Love Has Fireworks - Chapter 54

Chapter 54: We Sleep Together

During the latter half of their phone conversation the previous night, Qian Fei had chatted with Li Yifei until he became incredibly amorous. Afterward, he absolutely refused to hang up, stubbornly dragging out the conversation and chatting with her endlessly. By the time she finally drifted off to sleep, it was already close to three in the morning. Yet, before seven o'clock that very morning, she had to drag herself out of bed to catch her flight. She and the other members of the visitation team hadn't managed to book tickets on the same flight; consequently, she landed an hour earlier than the rest of the crew. They agreed to gather at the airport exit once everyone had touched down.

The moment she boarded the plane, Qian Fei was so dizzy with exhaustion that her body swayed sideways. As soon as the aircraft completed its smooth ascent, she threw caution to the wind, slumped flat against the small tray table, and fell into a hopelessly deep slumber.

Midway through the flight, the flight attendants arrived to distribute breakfast. She forced herself up, devouring a meal box with lightning speed while still in a half-dreaming, half-awake state. She ate as though she were fighting a fierce battle, a sight that caused the elite-looking gentleman in his forties, immaculately dressed in a tailored suit next to her, to chuckle with endless amusement.

After finishing her meal, she pushed the food container into the far corner of the tray table, intending to slump back down to sleep. However, the tray table was simply far too cramped. With the meal box occupying half the space, no matter how she tried to position herself, she couldn't find a comfortable angle.

The well-dressed gentleman, still smiling, quietly reached over and moved her empty container onto his own tray table. Qian Fei forced her hazy eyes open, offered a mumbled expression of gratitude, and immediately slumped back down, falling into a profound sleep that turned her world upside down.

It wasn't until the aircraft began its final descent that she was gently shaken awake by the well-dressed gentleman's kind intervention.

Realizing she had to meet corporate clients immediately upon stepping off the aircraft, Qian Fei made a conscious effort to revitalize her spirit as rapidly as possible.

She used both hands to slap her own face with immense force, creating a rhythmic slapping sound that caused the well-dressed gentleman next to her to fail to restrain his amusement once again.

"You appear to be exceptionally exhausted!"

Qian Fei's mind buffered for a brief second before she realized that this seemingly successful, impeccably suited gentleman was addressing her directly.

"Ah? Oh! Yes, indeed. I stayed up far too late last night!" She offered a brief, polite response accompanied by a smile.

The cabin broadcast began announcing that the aircraft had completed its landing.

The well-dressed gentleman's eyes shone with a brilliant light as he pressed on, "What line of work are you in? To think it requires such grueling effort!"

Qian Fei offered a polite and concise reply, "I work in investment banking!"

The light in the well-dressed gentleman's eyes grew even more intense. "Oh? For a young lady to thrive in investment banking is truly no simple feat! Are you stationed here in Dalian?"

Qian Fei shook her head with a smile. "No, I am based in Beijing. I'm merely here in Dalian on a business trip!"

The aircraft had come to a complete halt. Qian Fei stood up, and the well-dressed gentleman very enthusiastically helped her retrieve her luggage from the overhead bin, following closely behind her as they exited the cabin.

After stepping off the plane, both of them proceeded toward the exit gates together.

As they walked, the well-dressed gentleman retrieved a business card and extended it toward Qian Fei. "What a remarkable coincidence. My enterprise is also headquartered in Beijing. This is my business card!"

Qian Fei accepted the card and glanced down at it; it actually belonged to a publicly traded corporation.

Shifting her gaze to his official title, she discovered he was actually the Chairman of the Board.

Instantly filled with a deep sense of professional respect, Qian Fei intended to retrieve one of her own business cards from her bag. Yet, before she could execute the motion, she suddenly felt a hand drape firmly over her shoulder from behind. She gasped in shock, her mind instantly flashing an alert that this might be a suspected case of public harassment.

She whipped her head around immediately to investigate.

