Outside Fu Mingyu’s office was an expanded area of over twenty square meters for his assistants to work. It was divided into two rows with three desks side by side in each row, separated by a central aisle.

When Ruan Sixian walked through, all six assistants immediately stopped their work and looked up at her in unison.

The female assistants who had just learned what happened empathized with her situation, sensing something ominous in her footsteps.

Each step echoed throughout the spacious office, seeming to foretell that something significant was about to happen.

And Bai Yang, who had hurried over after hearing the news, now found himself face to face with Ruan Sixian.

One look at Ruan Sixian’s eyes told him this was trouble. His legs unconsciously quickened their pace, racing against time—racing for his life.

There was only one entrance, and both of them stood at the edge of that line.

As their gazes met, Ruan Sixian could see a kind of “warning signal” tension on his face.

“Step aside.”

“But, Miss Ruan…”

Before Bai Yang could finish, the two glass doors automatically opened.

Ruan Sixian looked up to see the Flight Planning Department manager standing at Fu Mingyu’s desk talking to him.

Hearing the commotion at the door, both men looked over.

Ruan Sixian raised her eyebrows, and Fu Mingyu nodded to the manager.

The manager understood and turned to leave. As the automatic door closed behind him, Fu Mingyu closed his laptop and stood up, asking, “What’s wrong?”

Fu Mingyu genuinely didn’t know what had happened.

This incident wasn’t driven by entertainment media; the person who posted it was indeed just an ordinary individual.

From the time the post was published to when it sparked discussion, then to when marketing accounts reposted it to Weibo—all of this took time.

Within half an hour, Bai Yang had only just received the news.

“You’re asking me what’s wrong?” Ruan Sixian threw the tie at him. “You’d better give me a reasonable explanation, otherwise I’ll be bringing you chrysanthemums on this day next year.”

Fu Mingyu stood straight, letting the tie hit him before it fell lonely onto the desk.

He turned his head toward Bai Yang.

Bai Yang pressed his lips together as he stepped forward, showing Fu Mingyu the entertainment news on the iPad.

He only glanced at it for two seconds before he understood what had happened.

After putting down the iPad, Fu Mingyu said flatly, “She and I are just ordinary friends.”

Here it comes!

The cheater’s universal script!

Ruan Sixian gritted her teeth and said, “Then you and I are just ordinary friends too.”

Fu Mingyu walked out from behind his desk toward Ruan Sixian. Just as he approached and was about to reach out, she stepped back.

“Explain yourself first, don’t try anything else.”

He opened his mouth, about to speak, when the phone on the other side rang.

Bai Yang automatically went to answer it. After responding a few times, he covered the mouthpiece and looked up at Fu Mingyu, “Mr. Fu, it’s a call from Miss Li’s management company.”

Fu Mingyu’s face showed signs of impatience. He withdrew his hand and nodded to Bai Yang.

Bai Yang immediately pressed the speakerphone button, and a mature female voice came through.

“Hello, Mr. Fu, this is Zhang Ying from Xuanxin Media, responsible for Li Zhihuai’s management work. Regarding today’s news, we express our sincere apologies. Because of the remote location and early hour, we didn’t pay attention to avoiding people and didn’t anticipate being photographed like this.”

What she said was factual, and the wording sounded fine to Fu Mingyu, but it meant something different to the other person in the room.

Fu Mingyu glanced at Ruan Sixian, who stood with her arms crossed, eyes narrowed, exuding a dangerous aura as if she were looking at an adulterous couple. Her face seemed to say, “Let’s see what excuse you have now.”

Fu Mingyu responded with an “Mm,” saying nothing else. After a brief silence on the other end, the manager quickly continued, “We will handle this promptly on our side. Is there anything specific you need us to address on your end?”

“Contact the public relations department.”

After delivering this line, Bai Yang turned off the speakerphone and transferred the call to the PR department.

At the same time, Fu Mingyu’s phone on the desk rang again.

