Тhе rерlасement flight thаt dау tооk off at threе in thе afternоon, using an Аirbus 330.
Аlthоugh раssеngers cоntinued to complain, thеir еmotiоns graduаllу sеttlеd aftеr rесеiving аpрropriatе finаnciаl compеnsation.
Аs for the trоublеmаking раssеngеr, their cоmрlaint nаturаllу didn’t go thrоugh, and thеу were tаkеn awаy by the рolice fоr intеntiоnal аssault.
The burn оn Ruаn Siхian’s nесk wаsn’t sеriоus, but it wаs still cаusеd by bоiling watеr, so pеeling а lауer оf skin wаs unаvоidable.
Fortunаtely, these daуs happеned to сoinсidе with her quаrterly flight hours reaching the limit, giving her several days of rest to properly recover from the burn at home. Otherwise, it would have eaten into her flight hours.
But resting to recover from an injury didn’t mean she could lie in bed all day.
Faced with a dense schedule of exams, simulator training, and aircraft type re-evaluations, Ruan Sixian almost felt like she was meditating at her desk.
She was busy, and her boyfriend was even busier. After dealing with the troublemaking passenger yesterday, he took a call and flew to Fudu.
Fly, fly, fly—always flying, always on a plane. He might as well become a captain himself.
Ruan Sixian tapped her pen on the book twice, switched to resting her chin on her other hand, flipped a few pages, and her thoughts drifted back to yesterday afternoon.
She was starting to feel something was off.
When it came to Fu Mingyu, his actions were indeed efficient, and what he did while pursuing her was quite commendable.
Despite being so busy, he still found time to drive her home, have meals together, and chat about this and that over the phone.
But he never once said, "I like you."
It wasn’t that Ruan Sixian was fixated on this point, but she found it strange.
Logically speaking, the way she and Fu Mingyu met was quite complicated.
Given how she repeatedly stepped all over him, shouldn’t a normal man be furious and outraged?
Could it be that CEOs really like this type of woman—"so refreshing, so unpretentious, daring to defy me"?
Well, Ruan Sixian felt that at this point, she shouldn’t be questioning whether her boyfriend liked her or not.
If he didn’t like her, why would he pursue her?
If he didn’t like her, why would he kiss her like that?
But not hearing him say it out loud made Ruan Sixian feel somewhat insecure when doing certain things.
For example, she was feeling a bit bored now and wanted to send him a message.
Nothing important, just a casual chat.
But she couldn’t naturally bother him like others who could chatter about trivial things, like losing a few more strands of hair—that kind of ease came from mutual understanding.
When she wanted to send Fu Mingyu a message, she had to find a reason.
The more Ruan Sixian thought about it, the more she felt she was a bit thick-headed, agreeing to be his girlfriend in such a muddled way.
She even reasonably suspected that Fu Mingyu was just looking for a woman to keep him company and ease his loneliness when work got tiring and dull.
Otherwise, why would he lose control just from her tugging on his tie yesterday?
If Bai Yang hadn’t knocked on the door in the middle of it, he might have done something indecent in broad daylight.
—Stop.
She couldn’t keep thinking about this.
Ruan Sixian adjusted her sitting posture and pushed those messy thoughts aside.
Since she was his girlfriend now, she could send messages whenever she wanted. If he dared not reply, he’d better be prepared to kneel on the instrument panel.
With that thought, Ruan Sixian grabbed her phone and sent Fu Mingyu a message.
Fu Mingyu, who was far away in Fudu attending an airshow, replied surprisingly quickly.
Fu Mingyu : Hmm?Ruan Sixian tapped her fingers on the screen, pondering what to say to make herself appear casual and not like she was just making conversation.
Ruan Sixian : What are you doing?
Fu Mingyu : Miss me?
Ruan Sixian: "..."
He really had the confidence of a CEO down pat.
Ruan Sixian : Not really, I just wanted to ask when the quarterly bonus will be issued.
Fu Mingyu didn’t reply. A few minutes later, Ruan Sixian received a bank transfer notification.
Looking at the message, Ruan Sixian felt a complicated mix of emotions.
Modern-day plastic couples really struggled to have normal conversations. Did she look like the kind of woman who could be easily won over with money?
Ruan Sixian : I’m not asking you for money, and I’m not short on cash either.
Fu Mingyu : So you do miss me?
Ruan Sixian: "..."
This logic, this train of thought.
Ruan Sixian : Your logic is too brilliant for me to comprehend. Go discuss it with Einstein.
Putting down her phone, she sighed, resting her chin in her hand, feeling unsettled and unable to put her emotions into words.
