Look at this man. He says “We’re even now,” but his actions clearly show he holds grudges.

Ruan Sixian felt that she and Fu Mingyu still couldn’t speak more than three sentences at a time, neither before nor now.

So for the mental health of both parties, she chose to remain silent. Otherwise, she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t suddenly burst out with colorful language in a moment of passion.

However, while entering the elevator, she glanced several times at the medicine bag in Fu Mingyu’s hand. It was semi-transparent, and she could see several boxes of medicine inside.

So, typical straight man—what’s the use of taking medicine for a mark on your face? Topical products would be most effective.

“Did you not use what I gave you?” Ruan Sixian said. “Why don’t you trust me? Taking medicine internally definitely isn’t as effective as applying something externally.”

Fu Mingyu glanced at her, looking as if he didn’t want to talk, and after a long while finally uttered three words.

“Digestive medicine.”

Oh.

No wonder he seemed in poor spirits today. It wasn’t because of her slap, but because he had stomach problems.

Back home, Ruan Sixian browsed through delivery apps, looking around only to find she was tired of all the nearby restaurants and had no appetite. She decided to cook something herself.

There weren’t many vegetables in the refrigerator, but there were plenty of dumplings that Si Xiaozhen had frozen for her. Ruan Sixian took out a package, boiled a pot of water, and put in ten dumplings.

But just as she was about to put the dumplings back in the refrigerator, she suddenly remembered the medicine in Fu Mingyu’s hand today.

Digestive issues were likely caused by irregular eating habits.

By the time this thought occurred to her, she was already considering boiling another bowl of dumplings.

But as she watched the dumplings bobbing up and down in the boiling water, Ruan Sixian suddenly came to her senses.

She hadn’t even eaten yet, so why was she worrying about whether he had eaten? If he wanted food, he could make one phone call and many people would run errands for him.

In the end, she only boiled one bowl of dumplings.

Fifteen minutes later, the steaming hot dumplings were ready.

She was starving, so she ladled them into a bowl and brought them to the table, only to discover she was out of vinegar.

Great.

It was only now that she remembered using the remaining half bottle of vinegar to clean the drain last week.

Currently, she had only three options: go downstairs to buy some, call for delivery, or go upstairs to borrow a bottle of vinegar.

The dumplings were already out of the pot and steaming. Weighing the three methods, Ruan Sixian figured only the last option would allow her to eat before the dumplings got cold.

Yes, she nodded to herself and sent Fu Mingyu a message.

[Ruan Sixian]: Do you have vinegar at home?

He replied quickly.

[Ruan Sixian]: I’m out of vinegar, can I borrow some?

Fu Mingyu: Come get it yourself.

Ruan Sixian happily prepared to leave, but while changing her shoes, a thought occurred to her, and she asked another question.

[Ruan Sixian]: Have you eaten dinner?

Fu Mingyu: Not yet.

Alright, considering the powerful impact of that slap, Ruan Sixian decided to offer this bowl of dumplings to Fu Mingyu first.

However, when she stood at Fu Mingyu’s door holding the steaming hot bowl of dumplings, she found Fu Mingyu’s driver arriving with a food container.

Their eyes met, and Ruan Sixian suddenly understood.

At the same time, the door clicked open.

The driver was a step ahead of Ruan Sixian, handing over the food container. “Mr. Fu, your dinner.”

Fu Mingyu took the container and then looked at Ruan Sixian beside him.

His gaze lingered on the dumplings in her hands before he spoke: “Weren’t you coming to borrow vinegar?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Ruan Sixian’s gaze was steady. “I brought this up to pour in a little vinegar, then I’ll leave.”

Fu Mingyu didn’t say anything, letting her in as the driver left on his own.

“The vinegar is in the kitchen, you can find it yourself.”

“Oh.”

Ruan Sixian carried her bowl into Fu Mingyu’s kitchen and looked around.

Well, same apartment building, same floor, but what a world of difference in the layouts.

She hadn’t noticed during her previous visit, but the units with number one were so large that even the kitchen was bigger than her living room.

Hengshi Mining Co., Ltd. confirmed.

