Ruan Sixian discovered that she was blushing at being called “little sister.”

Yet Fu Mingyu seemed completely unaware that anything was wrong.

Being his age and still playing the big brother/little sister game—how embarrassing.

Ruan Sixian didn’t speak, but suddenly quickened her pace.

The early autumn wind wasn’t gentle, feeling a bit chilly against her face. Occasionally stepping on fallen leaves, the “rustle” sound was amplified by their silence.

After some time passed, Ruan Sixian suddenly stopped walking.

“Why do you keep looking at me?”

Fu Mingyu smiled roguishly: “How do you know I’m looking at you if you’re not looking at me?”

Ruan Sixian: “…”

That made sense.

Ruan Sixian glared at him. “I’m not walking anymore. Let’s get in the car.”

But after getting in and settling down, Ruan Sixian still felt Fu Mingyu watching her.

“What are you staring at?”

Since she asked so directly, Fu Mingyu stopped looking at her and turned to face forward, yet casually said: “I’m trying to figure out why you’re blushing.”

As if her disguise had been exposed, Ruan Sixian’s defenses immediately bristled.

“Are the two holes under your brow meant for breathing?”

“…”

Ruan Sixian was so righteously fierce that Fu Mingyu wondered if he was the one who was blind.

The atmosphere in the car suddenly dropped again.

Suddenly, Ruan Sixian’s phone rang.

She took it out, glanced at it, hesitated for a moment, then hung up.

Less than half a minute later, it rang again, and she hung up again.

When it rang a third time, she directly muted it without answering, but couldn’t help muttering “so annoying.”

Fu Mingyu noticed her actions and asked: “Who is it?”

Ruan Sixian didn’t want to say and casually replied: “Nothing important.”

The more evasive she was, the more Fu Mingyu felt something was off. His gaze swept over her, seeming to sense something else.

“Call from an ex-boyfriend?”

?

Ruan Sixian felt this man’s thought process was abnormal. How did he smell out that this was a call from an ex-boyfriend?

“What, do your ex-girlfriends make desperate chain calls to you?”

Fu Mingyu smirked but didn’t respond to her comment, turning his head to look out the window.

For the next stretch of the journey, neither of them spoke.

The calls were from Dong Xian.

Since she learned Ruan Sixian’s address on her birthday, she had come to wait once, but that day Ruan Sixian happened to be riding back with Si Xiaozhen, so they didn’t meet.

And today she kept calling, probably because she had come again.

Sure enough, when the car arrived at the entrance of Mingchen, Ruan Sixian saw that Porsche.

The setting sun reflected off the shiny car body, dazzlingly bright.

Fortunately, she came back in Fu Mingyu’s car today; otherwise, if she had stopped at the entrance in a taxi, they would inevitably have met.

She turned to look at Fu Mingyu, who wasn’t paying attention to the situation outside, staring at the window lost in thought.

After the car pulled up at the building, Ruan Sixian opened the door while saying: “I’m going in now.”

Fu Mingyu expressionlessly “mm-ed” in response.

Ruan Sixian closed the car door, and before she even reached the steps, the car started and drove forward to turn around.

Inhaling a mouthful of exhaust, Ruan Sixian bewilderedly watched Fu Mingyu’s car.

Opening her door, Ruan Sixian saw Si Xiaozhen sitting on the sofa and nearly departed this beautiful world from shock.

“How did you get in?”

Si Xiaozhen had been anxiously making phone calls and only relaxed when she saw Ruan Sixian standing completely intact before her.

“What’s wrong with you? I’ve been calling you and you didn’t answer. I thought something happened.”

“Oh.” Ruan Sixian said while changing her shoes, “My phone was on silent and I didn’t notice.”

“You scared me to death.”

Si Xiaozhen pointed to the refrigerator, “I saw blueberries on sale at the supermarket today, so I bought extra. I washed them and put them in your fridge.”

After saying this, she frowned with dissatisfaction, “Good thing I have your home password, otherwise your refrigerator would be moldy without you knowing.”

“I haven’t cooked at home recently.”

Ruan Sixian went to her room to change clothes, and Si Xiaozhen followed, intending to chat, but immediately noticed the model airplane on the bedside table.

Si Xiaozhen immediately knelt on the bed to pick it up.

“Be careful!” Ruan Sixian, half-undressed, rushed over and smacked Si Xiaozhen’s hand, “It’s very heavy, don’t drop it.”

Si Xiaozhen ignored her, eyes shining as she cradled the model, examining it carefully. “This is a German-made de Havilland Comet, isn’t it? So exquisite. Where did you buy it? Was it expensive?”

