Rainy evening, the sky had completely darkened.

The air carried the fresh scent of grass, accompanied by the “rustle” of leaves, brought in by the wind through window cracks. Coolness brushed against the neck in thin strands, clinging to the damp sweat and seeping into the pores, suddenly spreading comfort.

There were soft sounds in the room.

In the darkness, Ruan Sixian felt her undergarments already damp with sweat, clinging uncomfortably to her skin.

“Tsk—” Fu Mingyu frowned, his palm pressing against the back of her neck, his voice hoarse, “Baby, be gentler.”

“Shut up.”

Ruan Sixian buried her head in his neck, eyes tightly closed, her other hand firmly gripping his clothes, trembling slightly.

She gritted her teeth, saying in a very restrained low voice: “Why aren’t you done yet… I’m so tired…”

Fu Mingyu lowered his head, his breath very hot, kissing her earlobe delicately.

She pressed against his neck in the pitch-dark room, with heightened smell and hearing, everything was very clear.

The scent of his body surrounded Ruan Sixian without permission.

It was a crisp, cold fir fragrance, but now it carried a burning sensation.

The atmosphere in the air alternated between suppressed and passionate, ebbing and flowing.

Ruan Sixian’s palm had a thin layer of calluses, but her skin was still delicate.

Gentleness coexisted with slight roughness, every movement like plucking a taut string.

Ruan Sixian’s breathing became increasingly tight, her eyelashes trembling with tension, losing all sense of time.

After an unknown period, her arm suddenly stiffened.

She raised her head and saw Fu Mingyu with his eyes tightly closed, his brow slightly trembling, fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

She half-opened her mouth, momentarily forgetting to breathe.

As he slowly opened his eyes, she instantly regained awareness and quickly got up to run to the bathroom.

In the dim room, Fu Mingyu leaned back on the sofa, exhaling a long breath, unhurriedly arranging his clothes, using tissues to clean the soiled sofa.

After disposing of the tissues, he walked to the wall, raised his hand to turn on the light, and brightness instantly illuminated the entire living room.

The sound of water from the bathroom seeped through the door crack, lasting for a long time.

Fu Mingyu stood by the door, trying to open it, only to find it locked from the inside.

He leaned against the wall and lightly knocked on the door.

“Aren’t you coming out yet?”

“Mind your own business!”

Ruan Sixian had already finished washing her hands, but seeing the slight redness of her palms, her breathing still hadn’t calmed down.

Looking at herself in the mirror, cheeks flushed, a few strands of sweat-soaked hair sticking to her neck, it was as if she had been the one being handled.

Too exhausting!

How could it be more tiring than maneuvering a throttle lever?

A few minutes later, she opened the door to see Fu Mingyu with his shirt perfectly neat, without a single wrinkle, even the collar impeccably in place.

How could someone who just looked like he was on the brink of death recover in ten minutes as if he could immediately appear on the evening news broadcast?

Ruan Sixian lowered her head and squeezed past him, “Move away, don’t block my path.”

She walked to the living room where Fu Mingyu’s jacket lay on the sofa. It seemed to have been pressed by her earlier, spread out messily, with wrinkled sleeves.

As she bent down to pick it up, she saw the tissues in the trash can, accompanied by a subtle, indescribable odor.

Her ears were already red, and seeing this scene made her temples throb again, her palm that grabbed the jacket continuing to burn.

He must have cast a spell, absolutely cast a spell.

How could she, so reserved and aligned with socialist harmonious values as a young woman, be seduced into doing something she thought she would never do in her lifetime?

Fu Mingyu was tying his tie to the side, his slender fingers nimbly tightening it. He turned his head to see Ruan Sixian holding his jacket and said, “Baby, hand me the jacket.”

Ruan Sixian thought of how he had just been calling her “baby” by her ear repeatedly, and the fire instantly rose to her face. She immediately threw the jacket at his head.

“Do your things from now on!”

Fu Mingyu was a bit confused but pretended not to understand Ruan Sixian’s words. He took the jacket down, draped it over his arm, stepped forward, and flicked her head.

“Hmm, then I’ll go back to the office to work.” He looked down at Ruan Sixian, “Rest early, you look quite tired.”

Ruan Sixian: “…”

Whose fault is that?! Whose fault?!

After Fu Mingyu left, Ruan Sixian returned to the dining room to clean the table.

Just as she started, there was a “bang” sound, and a bowl fell back onto the table, rolling twice.

Ruan Sixian, quick with her hands, immediately bent down to catch it, preventing the loss of a bowl.

However, after catching it, she closed her eyes briefly, feeling quite helpless inside.

