The meal only took ten minutes, during which Ruan Sixian didn’t say another word to Fu Mingyu.

She reasonably believed that Fu Mingyu had just been subtly obscene with her.

Yet he had made it difficult for her to refute him, and the more she would say, the more off-track it would get.

Although there weren’t many people in the restaurant, there was a couple sitting behind them close enough to hear their conversation.

He was the future heir to a listed company after all; was he still human to be flirting in public?

Fortunately, he wasn’t in Shanghai, otherwise people wouldn’t know which trash bin to throw him in.

On the way back, Fu Mingyu was very well-behaved and didn’t engage in any verbal or physical harassment.

Ruan Sixian felt this was mainly because he received three phone calls during the five-minute drive, leaving no time to say or do anything else.

It wasn’t until the car entered the apartment complex that he had a moment to spare, turning his head to glance at Ruan Sixian.

“Where are you flying tomorrow?”

Ruan Sixian didn’t respond.

Fu Mingyu: “What’s wrong?”

“I’m saying, can you control yourself a bit?” Ruan Sixian felt her expression and tone were very serious, hoping they would serve as a warning to the person beside her. After all, they were boyfriend and girlfriend now and needed some heart-to-heart communication. “Watch what you say and the impact it has.”

“Hmm?” Fu Mingyu parked the car downstairs and turned to look at her. “What did I say?”

Bringing up that topic again made Ruan Sixian’s ears turn red.

Fortunately, she had let her hair down after getting off the plane, so Fu Mingyu shouldn’t be able to see it now.

“We were eating, what were you talking about?”

“What do I say while eating?” Fu Mingyu had one arm on the steering wheel, with a hint of amusement in his voice. “Weren’t you the one who brought it up first?”

Ruan Sixian: “…?”

So now it’s my fault?

Fine.

You’re a good person and I’m not worthy, forget about me and move on to the next.

Ruan Sixian unilaterally broke up with Fu Mingyu in her mind while pretending to be calm as she unbuckled her seatbelt to get out of the car.

Just as her hand touched the door, the person behind her suddenly pulled her back.

“I still have work to do and need to go back to the office. You should get some sleep.”

Ruan Sixian nodded to her ex-boyfriend, “Oh.”

A moment later, Ruan Sixian realized her ex-boyfriend was still holding onto her.

I get it!

Why won’t you let go?!

She frowned and turned around, suddenly meeting Fu Mingyu’s deep gaze, and her thin anger instantly disappeared.

This might be the perfect illustration of how looking at that face could make her anger vanish.

The car’s interior light wasn’t on, with only the dim streetlight filtering in; tiny dust particles floated slowly in the beam of light, making even breathing seem particularly slow.

When he leaned in closer, Ruan Sixian instinctively closed her eyes.

The expected kiss didn’t land; instead, she heard a soft laugh.

Ruan Sixian opened her eyes to find Fu Mingyu very close to her, smiling as he said, “Did you think I was going to kiss you?”

“…”

Jerk.

Ruan Sixian felt very flustered, somewhat angry from embarrassment, and slapped him in the face.

But he caught her hand against his face, then leaned in and said softly, “I was going to kiss you.”

As he finished speaking, he kissed her.

It was gentle and lingering, yet not prolonged. Half a minute later, he opened his eyes, held her hand against his face for a moment longer, and said in a deep voice, “Good night.”

Ruan Sixian walked to the elevator area, pressed the up button, and licked her lips.

She realized that regardless of how intense the kiss was, Fu Mingyu always managed to guide her into unconsciously becoming immersed in it.

Based on that half-minute kiss just now, she decided to forgive Fu Mingyu, unilaterally got back together with him, and sent him a message reminding him to eat dinner.

After going upstairs, Ruan Sixian took a shower, put on a face mask, and sat on the sofa scrolling through her phone.

She thought she should tell her girlfriends about having a boyfriend now, so she opened her WeChat group and sent a message.

Ruan Sixian: I got myself a boyfriend today.

Half a minute later.

Ruan Sixian: What’s wrong? Are you shocked?

Si Xiaozhen: Not really, is it President Fu?

Bian Xuan: What kind of question is that? Could it be anyone else? Is our Ruan Ruan the type to be fickle?

What do these two mean?

She found it sudden and had spent an entire evening processing the fact that Fu Mingyu was now her boyfriend.

Si Xiaozhen: So, is it him or not?

Bian Xuan: See, I knew it.

