Blossom through the Cloud - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"President Fu, the dispatch department just called. Some flights on the Arctic route tomorrow are being urgently cancelled, and we need—"

Bai Yang walked in holding his phone, taking hurried strides. It wasn't until he was standing right behind Fu Mingyu that he noticed the somewhat bizarre atmosphere in the room, causing his voice to naturally taper off into a murmur. "We need your confirmation and signature..."

"Ruan Suxian, what do you mean by this?"

As if he hadn't heard a single word from Bai Yang, Fu Mingyu stared fixedly at Ruan Suxian. The suspicions he had harbored for so long were finally being confirmed, and the answer seemed ready to spill right off his lips, waiting only for the person before him to speak.

——"What do you mean by what do I mean? And what on earth do you mean? What is this nonsense about me being interested in you? Who do you think you are?"

Ruan Suxian prided herself on having a sharp gaze and an icy expression while reciting this tongue-twister, achieving a genuine air of nonchalance tinged with absolute detachment. She had struck right at Fu Mingyu's core pain point and successfully ignited his fury.

True to form, Fu Mingyu's expression turned frigid.

Bai Yang rubbed the back of his neck, feeling as though the ambient temperature had instantly dropped by a good ten degrees.

Yet Yan An poked his head forward, inserting himself directly between the two of them with an inquiring interjection.

"What's going on?"

How humiliating.

Ruan Suxian felt that both she and Fu Mingyu were being thoroughly embarrassing.

"It's nothing." Tilting her head, Ruan Suxian maintained her poise by executing a half-hearted eye-roll and took the lead by turning around to leave.

"Let's go, President Yan."

"Ruan Suxian, you get back here."

That exceptionally chilly voice, laden with a concealed undertone of fury, drifted over from behind her, causing even Yan An to pause in his tracks.

Ruan Suxian, however, acted as though she hadn't heard a thing and quickened her pace toward Yan An's car.

Yan An's gaze flicked back and forth between Ruan Suxian's retreating back and Fu Mingyu's dark complexion. Musing over the situation for a split second, he chose to follow her.

He didn't press further about the previous exchange, nor did he probe into Ruan Suxian's expression, instead walking straight up to open the passenger door for her—a seamless handling method at which Yan An was an old hand.

Once Ruan Suxian got into the car, she stole a glance at Fu Mingyu through the narrow gap past Yan An's torso.

And finished rolling the remaining half of her eye-roll.

The instant their gazes locked, her urge to investigate came roaring back to life, instantly drowning out Bai Yang's fading voice in the background.

A tangled web of complex past memories flipped back and forth in her mind. A few faint recollections began poking their heads out, though they never fully revealed their true shape, ultimately coming to an abrupt halt as she slammed the car door shut with force.

The morning breeze filtered through the tree leaves and swept into the lobby, carrying a crisp, post-rain freshness. Yet Fu Mingyu felt irritated to the absolute limit; he yanked loose his tie and lengthened his stride.

Clueless as he was, Bai Yang could still sense that Ruan Suxian's attitude earlier had been completely abnormal. After a moment of thought, he murmured, "What's wrong with Miss Ruan? Is that any way to treat a superior..."

Fu Mingyu shot him a glance, his eyes shifting between light and shadow as a cold, humorless smile twitched at the corners of his lips.

He was furious. Bai Yang could tell that Fu Mingyu was genuinely furious this time.

After all, no one could endlessly tolerate a woman over and over again without limit.

Inside the car, Ruan Suxian sat upright and stared straight ahead, though that didn't mean she missed Yan An's frequent sideways glances.

"What is it?"

Pressing a clenched fist against his lips, Yan An couldn't entirely mask his amusement. "Though I have no idea what kind of beef you have with Fu Mingyu, it's my first time seeing him get brushed off with a cold attitude in person, and man, it feels ridiculously satisfying."

Listening to Yan An, it sounded as though he was fishing for insider details, yet without expressing it too overtly, leaving Ruan Suxian with plenty of room to maneuver.

Naturally, she volleyed the question right back at him.

"What kind of beef do you have with him, then?"

This guy really managed to make enemies everywhere.

Yan An coughed and hedged vaguely, "We're just business competitors, aren't we?"

