Love Has Fireworks - Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Waves Rise on the Sea of Love

On the morning of the day before Qian Fei returned to Beijing, Jin Tian approached Li Yifei and begged him for a favor. She wanted him to bring her along to the business cocktail party the following evening.

Many investors and film directors were attending that cocktail party, including one of the most prominent directors currently in the spotlight. In the near future, he would be directing a massive public service announcement that would be widely broadcast, and they were currently holding open auditions for the female lead. Whoever had the good fortune to land this commercial would have the chance to collaborate with the famous director on his next big-budget movie, making a rapid rise to fame well within reach. Many actresses desperately wanted this opportunity, but the famous director had stated that this time he wanted to use a newcomer who hadn't shown her face on the big screen yet.

The film and television company this famous director was signed with happened to be a listed company. Back then, Li Yifei's firm had served as the sponsor to shepherd the company through its initial public offering, so Li Yifei possessed a bit of history and personal connection with the company's high-level executives as well as the famous director, who held shares in it. Jin Tian wanted to get this commercial opportunity, so she came to find him, hoping he could bring her to the banquet and help introduce her to the famous director.

When Dajun initially introduced Jin Tian to Li Yifei, Li Yifei had intended to pursue her as a girlfriend. However, during the course of their development, he had unknowingly developed feelings for Qian Fei. Later, when his relationship with Jin Tian progressed to a stage that was more than friends but not quite lovers, he called a halt to it in a timely manner. He claimed Jin Tian as a younger sister and promised her that if she encountered any difficulties in the future and came to him, he would help her handle it.

Therefore, regarding Jin Tian coming to find him this time, he felt there was no way to refuse. Yet the time of the banquet happened to clash directly with going to the airport to pick up Qian Fei, so he had no choice but to pull Dajun out to save the day.

After Dajun learned of his plan, he was highly reluctant and declared, "I want to go to the banquet too!"

Li Yifei said, "If I'm bringing someone to the banquet, I'm bringing a female companion. Since your gender is unverified, you'd better honestly go pick up my person for me!"

After being shut down, Dajun expressed his dissatisfaction and attempted to struggle, but he was blocked back by a single sentence from Li Yifei.

"Do you want me to tell your mom that you play online games?"

Dajun went to the airport obediently, while he took Jin Tian to the cocktail party.

He originally thought that if he could introduce Jin Tian to the famous director as quickly as possible and finish the task early, he could extract himself ahead of schedule to go take a look at the woman who was the core of his heart.

But as luck would have it, the famous director's flight was delayed. The cocktail party was already nearly halfway over, and he still hadn't arrived.

He had no choice but to stay and pass the time with Jin Tian.

During this period, other acquaintances, such as the business partners of his old man, would come over to greet him upon seeing him. While he was busy smiling and socializing with these people, Jin Tian would well-behavedly stay to one side, either sipping champagne or taking selfies.

Later, when the famous director still hadn't arrived, Jin Tian chatted with him and asked if he had someone he liked.

He nodded and said yes, so Jin Tian asked, "Is it that female landlord?"

●︶3︶●

Facing Jin Tian's question, Li Yifei smiled openly and answered, "Yes."

Jin Tian tilted her head to look up at him, smiling along as she said, "I really envy her! It seems that when it comes to feelings, there truly is no such thing as first come, first served. Clearly I was the one developing a relationship with you first, yet she is the one who managed to win your favor!"

Li Yifei thought about it and decided to correct her: "How should I put it, I don't think it counts as you coming first and her coming later. After all, when she was playing Fight the Landlord with me every day at noon, I didn't even know you yet!"

During this time, a WeChat message arrived from Qian Fei, and he pulled out his phone to reply.

Standing beside him, Jin Tian asked, "Is it her? Does she know you brought me here today?"

Li Yifei pocketed his phone and said, "I didn't tell her. She just got back from a business trip and is quite tired. Let her get some proper rest."

Jin Tian looked at him, a faint melancholy in her expression. "I used to think you just had that kind of cold personality, never yielding or showing consideration to girls. But looking at it now, it's not that you aren't considerate; it's just that the object of your consideration isn't other girls, nor is it me, but that specific one. To be honest, I really envy her a little!"

Li Yifei smiled. "Am I being considerate to her? I feel like I'm exactly the same as before!"

Jin Tian smiled along as well, though her smile looked quite bitter.

When the cocktail party was nearing its end, the famous director finally arrived. Li Yifei found an opportunity to introduce Jin Tian to him.

