Love Has Fireworks - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Tsundere Tenant

The next day, Qian Fei shared her plan to rent out a part of the apartment with Yao Jingjing and asked her to keep an eye out for any suitable candidates. Yao Jingjing asked about the arrangement and the price she had in mind. Qian Fei replied, "I'll keep the master bedroom with the attached bathroom. The other bedroom, the study, and the living room can all be rented out, and we'll share the kitchen. As for the price, what do you think about thirty-five hundred yuan a month? Is that too expensive?"

Yao Jingjing scoffed through the phone, "If you go any cheaper, you might as well pack your bags, head back to your hometown, and plant cabbages! Can't you harden your heart a little and push for four thousand?"

Qian Fei countered, "Forget it. Thirty-five hundred a month is enough to cover my expenses. Who would rent my place for four thousand anyway? For that price, they might as well just rent a whole one-bedroom apartment to themselves."

Yao Jingjing realized she had a point and agreed to look around.

A few days later, while commuting, Qian Fei unexpectedly bumped into Wang Ruohai at the subway station.

Counting it out, it had been nearly half a year since they had seen each other after the breakup. Wang Ruohai had called her a few times during that period, but it was always to discuss the deposit for the apartment.

When Wang Ruohai saw her, he froze for a moment before offering a casual, open greeting. Then, rather redundantly, he added, "My car's license plate is restricted today."

Looking at his completely refreshed wardrobe, Qian Fei felt a bitter tang in her heart. The suit he was wearing came from an incredibly expensive brand; it seemed the executive's niece was quite willing to pour money into him. He was even driving a car now. She realized the old saying was entirely right—clothes make the man. Now that Wang Ruohai was properly put together, he carried an undeniable aura of success. He had always been good-looking, and this upgrade made him look sharper than ever. Qian Fei suddenly wondered if she really had mistreated him over the past five years, dragging him through a life of pinching pennies during the prime of his youth, making them live like a pair of impoverished retirees without a pension when they should have been living out loud.

But the person she had mistreated the most was actually herself.

Wang Ruohai looked at her and asked, "So you bought the apartment by yourself?"

Qian Fei snapped, "What does that have to do with you!"

Wang Ruohai spread his hands and smiled, "Qian Fei, do we really have to act like enemies just because we broke up?"

Qian Fei let out a cold laugh, "Then what should I treat you as? Should I treat you as my great benefactor? Should I thank you for falling in love with someone else?"

Wang Ruohai looked at her helplessly, "Qian Fei, can you change the way you talk? If you keep acting like this, no man will ever be able to stand you!"

Qian Fei rolled her eyes and turned her face away. It was peak rush hour, and the crowd was suffocating. Someone behind her pushed past to get off the train, jolting her off balance. She stumbled, nearly spraining her ankle.

Wang Ruohai squeezed through the crowd and stepped in front of her, partitioning her between his body and the train wall, creating a protective space around her with his arms.

It was exactly like how they used to commute together every single day.

Qian Fei suddenly couldn't hold it back anymore, and her eyes burned with a painful ache. The moment the train stopped and the doors slid open, she stepped off, even though she hadn't reached her station yet.

Standing outside the carriage, she heard Wang Ruohai say, "Why must you do this to yourself!"

The doors closed, and the instant the train carried him away, Qian Fei could no longer control herself. Her tears streamed down rapidly.

She had clearly been on the verge of healing and was close to forgetting him. Why did he have to show up and mess with her head again? Who cared about his "let's still be friends after breaking up" posturing? Who needed him to shield her from the crowd?

Standing in the middle of the crowded subway station, she cried like a complete idiot, utterly unable to stop.

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A few days later, Yao Jingjing called Qian Fei: "A close friend of mine—actually a former colleague who just jumped ship to the building next door—told me about a new colleague who started last month. A girl. Oh right, I've met her once; she's quite pretty and works in finance. Because her job moved to the CBD, she wants to find a place nearby to live with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend is in the same industry as you, also working in investment banking. Originally, the young couple wanted to find a two-bedroom apartment to live by themselves without roommates. But how could there be anything cheap in this area? The girl is picky and looks down on old buildings, while the new ones are incredibly expensive. They haven't been able to find anything suitable. I mentioned the details of your apartment, and after weighing it out, they felt that the reasonable price and the extra space you offer are within their acceptable limits. However, the girl has one request: except for cooking times, could you please just stay in your own room and not come out all the time?"

