Love Has Fireworks - Chapter 67

Chapter 67: There is a Woman in the House

Li Yifei told Qian Fei that he had to resign.

Qian Fei asked him why. After a brief pause, Li Yifei said, "The company ran into some issues."

Qian Fei assumed that what he meant by "the company" was the import-export business he had opened on the side. Therefore, other than an "I see," she didn't say anything else.

He was such a clear-headed person; he knew better than anyone what he wanted to do and what he had to do. This decision of his must have been thoroughly considered. There was no need for her to harbor baseless worries on his behalf.

In fact, from a very early stage, she had begun to sense from his faint anxiety that he was being troubled by certain things. Moreover, he did not want her to know exactly what it was that was bothering him.

Over the past two years, she had ultimately matured. She was no longer as flighty as she used to be, nor was she so consumed by curiosity toward everything that she felt the desperate need to get to the absolute bottom of it as if she couldn't live without knowing.

Because of this, all this time, since Li Yifei didn't talk about what was troubling him, she kept it inside and didn't ask. She frequently comforted herself with that utterly cliché phrase: when he wanted to tell her, he would naturally speak to her about it.

Li Yifei told Qian Fei, "I've already ironed everything out with the Vice President. After I resign, our department won't have a designated person-in-charge for the time being. The Vice President will manage it temporarily. Once you handle a project entirely on your own and achieve some solid results, the Vice President will logically and rightfully promote you to be the head of the department!"

Hearing him arrange everything for her one matter after another, Qian Fei knit her brows. "I have a very bad feeling about this."

Li Yifei asked, "What do you mean?"

Qian Fei said, "Before my mother passed away back then, she dumped a whole long series of arrangements onto me just like this." She stole a glance at Li Yifei and asked cautiously, "These matters you're charging me with really bear too much of a resemblance to a dying man arranging his final affairs. You aren't hiding some kind of terminal illness from me, are you?"

With a scoff, Li Yifei raised his hand to pinch her face, a mischievous glint surfacing deep in his eyes. "Have you ever seen any man who, having just tasted sweetness and developed a true craving for it, could bring himself to abandon his beautiful young woman, pack up his bags, and go off to die?"

Qian Fei's face flushed. She slapped his hand away. "Get lost, stop behaving like a rogue! The whole country is cracking down on pornography and illegal publications. If you have any more physical contact with me, I'll report you for sexual harassment and send you to squat in a jail cell!"

Li Yifei curled his lips into a wicked smirk. "The one who has developed a craving for it probably isn't just me, right? I bet you couldn't bear to do that!"

●︶3︶●

The next day, Li Yifei went to the company to complete his resignation procedures.

The male and female colleagues expressed their emotions regarding his sudden resignation in a rather polarized manner.

The male colleagues were mostly glad to see it happen, while the female colleagues were extremely reluctant to see him go.

After seeing Li Yifei off, Qian Fei overheard another stall-gossip session by the female colleagues from other departments in the restroom.

"Hey, do you think that Manager Li from Department Two resigned just to dodge Qian Fei from their department?" one said.

"Oh my god, that woman is seriously too much, her reverse-pursuit was practically shameless. Look at that, in the end, she actually chased away our pretty-boy Manager Li! Why wasn't she the one who left?" another said.

"What's most infuriating is that it seems a few guys from other departments actually think pretty highly of that woman. What's so good about her? Isn't it just that she passed the Sponsor Representative Examination? If anyone else just read books every single day without doing any work, who wouldn't pass!" the first one added.

"Exactly! She's got quite a thick skin!" the other agreed.

Qian Fei let out a sigh, washed her hands, and left.

Whenever moments like this arose, she missed Zhao De immensely.

If Zhao De were still around, he would certainly have reprimanded those female colleagues who loved to wag their tongues and told them: "Open your eyes and take a good, clear look, will you? Those two are mutually attracted and genuinely in love! Why don't you all stop calling grapes sour just because you can't eat them!"

However, ever since that freezing winter last year, that old nice guy who always spoke up for her was gone.

