Blossom through the Cloud - Chapter 37

Chapter 37

As that affirmative single word fell and traveled clearly into Ruan Sixian's ears, she finally realized how abnormal her and Fu Mingyu's conversation had just been.

Even Helan Feng cast a sideways glance at the two of them.

Even if it were an initial meeting between a man and a woman, being forcefully paired together by outside commentary would turn awkward. Add in the fact that Ruan Sixian and Fu Mingyu crossed paths constantly day in and day out, and the moment the topic drifted in this direction, the atmosphere inexplicably turned subtle.

Furthermore, this wasn't the first time such a dialogue had occurred; Ruan Sixian remembered that she had once asked Fu Mingyu, "Do you want to be my boyfriend?"

At the time, however, Fu Mingyu hadn't answered, and she had only thrown out the question in a moment of pique without taking it seriously.

Right now, though, it seemed as if Fu Mingyu was practically shouting, "Try being my girlfriend and you'll find out what I'm like."

Once she figured this layer out, Ruan Sixian naturally clamped her mouth shut.

Yet when her consciousness drifted in that direction, it became somewhat uncontrollable, and a flurry of illogical thoughts popped up, bouncing around wildly in her mind.

She discovered that ever since that slap was delivered, her negative feelings toward Fu Mingyu seemed to have been completely wiped clean.

He wasn't nearly as detestable; in fact, on many occasions, he was quite pleasant—especially his temper, which seemed extraordinarily, unimaginably good.

Aside from granting unlimited tolerance to her unreasonableness, much of what he did had long since crossed the boundaries of ordinary interactions between men and women.

Like insisting on coming over to her place for dinner, accompanying her to the police station, or rushing out to find her at a bar that night simply because of a single text message.

Ruan Sixian even recalled minor details like him standing before her in the elevator to shield her from the dog.

Only when she stopped viewing Fu Mingyu through an emotional filter did she realize that things had been abnormal for a long time.

As she thought about it, Ruan Sixian glanced down at the primary instrument panel, where the cold, unyielding data swiftly pulled her thoughts back to reality.

She frowned and said with a frosty expression, "The instructor is still right here, so stop talking nonsense. Otherwise, even if you're the boss, we have the authority to order you to leave the cockpit."

Fu Mingyu pressed his tongue against his cheek with a faint smile, then turned his head to look out the window.

Helan Feng twitched his mouth, shivered his eyebrows, and also fell silent.

For a moment, the cockpit grew quiet.

Two knocks sounded on the cockpit door, and the purser broadcasted an announcement before stepping inside.

Helan Feng cleared his throat, answered the announcement, and said, "Let's get everyone some drinks."

The cockpit door opened, and the purser stepped in, asking, "President Fu, Instructor Helan, First Officer Ruan, what would you like to drink?"

Ruan Sixian and Fu Mingyu spoke in unison: "Coffee, no sugar."

The air froze for a moment before Helan Feng held back a chuckle. "I'd say the two of you have quite a bit of chemistry." -

After disembarking, Bai Yang had already arranged for a driver to take Fu Mingyu directly to Xicheng.

The dense morning fog had yet to dissipate by noon, leaving traffic on the highway at a standstill, and Bai Yang periodically checked his wristwatch.

Due to the recent flight quality monitoring reform, Fu Mingyu had been pulling long nights and eating irregularly lately, leading to stomach issues. The doctor had explicitly instructed him to eat meals on time, but given the current situation, there was no way he would make it to a proper lunch before the meeting.

True to Bai Yang's expectations, they arrived at the conference center right on the dot two hours later.

Meeting attendees and manufacturer representatives were already seated. The venue was packed to capacity yet remained quiet and orderly.

Staff members escorted Fu Mingyu to the first-row VIP seats, where a placard bearing his name was placed on the desk. The moment he sat down, surrounding attendees continuously stepped forward to exchange pleasantries.

Hand after hand extended outward, accompanied by self-introductions, in a steady, unbroken stream.

It wasn't until the host on the conference stage began testing the microphone that the very last person finished talking and departed.

Fu Mingyu sat down, straightened his cuffs, and saw another hand reaching out toward him from across the table.

Raising his eyes, his gaze lazily drifted away.

"Why are you here?"

