Blossom through the Cloud - Chapter 55

Chapter 55

The glass shards inside the office had already been cleared away, and the scattered documents were completely put back in order. Meanwhile, Boyang hurried in with his brows tightly furrowed.

Behind the desk, Fu Mingyu's computer was running, but he was standing by the window taking a phone call.

After Boyang entered, he looked as though he had something to say. Fu Mingyu glanced back at him and made a gesture indicating for him to wait a moment.

A few minutes later, after hanging up the phone, he turned around and sat back down at his desk. While flipping through his phone, he asked Boyang, "Has the test flight for that Diamond DA50 Super Star finished?"

"It's finished, there are no issues," Boyang said. "Mr. Helan handled the test flight personally."

Due to business-related needs, having ordered that Diamond DA50 Super Star yesterday, it had already been delivered today, parked at the Nan'ao General Airport in the western suburbs, and had completed its test flight right away.

"Mmm." Fu Mingyu put down his phone, checked the time, and asked again, "What about the airport side?"

Boyang answered, "The Nan'ao General Airport side has already cleared the northbound runway and the designated route airspace from ten in the morning to six tomorrow evening. There won't be any other commercial or general aviation aircraft occupying the route during that period. However, the boss of Nan'ao mentioned that a friend of his is in a rush to take a private pilot license test, so it will be occupied for about two hours tomorrow. Since they're a beginner, though, they won't take off and will only perform ground operations."

"Good."

Nan'ao General Airport was a commercial airport. Although Fu Mingyu had chartered the whole place, scheduling was indeed quite difficult. The boss of Nan'ao was a friend of his, so he had put in a lot of effort to help out, and Fu Mingyu naturally wouldn't dwell on such minor details.

Fu Mingyu opened his computer and continued looking at the content he hadn't finished reading earlier.

After finishing his report, Boyang added, "But regarding Miss Li..."

Fu Mingyu looked at the computer screen without lifting his eyes, asking offhandedly, "What's happened with her this time?"

With utter helplessness, Boyang pulled out his work iPad, never having imagined he would be repeatedly checking Weibo so frequently today.

"She just posted on Weibo according to the PR department's request."

Today, the PR department had liaised with Li Zhihuai, and their demands were very direct. First, clarify that the two of them were merely high school classmates. Second, clarify what actually happened this morning.

The PR department had always handled matters according to Fu Mingyu's personal news protocols. For a long time, apart from necessary business events, he basically never appeared in the public eye. Especially since Yan'an over at Beihang frequently made trending searches due to personal private matters and had been disciplined with varying degrees of severity by his family, Fu Mingyu kept an increasingly low profile, his presence on the internet dropping to almost zero.

Therefore, it was impossible for him to step forward personally just for Li Zhihuai.

"The request was very simple. She said it was just a matter of a single sentence and posted it directly. But the PR department saw it just now and feels extremely dissatisfied."

Boyang thought for a moment before supplementing, "Because the content is already published, it actually has higher traffic and trending heat than the earlier news. If we ask her to change her tune now, it might end up looking like a cover-up, so we wanted to ask your opinion first on whether we should intervene again."

Fu Mingyu raised his eyes. "A cover-up?"

Accustomed to dealing with all sorts of aviation data year-round, Boyang simply didn't know how to summarize these messy public relations affairs in words.

"Show me."

Obeying, Boyang handed over the iPad. Fu Mingyu took a quick glance and saw the short paragraph written on it. His expression didn't change, but his index finger tapped gently against the desktop.

"This is her response?"

At first glance, it did indeed follow his instructions.

Fu Mingyu sneered. Out of respect for their high school head teacher, he had assumed Li Zhihuai might have inherited her father's handling of affairs, but it turned out she still lacked basic clarity.

Looking further down at the related content, the miscellaneous variety of reactions on the screen looked quite lively.

Fu Mingyu browsed through them roughly: comments like "clarifying on the surface while making it public in reality," "dropping secret hints," and "no wonder there were rumors you were starring in an aviation-themed film." The high engagement across various comments had completely derailed the original intent of the clarification.