She thought with a bit of helplessness that it was all because she and Li Yifei usually conducted themselves in a manner that was too refined, wholesome, and sanctimonious. They felt that since they were in the same company, it was best not to let anyone discover their illicit affair so it would be more convenient to carry out their work. Therefore, they never walked arm-in-arm anywhere near the company. Even though they went to work together in the morning and returned home together in the evening, they would always walk an intersection away and only meet up on the next street when no one was looking. Come to think of it, besides Zhao De, absolutely no one in the company knew that they had long since been working hand in glove and colluding together.

Before finishing work in the evening, Li Yifei sent her a message telling her that he was quite busy today. He had to handle some handover matters at the company and couldn't pick her up, so she took the subway home by herself.

When she arrived home and finished preparing dinner, the dishes had already gone cold by the time Li Yifei finally returned.

While eating, they chatted together. Li Yifei told Qian Fei that he had been running around everywhere all day, so busy that the back of his head was practically hitting his heels. Then he asked Qian Fei how her day had gone without him there to cover for her at the company.

Qian Fei teasingly repeated the chronicle of what she had heard in the restroom.

Li Yifei let out a scoffing laugh after listening.

Qian Fei asked him what he was laughing at, and whether he was laughing at how boring those women were.

Li Yifei curled his lips and said, "I'm laughing at the fact that even though you've become a Sponsor Representative, your brain capacity is still so low. Can a man enter a women's restroom? Since he couldn't even get in, even if Zhao De were around, how could he have helped speak up for you?"

At this point, he let out a sigh.

Qian Fei asked him what was wrong. Li Yifei put down his chopsticks. "I always have a feeling that Zhao De just went on a long business trip, and that he hasn't actually left us."

Qian Fei put down her chopsticks as well. "Yeah, I also feel like in a couple of days he'll be able to come back and play Fight the Landlord with us!"

Sometimes, there were certain people whom one was always reluctant to believe had already departed.

●︶3︶●

The next evening, just as she was about to finish work, Qian Fei received a phone call from Li Yifei.

He told her over the phone, "Come down quickly, this young master has taken time out of his hectic schedule to pick you up!"

Qian Fei packed up her things and entered the elevator to go downstairs with several colleagues. Riding in the same elevator were those female colleagues from other departments who loved holding restroom gossip sessions.

As they walked out of the building, those female colleagues behind Qian Fei kept letting out a non-stop barrage of "Oh," "Wow," and "Huh" exclamations. In response, Qian Fei looked toward the front and saw that on the side of the street opposite the building, Li Yifei was leaning against his Cadillac, looking over.

He was wearing sunglasses, dressed in black clothes and black pants, leaning against his car with his long legs crossed. In his arms, he held a massive bouquet of roses. Under the watchful eyes of the public, he was so handsome it was practically insane.

Seeing her, he took off his sunglasses, leaned against the car, and smiled at her.

Qian Fei's ears grew burning hot.

Under the gaze and clamor of the people around her, a wave of feeling rose in her heart—a bit flustered, a bit shy, and also carrying an unspeakable sense of happiness. Feeling slightly at a loss, she raised her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear.

Across the street, Li Yifei moved away from his car and stood up straight. He casually hung his sunglasses in front of his chest, held the flowers, moved his long legs, and strode over toward this side of the street.

Watching him, Qian Fei's heart pounded as she thought to herself that he really was incredibly flashy and eye-catching.

She was a bit puzzled; why was it that this kind of behavior—which would look incredibly ostentatious, showy, and utterly shameless on anyone else—looked so remarkably pleasing to the eye on him!

He walked straight up to her and stopped, shoving that bouquet of roses, which was so fresh and red it was almost piercing to the eyes, into her arms. Right before everyone's eyes, he cupped her face, aimed for her lips, and kissed her squarely, swiftly, and steadily.

Qian Fei felt as though she were practically about to float away.

She heard all kinds of gasps and exclamations coming from behind her.

