On the first day of the due diligence process, as per standard procedure, there was a meeting between the company's senior executives and the two sponsoring investment banks.
Li Yifei and Qian Fei's teams from their respective banks arrived early and were led into the conference room first.
Qian Fei had been worried that the appearance of their boss later might give Li Yifei a green-eyed shock, but what she didn't expect was that the first person to deliver that shock wouldn't be the boss—it would be Gui Lili.
They had just settled into their seats when the secretary ushered in a group of people and began introductions. First was the person at the forefront: "Hello everyone, this is our company's Assistant to the Chairman!"
There were also the general manager and deputy general managers behind, but Qian Fei couldn't be bothered to listen anymore—she was staring hard at the person at the front.
It was Gui Lili, shimmering from head to toe in designer labels.
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It was obvious Gui Lili had seen both her and Li Yifei too.
After just a glance in their direction, she turned away nonchalantly, flashing a perfect eight-teeth smile as she greeted the project team members: "Hello everyone, I'm Gui Lili. I apologize that Chairman Niu had to leave urgently on business due to unforeseen circumstances, so for this phase of work, the general manager and I will be your main points of contact!"
Qian Fei thought Gui Lili's voice sounded slightly shaky.
The project team members exchanged business cards with Gui Lili one by one.
When it was Qian Fei's turn, she smiled apologetically at Gui Lili: "Sorry, Assistant Gui, I forgot to bring my business cards!"
Gui Lili smiled back: "No problem! Then how should I address you?"
Qian Fei froze for a moment before quickly playing along with this charade of being strangers. "My name is Qian Fei—'Qian' as in 'lack of money,' 'Fei' as in Liu Yifei's 'Fei.'"
She noticed Gui Lili's face turn slightly pale upon hearing this introduction.
Suddenly, Qian Fei felt a twinge of guilt. Those two characters "Yi Fei" must have struck a nerve.
Next was Zhao De exchanging cards with Gui Lili, which meant Li Yifei was up after. Qian Fei stole a glance at Li Yifei. She was terribly afraid that the proud Li Yifei wouldn't be able to stomach Gui Lili's pretentious act of pretending not to know them and might say something that would embarrass everyone.
She kept a vigilant eye on Li Yifei, ready to "accidentally" twist her ankle and fall onto him the moment he opened his mouth if things went south, thereby shutting him up through sheer coincidence.
But what she didn't expect was that when it was Li Yifei's turn, he stood up with effortless grace. She wasn't sure when she'd first noticed this habit, but she realized that whenever Li Yifei wore a suit, he would always unbutton it when sitting down. Now he rose gracefully, pressing a hand to his tie as he stood before elegantly buttoning his jacket and shaking Gui Lili's hand. The entire sequence flowed with such natural elegance that Qian Fei felt his aura transform dramatically in that moment—he might as well have been the dashing aristocratic flower boy from some cheesy romance drama.
"Apologies, I didn't bring business cards either. My name is Li Yifei—'Li' as in 'under the plum tree,' 'Yi' as in Liu Yifei's 'Yi,' and 'Fei' as in Liu Yifei's 'Fei' without the grass radical," he introduced himself with a smile.
Qian Fei nearly laughed out loud upon hearing this.
This guy was clearly cut from the same cloth as her.
She noticed Gui Lili's face had now turned deathly pale.Beside them, Liu Yifeng seemed to sense the awkward atmosphere and quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Xiao Qian, Xiao Li, look at you two—what kind of ridiculous self-introductions were those? You startled Assistant Gui!" He turned to Gui Lili to explain, "They're usually very serious and diligent at work. Maybe they just wanted to leave a deeper impression on you because you're so beautiful!"
Gui Lili forced a smile and said softly, "It's alright!" As she spoke, Qian Fei noticed her gaze flicker toward Li Yifei. The lingering affection in her eyes made Qian Fei lose all sympathy for her in an instant.
Qian Fei sighed inwardly.
She despised nothing more than unresolved feelings after a breakup—what difference was there between that and self-degradation?
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After a morning of meetings, Qian Fei completely dismissed her earlier concerns about Li Yifei. In fact, she was even a little impressed by him.
Li Yifei had conducted himself with remarkable professionalism during the meetings. Qian Fei wasn’t sure if her perception was off, but she felt that today’s Li Yifei was different from usual. Every movement he made, from gestures to posture, seemed calculated to stop at the most aesthetically pleasing angle. She suspected he must have studied the suave mannerisms of many male idols.
But she had to admit—this version of Li Yifei, deliberately playing it cool, looked genuinely handsome, exuding a unique charm. Watching Gui Lili gaze at him with regret and nostalgia, Qian Fei suddenly understood something with a pang of realization.
Perhaps she had underestimated Li Yifei’s emotional intelligence all along, assuming he was just fussy, willful, and short-tempered. But in reality, he was more cunning than anyone. He knew exactly what kind of demeanor would make someone miss him, ache for him, even regret losing him. She could see it now—Gui Lili was indeed heartbroken and remorseful, drowning in the allure of his presence.
