Li Yifei gulped down a large mouthful of alcohol while complaining about its terrible taste. He then looked up at Qian Fei and asked, “Can you tell me about your boyfriend cheating on you?”
Qian Fei nearly slapped him across the face. “What’s your problem? Are you trying to find solace in my misery? Does seeing someone worse off than you make you feel better? Li Yifei, what’s going on in that head of yours? Even if you want to feel better about yourself, there’s no need to make me relive my pain for your benefit!”
Li Yifei took another swig of his drink. “I’m not trying to use your misfortune to prove I’m not so bad off. I just want to help you analyze the reasons and lessons learned from being cheated on!”
Qian Fei glared at him fiercely. “Who are you trying to help? As if I’m going to be cheated on for the rest of my life!”
Li Yifei, oblivious to how annoying he was being, retorted, “You never know!”
Qian Fei stood up to leave, but Li Yifei grabbed her hand. “Alright, I’ll stop. Just keep me company for a while, won’t you?”
Qian Fei looked down at his expression, a mix of arrogance and pleading, feeling both irritated and amused. That face buried in a beard reminded her so much of Won Bin, her favorite Korean actor crush (this was 2012 before Song Joong-ki appeared on the scene, so it was Won Bin. Haha! Sorry, did I break your immersion? Haha!). She couldn’t bring herself to be harsh with a face like that.
She sighed deeply and sat down. “Li Yifei, has anyone ever told you that you’re an insufferable rascal?”
Li Yifei raised his beer can and said to Qian Fei, “Here’s to being an insufferable rascal!”
Qian Fei clinked her can with his. Li Yifei said, “Now that we’ve clinked, you have to drink it all! You know what that means, right? Finish it in one go! If you don’t, you’ll be poor for three generations!”
Qian Fei glared at him, grinding her teeth in frustration.
She threw her head back and downed the drink. When she finished, she saw Li Yifei staring at her intently.
The alcohol had gone down too quickly, and she felt a wave of heat rush to her head, making her dizzy.
“What are you looking at?” She pushed Li Yifei.
Li Yifei kept his eyes on her and said, “Qian Fei, you’re quite foolish. I was just saying that, and you did it!”
Qian Fei wanted to strangle him when she heard that.
Li Yifei tilted his head back and finished his drink as well.
“How can someone like you still exist? Always acting like a saint, being nice to everyone, cooking, cleaning, fixing fuses – you can do everything. You believe whatever anyone tells you. How do you live so selflessly for humanity?”
Qian Fei frowned. “Are you complimenting me or insulting me?”
Li Yifei took out two more cans of beer, handing one to her and keeping one for himself. “Just take it as a compliment!”
Qian Fei gritted her teeth. “So you’re insulting me, right? Li Yifei, let me tell you, I’m letting it slide because you’re going through a breakup. But I’m keeping track, and once you’re over this phase, you’ll see how I get back at you!”
Li Yifei laughed. “I’m looking forward to it!” He raised his beer can and asked, “Dare to drink another one?”
The alcohol was starting to affect Qian Fei, and in a moment of impulse, she raised her beer and clinked it with Li Yifei’s. “Why not? Let’s do it!”
They both gulped down another can.
As they continued drinking, their tongues loosened along with their inhibitions.
Li Yifei started pestering Qian Fei again: “Come on, tell me what happened between you and your ex-boyfriend!”
Qian Fei rolled her eyes at him. “Why don’t you tell me what happened between you and Gui Lili?”
Li Yifei said, “Fine, I’ll go first, then it’s your turn!”
He took a few sips of beer and couldn’t help but complain for the thousandth time, “Can this cheap, awful beer taste any worse?”
He began to tell Qian Fei about his relationship with Gui Lili.
“When I was abroad, this young master charmed countless people, both men and women!” He started by putting himself on a pedestal, making Qian Fei roll her eyes continuously.
Even if he was indeed handsome, his ability to praise himself so shamelessly and blatantly was truly thick-skinned.
“At that time, I was breaking up with my girlfriend, feeling lonely, when Gui Lili appeared. You’ve seen her – long flowing hair, long legs, fair skin, beautiful face, the dream girl of many boys. When she was abroad, she was different from now – gentle, understanding, and completely devoted to me. So this young master took her in. But when my dad came to visit me, he met Gui Lili once. He came wearing a worn-out tracksuit, looking a bit like a homeless person. I asked him why he was dressed like that, and he said it was because he was saving money for my studies abroad. I just laughed. Up to this point, everything was still fine.
