Love Has Fireworks - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Catching Cheaters at the Hotel

At 11:00 PM, Qian Fei took a taxi to the entrance of the Changying Hotel.

She sent another WeChat message to Wang Ruohai: "Where are you? When are you coming home?"

About five minutes later, Wang Ruohai finally replied: "Working overtime with the boss. I won't be back tonight. Go to sleep."

Qian Fei grit her teeth and walked into the hotel.

Yao Jingjing was waiting for her on a sofa in the lobby. Seeing her arrive, she leapt up and grabbed her, looking as worked up as if the sky were falling. She rattled off, "Could you be any slower? I've been waiting for you for nearly an hour! If you'd been any later, those two might have finished up and headed home. What affair would you even be catching then?!"

Qian Fei asked her, "Are you sure Wang Ruohai brought a woman here to get a room?"

Yao Jingjing beat her chest in frustration. "What is there to doubt? When has my vision ever been less than 20/20? Besides, I told you a long time ago that Wang Ruohai was acting strange. He's definitely seeing someone else! Who has client dinners every single day?"

They needed a keycard to use the elevator. Since they didn't have one, Yao Jingjing waited until no one was paying attention and pulled Qian Fei toward the stairwell.

As they climbed the stairs, Yao Jingjing spilled the whole story like beans pouring out of a bag. "Tonight, our company had a dinner gathering at the Sichuan Bureau Restaurant. As luck would have it, Wang Ruohai and a woman were eating there too. I saw him, but he didn't see me. When he left, I saw that woman practically hanging all over him. I knew something was off, so I followed them out. The moment I stepped outside, I caught them locking lips! Then Wang Ruohai hailed a cab. Sensing something fishy, I hailed one too and followed them. Man, I really caught them red-handed! These two came straight here and checked into a room! I went to great lengths to trick and bluff the front desk into telling me everything. It's Room 1208. Hurry up! Any slower and they might have finished their business and started putting their pants back on. When that happens, they’ll just insist they got a room purely to chat, and there won't be a damn thing you can do!"

Qian Fei clenched her jaw. "If he actually dares to open that door without his pants on, I'll kick him right where it hurts!"

Panting, they made it up to the 12th floor, walked over to Room 1208, and pressed their ears against the door to listen.

There were muffled whimpers and groans coming from inside.

Qian Fei felt a sharp, twisting pain in her heart.

She knocked on the door. The whimpering inside stopped. A man's impatient voice asked, "Who is it?"

Hearing that voice, she grit her teeth so hard she could taste copper.

"Sir, the front desk shows a smoke alarm trigger in your room. Could you please let us in to inspect it?" Yao Jingjing fabricated on the spot, pinching her throat to change her voice.

After a short silence, the door opened.

Wang Ruohai stood inside the doorway wearing a hotel bathrobe, while Qian Fei stood outside, her face pale with rage.

The next second, Qian Fei slapped Wang Ruohai across the face.

※※※※※※

Qian Fei looked around the half-empty apartment, her heart heavy with tears.

She leaned against the corner of the wall and sat down on the floor.

The very day after being caught in the act, Wang Ruohai had broken up with her openly and righteously.

"That slap was great. It woke me up. I was actually hesitating between you and her, but that slap completely destroyed all the years of feelings we had!"

He threw those words down as if she were the one who had betrayed him.

He packed up and left that same day, saying before he walked out, "I'll only cover my share of the rent until the end of this month. Starting next month, you’ll have to pay the whole thing yourself. As for that apartment we picked out together, I definitely don't want it anymore. The 100,000 yuan deposit can be split in half, so just give me 50,000 yuan. We'll split our 450,000 yuan in savings 70/30—you take seventy percent and I'll take thirty. Consider the rest my contribution to our usual living expenses over the years."

Qian Fei looked at Wang Ruohai, feeling as though she barely recognized him anymore.

The image of him pursuing her relentlessly during their junior year of college was still vivid in her mind. Yet in the blink of an eye, he could coolly calculate every single cent like this.

A chill ran through her heart.

They had been together for seven years. She had given him the best seven years of her life. To buy a house and marry him, she had lived frugally to save for the down payment. She never expected that, in the end, her savings would only manage to land him in another woman's bed.

She couldn't help but ask Wang Ruohai, "Who is she? When did you two get involved?"

