Тhе glаss shаrds in thе оffice hаd bееn swерt clean, аnd thе scattеred doсumеnts wеrе аll tidiеd up. Bаi Yang hurried in, his brow tightly furrowed.
Веhind the dеsk, Fu Mingуu’s соmрuter wаs оn, but hе wаs stаnding by thе window, taking a саll.
Aftеr Bai Yang еntered, lоoking as thоugh hе hаd sоmеthing tо sаy, Fu Mingуu glаncеd bасk at him аnd gesturеd fоr him to wait.
А fеw minutes lаter, after hаnging up the phоnе, hе turned аnd sat back аt thе dеsk. Flipрing thrоugh his рhоnе, hе askеd Вai Yаng, “Hаs the test flight fоr the Suреrstаr endеd?”
“Yеs, it’s finishеd, nо issues,” Bai Yаng replied. “It was pеrsonally tеst-flown by Мr. Hеlаn.”
Due tо their industry connections, the Diamond DA50 Superstar they ordered yesterday had already been delivered today and was parked at the South Ao General Aviation Airport in the western suburbs. The test flight had been completed immediately.
“Mm.” Fu Mingyu put down his phone, glanced at the time, and asked, “What about the airport?”
Bai Yang said, “South Ao General Aviation Airport has cleared the northbound runway and designated airspace from ten tomorrow morning until six in the afternoon. No other commercial or general aviation aircraft will occupy the route during that time. However, the owner of South Ao mentioned that a friend urgently needs to take a private pilot license exam, so they’ll occupy about two hours tomorrow. But since it’s a beginner, they won’t take off—just operate on the ground.”
“Fine.”
South Ao General Aviation Airport was a commercial airport. Although Fu Mingyu had paid to reserve it, scheduling was indeed quite difficult. The owner of South Ao was a friend of his, so he had gone to great lengths to help. Naturally, Fu Mingyu wouldn’t dwell on such minor details.
Fu Mingyu opened his computer and continued reviewing the content he hadn’t finished earlier.
After finishing his report, Bai Yang added, “But just now, regarding Ms. Li…”
Fu Mingyu kept his eyes on the computer, not looking up, and asked casually, “What’s wrong with her now?”
Bai Yang sighed helplessly and took out his work iPad, never expecting he’d have to check Weibo repeatedly today.
“She just posted on Weibo as requested by the PR department.”
Today, the PR department had communicated with Li Zhihuai, making two straightforward demands: first, clarify that the two were merely high school classmates; second, clarify what exactly happened in the morning.
The PR department had always handled Fu Mingyu’s personal news according to his requirements. For a long time, apart from necessary business activities, he had rarely appeared in the public eye. Especially after Yan An from North Airlines frequently made headlines due to personal matters and was repeatedly reprimanded by his family, Fu Mingyu had become even more reclusive, maintaining an almost nonexistent online presence.
Thus, it was impossible for him to make a special appearance for Li Zhihuai.
“The request was simple. She said it was just a matter of a few words and posted it directly. But the PR department just saw it and is very dissatisfied.”
Bai Yang thought for a moment and added, “Since the content has already been posted and is gaining even more attention than the earlier news, asking her to retract it now might seem like trying to cover things up. So, they wanted to ask for your opinion first—whether to intervene again.”
Fu Mingyu glanced up. “Trying to cover things up?”
Bai Yang, accustomed to analyzing flight data, wasn’t sure how to summarize such messy matters in words.
“Show me.”
Bai Yang handed over the iPad as instructed. Fu Mingyu glanced at it, his expression unchanged as he read the brief statement, but his index finger tapped lightly on the desk."Is this her response?"
At first glance, it indeed followed his instructions.
Fu Mingyu sneered coldly. Out of respect for his high school homeroom teacher, he had thought Li Zhihuai might have inherited his father's way of handling things, but it turned out she was rather clueless.
Looking further at the related content, the screen was filled with a lively mix of all sorts of things.
Fu Mingyu skimmed through roughly—phrases like "clarifying in name but actually making it public," "dropping subtle hints," and "so the rumors about you starring in an aviation-themed movie had a reason behind them"—the buzz from various comments had already distorted the original intent of the clarification.
Fu Mingyu tossed the iPad aside and looked up, asking, "What’s the current level of discussion on this?"
Bai Yang: "The trending rank hasn’t dropped; it’s actually risen."
So, many people already knew.
Fu Mingyu glanced at his personal phone—new messages were indeed pouring in continuously.
Then Ruan Sixian must have seen it too.
He stood up, removed the armband from his sleeve, tossed it onto the table, and walked to the window with his phone, leaving behind a sentence.
"Handle this immediately."
Bai Yang immediately turned and left.
