The on-site work at the hotel project was nearly completed, and Qian Fei and Li Yifei returned to their respective companies. Both firms would proceed with the remaining tasks according to their division of responsibilities.
Qian Fei’s role was limited to organizing working papers—she had no part in drafting materials.
Back at the office, she watched as her colleagues in the project team discussed how to write the prospectus while she was left on the sidelines, buried under stacks of files, playing a supporting role. It gave her an inexplicable illusion—as if she were still just an auxiliary service personnel, hovering on the fringes of the project team.
The more she observed Liu Yifeng and the others passionately debating, the stronger this sense of detachment grew.
Especially when she looked at Xiao Zhang in the project team, she felt like she had wasted the past few years.
She and Xiao Zhang had joined the company around the same time. She had been assigned to the back-office service department, while Xiao Zhang went straight into the project team—both starting with a monthly salary of 4,000 yuan. Years later, when she had finally fought her way from the back office to the project team with a salary of over 8,000 yuan, Xiao Zhang was already a quasi-sponsor representative earning tens of thousands per month. At the same age of twenty-six, the gap between them had already widened to this extent.
Qian Fei thought ruefully—that saying really was true. Some people lose right at the starting line. If she had entered the project team from the beginning, maybe she could have fought her way to becoming a quasi-sponsor by now. Instead, here she was—while others drafted the prospectus, she organized working papers; while others dined and played golf with corporate executives, she organized working papers; while others prepared materials for submission to the securities regulator, she was still organizing working papers. She was always organizing working papers, never gaining any real experience.
Back then—back then, it was all for Wang Ruohai that she had chosen the back-office service department. He hadn’t wanted her to travel constantly as part of a project team. He said he wanted the feeling of "home," of coming back after work to a table with steaming hot meals.
So she had poured everything into creating that "home" for him, completely erasing her own aspirations in life and making him her sole purpose. Now, looking back, she realized she hadn’t been treated like a girlfriend at all—she had just been a glorified housemaid.
She watched enviously as the others debated issues, itching to join in. She overheard them struggling with certain details and desperately wanted to tell them she knew the answers—like the exact expiration date of the environmental assessment, the specific amounts on each guarantee letter, or the top ten clients in procurement and sales and their respective shares of the total volume. While organizing the working papers, she had not only entered these details into the computer but also committed them to memory.
That evening, she returned home in low spirits. Over dinner, she shared her frustrations with Li Yifei and asked, "I don’t want to spend my whole life organizing working papers. I want to do more. But how do I fight for it?"Li Yifei pondered for a moment before telling her, "Qian Fei, your biggest problem is not knowing how to showcase yourself. Since you said you know all those things your colleagues are unsure about, why not let them see this ability of yours? Sometimes I really despise traditional Chinese education—always teaching people to be humble and not show off, until they lose even the ability to normally display their talents. You start as a phoenix but end up as a weak chicken!"
Qian Fei found the first part quite reasonable, but when she heard the last sentence, she first felt pleased at being called a "phoenix," then slammed the table upon hearing "weak chicken." "Who are you calling a chicken? You're the chicken!" she retorted.
Li Yifei rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Sis, could you focus on the main point and central idea of what I'm saying?" He rolled his eyes again. "Besides, did I call you a chicken? Stop making a fuss! I clearly called you a 'weak' chicken!" He emphasized the word "weak" heavily.
Qian Fei was so angry she almost spat out her food. Just as she was about to explode, Li Yifei preempted her, "Can we stop the nonsense and let me finish? Do you still want my advice or not?"
Qian Fei's face twisted. "Go on then!"
She stared at Li Yifei's face, imagining herself slapping him hundreds of times.
She felt much better.
Li Yifei composed himself and said seriously, "I think you should directly talk to Liu Yifeng, the project team leader at your company. Tell him straight that you want to work on the prospectus together and share what you know, so he understands your capabilities. Qian Fei, you need to realize that having skills but keeping them hidden makes you no different from someone without skills in others' eyes. So don’t be afraid of being called a show-off—it’s still better than being labeled incompetent."
Qian Fei felt Li Yifei’s words made a lot of sense. After hearing them, she felt as if she’d had an epiphany.
She looked at Li Yifei and expressed sincere gratitude: "Thanks! Who knew the vain, flashy, sharp-tongued you wasn’t completely useless!"
