Blossom through the Cloud - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Jiangcheng, autumn

A gust of wind scattered the thick clouds shrouding the moon in the night sky, and the light spilling onto the ground grew brighter. The rice in the fields reflected a dim golden hue, rippling with shallow waves as the wind swept across.

This was the suburban farmland in the dead of night, as quiet as if all the plants had fallen fast asleep.

The old asphalt road, connecting to the earthen ridge, chased the light forward until it was abruptly cut off by a strip of yellow paint. On the other side lay the magnificent and majestic airport runway.

The airport at this hour was completely different from the fields—it was brightly lit and bustling with personnel. A Boeing 737 landed smoothly, and more than a dozen tarmac buses proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Ruan Sixian dragged her flight case and strode toward the conference level of the Hengshi Airlines Cabin Crew Department, the wind whipping beneath her feet with beads of fine sweat dotting her forehead.

Entering the elevator, she pulled out her phone to check the time: twelve-forty-one. There were less than five minutes left until the pre-flight briefing.

The elevator doors opened, and Ruan Sixian hurried through the bustling lobby, turning toward the conference room corridor.

Outside the door of Conference Room B32 stood several flight attendants wearing the same blue uniform as her, gathered together in idle chatter.

"Ruan Sixian, why are you only just getting here?"

Jiang Ziyue, standing amidst the crowd, turned around to ask.

Ruan Sixian had made it just in time and let out a sigh of relief. "I ran into a bit of trouble when I was leaving."

As the purser, Jiang Ziyue felt obliged to offer a reminder: "Pay attention next time. I could let other things slide, but you know very well how important today's flight is."

Ruan Sixian nodded and said she understood.

Today's flight was a direct route from Jiangcheng to London, falling under Shihang's core international flights.

What made it special was that Shihang's Vice President, Fu Mingyu, was also taking this flight.

Usually, Fu Mingyu traveled by private jet and rarely had the opportunity to take a commercial Shihang flight. Therefore, the moment Jiang Ziyue saw the passenger list as the purser, she had issued a string of instructions in the cabin crew's small group chat.

Ruan Sixian glanced toward the conference room again. "They still haven't come out?"

Jiang Ziyue replied, "Yeah, who knows what those on this flight are dawdling about? Our captain is still in the restroom, too."

"Then I'll go to the restroom to tidy up my silk scarf and touch up my makeup."

When Ruan Sixian left the dormitory, she was afraid of being late, so she had jogged the entire way. Her neck had broken out in sweat, sticking uncomfortably inside the silk scarf.

With that, Ruan Sixian hurried to the restroom, turned on the faucet to wash her hands, and used a wet index finger to tuck two stray strands of hair behind her ear.

She looked at herself in the mirror—exquisite makeup, meticulous updo, dignified and well-fitted uniform. It looked decent enough, but utterly devoid of any distinguishing features.

Only the silk scarf around her neck, tied slightly crooked like a rabbit's drooping ears, made her look somewhat different from the other flight attendants.

Yet it was only a difference in her own eyes; no one else would ever notice.

Now, even this amusingly crooked scarf had to be untied and retied properly by her own hands.

As she lowered her hand, Ruan Sixian brushed against something inside the inner pocket of her uniform.

She paused, unbuttoned a single button, and reached in to pull the item out.

It was a letter, a pink envelope sealed with red wax at the opening.

This was precisely what had caused Ruan Sixian to leave late.

That afternoon, her roommate Si Xiaozhen learned that Fu Mingyu was taking the flight Ruan Sixian was scheduled on, so she had written this letter and urged Ruan Sixian to find an opportunity to hand it to Fu Mingyu.

Seeing that Ruan Sixian seemed reluctant, Si Xiaozhen's eyes had turned red as she said, "We study together every day and prepare for the pilot recruitment exams together. We were clearly supposed to apply next week, but then the Soaring Plan was canceled just like that! Do you really not want to fight for it one last time?"

The Soaring Plan was Shihang's internal pilot recruitment program. Every year, a select number of candidates were chosen from among Hengshi Airlines' internal employees for pilot training, with no restrictions on position or gender. By this year, just as the application window for the Soaring Plan was about to open, Fu Mingyu, who was in charge of the Flight Department, had canceled the program entirely.