“It was free.” Ruan Sixian turned away to change clothes, her back to Si Xiaozhen, voice small, “A gift.”

Si Xiaozhen marveled at the model’s exquisite detail, turning it over several times before blinking and asking: “Who gave it to you?”

Ruan Sixian felt her friend’s eyes seemed to know something, yet thought it impossible, so she brushed it off: “A friend gave it to me.”

“This friend’s surname is Fu?”

“?”

Seeing Ruan Sixian’s slightly shocked and guilty expression, Si Xiaozhen knew she was right.

“His name is engraved on the wing. Who are you trying to fool?”

Ruan Sixian hadn’t noticed this. She took back the model, flipped it over, and finally saw the letters “FMY” under the wing.

This dog of a man, giving her a model with his name engraved on it—so shameless.

Ruan Sixian put down the model and walked out, with Si Xiaozhen following behind asking, “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean what’s going on?”

“Don’t play dumb with me. You’re not a teenager anymore, why be shy?”

Ruan Sixian walked faster, opened the refrigerator to get a bottle of water, and expressionlessly said: “Thanks for asking, I’m in space, just got off the spaceship, no signal.”

Si Xiaozhen: “You’re being no fun. Have you slept with him?”

“…”

Ruan Sixian nearly choked to death on her water.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Then why are you being so secretive?”

Si Xiaozhen leaned against the refrigerator, studying Ruan Sixian. She already had the answer in her heart and didn’t press further. “I find it quite amazing. Last time Bian Xuan told me you slapped him at the bar, and he didn’t kill you. Now he’s pursuing you?”

Ruan Sixian said nothing, implicitly confirming.

Si Xiaozhen became more curious, “No, what’s his deal? Don’t you dislike him?”

Ruan Sixian mumbled: “Yes, I dislike him.”

“Exactly, that’s what I don’t understand. If someone you dislike also dislikes you, that’s normal—it means you’re the same type. But if someone you dislike likes you, it means—”

“It means he has good taste.”

“…”

Si Xiaozhen couldn’t refute this logic.

Since Ruan Sixian was like a clam that couldn’t be pried open, the topic didn’t continue. The two chatted about recent holidays; Ruan Sixian said she wanted to travel nearby, while Si Xiaozhen needed to go to Lincheng.

“It’s my university alumni celebration, and everyone’s having a reunion. I need to go.”

Speaking of university, Ruan Sixian remembered that a colleague from the publicity department had asked yesterday if she would participate in the recruitment presentation. The reason was the same as what Fu Mingyu had said—having female pilots participate would attract more female students.

Ruan Sixian had the time, but during her vacation, she just wanted to stay at home rather than do other things, so she refused.

However, the turning point in the matter came from the next day’s flight assignment.

The flight department assigned Ruan Sixian an instructor flight.

Ruan Sixian and the instructor boarded the plane with friendly conversation. After all passengers boarded, the cabin crew proceeded to close the doors.

At this moment, the aircraft maintenance voice suddenly sounded in Ruan Sixian’s headset, and her expression changed.

After exchanging a glance with the instructor, they immediately had the cabin crew open the door and deplane.

By the wing, several maintenance staff were scattered about, bending down and searching for something.

One of the maintenance workers opened his palm, showing two coins.

Ruan Sixian nearly fainted on the spot.

In this modern scientific society, who was the idiot tossing coins here?!

Just now, during the maintenance inspection, they found two coins underneath this aircraft, and everyone immediately went on high alert, beginning a careful search.

This wasn’t the first time they’d encountered this situation, and everyone was very frustrated.

After the cabin crew announced an inquiry, no one admitted to it.

So while the crew continued searching for other coins, they checked the surveillance footage.

The video showed a middle-aged male passenger, before entering the cabin, taking advantage of when the security officer and flight attendant weren’t paying attention, throwing several coins toward the aircraft.

Since the surveillance footage couldn’t clearly show exactly how many coins were thrown, the cabin crew called out that passenger.

The middle-aged man was dressed presentably and wore large sunglasses, which he refused to remove even after coming out.

He admitted to throwing the coins, four in total.

The instructor laughed bitterly beside her, not even wanting to speak.

Ruan Sixian felt smoke coming from her head, and what she exhaled was probably white smoke too.

She took a deep breath, trying to keep her tone calm.

“Why did you throw coins?”

The sunglasses man didn’t show any remorse and righteously said: “For good luck.”

Ruan Sixian knew it would be a stupid reason.

