After that night of heavy drinking, in Qian Fei's eyes, Li Yifei finally seemed to have returned to normal. On Monday morning, as usual, Qian Fei was about to leave for work first when she ran into Li Yifei at the door, who had already cleaned himself up and looked presentable.
"Let's go together," he said.
Qian Fei was puzzled. "Why? Did staying home for a week make you so dumb you forgot the way to work?"
Li Yifei shot her a sidelong glance. "Big sis, can you try to be a little nicer with your words?"
Qian Fei chuckled. "No, no, don’t call me that—I can’t take it! My family can’t afford to raise a spoiled young master like you!" She paused, then asked curiously, "Is your personality like this because your dad spoiled you growing up without a mom?"
Li Yifei nodded, speaking with shameless arrogance. "If your family had a smart, adorable little boy like me, you’d spoil him rotten too."
Qian Fei couldn’t hold back. "Ugh! Could your way of speaking be any more shameless? I really feel bad for your dad—spoiling you so much only for you to rebel against everything he says, you ungrateful brat!"
Li Yifei rolled his eyes. "The old man’s personality is complicated. There are things your IQ just can’t grasp. So, are we going or not? We’ll be late if we don’t leave now!"
Qian Fei quickly shut her sarcastic mouth, and the two of them left the house together.
On the way to the subway, Qian Fei stopped at a street vendor to buy a jianbing (Chinese crepe). Li Yifei waited beside her with a look of disgust.
Noticing his expression, Qian Fei snorted. "See? I told you my family can’t afford to raise a young master like you! Always looking down on the simple food of the working class!"
As she took the jianbing and turned to leave, Li Yifei stopped her. "You only bought one? Where’s mine?"
Qian Fei was confused. "Wait, wasn’t that disgusted look on your face just now directed at the jianbing?"
Li Yifei scoffed. "That look wasn’t for the jianbing—it was for the way you were practically kneeling to the vendor just to get a slightly bigger egg!"
Qian Fei flung the jianbing at Li Yifei’s face. "Hope you choke on it!"
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The subway was, as usual, packed to the point where one could get pregnant without even knowing who the father was.
Qian Fei felt like she was being squeezed out of shape.
At Guomao Station, they transferred to Line 1. While squeezing onto the train, Qian Fei said to Li Yifei, "Every time I take the subway to work, I feel like I don’t want to live anymore!"
Li Yifei glanced at her. "Whenever I feel like dying from the subway crowds, I remember that people like you are still alive, and suddenly, I don’t want to die anymore."
Qian Fei managed to board Line 1 and shoved Li Yifei back. "Get lost! Wait for the next train—seeing you just pisses me off!"
Li Yifei grabbed her arm and forced his way onto the train. "Don’t worry! To keep pissing you off, I’ll make sure to stay alive!"
Qian Fei was speechless. Was this really someone who had just gone through a breakup? Or had the heartbreak unleashed his inner darkness, making him determined to torment humanity?
The doors slowly closed. While they were open, Qian Fei and Li Yifei could still maintain some distance, but once shut, the space became so cramped it felt like pressurized air about to explode—and the two of them were pressed tightly together.People kept pushing against Qian Fei from behind, shoving her forward while asking, "Getting off at the next stop?"
With every nudge, Qian Fei was forced to press tighter against Li Yifei.
Unable to bear it, she looked up at him and said, "Why does this feel like I'm throwing myself at you? It's so awkward!"
Li Yifei glanced down at her lazily. "Don’t overthink it. In my eyes, you’re just one of the guys."
Qian Fei nearly spat her breakfast crepe in his face.
When the bus reached the next stop, a crowd surged toward the exit, jostling Qian Fei until she nearly lost her balance. Just as she was about to stumble, Li Yifei wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into a corner of the bus.
He shielded her with his body, enclosing her in the small space between himself and the wall, cutting her off from the packed crowd behind him.
Qian Fei tilted her head back to look at him, her eyes misty.
Li Yifei raised an eyebrow. "Don’t tell me I’m so handsome you’re about to pledge yourself to me?"
The mistiness in her eyes instantly evaporated.
She spat out a loud "Pfft!" at him and lowered her head.
"You reminded me of my ex-boyfriend just now."
Li Yifei muttered a quiet "Damn."
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Standing face to face, the silence grew awkward, so Qian Fei scrambled for small talk.
Somehow, the topic veered toward Hu Zining.
Li Yifei asked, "Haven’t seen you going out with your current boyfriend lately?"
Qian Fei replied, "We’ve been in touch, but he’s been on business trips. Said he’d come see me once he’s back."
Li Yifei studied her before remarking, "Even the chairman of the hotel group isn’t as busy as him."
Qian Fei shot back, "Can’t he have big ambitions?"
Li Yifei gave her a sidelong glance. "Or maybe he’s got big ambitions with other women."
Qian Fei scoffed. "Not everyone’s like you!"
Li Yifei said, "Why don’t you ask the securities rep which department your boyfriend’s in? How come he’s always traveling?"
Qian Fei frowned. "Young Master Li, since when are you so nosy?"
