Love Has Fireworks - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: An Unexpected Collaboration

In the bar, a crowd of young people was rolling dice and drinking.

One youth with a highly trendy hairstyle lost, and the crowd started jeering, "Da Jun, drink up! Hurry it up!"

The one named Da Jun didn't hesitate either. He picked up his drink and downed it. Setting the glass back down, he gave the person next to him a shove.

"Li Yifei, what on earth are you doing? You've been texting non-stop, making me lose over and over!"

Li Yifei curled his lips in amusement. "What does you losing have to do with me?"

Da Jun snapped back, "How does it have nothing to do with you? For your sake, do you have any idea how many times I had to top up my phone credit just to get that bag of lousy tea leaves! Yet you took it and didn't even cherish it, turning right around and casually gifting it to someone else! Aren't you just jerking me around!"

Li Yifei had originally intended to give the tea leaves to Gui Lili so she could pass them on to her father. But because Gui Lili hadn't come home in the middle of the night, he had given the tea directly to Qian Fei in a fit of irritation.

Li Yifei remained indifferent. "Drop it. Even if I hadn't asked you to redeem the tea, would you have topped up any less? Do you think I don't know you're playing online games behind your mom's back?"

Da Jun began to vent his grievances, "Tell me, isn't my mom hilarious? Just how old am I, and she's still keeping watch over me! She watches my bank card like a hawk, vowing that if she ever sees another game top-up on my statement, she'll grab a knife and hack me down! Talk about a cold-hearted old lady! Oh right, how about you take a week off from work to help me beat the game?"

Li Yifei let out a cold sneer. "Get down on your knees and beg me!"

Da Jun spat out a "bah."

Li Yifei glanced at him and said, "But seriously, how much longer do you think you can keep relying on phone credit to buy game cards? Your mom isn't stupid. You top up that much credit all at once and burn through it in a few days; how could she not find it strange?"

Da Jun flicked his hair. "I'll scrape by one more time if I can! Life is short, so a man's got to enjoy himself and raise some hell while he can!"

Li Yifei said, "Oh, is that so? Then next time remember to redeem the 29,999-yuan tea for me. The 18,888-yuan one always feels a bit too cheap to present as a gift."

Da Jun kicked him. "Get lost! Are you trying to make sure I have ten or twenty million in unused phone credit by the day I die?" He then asked, "How have things been going with you and that little true-love girlfriend of yours lately? Are you two still arguing like there's no tomorrow every single day?"

Li Yifei rolled his eyes at him.

Da Jun let out a sigh. "If you want my opinion, you should just listen to the old man and be done with it!"

Li Yifei stood up, preparing to leave.

Da Jun quickly pulled him back. "Alright, alright, alright! I won't bring it up again, okay!" To distract him, he changed the subject and asked, "Who were you texting just now?"

Li Yifei drooped his eyelids. "Someone rather interesting."

Da Jun narrowed his eyes at him, asking with a sly grin, "Male or female?"

Li Yifei leaned forward to grab the dice cup.

"Beat me, and I'll tell you if it's a guy or a girl!"

Throughout the entire night, Da Jun went out to vomit eight times, yet he never managed to pry out whether that interesting person was male or female.

Before passing out, he clutched Li Yifei's collar, refusing to give up as he yelled, "It's a girl, isn't it?!"

Li Yifei pried his hands away. "It's a girl, alright? Hurry up and let go of me!"

Da Jun pointed at him, swaying on his feet as he giggled like an idiot, "Are you going to... let go of your little true love... and decide to cheat on her?"

Li Yifei pressed a hand against his face and slapped him aside with a shove. "Cheat your sister! She's more of a man than you are! Can you even get it up for a man? I certainly can't. This young master only likes beautiful girls who are supple, fair, delicate, and soft!"

"Like your little true love?" Just after asking and before waiting for an answer, Da Jun covered his mouth and ran out to vomit again.

Li Yifei looked down at his phone to check the message he hadn't had a chance to read earlier.

That manly woman had asked him: "Is your buddy married? Or if he is unfortunately already married, does he happen to have any unmarried brothers left?"

He couldn't resist wanting to tease her, so he replied: "Yes, me."