The moment her gaze locked onto the culprit, she was instantly struck completely dumb, frozen like a wooden chicken. The individual executing these overly familiar physical gestures was none other than Li Yifei, who was supposed to be far away in Beijing.

"Chairman Meng, it has been quite a while since we last crossed paths. To think I would run into you in this exact location!" Li Yifei extended his right hand, offering a brilliant smile as he locked hands with the well-dressed gentleman.

Chairman Meng's expression stiffened for a split second, but a fraction of a moment later, it morphed into a radiant smile. As he shook hands, his gaze flicked between Li Yifei and Qian Fei before he inquired with a beaming grin, "Young Li, is this young lady your girlfriend?"

Li Yifei declared without a single shred of hesitation, "Indeed she is." Chairman Meng let out an enlightened sound, delivering a warm compliment, "Your girlfriend is both young and accomplished, not to mention exceptionally beautiful. You are truly a fortunate man!"

After trading a few more polite pleasantries, Chairman Meng tactfully signaled his departure. Just before stepping away, he hesitated briefly before addressing both Li Yifei and Qian Fei, "Once we return to Beijing, we must find an opportunity for me to treat the two of you to a proper dinner!"

Out of absolute courtesy, both of them offered standard, accommodating responses, answering in unison, "Wonderful."

The moment the impeccably suited Chairman Meng had walked far enough ahead to remain completely out of earshot, two voices erupted simultaneously.

Qian Fei demanded in shock, "Why on earth are you here? Didn't you explicitly state that you were completely tied down by a project execution in Beijing and couldn't possibly get away!"

Li Yifei exploded in a fit of irritation, "How on earth do you manage to cast your net so incredibly wide? You won't even spare a middle-aged uncle in his forties!"

Pausing for a brief beat, Qian Fei shot back, "I didn't cast any net whatsoever! He was the one who proactively initiated a conversation with me, alright!"

Li Yifei countered, "It's an absolute mercy that I made the trip over to check on you. Otherwise, there's truly no telling how chaotically your unwanted romantic entanglements would have flooded the gates!"

Qian Fei rolled her eyes at him, asking, "My good brother, were you sent here by a higher power specifically to bear witness to the fact that the Earth has transformed into a global village—that our world has shrunk to the point where one bumps into close acquaintances the moment they step out the door?"

Li Yifei arched an eyebrow. "Please translate that ridiculous string of words into actual human language!"

Qian Fei mumbled under her breath, "I was simply inquiring as to how on earth it could be such a spectacular coincidence that you happen to recognize the gentleman from just now."

Li Yifei replied, "I was the one who personally handled his corporation's initial public offering. How could I possibly fail to recognize him! That old fellow may present himself as an absolute gentleman on the surface, but beneath that exterior, he possesses quite a colorful romantic history! Furthermore, that rascal possesses exceptionally elevated standards when it comes to women, and his techniques for charming young ladies are remarkably refined. If he locks his targets onto someone, that girl almost never manages to escape his orbit." Reaching this point, he paused briefly, casting a sidelong glance at Qian Fei before curling his lip. "It's an absolute mercy that I arrived today. Otherwise, there's truly no telling what sort of designs he would have formulated against you moving forward! Tell me, you absolute handful of a child—you used to be so incredibly well-behaved and proper in the past. How on earth have you transformed into someone who causes me this much constant worry!"

Qian Fei mirrored his troubled expression, knitting her brow as she lamented, "I'm consumed by distress over this matter myself! Tell me, why am I suddenly attracting absolutely nothing but middle-aged and elderly young men in their forties and fifties? Where on earth have all the actual vibrant young bachelors vanished to!"

Li Yifei's eyes widened in fury. "What exactly do you mean by 'attracting absolutely nothing but middle-aged and elderly young men in their forties and fifties'? That phrasing possesses an incredibly deep and profound subtext. I must trouble you to provide a thorough, word-for-word explanation for my benefit. Particularly regarding that plural indicator 'nothing but'—please deliver an exhaustive dissertation of no fewer than eight hundred words to elaborate on the finer details, thank you very much!"