But before the door closed, Fu Mingyu called him back, "Ask the driver where she went back to?"
Bai Yang naturally knew who "she" referred to. While he went to ask the driver, Fu Mingyu checked his phone again—the call he had dialed kept repeating the same automated female voice.
"Sorry, the number you dialed cannot be reached at the moment…"
He suspected Ruan Sixian had blocked him.
Rubbing his brow, he turned around, picked up another phone, and dialed again—still no connection.
That afternoon was a rare sunny day in winter, the light illuminating the hallway, making it brighter and more transparent than usual.
Fu Mingyu rang the doorbell three times, but there was no response from inside. He knocked instead, but still no footsteps could be heard.
He took a deep breath and called Ruan Sixian again—still unreachable.
The phone couldn’t get through, she wouldn’t open the door, and it was even possible she hadn’t entered after the driver dropped her off.
Fu Mingyu stood at the door for a few minutes, his expression growing increasingly heavy.
Half an hour later, he appeared at the entrance of Bian Xuan’s bar.
It wasn’t even 3:30 yet, the bar door was tightly shut, and there wasn’t a soul outside—only a few stray cats darting around.
Fu Mingyu frowned as he scanned the surroundings, his eyes brimming with restlessness.
With the phone unreachable and no sign of her, Fu Mingyu was now more worried that something might have happened to Ruan Sixian.
Clutching his phone, he stood under the sun for a while before getting back into the car and returning to Mingchen Apartments. He contacted the property management to review the hallway surveillance footage from that afternoon.
The surveillance showed that Ruan Sixian had returned home at 1:30 p.m. and hadn’t appeared in the footage since, meaning she had been at home the whole time.
Fu Mingyu returned to her doorstep, rang the doorbell several times, but still no one answered.
He called her repeatedly again, but with no result.
Coincidentally, she was adjusting her flight schedule these two days and didn’t need to be on standby, so she had every reason to turn off her communication devices.
Fu Mingyu stared intently at the door, clenched his fist, and knocked forcefully a few times, saying, "Ruan Sixian, I’ll explain things to you, but open the door first."
He knocked a few more times, but no one responded.
Fu Mingyu almost slammed the door with force, but it was still futile. So, he took out his phone and opened Ruan Sixian’s WeChat.
[Fu Mingyu]: Open the door.
The message was sent successfully, meaning he wasn’t blocked.
He let out a long sigh, leaned against the wall, and typed another message."You can be as angry as you want, but open the door first and let me explain."
Several minutes after sending the message, there was no response, and the chat didn’t show "typing..."
Fu Mingyu stared at his phone for a while, then slowly lowered his head. For the first time in his twenty-eight years, he felt what it meant to be at a loss—
Outside the window, the sunlight shifted from bright to dusky, and then night fell. Countless lights had unknowingly lit up the night sky.
Ruan Sixian had been reading books all afternoon, her eyes dry and sore. After applying eye drops, she put on her jacket and prepared to go downstairs for something to eat.
But the moment she opened the door, she saw Fu Mingyu standing outside.
He wasn’t wearing a coat, just the suit he’d had on indoors, which seemed a bit thin for the weather.
Ruan Sixian was taken aback. "What are you doing?"
When Fu Mingyu saw Ruan Sixian, he let out a slight sigh of relief.
But the next second, he noticed her eyes were red, with traces of moisture still lingering at the corners.
"You’ve been crying?"
"Who’s crying?" Ruan Sixian looked puzzled, even smiling a little. "You didn’t think I was hiding away crying, did you?"
"What were you doing this afternoon?"
"I was reading," Ruan Sixian said, leaning against the door. "Don’t I need time to prepare for all those exams every year?"
Fu Mingyu turned to look out the window, his brows furrowed into a deep crease, and let out a long sigh.
"Did you see what Li Zhihuai posted?"
"I saw it on my way back," Ruan Sixian replied, leaning against the door and looking Fu Mingyu up and down. "This female classmate of yours is quite something. We’re all human for the first time—why does she have so many ways of stirring up trouble?"
"You didn’t see what came after?"
"What else was there to see?"
After returning, Ruan Sixian had indeed still felt a bit annoyed. So she put on noise-canceling headphones, switched her phone to airplane mode, and spent the entire afternoon reading.
Just a high school classmate, not even an ex-girlfriend—why bother with her? Better to spend that time solving more practice questions. Troublemakers come and go, but professional exams happen several times a year.
And as she read, her mind gradually calmed down.
Fu Mingyu bent slightly, his tone carrying an unconscious caution. "So you’re not angry anymore?"
He had stood outside her door all afternoon, waiting for her to open it.
Without seeing her, his nerves had remained on edge, as if awaiting a verdict.