She wondered if his own breakup had made him suspicious of every relationship.
After a pause, she added, "At Hu Zining’s level, the securities rep probably doesn’t even know who he is. But you did remind me—should I try to raise his profile among the higher-ups to help his career?"
Li Yifei immediately vetoed the idea. "No."
Qian Fei blinked. "Why not?"
Li Yifei looked down at her dismissively. "The securities rep has enough work dealing with us. Don’t bother them with trivial nonsense."
Qian Fei sulked at his sharp tone.
He was the one who brought up Hu Zining, yet now he was acting all cold. He really could flip from angel to devil in a heartbeat.
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Qian Fei’s life gradually returned to its usual rhythm—early mornings at work, lunchtime card games, evenings back home.
But there were differences. Now, Li Yifei started commuting with her every morning. And if he didn’t have dinner plans or outings, he’d go home with her after work too.
Qian Fei figured this was some kind of pathological behavior. Deprived of maternal love, he must have latched onto her—radiating maternal warmth—as a substitute mother after his recent setbacks.Since those five days of isolation, Li Yifei had started mooching off her meals. She didn't really mind—eating alone versus eating with someone else just meant an extra pair of chopsticks.
However, Li Yifei had a particularly unique and annoying dining habit. Whenever dishes were served, he would immediately scoop half onto his own plate. Qian Fei felt his eating style was somewhat akin to "hogging all the food," but Li Yifei shamelessly claimed it was "hygienic."
Qian Fei couldn't be bothered to argue with him and let him spout his nonsense about hygiene.
Originally, Qian Fei thought it was quite inappropriate to continue living with Li Yifei and wanted to find an opportunity to tell him to look for another place and move out. But considering he had just gone through a breakup and his fragile "young master" heart hadn't fully recovered, she worried that bringing it up might make him resentful and vengeful toward society. So she suppressed the idea, deciding to wait until he was in a better state before kicking him out.
When she talked to Yao Jingjing about it, she asked, "Yao Jing, tell me, is my approach still the right one? Is it full of humanitarian spirit?"
Yao Jingjing replied, "Feifei, I swear you're the nation's number one saint! You even have to take care of his mental state! Honestly, I don't think you need to worry about when to kick him out—who knows, once he recovers a bit, he might just bring home a new girlfriend!"
Qian Fei was shocked. "He wouldn't be that casual, would he?"
Yao Jingjing scoffed. "From all the little quirks you've told me about him, I'd be surprised if he wasn't!"
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Ever since Qian Fei had unintentionally tidied up Li Yifei's room while packing Gui Lili's belongings into trash bags, Li Yifei had developed a taste for it. Now, every time his room got messy, he would ask Qian Fei to help clean it up.
Qian Fei angrily asked him why she should, to which he replied, "I don't care either way, but if cockroaches start breeding in here, they'll spread everywhere—and this is your apartment!" Seeing her twisted expression, he raised an eyebrow and added, "I won't make you do it for free. I'll raise the rent!"
Qian Fei was utterly defeated by his shamelessness and could only grudgingly clean up after him.
Sometimes, Qian Fei seriously wondered how Li Yifei's father had raised him. The guy was so lazy he’d probably send his underwear out for dry cleaning if he could. Qian Fei asked him, "Do you not have hands or a brain? Is doing laundry really that hard? Look, you just toss the clothes into the washing machine, add some detergent or laundry powder, turn on the water, press a button, and then you don’t have to do anything else. How can you not manage something that simple, dude?"
Li Yifei, however, sneered at the washing machine. "That kind of labor is beneath a young master like me!"
Qian Fei really wanted to smack him in the face with laundry powder. Calling himself a "young master"—how could he say that without feeling embarrassed?
Later, she didn’t dare teach Li Yifei how to use the washing machine anymore because, on two occasions, he had inexplicably decided to do his own laundry—only to fail both times to properly connect the drain hose. By the time Qian Fei noticed, the bathroom was flooded, and water was nearly spilling into the living room.
As she frantically cleaned up the mess, the "young master" stood by with a smug smile, using the incident as proof: "See? I told you—a young master like me isn’t cut out for this kind of menial work! From now on, just wash my clothes along with yours. I’ll raise the rent!"Qian Fei threw down the mop in frustration and finally blurted out the words she had been holding back: "Young master, can I beg you to move somewhere else? Have some mercy and stop tormenting me alone, will you!"
Li Yifei looked at her in surprise, then the smile on his face gradually faded as he said hoarsely, "My mom passed away very early, and my dad raised me. It was just the two of us depending on each other, but because of some woman, he cut off ties with me. The ridiculous part is that woman ended up running off with someone else, and I can't even wash clothes properly. Tell me, am I a complete failure as a person?"
His words sent chills down Qian Fei's spine, genuinely afraid that one wrong word from her might push this poor soul over the edge.
From then on, Qian Fei's saintly patience reached new heights—not only did she have to clean up after Li Yifei, but she also had to do his laundry.
While washing his clothes, she noticed the labels were all high-end international brands. If it had been just one or two pieces, she might have believed they were genuine, but every single item? That seemed impossible.