Qian Fei mimicked his arched eyebrow gesture. "By what authority, exactly! Do you genuinely consider yourself a close-fitting protective wing now? To think an unmarried young lady has to report every single detail of her existence to you before proceeding?"

Li Yifei glared at her, delivering a mock threat, "Don't claim that I didn't give you fair warning. Fulfill my parameters immediately, or I will resort to standard public mischief right here on the street!"

Qian Fei let out a sharp scoff before recounting the exact chain of events that had unfolded during her field visitation with a corporate client in Xi'an.

The proprietor of that specific enterprise in Xi'an was a man roughly in his mid-forties who possessed an incredibly passionate and hospitable disposition. After Qian Fei and her team concluded their professional audit interview, not only did he absolutely insist on organizing an elaborate banquet, but he also demanded to personally escort their entire delegation for a leisurely stroll around the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.

Throughout the excursion, that proprietor had displayed immense fervor, constantly hoisting his DSLR camera to take photographs of everyone in the group. However, as the photoshoot progressed, Qian Fei gradually began to sense that something was slightly amiss. Yet, fearing she might simply be overly sensitive, she kept her suspicions to herself, quietly keeping her wits about her while ensuring she remained glued to the side of a female attorney of a similar age wherever they walked.

 

Before long, that female attorney leaned in and murmured quietly to her, "Qian Fei, please don't take offense at what I'm about to say, but I can't help but feel that things are playing out rather strangely. Isn't that proprietor's act of taking photos of the rest of us merely a smokescreen? It looks as though he is continuously hunting for windows of opportunity to snap pictures of you alone!"

Only at that precise moment did Qian Fei secure absolute confirmation that her instincts hadn't merely been the product of an overactive imagination.

Once their tour of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda concluded, the proprietor made active preparations to escort the group over to inspect the Terracotta Army. Qian Fei remained absolutely unyielding, stating firmly that they had already secured high-speed rail tickets to Changsha and were required to advance toward their next destination immediately, thereby making a swift exit from the over-enthusiastic Xi'an proprietor.

●︶3︶●

Qian Fei directed a bewildered look toward Li Yifei, inquiring, "Tell me—I didn't display a single shred of flirtatious behavior, nor did I flutter my eyelashes at them or initiate any unnecessary, mindless banter. How on earth do these situations keep manifesting?"

Li Yifei cast a sidelong glance at her, the corners of his eyes twitching as he let out a mocking chuckle, "Because individuals of an advanced age possess incredibly poor eyesight!"

Qian Fei lifted her head, fixing him with a deeply sinister glare. "In that case, considering you persist in entangling yourself with me non-stop, what exactly does that make you?"

Li Yifei declared without a single fraction of hesitation, "It makes me completely blind, obviously!"

If it weren't for the fact that they were surrounded by a massive, non-stop flow of public pedestrians, Qian Fei truly wanted to hitch up her skirt and deliver a flying sidekick to slaughter this individual who was practically begging for a beating.

Li Yifei, brimming with uncontainable smugness, slinked closer, draping his arm over her shoulder in a classic buddy-buddy posture. "Let me give you a solid piece of advice for the future: display a little more awareness and keep a wide berth from those leering, elderly comrades. The medicinal aroma radiating from their bodies is far too potent!"

Qian Fei was entirely perplexed. "What medicinal aroma?"

Li Yifei replied with absolute solemnity, "Viagra and things of that nature."

Qian Fei delivered a firm shove to push him away. "Beat it!"

Li Yifei continued to display absolute shamelessness. "Otherwise, what exactly do you assume individuals in their forties and fifties rely on for operational motivation? Do you honestly think they rely on the absolute invincibility of true love?"

Qian Fei truly wanted to strangle this absolute rogue standing before her. "Can you please preserve a shred of moral decency with your speech! Otherwise, when you reach your forties and fifties and find yourself relying entirely on pharmaceutical assistance for operational motivation, won't you feel as though you've slapped your own face!"

