Summer rain is like a woman’s temper, coming without warning.

Si Xiaozhen carefully parked her car in the parking lot and entered the elevator.

When she rang the doorbell, Ruan Sixian had just finished eating and was cleaning up the table.

Si Xiaozhen walked in and saw a large amount of leftover food on the table.

These barely touched dishes still looked fresh and vibrant. Ruan Sixian opened the refrigerator to put away half of them, only to find it was already almost full.

Si Xiaozhen came over to help her pour the food into small bowls and asked, “Why did you order so much food for yourself?”

She picked up a plate and looked at it, “And it’s from Xi Xiang Yan too. How extravagant.”

“Someone else ordered it,” Ruan Sixian said, “I wasn’t eating alone.”

“Who came over?” Si Xiaozhen closed the refrigerator, then turned and saw the claypot rice on the coffee table. “Why is there claypot rice too?”

Ruan Sixian wiped the table with efficient movements and instead of answering, she asked, “Why did you come? Hand me the trash can.”

Si Xiaozhen did as told, still chattering, “There was an accident on the elevated highway today. I checked the traffic and it might be jammed for a long time, and then it started raining heavily, so I just came to your place to rest for a while. Oh, I just saw President Yan from our North Aviation outside.”

Ruan Sixian responded with an “Oh,” and Si Xiaozhen asked again, “Is he still pursuing you?”

After saying this, Si Xiaozhen paused, “Did you just have dinner with him?”

“No, how could that be possible? I’ve already made things clear with him. He just called me tonight because he’d been drinking too much. We didn’t meet.”

Ruan Sixian cleaned the table completely and walked toward the kitchen, dropping a sentence behind her: “The one who came over for dinner was Fu Mingyu.”

By the time she finished washing her hands and came out, Si Xiaozhen was still standing in the same spot with an expression that said “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

Ruan Sixian asked.

“What’s wrong with YOU?” Si Xiaozhen asked back, “President Fu came to your home for dinner?”

“Yes, it was him. You heard correctly.”

“Why did he come over?”

Ruan Sixian didn’t answer immediately.

Why did he come over?

Because I think he wants to flirt with me.

“…to discuss work.”

“…?”

Si Xiaozhen froze for a moment, then uttered a syllable to express her emotion.

—”Huh?”

“You discuss work at home?”

“No, I was too tired today, and he was accommodating me.”

Si Xiaozhen nodded half-believingly, thought for a moment, then looked at Ruan Sixian suggestively: “President Fu is considerate of his employees, isn’t he?”

Ruan Sixian shot her a look, and Si Xiaozhen immediately said seriously, “But it looks like neither of you ate much?”

“That’s not the point. I was so angry today.”

“Huh? What?”

Ruan Sixian pulled Si Xiaozhen to sit down and told her about what happened that day, explaining why the dishes were barely touched.

She found that her memory was exceptionally good today, recounting their conversation word for word.

But.

As she continued retelling, her voice gradually became quieter, and finally, touching her chest, she cautiously asked, “Was my temper not very good today?”

“I don’t know if your temper was good or not, but I think President Fu’s temper is really good.”

Now calmly recalling, she realized that it did seem to be the case.

Ruan Sixian touched her lower abdomen, “Is my period about to come?”

Without waiting for Si Xiaozhen to answer, she opened her period tracking app to check, and indeed it was.

Ruan Sixian secretly bit her fingernail.

Beside her, Si Xiaozhen continued chattering: “Why were you getting angry for no reason? Although his tone wasn’t very good, I think you just transferred your frustration about Zheng You’an onto him. Sigh, I think you’re just…”

Si Xiaozhen stopped halfway, looking at Ruan Sixian’s expression, and held back from saying the remaining four words.

Others might not understand, but she believed she knew Ruan Sixian well enough.

She had lived alone with her father since she was fourteen. When she was eighteen, her father passed away, and she went to university in another city by herself. The money her father left was just enough for four years of tuition, and she had to work part-time for living expenses. There were no relatives in the family, and she was unwilling to live with her mother. In such circumstances, a beautiful girl with no money or power had a harder time than ordinary people, because there were always people with ill intentions watching her.

This environment forced her to be more independent than others and made it harder for her to easily trust people. She often processed many emotions silently by herself, presenting a façade of happiness to the outside world.

But living like this for a long time, once she encountered a container that could unconditionally hold all her emotions, she would recklessly pour all her temper into it.

So Si Xiaozhen felt that she was just used to Fu Mingyu’s unlimited tolerance, and thus vented all her dissatisfaction with Zheng You’an and anger towards Dong Xian onto Fu Mingyu.