Bai Yang glanced at it and said, “Mr. Fu, it’s Miss Li calling.”

As soon as he spoke, Fu Mingyu looked at Ruan Sixian and, sure enough, saw she was on the threshold of exploding—her lips pressed tightly together, her entire being like a hedgehog ready to pounce and stab him to death.

Fu Mingyu looked at her directly and ordered, “Mute it.”

Bai Yang nodded, put his phone on silent, and then left the office.

Only Fu Mingyu and Ruan Sixian remained in the office.

He walked over in a few strides, unbuttoned his collar to breathe easier, and stood face-to-face with Ruan Sixian. “She’s my high school classmate whom I met at the reception yesterday. Her father was my high school homeroom teacher who suffered a cerebral hemorrhage last year and was hospitalized. His health hasn’t improved much, so I went to visit him.”

After hearing him explain calmly, Ruan Sixian blinked, balancing between belief and disbelief. After a moment, she replied, “Oh?”

“Hmm?” Fu Mingyu asked, “You don’t believe me?”

Ruan Sixian’s eyes narrowed as she maintained a half-meter safety distance from him. She felt as if she had caught a hole in his story, and the balance in her mind was instantly broken. “You need all night to visit an elderly person?”

Fu Mingyu responded, “I had a 9 a.m. flight back today and originally didn’t have time for a visit, but the elderly wake up early, and around six or seven in the morning is when they’re most lucid. So after finishing my meeting with the North African Operations Department last night, I didn’t sleep but went directly to her father’s home, chatted briefly, and then went straight to the airport. If you don’t believe me, I can have Bai Yang show you the records of the overnight meeting that ended at six this morning.”

This explanation seemed acceptable.

The fire in Ruan Sixian’s eyes gradually diminished. She pressed her tongue against her cheek, not knowing what to say.

Fu Mingyu asked, “Still don’t believe me?”

He pressed the phone, and soon Bai Yang returned with the iPad showing last night’s meeting records.

After putting it down, he walked out.

Ruan Sixian only glanced at it without examining what was on it in detail.

At this point, she realized it was all a misunderstanding.

She just didn’t know how to find a graceful way to step down.

Seeing her silence, Fu Mingyu leaned forward and said softly, “Do you think I finished the meeting at six and left there at seven-thirty, with just that short amount of time?”

?

Sure enough, someone who could communicate with Einstein would be so adept at dissecting logical loopholes.

Ruan Sixian stepped back casually, forcing a cold smile that she believed made them seem equal, “Who knows? Perhaps that little time even includes you, with your cleanliness obsession, taking two showers.”

“Want to try it out?”

“…”

Fu Mingyu said this with a straight face, yet it had the effect of making one’s face flush and heart race.

But that couldn’t lead anywhere, after all, his current position gave him the confidence to say such things.

Unfortunately, Ruan Sixian was all talk but little action, pretending not to understand what he meant. She casually fixed her hair and said, “You continue with your work. I won’t disturb you anymore, I’m going home to wash some dishes.”

Ruan Sixian turned to leave but caught Fu Mingyu smiling at that moment.

?

Still smiling?

Ruan Sixian felt he was laughing at her previous defeated posture, so she reached out and pinched his chin, “What are you smiling at?”

When her fingertips touched his skin, Ruan Sixian felt something wasn’t quite right.

It was a bit rough.

It seemed he had been up all night, not even having time to shave. Now he had light stubble.

Looking more carefully at Fu Mingyu, his smile wasn’t exactly happy; he even seemed a bit displeased.

He raised his hand to grab Ruan Sixian’s fingers, gently pulling them away, and said, “You react like this over such a small matter—are you too nervous about me or do you trust me too little?”

Ruan Sixian felt a bit guilty after his words and didn’t know how to answer. She looked around, noticed something, then withdrew her hand and walked rapidly to the desk to grab the tie.

“Mr. Fu, mind your appearance, don’t be so disheveled.”

Fu Mingyu stood without moving, and when she offered him the tie, he didn’t take it.