Li Yifei tossed his head back confidently. "I am entirely distinct from the rest of the herd; I qualify as a perpetual motion machine! Furthermore, my operational motivation is genuinely, thoroughly anchored in the absolute invincibility of true love for you!"

Qian Fei felt as though the meager contents of her in-flight meal were on the absolute verge of being violently rejected by her stomach.

●︶3︶●

Even though Li Yifei claimed on the surface that those middle-aged uncles in their40s and 50s simply possessed terrible vision, the true thoughts locked inside his mind were completely different.

His genuine internal reaction was actually a profound sense of marvel.

He marveled at the fact that he had come dangerously close to overlooking something truly magnificent.

He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment it had begun, but that stubborn girl had actually started to exude a thoroughly unique, captivating essence. This particular charm occupied a beautiful space between that of an innocent young maiden and a mature woman—natural, fresh, warm, and relentlessly positive. It infused an incredible sense of comfort into anyone around her, making people instinctively long to draw closer to her. At this current juncture of her existence, she possessed the capacity to completely conquer men across every single demographic boundary—she could effortlessly captivate uninitiated young boys while simultaneously enchanting sophisticated, mature gentlemen.

He felt that he was remarkably fortunate to have stumbled upon such a piece of unpolished jade, one that radiated a more brilliant luster with every round of refinement. Yet, alongside that realization, a subtle sense of crisis began to settle into his consciousness.

Her excellence was no longer a secret visible to his eyes alone; other men were beginning to discover it as well.

This silly woman was undergoing a profound evolution with every passing day. She was becoming resilient, self-assured, and intensely capable. She no longer approached her career with the passive, hazy mindset of someone merely working to clear a mortgage; she had established clear, defining objectives for her future. To bring those goals to fruition, she poured her entire being into her work, executing grueling tasks traditionally handled by men without uttering a single complaint about exhaustion. Operating in this manner, she became significantly more captivating with every sunrise, though it seemed she herself remained entirely oblivious to the monumental charm she had come to possess.

There were moments when he secretly wished she would simply revert back to being that tough, no-nonsense landlord from before. If she did, he wouldn't find his mind consumed by an escalating mountain of daily worries, trapped in a loop of paranoid thoughts over whether some new rival had emerged who had successfully detected her excellence.

●︶3︶●

Once they cleared the airport gates, Qian Fei directed an inquiry toward Li Yifei, "By the way, why exactly did you make the trip down here?"

Li Yifei offered a thoroughly casual, understated reply, "Just handling a few matters."

He instructed Qian Fei that once his business concluded, he would head over to the Guangzhou Restaurant located on Shangjiujiu Pedestrian Street, telling her to hail a taxi and meet him there directly the moment her client interviews wrapped up.

Qian Fei nodded in agreement.

The subsequent round of professional interviews proceeded with absolute smoothness. The proprietor of the client enterprise showered Qian Fei with boundless praise, extending a warm invitation for her to frequent their offices whenever opportunity permitted, while promising that should they initiate an initial public offering in the future, he would absolutely contract her to serve as the primary project originator. (An assignment that carried a substantial origination bonus.)

Stepping out of the client's corporate headquarters, Qian Fei addressed the remaining members of the visitation delegation, announcing that the rest of their time was allocated for personal activities. Those wishing to advance toward Hangzhou immediately could proceed to the airport, while anyone desiring to explore Guangzhou could opt for a later flight, so long as the entire team successfully convened at the client's corporate venue in Hangzhou the following morning.

Having organized the parameters, the group scattered like birds and beasts. Qian Fei hailed a taxi and headed straight for the Guangzhou Restaurant.

The moment she arrived at the location, Qian Fei was thoroughly stunned by the massive wall of humanity waiting for tables. She felt that the sheer dedication displayed by the crowd waiting for an opening bordered on the absolute tragic.

She dialed Li Yifei's number to pinpoint his exact seating coordinates, directly requesting a server to escort her through the venue. Along the path, she could distinctly feel the gazes of the individuals packed into the waiting area locking onto her, their eyes blazing with concentrated hunger, longing, and pure resentment.

