Blossom through the Cloud - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

It was already ten-thirty at night when he returned to Lake Light Mansion.

This hour could hardly be considered the deep of night, but the surroundings were already quiet and still. The car drove smoothly up to the entrance, and Fu Mingyu looked up to see that only the lights on the first floor were on, with figures occasionally shifting behind the illuminated windows.

The front gate was shut tight, and as Fu Mingyu stepped onto the first tier of steps, the sound of scratching came from inside.

Following Aunt Luo opening the door, the golden retriever kicked its legs and bolted out, circling around Fu Mingyu's legs.

Fu Mingyu did not hurry inside; instead, he bent down and played with Doudou for a while.

He Lanxiang walked out draped in a shawl, leaning against the doorway to watch for a moment. "Alright, your Aunt Luo needs to take Doudou to put in eye drops. Come on inside, all of you."

Hearing this, Fu Mingyu pinched Doudou's head to examine it. "Sick?"

"Eye inflammation." He Lanxiang slanted a look at him. "You don't even care about your own dog, and you didn't even know it got sick."

With that, she walked inside. Fu Mingyu turned back to ask Aunt Luo, "Is she in a bad mood today?"

Aunt Luo gave He Lanxiang's receding back an inscrutable look and quietly nodded.

Once inside the house, Aunt Luo fetched the eye drops and called Doudou to the side for its medicine.

"I'll do it." Fu Mingyu took the drops from her hand and walked toward the sofa, Doudou following close behind with a wagging tail.

He Lanxiang sat on the sofa flipping through a book, saying not a word.

The house was exceptionally quiet, save for Doudou letting out a bark every now and then.

A dog was still a dog; no matter how well-behaved it usually was, it still wouldn't sit still when it came time for medication.

After failing to get the drops in a few times, Fu Mingyu impatiently set the bottle down and said to Aunt Luo on the side, "You do it instead."

Doudou was already five years old, having been sent to the Fu family when it was only two months old.

At first, He Lanxiang wasn't sure about keeping it. She didn't like cats or dogs, but she also felt lonely being home alone during the day. Her eldest son, Fu Shengyu, was stationed overseas with the business division year-round and could hardly be seen a few times a year. Her younger son was in the country, but he might as well not have been; even when he stood right in front of her, he barely spoke a few words.

Back then, He Lanxiang was hesitant, but it was Fu Mingyu who said they could keep it.

By now, Doudou was five years old. Usually, it was very close to Fu Mingyu, and Fu Mingyu showed it immense patience, occasionally even giving it a bath himself.

This was the first time she had ever seen him look so impatient.

He Lanxiang cast a glance at him sideways. "Did you run into something unpleasant at work today?"

"No."

"Then what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

He Lanxiang turned a page with extra force and looked at him coldly. "The older you get, the more of a wooden clam you become."

Fu Mingyu didn't reply, standing up to head upstairs.

The housekeeper passed by him carrying some odds and ends. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the aunt holding an open box, inside of which was neatly folded a silk scarf embroidered with the character "Xian" [娴].

For barely a second, he paused. The housekeeper acutely noticed his gaze, stopped, and asked, "What is it? Is there a problem?"

Fu Mingyu asked, "What is this?"

Based on his understanding of He Lanxiang, she generally did not own silk scarves with embroidered characters.

Even if she did, they would only be custom-made items commissioned by brands specifically for her, embroidered with "Xiang" [湘].

Sure enough, He Lanxiang said from the side, "A gift from someone else."

With that, she flipped through the book in her hand and muttered under her breath, "I don't even know what she's showing off for. Who wears a scarf embroidered with someone else's name? If the pattern weren't genuinely pretty, I'd use it to wipe the table."

Hearing the urge to vent in He Lanxiang's tone, Fu Mingyu hurried upstairs.

Alas, things rarely went according to wishes; halfway up, he was called back after all.

"Right, I would have forgotten if you hadn't brought this up." He Lanxiang put down her book and looked up at Fu Mingyu. "President Zheng and his wife have their wedding anniversary next month and invited us. But since your brother and your dad aren't in the country right now, I figured other people don't matter, but since President Zheng invited us, it wouldn't be appropriate for just me to show my face. Make sure you go together."

The President Zheng whom He Lanxiang spoke of had started out in the hotel business and was naturally a partner to airlines. There was actually no need for He Lanxiang's reminder; Fu Mingyu would naturally make an appearance.

"Also, that natural pearl necklace of yours..."

He Lanxiang suddenly shifted into a smile, teasingly looking at Fu Mingyu. "I see it sitting at home for several days now. Are you still giving it away or not?"

