Love Has Fireworks - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Turned Out to Be Numb

Two days later, Director Kong, who was away on a business trip, asked Qian Fei to tell Xiao Yuan to book a flight ticket for him to return to Beijing the following afternoon. He said Xiao Yuan's phone couldn't be reached.

Qian Fei gave Xiao Yuan a call, and indeed it wouldn't go through—Xiao Yuan's phone service had been suspended due to an overdue balance.

Gritting her back teeth, Qian Fei used Alipay to top up Xiao Yuan's phone with fifty yuan. When she called again, the call finally went through.

As a result of this frantic tossing and turning, her mind became completely muddled. When she passed on the message, she mistakenly said, "Book a ticket for Director Kong for tomorrow morning."

Roughly half an hour later, Director Kong called her directly and asked Qian Fei, "Xiao Qian, didn't I say to book an afternoon ticket? My meeting won't even be finished in the morning!"

Qian Fei was so terrified she nearly wet herself. She hurriedly called Xiao Yuan again, asking her to cancel the ticket and rebook a new one.

The matter was finally resolved, but because of this little interlude, Qian Fei spent the entire afternoon in a listless, depressed slump.

When they finished work, Li Yifei looked at her dispirited state and asked what was wrong, so she recounted the entire incident to him.

When Li Yifei looked at her again, his eyes were filled with an unbearable disdain. "Is it really that serious? Such a trivial matter, is it worth working yourself into such a frenzy?"

Qian Fei hung her head and let her shoulders sag. "I just don't understand, why do I always make such low-level mistakes? Today I booked the wrong ticket for the leader, and before that, I brought the wrong materials to a meeting. Tell me, what do I need to do to avoid making these careless mistakes over and over again?"

Seeing her looking like she was about to suffocate herself into a depressive psychosis, a trace of rare kindness somehow welled up in Li Yifei's heart.

"I'll teach you a method. Prepare a small notebook. In the future, whenever you do something wrong, write it down. When you have free time, flip through this notebook to deepen the lesson, and you won't make similar mistakes again."

Qian Fei raised her head, her eyes lighting up. "That really is a method!" She struck her right palm with her left fist. "Then did you also use to make mistakes frequently before, and after using this method, you completely transformed yourself?"

Li Yifei let out a cold snort. "How could a perfect person like me make mistakes? This method was refined from the blunders of an idiot named Shen Yufeng. Your IQs are about the same—both pretty low—so I think his method should be quite easy for you to handle."

Qian Fei rolled her eyes. "You're the low one! I am tall, big, and up, thank you very much! You, perfect? Tch! If you're perfect, then I'm Amway!"

From then on, Qian Fei consistently used the method Li Yifei had taught her, and she rarely made those careless little mistakes again.

She couldn't help but marvel once more.

Although Li Yifei had a severe young master temperament and a low IQ when it came to everyday life, it had to be said that his emotional intelligence in terms of work and social etiquette was incredibly high. He was truly a skilled expert at navigating the corporate world.

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When it was nearly time to sleep that evening, Qian Fei received a message from Hu Zining. He said he had returned from his business trip and asked if she was free tomorrow evening; if she was, they could have dinner together.

Qian Fei replied with a simple "okay."

The next day at work, Qian Fei received a call from the customer service of an online shopping mall. The representative stated that a portion of her reward points was about to expire and reminded her to redeem them for gifts in a timely manner.

Qian Fei went to the website to look around, mulling over what to exchange them for. As she scrolled through the webpage, she suddenly spotted a men's overcoat. The style was excellent, perfect for a young man, and the thickness was just right for the current weather.

She immediately pressed the redemption button, then called customer service to ask if the delivery of the clothing could be expedited. The representative said that if she was willing to pay for the courier fees herself, it would be no problem.

Qian Fei gritted her teeth and agreed to pay the delivery fee out of pocket.

Shortly after putting down the phone, she very enthusiastically, considerately, and universally took the initiative to ask Li Yifei, "Young Master Li, are you thirsty?"

It was just delivery fees, what was the big deal? It was nothing more than her fetching a single cup of water.

Without even raising his head, Li Yifei simply extended his arm and pushed the cup right in front of her.

Qian Fei took the water cup and stood up. "I'll give you a forty percent discount on this cup of water and only charge you twelve yuan. When the courier arrives this afternoon, you go downstairs directly and help me settle the bill, okay?"

Li Yifei raised his eyes to glance askance at her, letting out a "pht" sound. "Qian Fei, is it because you are too naive, or because I haven't made myself clear enough? I don't even like moving across the distance to the water dispenser, and you want me to walk all the way downstairs to collect a package for you?"

Qian Fei rolled her eyes at him. "Fine then, I won't trouble you with the errand, but you might as well settle the errand fee right now!"

Li Yifei let out two cold, mocking laughs. "Giving you twelve yuan right now is no difficult task, but I'm afraid these twelve yuan will ignite my striving fighting spirit. When we play Fight the Landlord later, I'm afraid I won't be able to stop winning, and I'll end up making you lose a hundred and twenty yuan or something!"

Holding the water cup, Qian Fei nearly dropped to her knees before him.

So fetching water for him actually became a way for her to pay off her debts in advance? If this young master's ability to exploit people were calculated like the belt colors in Taekwondo, it would absolutely be so black that it matched the exact color of his conscience!

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The coat was delivered before they finished work in the afternoon. Qian Fei held the coat in her hands, looking it over repeatedly, feeling extremely satisfied.

Beside her, Li Yifei asked suddenly, "For your boyfriend?"