Ruan Sixian: “…”

Si Xiaozhen: Ah! So it is President Fu! Tell us the details, what happened?

Ruan Sixian: What’s there to say? It’s just what it is.

Si Xiaozhen: I mean, I want to know how a CEO-type person confesses his love. Was it super cool?

Confession?

Ruan Sixian thought about it. Apart from tonight’s “Don’t you know what type I like?” Fu Mingyu didn’t seem to have made any proper confession.

No wonder she felt something was missing.

Tonight’s words didn’t count.

Without a formal confession, she wasn’t even sure what Fu Mingyu’s feelings for her were.

He seemed to have never said the word “like” even once and just went straight to action.

Ruan Sixian: There wasn’t one.

Bian Xuan: CEOs are all about efficiency after all, their confidence is rock solid.

Indeed confident, pursuing someone without even a confession.

The next morning, Ruan Sixian was still dwelling on this.

She felt she was being a bit stubborn, but she had gotten together with someone without even hearing a proper confession.

Not only was there no confession, but on their first day as an official couple, he had praised a female celebrity’s looks on TV right in front of her.

Oh, and not just that, he could even call out her name instantly.

A name that even she, as someone who frequently browsed Weibo, couldn’t recall.

Ruan Sixian suddenly realized: did she know too little about Fu Mingyu?

Other people practically investigated a household registration book before getting a boyfriend, while she knew almost nothing about her boyfriend except his name, age, and job.

However, today she had a long-haul flight, so these thoughts were forcibly pushed to the back of her mind the moment she entered the World Airlines building.

This flight was to Xi City, and the assigned captain was a middle-aged man. Whether due to genetics or something else, at about fifty years old, his hair was almost completely white.

Moreover, he was an extremely serious person who rarely smiled. From the pre-flight coordination meeting to boarding, he barely spoke.

Even after entering the cockpit, he only said, “I hope nothing goes wrong today,” with a slight hint of distrust toward Ruan Sixian.

Ruan Sixian had encountered this kind of situation before and didn’t take it to heart.

But it was as if his words had jinxed them because today’s flight did encounter a problem.

Seven minutes after takeoff, Ruan Sixian, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, suddenly heard a loud bang.

She immediately turned to look at the captain.

The captain also glanced at her, pressed his headset, and tried to listen carefully for any other sounds.

By this time, Ruan Sixian had already smelled a burnt odor.

“Captain, we may have had a bird strike.”

This meant the plane had been hit by a bird.

Despite how large an aircraft is, in the sky, it’s quite vulnerable to birds.

Although birds are small, the plane’s speed is fast enough, especially during the climb, that a collision with a bird produces enough kinetic energy to damage an engine.

Not to mention she could already smell burning, so the situation wasn’t optimistic.

The serious captain didn’t say much even now, just looked at the instrument panel and, after some consideration, made a decision.

“Contact the tower, we’re returning.”

A 0.45-kilogram bird colliding with an aircraft traveling at 800 kilometers per hour can produce an impact force of 153 kilograms, and now they couldn’t estimate the size of the bird, plus their aircraft speed was more than 800 kilometers per hour.

Returning now was to ensure safety.

Although this situation was rare, it was still within a controllable range. At least the plane still had another engine to ensure flight, so Ruan Sixian wasn’t panicked, only somewhat reflective that in just over half a year of sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, she had already encountered two abnormal situations.

One diversion, one return.

It was quite a rich resume.

But she didn’t expect the real trouble would come after successfully returning.

The flight was originally scheduled to reach Xi City in three hours, and there were many passengers with connecting flights.

Although the captain had notified the cabin half an hour after deciding to return, when the plane finally docked at Jiangcheng International Airport two and a half hours later, passenger emotions were somewhat difficult to control.

A flight attendant came into the cockpit, saying passengers were blocking the cabin door and demanding an explanation.

The captain sighed, rubbed his shoulders, and stood up saying, “Let’s go, let’s see what’s happening.”

When necessary, the two of them would need to stand outside with the cabin crew to apologize to the passengers.

However, before Ruan Sixian and the captain reached the cabin door, they heard a middle-aged man’s loud shouting.

His voice was extremely loud, with a tinge of crying, completely drowning out the explanations of others.

When they went out, they saw that it was indeed a very burly middle-aged man.

