Ехtrа Сhаpter 1
Eаrlу morning, a fаint light had just begun tо brеаk аt thе hоrizon, and thе melodious chime of thе bеdside аlarm сlосk еchоеd sоftlу.
Аfter а rustling sound, Ruan Sixiаn grоggily оpened hеr eyеs, rubbed her fоrеhеаd, gоt uр, аnd walked tо thе window. Shе liftеd а cоrner оf thе curtain tо рeеk outside.
Thе sky lookеd оminоusly hеavy, with dark, оррressivе сlоuds hаnging lоw аs if right abоvе her hеad.
It sеemed likе anоthеr dаy dеstinеd fоr dеlays.
Suddenlу, there was the sound оf clothing rustling behind hеr.
"You're аwakе?"
Ruаn Sixiаn turned around. "Why not sleep a little longer?"
Fu Mingyu threw off the covers and got out of bed. "I'll drive you to the airport."
"No need, no need."
Ruan Sixian hurried back in a few steps, pressing Fu Mingyu back onto the bed. "You came back so late yesterday, and you have nothing to do today. Sleep a little longer. The driver can take me."
Fu Mingyu had never been one to sleep in, but he sat on the edge of the bed for a while, watching Ruan Sixian get dressed, before finally getting up and following her into the bathroom.
"Are you meeting Zhu Dong and the others this afternoon?"
Ruan Sixian spoke while brushing her teeth. "Don’t drink."
"Hmm."
Fu Mingyu wiped the foam that had splattered onto her chest with a towel. "I won’t. I’ll come back after dinner."
"Hmm."
Ruan Sixian spat out the foam and mumbled, "It’d be best if you’re already home when I get back, changed and showered, so I don’t smell any alcohol."
After saying this, she rinsed her mouth and hurried downstairs.
By the time Fu Mingyu leisurely made his way down, Ruan Sixian was already seated and eating breakfast.
The dining room chandelier cast a warm, bright light, and the freshly arranged flowers on the table were in full bloom. The aroma of freshly ground soy milk filled the air, making it feel like a sunny day if one didn’t look outside.
"I’m running late."
Ten minutes later, Ruan Sixian stood up, and the housekeeper handed her hat and flight bag over.
"Have a safe trip."
Fu Mingyu got up to straighten her collar and kissed her forehead. "Let me know when you land."
"Got it." Ruan Sixian pulled her flight bag, tucked her hat under her arm, and walked out of the dining room, unable to resist turning back with a smile. "There will probably be delays today. If I’m back late, don’t wait up. Get some rest early."
After she left, the housekeeper came over to clear the dishes and remarked casually, "Madam has really grown gentler lately."
Fu Mingyu, flipping through an aviation magazine, smiled without a word.
Grown gentler?
It did seem that way.
Especially at night.
After lunch, Fu Mingyu’s phone buzzed several times in a row.
Ten minutes earlier, the military news channel had announced the latest fighter jet, and aside from aviation news apps, his WeChat had also exploded with messages.
Fu Mingyu got up and walked to the living room, turning on the international news channel just as the report was airing.
As he watched, he buttoned up his shirt.
On the TV screen, the test flight site was being broadcast live, with the host interviewing experts and providing detailed explanations.
The housekeeper handed over his freshly ironed jacket, but Fu Mingyu’s attention was entirely on the TV. He took the jacket and swung it back to put it on, perhaps with a bit too much force, as he felt it brush against something.
Immediately, the sound of something shattering came from behind.
Fu Mingyu didn’t pay much attention at first, his mind still on the news.
It wasn’t until he had put on his jacket that he belatedly realized something was off.
The sound from the TV suddenly grew quieter. He turned around to find the housekeeper already sweeping up shards of ceramic from the floor."Oh dear, be careful, don't step on it!"
Fu Mingyu lowered his gaze to stare at the fragments, his brow suddenly twitching.
It's over.
Ruan Sixian wasn't exactly a dexterous woman; she usually couldn't handle delicate tasks.
This mug was a gift she had made for him—after four trips to the pottery studio, she had finally succeeded on the last attempt.
She said he lacked nothing, so she wanted to give him something heartfelt, hoping he would think of her every time he drank water.
And now, it felt as though his own head had shattered into pieces scattered across the floor.
Inside the private room, flames flickered in the European-style fireplace, filling the space with warmth.
It should have been a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere, but the expressions on two faces made it feel off.
"What's going on with you two?"
Zhu Dong tossed his cards aside, looking thoroughly displeased. "We finally have some time to play cards, and before we've even settled the scores, you two look like you've lost millions."
Yan An pushed his cards away, his face dark and silent.
