Love Has Fireworks - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: He Looks Familiar

Li Yifei found Dajun and the others in their private room. He walked in, sat down, and asked Jin Tian, who was sitting right next to him, "Have you eaten anything yet?"

Jin Tian looked at him with watery eyes and shook her head. "I didn't have an appetite since you weren't back!"

Li Yifei nodded, turned around to call the waiter over, and said, "Bring her a bowl of silver ear mushroom and papaya sweet soup." Then he turned to Jin Tian and said, "Try this. It's delicious. It'll definitely get your appetite back!"

Jin Tian flashed him a sweet smile.

He smiled back at her and said, "Eat slowly, chew the silver ear mushroom a few more times, and don't rush to talk while eating!" Then he turned back around to whisper with Dajun.

"Help me take Jin Tian back later."

Dajun curled his lip. "Then where are you going?"

Li Yifei said matter-of-factly, "I have to take those two female drunkards home!"

Dajun looked past him to glance at Jin Tian, then lowered his voice and said, "Look, it's not right for you to always have me pick up and drop off the pretty girls you bring out, is it? I'm doing so much of life's hard and exhausting labor for you, aren't you going to show some appreciation?"

Li Yifei punched him playfully. "Since when did you get so dramatic? Doing a tiny bit of work and you try every trick in the book to beg for my affection and praise!"

Dajun narrowed his eyes and looked at him sideways. "By the way, who are those two women?"

Li Yifei raised an eyebrow. "One is a tomboy, and the other is the tomboy's best friend."

Dajun's expression shifted, and he asked with a sly, shifty look, "Which one is the tomboy? The one with shoulder-length hair or the one whose hair goes past her shoulders?"

Li Yifei answered him, "The one whose hair goes past her shoulders."

Dajun's eyes lit up, and he let out a low cry, "Holy crap! I think my tastes have gone a bit perverted. The one I actually took a fancy to was that tomboy! Tell you what, Da Fei, I won't beg for your affection or praise anymore. Just introduce me to that tomboy!"

Li Yifei smacked the back of his head. "Get lost! What are you thinking! She only dresses up to look like a woman, but deep down in her bones, she's rougher than you are! You'd be better off going to Thailand to find a wilder ladyboy than trying to date her!"

Dajun rubbed his head and whined, "Look at that face of yours, terrified that I'll ruin her, yet you make it sound like you're doing it for my own good. Pfft!"

Li Yifei wiped the expression from his face, looking at Dajun with a serious gaze. "I really am doing it for your own good. I'm afraid you'll just be looking for a quick bit of fun and won't be able to shake her off afterward. She's different from us; she lives her life incredibly seriously. Either you go into it intending to marry her, or you shouldn't have any playful thoughts at all. A person like her can't afford to play games, and she can't afford to get hurt."

● ︶ 3 ︶ ●

By the time Li Yifei returned to the small private room, Qian Fei and Lu Ze's conversation happened to be drawing to a close.

They were starting to discuss the sleeping arrangements for the night.

Qian Fei said to Lu Ze, "I'm taking the Yaojing home now. Go find a hotel for yourself."

Lu Ze looked at her, then at Li Yifei by the doorway, and asked, "Are you two leaving together?"

Qian Fei nodded. "Yeah!"

Lu Ze fell silent for a moment, then said, "In that case, I'll go back with you guys too."

Li Yifei spoke up before Qian Fei could: "Don't compare yourself to me, sir. I already live there!"

Lu Ze looked at him and said expressionlessly, "I can sleep on the sofa."

Just as Qian Fei was about to speak, Li Yifei cut her off. "It was settled when I signed the contract—the living room belongs to me, so that sofa in the living room is also mine!"

Lu Ze glanced at him, his expression calm as he lowered his voice and said, "I heard you're doing export trade business with someone. I happen to have channels in Dalian responsible for selling goods to Japan."

Li Yifei's posture straightened, and he grew serious. "You know quite a lot. Mind if I ask where you got your information?"

The corner of Lu Ze's mouth twitched up ever so slightly. "Your friend once asked my friend to pass along his and your business cards."

Li Yifei looked at him closely and rubbed his chin.

Qian Fei stood up somewhat unsteadily and asked impatiently, "What are you two muttering about? Can you speak up and say something that a wasted person can understand without wasting brain cells?" She pointed at Lu Ze and asked Li Yifei, "How exactly are we settling him tonight?"

Li Yifei's attitude completely flipped. He patted her hand down. "Where are your manners? Is it polite to point at people like that when you talk! He's coming home with us tonight!"

He changed so fast that Qian Fei choked on her own breath. "Huh? Coming home together? Then where is he going to sleep?"

Li Yifei said, "The living room sofa."

