Blossom through the Cloud - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

One hundred and twenty minutes later, the aircraft was prepped for takeoff once more.

Because Fudu Airport housed a World Aviation base, another First Officer was dispatched and scheduled in no time at all.

At seven o'clock in the evening, the flight touched down safely back at Jiangcheng Airport.

After tidying up his things, Captain Fan brought Ruan Xian along with him straight to Fu Mingyu's office.

"How is he?"

Fu Mingyu asked.

Standing right in front of Fu Mingyu's desk, Captain Fan reported truthfully, "Acute cholecystitis. He's already undergone surgery and is in stable condition now."

"Mmm."

Ruan Xian followed behind Captain Fan with her head bowed slightly, listening to the entire exchange between Captain Fan and Fu Mingyu without uttering a single word.

Ten minutes later, Boyang knocked and stepped inside, breaking the momentary atmosphere.

Before speaking, he cast a glance in Ruan Xian's direction.

Noticing his gaze and assuming it was his way of saying hello, Ruan Xian offered him a polite nod.

Boyang pressed his lips into a thin line and walked over to Fu Mingyu's side.

"President Fu, Ms. Zheng has arrived."

Ms. Zheng?

Though no full name was dropped, Ruan Xian instantly deduced that it had to be Zheng You'an.

Lowering her head, she absentmindedly picked at her fingernails.

Why was she here?

Yet this question vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

It didn't matter; people had their own business to attend to.

Shortly after, Boyang angled his head to shoot Ruan Xian another glance before stepping close to Fu Mingyu to murmur in a low voice.

Standing a few meters away, Ruan Xian couldn't catch a single word of what Boyang said, only seeing Fu Mingyu nod and reply, "Got it, have someone make the arrangements."

Once Boyang withdrew from the room, Fu Mingyu smoothly picked up right where they left off, questioning Captain Fan further about the details.

Bringing the report to a close, Captain Fan stated, "Since the engine thrust exceeded 66% during the speedbrake deployment this time around, I will take full responsibility."

Ruan Xian snapped her head up to stare at Captain Fan.

Did that mean the QAR Level 3 incident triggered by this diversion was going to fall entirely on his shoulders?

Clutching a pen between his fingers, Fu Mingyu contemplated in silence for a moment. Instead of addressing Captain Fan's remark directly, he merely said, "Alright, I'm aware of the situation."

With the debriefing concluded, Ruan Xian followed Captain Fan out of the office.

From start to finish, Ruan Xian didn't exchange a single word with Fu Mingyu, not even a fleeting glance of eye contact.

Ruan Xian genuinely found this a bit bizarre. Just a couple of nights ago, he had practically glued himself to her apartment for half a day, serving hand and foot, absorbing all her barbs without sparking so much as a single flame of annoyance.

From the looks of it now, had her constant rebuffs finally extinguished his temper for good?

Yet just as she reached the doorway, a voice called out from behind her, "Ruan Xian."

Though the call was directed at Ruan Xian, Captain Fan instinctively paused his steps, glanced back and forth between Ruan Xian and Fu Mingyu with a speculative look in his eyes, and then strode away, thoughtfully pulling the door shut behind him.

Originally, Ruan Xian hadn't thought much of Fu Mingyu calling her back, but with Captain Fan's knowing stunt, she had a gut feeling nothing good was about to happen.

Turning around, she asked, "What is it?"

While firing up his computer screen, Fu Mingyu replied, "Within the next day or two, you should be receiving a notification. The company is launching this year's nationwide promotional recruitment drive for the flight academy, and they need a promotional video filmed. The Flight Department selected you to be on camera."

Ruan Xian tilted her head, wearing a bright, pleased smile. "Sure, I'm down."

Being on camera for a promotional video represented the corporate image—who wouldn't be happy about that?

Immediately following that, Fu Mingyu added, "The director of photography is Zheng You'an."

Ruan Xian experienced a fleeting flash of surprise, but after a brief pause, it all clicked into place.

Zheng You'an studied photography, specialized in portraiture, and shared deep ties with the Fu family; having her handle this shoot was entirely standard procedure.