As the saying goes…

“Finish what you were saying,” Ruan Sixian waited for a long time without hearing the rest of Si Xiaozhen’s words and asked, “What about me?”

“I think you’re just…” Si Xiaozhen suddenly sped up, “taking advantage of his affection.”

“What did you say?”

“I said you’re taking advantage of his affection! Taking advantage of his affection!”

After she spoke, the room suddenly fell silent.

Ruan Sixian looked at Si Xiaozhen, their eyes met, and neither said a word.

And only Ruan Sixian herself knew that her heart had briefly stirred.

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Ruan Sixian rolled her eyes, “Learn a few idioms and can’t wait to show off.”

Si Xiaozhen shrugged her shoulders, rolled her eyes, and laughed dryly, “Whatever you say. I’m not leaving today. I’ll take a shower first.”

After walking a few steps, she turned back and said, “I suggest you read ‘Nonviolent Communication’.”

“Why are you so talkative today?”

“Got it, got it!!”

Si Xiaozhen ran into the bathroom with quick steps and closed the door with a “bang.”

The living room became quiet.

Ruan Sixian slowly lifted her legs and curled up on the sofa. As if possessed, she opened Baidu and searched for “Nonviolent Communication.”

She flipped to the table of contents.

Chapter One, “Letting Love Flow Into Life.”

Chapter Two, “What Blinds Love?”

?

What kind of book is this?

What’s all this about love?

Ruan Sixian angrily closed the webpage and started playing a match-three game.

After failing to clear a level several times, she found the game boring.

Ruan Sixian quit the game, opened WeChat, and scrolled through moments. Surprisingly, for the first time, she saw that Fu Mingyu had updated his status.

He had shared a link—”Asia’s Largest Aircraft Hangar Officially Tops Out at Jiangcheng New Airport, World Aviation Jiangcheng New Airport Base Construction Enters New Phase.”

He is a calm, self-disciplined workaholic.

Maybe she should like his post, especially since she had lost her temper with him earlier due to her approaching period.

Ruan Sixian moved her finger, feeling that the gesture still wasn’t sincere enough.

Although she often bristled at Fu Mingyu, one thing was separate from another, and Fu Mingyu was indeed quite innocent today.

So Ruan Sixian also left a comment: [Thumbs up][Thumbs up][Thumbs up]

She touched her nose, thinking that Fu Mingyu was not the type to reply to comments, especially such a meaningless one.

After waiting for a while, sure enough, there was no response.

Ruan Sixian suddenly realized that she had never actually looked at Fu Mingyu’s moments before and didn’t know what someone like him would usually post.

She clicked to view his profile.

Five months ago: “World Aviation Holds Spring Route Product Promotion Conference”

One year ago: “World Aviation HCC Opens to the Public, Unveiling the Secret of Jiangcheng Hub’s Efficient Summer Operation”

Two years ago: “World Aviation Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Qatar Airways, Reaching Code-Sharing Cooperation”

Very well, the CEO persona remains intact.

At the young age of 28, he was living like he was 48.

After exiting his profile, Ruan Sixian hesitated slightly but still sent him a message.

[Ruan Sixian]: I’m sorry.

He quickly replied.

[Ruan Sixian]: I was in a bad mood today, I didn’t mean to lose my temper with you.

After waiting for a few seconds, Ruan Sixian saw the header showing “The other party is typing.”

But after quite a while, what she got was, “In a meeting, noted.”

“…”

Fine then.

The next day happened to be Si Xiaozhen’s day off. Since she was already there, she naturally wouldn’t let Ruan Sixian off the hook and dragged her out.

Ruan Sixian was tired and didn’t feel like moving much, so the two went to see a movie in the afternoon.

Afterward, they went for a hotpot as Si Xiaozhen had wished.

“Ah, I’m so full. Let’s walk around a bit. Even if we go to Bian Xuan’s place now, she won’t be open yet.”

“I want to go home!”

“It’s a nice weekend, don’t be a spoilsport.”

Si Xiaozhen insisted on looking at clothes on the third floor below, trying one store after another, taking four or five pieces of clothing into the fitting room at once.

While waiting for Si Xiaozhen, Ruan Sixian sat on the sofa playing with her phone.

After several rounds of the match-three game, scrolling through moments, and checking the logistics information on Taobao, Si Xiaozhen still hadn’t come out.

Bored, Ruan Sixian opened Weibo again and scrolled through all the new messages.

Sometimes, as if out of habit, after checking Weibo, she would click on “Recently Visited” to look at Zheng You’an’s Weibo.

Just yesterday, Zheng You’an updated a Weibo post, showing a photo signed by a celebrity.

“Ahhhhh!!!! My mom went to an exhibition abroad and got me a signed photo!!!! Ahhhhh!!!! I love my mom!!!!”