Ni Tong, the chief flight attendant for this flight, was patiently bowing and explaining to him over and over: “Sir, please remain calm. This flight encountered a bird strike, and the return was for safety considerations…”

“I don’t believe a single bird could crash a plane. Such a big aircraft, who are you trying to fool!” The man loudly interrupted Ni Tong. “How can you ask me to remain calm? My father is now lying on his deathbed in my hometown, waiting for me to see him one last time. You’re making it so I can’t see my father for the last time…”

At this point, the man could no longer control his emotions and directly broke into loud sobs.

Ni Tong said once again, “We will arrange a replacement flight as soon as possible.”

“Replace, replace, replace! Can my father wait that long?” The man could barely stand, swaying against the cabin door. Seeing two people in pilot uniforms coming out from behind, he immediately pointed at them saying, “I knew an old man and a woman weren’t reliable. What bird strike, it’s your problem! You’re making me regret it for the rest of my life! Don’t you have fathers? You’re making it so I can’t see my father for the last time!”

Hearing these words, Ruan Sixian’s footsteps faltered slightly.

She turned to look at the captain, whose expression wasn’t optimistic either.

The woman standing next to the man was his wife. She wasn’t as agitated as he was and seemed a bit embarrassed by his outburst. She unscrewed a thermos and handed it to him, “Drink some water first. What’s the use of shouting here?”

The thermos contained boiling water. As it was brought to the man’s mouth, his emotions calmed slightly, and he blew on the spout.

His wife then turned to ask Ni Tong, “So when can you arrange a new flight for us?”

Ni Tong and the captain exchanged a glance, and she frowned as she said, “That’s still uncertain at the moment. Based on experience, if we’re quick, we might be able to take off this afternoon, or…”

Before she could finish, the man, hearing the words “take off this afternoon,” glared with bloodshot eyes and splashed the water from the thermos toward Ni Tong.

Ni Tong screamed and fell backward. Ruan Sixian was quick to react, pulling Ni Tong to the side. While this prevented the boiling water from hitting Ni Tong’s face, both Ni Tong’s chest and Ruan Sixian’s neck were not so fortunate.

The security officer reacted quickly enough to subdue the man, but then a passenger behind, in a panic to leave, pushed the crowd, causing the man who had thrown the water to fall with the thermos.

All at once, chaos erupted at the cabin door.

The scalding hot water instantly burned a large area of skin, stinging fiercely. With the chaotic shouting in her ears, Ruan Sixian tightly closed her eyes, her mind buzzing.

“They’re hitting people! They’re hitting people! The airline is hitting people! I want to file a complaint against you!”

There are priorities in all matters, and the entire crew and the troublemaking passengers still had to resolve their conflict first.

The airport manager and the manager of World Airlines’ business department both arrived, and it took nearly an hour to coordinate the situation.

By the time Ruan Sixian and Ni Tong emerged, the hot water on their clothes had long since cooled.

Ni Tong had only been splashed on her chest, and with clothes to protect her, her situation was slightly better.

Ruan Sixian, however, had suffered on her bare neck, which was still bright red.

They went to the aviation medical office to check the situation and apply medicine. When they came out, both had very low spirits.

Ni Tong directly broke down in tears.

“Who’s to blame for this? If there’s a problem with the plane and we fly anyway, does he want the whole plane to accompany him to his grave? How can there be such unreasonable people? Every month, every year, what am I doing this for?”

She wiped her tears with her hand, sobbing as she said, “Everything is by passenger standards. A hundred passengers saying it’s good doesn’t compare to one passenger saying it’s bad in terms of our score. We have to endure scolding and anger, get all sorts of occupational diseases, and run to the hospital for treatment whenever we’re off duty. Who else has such a dense medical record at our young age? The extra money we earn all goes to the hospital.”

Originally, at the mediation, Ruan Sixian had already been scolded by that man, pointing at her nose for quite a while. Now with Ni Tong’s complaints filling her ears, her mood became increasingly low.

Every time she sat in the cockpit, with the boundless sky ahead and the safety of hundreds of lives behind, the responsibility and pressure could be replaced by passion.

But when encountering situations like this, with prejudice, distrust, and unreasonable behavior following one after another, anyone would be flooded with negative emotions.

However, Ruan Sixian was used to self-regulating her emotions, and at this moment, she still had to comfort Ni Tong.

“Let it go. If he complains, he complains. After verification, nothing will happen. You’ve already done very well.”

Walking to the elevator area, Ni Tong’s emotions finally subsided, but when her phone rang and she saw it was her mother’s call, she immediately answered with a tearful voice.

