Ruan Sixian’s hand remained suspended in midair, her mind still not having processed what had just happened, swirling with a jumble of emotions.

Shock, horror, guilt, and a touch of… sympathy.

The slap wasn’t particularly loud, but it attracted the attention of nearby patrons who turned to look.

Then one after another, almost everyone in the bar looked over, whispering to each other, their interest in the drama intense.

Bian Xuan recovered from the shock, grabbed some ice cubes within reach, quickly wrapped them in a cloth, and rushed over to hand them to Ruan Sixian.

Ruan Sixian’s heart was still pounding. Seeing Bian Xuan’s gesture, she didn’t think much and reached out to press the ice against Fu Mingyu’s cheek.

But he tilted his head slightly, avoiding the ice pack, and looked straight at Ruan Sixian.

“Do you feel better now?”

When Fu Mingyu asked this for the second time, the explanation that had already reached Ruan Sixian’s throat was swallowed back down.

She pressed her tongue against her lower jaw, remained silent for a moment, then nodded and said, “Yes, I feel better.”

“Good, we’re even now.” Fu Mingyu had no extra words, not even an extra glance, and simply turned to walk out.

Bian Xuan couldn’t quite understand what had happened.

“Wait, why didn’t you explain to him? You didn’t mean to hit him, it was a misunderstanding! What are you doing? He’s your boss!”

Bian Xuan’s chatter filled her ears, but Ruan Sixian was still watching Fu Mingyu’s retreating figure.

Only after he closed the door did Ruan Sixian say, “If I explained to him that I hit the wrong person, that I didn’t mean to hit him, then what? This matter between us would never end.”

Bian Xuan nodded with partial understanding, “So by admitting it, this matter is completely over?”

“Yes.”

It was only now that Ruan Sixian understood that Fu Mingyu’s sudden change in attitude toward her previously must have been because he learned about that incident.

But this person was accustomed to arrogance, and perhaps never thought about apologizing to her.

However, his indulgence toward her over these days could be considered a special kind of apology.

And she realized she might not be angry anymore, but this matter still seemed to lack a clear resolution point. Rather than remaining entangled like this, it was better to let this slap serve as a turning point, completely closing the chapter on past events.

“Anyway, it’s over for me.”

Bian Xuan couldn’t understand what she meant even after thinking for a while. She looked at the time and waved her away, “Forget it, go home and rest. Don’t you have a flight tomorrow?”

Ruan Sixian was indeed tired. She picked up her bag to head home.

However, when she pushed open the door, she saw Fu Mingyu still standing by the roadside.

Fu Mingyu’s driver had taken Zheng You’an home, and at this late hour, he couldn’t be bothered to call someone to pick him up.

He raised his head to look at the distant traffic, and from Ruan Sixian’s angle, she could see the distinct handprint on his face in the dim, flickering light.

“…”

Was my slap really that powerful?

There was only one spot to wait for taxis, so Ruan Sixian had to stand there too.

Sensing someone beside him, Fu Mingyu turned to look. Their eyes met, but neither seemed to know what to say, so they both tactfully averted their gaze.

An awkward atmosphere suddenly enveloped them completely.

The summer night was thick, even the evening breeze carried a scorching heat. Standing outdoors for just this short while, Ruan Sixian already felt sweat forming on her body.

Fortunately, a taxi finally arrived.

The driver stopped in front of the two and leaned out to ask, “Need a ride?”

Fu Mingyu turned and said, “You first?”

Ruan Sixian replied, “You go first.”

As she spoke, her eyes glanced at Fu Mingyu’s face.

Fu Mingyu turned his head away, not letting her see.

“You first.”

“You go ahead, I can wait a bit longer.”

One had delivered a slap, one had received it, yet here they were being courteous to each other—quite surreal.

After two exchanges, Fu Mingyu calmly nodded, opened the car door, and got in.

“To Mingchen Apartments.”

The driver agreed but then asked outside, “Miss, where are you going? Is Mingchen Apartments on your way?”

Ruan Sixian thought Fu Mingyu probably didn’t want to see her right now, so she shook her head and said, “You can go first, I’ll wait for another car.”

The driver made an “oh” sound and was about to step on the gas when Fu Mingyu looked through the window toward her.

After looking for a few seconds, he said, “Let’s go together.”

His voice was very soft, almost a whisper, with a hint of fatigue. Ruan Sixian almost had to read his lips to understand.

“Okay.”

The ride was silent. Even after returning to the apartment and entering the elevator, they had no communication. The enclosed space was even more awkward than in the taxi.

But as they stood side by side facing the elevator doors, Ruan Sixian accidentally caught sight of Fu Mingyu’s face in the mirror.

Was this man’s skin too fair? The handprint was startlingly obvious.

Back home, Ruan Sixian was both exhausted and hungry. She took off her shoes and headed to the bathroom.

Just as she was about to undress for a shower, she noticed a bottle of essence on the vanity.

It was her favorite essence, targeted at skin repair with very noticeable effects.

After some thought, she took the bottle and went out, stopping by the kitchen to grab a bucket of ice cubes.

