As October’s tail swept past, the weather turned cold rapidly.

After entering November, the leaves on the roadside visibly yellowed, the air began to dry out, and some pedestrians on the streets had even donned down jackets.

Similarly, Ruan Sixian’s work environment was also changing.

She had been busy lately preparing for her F1 (First Officer Phase One) exam, stealing moments to study whenever possible, sometimes even pulling out her phone to review while sitting in the cockpit waiting for flow control clearance.

On the day after her exam, she left the testing center, checked the time, and finding it still early, went to the employee cafeteria for a meal.

After getting her food and finding an empty seat with her tray, she had barely taken two bites when she sensed someone approaching.

Ruan Sixian looked up to see a First Officer she knew, so she moved her tray slightly to make room.

However, when the First Officer saw it was Ruan Sixian sitting there, he immediately grinned and said, “Good afternoon, Little Ruan. Hmm? I didn’t see those spareribs you got. Let me go check at the counter again.”

Perhaps he went to a food counter in Siberia to get his spareribs, because once he left, he never returned.

Ruan Sixian belatedly realized that her situation at the company lately had been one of “mountains without public flights, paths without male traces.”

Whether single or not, all her male colleagues maintained a subtle distance from her, practically writing “we are purely professional colleagues” on their foreheads.

Even when she shared a link on her social media, no male colleagues dared like it anymore!

Fine, Ruan Sixian understood. Fu Mingyu needed just one sentence to label her as “Fu’s Property,” cutting off potential rivals at the source.

As long as she stayed at World Airlines, no other man in the company would dare compete with the boss for a woman.

What a… wonderfully straightforward pursuit method.

But this “Fu’s Label” wasn’t without benefits.

For instance, she had been flying long-haul routes recently, and looking at her assignment sheet, the next week would be the same.

Every pilot flying domestic routes hoped to fly long-haul, not only for the higher hourly pay but also for the longer rest periods.

Even the usual flow control seemed to be undergoing subtle changes. Ruan Sixian found her waiting times getting shorter and shorter, and she was frequently given priority to taxi to the runway.

Looking at it this way, the label seemed to clearly state: “Fu Mingyu requests all departments to provide convenience and necessary assistance to the bearer.”

Ruan Sixian felt like she was a walking Fu-issued “passport.”

She even wanted to confront Fu Mingyu: this isn’t appropriate! It’s an abuse of power!

But on second thought, this couldn’t possibly be something Fu Mingyu had ordered. The problem was that the internet was too advanced—one sentence only needed to travel through satellite communication to spread globally, let alone throughout just one company.

Whether it was these people’s caution or their ability to read the wind, invisible hands seemed to lock Ruan Sixian and Fu Mingyu together.

This atmosphere reminded Ruan Sixian of her high school days when a boy had publicly confessed to her, causing a huge stir that the whole school knew about.

That boy had been a cool school tyrant, flamboyant and domineering at school, beyond even the teachers’ control. So after his confession, all the boys who used to fawn over Ruan Sixian kept their distance.

The school was only so big, and the two would often run into each other. With one party deliberately seeking encounters, Ruan Sixian felt like she saw these people wherever she went.

To make matters worse, everyone around them kept teasing, making it seem like something was already happening between them.

Back then, Ruan Sixian was irritated by this every day. Whenever she saw someone’s mocking eyes or teasing tone, she wanted to rush over and punch them.

But now?

Ruan Sixian stirred the soup in her bowl with her spoon.

She didn’t feel particularly irritated… nor did she have the urge to punch anyone.

What was the difference between Fu Mingyu at World Airlines and that school tyrant from high school?

None. Both were domineering local bullies.

Ruan Sixian thought it was probably because Fu Mingyu was her boss…

As she was thinking, a tray suddenly landed in front of her.

Ruan Sixian wondered which colleague was bold enough to risk his life to pick this flower, feeling somewhat pleased that her charm had overcome Fu Mingyu’s intimidation.

But looking up, she saw it was Ni Tong sitting across from her.