"What do you mean, why am I here?" Yan An pulled out the seat next to Fu Mingyu, spun the desk placard around to face Fu Mingyu, and replied, "Naturally, I'm here representing Beihang to attend the conference."

Yan An's appearance was outside Fu Mingyu's expectations, yet entirely within reason.

At past expositions like this, the Yan family wouldn't have dispatched Yan An as a representative; usually, Chairman Yan himself or his executive assistant would take the floor. However, Chairman Yan's health hadn't been optimal this year, and no matter how idle Yan An liked to be, it wouldn't make sense for him to sit this out.

Fu Mingyu had no inclination to chat idly with Yan An, and a single dismissive look sufficed as a response.

Equally lacking in enthusiasm, Yan An glanced twice at the content displayed on the LED screen. Finding it uninteresting, he figured chatting with Fu Mingyu was preferable.

"I heard you've been working on the flight quality monitoring reform lately?"

Though the two of them usually didn't see eye to eye, their families shared deep ties, and in matters of business, he and Yan An had always maintained a peaceful rapport.

"Mhm."

Ever since First Officer Yu executed that diversion flight to Fudu a while back, Fu Mingyu had set his sights on a major undertaking.

He proposed initiating a comprehensive reform of flight quality monitoring starting with Century Airlines, overturning standards that had been in place for over twenty years. While it was hardly a secret within the airline industry, it inevitably stirred up massive waves.

Yan An wasn't surprised, however. Someone was bound to tackle this issue sooner or later, though he hadn't expected it to be someone roughly his own age like Fu Mingyu. "What suddenly made you decide to take this on?"

Fu Mingyu's expression remained calm, as if discussing something utterly trivial. "I've wanted to do it ever since the year I took office. That emergency gallbladder diversion involving a first officer recently just provided the catalyst."

Fu Mingyu put it lightly, but Yan An understood all too well how monumentally difficult the task was.

The flight quality monitoring introduced via QAR had indeed played a positive, constructive role in standardizing pilot operations during its early days, providing a management template for fledgling airlines.

In recent years, however, the consequences of QAR's abuse had become increasingly obvious, and those negative impacts far outweighed its positive significance.

Incidents such as frequent tail-strike occurrences, or an event last year where an aircraft landed with only about twenty minutes of fuel remaining, could almost all be traced back to QAR management and punitive measures having their priorities inverted.

The root cause? Pilots feared facing QAR penalties, causing them to escalate minor incidents into severe emergencies.

In the eyes of many, QAR should be utilized for technical analysis and training assistance, rather than being wielded by safety inspection departments as a tool to punish pilots.

Yet hardly anyone dared to take that step forward. Due to its deeply entrenched usage history and perceived authority, any reform required rolling out a far more persuasive trial framework.

Shaking his head with a pessimistic attitude, Yan An muttered, "Why bother? It's thankless and exhausting, and you can't outmaneuver that bunch of self-isolated old fogies."

Fixing his clear gaze on the LED screen, Fu Mingyu spoke with absolute firmness in his tone. "Don't speak too soon."

Just as he finished speaking, the conference officially commenced— -

By the time the nearly six-hour conference neared its conclusion, Yan An had reached the absolute limit of his patience. Stretching his neck with eyelids fighting heavily to stay shut, he glanced sideways and noticed that Fu Mingyu hadn't shown a single trace of fatigue the entire time.

The speakers on stage were already delivering closing remarks. Bored out of his mind, Yan An pulled out his phone to scroll through it, opening Weibo to discover that Century Airlines' official account had updated its feed a minute prior.

Feigning professional busyness, he tapped into the post to find Century Airlines' promotional Weibo announcement for this year's nationwide flight academy recruitment tour, accompanied by nine attached images.

At a single glance, he instantly recognized Ruan Sixian in the dead-center picture.

After staring at the enlarged photo for a good long while, he couldn't help himself, holding up his phone to ask the person beside him, "Your company's promotional photo here—do you have the raw, unedited file?"

Fu Mingyu swept a millimeter-by-millimeter glance up and down Yan An, turned his head away, and stated indifferently, "No."

Yan An was already accustomed to Fu Mingyu's attitude, so he didn't press further and continued browsing his phone.

A few seconds later, however, the implications of that tone caught up with him.

Sensing something amiss, he lowered his phone and tapped against the table.

