Love Has Fireworks

Author's Note: Thank you to the three lovely readers for the mines, mwah mwah, love you all >3<

Jiji threw a mine at 2014-02-24 20:07:22 [Insufficient balance? Send my regards to Empress Deng ^_^]

Yue threw a mine at 2014-02-24 20:24:06

14284776 threw a mine at 2014-02-25 12:37:00

Qian Fei stared hard, absolutely certain she wasn’t mistaken—that woman was Gui Lili, and the man she was clinging to looked about forty, slightly plump, with the unmistakable air of a wealthy tycoon.

Qian Fei quickly ducked aside and turned her back.

Gui Lili walked arm-in-arm with the older man, gliding past her. Her entire attention seemed fixated on the dazzling pigeon-egg diamond on her finger, completely oblivious to Qian Fei’s presence.

Qian Fei faintly overheard the man ask, “Do you like it?”

Gui Lili replied in a coquettish tone, “I do! But it’s just so expensive!”

The man patted her hand. “As long as you like it! By the way, wasn’t it that Lexus sports car you had your eye on? I’ve already settled it with the dealership—the payment’s gone through. You can pick it up next week!”

Whatever Gui Lili said next, Qian Fei couldn’t make out—the two had already drifted too far away.

Recalling the argument she’d overheard between Li Yifei and Gui Lili earlier, Qian Fei guessed this man was likely the rumored boss of Gui Lili.

She sighed deeply to herself, feeling like she’d just witnessed a profound life drama unfold.

Suddenly, she felt a pang of sympathy for Li Yifei.

Look at how generous this big boss was when it came to wooing women—throwing around pigeon-egg diamonds and Lexus sports cars without a second thought. Meanwhile, Li Yifei was just a junior investment banker who had to share an apartment to make ends meet. Sure, he was handsome, but good looks couldn’t put food on the table, much less pay the bills. And with his pampered, lazy habits—never lifting a finger at home, too indolent to even operate a fully automatic washing machine, and constantly splurging on dry cleaning—Qian Fei almost thought that if she were Gui Lili, she might’ve run off with the rich boss too.

When she got home, her eyelid kept twitching. She debated whether to ask Li Yifei about his plans with Gui Lili—whether she should tell him what she’d seen that afternoon as a warning. But she hesitated, worried it would wound his pride too deeply.

While she was still deliberating, her phone suddenly rang. She checked the caller ID and froze.

It was Gui Lili.

Answering the call, she heard Gui Lili’s voice on the other end: “Qian Fei, here’s the thing—I’ve decided to break up with Li Yifei. I’ll be coming by tomorrow to collect my things. Could you go tell him to pack everything up for me? I’ll just grab my stuff and leave when I arrive.”

Qian Fei was taken aback. “Uh, Gui Lili… why don’t you tell Li Yifei yourself? Isn’t it a bit awkward for me to pass this on?”

Gui Lili’s voice turned nasal, thick with self-pitying tears. “I can’t talk to him right now—he’s already shattered my heart!”Qian Fei suddenly recalled the scene of seeing her at the entrance of "City of Love" during the day.

If she hadn't seen her that afternoon, hearing her pitiful voice now would surely have softened Qian Fei's heart. But since she could accept material benefits from another man and still manage to cry so delicately, Qian Fei had to admit she was impressed. Life is like a play, all about acting—this saying couldn't be more accurate. She had truly encountered a great actress.

"Gui Lili," Qian Fei no longer wanted to be the fool who was taken advantage of, "I'm just your landlord. I don't think it's appropriate for me to pass on messages like this. You should talk to Li Yifei yourself!"

She was about to hang up when Gui Lili shouted, "Qian Fei! Wait!" For some inexplicable reason, Qian Fei actually paused.

"Qian Fei! I'm begging you! Just help me this once, okay? Please! If I call him myself, he'll definitely throw all my things away! Many of my clothes are really expensive! Qian Fei, please! Talk to him nicely, persuade him to part on good terms without acting rashly, and help me gather my things. Okay?"

Her voice grew even more pleading, giving Qian Fei a headache.

"Gui Lili, I'm an outsider. You should discuss the breakup with Li Yifei face-to-face. Relying on a third party to relay messages isn't the way to handle this, don't you think?"

Gui Lili continued to plead, "Please help me, Qian Fei! I don't dare call him!"

Qian Fei felt increasingly irritated. "Gui Lili, I really shouldn't get involved in this. At most, I can pass on your message, okay?"

After hanging up, Qian Fei felt her head throbbing.