Ruan Xian asked, "Is there a problem?"

Lifting his gaze to look at her, Fu Mingyu caught a faint ripple across his eyes before lowering his tone. "If you'd rather not, I can have the Flight Department swap out the photographer."

Why would I rather not?

If I didn't want to do it, you should swap out the pilot instead of the photographer.

Studying him closely, Ruan Xian understood instantly.

Oh!

You're starting up again, aren't you!

Still under the impression that I'm insanely jealous of Zheng You'an, huh?!

This jerk of a man...

Wearing an expression of absolute innocence, Ruan Xian looked right at Fu Mingyu and asked, "Why wouldn't I want to? I'm more than willing."

Meeting her eyes and confirming her sincerity, Fu Mingyu let out a soft sigh. "Alright."

Assigning Zheng You'an to helm the camera for this promotional shoot was something Fu Mingyu had agreed to right to Chairman Zheng's face.

Normally, it wasn't a major deal; any competent freelance photographer would suffice, so throwing Chairman Zheng this favor cost him nothing.

However, he only learned of the connection between Ruan Xian and Zheng You'an afterward.

He usually didn't bother with these trivial, minor details, but once the project kicked off, he specifically inquired with the person in charge. True to his expectations, the Flight Department had selected Ruan Xian for the shoot.

He had even considered that if Ruan Xian preferred to avoid any contact with Zheng You'an, he could easily break his word, replace Zheng You'an, and simply compensate Chairman Zheng through other means later.

In truth, he had an entirely alternative solution available: having the Flight Department pull Ruan Xian and pick a different pilot instead.

Simple and hassle-free.

Yet from beginning to end, he hadn't even entertained that option for a single second.

The reason he proactively checked with her beforehand was because he refused to make unilateral assumptions based on his own wishful thinking ever again.

And yet, a lingering impulse to show off or perform in front of her remained stubbornly active in the back of his mind.

Yet Ruan Xian looked genuinely, completely unbothered.

Not bothered in the slightest.

True to expectations, the following morning Ruan Xian received an instruction from the Flight Department to prep for the upcoming promotional shoot for this year's academy recruitment.

Even though the photographer was Zheng You'an, the emotional knot in her chest had loosened considerably ever since that night of drinking; taking a few pictures was no big deal.

Only today, temperatures hit record highs once more, forcing Ruan Xian to brave the heat in her full uniform.

Her shirt had to be buttoned all the way up to the collar, her trousers were thick and airtight, and turning around under the scorching sun made her feel like a little yellow croaker flipping over on a sizzling barbecue grill.

To make matters worse, hailing a cab was a nightmare at this hour; not a single driver accepted her ride requests from the apartment entrance.

Standing by the gate waiting for a few minutes, Ruan Xian felt like she was already cooked to a medium-rare state—anyone who preferred their food rare could practically take a bite out of her right then and there.

As Yan An pulled his car out of the parking structure, he spotted Ruan Xian standing by the entrance clutching her flight cap, looking thoroughly agitated.

Without consciously thinking, he tapped the brakes and pulled to a halt roughly ten meters away from her.

Ever since that phone call late at night, Yan An hadn't returned to Minchen Mansions once.

Since she had rejected him clearly and unequivocally, clinging further would only make him look pathetic. Even though sporadic bouts of irritation and frustration flared up, he managed to restrain the urge to initiate contact.

Yet catching a glimpse of her right now—seeing her dressed in full pilot uniform for the very first time, her posture straight and proud, her skin glowing white against the blinding sunlight—stirred up an uncontrollable itch of longing.

Perhaps what you couldn't have always appeared the most desirable, or perhaps it was simple stubbornness; in any case, he found it impossible to convince himself to just drive past and pretend he hadn't seen her.

After sitting idly for a full three minutes, Yan An finally crept his car forward alongside Ruan Xian.

"Where to?"

Yan An rolled down the window to ask.

Turning her head and realizing it was Yan An, Ruan Xian blinked in surprise. "President Yan?"

"Yeah, heading to World Aviation?"