Just then, Si Xiaozhen came out of the fitting room wearing a black dress and stood in front of Ruan Sixian.

“How’s this one?”

Ruan Sixian closed her phone screen and nodded, “It’s good.”

“Great, I’ll take this one then, no more hesitation.”

Si Xiaozhen ran back to the fitting room to change.

Ruan Sixian opened her phone again but didn’t continue looking. She exited Weibo.

On the way to Bian Xuan’s store after buying clothes, Si Xiaozhen noticed that Ruan Sixian seemed to be in low spirits.

“What’s wrong?”

Ruan Sixian walked slowly.

The night market was bustling and lively, with the smell of cooking oil wafting about, full of the atmosphere of everyday life that could help people relax.

“Nothing, just a bit tired.”

Seeing that they were almost at Bian Xuan’s store, Si Xiaozhen hesitated for a moment and said, “Should we go back then?”

Looking up, they could already see the sign for Bian Xuan’s bar.

Ruan Sixian shook her head, “Since we’re already here, let’s sit for a while.”

Si Xiaozhen nodded hesitantly, “Okay… there’s a band performance tonight, let’s stay for a bit.”

As soon as they pushed the door open, Bian Xuan was passing by with a tray in her hands.

“You’re here? Quick, help me tidy up the bar counter, it’s a mess!”

She left immediately, showing no mercy.

Ruan Sixian and Si Xiaozhen dutifully went to clean up the bar for her.

About ten minutes later, Bian Xuan walked over with a smile, squeezing in between Si Xiaozhen and Ruan Sixian, “Today I’ll let you try a new product that hasn’t been released yet. You’re the first to taste it.”

Her movements were exceptionally clean as she mixed drinks with ice and shook them. Soon she had made two orange-colored drinks.

“Brand new product, Sunset Boulevard, want to try?”

Si Xiaozhen was the first to take a sip.

“How many degrees is this?”

“Hmm…” Bian Xuan thought for a moment, “About the same as a Long Island Iced Tea, I guess.”

Si Xiaozhen almost spat out her drink.

“Long Island Iced Tea? That’s a strong drink! How does this taste so sweet?”

“How is it? Not bad, right?” Bian Xuan raised her eyebrows, “Female customers will definitely like it. The alcohol content is sufficient, but it tastes good.”

“It’s okay.” Si Xiaozhen couldn’t resist taking another sip, then turned to ask Ruan Sixian, “Do you want to try a bit?”

Ruan Sixian took it and had a big gulp. Only after swallowing it for a while did she blink her eyes, “Is this alcohol? Why is it so sweet?”

With two girls saying the same thing, Bian Xuan also became hesitant. She took a sip herself and said awkwardly, “Oh, I put too much honey…”

“…”

“…”

“Just consider it honey water! Good for beauty and skin!”

Bian Xuan was about to pour it away, “Forget it, I’ll make a new one.”

“Don’t waste it, give it to me.” Ruan Sixian reached out to her, “I can only handle this kind of taste anyway.”

Bian Xuan was of course delighted and gave the drink to Ruan Sixian, then turned to Si Xiaozhen and said, “I’ll make you another one, okay?”

Soon after, the band came out to perform, and the atmosphere in the bar heated up.

Si Xiaozhen held her drink, sitting at the bar and humming along with the band through an entire song.

“Hey, this resident singer is kind of cute, just a bit too short. If he were taller…” She was speaking while looking at Ruan Sixian, “How did you finish it already?”

Si Xiaozhen incredulously picked up the empty glass in front of her and shook it, “Although this tastes like honey water, it’s still alcohol! It’s alcohol!”

It was no use saying anything now, as the person in front of her already had a completely red face.

“Hmm… it tastes good.”

Ruan Sixian rested her chin on her hand and smiled at her, “Why aren’t you drinking?”

Si Xiaozhen: “…Are you in a bad mood today?”

Ruan Sixian smiled and shook her head, “No, I’m not.”

“Tell me honestly, what is there that you can’t tell me?” Si Xiaozhen reached out to touch her face, which was a bit hot, “Is it that your mother contacted you?”

Ruan Sixian shook her head again: “No, she didn’t.”

Si Xiaozhen suddenly fell silent, just looking into Ruan Sixian’s eyes, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

This “no, she didn’t” made her heartache.

“It’s okay, Ruan Ruan.” Si Xiaozhen helped her fix her hair, “Let’s go, I’ll take you home.”

“We’re leaving already?”

“Let’s go, get to bed early, otherwise, you’ll get dizzy.”

“Mm, okay.”

Ruan Sixian didn’t want to stay any longer either. She now only felt her head spinning, so she grabbed her bag and stood up.