Fu Mingyu tossed the iPad aside and looked up. "What's the discussion volume on this matter right now?"

Boyang replied, "The trending search ranking has gone up instead of down."

That meant a lot of people knew about it.

Fu Mingyu glanced at his personal phone; indeed, new messages kept pouring in endlessly.

Ruan Suxian must have seen it too.

He stood up, unclipped his arm sleeves and tossed them onto the desk, picked up his phone, and walked toward the window while dropping a single sentence.

"Handle it immediately."

Boyang turned and rushed out right away.

Before the door even closed, however, Fu Mingyu called him back. "Ask the driver, where did she go back to?"

Boyang naturally knew who "she" referred to. As he went to ask the driver, Fu Mingyu dialed his phone again, but the outgoing call looped the same mechanical female voice over and over.

"Sorry, the subscriber you have dialed is temporarily unavailable..."

He suspected Ruan Suxian had blocked him.

Massaging the bridge of his nose, he turned, picked up another phone, and dialed out. It was still unreachable.

This afternoon offered a rare, bright winter sun. The sunlight illuminated the stairwell, making it look much clearer than usual.

Fu Mingyu pressed the doorbell three times, but there was no response from inside. He switched to knocking, yet still no footsteps approached.

Taking a deep breath, he called Ruan Suxian again, but it remained in an unreachable state.

Calls wouldn't go through, nobody opened the door, and it was even possible that after the driver dropped her off, she hadn't come inside at all.

Fu Mingyu stood at the doorway for a few minutes, his gaze growing increasingly heavy.

Half an hour later, he appeared outside the entrance of Bian Xuan's bar.

It was not yet three-thirty; the bar doors were tightly shut, and not a single shadow could be seen outside, save for a few stray cats darting around.

Frowning, Fu Mingyu scanned his surroundings, the restless irritation in his eyes threatening to boil over.

Calls wouldn't go through, and he couldn't find her. Right now, Fu Mingyu was even more worried that something might have happened to Ruan Suxian.

Clutching his phone, he stood in the sunlight for a while before getting back into his car, returning to Minchen Apartments, and asking property management to pull up the hallway surveillance records for this afternoon.

The surveillance footage showed that Ruan Suxian had returned home at 1:30 PM and had not appeared in the hallway since—meaning she had been inside the apartment the entire time.

Fu Mingyu returned to her doorstep, pressed the doorbell several times, and still no one came to open the door.

He dialed her continuously once more, with the exact same result.

As luck would have it, she was currently adjusting her flight schedule these two days and didn't need to be on standby, giving her every reason to turn off her communication devices.

Staring darkly at the door, Fu Mingyu clenched his fist and struck it hard a few times. "Ruan Suxian, I will explain everything to you, but open the door first."

He knocked a few more times, but no one answered.

Fu Mingyu practically hammered on the door to no avail, so he took out his phone and opened his chat with Ruan Suxian.

[Fu Mingyu]: Open the door.

The message went through successfully, meaning he hadn't been blocked.

Taking a long breath, he leaned against the wall and typed out a sentence.

"You can throw whatever tantrum you want, but open the door first and let me explain things clearly."

Minutes passed after sending it, with no response, and the top didn't display "other party is typing" either.

Fu Mingyu stared at his phone for a while before slowly lowering his head, experiencing for the first time in his twenty-eight years what it felt like to be completely helpless.

The sunlight outside the window transitioned from bright to amber, then twilight fell, and thousands of household lights illuminated the night sky at some unknown hour.

Ruan Suxian had spent the entire afternoon reading, leaving her eyes dry and aching. After putting in some eye drops, she put on her coat and prepared to head downstairs to grab something to eat.

However, the moment she opened the door, she saw Fu Mingyu standing right on her doorstep.

He wasn't wearing an overcoat, still dressed in the same suit he wore indoors, looking somewhat thin against this weather.