Qian Fei steeled her heart and said, "Fine! I'll just stay in my room and master the art of invisibility. I won't break my seclusion to disturb humanity until my power reaches one hundred percent! Anyway, tomorrow is the weekend, why don't you bring them over to look at the place?"

Yao Jingjing replied, "Tomorrow won't work. Tomorrow I have to go on a blind date with a wealthy tycoon. I'll give the address to my friend and have her pass it to the girl. Let them take a taxi over themselves. Shoucheng International is such a pretentious place, there's no way they won't find it!"

The next morning, Qian Fei got up very early, gave the apartment another thorough cleaning, and moved all her personal belongings into her own bedroom. Close to noon, she received a phone call. The girl looking at the apartment had arrived and was at the complex entrance. She mentioned there were too many buildings and she was getting a bit dizzy wandering around, so she asked if Qian Fei could come down to meet them.

She quickly grabbed the keys and headed downstairs.

When she reached the complex entrance, she saw a man and a woman about her age. Both were remarkably attractive and dressed in extremely fashionable, stylish outfits.

The girl had a delicate, heart-shaped face with long, tumbling curls cascading down her back. She wore a short skirt that accentuated her long, slender, model-like legs. The man was very tall and exceptionally handsome, looking practically like a celebrity, his lean frame filling out his clothes perfectly.

Looking at them, Qian Fei felt like a dowdy housekeeper.

The girl introduced herself as Gui Lili, and the man was her boyfriend. The man glanced at her and gave a slight nod as a greeting. Noting his somewhat snooty attitude, Qian Fei figured he definitely wouldn't be an easy person to get along with. Her heart sank a bit.

She led them upstairs.

While Gui Lili went from room to room inspecting the apartment, making small talk along the way, the man just stood by the doorway, looking rather impatient throughout the process.

Gui Lili tried to bargain, asking, "Can this apartment be a bit cheaper?"

Qian Fei felt a bit put on the spot, "This really is already the absolute lowest price. The apartment is brand new, and you can use the water, electricity, gas, and broadband freely. I actually just want someone to help me split the monthly mortgage; I never expected to make money off this place, so the price I asked for from the start wasn't high. I really can't go any lower!"

Gui Lili looked deeply conflicted, "Could you see if you can make an exception for us? It's not easy for us out-of-towners to make a living in Beijing. I'm an only child, and to send me abroad to study, my family even sold our house." She turned her head to look at her boyfriend, who had remained silent by the door the entire time. "Originally, we agreed to buy our own home once we returned from studying abroad, but an unexpected accident happened, and his family can no longer help him. We have no one to rely on but ourselves from now on. You know how Beijing is; without grinding for a few years, it's impossible to secure an apartment!" She grew somewhat emotional and took hold of Qian Fei's hands, "Can you please give us a cheaper rate?"

Qian Fei instantly thought of how she had scraped by in Beijing all these years. Her heart instantly overflowed with sympathy, and in a moment of hot-headedness, she blurted out, "It really isn't easy for anyone. Tell you what, let's set it at three thousand a month for now!"

Gui Lili immediately sealed the deal, "Qian Fei, you are such a good person! When can we sign the contract?"

Qian Fei asked, "Did you both bring your identification cards? If you did, we can sign right now. Once that's done, I'll give you the keys, and you can move in whenever you like!"

Gui Lili happily held her hand out to her boyfriend, "Li Yifei, identification card!"

Hearing the name, Qian Fei's ears twitched.

Pfft! He actually shared a name with that nationally famous, beautiful actress.

She watched as the man named Li Yifei slowly drew his identification card out from his wallet. When he handed it over to Gui Lili, he darted a glance at Qian Fei.

There was a rather complex meaning in that glance, one that Qian Fei couldn't quite decipher from her position.

As she copied their identification numbers onto the contract, she discovered that Gui Lili was the exact same age as her, while Li Yifei was one year older. She couldn't help but feel a wave of melancholy.

At the same age, Gui Lili looked radiant and immaculately dressed, while she herself had withered into a sallow-faced woman whose idea of skincare was slapping on some cheap moisturizer after washing her face.

However, she comforted herself with the thought that she owned an apartment. Even though she had to pay off a mortgage, the bright red deed had the name Qian Fei stamped cleanly and properly upon it. In this regard, she was doing better than Gui Lili. Thinking of this, she felt a great deal more consoled.

Before returning the identification cards, she took a closer look at their document photos to confirm their identities. When her eyes scanned Li Yifei's card, she noticed his home address was right here in the municipality of Beijing.

She couldn't help but ask casually, "Mr. Li is a local Beijing resident?"

She found it somewhat strange that someone with a home in the city would come out to rent an apartment.