Though Fu Mingyu’s kitchen was large and fully equipped, everything was completely new, even the condiments were unopened.

When Ruan Sixian found the vinegar, she specifically checked the expiration date.

Fortunately, it hadn’t expired.

At this moment, Fu Mingyu entered the kitchen to get chopsticks. Passing by Ruan Sixian, he said, “Take it with you, I don’t use it regularly.”

“No need,” Ruan Sixian said. “I’ll just pour a little.”

With that, she removed the plastic seal and casually grabbed the cap to twist it.

Huh?

This tight?

She applied a bit more strength but still couldn’t open it.

A bottle of vinegar isn’t going to defeat me!

Ruan Sixian twisted her neck, gripped the bottle firmly, and applied force. Just as the cap was about to open—she noticed Fu Mingyu looking at her strangely.

How to describe that feeling? Ruan Sixian felt his face was written all over with the question, “Is this a woman?”

Thinking about her handprint still faintly visible on his face, Ruan Sixian unconsciously loosened her grip, her mind trying to figure out how to naturally and convincingly pretend she couldn’t open it.

“Can’t open it?”

Before she could act, Fu Mingyu had already seen through her.

Ruan Sixian nodded: “Yeah, it’s too tight.”

Fu Mingyu tilted his head, looking down at her, “Why don’t you punch it open?”

Ruan Sixian: “…”

He doesn’t see me as a woman.

She took a deep breath, telling herself that this person had apologized, and she had slapped him in return, so don’t curse at him again.

“Mr. Fu, I am a woman.”

Fu Mingyu made an “oh” sound, “Then use your little pink fist to smash it open.”

“…”

To hell with restraint.

“I’ll smash your head with my little pink fist!”

Ruan Sixian kicked at his shin, but unfortunately, this sly man seemed to know she would use the “distract the tiger from the mountain” strategy—talking about hitting with her hands while using her foot.

He nimbly dodged to the side while simultaneously taking the vinegar bottle from her hand.

He twisted it lightly, and the cap came off.

Ruan Sixian was quietly speechless.

He handed the bottle back to her, lifting his eyelids slightly with the tail of his eyebrows raised. Ruan Sixian felt he was about to expose her pretense of not being able to open the bottle.

Ruan Sixian looked up at him, waiting for him to gloat.

“Don’t you throw up when you drink vinegar? Trying to lose weight today?”

“…”

At this moment, Ruan Sixian realized that her constant urge to hit this man wasn’t because of what happened years ago.

It was because this man was simply, purely—punchable.

So punchable that he even appeared in her dreams that night.

She dreamed she would come to the seaside.

The sky was blue, the sunshine was bright, the water was clear, and the sea breeze was gentle.

She saw Fu Mingyu there too.

She rushed forward and kicked him.

Damn, her foot hurt. His turtle shell was really hard.

The next morning, Ruan Sixian woke up an hour earlier than usual.

Having heard about the exploits of flight instructor He Lanfeng, she specifically went downstairs for a morning run, hoping to meet this instructor in her best condition.

Just one concern—she’d heard he was Fu Mingyu’s uncle. Hopefully, Fu Mingyu’s personality wasn’t a family trait.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. Before Ruan Sixian even reached the dispatch department, she met several pilots on the way. When someone heard that He Lanfeng would be instructing her today, they exchanged a few words with her.

They said this man was strict, and not just in a simple way—he was extremely skilled at interrogating co-pilots from multiple angles.

For instance, once during training, a co-pilot misread the altimeter and continued climbing even after reaching the designated altitude. He Lanfeng suddenly asked the co-pilot: “Young man, did you bring an oxygen tank?”

The co-pilot replied: “N-no, why?”

“Without an oxygen tank, you still dare to fly into outer space?”

As she heard this story, Ruan Sixian spotted Fu Mingyu’s figure in the distant glass corridor.

Great, looks like it is a family trait.

Ruan Sixian gave herself some encouragement, went to process her flight assignment, collected the day’s aviation weather report, got signatures and stamps from the aviation medical examiner and air traffic control, and then headed to the meeting room.

She was the first to arrive. The meeting room was still quiet, and she focused on studying the navigation chart until the cabin crew arrived, only then looking up.

