Love Has Fireworks - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Bring Him Home

On the way home, Qian Fei was downcast, keeping her head low and remaining silent.

Walking beside her with both hands shoved in his pockets, Li Yifei kicked a stone by his foot. With a scoff, he said, "I've really had my eyes opened today. Matchmaking websites have practically become hookup heavens now!"

Qian Fei looked up and asked, "Why did you follow me?"

Li Yifei replied, "Could I afford not to follow you? With your IQ, you'd be bullied into dust if I wasn't there!"

Qian Fei asked, "Do you know that plump woman sitting opposite you?"

Li Yifei said, "Nope, just struck up a conversation on the spot."

Qian Fei asked, "Then what gave you the right to sit at her table?"

Li Yifei replied, "My face."

Qian Fei stopped talking, lowering her head to walk in silence.

Li Yifei kicked away another stone and said crossly, "You should stay off those weird matchmaking websites in the future! You're so naive, yet you always throw yourself right in front of people to be scammed!"

Qian Fei stopped in her tracks, raised her head, and stared at Li Yifei without a word. She kept staring until Li Yifei felt a bit unnerved by her cold, mournful gaze, and only then did she finally speak.

"Do you think I'm incredibly ridiculous?"

The moment she spoke, Li Yifei was visibly taken aback.

"I know you think I'm incredibly ridiculous, but I have no other choice. I envy the lives of rich people too—having a whole crowd of handsome men and beautiful women surrounding them, just waiting to be picked. That must be so freaking thrilling! But I don't have those advantages. I'm getting older, so if I don't use matchmaking websites to find a partner, what other option do I have? I'm from out of town, and living here makes me feel like a squatter. Even though I have a house, I don't feel the slightest sense of belonging or security. You play your way through life, drifting along freely and easily—that's your lifestyle. I am working hard to start a family, wanting a stable and grounded life—that's my lifestyle. You might find my approach ridiculous, but I am indeed doing everything in my power to live my life earnestly and diligently."

By the time she finished, a look of bleak desolation covered her face. Looking at her, Li Yifei felt a lump in his throat, unable to utter a single word.

After a moment, he spoke, visibly moved, "I'm sorry. Before this, I really did think what you were doing was pretty stupid."

Hearing the genuine apology in his voice, Qian Fei suddenly felt her nose tingle so sharply it felt as if it were about to melt.

● ︶ 3 ︶ ●

When they returned to the entrance of the residential complex, Qian Fei saw a fresh, pretty young girl wearing sunglasses waiting there. Upon seeing them, the pretty girl took off her sunglasses and walked toward Li Yifei.

Qian Fei thought she looked a bit familiar, as if she were the girl she had seen outside Jin Ding Xuan on New Year's Eve.

The girl walked over and called out, "Yifei!"

Li Yifei seemed somewhat surprised. "Why did you come here?"

The pretty girl said softly, with a hint of grievance, "We agreed yesterday to go see a movie together tonight, but then at five o'clock, you hurriedly called me to cancel. I was worried you might be sick, and since I remembered you saying you live in Shouchang International, I came here to try my luck. I thought maybe I'd run into you!"

After speaking, she looked at Qian Fei, hesitating before asking, "This is..."

Looking into her watery eyes, Qian Fei wanted to clarify her identity, but she was also afraid of exposing Li Yifei's financial situation as a poor tenant renting an apartment. So, she deflected gracefully, saying, "Hello, my name is Qian Fei. I'm your boyfriend's colleague!"

From the side, Li Yifei added, "And also my landlord."

Qian Fei looked back and glared at him.

He really was quite open and aboveboard, completely unafraid that his renting poverty would scare off this beautiful little flower.

The young beauty hesitated with an "oh," still looking at Qian Fei with a slight frown as she pondered, "I think I've seen you before—that night outside Jin Ding Xuan!"

Seeing the mixture of tenderness and melancholy on the girl's face, Qian Fei suddenly felt a wave of irritation rising in her heart.

The young beauty probably thought there was something ambiguous going on between her and Li Yifei.

She found this possibility entirely laughable. As friends, she and Li Yifei could accept one another, but as a man and a woman, they had far too many reasons to be repulsed by each other.

For instance, she found him lazy, picky, vain, and far too reckless with money. He clearly had the budget of a loser, yet he maintained the temper of a young master. Most importantly, she found him too good-looking—he was several levels more attractive than Wang Ruohai and Hu Zining. A man with such outstanding looks was simply someone she could never handle.

And she guessed he would find her basic, cheap, far too much of a bleeding heart, and completely lacking in feminine grace. Equally important, judging by his two previous girlfriends within her line of sight, his standards for looks were outrageously high; he would definitely find her not beautiful enough.

She felt that trace of irritation in her heart gradually expanding.

She said to Li Yifei, "You two take your time talking, I'm heading up first."

