Li Yifei couldn't help but curl his lips at the side.
"Auntie, you're really rich," Zhao De coughed while counting the handful of small bills Qian Fei had pulled out. "There's just more pieces here, but it doesn't even add up to twenty yuan!"
Qian Fei slapped his hand away. "Don't even think about touching my pure and innocent little bills! Just wait and see how I'll use them to win big and dominate the game!"
Originally, the three players' rankings were Li Yifei > Zhao De > Qian Fei. But with money as motivation, the usually lazy Qian Fei finally got competitive and started calculating her cards carefully, causing their rankings to shift.
Li Yifei and Qian Fei ended up winning about the same number of rounds, while Zhao De fell to last place, soon losing a hundred-yuan bill.
As he pulled out a second hundred-yuan bill from his wallet, Zhao De regretted it. "Damn, Qian Fei, you were playing dumb to ambush us! You lost so much before—how come you're winning nonstop now?"
Qian Fei smirked smugly. "I haven't won that much! I just lost twenty to Young Master Li in the last round! But hey, Zhao De, if you hadn't used money to motivate me, I wouldn’t have realized how much I’ve improved at Landlord. Thanks for that!"
Zhao De rolled his eyes at her.
Li Yifei suddenly asked, "Are you guys thirsty?"
Zhao De's eyes darted around before he quickly said, "Nope!"
Qian Fei replied, "A little."
Li Yifei then asked her, "Want some water?"
Qian Fei said, "Sure."
Li Yifei handed her his cup. "Get me a refill while you're at it."
Qian Fei froze, watching as Zhao De gave her a knowing, smug look that screamed, "I knew it."
She calculated how much she had just lost to Li Yifei, then lowered her head and sighed. "Huh, suddenly feeling a bit dizzy..."
Li Yifei pulled a ten-yuan bill from his pile and placed it in front of Qian Fei.
Qian Fei kept holding her forehead. "A little better, but still dizzy..."
Li Yifei added another ten, sliding it over to her.
Qian Fei still didn’t move. "Not dizzy anymore, but I’m still kinda weak..."
Li Yifei reached out to take the twenty yuan back.
Qian Fei immediately swiped the money into her pocket, stood up energetically, grabbed the cup, and marched toward the water dispenser with gusto. "Wow, isn’t it weird how dizziness comes and goes so fast? Haha!"
Zhao De watched in dismay. "Damn, she got paid! Next time, pay me and I’ll go!"
※※※※※※
Somehow, this "betting-for-errands" arrangement gradually evolved.
Whenever Li Yifei was thirsty, he’d ask Qian Fei, "Are you thirsty?"
Qian Fei would hold out her hand. "Twenty!"
Li Yifei would say, "Put it on my tab."
And Qian Fei would happily go fetch water.
Later, Li Yifei’s questions started expanding in scope.
"Qian Fei, are you cold?"
So Qian Fei would happily turn on the AC.
"Qian Fei, do you want an apple?"
So Qian Fei would happily wash an apple.
Then one day, Li Yifei pointed at an oil stain on his clothes from lunch and asked, "Qian Fei, what do you think I should use to wash this out?"
Qian Fei shuddered. "Young Master Li, you’re not expecting me to do your laundry too, are you?" Dude, could you be any lazier?!Li Yifei looked at her, thought seriously for a moment, and said, "Forget it, I don't have any spare clothes to change into. I can't exactly work in a tank top this afternoon."
Qian Fei lowered her head and massaged her temples.
Damn, her head was really spinning a bit!
She asked Li Yifei sullenly, "When are you going to pay me back for all those errands I ran for you?"
Li Yifei replied, "In a hurry? Fine, I'll take the next round of Landlords seriously and let you lose it all back. Saves us the trouble of transferring money back and forth."
Qian Fei gritted her teeth. So all those previous wins were just him not taking it seriously? How could someone be so arrogant without God striking them down? Didn’t he fear being crushed by a cross in his sleep?