"Fu Mingyu," Yan An said, raising an eyebrow as he spoke each word distinctly, "I've been meaning to ask you this for a long time—do you like Ruan Sixian?"

"Yes."

It was an expected, unequivocal affirmation, delivered without a hint of hesitation.

Yan An laughed out of sheer disbelief, his mouth hanging open for a good while as he struggled to find words.

"Fu Mingyu, you are seriously, truly..." Yan An didn't even know what to say. Calming down a bit and recalling prior events, a sudden chuckle escaped him.

Look at the attitude Ruan Sixian held toward Fu Mingyu!

At least she was polite and courteous toward him, but toward Fu Mingyu, she was practically...

"Fu Mingyu, don't you realize what kind of attitude Ruan Sixian has toward you? What on earth are you trying to squeeze yourself into this for?"

What kind of attitude?

Just like that slap—once delivered and the handprint vanished from his face, all past grievances between them were completely written off.

Yet whenever he thought of her, a sharp pang would occasionally prick his heart, followed right after by an itch.

Rather than lingering in this suspended limbo, it was better to grasp her firmly in his hands. Only then would he find out whether she would turn into a sharp needle piercing deep inside, or melt into a soft spot resting gently at the bottom of his heart.

Fu Mingyu raised an eyebrow and cast a sideways, sidelong look at Yan An.

The exact same tone, the exact same phrase.

"Don't speak too soon."——

"Achoo!"

At that exact moment, Ruan Sixian, currently in the employee cafeteria, suddenly let out a sneeze.

The cafeteria auntie asked, "Did you catch a cold, dear?"

"Nope," Ruan Sixian wiped her nose. "Someone must be talking trash about me behind my back."

After plating her food, she carried her tray around to search for a seat.

The evening employee cafeteria was busier than usual. In addition to flight crews, numerous administrative staff members were dining as well, leaving virtually no empty tables in sight.

She managed to find a single remaining table and sat down, but accidentally knocked her spoon onto the floor.

Bending over to retrieve it, she reached out, only for another hand to pick the spoon up first.

Looking up, she saw Yue Chen standing before her with a beaming smile.

"Xiao Ruan, what a coincidence."

Ever since Ruan Sixian ran into him by chance in London and shared a meal with him, the two of them had never maintained private contact.

Upon returning, they flew different aircraft types and had no opportunities to collaborate. Moreover, since he was now dating Jiang Ziyue, Ruan Sixian consciously made an even greater effort to avoid suspicion. Whenever they crossed paths at the company, aside from mandatory greetings, they didn't exchange an extra word.

After all, knowing that Yue Chen used to chase after her, Jiang Ziyue meant that minimizing contact kept them out of unnecessary gossip.

Still, you don't hit someone who's smiling at you, so Ruan Sixian could only offer a polite smile. "What a coincidence."

Yue Chen set the retrieved spoon aside and asked, "Is anyone sitting here?"

Ruan Sixian shook her head. "Are you flying tonight?"

"Yeah." Yue Chen sat down, his gaze inadvertently scanning across Ruan Sixian's face as he asked, "Where are you flying today?"

Ruan Sixian kept it concise: "Lincheng."

"Oh, my hometown."

The two of them chatted casually back and forth like this. There was an underlying hint of awkwardness, but both of them managed to mask it over seamlessly.

"Right, I'm getting married at the end of the year. I'll send you an invitation card later." After talking for a bit, Yue Chen finally revealed his main purpose.

"Congratulations." Ruan Sixian picked at the chili peppers in her meal tray, her tone relaxed. "What month?"

"December seventh or eighth, I can never keep track." Yue Chen chuckled as he spoke. "I should just tattoo it on my body, otherwise I catch flak every time I ask when heading home."

Ruan Sixian laughed along, though her amusement stemmed from the realization that wanderers really could reform after all. She had never imagined that someone as playboyish as Yue Chen would ever be reeled in completely by Jiang Ziyue.

Each of them chuckled over their own thoughts, entirely on different wavelengths, until a first officer walked past carrying a meal tray and gave a gentle cough.

Yue Chen looked up, gazing uncomprehendingly at the first officer.

The colleague squeezed his eyes shut and gestured with his chin toward the right side.

A sinking premonition struck Yue Chen; turning his head in that direction, he indeed spotted Jiang Ziyue standing by the entrance with a darkened expression.