Wang Ruohai instantly lost his temper and said impatiently, "Qian Fei, I hate this most about you! Since we're splitting up anyway, what's the point of prying into every little detail? Is it meaningful?" He kicked the wall in frustration. "I'm telling you, Qian Fei, I've had enough of you for a long time! You only know how to blame me for cheating, but why don't you look at your own problems? Back in school, you were radiant and desirable, but how did you turn into a middle-aged housewife the moment you graduated? You said we needed to save money to buy a house. Fine. So you started forcing me to stop dressing up, stop shopping, and stop having fun with you. Every single day was spent living like a destitute peasant from the old days. You think living like that is frugal and virtuous, but did you ever bother to ask if I could take it? Every time I went out to gather with my colleagues, didn't people laugh at me for dressing so shabbily? When I wanted to change to a new phone, you blocked me every step of the way. Everyone else treats iPhones like basic accessories, but for my birthday, you bought me a Lenovo that cost less than a thousand yuan and acted like it was a massive act of charity! I work at a listed company, yet my standard of living is worse than the building's security guards! Qian Fei, I really can't live this kind of life with you anymore! You've saved plenty of money over the last few years, but you insisted on hoarding the bankbook and dragging me into a beggar's lifestyle. What was it all for?!"

Qian Fei felt deeply wronged. "Wasn't I doing that for our future?! If we didn't save like that, when would we ever be able to buy a house? This is Beijing! It's not a third- or fourth-tier city like your hometown or mine! A square meter costs thirty to forty thousand yuan, not three or four thousand! Without saving like that, what would you use to buy a house?!"

Wang Ruohai waved his hands dismissively. "Enough, enough, I don't want to argue with you! If you had just agreed to let your family help out, would we have ended up living like this?!"

Qian Fei looked at him, her face full of disbelief. "Wang Ruohai, it's not like you don't know that my family's money was brought in by my stepmother. She’s only been married to my dad for a little over a year! How could I possibly hold my hand out to ask her for money?!"

Wang Ruohai countered disapprovingly, "What's wrong with a stepmother? What's wrong with a little over a year? What's wrong with asking for money! What's so bad about letting her help out? We could have just paid her back later! You keep talking about relying on yourself, but you don't even look at your own capabilities! If we can't afford a house, are we just supposed to stop living? Just to buy a house, I have to live a miserable life of porridge and pickled vegetables with you? Like you said, this is Beijing! This is a glamorous, colorful Beijing! I don't want to spend my whole life in Beijing living such a bleak existence just for a piece of real estate!"

Qian Fei could no longer hold it in, and her tears streamed down.

"Wang Ruohai, when you were pursuing me back then, that's not what you said!"

Wang Ruohai's eyes also grew red. "When I was pursuing you back then, you weren't like this either! Qian Fei, forget it. At the end of the day, it's just because I'm too poor. In the future, go find someone more capable than me, someone richer than me, and stop living your life pinching every single penny!"

He made it sound as though he were looking out for her. After saying his piece, he shouldered his things and walked away without looking back.

Qian Fei sat on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

She recalled the lines spoken by Princess Iron Fan to Zhi Zun Bao in the movie A Chinese Odyssey.

"When we used to watch the stars together, you called me your sweet little darling. Now that you have a new love, you call me Mrs. Bull."

When he was pursuing her, he said he loved that she was sensible and didn't waste money. Now that he had another woman, he started claiming she was stingy and that he couldn't live with her.

Qian Fei wiped her tears away aggressively.

Didn't he think she was poor? Didn't he tell her to find a rich man? She refused to believe that she couldn't make a decent life for herself in this city of Beijing relying entirely on her own efforts.

※※※※※※

For the past two days, Yao Jingjing had been staying at Qian Fei's place to keep her company and cheer her up. During dinner, Qian Fei started tearing up while eating. Yao Jingjing stared at her swollen eyelids and rolled her eyes. "My dear sister, are you alright? It's just a breakup. Why won't you stop crying? What do you do during the day at work? Do you just burst into tears like this too? Haven't your colleagues been terrified by you?"

Qian Fei pulled out a tissue to blow her nose. "Can't you comfort me in a normal way? Try breaking up after a seven-year relationship! I've been with him since I was 19. In those seven years, I haven't known any man other than my dad!"

Yao Jingjing sighed. "That bastard Wang Ruohai really is a piece of trash! Back when we were in school, you couldn't even tell he was that kind of person!"

Qian Fei sobbed, "Right now, I desperately want to know who the woman he cheated with is, and how she's better than me!"

Yao Jingjing replied, "You're asking the right person. Who knows the companies in the CBD area better than me? I've already investigated everything. That woman is the niece of an executive at his company. She's technically his superior. As for how she's better than you, three points are enough to crush you into dust: she's richer than you, she's richer than you, and she's richer than you!"

Qian Fei threw the used tissue right at Yao Jingjing's face.

Yao Jingjing shrieked, "Qian Fei, can you be any more disgusting?!"

As she wiped her face half-heartedly, she asked Qian Fei, "Feifei, what do you plan to do about that apartment you and Wang Ruohai discussed buying? Are you still buying it?"

Qian Fei grit her teeth. "Yes! If I don't buy it, I'll be letting down the last five years I spent living so frugally!"

