Qian Fei wobbled unsteadily down the street in nearly four-inch heels, clutching a paper bag filled with her old clothes and shoes while gritting her teeth.
Thinking about how much money she'd just spent at checkout made her organs ache in unison. She'd almost backed out at the register, but Li Yifei had threatened beside her: "If you don't buy it, I won't pay rent!"
So she'd swallowed her tears and humbly completed the transaction.
The thought of all those vanished pink bills made her heart ache so badly her steps grew even more unsteady, her path increasingly erratic.
Li Yifei hovered nearby, ready to catch her at any moment. "From now on, don’t just blindly buy clothes off Taobao by yourself—you end up looking like you're wearing potato sacks and work uniforms. You have to let me approve your outfits first, got it? Honestly, seeing you dressed so shabbily every day hurts me the most. I’m practically going blind from how ugly you look!"
Qian Fei felt her stomach trembling atop the spindly heels. She begged Li Yifei, "Fine, fine, whatever you say! Since we’ve already blown all this money, can we just go home now? I can barely walk in these things—it’s like balancing on chopsticks!"
Li Yifei rolled his eyes. "Don’t be ungrateful. Young Master here never goes shopping with women. I only made an exception because I pitied how you live like some roughneck even during your period every month. I’m not even complaining about being tired, and you have the nerve to whine about going home first?"
Qian Fei was both annoyed and amused. "Oh! Young Master, so you’ve bestowed yet another precious 'first time in your life' upon me! What then? Should I repay you with my body?" Too busy bickering, she missed a step—her ankle twisted suddenly.
Just as she was about to fall, Li Yifei swiftly caught her.
"How much do you hate me that you’d curse me with a lifetime of you?" he sneered in rapid succession. "Have you seriously never worn heels before? How can you walk like this? Are you even a woman?"
Qian Fei carefully steadied herself. "Rarely. And the highest I’ve ever worn was two inches. Wearing sky-high heels to ride the subway in Beijing every day is basically self-harm."
Li Yifei scoffed. "What’s the point of being a woman if you can’t even walk in heels?"
Qian Fei was speechless.
Li Yifei dragged her in the opposite direction of home, declaring, "Since you’re so bad at it, you need more practice. So no rushing back—I’m taking you somewhere else!"
Without giving her a chance to protest, he pulled out his phone and made a call.
Qian Fei heard him say a name in English: "Hey, Steve, you free? I want to bring a friend over for a haircut and styling."
After a few more words, he hung up and tugged Qian Fei along.
Struggling to keep up in her heels, she asked, "Where are you taking me?"
Li Yifei said, "Selling you off for candy!"
Qian Fei glared. "Hope you choke on it!"
He glared back. "You’re not worth enough to buy that much candy, so don’t worry—it won’t be enough to choke me."
They bickered back and forth like this all the way from the street into a taxi, and then from the taxi to the mouth of a narrow alley.
As they got out, Qian Fei eyed the quaint, old-fashioned alley and asked, "Where is this? What’s in here?"Li Yifei led her inside, "There's a water curtain cave!"
Twisting and turning through the corridors, they arrived at a wooden door. The door had an antique charm, resembling the grand gates of wealthy households in ancient times. Qian Fei stared at it, half-expecting a pair of delicate jade-like hands to emerge and slowly push it open from within.
Lost in her thoughts, the illusion suddenly seemed to materialize—she saw a hand pressing against the door. The fingers were pale and slender, with neatly trimmed short nails, the white crescents on them curved like smiling faces.
Qian Fei thought, the door complemented the hand beautifully.
Then she heard Li Yifei's teasing voice beside her, "Had enough of staring? I’ll open it now if you’re done!"
Qian Fei snapped back to reality.
She had actually been staring at Li Yifei’s hand in a daze.
How had she never noticed before how captivating his hands were?
She retorted gruffly, "I thought it was some maiden’s hand, that’s why I looked a bit longer. But seriously, a grown man with such delicate hands—isn’t that a bit girly?"
Li Yifei scoffed, grabbing Qian Fei’s hand to inspect it. "As if yours are any manlier! Look at your own—"
His words trailed off as he studied her hand. After a few seconds, he muttered, "Damn! How did I never notice? You, of all people, actually have a woman’s hands!"
Qian Fei’s hands were the only feminine thing about her. Yao Jingjing had always envied them—no matter how much water, dishwashing, or chores they endured, a dab of basic moisturizer kept them smooth and tender. Her ten slender fingers were like fresh spring onions, without a single visible knuckle.