Taking a deep breath, she walked to Li Yifei's door and knocked.

The moment Li Yifei opened the door, Qian Fei felt as if she had traveled back in time to an era of chaos and turmoil.

Li Yifei's room was in such disarray it looked like it had been ransacked by an invading army.

Qian Fei was stunned. "Li Yifei, seriously? You can live in a mess like this and still go to work looking presentable every day? How do you even manage that? You really make me witness miracles every single day!"

Li Yifei remained expressionless. "Don't act like you're just now seeing what my room looks like!"

Qian Fei paused. She had glimpsed him kicking the coffee table earlier, but at the time, her attention had been entirely on his foot, and she hadn't noticed the state of his room.

Incredulous, she asked, "Has your room been this messy since you moved in?"

Li Yifei raised an eyebrow. "You didn't come knocking to discuss the tidiness of my room, did you?"

Qian Fei hesitated, then felt her scalp prickle as she remembered what she had to say next.

"Well, Gui Lili called me and said... um... she wants you to pack up her things. She'll come get them tomorrow..."

Her voice trailed off as she noticed Li Yifei's face darkening to an ashen shade.

"What does she mean? Why didn't she call me herself?" he asked coldly.

Qian Fei avoided his furious glare, her eyes darting nervously. "How should I know? This is between the two of you. I'm just the messenger—don't take it out on me!"Li Yifei let out a cold laugh, took a step back, and cleared the doorway. "Didn't she tell you? To pack up her things. So go ahead and pack them for her!"

Qian Fei was stunned. How could both of them be so shameless?

She had had enough. "Are you two out of your minds? Whether you break up, make up, live or die, can you leave me out of it? I'm just one of millions of ordinary landlords—I don’t moonlight as a neighborhood mediator! Look, I’ve delivered the message. Whether you pack her stuff is your business, and whether she comes to get it is hers. Just forget about me! Goodbye!" With that, she clutched her startled heart and leaned against the wall as she retreated to her room.

She stayed inside, but soon heard a loud commotion outside. When things quieted down a bit, she cautiously cracked the door open to peek.

What she saw made her furious.

Li Yifei had dumped all of Gui Lili’s belongings into the living room—a chaotic mess.

She took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and grabbed a few large black trash bags from the kitchen to gather Gui Lili’s things.

As she was tidying up, Li Yifei’s door swung open again. Like an invisible hand, he flung out several more of Gui Lili’s items, including a bottle of perfume that clattered to the floor, startling Qian Fei. She winced, afraid the glass bottle might shatter at any moment.

Seeing the living room she had just cleaned instantly turn into a disaster again, and watching Li Yifei about to toss out lotion and toner, Qian Fei couldn’t hold back any longer. "Li Yifei, don’t you dare throw that!" she yelled. "I’ll call the police on you for being a damn nuisance!"

She really wanted to ask him—didn’t your parents teach you to behave with basic decency and respect in someone else’s home?

"Fine, stop throwing things!" she snapped. "I’ll go in and pack it myself, okay? Have some mercy on my house!"

Dragging the black trash bags behind her, gritting her teeth with every step to keep from having a stroke, she marched into Li Yifei’s room.

As she stuffed the scattered items into the bags, she cursed herself for being deaf and blind when she rented the place to these two troublemakers.

Qian Fei had a habit of tidying up when she saw a mess, so while packing Gui Lili’s things, she couldn’t help but straighten up Li Yifei’s room a bit. When she stood up and realized what she’d done, she wanted to punch herself.

She almost wished she could fake a sudden mental breakdown just to mess the room up again.

She piled the black bags in the living room, waiting for Gui Lili to pick them up the next day.

That night, exhausted, she collapsed into bed and fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, she was jolted awake by a woman’s shrill wailing.

Even through her earplugs, she could hear the sobs reaching near-dolphin-pitch levels.

She yanked out the earplugs and rolled out of bed. As she changed clothes, she heard Gui Lili’s heart-wrenching cries outside.

"Li Yifei, how could you do this! How dare you call me a gold-digger! How dare you say I only care about money! I just wanted to live comfortably, to take care of myself—is that so wrong? I thought we could part on good terms, but why are you like this? Do you have to destroy every last bit of affection between us before you’re satisfied?"She shook her head while hearing Li Yifei say, "You're not a slut? Then who's that guy waiting downstairs? Don't think I don't know—he's your boss! Let him come up here!"

She heard scuffling sounds outside. Afraid the two might actually come to blows, she rushed out without even finishing her morning routine.

It was Li Yifei trying to charge out the door, with Gui Lili desperately holding him back.