That day she had asked Fu Mingyu a question, guessing in her heart that he had bought it to give to someone.

A necklace was naturally meant for a young woman, and given that these natural pearls were not cheap, it was evident that the identity of that young lady was extraordinary.

Who would have thought that days had passed, and those pearls were sitting at home untouched.

He Lanxiang only had a warm yellow floor lamp lit, and since Fu Mingyu was already on the stairs, she couldn't clearly see his expression from that distance, only hearing him say, "Send it to President Zheng's wife."

He Lanxiang let out a light hum, slightly dissatisfied, and muttered, "I wonder if people like her would even deign to look at such vulgar trinkets."

President Zheng's wife was the person who had sent He Lanxiang the silk scarf, and her name was Dong Xian.

She was a painter, someone in the arts, unlike He Lanxiang, whose running of an art gallery was purely for the sake of making money.

Yet He Lanxiang and she weren't exactly at odds either; after all, people of their standing always had to maintain a facade of harmony.

It was just that He Lanxiang usually found her brand of affected loftiness a bit hard to stomach.

Take the silk scarf she sent this time, for instance—it looked as though she had casually gifted her friends some inexpensive token where the thought counted most, and the pattern was even painted by herself.

Yet who didn't know that the brand which designed and produced scarves for her was notoriously difficult to deal with? Even He Lanxiang didn't own a custom scarf from them yet.

At this thought, He Lanxiang mused further: I don't even know what there is to celebrate about a second marriage. I don't even want my son to go; how inauspicious.

Fortunately, Fu Mingyu walked away quickly, otherwise he would have had to endure He Lanxiang's nagging, adding fuel to the fire of his already sour mood.

Once he reached the second floor and caught sight of that string of pearl necklaces neatly organized by Aunt Luo, his agitation only deepened.

This necklace had indeed been bought for Ruan Xian, and its price was indeed steep.

That time they went to Lincheng, he learned about Ruan Xian's past upon boarding. Later, because of work, he went straight to Paris, and upon returning, he had thought about having a talk with Ruan Xian.

Or rather, to apologize to her.

Yet in Fu Mingyu's life, his experience with the matter of "apologizing" was truly lacking.

Therefore, he thought of selecting a valuable gift to externalize his apology, lest that matriarch once again deem his sincerity lacking due to his few words and quiet nature.

Yet right now, that song was still echoing in Fu Mingyu's mind, alongside flashes of all the events of this past period.

Suddenly, he felt it was unnecessary—completely unnecessary.

Apologize?

It wasn't solely his fault to begin with, and being able to tolerate her time and time again was already his greatest concession.

Not to mention Ruan Xian's actions had long since exceeded the limit of his patience.

At the same time, the flight that had been delayed for several hours due to weather finally took off.

During the prior wait, the passengers' emotions had been unstable and the cabin crew couldn't pacify them. In the end, the captain had to step forward personally to steady the passengers' moods.

After entering the level flight cruise state, Captain Fan requested a cup of tea, took a slow sip, and asked the First Officer Yu, "When is your wedding again?"

"Next year," First Officer Yu said with a smile. "What, are you going to impart some wisdom to me?"

Captain Fan waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no, women are all the same once they get married. You just have to resign yourself to being a dutiful grandson."

With that, he turned back to ask Ruan Xian, "Little Ruan, do you have a boyfriend?"

Before Ruan Xian could answer, First Officer Yu chimed in, "Here he goes again, here he goes again. Captain Fan, you're only just past fifty, how is it that you've already taken up a hobby for matchmaking? Don't tell me that every time you get off a plane, instead of going home, you go square dancing?"

"Scram!" Captain Fan feigned a swipe at him, then said cheerfully and with a laugh, "I'm just asking! Little Ruan is so outstanding, she must have a boyfriend, right?"

Ruan Xian said she didn't, and Captain Fan nodded, saying nothing more.

Yet after a few minutes, unable to restrain himself, he turned back again and asked, "Well... my son is twenty-four this year, a year younger than you. He's about to graduate with his master's degree, and his job is already locked in—he's at a research institute."

"Come on, let me help you say the next line," First Officer Yu continued. "Little Ruan, would you like to get to know my son?"

Captain Fan didn't refute him, simply looking at Ruan Xian with a beaming smile.

Having just seen Yan An off yesterday, Ruan Xian had no time to entertain another one, yet she found it hard to refuse directly.

"I'm currently... not really considering that aspect."

"Ah?" First Officer Yu asked in astonishment. "Still not considering it?"