Raising her eyes, Ruan Sixian understood his meaning.

Fine then.

She raised her hands to put the tie around Fu Mingyu’s collar, fumbling for a while without success. With his scent above her head, she became increasingly unsettled, so she simply gave a couple of tugs and called it done.

“That’s enough, fix it yourself.”

Fu Mingyu methodically readjusted his tie, looking down at the end that Ruan Sixian had crumpled in her grip when she arrived. He simply took it off and tossed it aside.

“Why are you still angry?”

“You create some scandalous news and I can’t even be a little upset?” Ruan Sixian crossed her arms as she looked at him. “Let’s see how comfortable you feel if I spread some rumors with someone else.”

Fu Mingyu fell silent. On the other side, his phone screen lit up again. He glanced at it and noticed Ruan Sixian also craning her neck to look.

It was Li Zhihuai calling again.

“Go ahead and answer it,” Ruan Sixian said. “I may understand the situation, but I still need to be upset about it.”

Who wouldn’t be uncomfortable when their boyfriend was suddenly rumored all over the internet to be someone else’s boyfriend?

Fu Mingyu answered the call and put it on speakerphone. A soft “Mingyu” came from the other end.

Suddenly alarm bells rang in his head. He looked up at Ruan Sixian, who appeared to be calm, but the small flame in her eyes seemed ready to reignite due to that “Mingyu.”

“Yes, Miss Li,” Fu Mingyu said. “What is it?”

Ruan Sixian silently turned her head away, sitting on the nearby sofa and playing with the tie in her hands.

“My manager should have called you, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry. I truly didn’t expect to be photographed. It was my oversight—I was only thinking about how my father is most lucid in the early morning, without considering how that time of day could lead to misunderstandings. We’re already handling it on our end. I’m sure this has affected you, and I feel terrible about it.”

Fu Mingyu looked at Ruan Sixian again, his gaze darkening.

“It’s nothing, just an unintentional mistake.”

“Even though you say that, I still feel very apologetic,” Li Zhihuai said. “When I come to Jiangcheng in a few days, let me treat you to a meal as an apology.”

Several sharp “pats” echoed in the spacious conference room.

Ruan Sixian held the tie in one hand, lazily patting her other palm as she strolled to his desk.

“That won’t be necessary,” Fu Mingyu said calmly.

Li Zhihuai spoke again, “What about the matter we discussed last night?”

“Just contact the Brand Promotion Department,” Fu Mingyu said. “I’ve already coordinated with Shiguang Film Studios. I only hear the final report; I don’t interfere with the specifics.”

Ruan Sixian, hearing the word “film,” asked, “What is it?”

Her voice wasn’t loud or soft, but it carried clearly to the other end of the phone.

Li Zhihuai asked, “Are you busy now?”

Fu Mingyu replied, “My girlfriend is here.”

“Oh, I see. Then you carry on.”

Li Zhihuai hastily hung up.

Fu Mingyu stood up, grabbed the tie from her hand, pulled her into his arms, and leaned against the desk.

Ruan Sixian struggled a bit but then heard him say, “I’m very tired. Don’t move, just let me hold you for a moment.”

She gradually calmed down and stopped moving, secured in his embrace, her eyes falling on the phone on the desk.

“What film studio? Are you making a movie?”

“Yes, an aviation-themed film. She’s the female lead. The investors approached us hoping for cooperation.”

“Oh.”

“You don’t need to take these baseless rumors to heart.”

Ruan Sixian was startled for a second, then sat up straight, “The news is already out, Mr. Fu. Should I wait until you’re in bed with someone else before I belatedly realize I’ve been cheated on?”

Fu Mingyu laughed, “In bed with someone else?”

He lowered his head, his fingers brushing Ruan Sixian’s jaw, “Don’t you know who I want to sleep with?”

“…”

“Sleep, sleep, sleep—all you talk about is sleeping. If you like sleeping so much, why not go for eternal rest?”