Unlike Zhu Dong, Ji Yan wasn't as irritated. Holding a teacup, he chuckled and said, "His wife ran off again—how could he be happy?"
"Can you watch your words?" Yan An sneered. "What do you mean 'ran off'? She went abroad for inspiration—it's work. How does that become 'running off' in your mouth?"
Ji Yan smiled lightly, looking as though he didn't want to argue with Yan An, but couldn't help muttering, "Then your wife must really love her work, spending three hundred and sixty days out of the year on inspiration trips."
"And you?" Ji Yan turned to Fu Mingyu. "What's wrong with you today?"
Zhu Dong fiddled with his phone, replying to his wife's messages while casually remarking, "Had a fight, I bet. Probably got kicked out today. I told you, your wife isn't someone just anyone can handle."
Fu Mingyu gave him a faint glance. "Don't talk nonsense. We're perfectly fine. She's flying today."
"An empty room, a wife in the sky," Zhu Dong added. "Seems like you're lonely."
Fu Mingyu couldn't be bothered with Zhu Dong, but after replying to his messages, Zhu Dong grew interested and spoke with the tone of someone who had been in a decade-long relationship: "Let me tell you, with women, you can't say too much. The more you say, the more worked up they get!"
From the sound of it, Zhu Dong seemed ready to share his years of experience in outsmarting his wife.
The two married men beside him remained expressionless, but their ears perked up discreetly.
Just then, the sound of high heels approached, and the private room door was pushed open.
Though the person hadn't appeared yet, Zhu Dong's sharp instincts, honed over the years, wouldn't let him misjudge the situation.
After a brief pause, Yan An couldn't hold back.
"Well, go on and say it."
By now, the hairs on Zhu Dong's back were standing on end, though his expression remained calm with a hint of feigned sincerity.
"Just kneel down to your wife, and everything will be fine!"
"..."
"..."
There was indeed a delay today.
Waiting for traffic control during the return flight took a lot of time, and by the time Ruan Sixian disembarked, it was almost eleven.
But she hadn't expected Fu Mingyu to still come pick her up.
After descending the aircraft stairs, she pulled her flight bag and jogged over.
"I told you not to come," she said, wrapping her arms around Fu Mingyu's arm. "It's so late—you should have rested earlier."
"It's fine," Fu Mingyu replied, taking her flight bag and tightening her scarf for her. "Are you tired?"
"A little. I waited for a long time today."The crew members behind them watched with envious eyes.
How gentle and considerate President Fu was.
Back home, Ruan Sixian went to her room to change clothes. When she came downstairs, she saw Fu Mingyu busy in the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” Ruan Sixian asked, walking over slowly with her hands behind her back. “Chicken soup?”
“The chicken soup Auntie stewed tonight, saved for your midnight snack.”
Fu Mingyu didn’t turn around, rolling up his sleeves as he methodically took out the kitchenware. “Porridge or noodles?”
“Noodles.” Ruan Sixian hugged Fu Mingyu from behind. “Ah, my husband is so good.”
Fu Mingyu smiled faintly. “Then remember how good I am.”
Don’t turn around and deny it later.
Ruan Sixian stood on tiptoe, resting her chin on his shoulder. “Of course.”
What could be better than enjoying a midnight snack personally cooked by her husband on a cold winter night?
Ruan Sixian wasn’t particularly hungry to begin with, but the enticing aroma made her unable to resist eating everything.
She even felt like having some soup.
However, the recent incident where a captain was grounded for exceeding the weight limit was still fresh in her mind. No matter how tempted she was, she had to restrain her appetite.
“Are you sleepy?”
Fu Mingyu asked, “Shall I run a bath for you?”
Ruan Sixian had been pacing in the living room to aid digestion, but at the mention of “bath,” her steps suddenly halted. She brushed her hair aside, trying to hide her slightly flushed cheeks.
So, feeding her late at night had ulterior motives.
“Um… last night I checked, we’re out of that at home. Maybe we should wait until tomorrow…”
“I was just asking if you wanted to take a bath,” Fu Mingyu looked at her with sincere eyes. “Nothing else.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean anything else either. I was just saying we’re out of body lotion… Well, let’s take a bath then. It’s not like people can go without bathing. No body lotion is fine.”
The bathroom was filled with steam, and the slightly hot water eased the fatigue of the day.
As Ruan Sixian loosely wrapped herself in a towel and stepped out of the bathtub, Fu Mingyu happened to push the door open and walked silently to her side.
Ruan Sixian looked up and was startled to see someone standing there. She slipped, about to fall back into the bathtub, but fortunately, Fu Mingyu quickly caught her.
He caught her, but the towel around her slipped and fell to the floor.
The temperature in the bathroom was already high, and in that moment, it seemed to rise a few more degrees.