Ruan Suxian certainly didn't buy that explanation. The two airlines had originally been a single entity before splitting up, and even today they maintained a non-zero-sum game model, competing and cooperating in tandem to achieve a win-win outcome. Who didn't know that the chairmen of World Aviation and North Aviation occasionally got together to play a round of golf and brew kung fu tea, while second-generation heirs like Fu Mingyu and Yan An had essentially grown up together?

Even if Ruan Suxian didn't believe it, Yan An was too embarrassed to blurt out the truth.

When they were kids, he and Fu Mingyu had never gotten along. He had always aspired to be a wealthy second-generation heir who served as a negative textbook example written right into moral education manuals. He spent his days acting wild and unruly, but kept in check by strict family discipline, he never dared cross any serious lines—leaving him feeling as though he barely lived up to the illustrious title of "profligate playboy" bestowed upon him by his teachers.

Yet Fu Mingyu's clique had always marched to a completely different beat from their crowd, drawing a clear, uncompromising line between them.

Not that Fu Mingyu was all that well-behaved either; he hadn't exactly skimped on breaking student conduct rules. But whether it was because that face of his was too deceiving or because his final exam scorecards were always immaculate, the teachers had always held him in the palm of their hands. Even back during the winter semester of his senior year of high school when he drove a sports car in his school uniform and cut off someone else's vehicle—sparking a photograph scandal that reached the school—the matter was quietly squashed by the faculty before his parents even had to step in.

Of course, in Yan An's eyes, that wasn't any sort of big deal. What he had harbored a bitter grudge over for nearly a decade was the fact that the goddess he had secretly adored for two years without ever daring to make a move had taken the initiative to approach him, befriended him for a month, and even specifically invited him to her birthday party—leaving him completely spellbound—only for her to ultimately ask, "Could you happen to bring Fu Mingyu along as well?"

It was humiliating to speak of, but Yan An had genuinely held a grudge against Fu Mingyu for almost ten years.

Today, however, he—Yan An—had finally turned the tables, and Ruan Suxian had truly given him an immense amount of face.

Thinking of this, Yan An felt his favorable impression of Ruan Suxian climb a notch higher. Glancing down at her uniform, he sighed, "Sigh, let's leave Fu Mingyu out of it. I still feel such a huge sense of regret whenever I think about how you didn't join North Aviation. Still, I'm a magnanimous guy, so I certainly hope you succeed brilliantly wherever you go."

Ruan Suxian touched her shoulder insignia and smiled. "Thank you."

"What's there to thank me for? You'll have a surprise waiting for you at the airport in a minute."

"What kind of surprise?"

"You'll see soon enough."

While the atmosphere inside the car remained harmonious, someone over at World Aviation's cabin crew department was riding high on a wave of triumph.

Jiang Ziyue strode toward the conference room hauling her flight case. Her soft-soled flat leather shoes made no loud clatter against the pristine floor, but it did nothing to diminish her imposing aura.

She quickened her pace, the smile on her lips growing increasingly pronounced.

Running into her halfway there, Ni Tong stepped forward with a beaming smile to greet her. "Mentor! Morning, you look gorgeous today."

Jiang Ziyue stopped, resting her hands crossed over the pull handle of her flight case while adopting a natural T-stance with her feet.

"You've got plenty of free time, haven't you? Haven't boarded yet?"

"The briefing meeting hasn't started yet." Ni Tong blinked. "Your state today is just unbeatable. Later on, when the reporters' cameras are all pointed your way, remember to show your left side more—you've got a dimple on that cheek, looks much prettier."

Basking in this flattery, Jiang Ziyue said they would catch up later, then strode briskly into the elevator with her flight case in tow.

Five flight attendants were already seated inside the conference room, every single one of them meticulously handpicked. With refined, elegant facial features and statuesque heights, even just gathering together for a casual chat gave off an aesthetically pleasing vibe.

Seeing Jiang Ziyue arrive, someone greeted her, though without an excess of warmth.

After all, with so many employees in the cabin crew department, Jiang Ziyue had just recently transferred from international routes to domestic ones, meaning she wasn't very familiar with most of the attendants stationed here.

Moreover, the topic these flight attendants had been discussing moments prior happened to involve her—while not malicious, it wasn't particularly flattering either, prompting them to naturally seal their lips.

Strictly speaking, today's purser was supposed to be someone else, not Jiang Ziyue, but rather an experienced veteran purser on the domestic routes.