She tried reading a book, but Fu Mingyu’s face kept floating in front of her eyes, haunting her relentlessly.
Two minutes later, Fu Mingyu sent a photo.
Fu Mingyu : I’m here.
Ruan Sixian glanced at it casually. The photo showed a corner of the airshow exhibition center, taken from a casual angle, with mostly various aircraft models in the frame.
But her eyes fixed on the upper right corner, zooming in for a closer look.
Ruan Sixian : Is that a Cessna 172 in the upper right corner?
Fu Mingyu hadn’t paid much attention to the single-engine, four-seat piston-powered light utility aircraft over there. It was only after seeing Ruan Sixian’s message that he walked over to take a look.
Ruan Sixian : That’s what I flew for my first solo.
First solo refers to the test where a flight student operates an aircraft alone for the first time without an instructor.
Ruan Sixian would never forget that day. Piloting that Cessna 172, she soared over the wheat fields and green shades of the training ground, chasing the migrating geese through the rushing clouds.
After joining the airline, she faced the monotonous and strictly followed SOPs and standard callouts, making that solo memory stand out even more vividly. After all, it might be one of the few solo experiences in her life.
The Cessna 172, nicknamed the "Skyhawk," is hailed as the world’s most successful general aviation aircraft and the most popular small private plane. Because of this, not many people paid attention to it at this airshow.
Fu Mingyu hadn’t paid much attention to it either, but now, he stared at it for several minutes.
An image of Ruan Sixian flying through the clouds during her solo flashed through his mind.
Turning his head, he spotted the Diamond DA50 Super Star nearby and suddenly called out to Bai Yang.
Bai Yang stepped forward. "What’s up?"
Fu Mingyu pointed at the Diamond DA50 Super Star beside them and gave him a few instructions.
Bai Yang nodded in agreement, though inwardly, he was utterly confused.
He’d seen men buy diamonds, jewelry, and bags for women, but buying an airplane? That was a first.
Fu Mingyu : I’m going to eat.
Fine.
Ruan Sixian thought, this was probably what plastic couples were like. She eagerly sent him a message, and he replied with a total of twenty words.
She couldn’t be bothered with him anymore, getting up to change clothes and head out.I had promised Dong Jing earlier that I would visit her at the hospital when I had time. I had been busy for a while, but today I finally had some free time.
This winter seemed to bring more rain than usual, often with gloomy skies greeting you as soon as you opened your eyes.
Ruan Sixian threw on a coat and headed out, stopping at a flower shop near the hospital entrance to buy a bouquet of carnations.
She had called Dong Jing beforehand and knew she would only have a caregiver with her today.
After entering the hospital room, the caregiver poured Ruan Sixian a glass of water before stepping out.
Dong Jing was almost ready to be discharged and was in much better spirits. Since she and Ruan Sixian hadn’t seen each other much over the years, she kept her chatting for quite a while.
She asked about how Ruan Sixian had become a flight student back then, then moved on to her current job benefits and treatment. Before they knew it, over an hour had passed.
It should have been a relaxed and pleasant conversation.
—If Zheng You’an hadn’t suddenly appeared.
When the hospital room door was knocked twice, Ruan Sixian turned around and saw Zheng You’an standing at the doorway, momentarily stunned.
Zheng You’an was even more stunned.
She stood at the door for two seconds before stepping back to check the room number.
Only after seeing Dong Jing lying in the hospital bed did she confirm she hadn’t come to the wrong place.
Compared to Zheng You’an’s surprise, Ruan Sixian remained much calmer, though she wasn’t quite sure how to start the conversation.
Dong Jing hadn’t expected Zheng You’an to show up either, but fortunately, there was no real issue between the two young women. She waved Zheng You’an over, saying, “An’an, you’re here? Why are you standing at the door? Come in.”
Zheng You’an walked in mechanically, like a robot, looking Ruan Sixian up and down. “You…”
Dong Jing glanced at Ruan Sixian and said, “This is Ruan Ruan. I’ve mentioned her to you before. In a way… you could call her your sister.”
Zheng You’an: “…Sister?”
Dong Jing didn’t explicitly say, “This is your mother’s biological daughter,” but Zheng You’an understood.
And because she understood, she was even more stunned.
Ruan Sixian didn’t know what to say, so she just let Zheng You’an stare.
Zheng You’an stood there with her mouth half open, also at a loss for words.
Wait, why was she the only one shocked?
It took Zheng You’an nearly ten minutes to process the situation, and she felt that Ruan Sixian had always known about their relationship—she was the only one kept in the dark.
