Love Has Fireworks - Chapter 73

Chapter 73: What Is My Dad's Name?

The meeting was hosted by Vice President Liao.

He introduced her to the room full of people: "This is the head of financial advisory hired for our current restructuring, Director Qian Fei. Next, she will introduce the specific details and subsequent arrangements of the project to everyone."

Qian Fei pressed the button to turn on the microphone in front of her. Her crisp voice, amplified by the speakers, echoed clearly throughout the entire conference room.

Succinctly and powerfully, she introduced the current situation of the group's listed subsidiary and the preliminary restructuring plan. She methodically coordinated and scheduled the entry times for the other intermediary agencies to come on-site.

Sitting in the seat at the absolute head of the table, she handed down decisions with absolute authority, like a general commanding a battlefield.

Inside the Chairman's office, Li Yifei stared at the large screen on the wall, his eyes never straying for even a fraction of a second.

When had his woman grown to become this outstanding? She was so exceptional that she practically left him in awe.

With his eyes glued to the screen and his face bursting with pride, he said to Li Qiansheng beside him, "How about it? Quite incredible, right? This is the person I chose! With the brilliance she's showing right now, there is absolutely no family background that she isn't worthy of matching!" Reluctantly tearing his gaze away from the screen for just a moment, he looked at the face so similar to his own and said, "This time, I can finally tell her who my biological father is, right?"

Li Qiansheng also stared at the screen. "I know you've always found me meddlesome, constantly interfering with your choice of girlfriends. But you have to understand, what you will shoulder in the future is an entire conglomerate. You must be responsible for every single employee under this group. I had to make absolutely certain that after I hand the baton over to you, the family estate won't be completely squandered by some random woman you picked with your eyes closed." He paused before adding, "This one, by the looks of it, is actually passable."

Although the girl was young, what was truly rare was that she possessed an aura capable of holding down the room. Every sentence she spoke was well-ordered and logically clear. When assigning work, she was progressive, concise, and explicit, allowing others to understand exactly what they needed to do next upon hearing her words, and compelling them to follow her arrangements with heartfelt admiration.

The girl's crisp, decisive style of delegating work actually resembled his own quite a bit.

It was no wonder, considering he heard she was personally trained and brought up by his son.

He couldn't help but secretly glance up at his son, who was staring unblinkingly at the screen with a face full of pride.

This brat's current state of mind was probably exactly the same as his own back when he first heard that his son had started a company, made money, and bought a villa.

●︶3︶●

The meeting lasted for over two hours before finally drawing to a close.

Before the adjournment, Qian Fei turned off her microphone and asked Vice President Liao beside her, "Is there anyone who is exceptionally familiar with the entire scope of the listed company's business operations? I would like to gain a deeper understanding of their business situation!"

Vice President Liao raised his head to sweep a glance down the lower end of the conference table. Locating Wang Ruohai, he pointed right at him and said to Qian Fei, "There, that gentleman is the Director of the Business Department, named Wang Ruohai. He understands the business situation of the listed company best."

Qian Fei blanked for a moment. Following the direction of Vice President Liao's finger, she looked over. Wang Ruohai was sitting not very far from the door.

When she looked over, she discovered that Wang Ruohai was also staring at her. And directly across from him sat Liao Shiyu.

Liao Shiyu looked at Wang Ruohai, and then followed Wang Ruohai's gaze to look at her as well.

She suddenly felt that the scene before her eyes was somewhat ridiculous.

Liao Shiyu's slightly melancholy and wistful expression almost made her feel, for a fleeting moment, as if she were the homewrecking third party wedged between her and Wang Ruohai.

This world truly left one in a state of utter confusion, making it impossible to tell who was actually the third party to whom.

Beside her, Vice President Liao was saying, "After the meeting, I'll have Wang Ruohai stay behind for a moment so he can fully cooperate with your work. Director Qian, do you think this arrangement is acceptable?"

Qian Fei quickly turned her head and smiled. "Yes, it is. That's perfectly fine!"

Vice President Liao pressed his microphone button, announced the adjournment of the meeting, and added, "Director Wang of the Business Department, please stay behind for a moment."

The people around the conference table all stood up, preparing to walk out. For a moment, the room felt crowded with a sea of moving heads.

A thought stirred in Qian Fei's heart, and she pulled out her phone. Just as she was scrolling through her messages, Wang Ruohai had already walked up to her side.