Qian Fei suddenly found men like Li Yifei terrifying. Even after a breakup, they wouldn’t let you forget their good qualities. And if you were on the verge of forgetting, they’d find a way to make you remember, bit by bit.
She shivered involuntarily.
If Wang Ruohai had been as calculating as him, she probably would have been driven to suicide by heartbreak countless times already.
Strangely, she felt a flicker of gratitude toward Wang Ruohai—for showing her nothing but his worst after their breakup, making it easier for her to move on completely.
When the morning meetings concluded, Gui Lili said, "I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling well. I won’t be joining everyone for lunch." She instructed the general manager, "Make sure everyone is well taken care of!" Then she left.
Before leaving, she cast several glances at both Qian Fei and Li Yifei.
Once she was out of earshot, Qian Fei heard Liu Yifeng beside her ask the general manager with a smile, his voice lowered, "Old classmate, what’s the deal with this chairman’s assistant? She seems awfully young! But from what I can tell, even you have to defer to her?"The general manager winked at him and lowered his voice, whispering, "Hey! She used to be under me—I was the one who recruited her into the company! But somehow, she caught the chairman's eye later on! Who knows if the chairman was already planning to divorce or divorced for her sake, but now she’s practically the chairman’s fiancée! I bet they’ll be holding a wedding soon!" He paused briefly, and Qian Fei strained her ears to hear more. "Hey, Lao Liu, is your colleague eavesdropping on us?"
Qian Fei shuddered and turned to Liu Yifeng and the general manager, forcing an awkward laugh. "No, no! Of course not!"
Liu Yifeng tapped her forehead amusedly. "How dense can you be? You can’t even pretend properly! If you weren’t eavesdropping, how’d you know we were talking about you?" He then reassured the general manager, "Don’t worry, she’s my apprentice—she won’t blab."
Qian Fei nodded vigorously.
As she turned around, she saw Li Yifei standing right beside her. She jumped in surprise.
After a moment’s thought, she leaned in and whispered, "Did you hear that too?"
Li Yifei glanced down at her lazily, barely acknowledging her with a disinterested nod. "Mhm."
Qian Fei stared at him, unsure what to say, and ended up rambling, "You were amazing this morning! Like you were on fire! The way you carried yourself—it was like Xu Wenqiang time-traveled to a securities company meeting. So cool! Major props to you!"
Li Yifei rolled his eyes and smirked mockingly. "You’ve got no standards. That impressed you? If I ever really turned it on, you’d probably be groveling at my feet, begging me to tone it down because you couldn’t handle it!"
Qian Fei hadn’t eaten yet—if there had been anything in her stomach, she would’ve thrown it all up right onto Li Yifei’s face.
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After lunch, Zhao De excitedly asked Qian Fei and Li Yifei if they were sticking to their usual routine—finding a spot to play Landlords.
Both agreed.
And so, their glorious midday Landlords session was revived.
While playing, Zhao De couldn’t help but ask, "I feel like your self-introductions today were kinda off. Like, you two were totally in sync, ganging up on everyone else!"
Qian Fei said, "Do you even know how to write the characters for 'in sync'?"
Zhao De played a card and shook his head. "Nope. As long as I can say it, that’s enough. We use computers now—just type the pinyin and it pops up!"
Li Yifei chimed in, "If you don’t know how to write a word, don’t use it. What if someone asks you what 'in sync' means or which characters it uses? You’d be totally humiliated if you couldn’t answer."
Qian Fei nodded along. "Exactly. People would say, 'Ignorance is scary—how do you even work in investment banking? What if you mess up the prospectus?'"
The two of them tag-teamed Zhao De, bombarding him until his head spun, completely forgetting the gossipy question he’d asked earlier.
By the time he remembered, he’d already lost several rounds.
Suddenly feeling sour, he lamented to Qian Fei and Li Yifei, "I think I’m starting to get it… You two are teaming up against me!"Qian Fei rolled her eyes at him. "Lost your mind from losing? Li Yifei is the landlord, and you and I are the peasants—he’s the one teaming up against both of us!"
Zhao De let out a reluctant "Oh," trying to argue back, "But I think, Qian Fei, you’re a spy hiding among the peasants, secretly siding with the landlord!"
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While the three of them were playing Landlord, Qian Fei’s phone dinged with a notification.
Before she could pick it up to check, Li Yifei said from the side, "Assistant Gui is looking for you."
Qian Fei paused. "No way?"
Li Yifei smirked and let out a soft "Heh."
Qian Fei picked up her phone—sure enough, it was Gui Lili. She looked up at Li Yifei, shaking her head in amazement. "You actually understand her to this extent!" She left the second half of her thought unspoken: Bro, are you still not over her?
Li Yifei shot her a glare. "It’s not just her—I understand women in general!"
Qian Fei tossed her hair. "Yeah right, you don’t understand me at all!"
Li Yifei mimicked her gesture, flicking his own hair. "Yeah right, you don’t even count as a woman!"
Qian Fei fumed and turned away to check her phone.
Zhao De whined impatiently, "I smell gossip in the air!" But no one paid him any attention.
Qian Fei looked at her phone. Gui Lili had sent her a message: Qian Fei, has Yifei been doing well lately?