Ruan Suxian paused. "What are you doing?"

The moment he saw Ruan Suxian, Fu Mingyu let out a slight breath of relief.

The next second, however, he noticed her eyes were red-rimmed, with lingering moisture still clinging to the corners.

"Did you cry?"

"Who cried?" Ruan Suxian felt utterly baffled, a hint of a smile even touching her face. "You don't seriously think I hid away and cried in secret, do you?"

"What were you doing all afternoon?"

"I was reading." Ruan Suxian leaned against the door frame. "With so many exams every year, don't I need time to prepare?"

Fu Mingyu turned his head to look out the window, his brows furrowed into a deep frown as he let out a long breath.

"Did you see what Li Zhihuai posted?"

"I saw it on my way back." Ruan Suxian leaned against the door, sizing Fu Mingyu up. "Your female classmate is quite something. Everyone's living life for the first time, how does she manage to pull off so many stunts?"

"Didn't you look at what came after?"

"What else is there to look at?"

After returning, Ruan Suxian had indeed felt somewhat annoyed, so she put on noise-canceling headphones, turned her phone to airplane mode, and studied all afternoon.

Just a high school classmate, not even an ex-girlfriend; she couldn't be bothered to fuss over her. With that time, she might as well solve more practice questions. People looking to stir up trouble popped up every year, but professional exams only came around a few times a year.

Besides, the deeper she got into her reading, the calmer her mind became.

Fu Mingyu bent down slightly, a trace of uncharacteristic, cautious hesitation in his tone. "Are you still angry?"

For an entire afternoon, he had stood at her doorway, waiting for her to open up.

Unable to see her, his nerves remained tightly wound, as if awaiting a trial.

He knew the PR department's efficiency very well; everything had already been resolved by the time he left the office. During that period, Li Zhihuai had called him several times; he hadn't answered, but it was clear she was quite anxious.

Yet she hadn't looked at any of it at all, choosing instead to wholeheartedly focus on preparing for her exams.

Ruan Suxian rolled her eyes slightly. "Am I an air pump? Do I have infinite anger to spare every single day? Who even is she to be worth me getting mad over?"

"Hmm?" Seeing her make that expression, Fu Mingyu relaxed and reached out to pinch her cheek. "Who was it that came rushing over to me all murderous earlier today?"

Ruan Suxian swatted his hand away and glared at him. "I can't be bothered to waste anger on her, but you're the one who caused this mess, so I'm mad at you."

"Then what do you want me to do to appease you?" Fu Mingyu asked. "Do you want an airplane?"

Ruan Suxian thought about it and nodded solemnly. "I'll go upstairs to pick one later."

"The ones over there don't need picking, they're all yours." Fu Mingyu said, "Get to sleep early tonight, coming out with me tomorrow morning?"

Hearing that an entire room full of model planes belonged to her, her eyes involuntarily lit up.

This investment definitely paid off.

And—it seemed this man didn't just have that room of model planes; he definitely had more hidden away elsewhere.

A wave of excitement washing over her, Ruan Suxian pressed her lips together and nodded. "Fine then, let's see if they're exquisite enough." 

Meanwhile, Li Zhihuai placed her seventh call to Fu Mingyu, and the other party still didn't pick up.

She opened Weibo and saw that although the comments on her post were still being suppressed by her fans, various mocking remarks could still be seen within the latest replies.

The origin of it all was that Shihang's official Weibo account had reposted her post three hours ago.

"To explain in detail: First, visiting Miss Li's father was because he was the high school head teacher of our company's Operations Director, Mr. Fu. Respecting teachers is everyone's duty.

Second, in the ten years since graduating from high school, Mr. Fu and Miss Li have both been extremely busy, meeting a total of three times for a combined duration of two hours and five minutes—two hours of which consisted of last night's chance encounter at the banquet and this morning's hospital visit. Sharing the same alma mater is fate, but graduation marks the end of that bond; meeting again relies purely on luck. We hope everyone will cherish the classmates around you.