To outsiders, this was merely a harmless minor adjustment, but to people like Ruan Sixian and Si Xiaozhen who had joined Shihang specifically targeting this plan, it was a fatal blow.

Ruan Sixian had opened her mouth as if to refuse, but Si Xiaozhen continued, "I've sent him numerous emails without receiving a single receipt, and now this is the only way left. I know you think this method is ridiculous, but what if? What if President Fu turns out to be an approachable and kind person, and after reading my letter, he's willing to reconsider? Besides..."

Ruan Sixian had waved her hand to cut Si Xiaozhen off, ultimately accepting the letter.

"I just think—could you at least change the envelope? This looks as though I'm delivering a love letter."

To her surprise, this was what Si Xiaozhen had hesitated over, lowering her head in embarrassment. "You know how it is, I just love pink, and I don't have any other envelopes."

What more could Ruan Sixian say?

Since she had already arrived at the terminal, there was no way for her to change the color of the envelope now.

"What are you doing?"

Suddenly, Jiang Ziyue pushed the door open, poking her upper body inside. "The captain is here. Hurry up, the meeting is starting."

Ruan Sixian quickly hid the letter behind her back and nodded. "Alright, coming right now."

This small movement was caught by Jiang Ziyue, whose gaze swept over with vigilance. "What are you holding?"

Ruan Sixian didn't want Jiang Ziyue to see what was in her hand, but her instinctive hiding motion had been far too obvious, making it seem rather like she was protesting her innocence too much. Seeing Jiang Ziyue's probing gaze fixed on her, Ruan Sixian had no choice but to lift the item in her hand and give it a slight shake.

"Just this, nothing much."

When Jiang Ziyue saw the pink envelope clearly, her tightly pursed lips relaxed. "What kind of nonsense is this? Let's go quickly, don't dawdle."

Ruan Sixian shoved the letter back into her inner pocket, buttoned her uniform, and walked toward Jiang Ziyue.

Because the VIP list included Fu Mingyu, the captain attached extraordinary importance to this pre-flight briefing, speaking for twenty minutes longer than usual.

By the time it concluded, it was time to board, but they received another notice from the tower: due to air traffic control, they would be delayed by an hour or so.

Suddenly, time opened up again. The captain stood up, stretched his limbs, and said to the two co-pilots beside him, "Going to grab some food?"

The three of them stood up and walked out, leaving the cabin crew behind in the conference room.

Another delay meant everyone had to wait, flight time excluded, and murmurs of complaint gradually filled the conference room.

During this time, Ruan Sixian stepped outside to take a phone call.

Before she even hung up, Ruan Sixian heard the chatter inside the room growing increasingly lively, as if they were discussing something joyful once more.

"What are you all talking about?" Ruan Sixian pushed the door open. "I could hear your voices all the way outside."

Jiang Ziyue rolled up the passenger list and used it to prop up her temple, tilting her head with a smile. "They're placing bets to see who can get President Fu's phone number today."

Ruan Sixian gave a puzzled hum. "What for?"

— "What do you think? To hit on him, of course!"

— "It's so hard to run into a flight he's on; this is a rare opportunity! If we don't make a move now, when?"

— "It's a long-haul flight of over ten hours. I refuse to believe I won't find a chance to get his contact info. If all else fails, we can just copy others and spill some coffee or something, hahaha."

— "Spilling coffee is too brutal. I think we should just wait for turbulence and take the opportunity to take a tumble—right into his arms."

Spilling coffee... taking a tumble...

Ruan Sixian's eyes twitched wildly as she listened.

Even idol dramas from ten years ago didn't play out like this, alright?

Still, judging by how everyone was talking, it was clear they were merely joking.

Ruan Sixian smiled, sat down, and scratched her temple with her fingernail.

"What kind of daydreams are you lot—"

She froze mid-sentence.

How had she spoken her inner thoughts out loud?

The atmosphere in the conference room went momentarily stagnant.

Then, it quickly warmed up again thanks to a carefree remark.

"Daydreaming isn't illegal, besides..." That person lowered their voice and said, "President Fu's older brother—the other President Fu's fiancée is a flight attendant, and the two of them met on a plane. What do you call that? Anything is possible."