A loud “crash” sounded from Fu Mingyu’s office, and those who worked there could tell it was the sound of numerous documents falling to the floor.

The assistants sitting in the outer office looked at each other, uncertain what to do.

However, the expected sounds of argument didn’t emerge. Just when everyone thought the storm had passed, there came another sound of a glass ashtray shattering.

Crisp, ear-piercing, and after that—silence.

The assistants frowned, their hearts practically jumping out of their chests, unsure whether they should knock and enter to help clean up.

Not going in seemed neglectful of duty. But going in and witnessing the boss and his girlfriend in a physical altercation might be even more derelict.

As they exchanged glances, hoping someone else would nobly go face death, the LED screen on the door lit up showing “Unlocked,” and Ruan Sixian walked out of Fu Mingyu’s office.

Twelve eyes stared at her in unison.

Ruan Sixian’s expression was unusual, her chin buried in her scarf, only the upper half of her face visible—bright red. She walked so quickly, as if desperate to leave this place as soon as possible.

Shortly after, the desk bell rang once—Fu Mingyu called someone in.

The assistants pushed each other, one saying “I helped you with overtime last time,” and another saying “I got you lunch yesterday”… They were all very quick-witted, resolving the dispute in three seconds and pushing forward a scapegoat who went in.

However, the atmosphere inside seemed different from what they had imagined.

Even after getting into the car, Ruan Sixian couldn’t shake off that awkward, nervous feeling.

Just now, in a moment of passion, she had fired off a verbal jab. Fu Mingyu, either angered or out of patience, took the same countermeasure as in the morning—he picked her up, sat her on the desk, and kissed her forcefully.

At first, she remembered they were in an office and struggled, but after accidentally sweeping a desk full of documents to the floor, she surrendered, gradually softening.

But some people just like to push their luck.

When her mind was heated and her breathing completely disrupted, she suddenly felt a coolness at her waist as a breeze entered, followed by his hand touching her, with an upward trend.

His palm was too hot, stimulating Ruan Sixian to freeze momentarily. Her hands supporting her on the desk suddenly weakened, accidentally hitting the ashtray that was already at the edge of the desk.

With a “bang,” as the ashtray fell to the ground, Ruan Sixian’s nerves tightened, and she opened her mouth and bit him.

Everything stopped in that instant.

Fu Mingyu hissed, releasing her while pressing his fingers to his lips, frowning as he looked at her.

His eyes just… looked a bit hurt.

Ruan Sixian was also startled by the noise, staring blankly at Fu Mingyu with a slight taste of blood in her mouth.

No… let me explain…

“I’m sorry,” Fu Mingyu stepped back, helping her straighten her clothes, saying softly, “Go home and rest.”

That “sorry” made Ruan Sixian feel that in Fu Mingyu’s eyes, she now appeared to be a chaste woman who would smash the glass and bite someone’s mouth to defend her purity to death if touched.

It wasn’t quite that serious.

But she couldn’t explain.

She could hardly open her arms and say, “Come on, let’s continue.”

Forget it.

She adjusted her scarf, stood up, and walked out in extreme embarrassment.

Shortly after getting in the car, Ruan Sixian’s phone began receiving frequent messages.

First, Bian Xuan and Si Xiaozhen carefully checked in on her, then there were several missed calls from Dong Xian, and finally, she received a friend request from Zheng You’an.

After accepting the request, Zheng You’an immediately sent three mocking messages.

[Zheng You’an] — See, now you’re suffering.

[Zheng You’an] — I told you this man was no good, but you insisted on throwing yourself at him.

[Zheng You’an] — Do you regret it now?

However, before Ruan Sixian could reply, she recalled each of these messages.

As if nothing had happened, she sent another message.

[Zheng You’an] — I have a few unused photos from the ones I took for you last time. I’ll send them to you in a bit [cute]

Ruan Sixian “…?”