He knew the efficiency of the PR department—they had already resolved the issue by the time he left. Li Zhihuai had called him several times during that period, but he hadn’t answered. It was clear she was anxious.
But he hadn’t expected that Ruan Sixian hadn’t even seen it, instead focusing entirely on preparing for her exams.
Ruan Sixian rolled her eyes slightly. "Am I a balloon pump? Do I have that much anger to spare every day? Who is she to make me angry?"
"Hmm?" Seeing her expression, Fu Mingyu relaxed and reached out to pinch her cheek. "Who was it that stormed over to find me today, full of rage?"
Ruan Sixian swatted his hand away and glared at him. "I can’t be bothered to be angry with her, but this mess is your fault, so I’m angry with you."
"What do I need to do to make it up to you?" Fu Mingyu asked. "Do you want a plane?"
Ruan Sixian thought for a moment, then nodded seriously. "I’ll go upstairs later and pick one."
"You don’t need to pick from there—they’re all yours," Fu Mingyu said. "Get some rest early tonight. Come out with me tomorrow morning?"Hearing that the entire room of model airplanes belonged to her, her eyes unconsciously lit up.
This wasn't a bad deal at all.
And—it seemed this man had more than just that one room of model airplanes; he must have hidden even more elsewhere.
Ruan Sixian felt a bit excited, pursed her lips, and nodded. "Alright then, let's see if they're exquisite enough."
At the same time, Li Zhihuai made her seventh call to Fu Mingyu, but he still didn't answer.
She opened Weibo and saw that although the comments under her post were being suppressed by her fans, she could still see various mocking remarks in the latest comments.
It all started three hours ago when World Airlines' official Weibo account reposted her post.
"Detailed explanation: First, visiting Ms. Li's father is because he was the homeroom teacher of our company's Operations Director, Mr. Fu, during high school. Respecting teachers is everyone's responsibility.
Second, in the ten years since graduating from high school, Mr. Fu and Ms. Li have both been extremely busy, meeting only three times in total, amounting to two hours and five minutes. Two of those hours were due to a chance encounter at last night's banquet and this morning's hospital visit. Being classmates is fate, but graduation marks the end of that fate. Reunions depend on luck, so cherish the classmates around you.
Third, please stop spreading rumors. Our President Fu is busy comforting his girlfriend.
Fourth, log in to the World Airlines official website to register as a member. Our winter routes are now open, offering exclusive flight butler services. The most beautiful routes are with World Airlines."
The first two points precisely refuted the ambiguity in her statements, leaving no room for face, with each point ending in blatant sarcasm. The last point directly served as an advertisement, seemingly completely indifferent to her feelings.
Li Zhihuai had nowhere to vent her anger, so she turned and threw her phone at the young man in charge of publicity.
"Look at the mess you've made!"
This publicity manager had only recently taken up the position. He wasn't professionally trained but had some clever tricks up his sleeve and was usually adept at manipulating minor public opinions.
This time, however, his cleverness backfired. He didn't dare say a word and could only endure the scolding.
"Let me tell you, you know how much effort I've put into securing this role as the female pilot. I'm even taking private flying lessons. If this falls through, you're fired immediately! I don't care whose nephew you are!"
Early the next morning.
"Are you taking me to dig coal?"
Watching the car head toward increasingly remote areas and glancing at her own outfit, Ruan Sixian couldn't help but ask.
She had woken up early that morning, carefully applied makeup, and paired it with a fitted sweater dress, looking both sexy and elegant.
But as soon as Fu Mingyu arrived, he told her to change her clothes, not even glancing at her carefully prepared look!
So she changed into another dress, but Fu Mingyu wasn't satisfied. He went straight to her closet and picked out this dark, unremarkable jacket and pants for her.
While driving, Fu Mingyu glanced at her. "It looks good."
Ruan Sixian tugged at the collar a couple of times, unable to see what was so good about it.
She turned to look out the window, feeling somewhat frustrated.
She had thought she could dress up beautifully for a date, but instead, she was forced to look like a coal miner.
An hour later, Ruan Sixian looked up and saw Fu Mingyu drive the car into Nan'ao General Airport.
She blinked, feeling like she understood something but not entirely sure.
"Why did you bring me here?"Fu Mingyu reversed the car into the parking garage while smiling at her, "Don't you love solo flights? Today, the entire airspace is yours."
For Ruan Sixian, "the entire airspace is yours" held a more fatal allure than "the entire diamond mountain is yours."
From the moment she stepped out of the car to walking into the airport interior, her palms were slightly warm.
When she saw that the entire runway was indeed empty, she immediately dashed toward the row of Cessnas on the tarmac.
But Fu Mingyu stopped her, "Wait a moment, don't rush."
He led her toward the tarmac on the other side.
At position three, the Diamond DA50 Super Star was parked.