Suddenly, she had the feeling that her 50kg arm press had been done in vain.

After washing the dishes and returning to the study, Ruan Sixian took out her exam materials, put on her headphones, and prepared to study with a clear mind.

But while working on problems, she found her handwriting crooked and slanted, as if her hand was out of control.

There won’t be a next time.

Next time I’ll be like the Venus de Milo with her arms cut off.

Suddenly, a message came on her phone.

[Zheng You’an]: …

[Ruan Sixian]:?

Discovering she hadn’t been blocked, Zheng You’an immediately sent the prepared text file.

[Zheng You’an]: First, I want to say sorry to you. I just tried calling President Fu but he didn’t answer. About that thing yesterday, I made it up, please don’t take it seriously. I’ll be honest about my motives: I just didn’t want my family to match me with President Fu so I created a rumor. I was sure my family wouldn’t tell anyone, but I didn’t expect it would reach your ears. I never saw anything like that. After getting off the plane in Spain, we went our separate ways. It was all my fabrication.

After Fu Mingyu’s denial, Ruan Sixian wondered whether Zheng You’an had seen wrong or deliberately said so.

The former seemed more likely, after all, no matter how much Zheng You’an disliked Fu Mingyu, she wouldn’t go so far as to blacken his name.

But she hadn’t expected it to be exactly like that.

Seeing that Ruan Sixian hadn’t immediately replied, Zheng You’an cautiously typed a few words.

[Zheng You’an]: You two didn’t fight, did you?

Ruan Sixian hadn’t decided what to say when another message came.

[Zheng You’an]: You didn’t get physical, did you?!

“…”

Well, they did get physical.

[Zheng You’an]: This is my fault. If you break up, I’ll compensate you with a boyfriend!

[Zheng You’an]: Young single CEOs are rare, but there’s one about to take office!

[Ruan Sixian]: No need, sis.

[Zheng You’an]: No no no, I should be calling you sis.

[Ruan Sixian]: We’re fine!

[Zheng You’an]: No need to be polite, it was my loose tongue that caused trouble, I should compensate.

[Zheng You’an]:?

[Zheng You’an]: You’re fine?

Fu Mingyu had been busy earlier and couldn’t answer Zheng You’an’s call. Naturally, Zheng You’an was afraid, thinking he was furious, walking the line of illegality, so she didn’t dare call him again and turned to Ruan Sixian to apologize instead.

Knowing the whole story, Ruan Sixian thought she should tell Fu Mingyu, to prevent him from doing something outrageous later when he remembered.

However, she deliberately concealed the reason why Zheng You’an had spoken against him, saying that she had been drunk and talking nonsense.

“She says now it’s up to you what you want to do with her, whether you want to kill her or punish her, it’s all up to you.”

“Hmm.” Fu Mingyu held the phone with one hand while quickly signing documents with the other, saying indifferently, “Hmm, I understand.”

Based on Ruan Sixian’s understanding of domineering CEOs from novels and TV dramas, the calmer the tone, the angrier they were.

“Are you angry?”

Fu Mingyu: “A bit.”

A domineering CEO’s “a bit” naturally couldn’t be compared to an ordinary person’s “a bit.”

Ruan Sixian asked again: “Are you considering how to get revenge on her?”

Fu Mingyu chuckled lightly, “Not to that extent.”

From June this year until now, the five-star hotels under the Zheng family in third-tier cities had almost all closed, and their market share in second-tier cities was also precarious.

The outside world might not see the Zheng family’s decline, but as a long-term partner, Fu Mingyu could glimpse bits of it from all aspects.

Moreover, two years ago when the Zheng family tried to match him with Zheng You’an, he had already sensed that the Zheng family’s situation was not optimistic.

Fu Mingyu raised his eyes slightly, quickly signing a document first, “I don’t want to bother with her.”

“Oh, I see.” Ruan Sixian also smiled on the other end of the phone, “You’re quite magnanimous.”

“Whether I’m magnanimous or not, you should be the person who has the most firsthand experience.”

Ruan Sixian let out a light hum, “I’m going to study now.”

Fu Mingyu: “Hmm? Studying so late, you’re quite energetic?”

“…Fu Mingyu, let me tell you, you can forget about entering my home from now on.”

After hanging up, Fu Mingyu smiled, put down his pen, and Bai Yang came to collect the documents.

Fu Mingyu stood up, checked the time, and turned to ask Bai Yang, “Is my mother home?”

“Madam just got off the plane.”

Fu Mingyu nodded, instructing Bai Yang to tell the driver that tonight he would return to Huguang Mansion.