Cursing his terrible luck internally, Yue Chen bade farewell to Ruan Sixian and scurried away with his meal tray.

By the entrance, Jiang Ziyue stood in full uniform, waiting for Yue Chen to walk over.

She had been standing there for nearly fifteen minutes, yet Yue Chen hadn't noticed her at all, his eyes glued entirely to Ruan Sixian.

The two of them were talking about something, laughing away happily.

He never laughed like that when eating with her; he just kept his head down playing mobile games.

"Finished eating?" Jiang Ziyue glared coldly at Yue Chen as he approached. "Why not stay and eat a little longer?"

"What are you going on about all the time?" Yue Chen loathed Jiang Ziyue's tone the most. Just because he used to have many girlfriends, she felt entitled to interrogate him for ages whenever she caught him speaking to another woman. "Aren't you flying soon? Go eat your meal."

"Eat, what eat? As long as she's full, I don't even need to eat."

With mounting impatience, Yue Chen glared at her. "What unprovoked anger are you throwing a fit over now? Am I suddenly banned from exchanging two words with a female colleague?"

"It depends on what kind of female colleague! Is she comparable to anyone else?"

"Fine, think whatever you want."

"Think whatever I want? How do you expect me to think? Hovering and hiding in a corner with someone to eat—who are you afraid of seeing you?"

"If I were fucking afraid of anyone seeing me, would I be eating with her right in the cafeteria? Couldn't we have gone out to eat? Are you out of your damn mind?"

Yue Chen's tone was heavy and his strides even heavier as he stormed off.

Jiang Ziyue wanted to chase after him and grab his sleeve to demand answers. "What do you mean by that? Are you getting restless already, itching for action? Still hooked on her, aren't you? I know you men think whatever you can't get is always the best—Yue Chen, don't forget you're a married man-to-be."

"You're out of your mind." Too lazy to waste another word, Yue Chen broke into a stride and left.

Since Jiang Ziyue had a flight coming up shortly, she couldn't afford to chase him down and argue until a conclusion was reached. Instead, she turned her furious gaze toward Ruan Sixian, who was still leisurely clearing away her meal tray.

In truth, ever since the day Ruan Sixian returned, Jiang Ziyue hadn't managed to get a single night of sound sleep.

On one hand, she lived in fear that Ruan Sixian would find out about the rumors she had spread back then and seek revenge.

On the other hand, there was Yue Chen.

The fact that Yue Chen had failed to win Ruan Sixian's heart had always been a thorn in her side. She understood Yue Chen far too well; he had a wandering eye, and if kept unmonitored, he couldn't stop his flirty mouth—especially regarding someone he had failed to conquer while seeing her day after day. As a result, she checked in on him constantly whenever she had free time, often continuing her interrogations even when it led to fierce arguments with Yue Chen.

Yet how could she possibly guard against it forever?

Seeing Yue Chen and Ruan Sixian chatting and laughing just moments ago caused all her pent-up crisis management defenses to explode at once.

To make matters worse, as Ruan Sixian walked past after clearing her tray, she offered a cheerful greeting: "Are you looking for Captain Yue? He just left."

With a frosty look, Jiang Ziyue replied, "I know."

Noticing her bizarre expression, Ruan Sixian couldn't be bothered to engage further and walked straight past.

Before she had taken many steps, however, the person behind her called out.

"What?" Ruan Sixian turned around. "Something else?"

Jiang Ziyue took a deep breath, striving to keep her complexion and tone as calm as possible.

"Xiao Ruan, we both know Yue Chen used to chase after you."

Ruan Sixian stopped walking, slowly turning around to await the rest of her sentence.

"But we're getting married soon, so—" She raised her head to lock eyes with Ruan Sixian. "I hope you can keep some distance from him."

Ruan Sixian fought with all her might to restrain herself, but still burst out laughing.

"Darling, don't you worry. I never fancied your precious treasure back then, and I find him even less appealing now. You just hold onto him tight."

Such humiliating words delivered with that radiant smile made Jiang Ziyue's anger spike until she laughed in fury, nodding coldly. "Right, what kind of ordinary captain could possibly match someone of your standards? You aim so high—why bother sitting in a first officer's seat at all when you could just sit right in the front passenger seat of President Fu's car?"

Ruan Sixian twitched the corner of her mouth.

Awkward.

I actually really have sat there.