Love Has Fireworks - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The New Era of Coexistence

Thursday arrived. When Qian Fei returned home after work, she discovered that Gui Lili and Li Yifei had already moved in.

The living room and kitchen were in complete disarray, piled high with a chaotic mess of belongings. Seeing her return, Gui Lili looked a bit embarrassed and said, "We have too much stuff, and we haven't had time to finish organizing everything yet! Do you need to cook? If you do, I'll move the things out of the kitchen first!"

Qian Fei had originally bought groceries to cook, but looking at the messy state of the kitchen where there was barely any room to step, she changed her mind on the spot.

"It's fine, I'm not cooking today. You guys go ahead and unpack! Just let me know if you need any help!"

She glanced toward their bedroom and saw Li Yifei sitting on the sofa like a grand lord. A laptop was propped on his lap, and it was unclear whether he was playing games or doing something else.

With great difficulty, she found a square inch of floor space to stand on by the kitchen doorway. Contorting her body, she stuffed her groceries into the refrigerator, grabbed a cup of instant noodles, and then quickly slipped back into her own room.

As she was slurping her noodles, she heard Gui Lili ask Li Yifei through the closed door, her voice tinged with displeasure, "Can't you lend a hand so we can pack up together? If it's just me by myself, when on earth will we ever finish! Are we even going to sleep tonight or what!"

She then heard Li Yifei reply, sounding equally displeased, "I already told you, I'm writing a report! It's for a discussion at tomorrow morning's meeting! If we can't finish unpacking, we can just do it slowly. Wouldn't it be fine if we just make the bed first?"

Following that came a series of clattering and banging sounds. It was likely Gui Lili throwing things around to vent her frustration.

She heard Gui Lili's voice take on a slight sob.

"Li Yifei, can't you show me a little consideration? Would it kill you to write the report after we finish unpacking?"

Li Yifei seemed to kick the coffee table, saying with sheer impatience, "I've been utterly driven crazy by your nagging lately! Can't you be a bit more understanding? You just had to move during these few days! This project is being submitted to the China Securities Regulatory Commission next week. If I don't finish writing up the points for discussion today, we won't be able to discuss them tomorrow. If that happens, should I just resign next week and feed on the northwest wind? Forget it, I'm going to the office!"

Qian Fei heard a rustling of movement, followed by the loud "bang" of a slamming door.

As she slurped her noodles, she thought to herself that it was a good thing that bedroom's coffee table had been bought at a seventy-percent discount on Taobao. Otherwise, her heart would have bled for it.

※※※※※※

Right before she went to sleep, she heard the front door click outside. Li Yifei was back.

After he had left earlier, Gui Lili hadn't continued unpacking either. She guessed the girl had been crying in the room, because she could faintly hear the sound of someone blowing their nose.

She had been quite worried that the two of them would start bickering again once Li Yifei returned, but she didn't know what trick Li Yifei pulled, because total silence ensued within that room.

They were actually coexisting in peace.

The anxiety weighing on her heart finally dissipated.

This was wonderful; she wouldn't have to agonize in the middle of the night over whether or not she should go break up a fight.

Just as she was lying in bed and on the verge of drifting off to sleep, her phone buzzed with a WeChat message.

It was from Hu Zining.

"Are you free tomorrow night? I got two group-buy movie tickets for the Hengdian Cinema at Wangfujing. If you're free, let's go watch a movie together!"

Without a second thought, Qian Fei replied: I'm free!

She had been lonely for far too long. Seeing Gui Lili and Li Yifei argue today had actually made her a little envious. She also wanted someone by her side, even if it was just to bicker with her.

Therefore, regarding Hu Zining's invitation, she was almost moved to tears of gratitude.

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The next morning, when it was time for work, Qian Fei, Gui Lili, and Li Yifei all happened to leave the apartment at the exact same time.

Qian Fei felt it was a bit awkward to walk with them, so she stopped by a street stall along the way to buy breakfast.

Gui Lili called out a greeting to her, while Li Yifei merely glanced at her without saying a word, and then the two of them walked on ahead.