When Ni Tong sat down, she appeared uneasy, glancing around before speaking: “Um… well… there’s something…”

Ruan Sixian put down her chopsticks and raised her head. “Just say it.”

Ni Tong didn’t want to bring this up, but she had been concerned about it for a long time and couldn’t get past it without speaking out.

But with so many people in the cafeteria, she hesitated for a while before asking, “Are you finished? Should we talk outside?”

Ruan Sixian sized her up, drank her soup in one gulp, and said, “Let’s go.”

The two walked outside the cafeteria, but there were still many people around, so Ni Tong pulled Ruan Sixian to a stairwell in the building.

“Well… my mentor was complained about by a VIP passenger yesterday.”

Ruan Sixian: “And?”

Ni Tong’s eyes darted around, and she spoke without confidence. “Well, you know, when ordinary passengers complain, the company verifies before deciding if it’s valid or invalid, but VIP complaints are automatically valid, and then…”

Ruan Sixian checked her watch: “I’ll give you one minute. If you don’t finish, I’m going home.”

Ni Tong suddenly tensed and immediately blurted out like a pea-shooter: “The thing is it’s not a big deal in the past this kind of situation would just mean being grounded for a while but my mentor was fired I think this might be Mr. Fu’s decision but it seems a bit excessive I know my request is a bit difficult but could you maybe tell Mr. Fu not to fire her outright and leave some room for mercy?”

Ruan Sixian: “?”

Ruan Sixian took half a minute to mentally punctuate Ni Tong’s words.

She patted Ni Tong’s shoulder. “No, did I do something that made you think I’m a kind, generous, forgiving fairy?”

Ni Tong’s face immediately fell, then awkwardly flushed red. She stammered for a while before saying, “Oh, I understand… It’s just that because of what happened last time, now Brother Yue seems to have fallen out with my mentor too. She’s almost thirty, and if she loses her job now, what will she do!”

Just as she was about to turn and leave, a sharp shout came from behind.

“Ni Tong! What are you doing!”

Jiang Ziyue was holding a stack of documents—social insurance papers returned from the HR department.

She stood on the stairs, crumpling the documents in her grip.

This was the first time Ruan Sixian had seen her directly show such a fierce look.

Before she could move, the stack of documents was thrown at Ni Tong.

Ni Tong retreated sharply into a corner, looking at Jiang Ziyue in terror.

“No… I just…”

“Who asked you to plead for me? Are you so bored you can’t find anything better to do?” After saying this, she turned to look at Ruan Sixian, “Don’t worry, you’re powerful and I can’t mess with you. Do you think I can’t survive without being a flight attendant and need to beg you? Dream on!”

Ruan Sixian spread her hands: “I haven’t said anything.”

She found it annoying. She had never given Yue Chen a second glance, yet from beginning to end, Jiang Ziyue had treated her as an imaginary enemy, and now she was directly confronting her.

Was it necessary?

Jiang Ziyue stood on the stairs, looking somewhat superior as she glanced down at Ruan Sixian.

“Don’t be too smug. Do you think you’re the CEO’s wife now? You’re far from it.”

“Stop, stop.” Ruan Sixian felt this matter needed clarification. “There’s nothing between Fu Mingyu and me. I’m single, okay?”

Ruan Sixian was just clarifying the facts, but to Jiang Ziyue’s ears, it sounded like boasting: “I haven’t even accepted him yet and he’s already protecting me this way, what can I do?”

“That’s why I say you’re young. Do you think someone pursuing you means they’re holding you in the palm of their hand? Aren’t all men the same? They play with you while you’re fresh, but once the novelty wears off, who remembers who you are?”

How annoying.

Ruan Sixian wanted to go home and didn’t want to talk to her anymore. She needed one sentence to end the conversation.

“I understand, these days it’s not just about making the rice already cooked, even if it turns into popcorn, those who want to leave will still leave, right?”

As soon as she finished speaking, as Ruan Sixian had expected, Jiang Ziyue’s expression became quite colorful.

What was she thinking? It’s 9012 already, who can’t survive without a man?