Then, without sparing another glance at the young beauty who was supposedly featured in many television commercials, she marched directly into the complex.

It wasn't until she stepped into the elevator that she couldn't help but wonder: what exactly did that minor celebrity see in him? She was so beautiful, so why on earth did she choose a poor wretch like Li Yifei who had to rent a place? Could it really be because he was handsome, or perhaps because his physical fitness was exceptionally outstanding, possessing the traits of both a pretty boy and a young wolf?

Realizing her thoughts were veering into inappropriate territory, she quickly shook her head, stepped out of the elevator, unlocked her door, and went home.

● ︶ 3 ︶ ●

Outside the complex, Jin Tian said to Li Yifei, "I just came over to see if you were sick. Since you're not, go ahead and get back to whatever you're busy with. I'll be heading back now!"

Feeling a bit guilty, Li Yifei said, "Let me walk you out."

Jin Tian bit her lower lip, her brow slightly furrowed as she hesitated to speak.

"Yifei, why don't you move out? With your family's conditions, why do you have to live like this?"

Li Yifei's face darkened.

Back when Da Jun told him that he had accidentally revealed his family background to Jin Tian, he had already felt deeply disgusted and angry. Hearing Jin Tian bring it up so openly now made him desperately want to rush over to Da Jun's place, log into that bastard's computer, delete every single piece of gear in his games, and destroy him completely!

Ever since he went abroad to study, the old man had set a rule for him: "Don't tell anyone outside that you're my son. Once you say it, people's motives for associating with you might change." The old man's twisted logic always dictated that once others knew their family had money, they would surely only be nice to him for his wealth.

Later, when they had their falling out, the old man had pointed to the sky, pointed to the earth, and pointed right at his nose while hopping mad, yelling, "If you have any backbone at all, don't tell anyone out there that you're my son! Don't go around conning people under my name! Aren't you supposed to be capable? Let's see what you can achieve on your own! On the day you realize you can't accomplish a damn thing, don't come crying back to me!"

He had always been infuriated by how much the old man underestimated him—as if he truly couldn't achieve anything without him. He kept his identity a profound secret from everyone, having only ever mentioned it to one person, yet that person was so stubbornly foolish that she claimed she wouldn't believe it even if she died.

With a dark expression, he said to Jin Tian, "You know I don't like it when others bring up my family matters."

● ︶ 3 ︶ ●

Jin Tian's brow furrowed even tighter.

But even now, did she still count as "others" to him?

Seeing her aggrieved expression, Li Yifei's heart softened, and his expression relaxed as he said, "I've gotten used to living here now, and I'm too lazy to go through the hassle of moving around. Besides, Qian Fei is very easygoing and easy to talk to, and I've grown accustomed to ordering her around."

Jin Tian bit her lip, thinking it over and over, but in the end, she forced the question she wanted to ask back down her throat.

Because asking it would only make him unhappy.

In reality, she had always wanted to ask him why, on New Year's Eve, the one accompanying her hadn't been him, while the person he was accompanying turned out to be that landlord named Qian Fei.

Was it truly just because she was drunk and absolutely had to be sent home by him?

But didn't he despise women drinking the most, especially to the point of losing their composure?

She comforted herself, thinking that perhaps he really didn't view that landlord as a woman at all, and he had always treated his buddies better than women anyway.

She felt that she had figured it out once again. Next, she just had to wait until he stopped rejecting references to his family, and then he could invest in a major production for her to star in. Perhaps she could use that opportunity to rise to prominence.

● ︶ 3 ︶ ●

In the days that followed, Qian Fei returned to basics, throwing herself entirely into studying her professional business. She completely stopped thinking about the matter of finding a partner.

Calls kept coming from back home, and each time, her old man questioned and interrogated her about how the management of her lifelong companion search was going, sounding more severe and resolute than the last.

The first time, to escape the lecture ringing in her ears, Qian Fei gave a half-hearted answer: "I'm going on matchmaking dates right now!"

The second time, her old man picked up right where the previous call left off, upgrading his question from "How is the management of your lifelong companion search going?" directly to "How are things going between you and your matchmaking date?"

Qian Fei didn't want to break the logic and continuity of the plot, because explaining it otherwise would be even more troublesome. So, she fabricated a lie on the spot: "We're getting along quite well, but we haven't known each other long enough, so we need further observation!"

The third time, her old man went straight to the continuation of the previous episode, wasting no words and cutting right to the chase: "How is the observation going?"

In order to hang up the phone as quickly as possible so she could read her books, Qian Fei replied, "It's pretty good!"

As it turned out, her old man refused to let her off the hook, launching a barrage of questions.

"Then what is this person's last name? What does he do? How old is he? How is his personality? Where is he from? Does he have a house? How are his family's conditions?"