Li Yifei looked at her and raised an eyebrow arrogantly. "Who knew this was how people in your village express thanks!"
※※※※※※
The next day, Qian Fei mustered her courage and went to talk to Liu Yifeng.
Following Li Yifei’s advice, she showcased herself thoroughly.
After she finished, Liu Yifeng’s gaze seemed to change. "Qian Fei, I had no idea you knew the materials inside out! I underestimated you before, thinking since you came from the back office, I could only assign you clerical tasks. From today, you’ll join us in drafting the prospectus. Once you get the hang of it, you can help with the filing materials too!"
Qian Fei was overjoyed and immensely grateful to Liu Yifeng.
She hadn’t expected the issue she’d been agonizing over to be resolved so effortlessly, almost without any detours.
That evening, she prepared several elaborate dishes to properly thank Li Yifei.
But even after the food had been on the table for a while, Li Yifei still hadn’t returned.
She picked up her phone and sent him a WeChat message: When are you coming back?
After a while, she got a reply: What’s up?
She replied: You’re out having fun, aren’t you? Go ahead then, it’s nothing. Just asking.A minute later, she received Li Yifei's reply: Forgot to mention, don’t bring dinner for me tonight. Sorry.
Qian Fei stared at the screen, stunned. Did this guy just apologize? Had the young master actually changed his ways?
She set out her own chopsticks and prepared to eat. Looking at the spread of dishes on the table, she sighed. If only she’d asked him earlier—there was no way she could finish all this food. What a waste.
Just as she raised her chopsticks to take a bite, her phone dinged with another message: Set aside some food for me. I’ll eat it as a midnight snack when I get back.
Qian Fei chuckled. So the young master was still the same after all. Her earlier thought that he’d changed must have been a momentary lapse of judgment.
When he came back for his midnight snack, she’d still have to reheat everything for him. Was she his servant or what?
※※※※※※
At a club, Dajun noticed Li Yifei fiddling with his phone and leaned over, annoyed. "What the hell are you doing? I went all out setting this up so you could have fun, not play on your phone! Listen, the girl I invited tonight is a pure, long-haired sweetheart—a future star in film studies. She’s so perfect I almost broke the sacred bro code and made a move myself! That figure—she could pull off any pose. Marry her, and you’d have endless fun in bed. She’ll be here soon! Seriously, it’s time to move on from your little 'true love.' Who the hell are you texting nonstop anyway?"
As he spoke, Dajun craned his neck to peek at the screen. Li Yifei shoved his face away. "Get lost! Mind your own business!"
Dajun’s expression twisted as if he’d bitten into a dead rat. "Li Yifei! You actually said 'sorry' to that tomboy? Did someone possess your body? Are you even you anymore? Back in elementary school, you broke my nose and never apologized! That’s it—we’re done! I’m keeping the sweetheart for myself!"
Li Yifei closed the chat with "Tomboy" and kicked Dajun. "Piss off!" His expression darkened. "When is this girl showing up, anyway? Who does she think she is, making me wait? Do I look like someone who waits for women?"
With that, he stood up to leave.
Dajun panicked, grabbing his arm as curses flew. "What the hell?! I set this up for you! Where are you going?"
Li Yifei scowled. "Home for dinner."
Dajun gaped.
"Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for your tomboy landlord!"
Li Yifei rolled his eyes. "I just don’t like women who use tardiness to act all high and mighty. And you know what? My tomboy landlord is never late!"
Just then, a string of soft, sugary "sorrys" floated over, sweet enough to make one’s skin tingle.
Li Yifei and Dajun stopped wrestling and turned to see a sweet-faced, long-haired girl bowing repeatedly. "Sorry I’m late! Chang’an Avenue was a nightmare!"
Li Yifei glanced at the girl, then back at Dajun.Da Jun winked at him with a grin as sly as Hu Hansan's and whispered, "So? Worth the wait, wasn't it?"
Li Yifei allowed himself to be half-pulled, half-pushed back onto the sofa.
"Can you not make matchmaking sound as sleazy as pimping?" he snapped irritably at Da Jun.
Da Jun scoffed at him and beckoned to the girl. "Jin Tian, come here! Let me introduce you to my buddy!"
Li Yifei studied the pretty girl smiling sweetly at him, then after a moment's thought, quickly sent Qian Fei a message: Keep the food for me. I'll have it as a midnight snack.