With a license in hand, she could fly planes anywhere. Did she think only Fu Mingyu’s family had big planes?

Besides, she and Fu Mingyu weren’t even close to being a couple yet.

To avoid the next verbal battle, Ruan Sixian slipped away promptly.

Although Jiang Ziyue’s words didn’t leave much impression on Ruan Sixian, she still silently cursed Fu Mingyu a couple of times.

That dog of a man, not only cutting off her potential relationships but also bringing her trouble.

Just as she was thinking this, the dog of a man texted her.

Fu Mingyu had been very busy these past few days, flying to several cities, and Ruan Sixian had barely seen him and hadn’t actively contacted him.

It was always him occasionally calling her.

The calls were fine, but he never discussed anything important, just talked about trivial matters, and each time he would hang up after a few minutes to get back to work.

But every time she took these few-minute calls, Ruan Sixian felt something strange in her heart.

It was precisely because they didn’t talk about anything serious that it seemed abnormal.

She reasonably suspected he was slowly boiling the frog in warm water.

[Fu Mingyu]: Finished the exam?

Ruan Sixian replied while walking.

[Ruan Sixian]: Finished it long ago.

Without waiting for his reply, Ruan Sixian asked again.

[Ruan Sixian]: Did you fire Jiang Ziyue?

[Fu Mingyu]: Jiang Ziyue is?

Ruan Sixian: “…”

[Ruan Sixian]: That flight attendant! The one who argued with me that day, do you have a goldfish memory?

“Yes, I fired her.”

The familiar voice sounded, and Ruan Sixian’s steps suddenly halted. Looking up, she saw Fu Mingyu standing in the sunset, his entire body seemingly coated with a faint golden light, making his features appear particularly gentle.

And at the moment she saw his eyes, Ruan Sixian’s heart gave a sudden leap.

What are you leaping for? Why are you leaping?

He just admitted he fired her, but he didn’t say it was for you. Stop it, don’t leap!

Fu Mingyu: “Going home?”

“Mm.”

Fu Mingyu reached out his hand to her. “Let’s go, I’ll take you.”

His movements were so natural that by the time Ruan Sixian reacted, her hand was already raised, about to be placed in his palm.

See, this man was boiling the frog in warm water!

To not let him see through her, Ruan Sixian smoothly pushed his hand away disdainfully.

“The weather’s nice, I want to walk.”

With that, she walked toward the main gate, and Fu Mingyu silently walked alongside her, with his driver following quietly behind in the car.

Ruan Sixian’s steps were somewhat mechanical, and Fu Mingyu consistently matched her pace.

“Fu Mingyu.”

“Mm.”

Ruan Sixian felt this matter needed to be clarified. She couldn’t be presumptuous like him.

“Did you fire her because of me?”

Fu Mingyu seemed to find her question strange.

If it wasn’t for her, in a cabin crew department of thousands, why would he bother with one obscure flight attendant?

“Who else could it be for?”

Ruan Sixian was stunned for a moment, feeling something soft and tingling in her heart.

She actually understood that for Fu Mingyu, this matter only required a glance from him, and naturally, someone below would handle it cleanly for him.

It didn’t require much effort from him.

But she still felt a trace of unreasonable protection.

Oh, no, after that, she had secretly inquired with several familiar flight attendants and found that indeed no one dared mention those rumors anymore.

Even in private.

Those flight attendants told her that when the leaders of each department held their regular meetings, they specifically emphasized that if such rumors were spread again, everyone would go to the HR department to collect their severance pay—World Airlines wasn’t short of that money.

Okay, it wasn’t just a trace of protection.

She looked up at Fu Mingyu. “Mr. Fu, your image of being impartial between public and private matters is falling apart.”

“Little sister, you seem to lack self-awareness.” Fu Mingyu turned to look at her. “You repeatedly run wild over me, yet you still think I maintain a separation between public and private?”

With a “smack,” little Ruan the frog seemed to have fallen into the warm water in the invisible face-slapping sound and couldn’t climb out.