Jiang Ziyue herself had messed this up; she had only caught a glimpse of a corner of the candidate shortlist over at Wang Lekang's place, yet mistakenly assumed it had been finalized. Returning from Spain in high spirits, she checked the backend system, failed to find any assignment for the ACJ31 inaugural flight, and after doing some discreet probing, discovered that the final selection hadn't been her after all.

Though it was a joyful bubble burst entirely by her own misinterpretation, she had already boasted about it to those close to her. Slapping herself in the face like that left her feeling deeply aggrieved, leading her to drag a few close girlfriends out just last night to vent her frustrations.

Who would have expected that right as she got home, she received a call from Wang Lekang stating that the originally scheduled purser had suffered an acute attack of appendicitis, slotting Jiang Ziyue in as her replacement.

At that moment, Jiang Ziyue experienced the distinct sensation that what belonged to her would never slip away, along with the illusory feeling of reclaiming something that had been snatched from her grasp. She had immediately crawled out of bed to slap on a La Mer sheet mask.

What the conference room had been buzzing about just now was precisely this, with everyone remarking on how ridiculously lucky Jiang Ziyue was.

Being a flight attendant might look like a respectable profession on the outside, but outsiders had no inkling of the bitterness hidden within—high-altitude cosmic radiation, noise pollution, none of it was a walk in the park.

Career advancement opportunities were also restricted, making it hard to see any long-term roadmap. Furthermore, in any service industry, enduring grievances was an everyday occurrence; countless individuals had their tempers worn completely flat yet still couldn't afford to show even a flicker of impatience toward passengers.

Consequently, a mission like an inaugural flight for a new aircraft model—complete with media coverage, commemorative significance, cameras snapping photos, and news features—was widely viewed as one of the rare career-defining highlights of an aviation career.

Having someone suddenly step in to reap the rewards left the others without any overt bitterness, though they felt a quiet sense of pity for the original veteran purser.

Jiang Ziyue could more or less sense the prevailing mood in the room, but she didn't mind. Taking a seat with effortless grace, she asked, "Have the captains arrived yet?"

Someone replied, "Not yet, but they should be here soon."

Nodding, Jiang Ziyue pulled out the passenger manifest.

This flight assignment was far from ordinary, and passenger seating hadn't been fully opened to the general public. A massive proportion of the passengers consisted of invited guests—aside from traditional media professionals, there were also select internet self-media operators, alongside Fu Mingyu himself.

According to the cabin crew department's intel, he wasn't intentionally booked on this specific flight; it just so happened that he had a business trip to Lincheng today, and the schedules aligned.

Jiang Ziyue re-verified the passenger manifest, then flipped forward to check the flight crew and cabin crew rosters.

Having answered that phone call in a rush yesterday while busy applying her face mask, she had only carefully scrutinized the passenger list; she hadn't yet found the time to check the flight deck and cabin rosters.

The moment her eyes landed on the information column, the murmur of discussion reached her ears again: "Huh? That female pilot is on our flight? Didn't they say she was assigned to fly alongside a foreign captain?"

"You're just noticing now? I knew last night, heard about it before the assignment list even came out."

Jiang Ziyue's gaze paused slightly as she looked down. Listed under the flight deck crew were the names "Fan Mingzhi" and "Yu Yangshuo"—both distinctly male names.

"What female pilot?"

"You didn't download the update?" one flight attendant asked. "The updated flight assignment list came out this morning; that new female pilot is on our flight."

Just as her counterpart pushed the manifest forward, the surrounding chatter continued.

——"That name sounds kind of familiar..."

——"I've never heard of her?"

——"Why do I feel like I have heard of her?"

The voices gradually quieted down as footsteps approached from outside. The door to the conference room was pushed open, revealing three figures clad in white pilot uniforms and black shoulder epaulets.

A deep, resonant male voice rang out: "Is everyone here?"

Following the sound, Jiang Ziyue looked over—and right beside the two men, she caught sight of the exact person she had laid eyes on just last night.

"..."

Silence descended upon the conference room in an instant.

The other flight attendants fell silent because they had caught sight of a female pilot ten times more stunning than imaginable. Amidst their astonishment came a young girl's natural wave of envy and adoration.

As for the other person's silence, it stemmed from plunging straight into a massive internal struggle.

She was clearly at a bar last night...

How could this be...

Amidst her daze, Jiang Ziyue saw Ruan Suxian's gaze lock onto hers.

