Until thе еlеvаtоr rеachеd thе fоurtееnth floor, Ni Tоng finаlly snaрped оut оf hеr dаzе.
Ruаn Sixian?
Shе silently repeatеd thе namе sevеrаl timеs, finаlly rеmеmbеring it just аs thе elеvator doоrs сlosеd again.
Ruan Siхian—the vеry pеrsоn whо hаd mаdе hеr the "budget vеrsiоn" of Ruаn Siхiаn.
But hоw cоuld shе possiblу bе baсk?
And as a рilot in the Flight Deраrtmеnt?
Lost in thоught, she didn’t noticе thе еlevаtоr dеsсеnding tо the ninth flооr. Bу the timе she reаctеd, it wаs tоo lаtе—frаntiсally prеssing the buttons did nothing.
When she finаlly returned tо the fourtеenth flооr, the sаfety lecture had already begun.
As expected, she was late.
Annoyed, Ni Tong forcefully pressed her fingerprint on the attendance scanner by the door, then slipped in through the back and took a seat in the corner of the last row.
A colleague beside her whispered, "Why are you late?"
Irritated, Ni Tong rummaged through her bag for her phone and replied, "Don’t even ask. It’s so annoying."
Finding Jiang Ziyue’s WeChat, she immediately typed: Master, is Ruan Sixian back?
After sending the message, she remembered that Jiang Ziyue had left for a vacation in Spain a few days ago and should have just taken off.
The colleague beside her was still talking: "You didn’t see it, but Wang Lekang was furious when he saw you were the only flight attendant missing. His face turned dark."
Putting down her phone, Ni Tong turned and asked, "Is Ruan Sixian back?"
The colleague paused, "Who?"
Clearly unaware of this person.
"Forget it," Ni Tong said, no longer paying attention.
She thought perhaps the person earlier had said "Ruan Sixian," or maybe "Ruan Sishan," or even "Ruan Sishan."
After all, it wasn’t a particularly unique name—maybe it was just someone with the same name.
Otherwise, according to Jiang Ziyue, how could Ruan Sixian, after what had happened, possibly return to Hengshi Airlines?
Especially to the Flight Department under Fu Mingyu’s control.
If it were her, she’d never return to World Airlines, even if it killed her.
While Ni Tong’s thoughts wandered, Ruan Sixian had already completed her onboarding procedures at the HR department.
While the HR staff entered her information into the internal system, Ruan Sixian looked around.
From the moment she stepped into World Airlines, she noticed significant changes.
On the right side of the spacious first-floor lobby, a large model of the ACJ31 now stood prominently like a symbol.
The front desk had expanded from four to six receptionists, all wearing new uniforms instead of the old, dull black suit jackets.
The HR department had also moved from the sixth floor to the fourteenth floor.
And along the way, Ruan Sixian hadn’t seen a single familiar face.
Though she hadn’t encountered many people either.
"I’m done here," the HR staff said, handing Ruan Sixian two forms, one large and one small. "The small one contains your internal account, employee ID, and other login passwords. The larger one is the process form. Take it to the sixteenth floor, report to the Flight Department for a stamp, and then go to the Logistics Department to collect your uniform."
Ruan Sixian thanked her and left the office, examining her new employee ID.
Even now, she could still recite her old employee ID—only the prefix letter had changed.
World Airlines assigned employee ID prefixes based on the company’s organizational structure, starting with the Board of Supervisors and cascading down. The prefix for the Cabin Crew Department was "E."
Now, her employee ID prefix had changed to "D"—the Flight Department.
The HR staff in the Flight Department’s branch was a young woman with two shallow dimples at the corners of her mouth. As she stamped Ruan Sixian’s form, she occasionally stole glances at her."This is my first time meeting a female pilot." The woman's hands moved swiftly, continuously signing and stamping documents, but it didn't stop her from chatting. "And on the ACJ31 model, no less. I heard this batch is really impressive, with intense competition. Some of the ones our company recruited would be chief pilot candidates at other airlines."
She shyly glanced at Ruan Sixian. "And you were the top trainee—that's amazing."
Then, she took out her phone. "Let's add each other on WeChat, personal accounts, okay?"
"Sure." Ruan Sixian pulled out her phone but noticed an incoming call.
The screen displayed the number directly, indicating it wasn't from a contact.
But Ruan Sixian was sensitive to numbers, and this one didn't seem unfamiliar—she must have been contacted recently.
"Mind if I take this call?"
The HR representative smiled and nodded. "Of course, go ahead. I still have a lot of information to input here."
Ruan Sixian walked out with her phone, turning right into a glass corridor.
