Li Yifei told Qian Fei he had to resign.

When Qian Fei asked why, Li Yifei paused before saying, “The company ran into some issues.”

Qian Fei assumed he was referring to the import-export company he had started on the side, so she simply replied, “I see,” without further comment.

He was such a clear-headed person, always knowing what he wanted and needed to do. She was certain this decision came after careful deliberation, so there was no need for her to worry needlessly on his behalf.

In fact, from much earlier on, she had begun to sense his underlying anxiety. He was troubled by something, though he didn’t want her to know exactly what was bothering him.

Over the past two years, she had matured considerably. She was no longer the impulsive person she once was, curious about everything and feeling compelled to get to the bottom of every matter.

So all this time, even though Li Yifei hadn’t shared what was troubling him, she had refrained from asking. She often comforted herself with that cliché phrase: When he’s ready to tell her, he naturally will.

Li Yifei informed Qian Fei, “I’ve already spoken with the Vice President. After I resign, our department won’t have an immediate replacement. The VP will manage temporarily. Once you complete a project on your own and show some results, the VP will have justification to promote you to department head!”

Hearing how he had arranged everything for her, Qian Fei furrowed her brow. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Li Yifei asked, “What do you mean?”

Qian Fei said, “My mom dropped a bunch of instructions on me like this right before she left.” She glanced at Li Yifei and cautiously asked, “All these things you’re telling me sound an awful lot like you’re settling your affairs. You’re not hiding some terminal illness from me, are you?”

Li Yifei scoffed and reached out to pinch her cheek, his eyes gleaming mischievously. “Have you ever seen a man who’s just gotten a taste of sweetness and is thoroughly addicted willingly pack up and leave his little darling to go die?”

Qian Fei blushed and swatted his hand away. “Get lost, don’t be a hooligan! The whole country is cracking down on indecency. If you make any more physical contact with me, I’ll report you for sexual harassment and send you to jail!”

Li Yifei smirked wickedly. “I doubt I’m the only one thoroughly addicted. I bet you wouldn’t dare do that!”

The next day, Li Yifei went to the company to complete his resignation procedures.

His male and female colleagues reacted quite differently to his sudden resignation.

Most of the men were glad to see him go, while the women were reluctant to part with him.

After seeing Li Yifei off, Qian Fei overheard other female colleagues gossiping in the bathroom.

“Hey, do you think the manager from Department Two, Li, resigned to get away from Qian Fei in their department?” one said.

“God, that woman is too much. She’s been chasing him shamelessly. Look, she finally drove our handsome Li away! Why couldn’t she be the one to leave instead?” another chimed in.

“The most infuriating part is that there are a few guys from other departments who seem to like her. What’s so great about her? Just because she passed the sponsorship exam? Anyone could pass if they spent all day studying instead of working!” a third added.

“Exactly! She’s got some nerve!” the fourth agreed.

Qian Fei sighed and left after washing her hands.

At times like these, she missed Zhao De terribly.

If Zhao De were here, he would surely have scolded those gossiping female colleagues and told them, “Open your eyes and see clearly! Those two are in love and truly care for each other! Stop being sour grapes, will you?”

However, since that cold winter last year, the kind-hearted man who always stood up for her had disappeared.

She thought wryly that it was their fault for being too proper and upright at work, thinking it best not to let others discover their relationship to avoid complications. So they never showed any affection near the office, and even when they came to work together in the morning or left together in the evening, they would separate at one intersection and meet up on the next street when no one was looking. Come to think of it, apart from Zhao De, no one at the company knew they had long been in cahoots.

That evening, before leaving work, Li Yifei messaged her saying he was busy today and had to go to the company to handle some handover matters, so he couldn’t pick her up. She took the subway home by herself.

She got home and prepared dinner, but the dishes had already gone cold by the time Li Yifei returned.

As they ate, they chatted. Li Yifei told Qian Fei he had been running around all day, busy as could be. Then he asked Qian Fei how her day had gone without him there to look out for her.

Qian Fei teasingly recounted what she had overheard in the bathroom.

Li Yifei snorted with laughter when he heard.

Qian Fei asked what he was laughing at, wondering if he found those women ridiculous.

Li Yifei smirked and said, “I’m laughing at you. You’ve become a sponsor representative, but your brain capacity is still so low. Can men enter the women’s bathroom? If he can’t even go in, how could Zhao De have stood up for you even if he were there?”

He sighed as he said this.

Qian Fei asked what was wrong, and Li Yifei put down his chopsticks. “I always have this feeling that Zhao De just went on a long business trip. He hasn’t left us.”

Qian Fei also put down her chopsticks. “Yes, I keep feeling like he’ll be back to play cards with us in a couple of days!”

Sometimes, there are people you just can’t bring yourself to believe have truly left.