Qian Fei was incredibly annoyed, wanting nothing more than to deal with it quickly. Glancing at Li Yifei, who was leisurely watching television in the living room, a spark of inspiration flashed, and she blurted out, "His last name is Li. He's in the same industry as me, and he's one year older than me. As for his personality, it has a few flaws, but that's fine, I can tame him slowly! He's a Beijing local, but the house belongs to his dad. Right now, he's throwing a tantrum with his dad, so he's also renting a place."

Her old man threw out another question, one that startled Qian Fei into a cold sweat.

"What kind of person did you say was renting your place before? Didn't they also have the last name Li?"

Wiping her sweat, Qian Fei answered with absolute certainty, "His last name isn't Li, you remembered it wrong. His last name is Huang!"

Her old man muttered, "How do I remember hearing you mention that someone named Li something never takes out the trash? Could I really have remembered it wrong?"

While wiping her sweat, Qian Fei told him decisively, "Yes, you definitely remembered it wrong! I'll mail some cod liver oil to you and Aunt He later so both of you can nourish yourselves, lest you get early-onset Parkinson's or Alzheimer's in a couple of years!"

Having finally managed to fool her old man, she hung up the phone, only for Young Master Li in the living room to show his displeasure.

"Did you pay me performance fees before dragging me into your family's grand drama without my permission?"

Qian Fei said just one sentence that completely deflated his desire to throw a tantrum.

"Go look for an apartment on 58.com."

By the fourth time, Qian Fei found herself completely unable to handle the question her old man asked.

"Daughter, Chinese New Year is coming up soon. Bring your partner back so Daddy can take a look at him!"

With her forehead covered in sweat, Qian Fei braced herself and said, "That's not very convenient, is it? He has to accompany his own dad for the Lunar New Year!"

Ever since receiving the cod liver oil, her old man's memory seemed exceptionally sharp, and he could no longer be easily fooled. "Didn't you say he was throwing a tantrum with his dad? How can they still spend the Lunar New Year together? You might as well just bring him to our house. Your dad has plenty of paternal love to spare; you can't use it all yourself anyway, so let's share some with him!"

Lines of black humor ran down Qian Fei's face. She felt that her old man's skill at bickering was getting higher and higher.

"Dad, he made up with his dad, so he really can't come to our house for the Lunar New Year this year! Next year, okay! Next year I will definitely drag him back, alright?"

This time, she managed to get through the ordeal without any actual danger. Qian Fei felt that she shouldn't have to worry about this matter again before the Spring Festival. However, against all expectations, whatever one fears most is exactly what happens; her dad placed a fifth call just a few days before the Lunar New Year.

"Xiao Fei, if he can't come to our house for the Lunar New Year, then have him say a few words to me over the phone!"

The moment this request came out, Qian Fei felt as though she had been struck by a bolt from the blue.

She scrambled into the living room, covering the mouthpiece as she knelt down to beg Li Yifei, "Young Master! Big Boss! Great Ancestor! Help me out this once, and I will never try to kick you out again!"

Li Yifei glanced at her sideways with a blank expression. Amidst the continuous stream of "hello, hello" coming from the mouthpiece and Qian Fei's face flushing as red as a monkey's butt out of sheer anxiety, he slowly took the phone.

"Hello? Is this Uncle Su? Yes, yes, I know your last name isn't Qian, it's Su, and Qian Fei took her mother's last name... Yes, this year I have to accompany my father for the Lunar New Year... Yes, yes, next year I will definitely visit your home to spend the Lunar New Year with you... Okay, okay, I will take good care of Qian Fei, please rest assured... Uncle Su, please take care of your health, and give my regards to Aunt He!"

By the time Qian Fei took the phone back, she discovered that a layer of sweat had already broken out across her back.

She had been so terrified that Li Yifei would suddenly start talking nonsense out of nowhere...

Fortunately, the danger passed without a hitch. Her old man hung up the phone in deep satisfaction, and this farce that Qian Fei had directed, starred in, and casually pulled an extra into had finally concluded its first part before the Spring Festival.

From the side, Li Yifei gloated over her misfortune, "Let's see what you're going to do next Lunar New Year!"

Qian Fei gave him a nasty glare. "I don't believe that with an entire year's time, I won't be able to run into someone suitable!"

Li Yifei spared no effort in tearing down her confidence. "I reckon that next year, you'll most likely have to rent me to take home for the holidays!"

Qian Fei spat at him playfully, then turned around and went back to her room.

Lying on her bed, she felt completely drained of strength, as exhausted as if she had just saved the world.

Initially, it was just for a moment of peace that she had casually fabricated such a story, but she hadn't expected that in order to patch up that story, her subsequent lies would practically turn into a serialized television drama.

She covered her face and wailed in her heart.

How important it is to prepare a proper outline before telling a lie!

If only during that first phone call she had directly said, "I've been too busy lately, I'll consider personal matters after the New Year." Although she would have been nagged for a long time, at least she wouldn't have to worry now about whether she would actually have to rent Li Yifei to take home next Lunar New Year.