At that exact second, Jiang Ziyue felt as though the other woman knew everything.

Jiang Ziyue's face flushed crimson instantly, that wave of heat surging straight to her brain. The hands resting on the table curled into tight fists, her fingernails digging just hard enough into her palms that the mild pain helped suppress the buzzing in her head.

She had never imagined that Ruan Suxian would reappear at World Aviation, leading her to metaphorically nail herself to a chopping board the moment she saw her, as if expecting Ruan Suxian to step forward and interrogate her at any second.

Everyone stood up to exchange greetings, and Captain Fan waved a hand. "No need to be so formal, everyone, please sit."

Only then did Jiang Ziyue snap back to reality. She made a move to stand up, only to realize everyone had already seated themselves.

She watched as Ruan Suxian took her seat, a faint smile curling on her lips as she nodded toward her, as if silently saying, Long time no see.

Long time no see for what, exactly...

Recalling that WeChat message from last night, Jiang Ziyue felt that Ruan Suxian's parting line—There will be plenty of opportunities in the future—must have carried a hidden, secondary meaning.

Pondering this, Jiang Ziyue found herself entirely incapable of lifting her head to meet Ruan Suxian's gaze.

In truth, Ruan Suxian had no ulterior motives whatsoever; she simply thought it would be deeply awkward to make small talk and catch up in a setting like this.

Flipping through the route charts twice, Captain Fan stood up and said, "Let's all do a quick self-introduction. I am Fan Mingzhi, the captain for this flight."

Yu Yangshuo, standing to the side, followed up, "I am Yu Yangshuo, the copilot for this flight."

The moment his voice trailed off, the five female flight attendants seated across from them collectively glued their eyes onto Ruan Suxian.

She stood up and cleared her throat. "I am Ruan Suxian, the trainee copilot for this flight."

With that, she swept a glance over the five flight attendants opposite her. "Is there something on my face?"

The one seated at the very front smiled with pursed lips. "No, we're just admiring how pretty you are."

A single sentence instantly lifted the tense atmosphere in the conference room, leaving Jiang Ziyue as seemingly the only person isolated outside the circle.

Ruan Suxian glanced over a few times, and every single time their eyes met, Jiang Ziyue would unnaturally look away.

Well, what more needed to be said? That expression alone confirmed all of Ruan Suxian's suspicions.

How utterly boring.

Ruan Suxian leaned back against her seat. Suddenly, the captain called out to her, "Do you have anything to add?"

"Huh?" Ruan Suxian straightened up immediately. "I don't."

"All right, then I'll just run through the final precautions." Holding his checklist, the captain read out word for word: "First, since there is media coverage today, passenger boarding will begin twenty minutes early. Second, turbulence is possible one hour and five minutes after takeoff, so make sure to handle the reminder announcements properly. Lastly, in the event of an emergency such as a fire, report to the cockpit promptly."

With that, he looked toward Jiang Ziyue, who remained unresponsive.

Ruan Suxian tapped her pen against the table. "Purser?"

Jolting back to her senses with a start, Jiang Ziyue parted her lips, but facing Ruan Suxian's steady gaze, she remained momentarily speechless.

"What's wrong?" the captain asked. "Any issues?"

"No, none at all." Standing up instantly, Jiang Ziyue drew in a breath, pulled in her stomach, and stated, "I'll just mention two points. First, maintain the hot-to-cold water ratio at 3 to 7, monitoring the temperature carefully to prevent passenger burns. Second, keep close surveillance on passengers arbitrarily swapping seats to prevent any unbalance in aircraft weight and balance."

"Alright, what about you two?"

The captain turned to ask Ruan Suxian and Yu Yangshuo.

Yu Yangshuo shook his head. Twirling her pen, Ruan Suxian tilted her head and said, "Let me add a minor tangent."

Everyone in the conference room looked at her, especially the flight attendants, who were smiling like blooming flowers.

"Today's circumstances are special with media present, so everyone please mind your words." Ruan Suxian glanced toward Jiang Ziyue. "If you're unsure what to say, staying silent is your best bet. Understood?"

Jiang Ziyue stared right back at Ruan Suxian. Though her palms felt hot, she managed to flash a practiced, professional smile.

"Understood, perfectly clear."

"Alright." The captain stood up. "Let's head over."