But when she stood outside the elevator, she realized that while she had seen him press the 16th floor button in the elevator, she didn’t know which unit he lived in.

She messaged Fu Mingyu directly. [Ruan Sixian]: Which unit is yours?

After a few minutes with no response, she asked Bai Yang and quickly got an answer.

Two minutes later, she rang the doorbell of unit 1601.

The hallway was quiet. Ruan Sixian looked down at her toes, thinking about the handprint on Fu Mingyu’s face.

He was such a proud person; he might not even open the door if he saw it was her on the monitor.

Just as this thought formed, the door in front of her clicked open.

Fu Mingyu had changed into loose clothing. Standing at the door, he noticed what Ruan Sixian was holding, and when his gaze returned to her face, his eyes held complex emotions that were difficult to describe.

“Coming to check on your patient?”

“…”

Ruan Sixian didn’t deny it and directly handed him the items. “You should apply this, it will be much better by tomorrow.”

As for the ice cubes, Fu Mingyu looked at her other hand. “What’s that?”

“Repair essence, it works well.”

Fu Mingyu tugged at the corner of his mouth, took the ice bucket from her hand, and said flatly, “I don’t need that.”

He turned back into the apartment. The door wasn’t closed, so Ruan Sixian followed him in, saying, “It works well, I’ve tested it myself!”

Fu Mingyu paused, turned to look at her, and frowned. “Do you get slapped often?”

?

Ruan Sixian: “…No! It’s just that some of our previous flight routes had severe high-altitude radiation, and my face would get red.”

Fu Mingyu placed the ice bucket directly on the coffee table, sat on the sofa, lounged back against the soft cushion, and showed no expression.

“Then help me apply it.”

Ruan Sixian was only briefly stunned before walking to the sofa and sitting beside Fu Mingyu.

Seeing her approach so naturally, Fu Mingyu became a bit uncomfortable.

He pressed his lips tightly together and turned his face away.

Ruan Sixian busied herself with the bottle, squeezed the thick liquid onto her palm, then used the index finger of her other hand to dab a bit and gently apply it to his face.

However, when her fingertip touched his skin, Ruan Sixian’s movement paused.

Such an obvious handprint probably couldn’t be eliminated anytime soon. As a director, how would he face people tomorrow?

Sensing her hesitation, Fu Mingyu turned to look at her, narrowing his eyes.

“What’s wrong, feeling sorry now?”

?

What’s with this person?

“No,” Ruan Sixian immediately said, “I was just thinking, I don’t have abnormally strong hands, so why was the impact so powerful?”

Fu Mingyu made a light snorting sound.

Ruan Sixian again dabbed some essence, bit by bit, carefully applying it to his cheek.

The summer night’s insect chirping rose and fell continuously, passing through the windows along with Fu Mingyu’s breathing sounds into Ruan Sixian’s ears.

She was very gentle, so gentle it was like tickling. Fu Mingyu endured for several minutes but finally couldn’t bear it anymore and frowned.

“Am I pressing too hard?”

Fu Mingyu pondered for a moment. “No, continue.”

Ruan Sixian made an “oh” sound, but her touch became even lighter.

Fu Mingyu’s brow remained furrowed, and his breathing gradually quickened.

Seeing this, Ruan Sixian’s movements became even gentler.

Finally, Fu Mingyu couldn’t take it anymore and said, “Are you applying medicine or caressing me?”

Ruan Sixian: “…”

She suddenly pressed his face a little harder. “What do you think?”

Fu Mingyu hissed and looked at Ruan Sixian through gritted teeth. “Are you even a woman?”

“If I were a man, this slap might have killed you.”

Fu Mingyu suddenly smiled, leaned closer to her face, and said in a deep voice, “If you were a man, would I indulge you like this?”

At that moment, they were extremely close, clearly hearing each other’s breathing and seeing their reflections in each other’s pupils.

Ruan Sixian thought about his word “indulge,” uttered in his husky voice, finely ground into her ear, lingering indefinitely.

Ruan Sixian felt he wasn’t expressing how gentlemanly he was, but rather stating a fact about their relationship—specifically about her.

She couldn’t refute his words because they were indeed facts, but she also didn’t know how to respond.

Fortunately, her stomach rescued her.

—It timely made two “gurgling” sounds.

The next morning, Ruan Sixian woke up early for her flight, returned in the afternoon, and encountered several colleagues at the entrance of her apartment. They were chatting about how today’s monthly meeting for the Flight Planning Department had been unexpectedly postponed, reason unknown, but apparently arranged by Fu Mingyu.

When Ruan Sixian heard this, she instinctively looked at her palm.

I don’t have abnormally strong hands.

Another day passed, and Ruan Sixian heard again that this month’s regular meeting for the Dispatch Department had also been canceled.

She was momentarily stunned.

Seriously? Is Fu Mingyu’s face so delicate that it hasn’t healed yet?

It wasn’t until early on the third morning, after finishing the pre-flight coordination meeting, that she caught a glimpse of Fu Mingyu’s back in the distance and finally felt relieved.

Looks like it has healed.