Before they could even exchange greetings, another person entered.

Everyone turned to look. The newcomer wore a uniform, was tall and imposing, dignified in appearance, with a distinguished demeanor—someone related to Fu Mingyu by blood.

However, even the wrinkles on his face spelled out the word “serious.”

The meeting room was full of women, and the atmosphere instantly became solemn.

When He Lanfeng walked into the meeting room and spotted Ruan Sixian, noticing her uniform, he showed a moment of surprise.

But a few seconds later, as if remembering something, he lowered his head and smiled.

Everyone in the room was a bit confused.

Wasn’t this instructor supposedly extremely strict and difficult to deal with? How could he be smiling before even speaking?

No one understood, nor dared to ask.

He Lanfeng also realized he seemed somewhat out of character. He coughed into his fist and said, “Ahem, let’s begin.”

Throughout the coordination meeting, Ruan Sixian began to question the rumors she’d heard.

Wasn’t this instructor quite amiable and easy to talk to?

Throughout the meeting, he never interrupted her and even praised her twice for studying the navigation chart carefully.

“Let’s go, let’s head over.”

As He Lanfeng picked up his water cup to drink, someone suddenly appeared outside the door, knocked, and said: “There’s a change in the crew list today.”

Everyone looked over as the person continued: “Today, President Fu needs to attend a meeting in Xi City, but there’s heavy fog there and flights can’t operate. So he’ll fly to Lin City first. Your flight’s timing is suitable, so he and Secretary Bai will be added to the crew list with reserved seats.”

He Lanfeng choked on his water, bending over and coughing violently. Ruan Sixian went over to pat his back: “Are you alright, sir?”

He Lanfeng shook his head: “It’s nothing, just a bit surprised.”

Ruan Sixian didn’t understand what was so surprising. It was common for flight personnel to travel for business, and adding crew was a regular occurrence.

However, Ruan Sixian recalled that when checking the passenger manifest earlier, this flight only had one empty cabin seat. Would Fu Mingyu and Bai Yang squeeze in together?

The person at the door, noticing Ruan Sixian’s confusion, added: “President Fu will join the cockpit.”

Ruan Sixian: “…”

Fair enough, it was easy for him to get special certificate holder approval to enter the cockpit, since he was the certificate holder himself.

When Fu Mingyu sat in the back row of the cockpit, Ruan Sixian still found the atmosphere strange.

She never imagined there would be a day when Fu Mingyu would be sitting in the cockpit.

While putting on her headset, she glanced back and saw that the mark on his face had completely disappeared.

Fu Mingyu’s expression was calm, and when he caught Ruan Sixian’s glance, his expression didn’t change.

On the other side, He Lanfeng kept turning to look at Fu Mingyu, smiling.

“What brings you to the cockpit?”

Fu Mingyu knew what his uncle was smiling about but didn’t mind, saying flatly: “Xi City has heavy fog, flights can’t operate.”

He offered no further explanation; that was simply the fact. Who would prefer an indirect route if they could fly directly? As for what his uncle might be thinking, that was beyond his control.

He Lanfeng was indeed deliberately teasing Fu Mingyu.

After completing model conversion training, he hadn’t yet started formal instruction flights, yet Fu Mingyu had proactively mentioned arranging a flight for him.

Usually, such matters wouldn’t require Fu Mingyu’s attention. He Lanfeng thought that this co-pilot must be a pilot whom he greatly admired.

However, upon seeing Ruan Sixian, as a man, he understood.

Fu Mingyu was very quiet in the cockpit, not saying a word because he closed his eyes to sleep as soon as he boarded.

At this moment, Ruan Sixian was checking the preparation list, not speaking.

Initially, upon discovering that He Lanfeng was easy to get along with, her nervousness had completely dissipated. But since Fu Mingyu came in, she found herself not feeling so at ease anymore.

Well, he was the boss—who wouldn’t be nervous with their boss watching them work?

Seeing Ruan Sixian’s tightly furrowed brow, He Lanfeng smiled and asked: “Are you particularly afraid of me?”

“Hmm?” Ruan Sixian looked up and said, “Not at all.”

“Then I see you’re quite tense.”