Ruan Xian nodded. "I..."

"Hop in, I'm heading that way anyway," Yan An said. "I need to hit the airport base, I can give you a lift."

Noticing Ruan Xian's hesitation, Yan An cracked a grin. "No way, you won't even get in my car? I'm genuinely passing by, didn't we agree to just be friends?"

Right, because friends call each other in the middle of the night.

Though the sarcastic inner monologue didn't show on her face, Ruan Xian simply smiled and said, "I hailed a ride, it'll be here any second."

Yan An's smile vanished as he drummed his fingers impatiently against the steering wheel, while the vehicle pulling up behind them gave an aggressive blast of its horn.

"Stop dawdling, get in. It's not that big a deal, or the driver behind us is going to hop out and start swinging."

Lifting her gaze to scan the street, Ruan Xian couldn't spot a single trace of a taxi anywhere.

Meanwhile, three more cars had lined up behind them in succession.

The sunlight glared painfully down, and the heat radiated a stifling irritability. Brushing a hand through her hair, she found her fingertips already slick with sweat.

Fine, whatever.

She yanked open the door and slid into the front passenger seat.

While she bowed her head to buckle her seatbelt, Yan An glanced sideways at her, pressing his lips tight as if wanting to say something before ultimately swallowing the words.

In dead silence, they drove all the way to the World Aviation main gates, where Yan An smoothly brought the car to a stop.

Offering a polite word of thanks, Ruan Xian stepped out of the vehicle, only for Yan An to call out to her.

Pausing with her hand braced against the car door, Ruan Xian looked back. "What is it?"

Exhaling a long breath from inside the car and holding it for a few seconds, Yan An finally spoke up, "It's hot out, watch out for heatstroke."

Ruan Xian offered a nod and turned to walk inside.

Once the car behind her pulled away, she glanced back over her shoulder.

Why did this guy Yan An feel like a piece of work who simply refused to give up?

Ruan Xian arrived alongside several other junior captains and first officers.

Seeing Zheng You'an again today, she was dressed far more casually in a crop top and jeans, her hair pulled up into a high ponytail as she paced back and forth across the photography studio with a stern expression.

The workload wasn't heavy, yet she had brought a staggering three assistants along with her.

Spotting Ruan Xian immediately, Zheng You'an didn't pay her much mind at first, but after taking a few steps, she suddenly backtracked right up to her and blurted out, "Haven't we met before?"

Before Ruan Xian could reply, Zheng You'an continued, "Oh, I remember now. We ran into each other at the business aviation terminal last month."

"Mmm," Ruan Xian nodded. "We did."

Surveying Ruan Xian up and down with a half-smile, Zheng You'an remarked, "You must look great on camera. Your company is certainly considerate, getting everyone pre-selected and practically saving me a mountain of trouble."

The tone carried a hint of underlying resentment over the Flight Department dumping personnel straight into her lap without granting her any choice, making the compliment sound rather backhanded.

One of the assistants she brought along chimed in with a snicker, "No kidding, look whose company this is after all. How could they not save you some trouble?"

Turning around to glare at her assistant, Zheng You'an scolded with a smile, "Shut it!"

Ruan Xian caught the subtext instantly—they were clearly taking veiled jabs at the relationship between Zheng You'an and Fu Mingyu.

Claiming she had nothing to do with him while simultaneously pulling strings behind the scenes to help out.

This jerk of a man truly had no shame.

Pouting slightly and keeping her thoughts to herself, Ruan Xian stood quietly in place.

As she waited, her internal monologue inevitably drifted back to cursing Fu Mingyu.

That jerk was impossibly shameless, playing the hypocrite just two days ago by hypocritically asking if she wanted to swap photographers.

Hypocrite.

Scumbag.

"Alright, come over here for makeup," Zheng You'an's assistant beckoned to Ruan Xian. "Let's get the women squared away first."

Once makeup wrapped up, it was time for the actual shoot.

Back when she was a flight attendant, Ruan Xian had modeled for World Aviation's internal magazine before, working with outside production crews, so she considered herself reasonably familiar with the workflow.