Fu Mingyu held her by the waist, his lips pressed tightly together, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly.
“Why didn’t you say anything when you came in?!”
Seeing the look in his eyes, Ruan Sixian immediately picked up the towel and wrapped it around herself. “Trying to scare me to death so you can marry someone else?”
Watching her walk toward the sink, clutching her chest and muttering to herself, Fu Mingyu smiled helplessly. He followed her, looking at the two of them in the mirror, and said, “What haven’t I seen? What haven’t I touched? I’ve even kissed—”
“Shut up.” Ruan Sixian tightened the towel around herself and pushed him toward the door. “Get out. I need to dry my hair.”
“Let me help you.”
Fu Mingyu picked up the hairdryer before she could, carefully drying her hair for her.
The hairdryer was silent, not noisy at all.
Ruan Sixian lowered her head, tapping her fingers on the countertop, a faint smile curling at the corners of her mouth.
“I feel like you’re a bit different today.”
Fu Mingyu paused his movements. “How am I different? Isn’t this how I am every day?”
“I don’t know, just a feeling.” Ruan Sixian said. “A woman’s intuition is always accurate.”
Fu Mingyu: “…”Women's intuition is fucking terrifying.
"No." Fu Mingyu ruffled her hair. "It's getting late, you should rest soon."
"But after my shower, I realized I'm not that sleepy. I want to go watch some TV in the living room."
"No, go to sleep."
"I'm off tomorrow."
"You should still rest early even on your day off. It's almost midnight."
After a brief standoff, Ruan Sixian suddenly looked up, locking eyes with Fu Mingyu through the mirror.
Sure enough, something was off—he was so insistent on getting her into bed.
"I already told you, we used it last night. It's all gone."
"Hmm?"
Fu Mingyu stared straight at her, the thoughts he had suppressed earlier now surging back wildly.
He set down the hairdryer, wrapped an arm around Ruan Sixian's waist, and subtly tugged her towel downward, his voice low. "I bought some today."
"..."
Then what were you pretending for earlier?!
With her towel barely hanging on, Ruan Sixian was pressed against the bathroom counter, her chin held as he kissed her jaw from behind.
Mist rose again in front of the mirror, blurring their vision, leaving only two figures lost in passion.
After a long while, the atmosphere in the bathroom grew almost suffocating. Clinging to Fu Mingyu's shoulders, Ruan Sixian frowned tightly. "Not here, the floor is too slippery."
Before she could finish speaking, she was lifted into the air.
Even though there were no neighbors around the house and her towel had long since disappeared, being carried out like this still made Ruan Sixian feel a bit shy. She buried her face in his chest.
As Fu Mingyu passed through the second-floor living room, he glanced at a cabinet on the side. On it was a box containing ceramic shards.
Outside the window, the night was thick, and the moon had quietly risen at some point, casting a faint glow into the room, dispelling some of the damp heaviness.
Ruan Sixian lay on top of Fu Mingyu, resting for a while before mumbling, "What time is it?"
"Two o'clock."
"I want to take another shower."
"Mm." Hearing this, Fu Mingyu picked her up.
"I'll go myself."
Ruan Sixian broke free. "You go use the other bathroom."
Based on past experience, staying in the same bathroom at times like this was absolutely out of the question—otherwise, her day off tomorrow would be completely wasted.
Without waiting for Fu Mingyu to say anything, Ruan Sixian had already thrown on her pajamas and jumped out of bed.
Fu Mingyu sat up and reached to turn on the light.
The moment the light flooded the room, he heard Ruan Sixian shouting loudly from outside.
"..."
Fu Mingyu rubbed his temples, took a deep breath, and got out of bed.
Leaning against the doorframe, he looked as if he hadn't fully regained his senses. "What's wrong?"
"What happened?" Ruan Sixian pointed at the box. "How did it break? Who smashed it?"
Before Fu Mingyu could answer, she continued, "Auntie Zhang is the most careful person. Did you break it? How could you be so careless?"
Just as Fu Mingyu opened his mouth to speak, she glared at him and said, "No wonder you were so impatient today, Fu! Ming! Yu! Have you had enough of living?!"
A barrage of questions fired like a machine gun. Fu Mingyu took a deep breath and said, "Doudou was here today."
Ruan Sixian: "..."
She looked at the shards in the box, then glanced at Fu Mingyu twice before snapping the lid shut. Turning toward the bathroom, she said, "Oh, never mind then. I'll make another one some other day."
Fu Mingyu watched her retreating figure and was about to say he would accompany her next time when he heard her add, "I can't exactly hold a grudge against a dog, can I?"
Fu Mingyu: "...""Oh."
Author's note: Doudou: ?
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