“Mom, I almost died of anger today…”

Even when the elevator reached the 14th floor, Ruan Sixian could still hear Ni Tong complaining to her mother.

Ruan Sixian rubbed her nose and took out her phone to check it. There was no activity.

No calls from family was one thing.

But what about her boyfriend? Where was her boyfriend at this moment? Where was that mysterious boyfriend she knew nothing about?

As the elevator doors slowly opened, Ruan Sixian looked up and saw her mysterious boyfriend striding toward her.

Oh, he’s still alive.

The moment he saw her, Fu Mingyu paused, then quickened his pace.

Ruan Sixian took a step forward, exiting the elevator.

Fu Mingyu stopped in front of her, glanced at her neck, said nothing, and pulled her to turn around and leave, completely ignoring Ni Tong beside her, treating her as if she were invisible.

Ruan Sixian was pulled all the way to his office, where several assistants sat outside, all keeping their eyes fixed straight ahead, pretending not to see this scene.

The automatic door slowly closed after Ruan Sixian stepped inside.

Fu Mingyu led her to sit on the sofa, concentrated on looking at her neck for a while, then reached out to unbutton her shirt.

“?”

Ruan Sixian immediately protected her neck.

“What are you doing?”

“Let me see.” Fu Mingyu pulled her hand away, undid two buttons, opened her collar, and his fingertips gently slid across Ruan Sixian’s skin. “Does it still hurt?”

Isn’t that a stupid question?

Ruan Sixian didn’t answer.

Her hands at the side of her legs unconsciously curled up.

More than the pain in her neck, what she felt now was embarrassment.

With her collar pulled open, her black bra strap was exposed.

“What did the aviation doctor say?” Fu Mingyu looked for a while, then methodically buttoned her shirt back up.

“It’s fine, not serious.”

Ruan Sixian looked up at him. “Um… I’m going to be reported on.”

“Mm.” Fu Mingyu said, “I know. It’s not your fault; the complaint won’t be effective.”

“Oh.” Ruan Sixian asked, “What if he’s a VIP client?”

Then the complaint would be effective immediately.

“If he’s a VIP, I can also be partial.” Fu Mingyu sat down beside her. “It wouldn’t be the first time anyway.”

Perhaps because of this clear “favoritism,” the emotions Ruan Sixian had already self-regulated suddenly surfaced again.

That little bit of unfair accusation, knowing it wasn’t her fault, was suddenly magnified, and slowly, she began to feel extremely, extremely wrong.

She lowered her head, twisted her neck a bit, and gave a quiet “mm.”

“It seems there are benefits to being the boss’s girlfriend.”

“You’re only realizing this now?”

Ruan Sixian looked up into his eyes, black whirlpools reflecting her image.

In her heart, she slowly circled back to what she had been thinking about last night—Fu Mingyu still owed her a confession.

But asking about it now seemed somewhat redundant.

“Fu Mingyu, let me tell you something.”

“Mm?”

“If one day you stop liking me, let me know. In-person, a phone call, or even a text message is fine.”

“…”

“I won’t cling to you, and I won’t ask for breakup compensation.”

“…”

“But you can’t go back on the double annual salary you promised me, which is written in the contract.”

“…”

Ruan Sixian tugged at his tie. “Say something, will you?”

Fu Mingyu felt somewhat of a headache.

Ruan Sixian usually didn’t seem like a woman who would cling and ask “Do you love me,” but once she asked, it was a deadly question.

How should he answer this?

Answer “okay”—death.

Answer “not okay”—death without an intact corpse.

“Why are you cursing us to break up?”

Ruan Sixian pulled on his tie and shook it. “Just saying.”

Fu Mingyu wasn’t paying attention to what she was saying anymore; his thoughts were concentrated on her hand tugging at his tie.

Did she not know or was she pretending not to know that pulling and shaking a man’s tie was an incredibly seductive act?

He moved closer, holding Ruan Sixian’s hand on his tie to stop her from moving it.

“If you don’t tell me first and seek new love elsewhere, I’ll…”

Ruan Sixian paused, looking at Fu Mingyu who was extremely close to her.

Wait, I’m talking about something serious, why are you getting so close?

“You’ll what?” Fu Mingyu asked.

“I’ll—”

Send you wreaths along a ten-mile-long street, with your memorial hall in the center.

“Just forget it.”

She finished with a smile and blinked.