On the last day of the year, Qian Fei didn’t end up spending it alone after all.
At eight in the morning, she was woken up by her phone ringing.
Holding her throbbing, hungover head, she answered the call. Yao Jingjing’s voice came through with a solemnity more serious than the national anthem: “Feifei, I’ll be at Capital Airport in two hours. Come pick me up!”
Qian Fei’s heart skipped a beat, and most of her drunkenness faded instantly. “Got it! Send me the flight details, I’ll be there on time!”
After hanging up, she noticed her eyelid twitching.
She thought to herself that something must have happened to Yao Jingjing back in Dalian.
She got up, washed up, and was about to leave when Li Yifei stumbled out of his room with messy hair, heading to the bathroom.
After a moment’s hesitation, she stopped him. “Li Yifei, I might not be able to cook you eggplant strips tonight. Maybe you should eat out with your girlfriend.”
Li Yifei blinked at her groggily. “Huh?”
Qian Fei was in a hurry. “What ‘huh’? I’m saying I’ll be spending the evening with someone else, so you don’t need to come back just to eat with me.”
She finished speaking and saw Li Yifei staring straight at her. A few seconds later, he emotionlessly tossed her three words: “Got it.” Then he turned stiffly and went into the bathroom.
Qian Fei didn’t have time to decipher the meaning behind those words and hurried out the door.
After coming out of the bathroom, Li Yifei was wide awake and couldn’t fall back asleep.
He texted Dajun: I’ll hang out with Jin Tian during the day. Tonight, organize a KTV gathering so we can ring in the New Year together.
A while later, Dajun replied: Li Yifei, you bastard! You called me drunk at 2 a.m. last night saying we weren’t meeting tonight, and now you’re telling me to organize it again! You asshole, you must be betting I won’t cut ties with you!
Li Yifei replied: Stop messing around. I’m in a bad mood.
Dajun, ever the chatterbox, asked: What’s wrong? What happened? Did Jin Tian piss you off? So you don’t want to spend tonight with her? Wait, no—you just said you’d take her out during the day!
A wave of irritation surged in Li Yifei’s chest: Stop asking. Just organize the gathering!
How could he explain that he was upset because a tomboy had stood him up? They’d never let him live it down.
●︶3︶●
Qian Fei was shocked when she saw Yao Jingjing at the airport.
“What kind of foundation are you wearing? Your face is way too pale,” Qian Fei teased, scrutinizing Yao Jingjing’s face.
Yao Jingjing looked exhausted, as if she’d just pulled off some earth-shattering feat. “Don’t joke around, I’m exhausted! Just take me to your place so I can sleep!”
Yao Jingjing had terminated the lease on her apartment in the second month after moving to Dalian. Now, her only place to stay was Qian Fei’s tiny, mortgage-laden apartment.
Qian Fei led her to a taxi. In the car, she asked, “What’s wrong, Yao Jing? Why are you so listless on New Year’s Eve?”
Yao Jingjing sighed weakly. “I’ll explain everything when we get home. Let me sleep for now. I barely slept last night, and the kid next to me on the plane kept kicking me the whole flight. I haven’t had a chance to rest at all.”
Qian Fei pulled Yao Jingjing’s head onto her shoulder. “Poor thing. Here, rest on me.”
Yao Jingjing nestled against her shoulder and wrapped her arms around Qian Fei’s arm. “Feifei, it’s so good to have you.”Qian Fei reached over with her other hand and patted Yao Jingjing's shoulder. Yao Jingjing quickly fell asleep. Looking at her pale face and dark circles under her eyes, Qian Fei's heart sank. The forced lighthearted teasing from earlier could no longer be maintained.
She felt certain Yao Jingjing must have suffered some grievance in Dalian.
●︶3︶●
When Qian Fei brought Yao Jingjing home, Li Yifei had already gone out.
She made Yao Jingjing a pot of congee and blanched some broccoli. After eating, Yao Jingjing collapsed onto her bed and slept like the dead. By the time she woke up, it was already evening.
Qian Fei was preparing dinner, so Yao Jingjing washed her face and went to the kitchen to help.
"Tonight I'm making some hearty dishes—we'll celebrate New Year's Eve together!" Qian Fei said excitedly.
As she picked through vegetables, Yao Jingjing studied Qian Fei. "Feifei, are you dating someone again?"
Qian Fei shook her head while scrubbing the pot. "No, why do you ask?"
Yao Jingjing tilted her head thoughtfully. "Impossible! You've gotten prettier than before, more feminine!"
Qian Fei burst out laughing. "So you're saying dating makes people prettier? Back when I was with Wang Ruohai, you said I was looking more and more like a country bumpkin!"
Yao Jingjing examined her closely. "If it's not dating, then someone's been dressing you up! Like when Auntie was around!" She paused, then added, "Feifei, I noticed you can mention Wang Ruohai calmly now!"
In just the few months she'd been away, it seemed many changes had come over Qian Fei—changes that surprised her.
Qian Fei turned on the stove and poured oil into the wok. While waiting for it to heat up, she thought for a moment. "Seems like it. Mentioning that bastard Wang Ruohai doesn't make me fly into a rage anymore!"
Yao Jingjing smiled. "That's great—you've finally let him go!"
Qian Fei tossed the fish into the wok to fry. Yao Jingjing finished prepping the vegetables and stood by with a plate, waiting to transfer the fried fish.
"Jingjing, why did you suddenly come back from Dalian?" Qian Fei tried to ask as nonchalantly as possible.