But as if possessed, Li Yifei didn’t let Qian Fei win a single hand. By the end, he had indeed balanced out all the errand fees.
Qian Fei ground her molars to dust.
That night, while on the phone with Yao Jingjing, she asked, "Tell me, Yao Jing—why would a guy who’s lazy, arrogant, self-absorbed, bossy, and can’t save money, yet lives like some spoiled Beijing rich kid in a rented apartment—what on earth does Gu Lili see in him?"
Yao Jingjing pondered for a moment. "Two possibilities: first, he’s good-looking; second, he might be amazing in bed. With a handsome face and killer skills that can make a girl scream in ecstasy, even with all those flaws, it’s no surprise a girl would stick to him like glue. For men, conquering the vagina is like conquering the world!"
Qian Fei felt like spitting in Yao Jingjing’s face—complete with a loud "Pfft!"
Just as she hung up, she heard the couple next door arguing again. Gu Lili was wailing loudly.
Qian Fei couldn’t help but laugh.
Yao Jingjing asked over the phone, "What’s so funny, Fei?"
Qian Fei chuckled. "Nothing, just heard the girl next door screaming in ecstasy!"
※※※※※※
A couple of nights later, before bed, Qian Fei realized she hadn’t heard from Hu Zining in days and hadn’t seen him at the hotel either. She sent him a WeChat message.
"Zining, haven’t seen you around lately. Everything okay?"
No reply.
Qian Fei turned off the lights and went to sleep. Waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, she noticed her phone’s notification light blinking. She turned on the screen and saw Hu Zining’s reply, sent at 12:30 AM.
"The company startup fell through because of funding issues. I’ve been running myself ragged over it. Been on a business trip the last couple of days—I’ll find you when I’m back."
Qian Fei sighed, locked her phone, and headed to the bathroom.
Every time the failed startup came up, she felt an inexplicable guilt, as if she could’ve made it happen if only she’d had eighty or a hundred thousand to spare.
Lost in thought, she suddenly heard the front door open. From the sound, it had to be Li Yifei returning—the other bedroom door immediately swung open, followed by Gu Lili’s sobs. She checked her phone again: 2 AM.
She heard Gu Lili demand, "Li Yifei, you finally decided to come back! Do you even know what time it is?"
Li Yifei replied, "Stop yelling, it’s the middle of the night. We’ll talk tomorrow."
Gu Lili cried, "Oh, so you know it’s the middle of the night? Why don’t you just not come back at all!"She heard the front door slam again.
Li Yifei had left.
Then came another "bang"—Gui Lili had shut her door too.
Next, she heard Gui Lili screaming hysterically in her room, "Li Yifei! If you’ve got the guts, then never come back! Li Yifei, I hate you, I hate you!"
Shortly after, something crashed to the floor with a loud "smash."
It seemed Gui Lili had thrown another phone.
She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
By her private count, Gui Lili had already smashed phones worth at least twenty thousand yuan. Add tonight’s to the tally, and the total would easily hit twenty-four or twenty-five thousand. With that kind of money, they could’ve built a fortune—but no, Gui Lili just had to throw them away for the satisfying crash after a fight. She really was a spoiled brat.
Gui Lili was melodramatic and loved to argue, while Li Yifei was too proud to placate her. These two were truly… a match made in heaven—if heaven specialized in pairing up dramatic couples.
The next day at work, Qian Fei noticed Li Yifei didn’t seem the least bit tired. She found it incredibly odd and couldn’t resist asking during lunch, "Are you on stimulants or something? You were up past two in the morning—how are you not exhausted?"
Li Yifei turned his head, narrowed his eyes, and gave her a sidelong glance. "You heard us again?"
Qian Fei bit her chopsticks and nodded. "Not that I was trying to eavesdrop, and it’s not like I have super hearing—it’s just… your voices were really loud, haha!"
Beside them, Zhao De interjected impatiently, "What are you two talking about? I feel like I’m missing something here!"