Li Yifei lifted his eyes to look at her, nodded, and asked in a cool tone, "Yes, why?"

Qian Fei suddenly felt a hint of awkwardness enter the air.

She forced a smile to break the tension, "It's nothing, just asking casually!"

She scolded herself internally for being nosy. Perhaps the young couple simply wanted to spend the money to cohabit out of the house rather than living with family. What did that have to do with her? Her only job was to collect the money every month.

Once the contract was signed, Qian Fei handed the keys to Gui Lili and asked, "When will you be moving in? Do you need me to lend a hand?"

Gui Lili smiled and said, "We'll move in next week. No need to help, we're hiring a moving company!" She added, "I'll wire the first three months of rent to the account number listed on the contract later. You can check if the money has cleared then!"

Qian Fei told them there was no rush and escorted the two of them into the elevator.

After returning, she called Yao Jingjing to tell her that the apartment had been rented out.

Yao Jingjing was currently sitting in a taxi, stuck in traffic on her way to dinner with the tycoon. Hearing that she had rented the place out for three thousand a month, she immediately blew her top, "Qian Fei, are you out of your mind? Did your brain short-circuit? Are there bubbles growing on your neural pathways? You actually rented it out for three thousand!"

In the face of the shouting, Qian Fei felt inexplicably guilty and defended herself, "We're all out-of-towners trying to survive in Beijing, it really isn't easy. Isn't it nice to look out for one another when we can?"

Yao Jingjing howled, "You certainly looked out for her, but did she look out for you? You work in investment banking, so your information should be sharper than mine. Do you know that the company she works for is preparing to go public? Do you know that her company's compensation package is way better than yours? Do you know that even though her boyfriend is in investment banking like you, his rank is higher and he pulls in far more money? You actually have the spare energy to pity them! I think you're just a massive sucker!"

Qian Fei felt her head spin from the lecture, making her focus pull slightly off-center, "If they're really doing that well, why aren't they buying a house instead of renting?"

Yao Jingjing sounded entirely exasperated by her lack of sense, "Do you think everyone is like you, hoarding money to the point of not eating, drinking, dressing, or having fun until you've practically attained ascension? The money those two make goes right into eating, drinking, and enjoying life; they haven't put any effort toward brick and mortar! You absolute fool, you're driving me insane. Look at how smooth and polished their skin is from a life of luxury. Do they need the overflowing sympathy of an old hag like you who has practically withered away? Forget it, forget it, I'm done talking to you. You're ruining my wonderful mood for hooking this tycoon! My dear Saint Qian, I'll just wait to see how you survive each month after paying off your mortgage!"

Qian Fei felt a twinge of regret as well, but since the contract had already been signed, any thoughts of raising the price would have to wait for the future.

She suddenly recalled the look in Li Yifei's eyes when he was searching for his identification card.

At that moment, had he been silently telling Gui Lili: Look at this fool, she's so easy to play.

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Walking out of the residential complex, Gui Lili hooked her arm through Li Yifei's and asked, looking for credit, "Yifei, wouldn't you say I'm amazing? I managed to knock the rent down by a full five hundred yuan right here in Shoucheng! Looking at her apartment, it wouldn't even be out of line if she charged us four thousand a month!"

Li Yifei snorted, "How much ability did you actually have to deploy there? If the landlord had been a man and you turned on the cute, pitiful act like that, he might have given it to you for free."

Hearing his tone, Gui Lili felt the words carried an unpleasant edge. She shrugged his arm off and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Li Yifei didn't bother trying to coax her, "What I mean is, I can't stand how you always play cute and pitiful with people like that! Today it was a female landlord, so I endured it. If you ever act like that with another man in the future, you and I are going to have a serious reckoning!"

Gui Lili's eyes turned red instantly, "Didn't I just say a few soft words to the boss when I was switching jobs? You found out about it that one time, but can you please stop constantly bringing it up?!"

Li Yifei ignored her and walked ahead on his own.

Gui Lili wiped away a tear, chased after him from behind, and reached out to take his hand, "Alright, alright, I'll listen to you. I definitely won't do it again. Let's not fight over this anymore. Let's just be good to each other, okay?"

Li Yifei glanced at her but remained silent.

"Yifei, let's buy a car first. That way you won't have to squeeze onto Line 1 when you go to work!" Gui Lili said, looking at the absolute ocean of people flooding the subway station.

Li Yifei let out a dry chuckle, "Renting a house while buying a car, do you think that makes any sense?"

Gui Lili lowered her head and fell silent.