“Even captains get nervous with an instructor present.”

“I think they just spoke ill of me. But don’t worry, I’m very kind to female pilots.” He smiled, especially to a special female pilot.

Ruan Sixian nodded: “Mm, thank you.”

After saying this, He Lanfeng looked back at Fu Mingyu.

Good, still sleeping, seemingly completely unconcerned.

Throughout the preparation, He Lanfeng barely spoke, leaving all operations to Ruan Sixian.

Only when the aircraft was being pushed out did he sternly say: “During the takeoff roll, due to wind influence, you must counter-steer into the downwind, but don’t be quick to push the yoke. Just maintain a slight awareness of pushing into the upwind at the moment of takeoff. Too much would cause the spoilers to deploy, affecting aircraft performance and control.”

Ruan Sixian nodded: “Understood.”

“After liftoff, the aircraft will automatically form a crab angle. Pay attention to bank angle correction.”

“Got it.”

“At that time, be sure to shift your vision from outside to inside the cockpit. Don’t introduce bank angle when transitioning focus, and don’t enter instrument flight with bank angle.”

“Understood, got it.”

“Alright, I’ve just covered the basics. Now you operate, I’ll watch, and ask me if you have any questions.”

Ruan Sixian put on her headset, contacted the tower, and soon the aircraft entered the runway and began accelerating. He Lanfeng also concentrated intently on Ruan Sixian’s actions.

In the instant the pushback sensation arrived, Fu Mingyu slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling on Ruan Sixian.

He could see her profile and the look in her eyes behind her sunglasses.

She focused on the instrument panel, communicating with the tower, her expression serious, without a trace of makeup on her face.

But at this moment, she had a unique charm that Fu Mingyu had never seen in other women.

The aircraft was accelerating rapidly, racing like the wind, and watching this person controlling the aircraft, Fu Mingyu felt his chest gradually swelling.

At the moment of takeoff, Ruan Sixian’s lips curved into a slight smile.

Fu Mingyu’s gaze lingered long on her, his heart skipping a beat at that moment.

He took a deep breath, yet found it difficult to exhale smoothly.

Half an hour later, the aircraft entered the cruise state.

He Lanfeng unbuckled his shoulder harness, stretched his muscles, and said: “Not bad, your takeoff was perfect.”

Receiving praise from this instructor, Ruan Sixian couldn’t hide her smile.

He Lanfeng couldn’t resist turning back to look at Fu Mingyu again, “Why do you keep sleeping? Won’t you give your employee an evaluation?”

Fu Mingyu opened his eyes, glancing coldly at He Lanfeng, “With you here, what right do I have to evaluate?”

He Lanfeng snorted lightly, then suddenly said to Ruan Sixian: “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Hearing this question, Fu Mingyu’s eyelid twitched, his brows furrowing, but unfortunately, those in front couldn’t notice his expression.

Ruan Sixian was startled, “Huh?”

“I’m just asking casually,” He Lanfeng said. “People our age like to chat about these things.”

“Oh…”

None of her colleagues had mentioned that this instructor liked to gossip during level flight.

“No, I don’t.”

“Then you should hurry,” He Lanfeng said. “The best time to resolve personal matters is during the co-pilot period. Later, when you become a captain, you’ll be too busy, and it won’t be convenient.”

“Oh… noted.”

“I’ll help you look around.”

“Oh… thank you…”

“No need for thanks, it’s nothing.” He hesitated for a moment, glanced at Fu Mingyu, “What do you think of my nephew? The one sitting behind, isn’t he handsome? Young and accomplished, single too. Would you consider him as your boyfriend?”

Ruan Sixian answered almost without thinking: “I don’t think much of the idea.”

The cockpit suddenly fell silent, sinking into a strange awkwardness.

He Lanfeng rubbed his nose, turning away awkwardly, preparing to change the subject to ease the tension.

Just then, the person behind let out a soft snort, “Have I ever been your boyfriend? How can you determine I wouldn’t be as good as your boyfriend?”

Ruan Sixian found it amusing: “Do I need to get inside a refrigerator and freeze for two days to evaluate how well it cools?”

“Yes.”