When Qian Fei returned home that evening, Li Yifei was nowhere to be seen as dinnertime approached. She found it strange; he had been in the house while she was cooking. Could he have vanished back to his troublemaking planet in the blink of an eye?
She called Li Yifei, but his phone rang inside the house.
She knocked on the bathroom door, calling out to Li Yifei, “Come out for dinner!”
Li Yifei didn’t respond.
Thinking Li Yifei might be brooding over the day’s events, she threatened, “Li Yifei, if you don’t come out, I’m coming in!”
There was a click at the front door, and Li Yifei entered carrying a case of beer.
“I can’t believe you. If I hadn’t come back, you’d have been chatting with the bathroom door all night!”
Qian Fei felt like she was about to crack.
“When did you go downstairs?” she asked.
Li Yifei put the beer on the table. “When you thought I was in the bathroom.”
Qian Fei asked again, “Why did you buy beer?”
Li Yifei glanced at her, “What do you think?”
Qian Fei pouted, “Did today’s events stir up some emotions? Your girlfriend of several years is getting married, and the groom isn’t you? You’re renting an apartment and wearing knockoff clothes from Taobao to play the cultured youth, while your ex-girlfriend’s fiancé’s company is going public, decking out his bride-to-be in gold from head to toe. Are you feeling melancholy about all this?”
Li Yifei cursed, “Can’t you be a bit more tactful? Do you think I don’t care at all?”
Qian Fei scoffed, “You’re such a twisted person. When others try to comfort you with kind words, you put on a face colder than ice. You say, ‘What makes you think I’m upset? Mind your own business and leave me alone.’ But when someone speaks frankly, you act like your delicate heart can’t take it. Li Yifei, why are you so contrary?”
Li Yifei was taken aback as if he had never realized he was like this.
He pulled out a chair and sat down, gesturing to Qian Fei, “Enough talk, sit down and eat!”
Although they said they were eating, the meal had already become secondary to the beer.
Qian Fei thought to herself, how many times can one fall in love in a lifetime? And how many people, after losing love, can encounter a new flame who makes their old love look like a tall, handsome pauper right in front of their ex-girlfriend? With this in mind, she decided to keep Li Yifei company in drinking with a do-or-die attitude.
The two of them started chatting about various topics.
As the alcohol warmed their brains, Qian Fei once again couldn’t control her mouth. She channeled her inner saint and earnestly advised Li Yifei, “Let me tell you, stop fighting with yourself. If you’re upset, don’t act like Xu Wenqiang every day. His wife was taken by Ding Li, but he still strives for the stability and unity of Shanghai every day. It’s useless! If you really can’t get over Gui Lili, just go talk to her and clear things up. Why drag me here to drink this gloomy beer?”
Li Yifei slammed his beer on the table, “Big Sister Qian, are you okay? You want me to go back and find her? Let me tell you, from childhood to now, this young master has never done something so undignified! I’m feeling stifled today, but it has nothing to do with whether I’ve moved on or not! What bothers me is that I’ve always been the one to dump others, and no one has ever dumped me first!”
Qian Fei looked at him and, unable to hold back, gave him four words: “Shameless scum!” After a moment’s thought, she added two more words, “Jerk!”
Li Yifei, inexplicably scolded, became irritated as the alcohol went to his head, “I’m a jerk? Then tell me who isn’t? Is your ex-boyfriend not a jerk, or is your current boyfriend not a jerk? Look at all these boyfriends you’ve had, which one of them hasn’t cheated?”
He finished speaking and took a big gulp from his beer can.
Qian Fei stared at him blankly.
He put down the beer can.
Qian Fei was still staring at him blankly.
Li Yifei suddenly sobered up halfway.
Qian Fei, still staring at him blankly, asked, “What did you just say? What do you mean, ‘Look at all these boyfriends you’ve had, which one of them hasn’t cheated?’ What boyfriends have I had? I’ve only had two boyfriends, okay? And what do you mean ‘which one hasn’t cheated’?”
Li Yifei sighed, with an expression of deciding to lay all cards on the table, “Let me ask you, how long has it been since you’ve been in contact with your current boyfriend?”
Qian Fei’s eyes became unfocused for a moment, “It’s been a long time, but he’s on a business trip!”
Li Yifei smirked sarcastically, “Business trip? What a bullshit business trip! He didn’t even get selected as a supervisor, what business trip could he be on every day? He’s lying to you, Qian Fei!”
Qian Fei suddenly felt dizzy. She held her head as she stood up, “My head hurts. Let’s talk about this tomorrow. I’m going to my room!”
Li Yifei didn’t stop her, but as she was about to enter her room, he called out, “Qian Fei, leave work a bit early tomorrow. Go wait at the hotel entrance and see if Hu Zining is really on a business trip or not!”
Qian Fei didn’t turn back, she went into her room and closed the door.
She rushed to the bathroom and washed her face.
Just a moment ago she had been very dizzy, but now it seemed as if she had suddenly sobered up.
She went back to her room and took out her phone to send a WeChat message to Hu Zining: “Zining, what are you doing? Have you returned from your business trip?”
After a while, he replied: “Working overtime, haven’t returned.”
Those five brief words made Qian Fei want to cry.
She remembered the time when Wang Ruohai was out socializing every night and not coming home, he had the same lazy tone: “Working overtime, don’t wait up”; “Working overtime, go to sleep first”; “Working overtime, aren’t you tired of asking?”
Her heart began to sink slowly.
The next day, she was distracted the entire day. An hour before getting off work, she asked Liu Yifeng for permission to leave early.
She took the subway directly to the hotel where Hu Zining worked. She found a corner and stood there waiting.