Qian Fei pulled her hand away, tilting her chin up proudly. "Of course! There’s plenty you don’t know about me!"
Just then, the wooden door was pulled open from inside, revealing a handsome man with shoulder-length wavy hair and a beard.
"Yifei, how long are you planning to play hand-holding games with your little girlfriend out here?" the man asked with a smile.
Qian Fei blurted out, "We weren’t holding hands! And I’m not his girlfriend!"
Li Yifei glanced at her, then at the handsome man. "Hey, Steve!" He casually slung an arm around Qian Fei’s neck, pulling her closer as he said, "Do me a favor and give this ‘bro’ here a makeover. She can’t go around looking this rough!"
※※※※※※
Steve ushered Qian Fei and Li Yifei inside.
As they walked, Qian Fei took in the surroundings and realized this must be a styling studio.
Once inside, Steve asked them to wait while he fetched something.
Qian Fei looked around and asked Li Yifei, "This place is so hidden—can it even make money?"
Li Yifei smirked. "How provincial of you! The exclusivity is the whole point. Not just anyone can find it, not everyone who finds it can enter, and not everyone who enters gets Steve’s attention!"
Qian Fei gasped. "Really? Sounds like some secret society!"
Li Yifei nodded. "Absolutely. The clientele here usually falls into two categories: the wealthy or the powerful."
Qian Fei eyed him. "Then how did you get in?"
Li Yifei looked at her solemnly. "Well, since we’re here, I might as well come clean. The truth is… I’m a rich second-generation heir."Qian Fei also looked at him, nodding seriously in agreement. "Right, I know your family is actually wealthy. Your dad is the president of a conglomerate. Because you didn't date the well-matched heiress he picked for you, he cut off your financial support, and you broke off relations with him in return. So the prince turned into a frog, ending up on the streets renting a place with me!"
Li Yifei showed a surprised expression. "So you already knew!"
Qian Fei looked at him, her cheeks twitching slightly. "Yes, I knew all along! Actually, you're Li Ka-shing's secret big nephew, and me? I'm Qian Xuesen's distant big niece!"
Li Yifei stared at her, his expression gradually contorting.
Qian Fei finally couldn't hold back her laughter. "Bro, you're really playing along! Seems like you've watched plenty of cheesy Korean dramas with your ex-girlfriends before!"
Li Yifei's face twisted as he glared at her. "Qian Fei, one day I'll make you willingly admit that I'm your young master!"
Qian Fei patted his shoulder, laughing heartily. "I admit it now! You're the young master, absolutely the young master!"
Li Yifei glared at her angrily, snorted loudly, and said, "You're hopeless," before turning his head away, refusing to look at her again.
Watching his tsundere antics, Qian Fei thought that aside from being lazy, shameless, gluttonous, arrogant, sarcastic, a bit vain, and hedonistic, he could actually be kind of cute sometimes.
Laughing to herself, she realized her tastes were getting increasingly bizarre—she was actually starting to find Li Yifei somewhat endearing.
※※※※※※
While Steve was styling Qian Fei, Li Yifei waited in the outer room, sipping tea.
Steve glanced outside and smiled at Qian Fei. "I've genuinely never seen him this patient before!"
Qian Fei sensed deeper meaning in his words and explained after a moment's thought, "I'm definitely not like the girls he used to bring around! I'm not his girlfriend—I'm his landlord!"
Steve looked at her through the mirror. "Landlord? Heh, interesting!" He paused, then added, "With his notoriously impatient temper, why would he accompany a girl here? You're the first."
Qian Fei couldn't help but cough awkwardly. "Well, he doesn't even see me as a girl. If he did, he probably wouldn't have brought me here!"
Steve chuckled but didn't respond.
Qian Fei asked him, "Steve, how did Li Yifei find this place anyway?"
Steve thought for a moment. "Hmm, I think it was his childhood friend who brought him here. That friend's mom often gets styled by me."
Qian Fei went, "Oh," then asked, "Is his friend the type who loads up on phone credit a lot?"
Steve smirked. "Yeah, that's him! He often tops up huge amounts to play online games. He even told me never to let his mom find out!"
Qian Fei clicked her tongue. "That kid really knows how to burn money!" Then she couldn't resist teasing, "Li Yifei told me he could come here because he's a rich second-gen. But isn't he just piggybacking off his loaded childhood friend?" She asked Steve, "Do you think Li Yifei is actually a rich second-gen?"Steve blinked with a grin, "Interested in him? Fine, I'll spill some client confidentiality for you! All I know is that Yi Fei's childhood friend's parents own a jade shop—definitely a rich second-generation kid. As for Yi Fei," he shrugged, "he never mentioned what his family specifically does, just said they're self-employed. But he's always been generous with money, so judging by that, his family must be pretty well-off! If you get together with him, you wouldn’t have to worry about things like a house—his family probably already has that covered!"