Si Xiaozhen, who was always at the forefront of gossip, promptly came to clarify, sending her a screenshot of Li Zhihuai’s Weibo.

“He’s my high school classmate. I came here on a business trip and took the opportunity to see my father. We’ve been friends for over ten years, don’t overthink it~”

After reading this Weibo post, Ruan Sixian sent a voice message explaining what happened today.

[Si Xiaozhen] — So what do you think of this post?

[Bian Xuan] — Same question.

[Ruan Sixian] — ?

[Si Xiaozhen] — I mean, why say she “came on a business trip,” Why not mention her father was the homeroom teacher?

[Bian Xuan] — Just say high school classmates if that’s what they are, why emphasize “friends for over ten years”?

Initially, Ruan Sixian hadn’t felt anything unusual, but after their comments, she did find it somewhat subtle.

She opened Weibo, found the post, and browsed through the comments.

Besides marketing accounts reposting it, some big fans helped spread it with very rational language, but some fans began to stir things up.

The first highest-liked hot comment read, “Seeing this clarification, I’m a bit disappointed…”

Responses below:

“Me too, I was quite excited when I saw the news.”

“Sister should be in a relationship by now, right? This high school classmate is so handsome, not a bad choice.”

“Wasn’t it revealed that he’s the younger son of Hengshi Aviation’s chairman, currently a director? They make a great match!”

“Go for it, Sister! I want to see the storyline of a domineering CEO and a beautiful celebrity!”

Further down, the comments were largely similar.

Essentially, after people discovered Fu Mingyu’s identity and his wealth, along with the fact that he had never been involved in any scandals, plus the clear, attractive photos on Hengshi Aviation’s official website, fans expressed support for this potential marriage.

However, Li Zhihuai had already clarified the other party’s identity and explained the origins of this misunderstanding. There was no need to read too much into it. How fans wanted to interpret it wasn’t something that could be controlled.

More importantly—

[Ruan Sixian] — He explained everything to me clearly. Things are indeed as he said, and I believe him.

After replying to that message, Dong Xian called again.

Ruan Sixian had a pretty good idea of what she wanted to say, so she answered.

“Ruan Ruan, what’s going on with Fu Mingyu?”

Ruan Sixian replied, “A misunderstanding, it’s been clarified.”

Dong Xian, “Hmm?”

Ruan Sixian, “Just high school classmates. Her father was his homeroom teacher and is in poor health. He went to see him in the morning, that’s all.”

Dong Xian was silent for a moment, then said, “Is that the case?”

“What else would it be?” Ruan Sixian asked, “You don’t believe it?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe it, but this person…”

“He’s what?”

“I’m not surprised by this incident. I’ve heard before that he’s not as moral as rumors suggest.”

“I’ve never heard that,” Ruan Sixian found it amusing. “Don’t tell me such things anymore. I know my boyfriend.”

Dong Xian sighed, “As you wish, I’ll just tell you one thing—always stay clear-headed.”

“Okay.”

On the other side, Fu Mingyu’s phone hadn’t been idle either.

There weren’t many idle people in his social circle, so few had seen the rumor, let alone the clarification. Only Yan’an, who had just seen the gossip but not the clarification, eagerly came to mock him.

[Yan’an] — Impressive move you made there. Are you trying to stand shoulder to shoulder with me in tarnishing the aviation industry’s reputation?

[Yan’an] — Are you trying to upset Wu Yin or Ruan Sixian?

[Yan’an] — After knowing you for over twenty years, I have to say something—cheating is bad enough, but knowing Wu Yin used to like you and still going after her best friend? Can your conscience bear it?

[Yan’an] — I feel sorry for Ruan Sixian too. Such a good girl, how could you let her down like this? Is she crying?

Fu Mingyu hadn’t planned to respond, but seeing how concerned he was about his girlfriend, he decided to give him a casual reply.

[Fu Mingyu] — She didn’t cry. She bit me once, my mouth is still bleeding. Want to see?

A few minutes later.

[Yan’an] — Idiot.