Later events proved this to be true.
When Ruan Sixian said she had something to attend to and needed to leave, Zheng You’an chased her out into the hallway, grabbed her, and asked, “Did you always know?”
Ruan Sixian nodded helplessly in admission.
“Then why didn’t you say anything?”
“You never asked.”
Zheng You’an: “…”
She felt like Ruan Sixian would be the death of her sooner or later.
“Wait, how do you have so many tricks up your sleeve? Were you even intentional about the whole Fu Mingyu thing, just to make me give up on him?”
Ruan Sixian was almost knocked off her feet by Zheng You’an’s train of thought. “Are you overthinking this?”
“Wasn’t it you who said he was arrogant and conceited?”
“Wasn’t it you who said he had something wrong with his brain?”
“Wasn’t it you who said he was full of flaws?”
Ruan Sixian couldn’t deny a single word—it was all true.
Zheng You’an finally asked, “Then how much must you like him to overlook all those flaws and be with him?”
Ruan Sixian: “Don’t talk about my boyfriend like that.”
Zheng You’an: “…?”
She nearly fainted on the spot—no ambulance needed, just carry her straight to the second-floor emergency room.
In truth, Ruan Sixian had been thrown off by Zheng You’an’s final question.Before this, she had never even considered whether she liked Fu Mingyu. It felt like she had been led along by him, muddling through until they ended up together.
So what Zheng You'an said today actually made Ruan Sixian clearly realize that she probably did like Fu Mingyu.
Otherwise, how could they have come this far?
The problem was, Ruan Sixian herself didn't even know what she liked about him.
Wasn't he just a bit handsome, a bit good-tempered, a bit gentle in personality, and had a few more planes at home... well, that was actually pretty good.
After running through these thoughts in her mind, Ruan Sixian's mood inexplicably lifted, and the hazy, fog-like confusion gradually cleared away.
She just liked him—liked that he was handsome, good-tempered, gentle, and had plenty of planes at home.
—As long as he wasn't narcissistic.
After returning home in the evening, Ruan Sixian didn't read any more books. Instead, she opened her iPad and started watching a variety show.
It was the hottest male idol survival show of the season, featuring 101 handsome guys, and Ruan Sixian was so engrossed she forgot all about Fu Mingyu.
Meanwhile, at the Hongyi Club in Fudu.
Fu Mingyu held a glass of wine, mingling among the crowd.
Since he hadn't had time for dinner, his stomach was feeling uncomfortable, and the glasses of wine he drank only made it worse.
Tonight's gathering was a private affair, and he hadn't originally planned to attend. But he had run into an old acquaintance at the airshow, and as the host in Fudu, he couldn't very well refuse after all the polite pleasantries.
However, the Fu family had never expanded their business here, so most of the people at the gathering weren't work-related contacts. Fu Mingyu found an excuse to sit in the lounge area without seeming impolite.
With the symphony music swirling around him and the dazzling array of elegantly dressed guests before his eyes, Fu Mingyu closed his eyes for a moment, took out his phone, and sent a message to Ruan Sixian.
Fu Mingyu : I'll be back at noon the day after tomorrow. Have a meal with me?
After waiting over ten minutes, she finally replied with an "Oh."
Quite cold indeed.
Fu Mingyu : What are you doing?
Ruan Sixian : Picking brothers.
Ruan Sixian sent him six or seven photos.
Ruan Sixian : I'm picking these brothers.
Fu Mingyu : How old are you, and how old are they? Aren't you embarrassed calling them brothers?
Ruan Sixian : ...What do you know? It's a common term of endearment.
Fu Mingyu smiled, then saw her send another photo.
Ruan Sixian : What about this one? He looks a bit like you.
Fu Mingyu : Then pick him.
Ruan Sixian : Never mind. If he looks like you, it's boring. I want to pick someone different.
Fu Mingyu : How many brothers do you plan to pick?
While looking down at his phone, Fu Mingyu didn't notice someone approaching him.
Ruan Sixian : What do you know? More friends, more paths; more brothers, more homes.
"Mingyu?"
A somewhat uncertain voice sounded above him.
Fu Mingyu looked up to see a woman in a black gown standing before him, smiling warmly.
"I heard you were coming, but I looked around and didn't see you. So you were hiding here," Li Zhihuai said as she handed him a glass of wine. "It's been a long time."
Fu Mingyu stood up, took the glass she offered, and nodded. "It has been a while."
At the same time, his phone chimed again.
Ruan Sixian : As long as you change brothers fast enough, there's no sadness, only love : )
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