Third, please stop spreading groundless rumors. Our President Fu has gone off to coax his girlfriend.

Fourth, register as a member on the official Shihang website for brand-new winter routes and enjoy your exclusive flight butler service. The most beautiful routes belong right here at Shihang."

The first two points ruthlessly refuted the ambiguous undertones of her statement without leaving her an ounce of face, subtly mocking her at the end of each point. As for the final point, it bluntly dropped an advertisement, appearing entirely indifferent to her feelings.

With nowhere to vent her anger, Li Zhihuai turned and hurled her phone directly at the young male employee in charge of publicity.

"Look at the fine mess you've made!"

This publicity guy had only been appointed recently; he wasn't from a professional background, but he had a bit of cleverness and was usually handy at steering minor public opinions.

It was just that this time, his little trick had completely flipped over. Daring not to utter a single word of defense, he could only stand there and take the scolding.

"I'm telling you, you know how much effort I put into securing this female captain role. I'm even studying for my private pilot license! If this tanks, pack your bags and get lost immediately! I don't care whose nephew you are!"

Early the next morning.

"Are you taking me to dig for coal?"

Watching the car drive deeper and deeper into a remote area, then looking down at her own outfit, Ruan Suxian couldn't help asking.

She had woken up early this morning, carefully put on makeup, and paired it with a fitted knit dress that looked both sexy and elegant.

As a result, the moment Fu Mingyu arrived, he told her to change clothes, completely ignoring her careful styling!

So she went and changed into another dress, but Fu Mingyu wasn't satisfied with that either, fishing this exact set of pitch-black aviator jacket and pants straight out of her wardrobe for her.

In the middle of driving, Fu Mingyu glanced sideways at her. "It looks great."

Ruan Suxian picked up her collar and tugged at it twice, failing to see what on earth was so great about it.

Turning her head to look out the window, she felt somewhat depressed.

She had thought she could dress up beautifully for a date, only to be forcibly styled like a coal miner.

One hour later, Ruan Suxian looked up and watched as Fu Mingyu drove the car into Nan'ao General Airport.

She blinked, a realization dawning in her heart, though she wasn't entirely certain.

"Why did you bring me here?"

As Fu Mingyu reversed the car into the parking garage, he smiled at her. "Didn't you like solo flying? Today, the entire airspace is yours."

To Ruan Suxian, "the entire airspace is yours" carried a far more lethal temptation than "the entire diamond mountain is yours."

From stepping out of the car to walking into the airport interior, the palms of her hands were faintly warm.

When she saw that the entire runway was truly deserted, she headed straight for that line of Cessnas parked on the tarmac.

Fu Mingyu grabbed her arm. "Wait a second, don't rush."

He led her toward the tarmac on the other side.

At position number three sat that Diamond DA50 Super Star.

A brand-new general aviation aircraft without a single speck of dust on it, parked there and looking exceptionally eye-catching.

The moment Li Zhihuai arrived, she had been captivated by this aircraft.

She walked a circle around the plane, took in the facilities inside the cockpit, and drew a sharp breath.

"How gorgeous."

The boss of Nan'ao accompanied her, smiling as he said, "This model isn't quite suitable for beginners yet. Once you're more familiar with things, you can consider renting one down the road..."

He checked his watch. "You came early today, the instructor hasn't arrived yet. Give it a few more minutes."

Li Zhihuai's attention remained entirely fixed on the aircraft. She nodded absentmindedly and asked, "When the instructor gets here later, can they take me up for a quick ride?"

"That won't work," the Nan'ao boss said. "This was bought by a friend of mine as a gift for someone else, it has nothing to do with me. However, if you want a test ride, you'd have to ask his permission."

Li Zhihuai blinked. "Who bought it? Is it possible?"

Right as she finished speaking, a voice sounded from behind her.

"Mine."

Li Zhihuai turned around to see Fu Mingyu walking toward her.

And he was holding hands with a woman.