— "I'm calling it right here: whoever becomes the boss's wife in the future, don't forget to get me a promotion. Other things aside, at least make me a purser first."

— "Oh, considering you helped me swap shifts on short notice last time, if I become the boss's wife, you'll be made a purser instantly."

— "Then I'll thank you in advance. But what if I'm the future boss's wife?"

Ruan Sixian listened for a long while, growing increasingly bewildered. "Wait, why are you all so excited? What if the other person is an old man with a belly bigger than a pregnant woman's? Would you still hit on him?"

As soon as those words fell, everyone burst into fits of giggles.

Ruan Sixian was even more confused. "What are you laughing at?"

"Oh my, it seems our little Ruan really turns a blind eye to the outside world. Come here, big sister will show you a photo."

Jiang Ziyue hooked an arm around Ruan Sixian's neck while pulling out her phone with the other, flipping up a picture to show her.

This photo was clearly a sneak shot. Fu Mingyu was dressed in a sharp, high-end suit with a black overcoat draped over his shoulders, striding toward the company headquarters' main entrance.

With his broad shoulders and long legs, he took massive strides. His straight spine and the smooth lines of his legs complemented his attire, and his aura seemed to pierce straight through the photo, grabbing the viewer's attention and causing the surrounding figures to automatically blur into the background.

Even though the photo didn't capture his face at all.

No wonder the flight attendants were so excited; it was entirely excusable.

However, after just one glance at this, Ruan Sixian completely erased the string of descriptors like "approachable and kind" from her mind.

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

Those two adjectives had zero relation to him.

Inside the room, the people continued to make uninhibited jokes, completely unaware that right outside the ajar door, the Cabin Department Manager Wang Lekang's face was as dark as Guan Yu's.

Standing right beside Wang Lekang was the protagonist of the ongoing conversation: Fu Mingyu.

The hallway lights were blazing bright, and the occasional sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the lengthy corridor, clearly audible.

Yet they were not nearly as clear as the laughter coming from inside this room.

That laughter felt like blades, drilling into Wang Lekang's ears one by one.

He cast a stealthy glance at Fu Mingyu, only to see him lowering his head to flip through the documents in his hand, his gaze serene as if he hadn't heard a single word of the conversation inside.

But if he truly hadn't heard, there was no reason for him to linger here.

The voices inside grew increasingly unbridled. Wang Lekang felt as though he were standing on pins and needles, itching to storm in and bark at the people inside to shut up.

Yet since Fu Mingyu remained unfazed, how could Wang Lekang dare to make the first move?

A moment later, Fu Mingyu slowly closed the documents in his hand and returned them to Wang Lekang, completely untouched.

Wang Lekang reached out to take them, but the files paused a mere millimeter away from his palm.

"Is this the result of your recent disciplinary efforts?"

A single sentence caused Wang Lekang's spine to tighten, leaving him at a loss for how to respond.

This matter was quite laughable. Two months ago, a "romance" had occurred on one of Hengshi Airlines' core international flights when a dual-cabin flight attendant accidentally spilled coffee on a VIP passenger.

The status of this guest was extraordinary—he was the youngest son of a major shareholder in Jiangcheng Steel Industries.

Because of this service mishap, not only did the two bear no grudge, but they hit it off instead, sparking a romance that bloomed swiftly and provoked envy.

Ever since then, flight attendants had continuously tried to imitate the incident, and during that period, the rate of service "accidents" had suddenly skyrocketed.

Leaving other things aside, this exact type of occurrence happened to be witnessed by a minor shareholder of Shihang, who casually recounted it as a joke to Fu Mingyu.

Affairs of the heart could not be blocked by external forces, but using work conveniences to pursue private desires was a cardinal sin in the service industry.

Therefore, during that month's departmental review meeting, when Fu Mingyu brought the matter up, Wang Lekang immediately declared that he would clean up the chaotic phenomenon.

Who could have imagined that right while Wang Lekang was reporting on his work, this very "chaos" would be run into head-on by Fu Mingyu.

"If they don't want to do this job anymore, they can bring it up at any time. Hengshi Airlines has never forced anyone to stay."

Fu Mingyu relaxed the grip of his hand, and the documents finally settled into Wang Lekang's palm.

Though it was only a few sheets of paper, they felt as heavy as a pound of iron.