This corridor connected the Flight Department's international meeting room with the Administrative Department. About seven or eight meters wide, sunlight streamed through the seamless glass, casting a cold, technological feel. It made the space feel even more serene and had an amplifying effect—footsteps from afar echoed halfway down the corridor.
Ruan Sixian felt the atmosphere here resembled someplace else, but she couldn't quite place it.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Miss Ruan, it's Yan An."
Oh, Yan An—President Yan from North Airlines. He had contacted her with this number not long ago.
"President Yan, hello. What can I do for you?"
"Nothing much, really. I just wanted to ask if you've reported to World Airlines yet? If not, would you reconsider?"
His tone carried a hint of roguishness, somewhere between casual and teasing—completely different from Fu Mingyu's serious and aloof voice.
It sounded like a joke, so it was easy to relax around him.
"Unfortunately, I'm at the HR office right now, and my information has already been entered. Thank you for your kindness, President Yan."
"Ah..."
Yan An let out a heavy sigh.
Was he really that regretful?
Ruan Sixian didn't know that Yan An and Fu Mingyu had always disliked each other. She just felt unexpectedly in demand—if only she had known earlier, she could have squeezed more out of Fu Mingyu.
Maybe even triple the annual salary would have been acceptable.
"Then, Miss Ruan, I'm genuinely curious. I remember you were about to sign the contract with us back then. Why did you ultimately choose World Airlines?"
Why?
When signing the contract, Ruan Sixian had specifically counted the decimal points—three times.
Now, just the taxes she paid were almost as much as her salary as a flight attendant.
Who would turn down money?
Especially since half of it came from Fu Mingyu's account.
Thinking about him practically begging her with money made every cell in her body feel exhilarated.
Double the annual salary, ten times the happiness.
But she couldn't say that to others—it sounded too vulgar.
"Well..."
Yan An then asked in his usual offbeat manner, "What kind of spell did Fu Mingyu cast on you? Did he seduce you with his looks, hmm?"
Since she was already taken, Yan An didn't bother with pointless struggles. He was just genuinely intrigued by this woman and couldn't help but lace his words with a teasing tone.
Ruan Sixian seemed to pick up on his meaning and replied with a smile, "Why would you say that, President Yan?"The person on the other end of the phone relaxed even more, taunting with a sour tone, "Isn't that right? Fu Mingyu usually flaunts that face of his to deceive people, causing no small amount of trouble for young girls."
Exactly. He must wake up every morning, look in the mirror, and think he's incredibly handsome.
For some reason, Ruan Sixian's mind conjured an image of Fu Mingyu admiring himself in front of a mirror, and she couldn't help but want to laugh. "Well, President Fu is, after all, handsome and dignified, graceful and elegant, with an extraordinary bearing..."
Halfway through her words, she caught sight of a large, imposing procession reflected on the LED screen, led by none other than...
But Ruan Sixian's train of thought didn't break; she continued to praise him aloud.
"Refined and cultured, impressive in appearance..."
The figure behind her stood still, and over a dozen pairs of eyes shot over, one of them particularly intense.
Ruan Sixian's voice grew softer and softer.
No.
This wasn't the reunion scene she had imagined.
She had only intended to mock Fu Mingyu with Yan An, but now that she had been caught, there was no telling how this person would misinterpret it as her expressing admiration.
She urgently needed to make a sharp turn.
"Charming and dashing, free-spirited and unrestrained—none of these have anything to do with him."
"..."
The final sentence landed with a resounding thud, a sudden twist that caught the eavesdroppers off guard, leaving them collectively wishing they were deaf.
They quickly turned away, pretending they hadn't heard anything, and continued walking forward, though their steps were slightly stiff.
Now, only Ruan Sixian, facing the wall, and Fu Mingyu, standing behind her, remained in the glass corridor, along with Bai Yang and four assistants who kept their eyes downcast.
The long glass corridor seemed to be swept by gusts of cold wind.
Ruan Sixian remembered now—she had always felt this place was as chilly as a morgue.
On the phone, Yan An laughed unrestrainedly, sounding like a honking goose.
"Miss Ruan, you really spoke the truth. I admire your discerning eye..."
Suddenly, the call cut off, and a mechanical female voice came through the receiver: "Please wait, the other party is on another call. Please do not hang up."
At the same time, a male voice sounded from behind.
"Yan An, have you been free lately?"
There was no need to guess who was speaking. Before Ruan Sixian even turned around, she saw a long shadow stretching across the floor.
Under the shimmering sunlight, he held his phone and stepped forward, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Ruan Sixian, though his gaze didn't fall on her but instead fixed straight ahead out the window.