A brand-new general aviation aircraft, without even a speck of dust, stood out prominently here.
Li Zhihuai had been captivated by this plane the moment she arrived.
She circled the aircraft, took a clear look at the cockpit's facilities, and gasped.
"So beautiful."
The owner of Nan'ao accompanied her, smiling as he said, "This model isn't suitable for beginners yet. Once you're more familiar, you might consider renting one in the future..."
After speaking, he glanced at his watch, "You arrived early today, the instructor hasn't arrived yet. Wait a little longer."
Li Zhihuai's attention was entirely on the plane. She nodded casually and asked, "When the instructor arrives, can I sit in it for a moment?"
"That won't do," the Nan'ao owner said. "This was bought by my friend as a gift for someone. It has nothing to do with me. But if you want to try sitting in it, you could ask for his permission."
Li Zhihuai blinked, "Who? Is that possible?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a voice sounded from behind.
"Mine."
Li Zhihuai turned around and saw Fu Mingyu walking toward her.
And he was holding a woman's hand.
The woman was tall, wearing a pilot jacket almost identical to Fu Mingyu's, yet it couldn't hide her slender and graceful figure.
The wind at the airport was strong, tousling the woman's shoulder-length black hair across her face. When she reached up and smoothed her hair from the top of her head, revealing her entire face, Li Zhihuai was momentarily stunned.
Was this his girlfriend?
In her daze, Fu Mingyu had already stopped in front of her.
"I gave this to my girlfriend. I'm afraid I can't let anyone else try sitting in it."
Ruan Sixian had been silently drooling over the plane when she suddenly heard Fu Mingyu's words, thinking she must have misheard.
She turned to look at Fu Mingyu and only then noticed the other woman beside them.
A second wave of confusion hit her.
Li... Li what tree was it again?
This was Ruan Sixian's first time seeing this person in real life. She tilted her head and sized her up for a moment.
Li Zhihuai couldn't detect any emotion in her eyes.
Anger, hostility... not even indifference.
She didn't know whether this woman was completely unaware of yesterday's incident or simply didn't regard her as worth noticing.
Either way, it made her quite uncomfortable.
Seeing Ruan Sixian looking at Li Zhihuai, Fu Mingyu gently squeezed her palm, "Aren't you going to try it out?"
Ruan Sixian had no interest in worrying about any Li trees or peach trees. She withdrew her gaze, let go of Fu Mingyu's hand, and walked toward the plane.
As Fu Mingyu watched her retreating figure, Li Zhihuai's voice sounded in his ear.
"Mingyu, yesterday...""No need to be so familiar." Although Fu Mingyu was speaking to her, his gaze remained fixed on Ruan Sixian ahead. "If not for Teacher Li's sake, after all these years I might not even remember your name. You can call me by my full name, or just Fu will do."
If the wind hadn't momentarily stilled just then, Li Zhihuai might not have believed that the person who had been so amiable in front of her father yesterday morning could now say such things.
"Yesterday's incident was handled by my publicity team. There wasn't that much thought behind it, just..."
"I don't care what the intention was, but you provoked my girlfriend." He took a step forward, moving past Li Zhihuai's side. "She's generous and won't hold it against you, but I'm not as magnanimous."
With that, he strode toward the aircraft.
Ruan Sixian had already opened the cockpit door but hadn't boarded yet, still inspecting the exterior.
Li Zhihuai watched their figures, taking a deep breath that was difficult to exhale smoothly.
She admitted that when the publicity team drafted the copy yesterday, she hadn't stopped them—meaning she tacitly approved.
But she had only wanted to settle a grievance from many years ago.
Just a little, a tiny bit of pettiness.
She never expected it to be twisted into something so distorted.
Now, as the lead actress, she was the center of attention wherever she went, accustomed to being admired.
She hadn't truly intended to cause trouble, but she also hadn't taken the "girlfriend" Fu Mingyu mentioned seriously.
Looking up now, seeing that woman's face filled with excitement, Li Zhihuai was reminded of many years ago.
When they graduated from high school, she heard that Fu Mingyu had obtained his private pilot's license. She had secretly imagined sitting in the cockpit of a plane he was piloting, soaring over the mountains, rivers, and seas of Jiangcheng, looking down upon this familiar city.
And today, she saw another woman about to take the seat she had once dreamed of.
As if driven by an obsession, she couldn't tear her eyes away, wanting to see what expression that woman would have when she sat in the co-pilot's seat.
A few minutes later, she blinked, watching as that woman boarded—the pilot's seat?
Thinking she must have seen wrong, she took two steps closer and saw Fu Mingyu boarding from the other side.
A few more minutes later, she watched helplessly as the aircraft sped down the runway and took off into the sky.
OpenNovel