Yet Zheng You'an apparently operated quite differently from standard commercial photographers, nitpicking over the makeup for ages.

Complaining that the eyeshadow was too heavy one second, then griping that the eyebrows were drawn too thick the next. The other male pilots had finished their makeup and were waiting around forever while Ruan Xian sat trapped in front of the vanity mirror for two solid hours.

Wasn't this just a standard recruitment promo?

Did she really need to treat it like shooting a spread for a high-fashion magazine?

By the time Ruan Xian felt like her patience was wearing thin, Zheng You_an finally offered a reluctant nod. "Good enough, let's go with that."

Ruan Xian: "..."

If I'm being honest, young lady, does your personality match your pure looks at all? Are you a Virgo or something?

When the shooting phase finally commenced, the process remained every bit as agonizingly slow as Ruan Xian had anticipated.

Zheng You'an kept the assistants repositioning the reflector panels over and over, micro-adjusting a single pose dozens of times until Ruan Xian's face felt stiff from smiling.

At five in the afternoon, just as everyone thought they were finally finished, Zheng You'an slammed her camera bag shut and announced, "Alright, let's head outside for exterior shots."

Ruan Xian: ?

Excuse me, you want to shoot outdoors in thirty-eight-degree weather?

Naturally, everyone else shared Ruan Xian's lack of enthusiasm.

"Can't we just pick a few poses and call it a day? Why shoot outdoors, isn't there post-production editing for this stuff?"

"Is that even the same thing?" Zheng You'an looked as though she had just heard the most absurd joke on earth. "Can a digitally patched blue sky and white clouds ever match a real landscape? I never rely on post-production editing."

Speechless, Ruan Xian mentally repeated for the one hundred and eightieth time that this was merely a set of student recruitment posters, not an art piece intended for gallery exhibition.

The other male pilots had initially fawned over Zheng You'an due to her innocent, youthful looks, but after enduring an entire afternoon of torture, they too were hovering right on the edge of blowing their tops.

Remaining silent while Ruan Xian also withheld comment, Zheng You'an stared them down for a tense half-minute before asking, "None of you want to do this?"

Fine, whatever. Better not argue with a woman.

The male pilots muttered irritably under their breath, "Fine, let's shoot!"

Turning her attention back to Ruan Xian, Zheng You'an asked, "And you?"

Crossing her arms and glancing out at the blinding glare of the sun, Ruan Xian frowned and nodded. "Fine, let's get it over with."

As long as it wasn't Fu Mingyu, she could tolerate any amount of extra hassle.

Lifting her chin, Zheng You'an declared, "Let's move out, then."

This outdoor session dragged on until the sun was practically sinking below the horizon. Ruan Xian's uniform was soaked through with sweat from top to bottom, and she chugged an entire large bottle of mineral water the second she finished.

Flipping through the captured shots on her screen, Zheng You'an muttered to herself, "Posed shots really lack any sort of genuine soul, though."

Ruan Xian: "..."

This girl must be the self-appointed patron saint of Virgos.

Lacking the patience to linger around any longer, she figured Zheng You'an was too engrossed in reviewing her photos to care about polite farewells.

So, Ruan Xian grabbed her bag and prepared to head out.

Passing right behind Zheng You'an, however, she overheard one of the assistants murmuring under their breath, "You're overcomplicating every little detail. It's just a promo video, not an arthouse masterpiece."

Well, thank goodness there was at least one sane person in the room.

Yet Zheng You'an retorted, "So what if it's a promo? Big Brother Mingyu is going to see this, I have to make it absolute perfection."

Ruan Xian: "..."

Without breaking her stride, her brow pinched together even tighter—a frown that squeezed deep into her chest.

Taking a deep, stabilizing breath, Ruan Xian found herself completely unable to adjust her mood.

Fine. Big Brother Mingyu, is it? I'm chalking this entire grievance up to your tab today.

Over in a private dining room at Chunjiang Night, a sudden tickle tickled the tip of Fu Mingyu's nose. Pressing his index finger against the bridge of his nose, he gave a light cough.