She had deprived herself for a full five years, all just to meet the five-year tax requirement to buy a house. She had survived those five years, only to unexpectedly lose Wang Ruohai to another woman's arms.

When her family found out about her breakup with Wang Ruohai, they spent several days sick with worry. Later, Qian Fei's father called her and said, "Daughter, your Auntie He and I plan to sell the large house we're living in now. We'll move into a smaller one. We'll also sell the car and the garage. I don't know how to drive anyway, and your Auntie He says she's getting older, so driving isn't safe anymore. In a few days, we'll wire you the money from the sales along with our household savings. We calculated it, and it should be a little over a million yuan. Take it to buy the apartment you liked before. If it's not enough, take out a loan, and your Auntie He and I will help you pay it off. Your Auntie He said she regards you as her own flesh and blood, so take the money with peace of mind. Don't feel like you're spending our money either. When your Auntie He and I retire, won't we move in to live with you anyway? So this counts as buying a house for ourselves too. It's not easy for you alone in Beijing; you have to have either a man or a house. Since Wang Ruohai has gone astray, don't be sad over him anymore. Cheer up, live well, and find someone better in the future!"

Those words brought another torrent of tears from Qian Fei. Her mother had passed away just as she started her senior year of college, and a year and a half ago, her father had found a new partner, whom she called Auntie He. Auntie He had married her father bringing her own house, car, and money, so most of the family's current assets had been established thanks to her. Qian Fei had always felt those things belonged to Auntie He and that she had no right to eye them, which was why she had never thought of relying on her family for help to buy a house. Yet, in the end, she still ended up depending on her stepmother. She felt that at her age, still letting her father and stepmother worry to the point of selling their house, land, and car made her a total failure in life.

Half a month later, her family wired the money to her card. Looking at the balance, her nose stung as if it had been soaked in vinegar. She knew her father and Auntie He must have pulled out their entire retirement fund for her sake. She swore to herself that she would return every single penny to them in the future.

Over the five years of working after graduation, she had saved 300,000 yuan herself. She combined these funds, keeping 100,000 yuan for future renovations, and used the rest for the down payment. She then secured a loan of over a million yuan from the bank, finally obtaining a bright red property deed.

Before long, the apartment was handed over. She worked during the day and busied herself with renovations at night and on weekends. For a while, she had no time to wallow in her sorrow. After a month, aside from being physically exhausted, her mental state was actually much better than before.

Only, while moving, she pulled out a photo album belonging to her and Wang Ruohai from under the bed of her rental room. Looking at the pictures inside, she couldn't help but have another good cry.

The apartment was located at Shouchheng International on the East Third Ring Road, very close to the CBD. It was precisely because Wang Ruohai worked in the CBD that they had chosen that location back then. Thinking about it now, Qian Fei felt she had truly lost out. She had considered Wang Ruohai in everything. Her own workplace was on Financial Street. Commuting from the East Third Ring Road to Financial Street in the morning meant taking Subway Line 10 and transferring to Line 1. Every single station along the way was crowded enough to squeeze the life out of someone. Yet for Wang Ruohai's sake, she had chosen the apartment on the East Third Ring Road without hesitation. But what was the use? In the end, she still ended up with an outcome where he couldn't stand her.

She wanted to throw the album away and move into her new home completely unburdened. But with her hand hovering over the trash can holding the album, she went through the motions a dozen times without ever finding the heart to let go. Ultimately, she pressed the album down to the very bottom of a cardboard box and brought it into her new home.

Yao Jingjing couldn't stand her weak-willed inability to let go of the past. She said from the sidelines, "Qian Fei, are you keeping that because you hope to reconcile with Wang Ruohai one day? So the two of you can sit by the window, looking at the stars and the moon, while flipping through this album to reminisce about the bitter past and appreciate the sweet present?"

Qian Fei thought about it and said, "So you mean you think there's still a possibility of reconciliation between him and me?"

Just as Yao Jingjing was about to flare up, Qian Fei followed up her previous words fiercely, "If that day ever comes, it'll be my turn to cheat. I'll find a rich man and get a room with him too. I'll make sure he wears a green hat!"

Yao Jingjing was utterly satisfied. "Attagirl, that's the spirit!"

※※※※※※

On her first night in her new home, Qian Fei suffered from insomnia. For no other reason than money.

She lay in bed doing the math. Although her monthly salary was over 8,000 yuan, her monthly bank loan repayment was 7,300 yuan. That left her with 700 yuan. No matter how she calculated it, that amount wasn't enough to survive on. She couldn't take any more money from her family; they had already emptied themselves out for this apartment. She had to find another way to get some cash.

She got out of bed and paced around the entire apartment. As she walked, she reluctantly made a painful decision.

She had to rent out a portion of the apartment, or else she would be dragged down to her death by this house!