He arrived a few minutes before He Lanxiang. Douou leaned against his feet, turning over to beg for a scratch.

Fu Mingyu played with it for a while and was about to go upstairs to change clothes when there was movement at the door.

He Lanxiang walked in with a radiant face, wearing a glossy artificial fur coat, standing under the light, the whole person shining as if she had just come off a Broadway stage.

She saw Fu Mingyu at home, stopped, stood in place, looking him up and down, “My, who’s this? Did you come to the wrong house?”

Then she turned back to gesture to the driver: “There’s a stranger illegally entering my home, quickly call the police.”

The driver who came in carrying the suitcase couldn’t help but laugh.

Fu Mingyu looked at her coldly, unbuttoned his cuffs, and walked towards her.

Sometimes he wondered if there was something wrong with his constitution, the women around him were all sharper-tongued than the next.

He Lanxiang swayed to the table, took out a royal blue velvet box from her bag, removed a necklace from it, hung it on her finger, turned to face Fu Mingyu, raised her chin, “Look.”

Fu Mingyu only glanced once, not very interested in these things that women adore.

“Very beautiful.”

“Beautiful doesn’t need you to say it, am I blind?”

He Lanxiang swung the necklace, under the floor lamp, the pendant emitted a faint glow.

Fu Mingyu raised his eyes slightly, “Exceeded the budget?”

“…” He Lanxiang put away the necklace in one motion, “How vulgar!”

After carefully placing the necklace back in the box, she said, “Originally, I went there just to see an art exhibition, but Mr. Leicester heard I was there and insisted I attend his banquet. I didn’t want to go at first, but he came to invite me, I couldn’t refuse, could I?”

Fu Mingyu nodded, not responding.

He had heard He Lanxiang mention Mr. Leicester, a rising British jewelry designer who had signed with a Chinese jewelry brand at the beginning of this year and had since been based in China.

“Then I complimented his award-winning necklace this year, and without a second word, he gave it to me. It was too gracious an offer to refuse, I couldn’t turn it down.”

He Lanxiang rubbed her temples, “I wanted to keep a low profile, but with his gesture, all the women at the banquet were staring at me, it was really troublesome.”

Hearing this, Fu Mingyu had some thoughts and slowly walked to the table, opening the box again to examine the necklace.

He Lanxiang continued expressing her frustration behind him, “Sigh, you know Qu Xunyan, right? She usually wears Buddhist beads and isn’t interested in these things. She was accompanying her younger sister, but today she also glanced at me a few times, making me quite embarrassed. Well, indeed, with such a beautiful thing, what woman wouldn’t like it?”

As she finished speaking, Fu Mingyu closed the lid and turned to ask: “Sell it to me, will you?”

When He Lanxiang understood what Fu Mingyu wanted to do, she clutched her chest and gasped sharply, almost unable to stand: “Fu Mingyu, do you have any conscience left? I raised you with such hardship, and this is how you treat me?!”

Ruan Sixian spent Christmas Day on an airplane.

The day before New Year’s Day, Bian Xuan asked Ruan Sixian to go shopping.

Walking on the street, looking at the New Year decorations everywhere, they both felt a chill down their backs.

“When I think about the time I was just an ordinary flight attendant, every National Day, New Year’s Day, and Spring Festival, I would get goosebumps all over my body.”

Bian Xuan hooked arms with Ruan Sixian, walking leisurely, “From college graduation to transferring to private flights, I didn’t go home for the New Year even once in four years. Year after year, we sent people home, while we shrank in hotels, without even takeout, just eating instant noodles to get by. Thinking about it, that wasn’t a life for humans.”

Saying this, she patted Ruan Sixian’s shoulder, “Fortunately, I’m free now, but you still have to endure.”

During holidays, for others, it meant time off, meant rest, but for people in the aviation industry, it was a battlefield.

Everyone wished holidays wouldn’t come and had no mood to celebrate or give gifts. Over time, the sense of ceremony for holidays faded.

Ruan Sixian was a bit sleepy, drinking milk tea, and casually window shopping.

Passing a luxury men’s clothing store, she stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Bian Xuan followed her gaze, “Want to buy a New Year gift for your boyfriend?”

Ruan Sixian didn’t say anything, her feet automatically walking in.

Two rows of service staff at the entrance came up with drinks and towels, leading Ruan Sixian and Bian Xuan to the new arrivals section.

Ruan Sixian looked around, her gaze finally landing on the ties.

In a transparent cabinet, about twenty ties were displayed, most styles relatively low-key. Ruan Sixian looked for a few minutes, then shook her head.