Vice President Liao introduced them to each other.

Qian Fei put away her phone, lifted her head, looked at Wang Ruohai, and extended her right hand. "Director Wang, hello. I hope we can have a pleasant collaboration going forward!"

Wang Ruohai hesitated for a brief second before also extending his right hand. "Hello, Director Qian!" His voice sounded terribly raspy. Based on the past understanding she once had of him, Qian Fei almost mistakenly thought he had encountered some deeply heartbreaking tragedy and was right on the verge of tears.

She released her grip and saw Liao Shiyu at the lower end of the conference table, the expression between her brows growing even more sorrowful.

●︶3︶●

Staring at the large screen on the wall, Li Yifei gnashed his teeth. "Holy crap! I had him participate in the meeting so he could look up to you, not so he could shake your hand, okay! What on earth is Uncle Liao doing!" He turned his head, looking at Li Qiansheng with a thoroughly ferocious expression. "I don't care about any of that anymore! I am absolutely telling her who my dad is tonight!"

●︶3︶●

Upon exiting the conference room, Qian Fei and Vice President Liao walked side by side in the front, while Wang Ruohai followed behind in the posture of a subordinate.

As Qian Fei walked, she casually chatted with Vice President Liao: "Without looking into it, one really wouldn't know—Qiansheng truly is a massive spread of business enterprises! It really hasn't been easy for Chairman Li to expand a conglomerate to such a scale! I heard his health hasn't been very good lately? By the looks of it, his wife must be suffering quite a bit of exhaustion right along with him!"

Vice President Liao chuckled and said, "It would be well and good if he actually had a wife. The trouble lies in the fact that there is absolutely no one to help share his burdens!"

Qian Fei let out an "Oh" and asked, "Is Chairman Li still single?"

Vice President Liao was quite conversational. He laughed heartily and said, "Being 'single' is a description for you young people. For someone of our age, it should be called being a 'widower'! Old Li's wife passed away many years ago!"

Qian Fei let out another "Oh" and nodded her head.

They arrived at the elevator bank. Qian Fei said, "Then I will go with Director Wang to the Business Department to look into the situation. Vice President Liao, you should head back to your office as well. If anything comes up, I'll go find you!"

●︶3︶●

Vice President Liao took an ascending elevator, while Qian Fei and Wang Ruohai took a descending elevator.

There was no one else inside the elevator. Through the mirrored wall, Qian Fei saw Wang Ruohai standing rigidly right behind her, staring straight at her.

She turned her head and asked, "Now that it's just the two of us, you don't need to put on this whole act of insisting on standing behind me, do you?"

Wang Ruohai looked at her and smiled. Yet, there seemed to be an indescribable bitterness laced within his smile. "You have become so outstanding now. So outstanding that it makes me feel utterly ashamed."

Qian Fei turned her head back around. She didn't know what she ought to say.

If it weren't for him, the her of today probably wouldn't have been forged.

For the duration of the time that followed, Qian Fei stayed with Wang Ruohai, completely immersed in work inside the Business Department Director's office.

In the beginning, Qian Fei was somewhat distracted. After making a trip to the restroom, pulling out her phone, and checking it once more, she powered the device off. She then ground her back teeth together and washed her face.

Following that, she settled her mind completely and began to work with absolute diligence.

As closing time approached, Qian Fei said to Wang Ruohai, "I might still need to look over a few more files. Do you mind working overtime for a bit?"

Wang Ruohai looked at her and said in a deep voice, "How could I possibly mind? This kind of time spent together is something I yearn for but cannot get right now; in the future, I'm afraid it will be something I seek but can never have again."

The other employees left work one after another. The immense office floor was left with only the two of them.

Qian Fei buried her head in the files, completely losing herself in them and losing track of time. When she lifted her head again, she discovered that Wang Ruohai was sitting directly across from her, gazing at her without blinking even once.

She suddenly felt a bit suffocated in her chest.

Closing the folder, she stood up. "Let's call it a day for now. There isn't much left anyway; I'll look over the rest tomorrow."

Wang Ruohai sat across from her, completely reluctant to move for a long time.

Left with no alternative, Qian Fei had to prompt him: "Let's go?"

Wang Ruohai stood up, walked around to stand before her, and looked down at her.