Qian Fei hadn’t expected Steve to be so gossipy. She pursed her lips, "Oh, he’s generous alright—so generous he hasn’t saved a penny and still rents a place!" Then she couldn’t help but emphasize again, "I really have no interest in him. His high-maintenance attitude could drive even the most patient saint crazy! I’m just an ordinary person—I can’t endure such trials in life, so don’t you go misunderstanding me!"
Steve smiled without a word.
Qian Fei looked at her reflection in the mirror and suddenly asked, "Steve, do you think I’m ugly?"
Steve shrugged, "How could you be? You’re very pretty—just not great at styling yourself. With a little touch-up, you’d stand out in a crowd!"
Qian Fei was so moved she almost wanted to swear brotherhood with him, "Really? But Li Yi Fei said I’m an ugly tomboy!"
Steve winked at her, "Just wait—I’ll make you so beautiful he’ll be slapping himself!"
Qian Fei nearly teared up, "Don’t forget to shape my eyebrows nicely!"
Steve burst out laughing.
※※※※※※
Two hours later.
Steve stood behind Qian Fei, hands on her shoulders, as they both looked at her reflection in the mirror.
"Well? Do you still recognize the person in there?"
Qian Fei stared at the reflection, hardly believing it was herself.
Her once-frizzy long hair now lay smooth and obedient over her shoulders, curling softly at the ends, exuding a kind of "allure" she’d never possessed before.
Steve had shaped her eyebrows and applied light makeup, making her features suddenly bright and lively.
Grinning at her, Steve said, "Look at these features, this figure! If anyone dares call you ugly again, slap them!"
Outside, Li Yi Fei, who had already finished three pots of tea, was growing increasingly impatient, constantly shouting, "Are you done yet?"
Steve called back, "Coming out now."
He pushed Qian Fei out the door.
Li Yi Fei had just poured a fresh cup of tea and was about to take a sip. When Qian Fei appeared, he looked up and seemed startled—his hand jerked, spilling half the tea.
Under his gaze, Qian Fei felt so embarrassed she wanted to hide behind Steve.
"What’s wrong?" Steve asked, pulling her out from behind him.
Qian Fei whispered, "I think his eyes are scolding me for still looking awful even with makeup on!"
Steve couldn’t help but laugh.
He asked Li Yi Fei, "Well? Say something—are you satisfied or not?"
Li Yi Fei coughed, and Qian Fei felt her heart leap into her throat. She braced herself for the inevitable insult.But then she heard Li Yifei say to Steve, "Steve, give me a set of the cosmetics you just used on her. And while you're at it, teach her how to make her face look like this with her own hands!"
Qian Fei froze for a moment before looking up.
Li Yifei was staring at her with that infuriating half-smirk of his.
"At least now you look somewhat presentable!"
?
Author's Note:
Thank you to all the beautiful readers who sent encouragement via thunder (tips)—thank you, thank you! I’m so touched by your generosity, mwah! >3<
Just a heads-up: the two Feis won’t get together right away. There needs to be a process. I think rushing into it would be boring. You know, the usual—getting all lovey-dovey quickly, then breaking up over some melodramatic misunderstanding, only to reconcile later. Honestly, that’s just so overdone. I just want to write about their interactions—unconsciously falling for each other—loving each other without realizing it—finally figuring it out—deciding to be together. That’s the journey I want to explore (and of course, once they’re together, there will definitely be some H scenes. After all, the ultimate destination of love is the bedroom, hehe~~). So if you’re impatient with the slow burn, feel free to drop this story. If you complain about the pacing or call me stingy with progress, honestly, I won’t take it well. I just want to write at my own rhythm. Those who get it can keep reading; if the slow pace is unbearable, we’ll meet again in the next story. Mwah! ^_^
Comments over 25 characters, rated 2/2 (no 0/2, please!), and relevant to the story will earn you points! Points can be used to read VIP chapters. ^_^ (Lately, I’ve been surviving on five hours of sleep daily, so I won’t reply individually to confirm point rewards. Just check your account—if your comment qualifies, the points will be there automatically!)
My wife’s story is fully pre-written, with reliable daily updates. Jump into this pit with confidence!
OpenNovel