"What's wrong? Is the AC set too low?"

Zhu Dong asked, gesturing as if to signal someone to adjust it, but Fu Mingyu stopped him with a wave of his hand. "I'm fine."

"The weather's been way too brutal lately. I caught a heatstroke last week and only recovered two days ago."

Picking up the wine decanter on the table, Zhu Dong poured a glass for himself and Fu Mingyu. "You're tied up with major corporate reforms right now, make sure you don't run yourself into the ground."

Fu Mingyu held his wine glass, his gaze dropping onto the liquid as if his mind had drifted elsewhere.

"Hey, do your old man and your older brother even know that you're overhauling the Flight Quality Monitoring system?"

Fu Mingyu nodded.

Zhu Dong pressed further, "What did they say?"

Narrowing his eyes at the folding screen behind Zhu Dong, Fu Mingyu replied offhandedly, "It doesn't matter if they object, they can't stop it."

A chuckle escaped Zhu Dong as he lifted his glass for a sip. "Looks like you're fighting this battle all alone."

Raising his glass in a silent toast, he added, "Spiritually, brother is backing you all the way."

Seeing that Fu Mingyu remained unmoved and displayed zero enthusiasm for the topic, Zhu Dong smoothly pivoted to another subject. "Guess who I saw lingering outside World Aviation's gates today?"

Lifting his eyelids, Fu Mingyu remained silent.

"That kid Yan An," Zhu Dong said. "Dropping off that female pilot from your company."

He let out a laugh as he spoke. "Tell me, why did you even bother trying to muscle in on him back then? Her heart was clearly already wandering elsewhere all along, ending up dragging both of them through the wringer. But then again, you can't trust a word Yan An says—claiming he was completely over her and done chasing. I called it from day one, there was no way in hell he could let go. When has that guy ever gotten drunk over a woman before? I knew something was off with him that day."

Observing that the man across from him still showed zero interest in the topic, Zhu Dong sighed in defeat and tapped his knuckles against the table.

"What's up with you today? Bad mood?"

"No."

Deciding not to pry further, Zhu Dong focused his attention back on eating and drinking.

Meanwhile, Fu Mingyu kept his eyes lowered, his gaze dark and unfathomable. After a lengthy silence, he let out a dry, self-deprecating chuckle and finally lifted his wine glass to take a sip.

After wrapping up the shoot, Ruan Xian first headed home to take a shower and change clothes. Afterward, Si Xiaozhen drove over to pick her up, and the two went out for dinner before dropping her back off. With all the back-and-forth eating up time, it was already ten o'clock at night by the time she stepped back into Minchen Mansions.

The streetlamps stretched her exhausted shadow out long across the pavement. Approaching her building entrance, she encountered several neighborhood residents walking their dogs and chatting under the eaves.

Ruan Xian didn't even have room to detour around them. Pausing under the lamplight for a moment, she waited to see if the group would move along, but seeing no signs of them leaving anytime soon, she awkwardly cleared her throat and asked them to pull their dogs back.

Giving her weird, questioning looks, the dog owners muttered among themselves as they reined in their pets.

Just as Ruan Xian hurried past, a particularly high-energy Golden Retriever lunged forward excitedly, startling her into a stumble.

Just as she was about to take a spill, a steady hand caught her firmly by the shoulder.

Lifting her gaze under the bright entryway lights, she crashed head-on into Fu Mingyu's dark, penetrating stare.

He looked as though he had been drinking; a distinct trace of alcohol lingered on his breath.

The alcohol made his complexion even paler than usual, draining his color, yet the overhead light reflected in his eyes, causing them to gleam with a faint, restless shimmer.

Ruan Xian asked instinctively, "Why are you here?"

The moment the words left her mouth, she instantly regretted them.

He owned an apartment upstairs; running into him here was completely normal.

Pouting to herself, Ruan Xian figured she must have been baked half-delirious by the sun today.

Turning her head away, she noticed that Fu Mingyu's hand was still resting on her shoulder.

Ruan Xian instinctively stepped aside to shake him off.