But Gui Lili didn’t know he was my dad at the time, so she wasn’t very warm towards him. Later, the old man told me that Gui Lili was not ordinary. He said she was devoted to me now because I was spending the money he saved by wearing worn-out tracksuits to buy her clothes and gifts, making her life comfortable. He said that once the family stopped providing money, who knows how she would treat me.
The old man insisted that Gui Lili wasn’t suitable to be my wife and told me to break up with her. I found it absurd at the time. This isn’t ancient times; shouldn’t I decide if we’re compatible after being together? He’s a generation older, why is he meddling? Besides, I’ve had this stubborn habit since childhood: if the old man says go left, I go right. I had never really thought about marriage, but since he forbade me from marrying Gui Lili, I deliberately scared him by talking about marriage.
“The old man then said that if I didn’t break up with Gui Lili, he would disown me. He also said that without him, I would definitely amount to nothing, and if I came crawling back when I couldn’t make it on my own, he wouldn’t even look at me. How could I, being as proud as I am, take that? So I told him, go ahead and disown me, I don’t believe I can’t survive without you! He then told me, don’t say I’m underestimating you, even if you can support yourself, you can’t support that girl! I disagreed, saying she’s easy to support. The old man called me blind, and we argued fiercely. We argued so much he almost had a heart attack, and that’s how we completely severed our relationship! Looking back now, I was blind!”
He finished and turned to look at Qian Fei, who was listening with wide eyes.
“What’s with that expression?” he asked.
Qian Fei smacked her lips, “Why do I feel like I’ve just watched a melodramatic Korean soap opera? You said your dad became like a homeless person to save money for your studies abroad, and you still cut ties with him. Aren’t you being a bit unfilial?”
Li Yifei snorted, “You are a perfect saint, always concerned about everyone! Don’t believe everything he says! The old man has his secret stash of money!”
Qian Fei asked, “What does your dad do for a living?”
Li Yifei replied, “He’s self-employed.”
Qian Fei inquired further, “Is business good?”
Li Yifei said, “It was not bad a few years ago, but there have been some problems in the last year or two.”
Qian Fei let out an “Oh” and continued, “Then your dad must have had it tough. Being self-employed and still managing to send you abroad for studies, and you still fought with him. I think you were in the wrong here!”
Li Yifei said, “Our family situation is complicated. Don’t worry about it!” He nudged her, “Don’t just listen to the gossip without contributing. It’s your turn now!”
Qian Fei’s mind was already working a bit slowly. “Is that all there is to your story?”
Li Yifei said, “Ah, yes, it’s over! What else do you want to hear? You already heard about the fights between Gui Lili and me, didn’t you? Just put two and two together, and you’ll have the grand finale!”
Qian Fei shook her head and said, “No! I wanted to ask, with things being so bad between you and your dad, doesn’t your mom step in? Doesn’t she try to mediate between you two?”
She saw Li Yifei’s face darken immediately.
“My mom passed away when I was young.”
Qian Fei felt a sudden pang in her heart.
She suddenly remembered what she had said when she slapped him earlier—
“Li Yifei, no matter how spoiled you are at home, don’t you dare keep saying ‘Freaking this’ and ‘Freaking that’ to me! You have a mother too, would you like it if someone casually brought up your mom like that?”
She recalled the mix of nostalgia and sadness that had flashed in his eyes at that moment.
Qian Fei suddenly felt that her words that day had been too harsh.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
“What?” Li Yifei asked, confused.
“Nothing!” She shook her head. “My mom passed away when I was in college too!”
Li Yifei looked at her, his eyes becoming gentle and tender.
“To kindred spirits, let’s have another drink!” He raised his beer can.
Qian Fei clinked her can with his and drank it all in one go.
Whether it was the alcohol taking effect or not, emotions were gradually slipping out of control. Qian Fei felt her eyes getting a bit wet.
She wiped her face with her hand and said to Li Yifei, “Let me tell you my story. I guarantee it’ll keep you up all night!”
She recounted her story with Wang Ruohai from beginning to end.
She had never told anyone about these things in such detail before. She thought she would take her story with Wang Ruohai to her grave. After the breakup, she tried to deliberately forget about the past, thinking that was the only way she could stop feeling sad and hurt. She forced herself to smile bravely every day, compelling herself not to burst into tears and reminisce about the good old days or regret her current emotional failure whenever she heard a song they used to listen to together. She didn’t want to live like a bitter, jilted lover.
It wasn’t until this night while drinking and talking with a tenant she barely knew, that she realized she hadn’t forgotten a single thing about her past. She remembered everything.
