On the morning before Qian Fei’s return to Beijing, Jin Tian approached Li Yifei, asking for a favor. She wanted him to take her to a business cocktail party the following evening.
The event would be attended by numerous investors and film directors, including a currently trendy director who was soon to helm a large-scale public service advertisement. The ad would have extensive distribution, and they were currently conducting a wide search for the female lead. Whoever landed this role would have the opportunity to collaborate with the famous director on his next big-budget film, potentially launching their career to new heights. Many actresses coveted this chance, but the director had expressed interest in casting a newcomer who hadn’t yet appeared on the big screen.
The production company the director was signed with was a listed company. At the time, Li Yifei’s firm had acted as the sponsor for their initial public offering. As a result, Li Yifei had connections with the company’s senior management and the director, who was also a shareholder. Jin Tian, hoping to secure this advertising opportunity, came to him seeking an introduction to the director at the party.
When Da Jun first introduced Jin Tian to Li Yifei, he had intended to pursue her as a girlfriend. However, during the process, he unexpectedly found himself drawn to Qian Fei. Later, when things were progressing beyond friendship but not quite reaching a romantic relationship, he called a halt, deciding to treat Jin Tian as a sister instead. He promised her that if she ever needed help in the future, he would assist her.
So when Jin Tian came to him this time, he felt he couldn’t refuse. However, the timing of the party clashed with picking up Qian Fei at the airport, so he had to enlist Da Jun’s help.
When Da Jun learned of his plan, he was displeased and insisted, “I want to go to the party too!”
Li Yifei retorted, “If I’m taking anyone to the party, it would be a female companion. Your gender is ambiguous, so just be a good boy and pick up Qian Fei for me!”
Da Jun, feeling defeated, tried to protest, but Li Yifei shut him down with one sentence.
“Want me to tell your mother about your online gaming habits?”
Da Jun obediently went to the airport, while Li Yifei took Jin Tian to the cocktail party.
He had initially planned to introduce Jin Tian to the director as quickly as possible, complete his task, and then leave early to check on his beloved Qian Fei.
However, the director’s flight was delayed, and the party was nearly half over before he arrived.
He had no choice but to stay with Jin Tian and wait.
During this time, some of his acquaintances, such as his father’s business partners, would come over to greet him when they saw him. While he was busy smiling and exchanging pleasantries with these people, Jin Tian would quietly stand beside him, either sipping champagne or taking selfies.
As they continued to wait for the director, Jin Tian chatted with him, asking if he had someone he liked.
He nodded and said yes. Jin Tian then asked, “Is it that female landlord?”
Li Yifei smiled candidly in response to Jin Tian’s question and answered, “Yes, it is.”
Jin Tian looked up at him, also smiling, and said, “I envy her! It seems that when it comes to feelings, it’s not about who came first or second. Even though I started developing a relationship with you first, she’s the one who captured your heart!”
Li Yifei thought for a moment and decided to correct her: “Well, I wouldn’t say you came first and she came later. After all, she was playing cards with me every noon when I didn’t even know you existed!”
Just then, Qian Fei sent a WeChat message, and he took out his phone to reply.
Jin Tian, standing nearby, asked, “Is that her? Does she know you brought me here today?”
Li Yifei put his phone away and said, “I didn’t tell her. She just got back from a business trip and is quite tired. Let her rest well.”
Jin Tian looked at him, her expression tinged with faint melancholy. “I used to think you were just cold and aloof, never considerate or gentle with girls. But now I see that you are considerate, just not to other girls or me, but to that specific one. To be honest, I’m a bit jealous of her!”
Li Yifei laughed, “Am I being considerate to her? I feel like I’m still the same as before!”
Jin Tian laughed along, though her smile seemed a bit forced.
Just as the party was about to end, the director finally arrived. Li Yifei seized the opportunity to introduce Jin Tian to him.
The director expressed approval of Jin Tian’s personal qualities and promised her an interview opportunity the following week.
After chatting for a bit longer and staying for a while, the party ended. It was too late to easily catch a taxi, so Jin Tian pleaded with Li Yifei to take her to a place where it would be easier to get one. Li Yifei had wanted to go check on Qian Fei, but he felt it wouldn’t be appropriate to leave Jin Tian on the roadside in her off-shoulder evening gown in the middle of the night. After weighing the options, he decided to see Qian Fei tomorrow and do the right thing by taking Jin Tian home.
On the way, Qian Fei sent him a message. He replied at a red light, telling her to go to sleep.
After dropping Jin Tian off at her home, as she was getting out of the car, she suddenly asked, “Now that you’ve helped me this time, does that mean I won’t have any reason to find you again in the future?”
Li Yifei thought for a moment, raised an eyebrow, and said, “It depends on her. If she likes to follow celebrities, I’ll bring her to hang out with you!”
Jin Tian smiled sadly, “I envy her!”
For a moment, Li Yifei wondered if he had been too harsh. It seemed he might have hurt one girl’s feelings for the sake of another.