“What kind of luck were you praying for? Were you dissatisfied with security, or did you think this apron looked like a koi pond?”

Everyone could hear the anger Ruan Sixian was struggling to contain in her voice, but the sunglasses man remained oblivious. After fidgeting on the spot for a few seconds, he turned to the security officer behind him and said: “The main thing is… I just saw a female driver on the jet bridge, and I was worried. Female drivers are so dangerous.”

“…”

What the hell—”female driver.”

Perhaps because her anger had reached its peak, Ruan Sixian became abnormally calm. She didn’t say a word, just waved to the security officer.

The security officer immediately reported to the police, and the sunglasses man instantly started shouting: “Why are you calling the police?! What did I do? What are you doing?”

A maintenance worker coldly smiled at him: “Not only are you going to jail, but if the engine needs to be dismantled for inspection, get ready to pay compensation. It’s not much, just tens of thousands.”

After saying this, the security officer directly hauled him away, and the sunglasses man’s shouting gradually disappeared into the jet bridge.

The remaining two coins weren’t found on the ground. The maintenance staff had to use a camera probe inside the aircraft engine to see them.

But because the position was too far inside, they really would need to dismantle parts of the engine to remove them.

Even the maintenance worker couldn’t help cursing: “Damn, another night of overtime today.”

This flight was naturally canceled.

As passengers disembarked with complaints, Fu Mingyu also arrived.

He walked around the aircraft, ultimately standing in front of the engine with furrowed brows.

After the maintenance staff explained the specific situation, he took the camera probe to look, and Ruan Sixian also bent over to see.

The two were extremely close—Ruan Sixian didn’t realize that if she moved even slightly, her cheek would brush against Fu Mingyu’s chin.

“Do you think the nine years of compulsory education hasn’t been well-implemented?” Seeing the images of the two coins, Ruan Sixian imagined how the engine would be damaged if they took off, feeling pain in her chest. “If we had taken off, it would have been so devastating.”

Fu Mingyu slowly moved the probe’s position and said softly: “You seem quite concerned.”

Ruan Sixian: “Of course I’m concerned, how could I not be?”

Fu Mingyu chuckled lightly: “Is it your airplane that you’re so concerned about?”

Ruan Sixian: “…Are you an ETC that automatically raises barriers?”

Fu Mingyu didn’t speak, but as he withdrew the probe, his index finger tapped Ruan Sixian’s head.

“The flight’s canceled. Go back and rest.”

Ruan Sixian also straightened up, and turning around, saw a row of people all watching the two of them.

No wonder it had felt so quiet around them.

Of course, Ruan Sixian didn’t go back to rest.

The police had arrived and were inquiring about the situation, which required Ruan Sixian’s presence.

But throughout the entire inquiry process, the sunglasses man kept emphasizing that he threw the coins because he was worried about the female driver.

Female driver, female driver, female driver… Ruan Sixian really couldn’t listen anymore and directly got up and left.

Back at the World Airlines building, Ruan Sixian dragged her flight case, walking quickly, her angry appearance directly scaring off several colleagues who wanted to inquire about the situation.

However, a few unaware female colleagues from the publicity department were going downstairs for lunch together and encountered Ruan Sixian in the elevator, greeting her.

“Little Ruan, finished your flight?”

“Not yet,” Ruan Sixian said. “The flight was canceled.”

Flight cancellations were common, and the colleagues, accustomed to this, didn’t ask further, instead chatting about other things.

“Isn’t it the peak recruitment season now? Jiashi University’s academic lecture hall is fully booked, so they’ve moved to the grand hall. I looked at their LED screen, and the dimensions are wrong, so I need to redo the PPT.”

“You have it easy. Those of us making posters have it worse. Yunhe University’s lecture hall wasn’t available, so they moved it up by two days. I haven’t even finished the poster yet, I’ll have to work overtime tonight.”

Speaking of Yunhe University, one of them turned to ask Ruan Sixian: “Little Ruan, aren’t you going to the recruitment presentation? It’s your alma mater, wouldn’t it be great to go back?”

They were talking about World Airlines Flight Academy’s recruitment tour to various universities to recruit current college students as cadet pilots for training.

Ruan Sixian had previously said she didn’t want to go, but now when her colleague asked again, all she could think of was the “female driver” comment from the sunglasses man. In a moment of anger, she agreed on the spot.

Better to recruit all women, fill the sky with female pilots, and scare him into never flying again.

When the day of the presentation arrived, Ruan Sixian felt a bit nervous.

In college, she had studied basic physics and rarely had chances to speak on stage. Facing the sea of people, her heart was pounding.