A moment later, the manly woman sent a message back to him: "Maybe I should just throw the tea away after all..."

The corners of his lips curled up involuntarily.

※※※※※※

The next day, Qian Fei carried the tea leaves with her to the company. In order to feel a bit more at ease with her conscience, she decided she would pay for this month's electricity bill herself after all.

Once she arrived at the office, she looked for the right moment. Seeing that Director Kong's office was empty, Qian Fei knocked on the door and slipped into the room, acting as stealthily as a thief.

Bracing herself, she recited the exact words Sister Jin had taught her and presented the tea leaves. She noticed Director Kong's eyes light up the moment he saw the bag. She understood that look perfectly; it meant "recognizing high quality."

The heart that had been dangling in her throat finally settled back down with a thud.

Sure enough, during the afternoon meeting, she was called into the conference room. The meeting was chaired by Director Kong, and the primary objective was to establish the project team for the hotel's sponsored public listing. The head of the project team was Liu Yifeng, a sponsor representative whom Director Kong had personally trained up, and the members consisted of her along with several other colleagues. Director Kong mentioned that this project would be handled jointly with another brokerage firm as joint sponsors. He also told everyone to go back and review the hotel's materials, as they would soon have to go on-site to conduct due diligence and restructuring work.

After the meeting adjourned, Qian Fei's heart was racing with excitement and her spirits were soaring. She felt as though she could see stacks of pink hundred-yuan bills spreading their wings and flying recklessly into her embrace.

When she finished work that evening, she called Yao Jingjing, still brimming with excitement as she told her that she had finally made it onto a project team. On the other end of the line, Yao Jingjing couldn't help but sigh upon hearing this. "Look at your pathetic lack of ambition, is there any need to be this happy? This is something you should have achieved years ago!"

Qian Fei scoffed at her in displeasure, "Stop talking like it's so easy! Why don't you come try working at our company? I guarantee you wouldn't even have made it onto a project team by now!"

Yao Jingjing let out a "tch." "Look at that tiny goal of yours! If I went to your company, what project team would I even bother joining? Right now, you might very well have to call me the boss's wife!"

Qian Fei's knees went weak, and she almost fell to the floor.

"Big sis, can you not always take the route of seducing people? Oh right, speaking of seduction, how are things going for you in Dalian? To what extent have you hooked up with that wealthy tycoon of yours?" Qian Fei asked.

She heard Yao Jingjing let out a long sigh, "Sigh, how should I put it? I feel like the tycoon has feelings for me, but halfway through, out of nowhere, an ex-girlfriend suddenly burst onto the scene. His attitude toward this ex-girlfriend is far too ambiguous, making it a bit hard for me to read. What can be confirmed, however, is that his ex-girlfriend definitely wants to win him back. As for me, I've been constantly engaged in a high-level battle of wits and courage against her!"

Qian Fei made two clicks of her tongue, generously offering her encouragement, "I hope that by relying on your naturally thick skin and your self-proclaimed matchless fox-like charm, you can repel all unnecessary new flames and old flames alike!"

Yao Jingjing accepted the compliment with absolute composure, "Well, thank you so much!" She then asked her, "How have things been going between you and that blind date of yours?"

Qian Fei let out a sigh. "Don't even bring it up, I was just about to tell you. Last time, the guy brought me to his place and wanted to sleep with me. My moral awareness was too high that day, and out of consideration for promoting the spirit of a harmonious socialist society, I didn't comply on the spot. As a result, he seemed quite displeased afterward and has ignored me ever since."

Yao Jingjing let out a "ha" laugh. "This guy is truly open and aboveboard, being able to display his displeasure from unfulfilled desires so glaringly! Just how starved is he? Let me tell you, Baboon, this is a character flaw and you cannot indulge it. Leave him out to dry for a few days. If he stays like this, the two of you can just call it quits. If he does come looking for you, then you can assess his attitude and use your discretion to consider whether or not to keep seeing him!"

Seeing that what she said matched Xiao Yuan's advice exactly, Qian Fei became even more resolute in her conviction, deciding that she would refrain from pressing her warm face against Hu Zining's cold backside for the next few days.