Qian Fei gave an "oh," stood up, and called for the waiter to settle the bill.

Li Yifei stopped her. "No need!"

Qian Fei asked with a face full of joy, "You paid it?"

Li Yifei smiled mysteriously. "No, I told the waiter to put it on the tab of that big private room over there!"

Qian Fei gave another "oh" and smiled flatteringly. "Next time that group of people comes out to eat again, arrange a small private room for me right next to them!"

Li Yifei followed behind Lu Ze, who was supporting Yao Jingjing, as they walked out. "If you keep this young master happy, you won't be missing out on good things like this in the future!" He paused at the door, turned around, and asked Qian Fei, "Have you sobered up yet?"

Qian Fei thumped her chest hard and said, "Of course I have! Do you think I have the alcohol capacity of an ant's stomach?"

As soon as Li Yifei saw how hard and mercilessly she was thumping herself, he knew she was still dizzy. He sighed impatiently, walked back, and practically dragged and supported her as they walked out. "Let me tell you, if you ever dare to drink to the point of losing your manners with other people outside again, I'll slap you silly! How can a woman act like this!"

Qian Fei giggled and asked, "Then is it okay at home?"

Li Yifei said, "At home is fine, but you'd better make sure your future man won't be disgusted by the sight of you throwing up from drinking too much."

Supporting Qian Fei, he walked out of Jin Ding Xuan.

The four of them took a taxi back home.

After getting home, Li Yifei washed up and went to sleep first. Qian Fei settled Lu Ze in the living room and helped Yao Jingjing back to her bedroom.

Yao Jingjing lay on the bed, rolled around a couple of times, and started shouting that she felt nauseous. Qian Fei had no choice but to help her to the bathroom. The moment Yao Jingjing entered the bathroom, it was as if she had found her true calling in life; she dove straight for the toilet and dry-heaved with all her might.

After throwing up for a bit, Yao Jingjing completely regained her energy.

She rinsed her mouth, wiped her lips, and said to Qian Fei with grim determination, like a warrior severing his own wrist, "Feifei, call him in. I want to talk to him!"

Qian Fei almost cried.

She hadn't thrown up at all, and the alcohol was only half-digested while the other half was still bubbling up in her stomach. Right now, she didn't want to deal with any more drama; she just wanted to sleep.

Like a wandering ghost, she shuffled out of the room listlessly and swapped Lu Ze in.

The moment Lu Ze entered the room, he shut the door. Standing outside, Qian Fei suddenly felt as miserable as the Little Match Girl, her own nest taken over right during the Lunar New Year.

She was truly exhausted, so she lay down on the sofa, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

But just as she fell into a deep sleep, a loud crash suddenly echoed from the room.

She snapped awake, sitting straight up. In her sleep-deprived daze, she assumed the two people in the room had started fighting. Infused with the energy of a rocket launcher, she instantly bounced off the sofa, rushed to the bedroom door, and shoved it open with all her might. "What's wrong, what's wrong? Why are you guys fighting when you were supposed to be talking nicely... oh..."

Her voice froze at the sight of the two people tangled together in the room, savagely mauling each other's lips. By their feet lay a thick stack of her professional textbooks that had originally been neatly arranged on the desk.

Just how wild was this entanglement...

Flushed with embarrassment, she backed out and kindly helped them close the door. Standing outside, she heard a click as the door was locked from the inside. She, the actual tenant, had actually been locked out just like that.

She stood there stunned, wondering if those two in the room were being a bit too shamelessly desperate...

● ︶ 3 ︶ ●

The next morning, Yao Jingjing and Lu Ze walked out of the bedroom looking perfectly respectable. The righteous air on their faces made it seem as though they hadn't done anything scandalous last night, but had instead sat across from each other discussing Zen philosophy all night.

Qian Fei had already made breakfast. As she set out the bowls and chopsticks, she called out, "Yaojing." But before she could say the rest, she was righteously interrupted by Yao Jingjing.

"Don't ask me anything. I don't know what happened yesterday. I blacked out!"

Qian Fei stopped what she was doing, straightened her back, and curled her lip in disdain. "I originally just wanted to ask whether you wanted porridge or soy milk? But since your guilty conscience is showing so badly, if I don't play along a little, it would really do an injustice to your hypocritical virtue!" She narrowed her eyes, a sly, shifty expression instantly plastering itself across her face. "Can you tell me why your lips are swollen? Did he slap you across the mouth with all his might while you were blacked out?" Qian Fei pointed at Lu Ze, asking Yao Jingjing with a face full of feigned curiosity.

Yao Jingjing didn't flush, nor did she lose her breath. "I spent the whole night flapping my lips cursing you out. I'm exhausted."