Qian Fei breathed a sigh of relief.

For a moment, she wasn't sure whether to retreat back into her room.

Spotting her, Gui Lili cried out, "Qian Fei, don't just stand there! Help me hold him back!"

Seeing Li Yifei was indeed trying to charge downstairs, Qian Fei hurried over to help restrain him.

Li Yifei roared at her, "Qian Fei, this isn't your business! Let go of me!"

Gui Lili also shouted, "Qian Fei, you have to hold him back! I'm leaving now!" With that, she released her grip.

Instantly, Qian Fei felt Li Yifei's full weight and strength transfer to her. Gui Lili tearfully bolted for the door.

Pausing at the threshold, Gui Lili turned back with infinite sorrow, saying to Li Yifei, "Yifei, let's end it here. Maybe separation is best for both of us! Please don't go after him, okay? I couldn't bear to see either of you get hurt because of me! Yifei, I know you're acting this way because you still care about our relationship and about me, but our personalities just aren't compatible! Though I love you so much, I've decided—we're breaking up! Starting today, forget about me!"

With these parting words, she pushed open the door and fled in tears.

Qian Fei had to admit she was genuinely impressed by Gui Lili's dramatic performance—scene after scene, just like a soap opera.

She could feel Li Yifei was nearly mad with rage.

"Care about you my ass! I just can't fucking stand you cuckolding me!"

Struggling against Qian Fei, he bellowed, "Qian Fei, let me go! Let go! What kind of woman are you, with such freakish strength!"

Having endured this inexplicable early morning drama between the two, Qian Fei's last shred of patience snapped when "fucking" reached her ears.

She promptly released Li Yifei.

In the next instant, as if possessed by some crazed K-drama protagonist, she slapped Li Yifei across the face without thinking.

Li Yifei froze in shock.

Clutching his cheek, his eyes widened as if witnessing an alien invasion. "You hit me? Qian Fei, you fucking dared to hit me!"

Hearing "fucking" again, Qian Fei instinctively raised her hand for another slap.

This time, Li Yifei intercepted her wrist mid-swing.

Gripping her arm furiously, he demanded, "Qian Fei, have you lost your mind?!"

Wrenching free, Qian Fei retorted, "Li Yifei, no matter how spoiled you were at home, in my place, you'll keep your 'fucking' mouth shut! You have a mother too—would you want her dragged into every insult?"

Li Yifei glared at Qian Fei with a look that could devour her alive. For a moment, Qian Fei even thought he might retaliate with a slap of his own.Fortunately, he just glared at her, and she mustered the courage to meet his gaze. Until her legs started trembling from the intensity of his stare, he finally turned his face away.

The room suddenly became extremely quiet.

Qian Fei stole a glance at Li Yifei. From the side, she could actually see something resembling nostalgia and sorrow swirling in his eyes.

Her heart instantly softened.

He had just been publicly dumped by his girlfriend in a humiliating way, and then she had slapped him and said such harsh words. He must be feeling utterly miserable right now.

Unable to bear it, she muttered a soft apology, "I'm sorry..."

Li Yifei ignored her, shooting her a sidelong glare before turning and retreating to his room, slamming the door shut.

Qian Fei stood in the living room, noticing that Gui Lili's belongings were still piled in the corner—she had fled in such a panic that she hadn't taken anything with her.

Disgusted, she carried the large black bags one by one out to the stairwell. She then sent Gui Lili a text, informing her that her things had been left outside the door and that she should come quietly to retrieve them without entering the apartment again.

A while later, Gui Lili replied: "Is he okay?"

Reading the message, Qian Fei felt particularly irritated. She thought Gui Lili was just as vexing and detestable as Wang Ruohai—once you've decided to break up, why keep up the pretense of "I still care about you"?

She replied to Gui Lili: "When you come to get your things, leave the key under the doormat."

Seconds later, Gui Lili sent another message: "Qian Fei, please take care of Yifei for me these next few days! I left so suddenly, and I'm afraid he won't be able to let go!"

Qian Fei couldn't help but laugh at the message. The girl's sense of superiority was almost on par with a delusional disorder.

She replied: "You focus on taking care of yourself first. I'm a bit busy, so let's end this here."

She tossed her phone onto the sofa. Suddenly, her arm began to ache. Rolling up her sleeve, she saw a large bruise—evidence of Li Yifei's grip during their earlier struggle.

Gritting her teeth as she stared at the purple mark, her anger grew. She no longer felt any guilt about that slap. In fact, she even thought she could have put more force behind it.