The famous director expressed that he thought very highly of Jin Tian's personal qualities and promised to give her an interview opportunity next week.

After chatting for a few more sentences and staying a little longer, the cocktail party concluded. In the middle of the night, it wasn't easy to hail a taxi, so Jin Tian pleaded with Li Yifei to take her to a place where taxis were easier to catch. Li Yifei originally wanted to go see Qian Fei, but he also felt it was a bit inappropriate to leave Jin Tian, who was wearing an off-the-shoulder evening gown, by the side of the road in the dead of night. After weighing the two options, he decided to go see Qian Fei tomorrow and simply play the good samaritan to the end by driving Jin Tian straight home.

On the road, Qian Fei sent him a text message. Taking advantage of a red light, he replied to her, telling her to sleep quickly.

After delivering Jin Tian to her home, just as she was stepping out of the car, she suddenly asked him, "After you finish helping me this time, does it mean I'll never have a reason to look for you again in the future?"

Li Yifei thought about it, raised his eyebrows, and said, "That depends on her. If she likes chasing after celebrities, I'll bring her along to hang out with you!"

Jin Tian smiled wretchedly. "I really envy her!"

In that second, Li Yifei wondered if he was being a bit heartless. It seemed he had broken one girl's heart for the sake of another.

●︶3︶●

By the time he returned home from the banquet, calculating by the clock, it was already the next day. Li Yifei suppressed the urge to call Qian Fei just to hear her voice, changing his plan to send her a text message instead: Finished with my business and back home. This young master observed the celestial phenomena tonight and discovered that I will be in a very good mood tomorrow, so this master has decided to take you out for some good food.

Then he washed up and went to sleep.

But by the next morning, Qian Fei still hadn't replied to his message.

He couldn't resist sending a few more messages to ask: "Did you receive my text?" Yet not a single reply came back.

His face remained sour for the entire morning. During the lunch break, he called Qian Fei. As a result, after ringing twice, it cut straight to a busy signal.

●︶3︶●

Li Yifei stared at his phone and froze for a moment. His call had actually been rejected by her.

He dialed again, and it still turned into a busy signal after two rings.

He had been rejected again.

He frowned. Dialing once more, the situation remained exactly the same.

He picked up his phone to send a text.

"Are you busy?"

For a long long time, there was still no reply.

He sent another: "What's the situation?"

Still no reply.

A faint wave of irritation rose in his heart. A very important reason why he liked Qian Fei was because she wasn't like other girls who were delicate and loved throwing petty tantrums. Unlike other men, he didn't like that kind of affected, fragile temper in girls—getting slightly angry and throwing little tantrums at the drop of a hat, refusing to say why they were angry or throwing a fit, and completely ignoring people the moment they started acting up, insisting on waiting for someone to coax them ten or eight times before finally settling down. He possessed next to no patience when it came to coaxing girls. Whenever a girl tried using this tactic on him, he absolutely would not pay attention, coax, or indulge her bad habits, waiting until she felt bored herself and reined in her attitude to come clinging back to him instead.

Now, he felt that Qian Fei was throwing a petty tantrum with him.

Suppressing that thread of displeasure in his heart, he sent a text to Qian Fei: "If you keep staying quiet like this without uttering a sound, I'm coming to your company this afternoon!"

This time he finally received a reply, and the content sent over was even complete with both text and image.

Qian Fei sent a photo, with the attached words: Give her my regards.

Looking at that photo, Li Yifei's forehead was instantly covered in irritation.

●︶3︶●

The photo bore the watermark of Sina Weibo, and Li Yifei saw Jin Tian's name. He thought to himself that things had gone wrong. He didn't know what nonsense this girl had spouted, and moreover, didn't Qian Fei usually pay no attention to the entertainment circle at all except for Da Peng? How could it be such a coincidence that she happened to see this photo.

After thinking of this point, amidst the irritation that made his liver tremble, a secret wave of satisfaction could not help but arise. She was actually silently paying attention to the movements of his ex-girlfriend in her mind.

Li Yifei took out his phone and logged into Weibo to check Jin Tian's homepage, but he couldn't find this photo.

He thought about it and went to find Zhao De. That guy liked Jin Tian very much, so he should be following her.

Zhao De was currently slumped over his desk taking a midday nap, and Li Yifei ruthlessly woke him up. When Zhao De scrambled up, his face was filled with agony, and holding his head, he asked in a daze what the matter was.

Li Yifei said, "Are you following Jin Tian's Weibo?"