She couldn’t help but feel sad. She had tried so hard, thinking she had thrown off the shackles of those emotions, but she realized she had only been deceiving herself. She hadn’t forgotten anything at all.
After finishing her story, she looked at Li Yifei and asked, “Now that you’ve heard my story, do you feel better? Because I’m much more miserable than you, right?”
Li Yifei looked at her and said, “Yes, it’s quite miserable. You’ve even made yourself cry!”
Qian Fei sobbed a couple of times. “I’m not usually like this. Why am I losing control after drinking?”
Li Yifei comforted her, “You need to lose control once after a breakup, or else you’ll never truly move on!”
Qian Fei laughed through her tears, “How did it turn into you comforting me?”
Li Yifei said, “Actually, you’re still comforting me. When someone is feeling down, seeing someone else who’s even more troubled is an unexpected great comfort.”
Qian Fei suddenly couldn’t cry anymore.
That night, the two of them drank an unknown amount of alcohol. At one point, Li Yifei even went downstairs to buy more. He bought imported beer, and with just one sip, Qian Fei understood why Li Yifei had been complaining about the previous beer tasting terrible.
They finished the newly bought beer without realizing it. They talked about all sorts of nonsense, and given how dizzy and confused Qian Fei felt, she thought that even after just an hour, she wouldn’t be able to remember what she had said in the past sixty minutes.
In her daze, she felt an urge to vomit. Following the principle of proximity, she ran to the bathroom Li Yifei was using. But as soon as she pushed the door open, she wanted to cry.
Could this place be any messier?
Holding back the contents that had already reached her throat, she ran to the bathroom in her room. Seeing her frantic state, Li Yifei followed her into the bathroom, worried she might hit her head on the door. She vomited violently, while Li Yifei pinched his nose and patted her back with a disgusted look on his face.
“Your drinking capacity is really poor!” His tongue was a bit heavy too.
Qian Fei turned her head and looked at him weakly, angrily saying, “Li Yifei! How can your bathroom be so filthy and messy? I couldn’t even bring myself to throw up there! And you dare to claim you have obsessive-compulsive disorder!”
She looked for a cup to rinse her mouth.
After rinsing, Li Yifei supported her, trying to help her to bed. “You’re in such a state now, don’t worry about my bathroom! Just rest well, and if you can’t stand it, help me clean it tomorrow!”
Qian Fei couldn’t take it anymore. She spat in his face and flailed her arms. “You think you’re some young master, don’t you? I’m your landlord! Don’t you know my status is more noble and lofty than yours?”
Li Yifei tossed her onto the bed. “Just go to sleep!”
Qian Fei was still clinging to his arm, which caused him to fall too, right on top of her.
For a moment, their faces were extremely close, and Li Yifei almost kissed her.
Qian Fei, in her confused state, pawed at his face. “Wang Ruohai, get away from me! What are you playing in the middle of the night with this Korean drama scene? Your lady wants to sleep!”
Li Yifei froze for a moment, then got up. Looking at Qian Fei sprawled out on the bed, he was certain that the fleeting thought he had earlier about her being quite attractive, especially her pink and moist lips, was the effect of alcohol! He thought that even if he had fallen on top of a sow at that moment, he might have found its pink snout quite appealing!
He looked at Qian Fei, who had already closed her eyes and exhaled a long breath of alcohol-laden air.
She’s just an incorrigible, super tomboy!
“As for you, you’ve already been cheated on once. Keep your eyes wide open and be more careful!”
Qian Fei mumbled something and fell asleep.
The next day, when Qian Fei woke up, it was already noon. She grimaced as she rubbed her head, feeling like it was about to split in two. She swore never to drink like that with anyone again.
After getting up and having a glass of water, she suddenly remembered that Li Yifei had said something to her just before she fell asleep last night.
But what exactly did he say?
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember.
After Li Yifei had helped Qian Fei to bed, covered her with a blanket, turned off the lights, and closed the door, he returned to his room.
He picked up his phone and saw countless missed calls from Da Jun and several emotionally charged WeChat messages.
“You beast, follow through with your good deed! You finally got me a week off, but you can’t just abandon me halfway! You promised to help me clear the game tonight! But where are you?!”
“You animal, come out! Don’t let a week’s worth of effort go to waste!”
“Li Yifei, you big jerk! If you don’t come out now, I’m going to be set back to the Stone Age!”
“Li Yifei, you’re a real brute! My equipment got destroyed! I’ll hate you for ten thousand years!”
“You’d better take another week off next week!!! Help me clear this level again!!!! Or we’re done for good!!!”
Li Yifei lay on his bed, responding leisurely.
“Then let’s break up.”