Qian Fei figured she had managed to space herself out enough to miss sharing a subway train with them, so she picked up her savory Chinese crepe and set out once more. Yet, after being squeezed and jostled all the way to Fuxingmen, she surprisingly crossed paths with Li Yifei again right at the station exit.

She recalled Yao Jingjing once mentioning that Li Yifei was also in investment banking just like her, but she hadn't expected him to work on Financial Street as well.

Li Yifei spotted her too. He seemed slightly surprised as well, and for the first time, he took the initiative to strike up a conversation: "You work on Financial Street too?"

Qian Fei nodded, giving a dry laugh. "What a coincidence!"

Li Yifei asked, "Do you work at a bank?"

Qian Fei shook her head. "No, I'm in investment banking, though I'm just a rookie!"

Li Yifei let out an "oh." "We're in the same industry then. We can compare notes more often in the future when there's an opportunity."

Qian Fei was about to say "I wouldn't dare," but before she could even speak, she watched Li Yifei use his long legs to swiftly stride ahead of her, leaving her with nothing but a view of his back and a parting remark: "I'll head out first."

Qian Fei stared at his departing figure with complicated feelings.

Could this guy not have a complete conversation with her for once? She was his landlord, after all. He spoke to her when he felt like it, and when he didn't, he just turned on his heel and left—was that really okay? Was her sense of presence really that weak?

Lost in thought, Qian Fei arrived at her company with a heart full of melancholy.

※※※※※※

Before leaving work in the afternoon, Qian Fei borrowed the cosmetics bag from Xiao Yuan again. As Xiao Yuan handed it over, she remarked, "Feifei, you're not planning to rely entirely on my cosmetics bag to date this guy, are you?"

Qian Fei laughed shamelessly, "Just support me a few more times. Once I'm certain I can actually form a steady relationship with this guy, I'll buy a set of my own. Otherwise, it's just a wasted investment, completely unnecessary!"

Xiao Yuan let out a scoff. "If I call you stingy, you still let me sponge off your cafeteria card every day. But if I say you aren't stingy, I've never seen a woman like you who is so reluctant to spend money on her own face. Qian Fei, let me ask you, are you even a woman?"

Looking into the mirror, Qian Fei patted foundation onto her face. "For the moment, yes. But if I don't find a man to revitalize me soon, I probably won't be one for much longer!" She pointed to the corner of her mouth to show Xiao Yuan, "Look at this, I'm practically about to start growing a mustache! I asked a few of my single female classmates, and they said they're about to grow mustaches too. We all agree that this is a symptom of lacking a man; we need to harvest positive masculine energy to replenish our feminine essence!"

Xiao Yuan almost spat a mouthful of water directly onto Qian Fei's face. "Qian Fei! Can you please be normal! Even my thousand-yuan foundation pasted over your face can't hide your inner rough-and-tough guy nature!"

Qian Fei flipped her ponytail quite smugly. "I might be a rough-and-tough guy in front of you, but in front of a real man, I'm a little enchantress! I'm off!"

Xiao Yuan rolled her eyes at her thoroughly. "Those words of yours could only fool a ghost and yourself!"

※※※※※※

Qian Fei and Hu Zining had agreed to meet at the entrance of the Wangfujing Department Store. Loathing the hassle of subway security checks, she boarded a public bus instead. She originally thought that since she was relatively close, she would arrive first. To her dismay, Chang'an Avenue during the Friday evening rush hour was completely deadlocked in a serene and peaceful gridlock; every single vehicle on the road was essentially in a state of absolute stillness. For a distance of just a few short stops, she had unexpectedly been traveling for an hour and still hadn't arrived.

When Hu Zining sent her a WeChat message saying he had already arrived, she had only just crawled as far as the Tiananmen East Station. Steeling herself, she replied: I'm so sorry, I didn't take the subway. The bus is a bit gridlocked right now, I'm still one stop away from Dongdan!

She waited for the reply with lingering apprehension, utterly terrified that the other party would express irritation.