When she took the microphone and went on stage, the male students in the lecture hall instantly became excited, some even taking out phones to take pictures.

Ruan Sixian cleared her throat, and just as she was about to speak, she saw Fu Mingyu enter through the back door.

That afternoon, Fu Mingyu had told her he would be free and would come pick her up after the presentation ended.

Ruan Sixian didn’t understand what there was to “pick up”—the company had arranged transportation. Why come pick her up? Was he trying to openly show favoritism or did he think the label on her wasn’t heavy enough?

Coming to pick her up was one thing, but she didn’t expect him to come inside.

From a distance, Ruan Sixian threw him a subtle eye-roll.

Fu Mingyu caught this eye-roll, but his expression remained unchanged as he quietly stood in the corner, silently watching her.

After a brief explanation, it was time for student questions.

The male students were particularly enthusiastic. At first, the questions were fairly proper, but later they began to drift off-topic.

“Sister, are you single?”

This caused a stir below, and Ruan Sixian coughed, answering concisely: “Yes.”

As soon as the words fell, Ruan Sixian instinctively looked toward Fu Mingyu.

He stood with one hand in his pocket, his gaze looking across at her, cut off by the overhead lights, making his expression unreadable.

That male student continued asking: “Then sister, would you consider an older sister-younger brother relationship?”

Ruan Sixian: “…”

Facing another wave of laughter, Ruan Sixian said seriously: “I don’t like younger brothers.”

That student was just a bit over-enthusiastic but still quite innocent. Amid the surrounding laughter, he sheepishly said: “Oh, you like older brothers then…”

Time was limited, and the presentation ended there.

The final segment was submitting resumes on-site and asking questions. Ruan Sixian and her colleagues were surrounded and couldn’t get away.

But she looked up at Fu Mingyu and saw him walking along the edge toward the front row, pointing to the front door to indicate he would wait for her there.

About twenty minutes later, the students finally began to leave.

The publicity department colleagues were packing up. Ruan Sixian had nothing to do and was about to leave when someone called out to her.

“Ruan Sixian?”

The voice sounded uncertain, and only when Ruan Sixian turned around did the person delightedly approach.

“It is you! I’ve been watching from the back for a long time, thinking I might have seen wrong.”

This person was called Xie Yu, Ruan Sixian’s direct senior at university. After graduation, he stayed at the same school for his master’s and was now pursuing a doctorate.

The two hadn’t seen each other since graduation, so when Xie Yu was mingling in the back rows earlier, he only thought she looked familiar but wasn’t sure.

“Are you a captain now? Impressive!”

Ruan Sixian repeatedly waved her hands, blushing at the same time: “No, no, I’m just a first officer.”

“Didn’t they say you became a flight attendant? How are you a pilot now?”

The two started chatting about this topic, and Xie Yu was very curious, so the conversation flowed endlessly, and before they knew it, more than twenty minutes had passed.

Until the publicity staff finished packing up and reminded Ruan Sixian, she came back to her senses.

“Then I should go now?”

“Sure, you’re busy.”

Before leaving, Xie Yu proactively suggested exchanging contact information, so they added each other on WeChat and exchanged phone numbers.

Ruan Sixian walked toward the front door holding her phone, her steps slightly bouncy.

As she walked, she touched her face again.

Was she composed enough when talking to him just now? Did she appear too excited?

This was Xie Yu, after all, the campus celebrity back then. When the school forum was nearly dying out, he single-handedly boosted Yunhe University forum’s traffic, even having dedicated threads filled with his various photos.

Reaching the front door, Ruan Sixian was busy changing Xie Yu’s contact name while bumping Fu Mingyu with her arm.

“Let’s go.”

Fu Mingyu lowered his eyes to look at her phone, then walked straight out.

Yunhe University had security gates, and only official vehicles could enter. Since Fu Mingyu was picking up Ruan Sixian for personal reasons, his car was parked outside.

The two walked side by side toward the school gate. Along the way, Ruan Sixian looked around, remarking how much the school had changed in the years since she’d been back.

Beside her, Fu Mingyu suddenly spoke: “Who was that just now?”

“Huh?” Ruan Sixian was stunned for a moment. “Who?”

“The one talking to you.”

“Oh, Brother Yu, my former senior.”

Fu Mingyu said flatly: “Quite handsome.”

“That’s true,” Ruan Sixian said. “He was the acknowledged campus heartthrob back then. I don’t know if there’s anyone more handsome at the school now, but when I was a student, he was the most famous. On top of that, he was a good student, winning national scholarships every year, and was on the school basketball team. But that’s nothing—he sang so well that at every school arts performance, he was the final act. When he went on stage, the screams from below could deafen you.”