A faint sense of irritation rose in Qian Fei’s chest.
She forced herself to reply with just two words, not even bothering with punctuation: He’s fine.
Her phone dinged again immediately: But he looks like he’s lost so much weight!
Qian Fei shuddered. What kind of eyesight does she have? Lately, Li Yifei had been shamelessly freeloading off her, eating happily and living comfortably. She had practically pampered him into becoming fair, plump, and radiant—where did Gui Lili get the idea that he was losing weight?
Without holding back, Qian Fei tapped out a reply: Not at all. Maybe it’s because you’re used to seeing people fatter than him day and night, so he seems thin in comparison.
After a pause, her phone dinged again. Gui Lili asked: Qian Fei, has Yifei mentioned me to you…?
Qian Fei replied: No.
Gui Lili: That can’t be!
Qian Fei ignored her.
Gui Lili quickly sent another message. This time, after reading it, Qian Fei was so angry she laughed.
Gui Lili: Qian Fei, have you fallen for Yifei? Is that why you’re not telling me the truth?
Qian Fei shoved the phone directly into Li Yifei’s hands and said seriously, "I think she needs some medication."
Zhao De craned his neck eagerly, trying to see what Qian Fei was talking about, but Li Yifei pressed the phone screen against his chest and pushed him away. "Sit back down, and I’ll let you win big later."
Grudgingly, Zhao De retreated to his seat.
Li Yifei lowered his head to look at the phone.
He let out a cold "Heh," then started tapping furiously on the screen.
By the time Qian Fei realized he was replying to Gui Lili, it was too late.
"What are you writing, Li Yifei?" Qian Fei frantically snatched the phone back, but the damage was done.
On the screen, she saw a freshly sent message from Li Yifei: It’s not strange to fall for him—he’s pretty handsome, after all. Plus, he buys groceries, does the dishes, handles chores, and looks good in anything, even cheap Taobao clothes. With someone so lively and charming around every day, who wouldn’t like him?~
And it even ended with a flirtatious tilde…
After reading the message, Qian Fei trembled from head to toe.She slowly turned her head to glare at Li Yifei, gritting her teeth as she hissed in a low voice, "Bro, can you have some shame? Can you not drag me into whatever's going on between you two? And seriously, can you survive without narcissistically praising yourself like a split personality?"
Li Yifei rolled his eyes at her. "I'm saving you here! If she finds out that you've succeeded where she failed back then—getting me to do things—do you think she'd still have the nerve to keep harassing you?"
Qian Fei itched to claw that shameless face of his. "Bullshit! You just want her to feel resentful, bitter, and full of regret for dumping you back then!"
Li Yifei suddenly looked up and asked, "How do you write the character for 'regret' in 'full of regret'?"
The question threw Qian Fei off. "Uh... same as 'stack'? Wait, no—how is it written again?"
Zhao De, who had been listening nearby, suddenly exclaimed, "I know! It's the walking radical plus the character for 'lose'! Qian Fei, you're hopeless—ignorance is truly terrifying! And I think I've pieced some things together now!"
His random interruption left Qian Fei momentarily confused about who to direct her anger at or what exactly she was even angry about.
Her phone dinged again with another message from Gui Lili: Qian Fei, I sincerely advise you—don’t get in too deep, or you’ll only get hurt worse later. Know your place. Don’t be stupid; Yifei would never like a woman like you!
Staring at her phone, Qian Fei suddenly felt a pang of indignation.
What did she mean by "a woman like you"? What was wrong with her?
Before leaving work that afternoon, she couldn’t resist calling Yao Jingjing. After recounting the whole incident, she finally voiced the question that had been nagging her all day: "Yao Jing, tell me—what’s wrong with me? Back in college, plenty of guys chased after me, didn’t they?"
Yao Jingjing sighed deeply on the other end of the line. "Oh, Feifei, how I miss the old you! You were so fresh and dewy back then—like you’d squirt water if poked! Your mom was still around then, dressing you up so beautifully every day. No wonder Wang Ruohai worked so hard to pursue you! But after she passed away during our senior year, you started down this irreversible path of sloppiness and fashion disasters. Your looks have been completely buried under that unsalvageable rustic style of yours! That song really got it right: A child with a mother is like a treasure. " She even started singing the last line.
Qian Fei’s heart ached. "Screw you! You won’t be happy until you’ve stabbed me right in the heart, will you?"
Yao Jingjing quickly backpedaled. "No, no! Feifei, once I’m back, I’ll take charge of dressing you up! I’ll love you and cherish you like a mother, bringing back your radiant beauty!"
Qian Fei was both annoyed and amused. "You’d die if you went one day without taking advantage of me, wouldn’t you?"
Author's Note:
Wow, so many readers sent me gifts these past couple of days—I was stunned when I checked the backend! Got so excited I ended up writing over 4,000 words, hahaha! Thank you all! I’ll keep writing diligently, even if my stomach’s acting up and my poor butt’s suffering! Love you all! Mwah! >3<
Next chapter, we’ll deal with that little troublemaker Hu Zining— grins ~
Waves handkerchief, bats eyelashes, and calls for comments and flowers! Mwah!
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