By the time Li Yifei returned home from the party, it was already the next day. He resisted the urge to call Qian Fei just to hear her voice, and instead sent her a message: “Back home after finishing up. This young master has observed the stars and foresees that I’ll be in a good mood tomorrow, so I’ve decided to take you out for a nice meal.”
Then he washed up and went to bed.
However, by the next morning, Qian Fei still hadn’t replied to his message.
He couldn’t help but send a few more messages asking, “Did you receive my message?” But there was still no response.
He was in a foul mood all morning. During the lunch break, he called Qian Fei. The call rang twice before turning into a busy signal.
Li Yifei stared at his phone in disbelief. His call had been rejected.
He tried again, but after two rings, it turned into a busy signal once more.
He had been rejected again.
He frowned. He dialed once more, with the same result.
He picked up his phone and sent a message.
“Are you busy?”
After a long while, there was still no reply.
He sent another: “What’s going on?”
Still no reply.
He felt a slight annoyance building up. One of the main reasons he liked Qian Fei was that she wasn’t like other girls who were prone to being delicate and throwing little tantrums. He was different from other men; he didn’t like it when girls put on airs with their petty tempers, getting upset over small things without explaining why, expecting to be coaxed and placated repeatedly before calming down. He had almost no patience for coaxing girls, and if any girl tried this tactic with him, he would not indulge or pamper them, waiting until she got bored of it herself and came back to cling to him again.
Now, he felt that Qian Fei was playing these games with him.
He suppressed the displeasure in his heart and sent another message to Qian Fei: “If you keep silent like this, I’m going to your company this afternoon!”
This time, he finally received a reply, and it was both text and image.
Qian Fei sent a photo with the text: “Say hello to her for me.”
Li Yifei looked at the photo, and his forehead instantly creased with irritation.
The photo bore the watermark of Sina Weibo, and Li Yifei saw Jin Tian’s name. He thought to himself, “This is bad. Who knows what nonsense this girl has been saying?” He also wondered why Qian Fei, who usually didn’t care about entertainment news except for Da Peng, had happened to see this photo.
Thinking about this, amidst his irritated liver tremors, he couldn’t help but feel a secret thrill. She had been quietly following the movements of the girl she considered his ex-girlfriend.
Li Yifei logged into Weibo on his phone to check Jin Tian’s profile but couldn’t find the photo.
He thought for a moment and went to find Zhao De. He liked Jin Tian a lot and should have followed her.
Zhao De was napping on his desk. Li Yifei mercilessly woke him up. When Zhao De got up, he looked pained, holding his head and asking groggily what was wrong.
Li Yifei said, “Did you follow Jin Tian on Weibo?”
Zhao De blinked, his expression changing to one of slyness: “Yeah, I did! By the way, Yifei, didn’t you break up with her before? Are you planning to get back together? Yesterday I saw Jin Tian post a photo of you two at a party together, but she deleted it not long after! I wanted to ask you about it this morning, but you seemed to be in a bad mood, so I’ve been holding back!”
Li Yifei said, “Do you remember what Jin Tian wrote in the post?”
Zhao De said, “I don’t remember.”
Li Yifei frowned, “What kind of memory is that? It’s a miracle you’ve been able to work in investment banking for so long with a brain like that!”
Zhao De was scrolling through his phone while asking, “Li Yifei, are you sure you want to continue this conversation in this belittling tone?” He held up his phone screen to Li Yifei, “I may not remember what she said, but I took a screenshot! Based on my years of experience in investment banking, I knew at a glance that this Weibo post would be deleted sooner or later, so I took a preemptive screenshot!”
Li Yifei took the phone while not forgetting to mock him: “Go back to sleep! Your face is as white as toilet paper, yet you still have so much to say!”
He looked down at the phone.
“Midnight, when hearts stir with desire. Liking someone, yet unwilling to speak, so I call him brother. Brother, after tonight, I hope you can still accompany me as you do now…”
Li Yifei looked at these ambiguous words and inwardly exclaimed, “This is bad.”
Before the end of the workday, Qian Fei received another message from Li Yifei: “Let’s meet after work. I have something to say to you about yesterday.”
This time, Qian Fei didn’t play coy. She felt that some things should be clarified face to face.
She replied: “Then let’s meet at the UBC Coffee in Parkson.”
When she arrived at the coffee shop, Li Yifei was already there.
He got straight to the point, asking, “About last night, I want to know how you interpret it.”
Qian Fei was taken aback. His aura was so strong that she felt as if she was being accused before she could speak.
In this posture, it would be strange if he could realize he had done anything wrong.
She took a sip of water, cleared her throat, and said, “There’s not much to interpret. I just saw with my own eyes that you took your ex-girlfriend to a party together. It was purely a visual shock, not even reaching the level of sensory perception. When my mother was alive, she told me that if you want to live a long life, you should eat well, sleep well, and only watch other people’s affairs for entertainment, not to worry about them.”