Qian Fei laughed as she spoke, "Would it kill you to maintain a good image in front of your man!"

She had Yao Jingjing and Lu Ze sit down at the dining table, then went to knock on Li Yifei's door to call him up for breakfast. Through the door panel, Li Yifei groaned and told her that he wanted to sleep a bit longer. He asked her to leave a little bit of every breakfast item in the pot to keep warm for him, and by the way, to iron his favorite shirt with the matching gold buttons, and that the trash can in his bathroom was due for a clearing.

Qian Fei spat fiercely at the door. "Pfft! You've really gotten addicted to acting like a pampered master, haven't you! As if I'd care, I hope you starve!"

Despite saying that, when she returned to the dining table, she still set aside a bowl of soy milk and a bowl of porridge.

Yao Jingjing stared at her with wide eyes, clicking her tongue twice. "It seems like the savior complex you were born with has gotten worse again!"

Qian Fei muttered back at her, "Even turning into two thick sausages can't stop your sharp tongue!"

She asked Yao Jingjing and Lu Ze what their plans were after breakfast—whether they wanted to go out or just hang out and chat at home.

Lu Ze said, "I'm taking her back to Dalian in a bit. I've already had my assistant book the flight tickets."

Qian Fei froze, looking at Yao Jingjing with a face full of reluctance to let her go. "Leaving so soon? Why don't you stay for a few more days?"

Yao Jingjing also pulled down the corners of her mouth. "He has to convene a routine high-level executive meeting this afternoon!"

Qian Fei had a look of utter disbelief. "No way, right? Today is New Year's Day! All of China is on New Year's holiday. Boss Lu, aren't you acting a bit too much like an oppressive, heartless capitalist?"

Lu Ze looked at her expressionlessly and said, "It can't be helped. It was originally supposed to be held yesterday afternoon, but someone threw a tantrum, and I wasn't in the mood for a meeting, so I had to move it to today."

Qian Fei looked at Yao Jingjing and smacked her lips. "You really have become a disaster-causing enchantress!"

After breakfast, Qian Fei saw Yao Jingjing and Lu Ze off to the airport.

Before boarding, Qian Fei and Yao Jingjing were talking endlessly, filled with reluctance as if it were a life-and-death separation. Watching from the side, Lu Ze felt both a headache and confusion. "Weren't you both just looking down at your phones scrolling through Weibo in the car earlier?" His underlying meaning was: why are you talking endlessly now, what were you doing earlier?

Qian Fei and Yao Jingjing turned their heads to face him almost at the same time: "You don't understand!"

Qian Fei said, "This is just like an exam. Would you study a week before the exam? Of course not!"

Yao Jingjing followed up: "But what about the night before the exam? You'd definitely wish you could stay up all night studying!"

Lu Ze looked at them, the corner of his mouth twitching silently.

Right before heading into the boarding gate, Qian Fei said to Lu Ze, "You better hurry up and get everything sorted out at your Dalian branch and bring the Yaojing back to Beijing for me as soon as possible! I can't survive too long without her. If I endure it for too long, I'll die!"

Breaking away from his usual paralyzed facial expression, Lu Ze actually curled the corner of his mouth up. "Definitely."

Qian Fei patted Yao Jingjing's shoulder. "Go on in, Yaojing!"

Yao Jingjing walked into the boarding gate. Lu Ze took off with his long legs to follow. After taking two steps forward, he suddenly stopped, turned back, looked at Qian Fei, and said with his usual expressionless face, "Looking at that Li Yifei, he looks very familiar."

Qian Fei answered him with a completely serious demeanor, "Well, about that, it might be because back when his last name was still Liu, he once dressed up as a woman to play a heartless assassin named Wuqing!"

Lu Ze actually smiled. "What a coincidence. I took Jingjing to see that movie." He waved his hand, turned, and left.

Once he caught up to walk side-by-side with Yao Jingjing, she asked him, "What were you saying to Feifei just now?"

He smiled faintly and replied, "Nothing, I just think that Li Yifei looks exceptionally similar to the chairman of Qiansheng Group."

Yao Jingjing sighed with emotion, "Wow, Qiansheng Group. That grandson Wang Ruohai—oh, Feifei's ex-boyfriend—works at Qiansheng. Back then, I wanted to work there and submitted my resume three times, but never made it!" As she spoke, she clicked her tongue and sighed again, "Looking at it this way, physiognomy and face-reading are all nonsense. Two people with similar looks—one is a big boss of a conglomerate, and the other is a pretty boy renting a room. The difference between clouds and mud!"

Lu Ze looked at her, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

The woman in front of him and the one named Qian Fei—these two girls were the most brainless and heartless human beings he had ever met.