When she had gone on dates with Wang Ruohai over the past two years, she had never dared to be late. Once before, the two of them had arranged to go to a mall after work to buy him a dress shirt. However, due to an unexpected task assigned by her supervisor at the last minute, she was delayed by over half an hour. By the time she rushed to the location, Wang Ruohai's face was as dark and cold as a layer of frost. He pointed at his watch and told her coldly, "You are thirty-eight minutes late. If you don't want to spend the money and want me to keep wearing old clothes, just say so directly. Don't pull these ridiculous stunts of showing up late!" The moment he finished speaking, he spun around and left.

No matter how she apologized, explained, or coaxed, nothing worked. After that, she never dared to be late again.

The phone gave a sharp chime, and Hu Zining's reply came through.

"It doesn't matter, it's just that I left my workplace a bit early. A beautiful girl is always worth waiting for!"

Looking at her phone screen, Qian Fei's heart instantly bloomed like a bursting flower.

She couldn't resist secretly pulling up the phone's front-facing camera, glancing left and right to admire herself.

He actually called her a beautiful girl!

Suddenly, the driver slammed on the brakes. Qian Fei stumbled forward out of balance, and her phone went flying, brushing past several people's shoulders before crashing onto the floor.

Fortunately, those shoulders had acted as a buffer, otherwise the screen would have definitely been obliterated.

She hurriedly apologized while squeezing forward, "Excuse me, please let me through, I need to pick up my phone!"

The bus was truly packed to the brim. Amidst a succession of complaints and grumbles, Qian Fei nudged her way inch by inch toward her phone.

She was squeezing through with absolute focus when she suddenly saw a hand reach out toward her from amidst the cluster of shoulders, and clamped tightly within that hand was her phone.

She quickly took the phone back, offering her thanks repeatedly. Following the line of that arm, she looked up, wanting to see what her helper looked like.

Consequently, she unexpectedly came face-to-face with Li Yifei...

Her expression stiffened for a moment as she greeted him, "What a coincidence, running into you again!"

Li Yifei curled the corner of his mouth slightly, nodding at her. His chin nudged toward her phone. "The bus is too crowded right now; it's not suitable for selfies."

Seeing his earnestly well-meaning expression, Qian Fei's face froze completely.

※※※※※※

Having finally endured until the bus reached Dongdan, Qian Fei got off the vehicle as if fleeing for her life.

Watching the public bus rumble and chug away, she let out a long sigh of relief.

She truly admired those women who kept a mirror permanently glued to their hands, taking it out to check their reflection gracefully and uninhibitedly wherever they went. How did they manage to preen themselves in public with such absolute leisure and self-assurance? She had merely taken a covert glance in a crowded bus, yet after being caught red-handed, she was so embarrassed she wanted to go hang herself.

She patted her cheeks, comforting her startled and awkward heart out loud: "It's fine, it's fine. Anyway, I'm not close with that Li Yifei guy! It's not humiliating, not humiliating at all!"

She turned around, intending to head toward the underground pedestrian pass.

Yet the moment she spun around, she unexpectedly saw Li Yifei again...

He was standing right behind her. She severely suspected that every single action and word of hers just now had been seen and heard by him, because at this very moment, one corner of his mouth was clearly turned up in a highly amused, mocking smirk.

Qian Fei lost a bit of her composure and couldn't help but ask, "How come you... are getting off at this stop too?"

Li Yifei raised an eyebrow. "Actually, we aren't that close, so I could choose not to tell you why. But since we are already living together, I think it would be more convenient if we slowly got to know each other better. Someone is treating me to dinner at the Cheng Mansion Feast." He waved his hand at the utterly stupefied Qian Fei. "See you around, landlord."

Qian Fei felt herself slowly cracking apart, exactly like a character in a comic book...

She was heading off to watch a group-buy movie where a single ticket cost twenty-five yuan, yet he was going to dine at the Cheng Mansion Feast where someone else was footing a bill that averaged over a thousand yuan per person. They had both stepped off at Dongdan, so how could the disparity between human beings be this massive! And she was still his landlord...

Watching Li Yifei's departing figure, she bitterly categorized his behavior in her mind.

"Flaunting wealth! Showing off! Mocking others! And what's more—being a smug, arrogant prick!"