Zhao De blinked, his expression shifting into a shifty-eyed, rat-like state. "I'm following her! Speaking of which, Yifei, didn't you break up with her before? Are you guys planning to get back together? Yesterday I saw Jin Tian post a photo of her attending a banquet together with you, but she deleted it not long after! I wanted to ask you about this during the morning, but seeing that your mood didn't seem too good, I kept enduring it and didn't dare to ask!"

Li Yifei said, "Do you still remember what content Jin Tian posted?"

Zhao De said, "I don't remember."

Li Yifei frowned. "What kind of memory is that? It's truly a miracle that a brain like yours has managed to work in investment banking for so long!"

While flipping through his phone, Zhao De asked, "Li Yifei, are you sure you want to continue chatting with me in this tone that belittles me?" He held his phone screen up toward Li Yifei. "I didn't memorize what she said, but I took a screenshot! Relying on my years of experience in investment banking, one look and I knew she would delete this Weibo post sooner or later, so I took action in advance and took a screenshot!"

While taking the phone, Li Yifei didn't forget to mock him: "Lie back down and continue sleeping your sleep! Your face is as white as toilet paper, yet you can still boast so shamelessly!"

He lowered his head to look at the phone.

 

"Midnight makes a person's heart restless. I like him, yet do not wish to say it, so I call him big brother. Big brother, after tonight, I hope you can still accompany me just like you are now..."

Looking at this row of ambiguous words, Li Yifei secretly cried out that things were bad in his heart.

●︶3︶●

Before leaving work, Qian Fei received another message from Li Yifei: "Let's meet up after work. Regarding yesterday's matter, I have something to say to you."

This time Qian Fei didn't act high-maintenance. She felt that some things should be stated clearly face-to-face.

She replied: "Then let's meet at the U-Besta Coffee in Parkson."

By the time she rushed to the café, Li Yifei was already there.

He went straight to the point and asked, "Regarding last night's matter, I want to know how you interpret it."

Qian Fei froze for a moment. The aura around him was too strong, giving her the feeling of a villain filing a lawsuit first to deflect blame.

With an attitude like this, it would be a miracle if he felt he himself was in the wrong.

She took a sip of water, cleared her throat, and said, "It doesn't amount to any interpretation or lack thereof. It's just staring with wide eyes and seeing you take your ex-girlfriend to attend a banquet together. It's purely a visual stimulation, and it hasn't escalated to the level of affecting my deeper senses yet. When my mom was alive, she told me that if I want to live a long life, I should eat and sleep well. As for other people's business, just watch the show and don't worry about it."

Li Yifei's face stiffened. "Other people?" He slowly took a breath, pressing down his displeasure, and said to Qian Fei, "Qian Fei, let's not act temperamental and throw tantrums like this. If there's something to say, let's talk it out openly. I previously agreed with Jin Tian to claim her as a younger sister and promised to help her with a favor, so when she came to find me this time to ask me to take her to the banquet, I had no way to refuse." He paused, then added, "I didn't feel there was anything underhanded about this matter. Helping her once counts as giving her an explanation to conclude things between us. I didn't tell you because I felt there was no need; after all, I might not necessarily have the chance to deal with her again in the future. But I didn't expect her to post a Weibo message and write some ambiguous words, and that you would happen to see it, leading you to overthink things as expected. What I want to say is that the things she wrote are her own thoughts alone. I have no other intentions toward her. If we throw a tantrum over this, wouldn't it be far too unworthy!"

Qian Fei fell silent for a while, then knit her brows and said, "Li Yifei, I think you might have thought wrong. Do you feel that I am being jealous and throwing a tantrum? But actually, what I'm thinking about isn't this. What I'm thinking about is whether we belong to the same world after all. In your world, a person who is a girlfriend today can turn into a younger sister tomorrow; while in my world, a breakup is a breakup, and a boyfriend or girlfriend can never turn into a sibling."

Li Yifei looked at her, raised his eyebrows, and asked with a frozen expression, "Did I ever say she was my girlfriend?"

Qian Fei countered, "Are you trying to tell me she was never your girlfriend?"

Li Yifei remained noncommittal.

Qian Fei let out two dry chuckles and said, "Then that's even worse. Playing ambiguous with someone for so long without even acknowledging a status, and finally claiming her as a sister so that all conflicts of interest are settled once and for all, with responsibility shirked entirely clean. Can I say that I feel that perhaps Jin Tian isn't the first one to go down this assembly-line routine, and as for me, if I were to join in, could it be that I might not be the last one either?"

Li Yifei's expression grew heavier and heavier.