She found the sensation remarkably satisfying, and her personal sense of happiness received an immense, silent boost.

Upon stepping into the private dining suite, she was caught completely off guard. Li Yifei had ordered an entire banquet table overflowing with spectacular delicacies. Witnessing her arrival, he rose to his feet, guiding her down into a seat as he noted, "The moment you called me upon boarding your taxi, I instructed the service staff to submit the ticket. Go ahead and dig in—these represent the absolute pinnacle of Guangzhou's most celebrated local delicacies!"

Qian Fei rolled up her sleeves, casting aside all regular human decorum as she initiated a ferocious, chaotic eating frenzy.

Sticky rice chicken, fragrant and smooth custard buns, steamed chicken feet in black bean sauce, fresh shrimp open-faced dumplings, translucent-skinned shrimp dumplings, Pantang water chestnut cake, savory turnip cake with preserved meats, rice noodle rolls with honey-glazed barbecued pork, rice noodle rolls with tender beef and greens, rice noodle rolls with pristine shredded pork... She kept eating without a single beat of hesitation. By the time her feast concluded, she hadn't managed to gorge herself to death, but she had come dangerously close to scaring Li Yifei out of his wits.

"Feifei, cease your consumption immediately! My intention was for you to sample a small morsel of each variety, not for you to completely clear every single plate! To think you would risk eating yourself to death like this—are you truly devoid of any fear that I might go out and acquire a sneaky little enchantress!"

Qian Fei wiped the glistening oil from her lips, curling her mouth into a cold, mocking laugh. "Are you familiar with the classic proverb: 'Life is undoubtedly precious, but the value of exquisite cuisine reigns supreme'? Haven't you heard the pioneers declare: 'Should food demand the sacrifice, both foolish suitors and little enchantresses can be completely cast aside'? Let me tell you, Li Yifei—in the glorious presence of magnificent food, both you and any prospective enchantress are nothing more than passing clouds!"

Li Yifei slapped his chopsticks flat against the table. "Can we preserve a single shred of harmony in our relationship? To think someone would completely dismantle our romantic dynamic the exact moment her appetite is satisfied! Fine, since I qualify as nothing more than a passing cloud, why don't you violently reject everything you consumed on my tab right now!"

Qian Fei countered, "I lack the capacity to reject it naturally at this precise moment. How about this instead—why don't you deliver a few lines of self-praise, exactly like your usual routine? I guarantee that without a single shred of effort, I'll be able to return every single item currently resting inside my stomach straight back to you!"

Li Yifei let out a sharp curse. "Does the mere act of me stating absolute, objective truths regarding my own perfection cause you this much intense physical distress!"

●︶3︶●

Stepping out of the restaurant establishment, Qian Fei massaged her rounded stomach, directing an inquiry toward Li Yifei, "Has the business that brought you down to Guangzhou been fully resolved?"

Li Yifei cast a downward glance at her, his eyes carrying an intensely meaningful depth as he replied, "Mhm. It concluded moments ago." A certain individual had successfully fulfilled her deep-seated, desperate longing to consume sticky rice chicken.

Qian Fei pressed on, "In that case, shouldn't you be coordinating your return trip to Beijing?"

Li Yifei stated, "I am accompanying you to Hangzhou."

Qian Fei lifted her head, her face filled with absolute bewilderment. "Why on earth are you trailing me to Hangzhou? Are you simply completely idle?"

Li Yifei clarified, "Tomorrow is Friday anyway. Once you wrap up your field visitations with the Hangzhou enterprises, I can keep you company and explore Hangzhou for a couple of days."

Qian Fei contemplated the proposition for a brief beat before asking, "What about the operational status back in Beijing? Didn't you explicitly state there was a project requiring your constant supervision?"

Li Yifei replied, "You don't need to concern yourself with that matter."

Qian Fei agreed that consuming any further mental energy over external affairs would likely cause intense displeasure to her stomach, so she focused her entire concentration on aiding her digestion.

●︶3︶●

That evening, the two of them boarded a flight and traveled to Hangzhou together.