For this flight, she was again paired with Captain Fan. After the meeting, she went to the cafeteria with the cabin crew for breakfast.

At the table, after some casual chat, Ruan Sixian mentioned that she had been scheduled for an instructor-guided flight next week.

After becoming a co-pilot, to accumulate flight experience, the company would arrange flight instructor guidance based on flight schedules.

At that time, Ruan Sixian would sit in the pilot’s seat while the flight instructor sat beside her, supervising, guiding, and ensuring the safety of the flight.

Before this, Ruan Sixian had also been scheduled for instructor guidance, so she wasn’t too excited this time, just mentioned it casually.

Captain Fan also asked casually, “Where are you flying to?”

“Lincheng,” Ruan Sixian said. “I’m quite familiar with that route.”

“Familiar is one thing, but having an instructor beside you is still different.”

Although Captain Fan had been a captain for twenty years, he would still get nervous when occasionally encountering an instructor check or when an instructor temporarily joined his crew for convenience.

“Have you seen which instructor it is this time? Let me see if I know them. If I do, I can ask them to take extra care of you.”

Ruan Sixian recalled for a moment and said, “I don’t quite remember the name clearly, I think the surname is He?”

Captain Fan thought with his mouth open, “He Lanfeng?”

“Yes, that’s the name.”

“Him?” Captain Fan was surprised and put down his chopsticks. “Are you sure it’s him?”

“Yes, what’s wrong?”

“Then you’re in luck.” Captain Fan said, “This instructor is extraordinary. He has an Air Force background with outstanding achievements. After retiring, he joined World Airlines when the airline was just establishing its fleet. He was quite impressive, becoming the first Chief Pilot at that time. His technical skills were unmatched by most. I remember one year, due to a tower control error, the plane he was piloting nearly collided mid-air with another Airbus 320. Even the air traffic controller fainted from fear—passed out. But he managed to turn the situation around and prevented an air disaster. He was even commended by the Civil Aviation Administration at that time.”

As Captain Fan spoke, everyone at the table perked up their ears to listen.

“And what makes this senior expert so remarkable is that he excels at everything. After he became an instructor, his teaching results were also unparalleled.” Captain Fan continued, then sighed, “But later his daughter fell ill, and he wanted to spend more time at home with her, so it became very difficult to fly with him. Back then, whoever got scheduled with him would boast about it. And about four or five years ago, I heard he was hired by a foreign flight academy as an instructor. I thought he wouldn’t appear again, so why has he suddenly returned to guide flights…”

Ruan Sixian’s initial excitement had subsided, but after Captain Fan’s explanation, she became excited again, completely ignoring his confusion.

“Was it the mid-air proximity incident in 2007? I saw it on the news. So it was him!”

“Yes.” Captain Fan, seeing the anticipation in Ruan Sixian’s eyes, lowered his voice and said, “But he’s also famous for being strict. Once, a co-pilot he was guiding didn’t fly well, and he directly relegated the person to flying local traffic patterns.”

Flying local traffic patterns was also a type of training flight, but without passengers, practicing takeoffs and landings at the airport with an empty aircraft.

No co-pilot wanted to go through this, as it indicated poor skills.

A new flight attendant nearby clicked their tongue twice, “Do instructors have that much authority?”

“Whether instructors have such authority or not,” Captain Fan smiled and lowered his voice, “do you know who he is? He’s Fu President’s uncle, Fu Director’s uncle-in-law. If he wanted to demote a captain back to co-pilot, it would only take one word.”

Then he turned to look at Ruan Sixian, “So your luck is good, but you must also be careful. He’s very strict. If you make elementary mistakes, be prepared to end up flying traffic patterns too.”

Ruan Sixian nodded repeatedly: “I’ll perform well.”

Because of this, Ruan Sixian was in a good mood all day. In the afternoon, returning from her flight, she leisurely pulled her flight case home, humming a song while waiting for the elevator.

“I want to fly higher~ fly higher~ dance like a wild wind~ break free from embrace~ I want to fly higher~ fly higher…”

But the moment the elevator doors opened, Ruan Sixian’s ethereal singing came to an abrupt halt.

Fu Mingyu stood inside, holding a bag of medicine, wearing a mask, lazily looking at her.

“Would air traffic control allow you to fly that high?”

Ruan Sixian: “…”

She silently walked in, standing beside Fu Mingyu, and they didn’t exchange any words.

As the elevator slowly ascended, Ruan Sixian glanced at Fu Mingyu’s mask a couple of times, then at the medicine in his hand, and asked, “Do you have a cold?”

Fu Mingyu lowered his eyes to look at her, didn’t speak, but instead removed his mask.

“Do you think I should attend meetings like this, face my subordinates, and my employees, and be stimulating?”

Ruan Sixian: “…”

No way, after three days, Fu Mingyu’s face still had faint marks.

Her 50-kilogram arm presses hadn’t been for nothing, and her pull-ups hadn’t been wasted either.

Looking at his face, Ruan Sixian pondered for a moment, then asked softly, “Does it hurt a lot?”

Fu Mingyu replied with a half-smile, “It hurts so much I’ll never forget you for the rest of my life.”