In the past, she had hated it most when people publicly flaunted their affection, but at this very moment, she felt that flaunting affection was honestly so freaking satisfying.

When the teasing cheers of the people from her own department rang out beside her ears, Li Yifei finally released her.

The colleagues from the same department called him "Manager Li" with beaming smiles, and he answered with a smile as well, before very naturally taking her hand.

A colleague said, "Manager Li, I didn't come to work for the past couple of days. As soon as I came in today, I heard that you resigned. Why is that?"

Li Yifei gave the hand he was holding with Qian Fei a little shake, curled his lips into a smile, and said, "To make it convenient to proclaim my illicit affair with this beautiful woman to the entire world!" He paused for a moment, cast a seemingly casual glance behind Qian Fei, and then turned his head back to the colleague from just now to continue, "You guys have no idea how hard I had to pursue this one, it practically took every ounce of my scheming!"

He said these words with absolute certainty, and hearing them made Qian Fei's heart feel warm.

The colleagues on the side kept clamoring that they hadn't had the chance to give their leader a send-off yet. Li Yifei said with a smile, "There will be plenty of time in the future! Today I'll take her away first, and when we look back and find a day when everyone is free, we'll gather for a meal together!" After he finished speaking, he held her hand and crossed the street ostentatiously.

Using her sensitive back muscles, Qian Fei could clearly register just how incredibly vibrant and varied the looks those people behind her were casting upon her. Imagining the expressions of those restroom-gossip enthusiasts, she was temporarily overwhelmed with absolute satisfaction.

Even after she sat inside the car, her heart was still beating uncontrollably.

Li Yifei started the car at a very flashy speed, sending the vehicle shooting out with a "whoosh."

Unable to conceal her excitement, Qian Fei turned her head and asked him, "What kind of crazy phase are you going through today?"

Li Yifei turned his head to glance at her, raising his eyebrows. "I'm not going through any crazy phase. It's just that this young master's disposition is far too pure and honest to tolerate facts being distorted. I just wanted to let those restroom-chat enthusiasts know that between the two of us, I was the one who shamelessly pursued you!" He raised his eyebrows again and asked, "How does it feel, satisfying?"

The next second, Qian Fei threw her head back and let out a wild laugh. "It's so satisfying that I'm almost ready to disown all my relatives! But I have a suggestion: next time, could you directly give me a bouquet made of cash?"

Li Yifei gave her a side-eye, curling his lips into a cold smirk. "Then you'll have to acknowledge me as your sugar daddy first!"

●︶3︶●

A few days later in the evening, Li Yifei said to Qian Fei with a slightly grave expression, "Jinjin, I might have to move back home to live for a period of time."

He told Qian Fei that his family's old man was in poor health and had urgently summoned him back to claim his ancestry and return to the clan.

Qian Fei also told him, "Coincidentally, the day after tomorrow I also have to go to Hubei for a private placement bond project. I'll probably be on a business trip for about a month. Leaving you at home all by yourself for this month is something I'd honestly be quite worried about."

Just like that, both of them had their own matters to attend to. Two days later, the home became empty.

In the days that followed, Qian Fei was busy to the point of utter exhaustion on the project in Hubei. She worked very hard; she knew that after this project was completed, she should be able to be promoted to the person-in-charge of the department.

She spoke over the phone with Li Yifei every day, and sometimes she could feel that Li Yifei was a bit annoyed and frustrated.

She tentatively asked him what was wrong, and he told her, "It's nothing, I'm just anxious to see you become the department leader who calls the shots."

After this phone call, Qian Fei put even more of her drive into working on the project.

A month later, she finally completed the project successfully and returned to Beijing.

The moment she returned home and opened the door, she saw a young woman with her hair tied in a loose bun sitting on the sofa in the living room watching television.

Hearing the sound, the woman turned her face toward the doorway.

It was a cold and beautiful face, with exquisite and meticulous makeup, her brow shrouded in an aura of haughtiness and detachment.

Looking at this face, Qian Fei froze.