"Qian Fei, how I treat others versus how I treat you—can you not feel it yourself? Whether you are part of this assembly line or not—do you not have a clear understanding in your own heart? Is it true that once a woman starts acting high-maintenance, she becomes completely blind to whatever a man has done for her?"

Qian Fei said, "Look, I haven't even said anything yet, and we haven't even progressed to anything, yet that impatient, zero-tolerance attitude you hold toward your previous girlfriends is already about to come out."

A muscle twitched at the corner of Li Yifei's mouth, a certain mocking flavor naturally arising. "Qian Fei, I truly have never disdained to explain anything to women, and you are the first one who has made me willing to sit down and spend the mental effort to explain. If this is still called impatience and zero tolerance, I don't know what else I should say."

Qian Fei said, "Look, you take a matter that should naturally be an equal exchange between a man and a woman and automatically position it as you condescending from a position of nobility. With such an unequal height gap looming across us, I truly feel we cannot arrive inside the same world."

Looking at Li Yifei's face, which was suppressing and restraining his anger, she continued: "Right now, you can still suppress your own temper, but how long can this kind of suppression be maintained? When a girl looks for a boyfriend, she doesn't just hope he will be intensely good when both people are in a good mood; she also hopes he can manage to be as tolerant and considerate as possible when his mood is bad."

She understood this principle, but she felt Li Yifei truly did not understand it. He was the kind of person who, when moved by passion, loved with complete disregard for everything, wishing he could pluck the moon down to make you happy; yet when angry, he still acted with complete disregard for everything, capable of pouring out any cruel words imaginable.

When all was said and done, he still loved himself more than he loved others, placing the venting of his own emotions in the primary position.

As for her, she wasn't like that. The love she hoped for was enduring and lengthy, not seeking to be grand and dramatic, but wishing for a steady, continuous stream. Even if she was angry, she wouldn't forget to show consideration for the other party; even if she was angry, she would still take the other party's emotions into account, trying her best to control herself from speaking those malicious words that would cause mutual harm.

Therefore, he lived a carefree life, while she lived an exhausting one. And they were, from start to finish, not in the same world.

"Li Yifei, previously my brain was foolish and stubborn, feeling that you were just a high-maintenance, vain, cool-acting, wealth-climbing little loser. But actually, thinking about it now, maybe you really are a second-generation rich kid for all I know. The people you contact, the matters you discuss, the circles you navigate, the venues you use for recreation, the scale of your dining, drinking, and entertainment—thinking carefully about it, it truly is vastly different from an ordinary person, and not a single aspect connects with me. You live high above my head, separated from me by who knows how many levels. We really are not the same kind of people."

Li Yifei looked at her, a trace of restlessness deep in his eyes. "Who told you I was a second-generation rich kid? Whoever the hell is a second-generation rich kid is a grandson! I already said my dad is just an individual business owner! How are we separated by so many levels!"

Qian Fei let out a dry laugh: "Even if he's just an individual business owner, I'm afraid he is an extraordinary individual business owner."

Li Yifei was completely defeated: "Qian Fei, is your auntie about to visit? Why are you being so high-maintenance today?"

Qian Fei withdrew her smile: "I'm not being high-maintenance; I'm being serious."

She paused for a brief moment, as if having passed through mature consideration, and said slowly: "How about we just leave things like this for now. You can just treat it as me lacking courage and confidence, treat me as a coward. Let's continue to be friends who can nod and smile when we meet. If we insist on being lovers, with me being so cautious and hesitant while you are so completely unbridled, our feelings might meet an early sunset in just a matter of days."

Li Yifei's face finally turned an ashen green.

"Over just a tiny matter like this, you escalate it to a matter of principle to this extent? A single photo makes everything I've done for you go down the drain completely? We can be considered to have experienced some things together; Jin Tian posts a Weibo message, and you become blind to all of it, is that right? My dedication—have you ever actually observed it with your eyes or cherished it in your heart? If it's going to be like this, fine, let's do exactly as you say. We'll nod and smile when we meet!"

Angrily swinging his leg forward, he took the lead and left first.

Sitting on the sofa, Qian Fei thought gloomily to herself that fortunately, she hadn't fallen too deep yet. He was ultimately still a young master, always able to remember exactly how much he had invested. Whereas she, she was precisely the opposite—when she loved someone, she would always forget how much she herself had sacrificed.

Their views on relationships ultimately could not achieve unity. What use was it no matter how much they liked each other.

She rubbed her aching eye corners, rose, and departed.