Li Yifei located an independent hotel establishment situated in close proximity to the lodging where Qian Fei and her visitation delegation were stationed, securing a room for his stay.

The following morning, once Qian Fei guided her team through the successful conclusion of their client interviews, she convened a brief discussion with the crew to coordinate their subsequent operational itinerary.

She established an agreement with the delegation that Saturday would be reserved entirely for personal itineraries, with everyone required to assemble early Sunday morning to initiate their trek toward their next destination, Chengdu.

Once Saturday arrived, Qian Fei immediately initiated contact with two of her closest, lifetime high school companions who had settled permanently in Hangzhou: Guan Meimei and Yi Xiaojin. Back during their high school chapters, the three of them had maintained a bond so fiercely interconnected that they resembled the multi-limbed deity Nezha—functioning essentially as a single, unified entity with three heads and six arms.

The moment her old companions learned of her arrival, they were excited beyond measure, aggressively vying for the honor of hosting a grand banquet for her at the Longjing Grasshouse.

When the time arrived to depart for the feast, Li Yifei stubbornly insisted on trailing along like an uninvited shadow.

Qian Fei delivered a deeply earnest sermon to discourage him, saying, "Please refrain from attending. Your capacity for food consumption is far too vast, and the Longjing Grasshouse is exceptionally expensive. The moment they catch sight of you, they will absolutely find you tiresome!"

Li Yifei tossed his head back with absolute pride. "This young master will settle his own tab!" He paused, curling his lip as he added, "No matter how massive my capacity for food might be, could it possibly eclipse yours? You managed to devour an entire banquet table of delicacies yesterday alone! If I hadn't stepped in to intercept your path, you would have swallowed the restaurant's actual porcelain dinnerware whole!"

Qian Fei truly wanted to deliver a sharp kick to launch him into the stratosphere.

Ultimately, Li Yifei relied on his absolute, thick-skinned shamelessness to secure his place at the table alongside them.

Yet, the moment he materialized before them, Yi Xiaojin and Guan Meimei displayed absolutely no signs of irritation whatsoever. On the contrary, the sheer volume of maternal affection and adoration they unleashed manifested a trajectory that bordered on the borderline perverted.

Qian Fei delivered a fierce critique, condemning the pair of them for being incredibly superficial—focusing entirely on an individual's outward presentation while remaining completely oblivious to evaluating just how staggering the final bill on the menu would manifest.

Yi Xiaojin countered, "Whether it's expensive or not is strictly our concern!"

Guan Meimei chimed in, "It's our money, and we are perfectly happy to spend it!"

Qian Fei found herself completely devoid of any alternative course of action beyond rolling her eyes toward the ceiling.

Meanwhile, Li Yifei felt as though he were bearing witness to a living demonstration of the proverb 'birds of a feather flock together.' Every individual anchored within Qian Fei's close circle seemed to operate with the exact same core personality—ranging from Yao Jingjing to Yi Xiaojin and straight through to Guan Meimei, they all possessed sharp, unbridled tongues, straightforward dispositions, and a collective deficit in basic cognitive processing.

Once the dishes were systematically laid out across the table, Yi Xiaojin and Guan Meimei maintained a steady stream of consumption while firing an inquiry toward Li Yifei, "Young man, what exactly is the nature of the relationship connecting the two of you?"

Qian Fei prepared to declare that they shared absolutely no formal connection whatsoever. Yet, before she could expand her mouth to articulate the syllables, the words were completely hijacked by Li Yifei.

"We sleep together!" he announced with absolute, brazen confidence.

Qian Fei was instantly choked by a mouthful of rice, falling into a violent fit of coughing that made her feel as though she were on the absolute brink of death.

Her eyes were flushed completely crimson, and tears streamed down her visage as a wave of absolute fury erupted from within her soul, prompting her to roar at him, "Sleep with your sister! You and I share a co-rental arrangement—co-rental, do you understand! Furthermore, that shared rental dynamic has already reached its absolute conclusion, alright!"