His voice carried no warmth, fitting subtly with the atmosphere of the glass corridor. "If you have nothing to do, first consider how to handle that influencer you just broke up with who's cursing you on Weibo. Don't bother harassing my people, and don't even think about poaching them."
Only then did he glance at Ruan Sixian, briefly and lightly, before looking away again. "Please abide by industry rules. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind snatching that Bali tourism contract from you. Then you can see if your old man will let you rest in peace a few decades early."
With that, the call ended. Fu Mingyu turned to look at Ruan Sixian, the entire movement seamless, as if Yan An had been hung up along with the phone.
His voice softened considerably. "Miss Ruan, since this is our first meeting, do you perhaps have some misunderstanding about me?"
If it were any other woman, seeing Fu Mingyu's gentlemanly gaze and sensing the obvious shift in his tone, filled with partiality, she might truly have been captivated on the spot.
But Ruan Sixian just wanted to roll her eyes.
What did he mean by "first meeting"?Have you forgotten the Ruan Sixian by the Thames, you dog of a man?
Have you forgotten the woman you waited for all night?
Seeing Ruan Sixian’s confused and bewildered expression, Bai Yang, who had been holding his breath for a long time, finally had a chance to release it. He stepped forward and said, “This is President Fu.”
“Oh!” Ruan Sixian pretended to be startled and took a step back. “Did you hear what I just said? I’m sorry, I only heard it from others. I didn’t know President Fu himself was so…”
“Hmm.” Fu Mingyu guessed that Ruan Sixian was about to repeat those seven idioms again to show off her vocabulary, so he cut her off in time. “Who said it?”
Ruan Sixian paused. “A friend who wishes to remain anonymous.”
—Her surname is Ruan.
As if seeing through Ruan Sixian’s affected hypocrisy, Fu Mingyu automatically blamed Yan An for speaking ill of him behind his back and didn’t bother to argue.
Just then, Bai Yang mentioned the time, and Fu Mingyu turned to leave.
Leaving already?
Ruan Sixian was furious. How could he have forgotten her?
Who was she supposed to humiliate then?
She was the Thames riverside girl he once looked down on but now begged with money to hire!
“President Fu!”
Ruan Sixian suddenly called out to him.
Fu Mingyu stopped and turned back. “Is there something else?”
Forget it.
The moment she called out, Ruan Sixian regretted it, feeling like an idiot. But she was always quick to pivot.
“I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have listened to rumors and spoken ill of you. I should have gotten to know you firsthand.”
—And then continue speaking ill of you.
His expression softened slightly. “It’s fine.”
Listen, how magnanimous, how gentlemanly.
Anyone who didn’t know better would be swooning over him again.
Ruan Sixian said, “I’ll take my leave now. I still need to pick up my uniform.”
Uniform…
Suddenly, that photo appeared in Fu Mingyu’s mind: Ruan Sixian in her pilot’s uniform, the crisp shirt cinched tightly at her waist, slender and delicate, her curves gracefully extending downward, the black trousers sleek and sharp.
He nodded and turned to leave.
Speaking of uniforms, Ruan Sixian hadn’t expected Hengshi Airlines to thoughtfully revise the policy again, issuing two sets each for spring, summer, and winter. Stacked together, it was a hefty bundle.
Fortunately, pilots were all in excellent physical condition. Even as a woman, Ruan Sixian had no trouble carrying it, though it didn’t look very graceful. She felt even more conspicuous next to the glamorous flight attendants coming and going.
Just then, the thoughtful Bai Yang appeared. Smiling, he took the bag from Ruan Sixian. “Let me help.”
The two had met at the flight academy, and Ruan Sixian had a good impression of him. She felt that, as Fu Mingyu’s secretary, he hadn’t picked up any of those bad habits. So she smiled back at him.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Bai Yang led her outside. “President Fu sent me. He said the uniforms were heavy and it would be tough for a woman to carry.”
Ruan Sixian: “…President Fu is so thoughtful. I’m truly touched.”
Bai Yang: “Hmm, I’ll pass along your gratitude.”
…
Who asked you to pass it along???
It seemed he had picked up that habit of overthinking after all.
The two stepped out of the elevator together. Bai Yang saw Ruan Sixian into her car before turning back to the company. This scene happened to be witnessed by Ni Tong, who had just finished a meeting.
Ni Tong took a photo with her phone and sent it to Jiang Ziyue.
“Look, it’s her.”
Jiang Ziyue, far away in Spain, zoomed in on the photo and studied it for a moment before concluding.
“It’s not her. How could she be on such good terms with the vice president’s secretary?”
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