Qian Fei was in high spirits and also put down her chopsticks. "What is it, Zining? Tell me!"
Hu Zining reached his arm over and took Qian Fei's hand.
Qian Fei sighed inwardly—this guy's arms were so long. If they were even a centimeter shorter, his affectionate gesture would have looked comically strained.
"Sweetheart, here's the thing. I have a friend I met when he stayed at our hotel before. He's in real estate and really capable. Right now, he has a batch of properties, one of which is a 200-square-meter duplex. The place is amazing. He said because of our close relationship, he could sell it to me at a 10% discount. Here's what I'm thinking, sweetheart—we'll be getting married soon, right? So why not upgrade to a bigger place? But I don’t have enough for the down payment right now, so I was wondering—could you sell your apartment? Then I’ll pool all the money I have too, and we can combine it to buy that place! I’ll cover the renovation costs, and the property deed will have both our names!"
Qian Fei was stunned. It took her a while to digest that Hu Zining was asking if she could sell her apartment so they could pool money to buy a new one together.
She remembered Hu Zining had mentioned before that he only had 50,000 yuan to his name.
Her mind was in a fog, unable to calculate whether this would be a huge loss or some kind of bargain. Not wanting to outright reject Hu Zining, she said, "Zining, this is a big decision. Let me go home and think about it!"
Hu Zining gazed at her with a tender smile. "No problem, take your time to think it over! Honestly, sweetheart, it’s really a great deal! Once the place is ready and we have somewhere to live, we can go register!"
Qian Fei responded with a hollow laugh. After finishing the rest of the meal, she went home with her mind full of worries.
When she got back, she saw Li Yifei sitting in the living room watching TV.
She greeted him and casually asked, "Where’s Gui Lili?"
She didn’t see it clearly, but she thought Li Yifei curled his lip. "Said she’s working overtime."
Qian Fei could tell from his tone that he was absolutely displeased. She thought this young master was ridiculously domineering—he could go out drinking happily with colleagues, yet got upset over Gui Lili working late.
Just as she was about to head to her room, she suddenly remembered Hu Zining’s proposal and asked offhandedly, "Do you know anything about the houses in ** Jiayuan? How are they?"
Li Yifei frowned slightly at the name of the development. "I think I’ve heard of it. Why?"
Qian Fei said, "Someone recommended a place there to me, suggesting I sell this one and move there. Just thought I’d ask—how’s the property there?"
Li Yifei pulled out his phone. "Let me ask around for you."
Qian Fei stood by and waited.
She heard Li Yifei call someone named Dajun and ask if he knew anything about that development. She couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end, but she saw Li Yifei’s expression grow increasingly grim.After saying a few more words, Li Yifei hung up the phone and turned to Qian Fei. "This property was sold out long ago, but the quality of the houses is poor. Many people have listed their homes with a real estate company to resell. The company profits by selling those houses at inflated prices to uninformed buyers. If a middleman helps them secure clients, they also pay them a commission." He paused, then asked Qian Fei, "If the person who recommended this property to you is a friend, don’t hesitate—pack up tomorrow and cut ties with them."
After saying this, he turned back to watching TV.
Qian Fei felt as if an ice cube had struck her heart, leaving a cold, aching pain.
The next day, during dinner, Qian Fei relayed what Li Yifei had told her to Hu Zining.
Hu Zining’s expression darkened after hearing it. Qian Fei silently watched him.
Suddenly, Hu Zining slammed the table in anger, startling Qian Fei.
"How could he do this! And he calls himself my buddy! This is just screwing me over!"
Seeing his furious reaction, Qian Fei wondered if she should pack up and cut ties with him too.
※※※※※※
Over the next few days, as Qian Fei debated whether or not to break up with Hu Zining, he sent her a message saying he had to go on another business trip.
Qian Fei breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe it was for the best—some time apart would give her space to think about whether he was really marriage material.
Lately, she had heard Li Yifei and Gui Lili arguing fiercely, with Li Yifei apparently upset that Gui Lili was always working overtime and never home.
That evening, she bought groceries and was preparing dinner in the kitchen when Li Yifei and Gui Lili came home one after the other.
They went straight to their room, shut the door, and immediately started shouting—loud and fast, leaving Qian Fei no time to even cover her ears.
She heard Li Yifei ask coldly, "You keep saying you’ve been working overtime lately? What a load of crap! Do you think I don’t know? You’ve just been out drinking with your boss!"
Gui Lili shrieked, "Li Yifei, you’re insane!"
Li Yifei sneered, "Gui Lili, are you degrading yourself or humiliating me? If it’s yourself, at least give me a heads-up so I can stay far away. I don’t want to be the last one to realize I’ve been made a fool of!"
Gui Lili laughed coldly in return. "You’re one to talk! Don’t you always go out drinking with your so-called friends? Those gatherings are full of women caked in makeup—you think I don’t know?"
Unable to pause the stir-fry in the wok, Qian Fei had no choice but to keep listening to their mutual accusations.
"Let me say it again—I’m a man, and you’re a woman. Comparing who parties harder? Are you out of your mind?" she heard Li Yifei ask in disbelief.
Gui Lili’s voice began to tremble with tears. "Li Yifei, you never bring me into your social circle. Have you ever considered how I felt when my colleagues told me you were drinking with your buddies while some film school girl sat next to you?"
Qian Fei stirred the food in the wok, sighing inwardly.
That was really too much—what kind of boyfriend acts like that?She heard Li Yifei laugh as if in extreme anger, "Of course I wouldn’t dare bring you into my social circle! I’m afraid you’d throw yourself at anyone with money like you do with your boss! Your colleague told you? What colleague? It’s just your boss, isn’t it? He only saw that one time—did he see me taking her to a hotel or bringing her home? He just wants to sleep with you! Does he have to make it sound like he caught me in bed with someone else? And how did your boss recognize at a glance that she was from the film academy? He’s so familiar with it—he’s no saint either!"