“Forget it.”

“Don’t you like them?” Bian Xuan said, “I think they look pretty good.”

“They look good, but his ties seem to be all custom-made.”

“That doesn’t matter, the point is the thought.” Bian Xuan pulled her back, “It’s from you, would he dare say he doesn’t like it?”

Ruan Sixian thought for a moment, raising her eyebrows, “He wouldn’t dare.”

After buying a black textured tie, Ruan Sixian carefully placed it in her flight case, laid a layer of cashmere shawl, and gently patted it.

Ah, Fu Mingyu, if you dare say you don’t like it, this tie will be your noose.

At 6 PM on December 31st, Ruan Sixian’s flight returned.

After the last passenger disembarked, the captain took Ruan Sixian through the cabin, checking each section.

“Ah, another year has passed.”

The captain patted the luggage rack, feeling reassured by the sound, “Year after year of busyness, when will it end?”

Exiting the cabin, the safety personnel and cabin crew all squeezed on the crew stairs, exchanging New Year greetings.

The wind on the apron was strong, blowing Ruan Sixian’s hair into disarray. She took out the scarf in her hand, wrapping it around her neck while walking towards the crew vehicle.

She let the flight attendants in skirts board the vehicle first, waiting behind with the captain.

Just as she was about to step up, a commotion suddenly came from a distance.

Ruan Sixian and the captain turned to look, and those already on the crew vehicle poked their heads out to see.

“Oh my, it seems like there’s a disturbance!”

“Who’s causing trouble on this New Year’s Eve?”

“Are they fighting?”

“It seems to be from the crew area.”

Someone wanted to go check, but Ruan Sixian stopped her, saying: “The safety personnel will handle it, it’s so cold, don’t catch a cold.”

By the time the crew vehicle passed by that area, the troublemakers had already been taken away.

After leaving the airport and returning to the World Airlines building, Ruan Sixian and the captain went to the flight department to submit their flight task sheet, where they found people celebrating the New Year, so they stayed a bit longer.

Coming out, Ruan Sixian received a message from Fu Mingyu saying he had just finished his meeting and was about to leave the conference room, telling her to come to his office.

So Ruan Sixian headed that way.

After a few steps, she suddenly saw a man standing in the glass corridor ahead. He had both hands propped against the wall, his back arched, head buried deep.

This person wasn’t a stranger.

He was Ruan Sixian’s high school classmate, a mechanic. The two would chat a bit whenever they met.

He seemed… to be crying.

Ruan Sixian slowly approached, stood behind him, and patted his shoulder.

“Tan Shan?”

Tan Shan turned around, his eyes red. Seeing it was Ruan Sixian, he quickly turned back.

“What’s wrong?” Ruan Sixian asked, “Did something happen?”

Tan Shan maintained his previous posture, propping against the wall, but his shoulders were shaking.

Ruan Sixian stood for a while, seeing he seemed unwilling to talk, so she planned to turn and leave.

But just as the thought emerged, Tan Shan spoke.

“It’s so meaningless.” His voice was hoarse, with a hint of crying, “Working, earning money, it’s so meaningless.”

“What happened?” Ruan Sixian thought of something and said, “Was that you causing trouble on the apron just now?”

Tan Shan swallowed, his voice choked, “Yes, I hit someone, I really couldn’t stand it anymore.”

Ruan Sixian: “Hmm?”

Tan Shan turned to look at her, his bloodshot eyes filled with redness.

He tried to speak several times, words swallowed and swallowed, pressing his lips tightly, his chin slightly trembling.

Ruan Sixian felt that he had a string stretched taut, about to snap.

“Tomorrow is the New Year,” Ruan Sixian said. “Everything is new in a new year, there’s nothing that can’t be overcome.”

She wanted to comfort him but didn’t expect this sentence to hit some nerve in Tan Shan, who suddenly leaned on her shoulder and wailed out loud.

“New Year my ass! Nothing will get better! It can’t get better!”

Ruan Sixian was so frightened she didn’t dare move.

Wait, aren’t adult breakdowns supposed to be silent? What’s going on, bro?!

But Tan Shan’s emotions had collapsed, and he didn’t care who was in front of him, just wanting a shoulder to lean on.

“It’s too hard, I’m too exhausted, is this a life for a human? My girlfriend keeps urging me to buy a house, saying if I don’t buy one next year, she won’t wait for me anymore and will go back to her hometown for arranged dates. I want to buy a house too, but I can’t afford it! My monthly salary is just that much, I need to eat, live, and send money to my parents, where am I supposed to get money for a house?”