That subtle evasive motion caused Fu Mingyu's gaze to darken further as he spoke up. "I was waiting for you."

His voice, roughened by alcohol, carried a low, resonant clarity that left Ruan Xian with zero room to convince herself she had misheard.

Giving him a strange, bewildered look, she asked, "What on earth were you waiting for me for?"

He averted his gaze slightly, letting the cool night breeze wash across his face.

"Where did you go today?"

If he hadn't brought it up, it would have been fine, but mentioning it instantly reignited Ruan Xian's annoyance.

That precious little darling Zheng You'an had put her through the wringer all afternoon just to show off in front of him, and he still had the nerve to cross-examine her?

"Where else would I go? Aside from taking pictures for your precious photographer, where else could I possibly be?"

Fu Mingyu lowered his head to look her dead in the eye. "You know that's not what I'm asking."

Ruan Xian didn't follow his train of thought. "If not that, what else could it be? I literally spent the entire day doing a photo shoot. If you don't believe me, go ask anyone else."

With a muttered grumble, she added, "If I'd known she was only doing this to suck up to you, I wouldn't have bothered getting mixed up in it."

Suddenly, her chin was hooked upward by his fingers, forcing Ruan Xian to meet his gaze. The unexpected physical contact caused her thoughts to stall for a solid two seconds.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Were you with Yan An today?"

"Yeah." Ruan Xian jerked her face away, freeing her chin from his fingertips. "He gave me a ride on his way back, so what?"

Fu Mingyu's fingers hung suspended in empty air, devoid of a target, yet his fingertips burned with heat.

Staring at Ruan Xian, the confusion swirling within his eyes could no longer be contained.

"Why?"

Why could she smile and chat amiably with a guy like that after everything that had happened, yet treat him like a plague to be avoided at all costs?

"Why what?"

Ruan Xian retorted, "I already told you, he just gave me a lift on his way."

The moment she said it, a fleeting wave of irritation washed over her.

Why on earth was she wasting her breath explaining herself to him?

Turning on her heel, Ruan Xian snapped, "If you're hammered, go get some sleep, President Fu."

Abruptly, Fu Mingyu caught her by the wrist. His grip was remarkably firm, and the intense heat radiating from his palm sent an ominous shiver down Ruan Xian's spine.

Men who had too much to drink were dangerous—history had proven that time and time again.

Turning her head to glare at him, Ruan Xian hissed, "What is your problem?! Do you have to police every single person I hang out with? Aren't you overstepping your boundaries just a little bit? You're my boss, not my dad."

Amidst Fu Mingyu's brief silence, a sudden thought flashed through Ruan Xian's mind.

A slow, mocking curve touched the corner of her lips. "What's wrong, President Fu? Don't want to be my boss anymore?"

"Policing me this much—want to be my boyfriend instead?"

Right on cue, she watched the darkness deepen in Fu Mingyu's eyes as his Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

Before he could formulate a response, she added with a teasing smirk, "Keep dreaming."

"......"

Even though she had anticipated this outcome the moment the words left her mouth, hearing her reject him so bluntly still made Fu Mingyu's heart plummet straight to the floor.

Was it really... all just her imagination and his own wishful thinking?

For Ruan Xian, there was no sweeter feeling in the world than this exact moment.

The smile deepened across her lips as she wrenched her wrist out of Fu Mingyu's grip and strode away in triumph.

Yet she barely managed a single step before her hand was yanked back again.

This time, the force was far greater, directly pinning Ruan Xian back against the hallway wall.

The temperature of his palm climbed steadily, and his warm breath brushed against the tip of Ruan Xian's nose.

Scorching hot, radiating a fierce, restless intensity.

"Is it really..." He murmured, "Do you really feel nothing for me at all?"

His deep, midnight eyes were locked onto her with an undivided focus, dark as an abyssal ocean where hidden, turbulent undercurrents churned just beneath the surface.

The curved smile slowly vanished from Ruan Xian's lips.

Right at that moment, Ruan Xian felt the pressure of his hand increase, locking down with an unyielding grip.

"You hesitated, didn't you?"