Love Has Fireworks - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Deeply Engraved Memories and the Present Moment

Upon returning to Beijing, Qian Fei was officially appointed as a department head. This meant she no longer had to rely on anyone else and could independently lead a team to handle projects.

Moving into the private office that Li Yifei had once used, she stood by the window and looked through the glass pane at the forest of high-rises outside. A myriad of emotions welled up within her.

Two years ago, she had never imagined that she would one day become like this—capable of holding her own and making decisive, executive calls.

In the past, her only thought had been to marry a man she could grow old with in mutual support, have a stable job, and earn an income that could buy a house. Passing her life that way would have been quite nice.

But unexpected turns of events often alter the course of a lifetime.

The man she originally thought she would grow old with had left, and a man she originally thought belonged to a completely different world had arrived.

Her work, amidst turbulent waves and shifting tides, pushed her to climb toward higher ground, allowing her to take steady, solid steps from an investment banking migrant worker onto the path of an elite professional.

She had bought a house and then sold it. Within the exact same property, her identity had shifted from landlord to tenant.

She felt that over the past two years, her life had truly been a series of dramatic ups and downs.

But she felt incredibly fortunate to possess such a life.

If she hadn't experienced this succession of rises and falls, she would have spent her entire life in mediocre obscurity just as she had originally envisioned. Although she would have suffered far less pain and torment, she would have simultaneously missed out on a great deal of the enjoyment and fulfillment brought about by personal growth and struggle.

Outside the office, someone knocked on the door and called out, "Director Qian."

She pulled her thoughts back, sat down at her desk, and called out in a crisp, clear voice, "Come in."

From this moment onward, she was no longer Qian Fei the muddled Beijing drifter, no longer Qian Fei the investment banking migrant worker, and no longer Qian Fei the soft-tempered, unprincipled saint. From this moment onward, she was Qian Fei the investment banking elite, ready to shoulder and command a domain entirely her own.

●︶3︶●

Recently, Qian Fei had been busy assisting another department with urban investment bond projects. Li Yifei was also tied up with his company's affairs. Consequently, the only time the two of them had together was a few hours after work—provided no one was working overtime—and before going to sleep.

During these few hours, Li Yifei always wanted to catch an opportunity to have a hearty meal, but Qian Fei would invariably seal off his rice bowl using the excuse that there was someone else at home.

Later on, Li Yifei gradually grew even busier, saying that his company's accounts needed to be meticulously combed through from top to bottom. As a result, the frequency of their nightly trysts dropped from every day to once every two days, and from once every two days to once every three days... until eventually, it gradually evolved into Qian Fei and Liao Shiyu spending far more time together.

Through their increasingly frequent interactions, Qian Fei's perception of Liao Shiyu underwent a subtle transformation.

She felt that Liao Shiyu's words and conduct were very proper and polite; though her temperament was cold, she never made anyone feel uncomfortable. Sometimes Liao Shiyu would chat with her, and she loved most of all to ask about Qian Fei's past university days. She seemed exceptionally interested in her college life.

On the nights Li Yifei worked overtime, Qian Fei usually cooked and ate by herself.

On one occasion, Liao Shiyu followed the aroma of the food into the kitchen, looking at her wielding the spatula with a face full of yearning.

It was the first time Qian Fei had seen an expression on Liao Shiyu's face other than cold elegance and nobility. On an impulse, an invitation slipped out of her mouth: "Have you ordered takeout tonight? If not, let's eat together!"

Liao Shiyu stared with her large, dark eyes, looked at her, and said, "Alright."

From that day forward, whenever she cooked, she had to include a portion for Liao Shiyu.

Qian Fei felt that she was truly born with a destiny to serve people. One Li Yifei had left, only for a Liao Shiyu to arrive, and the distance between each of them and her began to close from the starting point of a rice bowl.

She had originally thought that eating with Liao Shiyu might be a bit awkward because they wouldn't know what to chat about, but she never expected this concern to be completely redundant; Liao Shiyu turned out to be very adept at initiating conversation.

After tasting the stir-fried eggplant strips Qian Fei made, a look resembling a sigh of lamentation surfaced on Liao Shiyu's face: "I used to think that my parents gave birth to me so that I could enjoy a comfortable life at home and achieve great things outside. Matters like cooking shouldn't fall to me. And since my parents raised me like a boy, I should stay far away from the kitchen just like a man. In the past, when I was at home with my boyfriend, I never cooked. We only ordered takeout. At first, he didn't say anything, but later on, I could feel that he grew annoyed."