Ruan Sixian stiffened her back, not knowing what to say, only dryly asking: “Then why did you hit someone?”

“I can’t stand that Captain Zhang, what the hell! Every time he forgets to turn off the radar, don’t the lives of us mechanics matter? Who can withstand that radiation? I can’t afford a house but I still want to live a few more years. I’ve told him several times but he keeps forgetting. Don’t they consider us mechanics humans?!”

“Uh…”

Every time Ruan Sixian boarded a plane, some captains would remind her to turn off the radar when landing, as it was very harmful to the mechanics guiding the plane to a stop, but some captains wouldn’t remind her, or even forget themselves.

Her clothes were clutched tightly by him, and she could feel a wet patch on her shoulder.

“It’s so meaningless, what’s the point of this damn job!” He started with choking, but now it was pure venting, “Not only do we get exposed to radiation, but we always get blamed. Damn it, that Sichuan Airlines incident, the media all reported it was the mechanics’ poor inspection that caused the windshield to break. Fuck, what does that have to do with the mechanics? That was an original aircraft part, the mechanics never even touched it!”

As his breakdown became increasingly uncontrollable, Ruan Sixian didn’t know what to do.

They were of opposite genders, and crucially, this was her boyfriend’s company—this wasn’t very appropriate!

“Um…” Ruan Sixian slowly pushed him away, “We can talk about this slowly…”

Pushed by her, Tan Shan simply crouched down, hugging his head, immersed in his sadness.

“I still can’t lose my job… I don’t know how to do anything else anymore…”

Ruan Sixian was afraid that soon Tan Shan might do a sit-up on her shoulder, so she stepped back, saying: “I’ll—”

Her phone suddenly rang, making Ruan Sixian’s heart inexplicably skip a beat.

She took it out to look, and sure enough, it was a message from Fu Mingyu.

[Fu Mingyu]: Look up.

These two words were like a machine command, and Ruan Sixian immediately raised her head.

Through the glass corridor, she saw a person standing by the floor-to-ceiling window of the director’s office across.

“…”

Ruan Sixian sighed and put away her phone.

Tan Shan covered his face, “I’m sorry… I said too much… I’m sorry for making you listen to my complaints here.”

“I have something to attend to, so I’ll go first, okay.”

Off to appease her boyfriend.

Before entering Fu Mingyu’s office, Ruan Sixian paused, then turned back to a female assistant, crouched down to open her flight case, and took out the box containing the tie.

After entrusting the flight case to the female assistant, she hid the box behind her back and quietly walked in.

Fu Mingyu was standing by the window, making a phone call.

Seeing Ruan Sixian come in, he turned his head, and raised his hand slightly, indicating for Ruan Sixian to wait.

Ruan Sixian sat on the sofa, hiding the box behind her.

While waiting for Fu Mingyu to finish his call, she sat very upright, like a schoolchild.

After the call ended, Fu Mingyu turned and walked towards her.

He sat beside her, stretching his legs, his posture relaxed, but didn’t speak, scrolling through his phone, looking at something unknown.

He looks so cold.

Ruan Sixian moved closer.

“President Fu?”

He didn’t say anything, still scrolling through his phone.

Ruan Sixian tugged at his sleeve.

“Boyfriend?”

He still didn’t say anything, not even raising his eyes.

Ruan Sixian licked her lips, moving even closer.

“Big brother?”

His fingertips suddenly paused.

Fu Mingyu turned his head to look at Ruan Sixian, his eyes rippling with a faint light, raising his eyebrows almost imperceptibly.

But he still didn’t speak, only straightening up and leaning forward to reach for the table.

Ruan Sixian held his clothes.

“Just now I met my high school classmate, he was having an emotional breakdown, and then—”

Suddenly, a royal blue velvet box appeared before her.

The lid popped open, revealing a necklace reflecting a soft glow, with a small, exquisite hexagonal pendant.

“New Year’s gift.”

Ruan Sixian opened and closed her mouth.

It was just a New Year’s gift, yet she was struck by a delicate sense of happiness that gradually spread, unknowingly filling her heart.

“I…” she was a bit at a loss, “I don’t need…”

“Would a necessary item still be called a gift?” Fu Mingyu took out the necklace, reached around her neck, and put it on.

Ruan Sixian stared at Fu Mingyu without blinking, forgetting to even look at her New Year’s gift.

Fu Mingyu’s fingers slid down the chain to the pendant, flicking it lightly.

“Although I’ve heard you say you don’t like these things—”

“I like it.”

Ruan Sixian blurted out.

Because it’s from you, so I like it.