The group stood up briskly. Ruan Suxian followed right behind the captain while several flight attendants crowded around to strike up a conversation with her. Acknowledging them with a brief reply, Ruan Suxian glanced back and noticed Jiang Ziyue walking at the very rear.

Lingering a step behind, Ruan Suxian tilted her head to look at her. "Manager Jiang?"

Stopping at the sound of her voice, Jiang Ziyue maintained a two-meter distance from Ruan Suxian. "What is it?"

Just as Ruan Suxian opened her mouth to speak, a minor commotion echoed ahead. Looking up, she saw a man in a business suit striding over while clutching a massive bouquet of fiery red roses.

A brilliant sea of red—judging by the look of it, there must have been over a hundred blooms—blocking half the man's torso and naturally drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

The man marched straight toward Ruan Suxian under the collective gaze of the crowd.

"Miss Ruan, your flowers."

Receiving such a bouquet out of the blue, Ruan Suxian took a solid moment to process it before recalling the "surprise" Yan An had mentioned in the car.

This really was quite the surprise.

With a stiff smile, Ruan Suxian accepted the flowers and pulled out the embedded greeting card. Sure enough, it was from Yan An, wishing her a smooth inaugural flight.

"Thank you."

The man was a front-desk receptionist for World Aviation, and having delivered the flowers, he promptly departed.

Clutching such an immense bouquet amidst the envious gazes of the onlookers, Ruan Suxian felt somewhat at a loss for what to do.

She certainly couldn't board the aircraft carrying a bunch of flowers.

Just as she was scanning her surroundings to find a place to stash them, the doors to the Flight Department's international conference room across the hall swung open from the inside. Two women in professional attire pushed the doors open and stepped aside as Fu Mingyu strode out, followed closely by Bai Yang and a dozen or so meeting attendees.

The entire party wore solemn expressions, and two or three middle-level executives looked downright grim—even from afar, they gave off the distinct impression of having been chewed out during the meeting.

That aura of stern gravity bled over toward Ruan Suxian's area, causing the flight attendants behind her to fall silent as well.

When Fu Mingyu swept his gaze across them, the attendants instinctively grabbed their flight cases and gave him a wide berth, terrified of getting scorched by stray sparks.

With half her face obscured behind the bouquet, Ruan Suxian fixed a direct, unblinking stare at Fu Mingyu through her exposed eyes.

The surroundings fell as dead quiet as if a mute button had been pressed.

Consequently, the sound of Fu Mingyu's footsteps was inexplicably amplified. He walked right up to her step by step, halted in front of her, lowered his gaze to sweep across the bouquet of roses, and let a faint, shallow curve tug at the corners of his lips.

That curve struck Ruan Suxian as exceptionally glaring.

So what if I accepted a bouquet of flowers? I, Ruan Suxian, am adored by everyone and loved by all flowers wherever I go, and even company presidents fall for my charm—who asked you to stand here and flash some passive-aggressive smile?

I haven't even settled scores with you for what you said this morning, and here you are giving me a sneer?

"Something the matter?"

Ruan Suxian asked.

Acting as if the bouquet were an eyesore, Fu Mingyu reached out and nudged it aside, exposing Ruan Suxian's entire face.

"After we return from the flight, you'd better explain to me what you meant by what you said this morning."

Meeting his eyes, Ruan Suxian seemed to read a clear warning in them: If you can't come up with a decent explanation, you're finished.

So, Big Boss, you expect me to debrief you on the mess you created yourself?

Imitating his demeanor, the corners of Ruan Suxian's lips twitched upward. "Who knows when we'll even make our return trip? Weather conditions are unpredictable, after all."

Accustomed to issuing commands rather than negotiating, Fu Mingyu clearly didn't have that kind of idle time to spare; a massive backlog of MEL/CDL project orders was waiting for his review before boarding.

"I can wait for you."

With that, he turned on his heel to leave, only to hear a parting remark float over from behind.

——"Then you might have to borrow another five hundred years from the heavens."

"..."

The air in the corridor seemed to be sucked dry in an instant. Even Jiang Ziyue, who had been quietly keeping her ears perked to eavesdrop on the exchange, discreetly retreated into the corner.

This time, Fu Mingyu turned his head back to look at Ruan Suxian, his eyes narrowing slightly.

There was no need for guesswork anymore; Ruan Suxian genuinely harbored hostility—or rather, deep-seated malice—toward him.