She asked Li Yifei, "Three-quarters of these clothes must be knockoffs, right?"
Li Yifei raised an eyebrow and asked, "How did you come to that conclusion?"
Qian Fei replied, "It just doesn't make sense for them all to be real—it clashes way too much with your identity as someone renting a place! If they were real, these clothes alone could cover the down payment for a small loft! Why would you still be living here with me?" As she examined the clothes, she clicked her tongue in amazement. "Impressive! They’re faked so well they look real! But that’s not the point—the real kicker is your attitude! You actually have the nerve to wear knockoffs and pass them off as the real deal while mingling with the rich, completely unbothered. Now that’s skill!"
While doing his laundry, she couldn’t help but scold him as she tossed clothes into the washing machine: "Wasteful brat! A broke nobody pretending to be some pampered young master! Renting a place but still so vain—what’s the point of dressing up like a peacock every day?" After venting at him, she turned her frustration inward. "And I’m the idiot here! Actually washing these for you! I should make you take them to the dry cleaners—maybe if you starve from spending all your money, you’ll finally learn not to waste cash on looking fancy!"
As she ranted, Li Yifei lounged on the sofa like a king, watching the financial news.
"Landlady, quit nagging. Let me listen to this idiot’s stock market analysis—I need to roast him online tomorrow!" Li Yifei turned up the volume on the remote. "Wash them properly, and I’ll raise your rent!"
Qian Fei watched him glued to the TV, overwhelmed with self-loathing. If she had even an ounce of backbone, she would’ve snatched the remote, pointed at that spoiled brat’s nose, and told him to get out immediately. But she realized she only had the thought—zero ability to act on it. So she concluded: her life of drudgery was entirely self-inflicted, and she had no one to blame but herself.
Later, Li Yifei once held up a piece of clothing and told her she’d washed it wrong—it shouldn’t have gone in the machine but should’ve been hand-washed separately.She immediately slammed the table in response to his opinion and sneered, "Getting so worked up over a knockoff? Can you be any more pretentious! Enjoying the fruits of others' labor and still being so picky—aren't you afraid of getting struck by lightning on a rainy day?!"
Li Yifei looked at her, his facial expression slightly contorted.
Thinking he was embarrassed because she had once again exposed his knockoff for what it was, she sighed and patted his shoulder. "Alright, alright, don’t look so glum. I can see you’ve had it rough lately. From now on, I’ll let you play the rich second-generation heir in front of me, okay? But seriously, you should start saving up. These knockoffs aren’t exactly cheap, are they?"
Before she could even fully launch into her lecture, Li Yifei turned away with a dark expression and left, leaving her alone to roll her eyes at the washing machine.
One day, Li Yifei came back with a high-end electric iron. Staring at that thing, Qian Fei felt her heart racing wildly.
Sure enough, Li Yifei took off the shirt he was wearing and tossed it to her, saying, "I’m a bit short on cash lately. Even though this shirt is more delicate than the others, I’m not taking it to the dry cleaners. Just wash it and iron it for me! Don’t give me that look—I’ll raise your rent!"
Qian Fei really wanted to use that iron to thin out his thick skin.
From then on, ironing clothes was added to Qian Fei’s list of chores. The only thing motivating her to do all this was Li Yifei’s promise: "I’ll raise your rent."
But later, her list of chores expanded even further.
And this new addition was even more outrageous.
One day, Li Yifei knocked on her door with the urgency of someone whose pants were on fire. She barely had time to ask what was wrong before he blurted out, "Borrowing your bathroom!" and rushed straight into her toilet.
It took her several seconds to process what had just happened. She followed him to the bathroom door and banged on it, yelling, "Dude, isn’t there a toilet specifically for you outside?!"
From inside, Li Yifei called back, "That one’s too dirty. I can’t bring myself to use it."
Qian Fei ran to check his toilet. What she saw nearly made her vomit last night’s dinner.
It was far filthier than the mess he’d made when he was drunk—no comparison at all! No wonder Li Yifei never did his business at home; he always waited until he got to the hotel during work hours.
She genuinely felt like dying!
Just then, Li Yifei emerged from her bathroom after finishing his business and said, "Clean it up for me, will you? I’ll raise your rent!"
Qian Fei was tempted to pick up the plunger from the floor and smack him in the face with it.
"Why don’t you just die from laziness and pamperedness already? Do you really think you’re some young master?!"
From then on, Qian Fei’s life became a cycle: by day, she was a rookie white-collar worker; by night, she was reduced to a miserable housemaid. She felt her existence growing duller by the day, trapped in the endless cycle of cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and scrubbing toilets for Li Yifei. The only glimmer of hope came when he voluntarily handed over an extra three hundred yuan for rent.
But then—
"So this means you’ll be giving me three hundred extra every month?" she asked, overjoyed.
"No, this is for the whole quarter!" he replied with innocent sincerity.
At that moment, Qian Fei made a firm resolution: in a few days, she would kick this shameless parasite out for good.
Author's Note: Thank you to all the beautiful readers who supported with gifts! Love you all, thank you >33<
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