Qian Fei thought about it and told her tactfully, "Actually, some things have absolutely nothing to do with gender. It's not to say that whoever does it holds a lower status. Whether one cooks at home and whether one is a person who achieves great things outside are two entirely separate matters. In my home, my dad has always done the cooking, yet he is still the one who calls the shots on all internal and external household matters."

Liao Shiyu looked at her for a moment and said, "If I hadn't met you, I might never have understood this logic."

Qian Fei shrugged. "Of course, chores should be done by both people together; you can't rely entirely on one person. If you don't cook, your boyfriend can do it. His getting annoyed and all that doesn't make much sense either. And if you do the cooking, your boyfriend should be responsible for washing the dishes."

Liao Shiyu looked at her, a flash of astonishment darting through the depths of her eyes, and asked, "Does Li Yifei take responsibility for washing the dishes after eating?"

Qian Fei nodded as a matter of course. "Yeah! Otherwise, it would also be fine for him to be responsible for cooking while I wash the dishes, but the prerequisite is that after people eat the things he makes, they won't die or wish they were dead."

The astonishment in Liao Shiyu's eyes rapidly spread across her entire face. "I think if his father knew that he washes dishes after eating, he would definitely be so shocked that his blood vessels would burst."

Qian Fei was stunned for a moment. "Has he really lived like such a young master since he was small? What exactly does Li Yifei's dad do? How could he spoil a child to look like Jia Baoyu!"

Liao Shiyu's gaze flickered, and she said, "A self-employed businessman, a very wealthy self-employed businessman." This was the script Li Yifei had rehearsed with her beforehand.

Qian Fei frowned. "Very wealthy? To what extent? Don't tell me that the things he eats, wears, and uses are genuinely real and not high-quality replicas?"

Liao Shiyu raised her eyebrows in even greater astonishment. "Qian Fei, you're really quite amusing, but I can see you don't seem to be faking it. Do you really think that with Li Yifei's fastidious and pampered disposition, he could bring himself to use high-quality replicas?"

Qian Fei felt a corner of her worldview quietly cracking and collapsing. Her hand holding the rice bowl trembled slightly.

If Liao Shiyu's words were true, then the rice bowl she was eating from at this moment should also be real—previously, Li Yifei had told her that this set of porcelain belonged to the same production batch as those specially supplied for use by the central government.

She trembling[ly] set down her rice bowl, deciding that she would go to the supermarket after work tomorrow to buy a new set of porcelain. It would be better to wash this set clean and enshrine it from now on.

Liao Shiyu suddenly spoke up: "Do you know what Li Yifei is busy with right now?"

Qian Fei raised her head, her gaze leaving the specially supplied rice bowl with great reluctance: "He's busy with his company's affairs."

Liao Shiyu asked, "Haven't you gone to visit his company?"

Qian Fei said, "When he feels the timing is ripe, he will proactively take the initiative to ask me to visit. He's currently so busy that his head is spinning; I'm not going to go there to create chaos and ask for a snub. I don't know if you have realized this truth by now, but I certainly have. Actually, if two people want to be together for a long, long time, they should leave some space for each other and not get to the bottom of absolutely everything."

Liao Shiyu looked at her and remained silent for a long while. Then, she shifted the topic, "Qian Fei, what was your first impression of me? Did you get a sense of deja vu?"

Qian Fei spoke the plain truth: "The way you sat on the sofa watching television was a bit cold, giving off a feeling that you were somewhat resistant to me."

Liao Shiyu smiled faintly and said, "Actually, speaking of which, that day wasn't our first meeting. We came into contact a very long time ago, except at that time I only heard your voice and didn't see your face."

Qian Fei was stunned, then thought about it again. "But I have absolutely no impression of you."

Liao Shiyu smiled without speaking.

Qian Fei asked her through what channel they had first come into contact. Liao Shiyu said that it was, of course, through the man they both knew.

Qian Fei smiled and thought to herself that she must have been caught by her back when she and Li Yifei were together.

They chatted for a while longer, steering the conversation toward work.

Qian Fei said, "I see that you seem to stay at home every day. Won't it get a bit tedious? Li Yifei said you studied financial management. Actually, our company has been hiring recently. Would you like to come and give it a try?"

Liao Shiyu elegantly finished her last bite of food, then set down her bowl and chopsticks. "Actually, I do have a job, but because I've been quite troubled since the New Year, I took a long leave of absence. It looks like I ought to return to work as well." She paused, then suddenly said, "Qian Fei, you really are a kind person. It's as if it's your instinct to consider others whenever there is something good. Actually, I dislike kind people the most, because they force me to admit that I am a bad woman."