Before hanging up, Qian Fei remembered something and quickly instructed Yao Jingjing, "Yao Jingjing, let me tell you, do not report my life updates to Wang Ruohai anymore in the future! For instance, hanging up my call and immediately going to tell him that I joined a project team and am about to make big money, understood!"

Yao Jingjing laughed so hard on the other end of the line that she was shaking, "Hahaha! Baboon, if they say the two of us are best friends for life, it's because you truly know me too well! To think you even guessed that! Alright, alright, since you've given instructions, I won't bring it up proactively, okay! But if he proactively plays the fool and calls to ask, I won't be able to keep a lock on this mouth of mine, got it?"

Qian Fei was utterly helpless. "Can you stop enjoying the drama so much without caring about the consequences?"

Yao Jingjing answered without the slightest hesitation, "Absolutely not! In this lifetime, I must make Wang Ruohai profoundly realize that what he lost was a treasure he will never be able to find again for the rest of his days!"

Qian Fei suddenly felt a bit like crying—not for Wang Ruohai, but for Yao Jingjing's heart, which appeared completely carefree on the surface but considered her well-being in every detail deep down inside.

※※※※※※

Qian Fei and her colleagues spent about a week on preparatory work. The project leader made specific assignments regarding everyone's work content. Initially, Qian Fei had been full of anticipation, feeling that she could finally participate in the restructuring, guidance, and drafting of the prospectus. However, the task assigned to her by the leader was still binding and organizing working papers.

Qian Fei was somewhat disappointed, but she quickly regained her fighting spirit.

Even if it was still organizing working papers, this time she was doing it legitimately as an official member of the project team who could rightfully be allocated a share of the project bonus.

Although the bonus allocated to her might not be much compared to the other members, it was still streets ahead of the past when she worked for others as an external helper for free just to receive a mere thousand or so yuan.

Over the course of the week, she noticed that Li Yifei was also leaving early and returning late. Once, after returning home from working overtime, they bumped into each other at the subway station and exchanged a few pleasantries, which was how she learned that Li Yifei and his colleagues were also preparing for a project.

During this week, the bickering between Li Yifei and Gui Lili continued as usual. Sometimes she felt that these two were truly miraculous; to be constantly arguing like that without breaking up was truly the eighth wonder of the world. She felt that she herself should also be awarded the title of Beijing's number one noise-resistance pioneer. Listening to them screeching and fighting day in and day out, she actually managed to stay psychologically healthy and alive, while still stubbornly yearning for marriage and a family, hoping that Hu Zining—who had ignored her just because he failed to sleep with her—could send her a WeChat message.

Having passed a week in such a busy and hectic manner, a week later, Qian Fei along with her colleagues officially entered the hotel site to conduct due diligence.

On the very first day of entering the site, Qian Fei never in her wildest dreams expected that she would actually see Li Yifei—it turned out that the brokerage firm he worked for was the very joint sponsor handling the hotel's listing along with them.

Seeing her, Li Yifei seemed somewhat surprised as well. She clearly saw him raise an eyebrow at her.

After the two brokerages held a briefing session to clarify each other's tasks and responsibilities, it was about time for lunch. The chairman of the hotel along with a crowd of senior executives personally accompanied them in a private room of the employee cafeteria. On the way to the cafeteria, walking amid the reverent and envious gazes of the hotel staff, Qian Fei felt a bit of the euphoric sensation that came with being an investment banker. Upon entering a project team, the people one interacted with were indeed wealthy and successful members of society with status. Interacting with such individuals gave Qian Fei an illusory yet beautiful feeling, making her feel as though she too was about to become a successful member of society.

Over the course of the meal, the hotel leaders and the project team members praised and toasted one another, and Qian Fei inevitably downed a few glasses as well. By the time the meal concluded, Qian Fei felt almost a bit lightheaded.

As they emerged from the restaurant, the hotel chairman shook hands with each member of the project team one by one. When it was Qian Fei's turn, the chairman said with a smile, "Talented young people are truly emerging in generations! Even such a young lady can take charge of a side independently to handle a listing! I have no choice but to admit my old age! It seems it really is time for me to be pushed aside!"