※※※※※※
When Li Yifei got home, he saw the round dining table in the living room laden with dishes.
The evening had gone well—the new girl was sweet, considerate, and very much to his liking. Yet somehow, the sight of all that cold food on the table cast a faint shadow of guilt over his earlier enjoyment.
He knocked on Qian Fei's door.
By now, she had finished reviewing a chapter of her CPA materials and was about to wash up and sleep. Hearing the knock, she hurried out of the bathroom. The moment she opened the door, she caught a faint whiff of alcohol on Li Yifei.
"What?" she asked, irritation creeping into her voice.
Li Yifei looked down at her, pointed at the dishes on the table, and said loftily, "Heat up my midnight snack for me."
Qian Fei bristled. "Do you really think I'm your maid? Heat it up yourself!"
She moved to shut the door, but Li Yifei wedged his foot in the gap.
"Pull it back or I'll crush it—see if I don't!" she threatened, glaring up at him.
He took a step forward, tilting his head as he smirked down at her. "Go ahead. Just remember, if you break it, you'll have to sell your apartment to pay my medical bills."
Maybe it was the alcohol, but his eyes were unnervingly bright. Under his piercing gaze, Qian Fei inexplicably felt her confidence waver.
She hadn’t noticed before, but he was quite tall—even taller than Wang Ruohai, who proudly claimed to be the standard 180 cm. At 165.5 cm, Qian Fei wasn’t short for a girl, but standing face-to-face with him, she still had to crane her neck. The height difference alone deflated her bravado.
She shoved at him impatiently. "Move! Blocking your landlady’s door in the middle of the night—don’t think I won’t scream and get you trending in the neighborhood gossip by tomorrow!"
Li Yifei didn’t budge. Firmly planted, he asked, "Why did you cook so much tonight?"
Qian Fei huffed. "Liu Yifeng finally let me work on the prospectus, so I wanted to thank you! Satisfied? Now scram—this lady needs her beauty sleep!"
Li Yifei stared down at her, then slowly withdrew his foot.
He walked over to the dining table and sat down, waving at her. "I grant you the privilege of thanking me. Come heat up the food!"
Qian Fei watched, seething at his shamelessness, itching to hurl a slipper at his smug face.
Gritting her teeth, she reheated the dishes.
Once done, Li Yifei pulled her down to sit with him.
From across the table, she snapped, "When can I go back to sleep?"
Li Yifei studied her in silence until her eyes practically shot flames. Then, with deliberate slowness, he said, "Alright, Qian Fei. Now I feel properly thanked."Qian Fei scoffed at him, "With eyesight that bad, you’d need money for treatment!" There was clearly anger in her gaze, not gratitude—couldn’t he tell?!
Li Yifei ignored her, leisurely picking at his food before shifting the topic. "But Qian Fei, what was it you promised me before? Didn’t you say you’d stop being a doormat? That you’d grow a spine and some personality? So why are you still heating up food for people in the middle of the night? When are you ever going to improve?"
Qian Fei truly couldn’t take it anymore. She yanked off a slipper and hurled it at Li Yifei’s face with all her might. "Li Yifei, can you not act smug after taking advantage of me?! Do you have to be such a jerk?!!!"
※※※※※※
Before bed, Qian Fei texted Yao Jingjing: Yao J, how do you deal with shameless jerks?
Yao Jingjing replied: Others might manage, but you? Forget it. Don’t you know? Shameless jerks are the natural predators of careless doormats!
Qian Fei felt herself slowly cracking apart…
※※※※※※
Before bed, Li Yifei messaged Dajun: Dude, today I actually got a slipper thrown at my face by that tomboy hag!
Dajun replied instantly: Holy shit, you didn’t kill her, did you?! Stay calm, stay calm—give me the address, I’ll get dressed and head over now!
Li Yifei chuckled and replied: Get over here my ass! I didn’t lay a finger on her! I just wanted to ask—after getting a slipper to the face from her tonight, not only wasn’t I mad, I couldn’t help laughing. What the hell’s wrong with me? Since when do I act like this?!
After nearly a minute, Dajun finally responded: Buddy, I think you better find a new place and move out ASAP. Keep living with that tomboy, and you’ll turn into a full-blown jerk yourself!
Li Yifei muttered "Damn it" and tossed his phone aside.
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