Fu Mingyu lifted his eyelids slightly but didn’t speak.

Ruan Sixian continued reminiscing to herself: “Later I heard a celebrity agency wanted to sign him. I thought he was going to become a star, but unexpectedly, he kept studying, truly devoting himself to researching high-speed particle colliders.”

She looked around. “Staying at school for so many years, who knows how many crops of young girls’ hearts he’s harvested.”

Fu Mingyu checked a message on his phone while asking: “Were you harvested too?”

Ruan Sixian suddenly felt nervous and hurriedly said: “Don’t make things up.”

Her eyes darted around, her tone somewhat suggesting she was hiding something.

She had indeed once had a tiny bit… of a crush on Xie Yu.

Back then, which girl with normal aesthetic taste didn’t like him?

But he had a girlfriend since high school who occasionally came to check on him at the university. What could Ruan Sixian do? She didn’t even dare to add him on QQ.

After so many years, the campus heartthrob was still a heartthrob, not balding from academic stress. Ruan Sixian felt a strange sense of relief.

After all, compared to a beauty aging, a hero balding is equally regrettable.

The osmanthus flowers at Yunhe University were blooming, shimmering golden in the sunset, particularly lovely.

Fu Mingyu hadn’t spoken the entire way, and Ruan Sixian naturally wouldn’t talk to herself, so they walked silently to the school gate.

It was class time, so there weren’t many people, but the small food shops outside the gate were all bustling.

Smelling the familiar aroma of clam vermicelli, Ruan Sixian felt tempted.

The best food was the clam vermicelli outside Yunhe University’s gate. She had been craving it for several years but wasn’t motivated enough to make a special trip for it.

But now that they were here, she couldn’t resist.

“Wait,” Ruan Sixian called to Fu Mingyu. “I want to eat clam vermicelli.”

Fu Mingyu looked up from his phone and glanced at her, saying nothing as he turned toward the shop.

This store still had the same layout as before—narrow and crowded, never able to seat more than a few people.

Seeing Fu Mingyu constantly checking his phone, looking very busy, Ruan Sixian said: “Why don’t you go back first? I’ll take the company car back later.”

Fu Mingyu pulled out a stool, wiped it with a tissue, and said: “No need.”

Fine then.

Ruan Sixian ordered a bowl of sour spicy clam vermicelli and asked Fu Mingyu if he wanted anything; he said he wasn’t hungry.

So Ruan Sixian could only eat by herself.

During this time, Fu Mingyu kept looking at his phone, expressionless, not saying anything.

Halfway through eating, Ruan Sixian asked: “Do you want to try some? I can pick out some clams for you.”

Fu Mingyu, looking at his phone without raising his head: “No need.”

“…”

Look, if you don’t want to come, then don’t come. Why be so reluctant? It’s as if I’m forcing you.

Ruan Sixian was irritated by Fu Mingyu’s attitude, losing a large portion of her appetite.

She wiped her mouth with a napkin and said: “I’m full. Let’s go.”

Hearing this, Fu Mingyu placed a hundred-yuan note on the table and got up to leave.

Ruan Sixian looked at his back, blinking her eyes.

He is sick, isn’t he?

After getting in the car, for a long time, neither of them spoke.

The car drove over the speed bumps outside the campus and onto the highway.

Ruan Sixian watched the speedometer and expressionlessly asked: “Are you very busy today?”

Fu Mingyu held the steering wheel, saying flatly: “Not busy.”

“If you’re not busy, why are you driving so fast?”

“Is it fast? It’s fine, not as fast as a high-speed particle collider.”

“…”

You’re comparing your four-wheeled vehicle to a particle collider?

Why don’t you compare your family’s airplane to height?

Ruan Sixian couldn’t be bothered with him and tugged at the seatbelt that was uncomfortably tight around her waist, just as her phone rang.

She took out her phone to look.

“…”

Dong Xian was calling again.

Ruan Sixian didn’t want to answer and was about to hang up when she suddenly felt the car sharply swerve.

She turned her head to look at Fu Mingyu, only to see him park the car by the roadside, unbuckle his seatbelt, open the door, and get out.

“If you want to answer, go ahead. I’ll get out of the car.”

The door slammed shut, and at the same time, the call in her hand automatically disconnected due to no answer.

The small space inside the car suddenly became quiet and strange.

Ruan Sixian watched Fu Mingyu’s figure by the roadside, blinking her eyes in confusion.