Qian Fei laughed. "Don't you think that a woman needs to be a bit bad to have charm? Besides, kindness might be a virtue to others, but to me, it's a flaw. Because I act too much like a saint in life, I don't know how many scoldings and expressions of contempt I've endured from Young Master Li!"

Liao Shiyu looked at her and said softly, "You being like this is quite good. At least it makes it truly impossible for anyone to dislike you."

●︶3︶●

When Qian Fei went to wash the dishes, she heard Liao Shiyu ask her from behind: "Between your ex-boyfriend and Li Yifei, which one do you feel is more deeply engraved in your memory?"

She stopped, turning her head to look at Liao Shiyu. "Do you think that things which are more deeply engraved in one's memory are superior goods that rank a level higher than everything else? I don't think so. I believe that no matter how deeply engraved something is, if you can't grasp it in your hands, it's all in vain. It's far better to properly cherish what you possess in the present. My ex-boyfriend—if you don't bring him up, I have already forgotten the past with him. Li Yifei—whether you bring him up or not, I keep him close in my current life. A deeply engraved memory holds absolutely no weight when placed in front of what one possesses in the present moment."

Liao Shiyu looked at her and did not speak for a very long time.

The next day was the weekend. Liao Shiyu got up early and told Qian Fei that she was going out to get a beauty treatment. Not long after she left, Li Yifei arrived.

They first fooled around in the room for a while, and as they were fooling around, Li Yifei managed to have a hearty meal.

Afterward, Li Yifei wiped his mouth, his appetite still unfulfilled as he asked Qian Fei, "How is Liao Shiyu doing staying here? She didn't cause you any unpleasantness, did she? If she makes you unhappy, just tell me, and I'll kick her out immediately! At any rate, her function has already been mostly served. Right now, I find that girl incredibly obstructive. She annoys me to death! If she can really move out, it won't be so much trouble for this young master to have a hearty meal in the future!"

He had called Liao Shiyu early in the morning to negotiate with gentle words and kind expressions, dipping into his own pocket to splash cash on sending her to a beauty salon so she could enjoy a queen-level luxurious, all-inclusive treatment from head to toe. All of this was just so he could press his Jinjin down for a hearty meal on a grand weekend. Had it been easy for him?

Qian Fei straightened her clothes and said, "I get along quite well with her; there's no need to kick her out." She paused, massaging the sore and aching base of her thighs as she gritted her back teeth. "I think it's better to let her keep living here. Otherwise, with you ravaging me so forcefully, I'm afraid that sooner or later, I'll walk either bow-legged or pigeon-toed! Besides, she's also quite pitiful. I can feel that there is someone in her heart, but for whatever reason, she and that person didn't manage to be together."

Li Yifei let out a "tch." "Whether she's pitiful or not is none of my business. When I let her stay here initially, it wasn't out of pity for her either."

Qian Fei asked, "Then what was it for?"

Li Yifei narrowed his eyes. "Take a guess! If you guess right, I'll tell you. If you guess wrong, you can keep trying!"

Qian Fei slapped his face. "Guess your sister! If I guess right, would I still need you to tell me? Playing this set with Sponsor Representative Qian—do you still want your company to smoothly list on the stock market in the future?!"

Li Yifei was shocked.

Sponsor Representative Qian was no longer the saint who would chuckle merrily whether she was pinched round or flattened square. Nowadays, her wings were growing firmer and stronger by the day.

●︶3︶●

Li Yifei wasn't stupid; he knew exactly why Liao Shiyu wanted to move into his and Qian Fei's apartment. However, he decided to play dumb.

True gold fears no fire. Since the old man wanted to observe Qian Fei through Liao Shiyu's eyes, he was more than happy to push the boat along with the current. He firmly believed that with Qian Fei's conduct and character, she would win over anyone who looked at her through colored glasses.

Even a spoiled, fastidious, and picky young master like him had been conquered by her. A Liao Shiyu who put on airs of aloof pride—he figured it wouldn't take long before his Jinjin could make her willingly bare her heart and soul.

There was a type of person in this world who, upon initial contact, made people feel quite flavorless. They had no sharp edges, no distinct personality, and no temper. They wouldn't cause a person's heart to leap wildly, nor would they leave any unforgettable impressions. They were as plain and tasteless as plain boiled water. But as days grew into months and years, she would cause a person to unknowingly sink deep into her, unknowingly becoming fiercely loyal and devoted to her. She would force a person to admit that plain boiled water also possessed a flavor. It had a faint sweetness—a sweetness that penetrated straight to the heart and lungs—and as long as you were alive, you could never dream of leaving it one day.

Li Yifei felt that in this lifetime, he had fallen completely into the hands of such a person, and he had fallen willingly and gladly.