Qian Fei’s heart pounded as she listened. She thought Li Yifei’s sharp tongue was both vicious and cruel. Even when arguing with his girlfriend, he really went for the kill.
She heard Gui Lili let out a sharp cry, her voice turning shrill, "Li Yifei, you’re going too far! How dare you say that about me and him! He saw you with that girl from the film academy!"
Qian Fei flipped the spatula in the pan and muttered at the stir-fry, "Damn, what a scumbag!"
Before the words even left her mouth, she heard Li Yifei’s counterattack.
"What’s wrong with me holding her? Didn’t I have girlfriends when I was abroad? Didn’t you throw yourself at me to be held too?"
Qian Fei’s hand trembled as she waved the spatula. What kind of drama was this? Were they now digging up each other’s dirty laundry?
She heard Gui Lili burst into loud sobs, gasping for breath between cries, "Li Yifei, how could you! How could you treat me like this! You were already breaking up with her back then!"
Qian Fei was stunned. Her poor little heart felt like it had taken a massive hit.
Were these two competing to see who could lose their dignity faster?
But the dramatic showdown wasn’t over yet.
Gui Lili wept pitifully, "Li Yifei, why are we like this? How did we end up like this? Why? When we came back from abroad, didn’t you say everything was ready? You said the house was already set, and we’d have plenty of space when we returned. But what happened? As soon as we got back, you fought with your family, and now we’ve fallen so low that we have to rent a place with a picky landlord! Do you know, I don’t even dare let my parents know what kind of life I’m living now? If they knew I was suffering like this with you, their hearts would break!"
For some reason, Qian Fei couldn’t help but shiver at Gui Lili’s damsel-in-distress wails.
Picky landlord? Was that her? She’d been dragged into this for no reason!
Qian Fei raised the spatula and squinted at the blurry reflection of her face in the stainless steel between grease stains and chopped scallions.
Such a kind face—it could practically rival a global peace ambassador—and yet she was being called picky? The world really had no hope left.
She put down the spatula and angrily stirred the food in the pan.Over there, Gui Lili's tearful complaints continued, "You don't do any housework at all! At least when we were abroad you could afford to hire a maid, but now? Not only do we have to share an apartment with others, but I have to do all the chores myself! Before, you could buy me new clothes every month, but now? I wear the same outfit for months—do you know how much my coworkers laugh at me? You can't even take care of your own girlfriend properly—you're so useless, don't you realize that? My family might not be well-off, but I was still raised as a pampered child! My parents would rather spend all their savings to send me abroad—you know how much they love me! After all this time, I'm exhausted and heartbroken! Have you ever even considered me?"
Qian Fei couldn't help but shiver repeatedly as she listened. She heard Li Yifei retort with biting sarcasm, "Oh, I haven't considered you? If I didn't consider you, would I have moved to Shuangjing with you and squeezed to death on the subway every day for work? Ha! I haven't considered you? So that's why you went looking for comfort elsewhere, huh? And now you call me useless? When I was spending money on you abroad, why didn't you call me useless then? Blaming me for cutting ties with my family—don't you know why I did that?"
The stir-fry was finally done. Qian Fei quickly turned off the stove and searched for a plate, eager to serve the dish and retreat to her room. If she had to listen to these two absurd people argue any longer, she feared she might have a stroke.
While looking for a plate, she heard Gui Lili shriek through tears, "You say your father doesn't approve of us, that he looks down on me—but why? Is your family some kind of nobility? When we were abroad, the most you could afford was a maid—your family couldn't even buy you an apartment! Are my looks and education not good enough for you? If your family looks down on me, I look down on them too!"
Qian Fei found a plate and couldn't help but sigh as she scooped the stir-fry into it.
Did no one in Gui Lili's family ever tell her that her way of speaking was deeply problematic? Even when she had a point, she somehow managed to make herself sound utterly insufferable.
After plating the food, she prepared to carry it to her room.
Next door, Li Yifei snapped at Gui Lili, "Fine! Gui Lili, I won’t stop you—go find whoever you think is better! My father wasn’t wrong about you. It’s me who was fucking blind!"
The next second, the door to the neighboring room was flung open, and a figure rushed out recklessly, crashing straight into Qian Fei, who was passing by with her plate.
The plate in Qian Fei’s hands shattered on the floor with a loud crash.
Gui Lili covered her face and fled in tears.
Qian Fei stared at the ruined stir-fry on the ground, her heart aching so much she nearly dropped to her knees to lick up the spilled sauce.
If a couple wants to fight, they should keep it between themselves—why drag an innocent bystander into it? That stir-fry had absorbed so much of her negative energy!
She turned her head toward the neighboring room just as Li Yifei kicked the coffee table with brutal force.
Qian Fei’s heart trembled at the sight.
Li Yifei looked up at her and asked coldly, "Had enough of the show?"
The violence in his eyes and the icy tone of his voice made her liver quiver in fear.She quickly laughed it off, "I was just passing by accidentally!" With that, she hurriedly retreated back into her room, not even bothering to clean up the mess on the floor.
Author's note: Both sides are about to break up, hehe!
By the way, my dear beautiful readers, while you're reading, don't forget to click that bookmark button, hehe~~ (I always feel embarrassed begging for comments, flowers, and bookmarks with my old face, but the seasonal rankings are too brutal, and I can't help but want to give it a shot. Without comments and bookmarks, there's really no chance of climbing up, waaah! Please forgive my shamelessness, dear beautiful readers!)
I only found out about the red envelope thing today, lol. Starting today, I plan to randomly send out 20 every day to express my gratitude for your support. Thank you all, love you >3<
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