Soon it was time for people to get off work, and people started coming out of the hotel continuously. Qian Fei strained her eyes to look until her eyes began to ache.
Then she saw Hu Zining.
Hu Zining was wearing a crisp suit, carrying a briefcase that seemed to be an expensive brand. He walked out of the building with his head held high and a bright smile on his face.
Qian Fei blinked hard. She hadn’t seen wrong, Hu Zining was indeed smiling broadly. But of course, it wasn’t directed at her, but at a woman walking towards him.
She watched as the woman approached, and Hu Zining naturally linked arms with her.
Qian Fei recalled that Hu Zining had never been this intimate with her near the hotel. They always walked to a more distant place before holding hands and taking a stroll.
Qian Fei couldn’t describe how she felt. Now, she just wanted to ask Hu Zining face-to-face what all this was about.
She walked out from her corner towards Hu Zining.
She saw that Hu Zining had noticed her.
When he first saw her, there was a hint of surprise in his eyes, but he quickly composed himself. As he looked at her, his eyes were cold, even carrying a hint of mockery.
She was confused. Why was he acting like this?
She walked over and greeted him, “Zining, can we talk?”
She got a clear look at the woman beside Hu Zining. She wore pearl earrings that sparkled brilliantly, a jade Buddha pendant hung around her neck, and her low-cut round neckline revealed an ample bosom. She looked mature and alluring, though she seemed to be a few years older than Qian Fei and Hu Zining.
“Who is this?” the sophisticated lady asked Hu Zining.
Hu Zining seemed afraid that Qian Fei might say something inappropriate, and hurriedly reassured the lady before Qian Fei could speak, “Xiao Yi, wait for me for a moment. This is a client of mine. I need to discuss something with her over there!” As he spoke, he gave Qian Fei a meaningful look.
Qian Fei couldn’t help but smile sarcastically.
Now she wasn’t sure who was the official girlfriend.
She followed Hu Zining back to the corner where she had been standing earlier.
She asked Hu Zining, “Zining, I’m not the type to cling desperately, but shouldn’t you at least let me know what’s going on? Who is that woman? Are you two-timing?”
Hu Zining’s face darkened, “Qian Fei, you shouldn’t be stupid. Who that woman is and what relationship she has with me, you should have seen at a glance! You say you’re not the type to cling desperately, so why did you come to my workplace? Are you deliberately trying to embarrass me?”
Qian Fei’s mind was in chaos, “Why did you lie about being on a business trip? You weren’t on a trip!”
Hu Zining said impatiently, “Don’t be ridiculous, Qian Fei. Are you really stupid or just pretending? Couldn’t you tell that me always saying I was on a business trip was my way of telling you we were over? I was trying to save face for you, couldn’t you see that?”
Qian Fei was bewildered, “But if you wanted to break up, you should at least let me know! You just kept saying you were on a business trip, I didn’t understand! While you were dating me, were you also dating other women?”
Hu Zining laughed scornfully, “Fine, Qian Fei. Since you insist on tearing off the mask, I won’t bother trying to save face for you anymore! You accuse me of dating other women, but what about you? Aren’t you living with another man? That’s why you never let me send you home! That guy is Li Yifei, the one working on the project with you, right? I’ve seen you two enter the house together! Such a handsome guy, being with you, you must be keeping him, right? Just look at how he wears designer brands every day! If he wasn’t after your money, why would such a handsome guy be with you? No wonder you always said you had no money when I asked to borrow some, you were spending it all on that pretty boy! Now you have the nerve to come and question me? What right do you have? Let me tell you, Qian Fei, let’s part ways amicably. Don’t even think about finding Xiao Yi and telling her nonsense. Even if you did, she wouldn’t believe you. She’d just think you’re a crazy woman with a secret crush on me!”
Qian Fei had never imagined that Hu Zining could show such an ugly side when he turned on her. She was so angry that her whole body trembled, tears welling up in her eyes. She had never heard such filthy words before. At that moment, she thought she should do what women in romantic dramas do – give the scumbag a hard slap across the face.
Her body followed her thoughts, and she raised her arm, but her arm was caught in midair by Hu Zining.
After intercepting her arm, he used the momentum to push her back forcefully. The push caused her left foot to twist, and she staggered backward.
“Are you crazy?” she heard Hu Zining say as he pushed her.
She felt utterly disheartened as she fell backward.
But just as she was about to hit the ground, someone steadied her from behind.
She turned her head in confusion to look.
Surprisingly, it was Li Yifei.
After steadying Qian Fei, Li Yifei looked up at Hu Zining, his voice full of contempt and provocation, “You bastard, hitting women, huh? Want me to tell that rich lady over there how many women you’ve mooched off of?”
Hu Zining, unwilling to back down, retorted, “Bastard, aren’t you living off her too? Neither of us is a hero, so let’s not point fingers!”
Li Yifei looked down at Qian Fei and asked, “Can you stand steady?”
Qian Fei nodded.
Li Yifei asked again, “Left side or right side?”
Qian Fei said bitterly, “Front!”
Li Yifei let go of her, stepped forward, and swiftly threw a punch that landed squarely on the bridge of Hu Zining’s nose.
Hu Zining immediately covered his face, howling as he crouched down.
Li Yifei shook his hand and walked back to support Qian Fei’s shoulder, feeling her trembling under his palm.
He didn’t want to engage with this scumbag any longer; he needed to get her away quickly.
“You bastard, I’ll let you strut around a bit more. Just wait, the day will come when you’ll be crying and kneeling, calling me grandpa!” After saying this, ignoring whatever curses Hu Zining was muttering while covering his nose, Li Yifei supported Qian Fei and left immediately.