The woman was quite tall, wearing an aviator jacket almost identical to Fu Mingyu's, yet it failed to conceal her slender, graceful figure.

With the airport winds blowing strong, the woman's shoulder-length black hair was tossed into a flurry across her face. When she reached up to sweep her hair back over her crown, revealing her full face, Li Zhihuai was momentarily dazed.

Was this his girlfriend?

During her split-second of distraction, Fu Mingyu had already stopped in front of her.

"I bought this for my girlfriend, so I'm afraid I can't let others test-fly it."

?

Ruan Suxian had still been silently drooling over that aircraft when she suddenly heard Fu Mingyu say that, thinking she had misheard.

She turned to look at Fu Mingyu, only to notice the other woman standing beside them.

Second wave of bewilderment.

Li—what tree was it again?

This was Ruan Suxian's first time seeing this person in real life, so she tilted her head to size her up twice.

Li Zhihuai couldn't read any particular emotion in her eyes.

No anger, no hostility... not even indifference.

She couldn't tell whether this woman was completely oblivious to yesterday's events or simply didn't care about her at all.

Whichever the case, it made her quite uncomfortable.

Noticing Ruan Suxian staring at Li Zhihuai, Fu Mingyu squeezed the palm of her hand. "Not going to try it out?"

Lacking any mental bandwidth to spare for Li-tree or Peach-tree, Ruan Suxian withdrew her gaze, dropped Fu Mingyu's hand, and walked straight toward the plane.

Fu Mingyu watched her retreating figure, but Li Zhihuai's voice rang out in his ear.

"Mingyu, about yesterday..."

"No need to address me so familiarly." Although Fu Mingyu was speaking to her, his gaze remained fixed entirely on Ruan Suxian up ahead. "If it weren't for Teacher Li, I probably wouldn't even remember your name after all these years. You can address me by my full name, or President Fu works too."

If the wind hadn't paused for a brief moment right then, Li Zhihuai almost wouldn't have believed that the man who had been so mild-tempered and pleasant before her father yesterday morning could utter such words now.

"What happened yesterday was handled by my publicity team. I didn't have any ulterior motives, it's just that—"

"I don't care what motives you had, but you provoked my girlfriend." He took a step forward, shifting to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Li Zhihuai. "She is magnanimous and won't bicker with you, but I'm not as generous as she is."

With that, he strode toward the aircraft.

Ruan Suxian had already opened the cockpit door, though she hadn't climbed in yet and was still inspecting the exterior.

Watching the two figures, Li Zhihuai took a sharp breath, but found it impossible to exhale smoothly.

She admitted that when the promotional copy was written yesterday, she hadn't stopped it—which equated to tacit approval.

She had simply wanted to soothe the lingering grievance of many years ago.

Just a tiny, minuscule bit of selfish personal sentiment.

She hadn't expected it to be distorted in that manner.

Now, as the female lead, she was the focal point of attention wherever she went, long accustomed to being doted on and pursued.

She hadn't intended to actually cause trouble, but she genuinely hadn't regarded that "girlfriend" Fu Mingyu mentioned as anyone of consequence.

At this moment, looking ahead at the woman's expression of unadulterated delight, Li Zhihuai's thoughts drifted back to many years ago.

Back when they graduated from high school, hearing that Fu Mingyu had gone to test for a private pilot license, she had secretly imagined what it would be like to sit in the plane piloted by Fu Mingyu, sweeping across Jiangcheng's mountains, rivers, and seas, overlooking this familiar city from above.

And today, she was watching another woman about to sit in that very seat she had once yearned for.

Driven by a stubborn obsession, she found herself unable to look away, wanting to see what expression that woman would wear sitting right beside the pilot's seat.

A few minutes later, blinking in disbelief, she watched that woman climb aboard—into the pilot's seat?

Thinking she must be seeing things, she took two steps closer and watched as Fu Mingyu boarded from the opposite side.

Moments later, she stood frozen as she watched the aircraft taxi toward the runway and take off at the far end.