"Two years ago, Yao Jingjing rushed into the company, cornered me, and pointed right at my nose, saying, 'Wang Ruohai, a day will come when you realize just how blind you were. A day will come when you discover you picked up a sesame seed only to drop a watermelon. A day will come when you realize through your tears that what you lost was a treasure you will never be able to find again in this lifetime!'" He paused, the rims of his eyes turning red. "Yao Jingjing was right. I truly was blind. I truly did pick up a sesame seed only to drop a watermelon. I truly lost my treasure!"

Qian Fei took a deep breath. She had never imagined that Yao Jingjing had silently done these things for her.

She looked at Wang Ruohai and said, word by word, "Wang Ruohai, let us both look forward. Constantly dwelling on those past matters holds no meaning whatsoever. If I hadn't looked forward, I wouldn't be the me of today either!"

The moment she finished speaking, she turned around and walked out, no longer looking to see what kind of expression was on Wang Ruohai's face.

In this world, there is no time machine that can turn back the clock, nor is there any medicine for regret that can make up for past grievances. Everyone must be held accountable for the things they have done.

She did not want to let her heart soften for a man's regret. Because there was another man who had done far more for her—even if there were certain things he handled in a way that didn't make her all that happy.

●︶3︶●

By the time Qian Fei and Wang Ruohai stepped out of the office building, the sky had already turned slightly dark.

She reached into her pocket to pull out her phone to check the time, but after pressing the home button, the screen gave absolutely no response. Only then did she remember that she had powered it off.

She stuffed the phone back into her pocket. Afterward, she became somewhat absentminded.

Behind her, Wang Ruohai suddenly let out a loud shout of "Watch out!" Before she even had the chance to turn her head and look, she was violently shoved aside by him from behind.

Stumbling, she sat down hard on the ground. Turning her head, she saw Wang Ruohai tumbling down onto the exact spot where she had been standing a moment ago, rubbing his head with a face full of forced endurance. Beside him lay a sign about half a meter square, upon which was the word "School," its paint still wet.

Qian Fei frantically scrambled up, ran to Wang Ruohai's side, supported him, and asked, "How are you?"

Two people came running over from behind, nervously apologizing without pause.

"We are so sorry, so sorry! We are teachers from the English training school upstairs. Just now, we wanted the paint on the sign to dry faster, so we hung it outside the window to air out. We never expected it would fall down and hit someone! May I ask if you two are alright? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

Supporting Wang Ruohai, Qian Fei also asked, "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

Looking at her face full of anxious concern, Wang Ruohai actually smiled. "I'm fine, don't worry!"

●︶3︶●

Qian Fei hailed a taxi and sent Wang Ruohai back to his home.

Just as Wang Ruohai was about to step out of the car, he said to her, "Feifei, being able to see you worry for me makes me feel that even if I were crushed to the point of being crippled or dead, it would have been entirely worth it!"

Qian Fei calmly told him, "No matter who blocked such a blow for me, I would be worried. Furthermore, Wang Ruohai, truly—I have a boyfriend!"

The look in Wang Ruohai's eyes as he watched her shifted from fervent to grief-stricken. Ultimately, he stepped out of the car with a deeply desolate silhouette.

Qian Fei withdrew her gaze, told the driver to make a U-turn, and drove toward the direction of her own apartment.

When she reached home and opened the door, she saw Li Yifei sitting on the sofa watching television.

They spoke almost entirely in unison.

Li Yifei, with a hint of urgency: "Why are you only getting back now? Your phone was even turned off!"

Qian Fei, in a flat tone: "When did you get here? Don't you need to go home and accompany your dad?"

Then, both of them paused for a moment. Qian Fei said, "Oh, maybe my phone ran out of battery."

Li Yifei pressed forward, taking hold of her shoulders to guide her onto the sofa. Moving a chair over to sit directly across from her, he rubbed his hands together and said, "Jinjin, I want to tell you something. But after I say it, can you please not get too angry? Or if you do feel angry, please beat me, curse me, or ravage me—just don't bring up breaking up or anything like that, alright?"

Qian Fei smiled slightly and said, "That depends on what exactly the matter is! Go ahead and speak, what do you want to tell me?"

Li Yifei let out a heh-heh laugh and said, "Well, the matter is actually a pretty simple one. I just want to tell you... what exactly my dad's name is!"

Qian Fei smiled yet again, her smile radiant enough to make the hairs on Li Yifei's neck stand up. "Your dad? I guest your dad should be named Li Qiansheng. Am I right?"