Neither of them paid him any attention.
He scratched his head in frustration.
Li Yifei suddenly asked, "Haven’t seen your boyfriend around lately. Where’s he been?"
Qian Fei assumed he was embarrassed and trying to change the subject, so she played along to give him an out. "He was busy starting his own business a while back, but unfortunately, it failed. Then he went on a business trip these past couple of days!"
Li Yifei looked at her, his gaze deepening. After a moment, he slowly said, "Oh."
Qian Fei found his reaction strange and couldn’t help asking, "What’s wrong?"
Li Yifei frowned slightly. "Nothing."
After work, Zhao De asked Li Yifei if he wanted to go out or take the subway home. Li Yifei said he was heading back.
Zhao De said, "Then let’s walk to the subway together!"
Li Yifei stood up, patted his pants pocket, and called out to Qian Fei, "Qian Fei, let’s go together today. I left my keys on the shoe cabinet by the door last night and forgot to bring them."
Zhao De’s eyes lit up with mischief. "Wait a minute! I thought something was off at lunch! What’s going on with you two? Is there something fishy here? Are you two living together?!"
Qian Fei quickly cut off his wild imagination. "Rein in those runaway brain cells! I’m his landlord!"
Zhao De looked utterly disbelieving. "Seriously? What are the odds? You seem at least a whole class poorer than him—how could you be his landlord?" He turned to Li Yifei. "If you two are roommates, how come you never leave work together?"
Li Yifei smirked. "I didn’t want people thinking she’s my girlfriend and questioning my taste."
Qian Fei scoffed. "And I didn’t want people thinking I’d stoop to keeping a pretty boy who can’t even sweet-talk!"
Zhao De clicked his tongue in amusement. "Honestly, just based on how vicious your mouths are, you two are a perfect match!"
※※※※※※
On the way back, Qian Fei couldn’t resist advising Li Yifei, "You know, girls… they need to be coaxed."
Li Yifei glanced at her but said nothing.Qian Fei couldn't help adding, "And when it comes to arguments, men should give way to women!"
Li Yifei glanced at her again.
Qian Fei continued earnestly, "As for household chores, it's best for both partners to share the load!"
Li Yifei's glance at her was almost imperceptible now.
Qian Fei went on, "And you shouldn't act like some spoiled young master just because you're from Beijing. We're all out here trying to make a living by pleasing others—none of us are more bourgeois than the next!"
Li Yifei looked at her and snorted coldly.
Qian Fei couldn't resist asking, "What's that snort supposed to mean? Disapproval? Contempt? Or sarcasm? I feel like there's so much packed into that one sound!"
Li Yifei snorted again and said, "Instead of meddling in my business, you should think about your own relationship with your boyfriend!"
It took Qian Fei a while to realize he was telling her she was being nosy.
She immediately got angry. If the subway hadn't been so crowded that she couldn't even stretch her arms, she would have pointed at Li Yifei's nose and asked: Does your family know you're this ungrateful in public?
Author's Note: Thank you to the four little sisters for the landmines and grenades, mwah! And to that last kid—don't think I won't recognize you just because you're wearing a disguise~~ Author Jiu Xiaoqi! Everyone, Jiu Xiaoqi's "Your Majesty, Please Behave" is super adorable! Go read it now >3<
Xiao Hai threw a landmine at: 2014-02-20 17:57:45
Gu Xiaozhi threw a landmine at: 2014-02-20 21:31:46
Yaya threw a landmine at: 2014-02-21 00:26:39
Brother Seven Has No Little JJ threw a grenade at: 2014-02-21 09:58:08
Ma Shan is preparing to have Gu Lili run off with her boss, grinning~~
To give Ninth Brother motivation to keep writing (it's really hard working while traveling—I'm not lying! And being in different places every day means I have to stay up late to write!!!), all you beautiful readers should leave comments and toss flowers. With your support, Ninth Brother will keep updating even through the late nights, fist pump!
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