Li Yifei’s expression darkened. “‘Other people’?” He slowly took a breath, suppressing his displeasure, and said to Qian Fei, “Let’s not be petty and sulk like this. If we have something to say, let’s talk it out. I had previously agreed to treat Jin Tian as a sister and promised to help her once. So when she came to ask me to take her to the party, I couldn’t refuse. I didn’t think there was anything improper about it. I helped her once, and that’s the end of it. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think it was necessary. After all, I might not have a chance to interact with her again. But I didn’t expect her to post on Weibo and write some ambiguous words, which you happened to see, and then you overthought it. What I want to say is, that what she wrote is her thoughts. I don’t have any other intentions towards her. If we quarrel over this, isn’t it too trivial?”
Qian Fei was silent for a moment, then frowned and said, “Li Yifei, I think you might have misunderstood. Do you think I’m jealous and sulking? But that’s not what I’m thinking about. I’m wondering if we’re really from the same world. In your world, someone who is a girlfriend today can become a sister tomorrow. But in my world, a breakup is a breakup, and ex-lovers can never become siblings.”
Li Yifei looked at her, raised an eyebrow, and asked with a stern expression, “Did I ever say she was my girlfriend?”
Qian Fei said, “Are you trying to tell me that she was never your girlfriend?”
Li Yifei neither confirmed nor denied.
Qian Fei chuckled and said, “That’s even worse. You were ambiguous with her for so long, never acknowledging any commitment, and then you made her your sister, absolving yourself of all responsibility. Can I say that I think maybe Jin Tian isn’t the first to go through this assembly line process, and if I join in, I might not be the last?”
Li Yifei’s face grew increasingly dark.
“Qian Fei, can’t you feel the difference between how I treat others and how I treat you? Don’t you know in your heart whether you’re part of this assembly line or not? Is it that when a woman starts to be fussy, she becomes blind to everything a man has done for her?”
Qian Fei said, “Look, I haven’t said much, and we haven’t even started anything yet, but your impatient and zero-tolerance attitude towards your ex-girlfriend is already coming out.”
Li Yifei’s mouth twitched, a hint of mockery appearing, “Qian Fei, I’ve never stooped to explaining myself to women, and you’re the first person I’ve been willing to sit down and take the time to explain things to. If this is still considered impatient and zero-tolerance, I don’t know what else to say.”
Qian Fei said, “You see, you’ve taken what should be an equal exchange between a man and a woman and positioned it as you condescending to explain. With such an unequal height difference between us, I feel we can’t reach the same world.”
Looking at Li Yifei’s face, suppressing and controlling his anger, she continued, “Right now, you can still hold back your temper, but how long can this restraint last? When a girl looks for a boyfriend, she not only hopes that he will be good to her when he’s in a good mood but also hopes that he can be understanding and considerate even when he’s not feeling well.”
She understood this principle, but she felt that Li Yifei truly didn’t. He was the type who, when emotional, loved recklessly, wanting to pluck the moon from the sky to make you happy, but when angry, was equally reckless, capable of saying the most hurtful things.
In the end, he still loved himself more than others, putting the venting of his own emotions first.
But she wasn’t like that. The love she hoped for was restrained and enduring, not seeking passion but rather a gentle, continuous flow. Even when angry, she would still be considerate of the other person, mindful of the other’s feelings, and would try her best to control herself from saying hurtful words that would harm both of them.
So he lived freely, while she lived with burden, and they were, in the end, not in the same world.
“Li Yifei, I used to think you were just a pretentious, vain kid trying to show off and climb the social ladder. But thinking back, maybe you are from a wealthy family. The people you associate with, the topics you discuss, the circles you move in, the places you frequent—all of it is distinctly different from ordinary life. You exist above me, and countless levels are separating us. We’re simply not from the same world.”
Li Yifei looked at her, a flicker of irritation in his eyes. “Who told you I’m from a rich family? Who the hell is a rich kid? I’ve said it before—my dad is just a small business owner! How are we separated by so many levels?”
Qian Fei chuckled softly. “Even if he’s just a small business owner, he’s probably not an ordinary one.”
Li Yifei sighed in exasperation. “Qian Fei, are you about to get your period? Why are you being so dramatic today?”
Qian Fei stopped smiling. “I’m not being dramatic; I’m being serious.”
After a moment of contemplation, she continued slowly, “Let’s just leave it at this for now. You can see me as lacking courage and confidence, as a coward. Let’s remain friends who nod and smile when we meet. If we try to be lovers, with me so hesitant and you so reckless, our relationship might not last long before it withers.”
Li Yifei’s face finally darkened with anger. “You’re blowing this out of proportion! A single photo makes you disregard everything I’ve done for you? Haven’t we been through some things together? Just because Jin Tian posted something on Weibo, you can’t see past that? Have you ever truly acknowledged or cherished what I’ve done for you? If that’s the case, fine, let’s just nod and smile when we see each other!”
With that, he stormed off.
Sitting on the sofa, Qian Fei felt a wave of sadness wash over her. At least she hadn’t fallen too deeply; he was still a young master who could remember how much he had given. But she, on the other hand, always seemed to forget what she had sacrificed for love.
Their views on relationships were irreconcilable, and no matter how much they liked each other, it didn’t matter.
She rubbed her tired eyes and stood up to leave.