resolve the conflict with the disruptive passenger first.
The airport manager and the World Airlines operations manager arrived, and it took nearly an hour to mediate the situation.
By the time Ruan Sixian and Ni Tong stepped out, the water on their clothes had long since cooled.
Ni Tong had only been splashed on the chest, and her clothing provided some protection, so her situation was slightly better.
Ruan Sixian, however, had been hit on her exposed neck, which remained flushed and red.
They went to the aviation medical center for treatment and medication, emerging with low spirits.
Ni Tong broke down in tears.
"Whose fault is this anyway? If the plane had a problem, forcing it to fly would have endangered everyone on board. How can there be such unreasonable people? Every month, every year, it's the same. What am I even doing this for?"
She wiped her tears, sobbing as she spoke. "Everything is judged by passenger standards. A hundred passengers praising you can't outweigh the score from one dissatisfied passenger. We get yelled at and endure all this stress, developing occupational illnesses. Every time we rest, we run to the hospital for treatment. Who else our age has such a thick medical record? The extra money we earn just goes straight to the hospital."Back at the mediation office, Ruan Sixian had already endured a good while of being pointed at and yelled at by that man. Now, with Ni Tong’s complaints filling her ears, her mood sank even lower.
Every time she sat in the cockpit, with the boundless sky ahead and the safety of over a hundred lives behind her, the weight of responsibility and pressure could always be replaced by passion.
But when faced with situations like this—prejudice, distrust, and unreasonable behavior coming one after another—anyone would be overwhelmed by a surge of negative emotions.
It was just that Ruan Sixian was used to managing her own emotions, and now she even had to comfort Ni Tong.
“Forget it, if he wants to file a complaint, let him. After verification, nothing will come of it. You did your best.”
By the time they reached the elevator lobby, Ni Tong’s emotions had finally settled. But as soon as her phone rang and she saw it was her mother calling, she immediately answered with a tearful voice.
“Mom, I almost died of anger today…”
Even as the elevator reached the 14th floor, Ruan Sixian could still hear Ni Tong crying to her mother.
Ruan Sixian rubbed her nose and pulled out her phone to check—no notifications at all.
No calls from family was one thing.
But what about her boyfriend? Where was her boyfriend at a time like this?! That mysterious boyfriend she knew nothing about?
As the elevator doors slowly opened, Ruan Sixian looked up and saw that mysterious boyfriend she knew nothing about striding toward her.
Oh, so he was still alive.
The moment he saw her, Fu Mingyu paused briefly, then quickened his pace.
Ruan Sixian took a step forward and walked out of the elevator.
Fu Mingyu stopped in front of her, glanced at her neck, said nothing, and pulled her to turn around and leave—completely ignoring Ni Tong beside them, treating her as if she were air.
Fu Mingyu pulled her all the way to his office. Several assistants were sitting outside, all of them keeping their eyes downcast, pretending not to see the scene.
The automatic doors slowly closed behind Ruan Sixian as she stepped inside.
Fu Mingyu led her to sit on the sofa, studied her neck intently for a moment, then reached out to undo the buttons on the front of her shirt.
“?”
Ruan Sixian immediately covered her neck.
“What are you doing?”
“Let me see.” Fu Mingyu pulled her hand away, undid two buttons, parted the collar, and gently ran his fingertips over Ruan Sixian’s skin. “Does it still hurt?”
Wasn’t that a pointless question?
Ruan Sixian didn’t answer.
Her hands, resting by her legs, unconsciously curled up.
Compared to the pain in her neck, what she felt more now was embarrassment.
With her collar pulled open, the shoulder strap of her black bra was exposed.
“What did the aviation doctor say?” Fu Mingyu looked for a while, then slowly and methodically buttoned her shirt back up.
“It’s fine, not serious.”
Ruan Sixian looked up at him. “Um… I’m going to be complained about.”
“Mm,” Fu Mingyu said. “I know. It’s not your fault. The complaint won’t be effective.”
“Oh.” Ruan Sixian asked, “What if he’s a VIP?”
If a VIP complained, it would be effective immediately.
“If he’s a VIP, I can also be biased,” Fu Mingyu sat down beside her. “It’s not like it’s the first time anyway.”
Perhaps because of this clear statement of “favoritism,” the emotions Ruan Sixian had already managed to regulate were stirred up again.
That tiny bit of grievance from knowing it wasn’t her fault but still being blamed suddenly magnified. Slowly, she felt as if she were especially, especially wronged.
She lowered her head, twisted her neck slightly, and softly replied, “Mm.”
“Seems like there are still benefits to being the boss’s girlfriend.”"You're only realizing this now?"
Ruan Sixian looked up into his eyes, her own reflection mirrored in those dark, swirling depths.
The thought that had been circling in her mind last night slowly resurfaced—Fu Mingyu still owed her a confession.
But asking about it now seemed rather unnecessary.
"Fu Mingyu, I need to tell you something."
"Hmm?"
"If there ever comes a day when you don't like me anymore, just let me know. You can tell me in person, call me, or send a text."
"..."
"I won't cling to you, and I won't ask for any breakup compensation."
"..."
"But you can't go back on your promise of double my annual salary—it's clearly written in the contract."
"..."
Ruan Sixian tugged at his tie. "Say something, will you? Is that okay?"
Fu Mingyu felt a headache coming on.
Ruan Sixian didn't usually seem like the type of woman who would pester him with questions like "Do you really love me?" But once she did ask, it was a life-or-death question.
How was he supposed to answer this?
Saying "Okay"—death.
Saying "Not okay"—death without a whole corpse.
"Why are you cursing us with a breakup?"
Ruan Sixian shook his tie gently. "Just saying it casually."
Fu Mingyu stopped paying attention to her words, his focus shifting entirely to the hand tugging at his tie.
Did she really not know, or was she pretending not to? Tugging and shaking a man's tie was an incredibly seductive gesture.
He leaned in closer, pressing his hand over hers to stop her from moving it any further.
"If you go looking for someone else without telling me first, I'll..."
Ruan Sixian paused, looking at Fu Mingyu, who was now extremely close to her.
Wait, I'm trying to have a serious conversation here. Why are you getting so close?
"You'll what?"
Fu Mingyu asked.
"I'll—"
Send you funeral wreaths lining the streets for miles, with your memorial hall set right in the center.
"Just let it go, I guess."
She finished with a playful wink.
OpenNovel