While packing the coat away, Qian Fei let out an "mm" sound.

Li Yifei let out a brief chuckle. "You really are quite devoted to him!"

Qian Fei said bashfully, "Oh, it's actually nothing. I exchanged my points for this, it didn't cost any money!"

Li Yifei seemed to let out a mocking sneer. "Devoted my foot! Big Sister Qian, grow a brain when nothing is going on!" After saying this, he turned his head and went upstairs to find the securities representative for data.

Qian Fei stared at his retreating back with indignant resentment. "Big sister my foot! My ID card proves that this big sister is clearly younger than you, Big Brother!"

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During dinner that evening, Qian Fei presented the coat to Hu Zining. She didn't mention it was exchanged with points, fearing Hu Zining might look down on it.

Hu Zining took the coat, his eyes lighting up as he said to Qian Fei, "Feifei, do you know, I've always wanted to buy a coat like this, but I could never bring myself to spend the money! Feifei, you really are my sweet little quilted jacket!"

Qian Fei chuckled weakly. "As long as you like it, as long as you like it!"

Just like that, a single coat brushed away that ambiguous and awkward tension between them.

Hu Zining ate the meal very happily, even rushing to settle the bill when they finished. When they stepped out of the restaurant, Hu Zining wore the new coat, carrying his old one stuffed inside a bag. They strolled slowly along the path to digest their food. As they walked, Hu Zining raised his hand to drape his arm around Qian Fei, then turned his head to plant a kiss on her cheek. "Baby, do I look handsome in my new clothes?"

Qian Fei couldn't hold back a shudder. "Handsome!"

Hu Zining gave her another satisfied kiss, and the two turned their heads to continue walking forward.

Qian Fei quietly fell into a state of self-doubt. In the later stages of her relationship with Wang Ruohai, she had always complained that he refused to say sweet nothings to her. Yet now, when someone finally spoke sweet words to her, she shuddered the moment she heard them. She suspected she had contracted the legendary masochistic illness.

They strolled for a while longer until they reached the subway station. Before Qian Fei went inside, Hu Zining asked her, "Do you want me to see you home?"

Qian Fei looked at her watch and laughed casually. "It's still early, I can head back by myself! You just got back from a business trip and must be exhausted, go home quickly and rest!"

Hu Zining looked at her, smiled, and didn't insist further.

For several days in a row, Hu Zining would ask Qian Fei out for dinner every day after work. After eating, they would take a walk or watch a movie, and Qian Fei felt their interaction had become harmonious once again.

When she spoke to Yao Jingjing over the phone, Yao Jingjing asked her, "Baboon, are you satisfied with Hu Zining? Do you like him? I always feel there's a wicked, sinister aura about this guy!"

She pondered this question carefully and told Yao Jingjing, "It's still the same old saying. That relationship with Wang Ruohai lasted too long and hurt too deeply. I completely no longer harbor any beautiful longings or little girl fantasies toward this thing called love. My family is pushing me hard, wanting me to find someone to marry quickly, otherwise I'll become a leftover woman. Hu Zining does have a wicked streak in certain areas, but it is undeniable that he is, up to this point, the most suitable candidate for me to marry. At least he looks decent, has a good job, and is willing to say some pleasant words to coax me. Vixen, do you know how long it's been since anyone coaxed me? Since I won't easily fall in love with anyone anyway, I might as well find someone who is willing to coax me!"

After she finished speaking, Yao Jingjing remained silent for a very long time. Only after a long while did a sigh travel from the other end of the line: "My friend, seeing you banter with me every day without a care in the world, I always thought you had already moved on. Only now do I realize that you have actually been in a continuous state of heartbreak! You've hidden yourself too well! I didn't understand until this exact second that heartbreak doesn't necessarily mean crying your heart out every day. There are also people like you who are the exact opposite—no matter what happens, you don't cry; you eat when you should eat, drink when you should drink, laugh when you should laugh, and look for a boyfriend when you should look for one, yet you no longer believe in love!" Speaking up to this point, she let out a slow sigh. "Baboon, are you using numbness to protect yourself?"

Qian Fei was made to laugh straight out by her words. "Why are you suddenly getting so sentimental?" Yet as she laughed, her eyes began to grow sour.

For such a long time, only Yao Jingjing had truly understood her.

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After finishing work on Friday, while they were eating dinner together, Hu Zining asked Qian Fei, "Baby, didn't you mention to me before that you wanted to go mountain climbing together? Why don't we go tomorrow!"

Shuddering, Qian Fei agreed.

Ever since she gifted Hu Zining that coat, Hu Zining's pet name for her had evolved to another level, transforming from "Feifei" into "Baby."

Every time Hu Zining called her that, she couldn't help but shudder.

She had asked Yao Jingjing if this masochistic illness of wanting to be coaxed yet being unable to tolerate sweet talk could still be cured.

Yao Jingjing replied, "Don't bother curing it. I don't think you're the one who is sick; that kid is even more shameless than you!"

After finishing their climb the next day, Qian Fei felt refreshed in body and mind. Hu Zining proposed going to watch a movie again.

Once the movie ended, the two went to have dinner together.

While placing food into her bowl, Hu Zining asked with utmost concern, "Baby, are you happy today?"

Qian Fei grinned broadly. "Happy!"

Hu Zining stared straight at her with the legendary doting gaze.

Qian Fei felt that provided she had never known Wang Ruohai and had never been in love, she would absolutely be drowning in Hu Zining's loving eyes at this moment.

Hu Zining put down his chopsticks and looked at her with deep affection. "Baby, there's something I want to discuss with you!"