The next evening, just before leaving work, Qian Fei received a call from Li Yifei.

He told her over the phone, “Come down quickly, your young master has made time in his busy schedule to pick you up!”

Qian Fei packed up her things and took the elevator down with a few colleagues. In the same elevator were those women from other departments who loved to gossip in the bathroom.

As they walked out of the building, the women behind Qian Fei kept making surprised noises like “Oh!” “Ah!” and “Eh?”. Qian Fei looked ahead to see what they were reacting to and saw Li Yifei leaning against his Cadillac across the street, looking in their direction.

He wore sunglasses, dressed in all black, leaning against his car with his long legs crossed, holding a large bouquet of roses. In full view of everyone, he looked devastatingly handsome.

Seeing her, he took off his sunglasses and smiled at her from his spot by the car.

Qian Fei’s ears burned.

Amid the stares and exclamations of those around her, a mix of emotions washed over her – embarrassment, shyness, and an indescribable sense of happiness. She raised her hand slightly awkwardly to tuck her hair behind her ear.

Across the street, Li Yifei pushed off from his car and stood up straight. He casually hung his sunglasses in front of him, held the flowers, and strode across the street with long steps.

Qian Fei’s heart pounded as she watched him, thinking how flashy and attention-grabbing he was being.

She wondered, how could actions that would seem ostentatious, showy, and shameless to others look so pleasing to him.

He walked straight up to her and stopped, thrusting the bouquet of almost blindingly red roses into her arms. In front of everyone, he cupped her face and kissed her lips swiftly and decisively.

Qian Fei felt like she was about to float away.

She heard various exclamations behind her.

She used to hate it when people flaunted their relationships, but at this moment, she found it incredibly satisfying.

As she heard the cheers from her department colleagues, Li Yifei released her.

Her colleagues smiled and called him “Manager Li,” and he smiled back, naturally taking her hand.

One colleague said, “Manager Li, I was away for a few days and just heard today that you resigned. Why?”

Li Yifei swung his and Qian Fei’s clasped hands, smirking as he said, “To make it convenient to announce my affair with this beautiful lady to the world!” He paused, glancing almost imperceptibly behind Qian Fei, then turned back to the colleague and continued, “You have no idea how hard it was for me to pursue her. I had to use every trick in the book!”

His words rang out clearly, making Qian Fei’s heart race.

As colleagues clamored that they hadn’t had a chance to give their boss a farewell party, Li Yifei smiled and said, “There will be plenty of time! I need to take her away today, but let’s find a day when everyone’s free and have a gathering!” With that, he led her across the street, making quite a spectacle.

Qian Fei could feel the varied gazes on her back as they walked away. She imagined the expressions of those gossipmongers and felt utterly elated.

Even after she got into the car, her heart was still pounding uncontrollably.

Li Yifei started the car with a showy burst of speed, zooming away.

Qian Fei turned to him, barely containing her excitement, and asked, “What’s gotten into you today?”

Li Yifei glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. “Nothing special. It’s just that your young master is too pure-hearted to let facts be distorted. I wanted to tell those bathroom gossipers that between us, I was the one shamelessly pursuing you!” He raised his eyebrow again and asked, “How did it feel? Satisfying?”

The next moment, Qian Fei threw her head back in laughter. “So satisfying I could disown my family! But I have a suggestion – next time, could you send me a bouquet made of money instead?”

Li Yifei gave her a sidelong glance and smirked. “For that, you’d have to acknowledge me as your godfather first!”

A few days later, in the evening, Li Yifei said to Qian Fei with a slightly serious expression, “Jinjin, I might have to move back home for a while.”

He told Qian Fei that his old man wasn’t in good health and had urgently summoned him back to reconnect with his roots.

Qian Fei also informed him, “Actually, I have to go to Hubei the day after tomorrow for a private debt project. I’ll probably be away for about a month. I’d be worried about leaving you alone at home for that long anyway.”

So, with both of them having their matters to attend to, two days later, the house emptied.

In the days that followed, Qian Fei was swamped with work on the project in Hubei. She worked extremely hard, knowing that after this project was completed, she should be able to get promoted to department head.

She called Li Yifei every day, and sometimes she could sense that he was a bit troubled.

She tentatively asked him what was wrong, and he told her, “It’s nothing, I’m just eager to see you become the boss of the department.”

After that call, Qian Fei threw herself into the project with even more determination.

A month later, she finally completed the project successfully and returned to Beijing.

The moment she opened the door to her home, she saw a young woman with her hair loosely tied up sitting on the living room sofa watching TV.

Hearing the noise, the woman turned to look at the door.

It was a beautiful face, cool and refined, with impeccable makeup and an air of aloofness and detachment in her brow.

Looking at this face, Qian Fei froze for a moment.