The tip of his tongue pressed against his lower jaw as he nodded with a smirk and strode forward.

That expression made Bai Yang vividly read an unspoken subtext: If I let her get away with throwing tantrums this time, I don't deserve to hold all these shares in this company.

Silently lighting a virtual funeral candle for Ruan Suxian in his heart, Bai Yang trotted alongside Fu Mingyu and lowered his voice. "I already had HR pull Ruan Suxian's resume, but her work history only lists her professional background at Commercial Aviation. I've already contacted Commercial Aviation, but since it falls under privacy regulations, it requires some maneuvering; they'll email her resume over in half an hour."

The man walking beside him didn't even deign to offer a cold laugh.

In his mind, Bai Yang had already dug a grave for Ruan Suxian.

This girl was simply too hardcore. Forget Fu Mingyu—even if he were in his shoes, he'd have to slap anyone who challenged his temper over and over again right onto his blacklist.

He cast a sideways glance at Fu Mingyu's profile; that gloomy expression was even darker than it had been during the meeting.

Having worked under him for over a year, he had never once seen Fu Mingyu this angry.

Half an hour later, the aircraft maintenance department's meeting concluded, and the dedicated crew transport vehicle was waiting downstairs to ferry Fu Mingyu, Bai Yang, and the two assistants to the terminal.

Inside the vehicle, Bai Yang handed over the resume he had just received.

Scanning through it roughly at first, his heart skipped a beat when he flipped to the second page, leaving him completely baffled.

Still, this wasn't his problem. Pondering for a moment, he ventured, "President Fu, Ruan Suxian, she..."

Before Bai Yang could finish, Fu Mingyu snatched the resume, impatiently flipped open the first page, and skimmed it cursorily, his expression remaining unchanged.

His gaze locked onto the text only when he reached the "Past Work Experience" section on the second page.

The vehicle came to a sudden halt, and Bai Yang chimed in again, "President Fu, shall we head inside to board?"

Fu Mingyu slowly shifted his gaze away from "Cabin Crew Department 4, Jiangcheng Headquarters, Hengshi Aviation," raising his head to look toward the boarding bridge.

Behind the transparent architectural glass walls, three figures in uniform were faintly visible near the aircraft door.

Three years ago...

Fu Mingyu strode toward the boarding bridge, instructing Bai Yang along the way to place a call to his former secretary, who was stationed far away in North Africa.

Certain clues were slowly taking shape in his mind, though they seemed too absurdly dramatic for him to be certain.

By the time the line in North Africa connected, Fu Mingyu had already stepped inside the boarding bridge.

With less than twenty meters separating them, Ruan Suxian was standing right beside the captain, her posture ramrod straight and her smile radiant as her gaze slowly shifted toward him.

The voice of his former secretary rang in Fu Mingyu's ear.

"Ruan Suxian? I remember her. She left a very deep impression on me."

"When we went to London to acquire W.T. Airport three years ago, she popped up quite a few times."

"She delivered coffee on a few occasions, do you remember?"

Fu Mingyu abruptly lifted his eyes. Without breaking his stride, his gaze carried a sudden flash of realization.

The voice in his ear continued.

"She also showed up at Alvin's private yacht gathering. Didn't you hand her a room key back then?"

"She resigned right after that day. I mentioned it to you."

"As for the rest... the only other thing I recall is that right before I transferred to North Africa, while clearing out your work email, I found that Ruan Suxian had sent you over a dozen emails during that period, all concerning the soaring flight plan."

"Seeing how earnest and heartfelt she was at the time, I casually pulled up her records. She had already passed the soaring flight plan assessments that year, making her the top candidate back then."

While the former secretary was explaining, Fu Mingyu had steadily closed the distance until he was less than two paces away from the aircraft door.

There was less than half a step of space between the two of them.

A gust of wind seemed to sweep past Fu Mingyu's ear, brushing away the captain's greeting and leaving only a single person filling his vision.

Her posture was upright, her uniform immaculate, and the two shoulder epaulets signifying her rank stood out conspicuously.

Curving her lips upward into a brilliant, blooming smile, she said, "President Fu, welcome aboard. Ruan Suxian, the trainee copilot for this flight, is at your service."

For a long moment, a bizarre atmosphere drifted through the air.

Ruan Suxian looked up and saw Fu Mingyu part his lips.

"——Oh."