Si Xiaozhen reached out to support her, but she waved her hand away.

She wasn’t so intoxicated from one drink that she couldn’t walk.

But Si Xiaozhen was still worried, so she took a taxi and dropped her off at the entrance of Mingchen Apartments.

“Take it slow on your way up.”

Ruan Sixian waved out the car window: “Mm, get back early, and let me know when you arrive.”

“I will.”

Now that they’d reached her doorstep, Si Xiaozhen had nothing to worry about. Besides, she had seen Ruan Sixian drink before and knew that although she couldn’t hold her liquor well, she wouldn’t completely lose her ability to act and think.

And when she drank, she would become soft and especially gentle.

Watching the taxi drive out of sight, Ruan Sixian turned and walked towards home.

The night breeze was very comfortable. Around the glow of the street lamps, many small insects were flying in groups, like the alley where she lived as a child, where the brightest lamp always attracted the most mosquitoes. Ruan Sixian would instinctively avoid that spot whenever she passed by.

But sometimes she wouldn’t notice and would rush right into them, scaring herself half to death.

Just like now.

Ruan Sixian hurriedly stepped back and walked around them.

After taking two steps, she looked back.

When she was young and didn’t watch where she was going, Dong Xian would gently pat her head but never scold her.

She had always been a very gentle mother, with such a good temper that the neighbors’ children envied Ruan Sixian.

She never scolded children, never hit them, and would never say unpleasant things after receiving test scores.

She was always patient in explaining things.

What child wouldn’t envy such a mother?

So Ruan Sixian envied Zheng You’an very much.

Had always envied her.

Taking the elevator upstairs, Ruan Sixian stood at the elevator exit, leaning against the wall for a while.

She rarely drank alcohol and didn’t know that it was particularly inadvisable to be exposed to wind after drinking.

Especially for someone like her with poor alcohol tolerance, a bit of wind blowing on her head made that dizzy feeling even stronger.

She lowered her head and slowly walked to her door. The voice-activated light had already turned on, and there was a silhouette at the door.

Ruan Sixian looked carefully.

Fu Mingyu.

Why was he here?

While Ruan Sixian was stunned, Fu Mingyu turned and saw her, then walked towards her.

He stopped one step away from her.

Just as Ruan Sixian was about to speak, he suddenly bent down and leaned closer to her, so close that Ruan Sixian could feel his breath.

“Have you been drinking?”

Fu Mingyu slowly stood straight, looking at Ruan Sixian.

“Mm.”

“Why are you drinking again?”

Again?

This year she had only drunk twice in total—once at the graduation gathering with classmates from flight school, and the other time was today. How could that be considered “again”?

Ruan Sixian lowered her head without speaking.

The voice-activated light went out due to the silence of the two, making it hard to see clearly. All that remained was the olfactory perception of Fu Mingyu’s scent.

Ruan Sixian felt that this atmosphere was a bit strange, so she stomped her foot, awakening the voice-activated light, and said in a low voice, “Bad mood.”

From this angle, Fu Mingyu could only see Ruan Sixian’s lowered eyelashes, casting faint shadows on her lower eyelids.

He softened his voice and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Just in a bad mood.”

“Still angry?”

Ruan Sixian looked up at him, her eyes misty, her cheeks flushed, without her usual aura.

“Why are you here?”

“I sent you a message, but you didn’t reply.”

“Oh, I didn’t check my phone. Do you need something from me?”

Fu Mingyu’s gaze fell on Ruan Sixian’s face, examining it bit by bit, and noticed that there was a fallen leaf stuck in her hair by her ear.

He reached out to pick it off while asking, “Are you still angry?”

That cold fir fragrance on him approached Ruan Sixian along with this movement.

She was slightly stunned, as Fu Mingyu’s wrist flashed before her eyes, but the cold fir scent lingered for a long time.

“Hmm?”

Ruan Sixian asked, “What am I angry about?”

“Zheng You’an.”

Ruan Sixian opened and closed her mouth, suddenly feeling a pang in her heart.

At the same time, she was also puzzled—what did Fu Mingyu know?

She looked at Fu Mingyu in confusion: “Why would I be angry with her?”

Fu Mingyu lowered his eyes to look at her, his gaze thoughtful.

“Then why have you been in such a bad mood these days?”

?

Ruan Sixian carefully pondered this sentence.

Angry at Zheng You’an?

In a bad mood?

Could it be…

After thinking for several seconds, a wave of heat rushed to Ruan Sixian’s head.

So, all this time Fu Mingyu thought she was jealous?

Jealous of Zheng You’an?

Jealous of him?

“Were you… a plate in your past life? How can your face be so big?”