Captain Fan glared at him and said, "It's fine, it's fine, career comes first! Well then, why don't you tell me what kind of person you like? I'll keep an eye out for you. I still know a lot of single captains and researchers; they're all promising young men."

Saying he would keep an eye out for Ruan Xian, he actually still wanted to hear Ruan Xian's criteria for a partner to see if his own son fit the bill.

Under their curious gazes, Ruan Xian lowered her gaze in thought, and a face strangely surfaced in her mind.

"I like someone modest."

"And self-aware."

Captain Fan asked, "Just that? That's too abstract. Do you have anything more specific? Like profession, height, or looks?"

He saw that at some thought, Ruan Xian's expression turned rather peculiar.

"As for the profession, decent is fine; they don't need to earn too much money. They don't need to be too tall—I don't like men who are too tall. As for looks..."

Hse paused.

"Average is fine."

Otherwise, they'd be prone to narcissism.

First Officer Yu remarked, "None of these requirements of yours are high. It looks like you're someone who relies heavily on feelings."

Ruan Xian didn't speak further.

Who enters a relationship without relying on feelings? Pity that feelings happened to be the hardest thing in the world to figure out.

Two hours later, the plane landed in Jiangcheng.

Due to the delay, it was already two in the morning by the time Ruan Xian got home. She took a shower, hit the bed, and fell straight to sleep, experiencing a night without dreams.

Following that, June arrived, signaling the start of the peak aviation season and a surge in the number of flights.

Ruan Xian's daily routine was a two-point line between the airport and her home, occasionally finding time to sit at Bian Xuan's shop. In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed by.

On this particular morning, Ruan Xian went out for a run, and while waiting for the elevator, she noticed the digital display resting on the 18th floor.

She suddenly recalled that for over half a month, she didn't seem to have run into Fu Mingyu once at Minchen.

On a business trip?

That didn't seem right; just two days ago, she had caught a fleeting glimpse of Fu Mingyu's figure back at the company.

As she was thinking this, the elevator doors suddenly slid open, and Ruan Xian almost thought she was hallucinating.

No way, speak of the devil?

Inside the elevator, Fu Mingyu naturally saw Ruan Xian as well.

Their gazes intersected for a fraction of a moment before he averted his eyes, making no other movement.

He had been busy until three last morning, and since he had a meeting this morning, he had come here to stay the night.

In fact, it had always been like this in the past.

Ruan Xian walked inside, standing on opposite sides from him. For a moment, neither of them spoke, as if they didn't know each other at all.

In the enclosed, cramped space, the atmosphere was genuinely awkward.

The elevator descended smoothly and stopped at the eighth floor.

Ruan Xian suddenly had a bad premonition.

Ever since that Labrador had entered from the eighth floor last time, she had memorized this floor. Every time she rode the elevator and saw it stop on the eighth floor, she would tense up for a while.

The elevator doors slowly slid open.

Ruan Xian: "..."

Truly, whatever she thought about today came to pass.

And today, this Labrador was even more spirited than before.

The moment it came in, it was bouncing around the elevator, even leaving a scratch mark on Ruan Xian's trousers.

Startled nearly to the point of crying out, Ruan Xian retreated into the corner and pressed herself tight against the wall.

The person walking the dog this time was a young woman who couldn't hold the animal back and could only offer an apologetic look toward Ruan Xian.

As for Fu Mingyu on the side, he kept his gaze unblinkingly on his phone, acting as if he hadn't noticed this scene at all.

No, I'm going to suffocate.

Ruan Xian wanted to reach out and press the elevator button; she wanted to step out immediately and wait for the next car. Unfortunately, trapped in the corner and too afraid to move, her hand couldn't reach it at all.

Right at that moment, the previously silent Fu Mingyu suddenly moved.

——He reached out and pressed the button for the fifth floor.

Coincidentally, the elevator had just reached the sixth floor. A few seconds after Fu Mingyu pressed the button, the car halted at the fifth floor.

The elevator doors slowly opened. Fu Mingyu tilted his head slightly toward Ruan Xian, his eyelids lowered, and his chin jerked upward in a slight motion toward the exit.

The gesture meant: You may take your leave.

Ruan Xian didn't notice how subtle his expression was; she crossed out in two or three steps.

As her mind steadied slightly and she exhaled a breath of relief, she wanted to say thank you to Fu Mingyu.

However, the moment she turned around, she saw that the elevator doors were already closing.

And Fu Mingyu was once again lowering his gaze to his phone, his lack of expression being his expression.