"Nothing, just tired," Yao Jingjing replied curtly.
Qian Fei sensed something was wrong. She'd never seen chatterbox Yao Jingjing so tight-lipped before, nor had she ever seen Yao Jingjing pass up a chance to joke around with her.
She stopped asking and focused on cooking.
She fried a fish, stewed beef brisket with potatoes, stir-fried shrimp with bamboo shoots, tossed a cucumber and jellyfish salad, and made an egg drop soup. After finishing the dishes, she sat Yao Jingjing down at the table. After some thought, she went to the kitchen and brought out the leftover beer she and Li Yifei had been drinking earlier.
"Thinking back carefully, even though we've been close since school, we've never had the chance to welcome the New Year together. Tonight we have to drink to that!" Qian Fei opened a beer and handed it to Yao Jingjing.
Yao Jingjing took the bottle and looked at it. "Imported? Feifei, who inspired you to upgrade your lifestyle like this?"
Qian Fei laughed it off. "I didn't buy this—that spendthrift did!" She pointed at Li Yifei's room.
Only then did Yao Jingjing remember Li Yifei. "Right, I haven't seen him. Will he mind me staying here?"Qian Fei rolled her eyes. "How dare a tenant have any opinions! I'd kick him out!" She picked up a piece of fish for Yao Jingjing. "He probably went out with his girlfriend. I doubt he’ll even come back tonight."
Yao Jingjing asked, "Did he make up with his girlfriend?"
Qian Fei shook her head and sighed. "How long has it been since we had a proper chat? You’re so out of touch with what’s going on in my life! Make up? No way—he found a new one!"
Yao Jingjing let out an "Oh," then asked, "Is he still in touch with his ex?"
Qian Fei thought for a moment. "From what I can tell, no."
Yao Jingjing lowered her eyelids. "If he’s dating someone new while still tangled up with his ex, how heartbroken his current girlfriend would be!"
As Qian Fei listened, she began to sense something deeper.
"Jingjing," she called softly, "is it that rich guy? Did he get back together with his ex?"
The moment she asked, she noticed two teardrops fall onto Yao Jingjing’s hand.
Qian Fei was stunned.
This Yao Jingjing—the fearless, indomitable woman who had never lost a fight standing up for her—was actually crying.
●︶3︶●
Qian Fei brought out all the remaining alcohol from the kitchen. She decided to get Yao Jingjing drunk to spill the truth.
But Yao Jingjing had an impressive tolerance—unsurprising for a top-tier CBD white-collar elite. Two cans in, and her complexion hadn’t even changed.
Qian Fei had no choice but to match her, drinking several more cans with her.
Only when Yao Jingjing started looking blurry to her did the alcohol finally loosen her tongue.
Clutching Qian Fei’s arm, Yao Jingjing began to sob. "Feifei, you know we met through a blind date. At first, I didn’t take it too seriously—I just thought he was rich. But I’ve met plenty of rich guys; it’s not like he’s the only one! But there was something about him, this teasing, playful attitude. I couldn’t stand it. I wanted to smooth out that attitude, to tame him, so I followed him to Dalian!
"Once we got there, he never made it clear whether we were together or not. But I’m not stupid—I know men too well! He was stringing me along! I thought, ‘Fine, keep playing. Just wait till I break you.’
"He asked me what I liked about him. I said it was his money. I said it on purpose—I couldn’t stand his smug, teasing smirk. If he could play games, why couldn’t I?
"We kept going back and forth like that, teasing each other. Then one day, a woman showed up—his ex. I tried to probe him about it, asking if there was any chance they’d get back together. If there was, I’d step aside and return to Beijing to do my own thing.
"He told me, ‘No.’ But then he added, ‘Though you can go back to Beijing if you want.’ I said, ‘If you’re not planning to rekindle anything, why should I leave? Staying here to pester you sounds way more fun.’ And he laughed.
"He hardly ever laughs. That day, when he smiled at me like that, I thought, ‘Oh no. I’m in trouble.’ Before, it was all just talk. But that smile—it made my heart skip. I think I really fell for him.""Later on, I just couldn't stand the sight of his ex-girlfriend anymore—it made me sick to my stomach. That woman kept coming to see him, always right in front of me too. On Christmas Day, he called and asked if I wanted to have dinner together. I said sure. So I waited at the restaurant for over two hours, but he never showed. I called him, but he didn’t pick up. When he finally arrived, I asked what happened, and he just said there was a situation. That was it.
"Yesterday, I got a multimedia message from his ex. She sent me a photo—it was of them having dinner together on Christmas Day. Feifei, do you get it now? He was late because he was having dinner with his ex!
"Last night, I felt so awful I couldn’t sleep at all. But this morning, I suddenly had a realization—I decided it’s over between us!"
Yao Jingjing wiped her tears and declared, "This lady is done playing his games!"
Qian Fei stared at her blankly.
"Jingjing, can you show me that photo?"
Yao Jingjing handed her the phone.
Qian Fei noticed the blocked message notification on the security app. She glanced at Yao Jingjing and asked, "Did you block the rich guy? Looks like he sent you a text! Maybe you should check?"
Yao Jingjing shook her head. "No. If I’ve decided to quit, there’s no point. I’m getting a new number tomorrow anyway!"
Qian Fei knew her temper—once she made up her mind, nothing could change it.
Qian Fei examined the photo.
The angle was strange—not a selfie, nor taken by a third person. She felt like she’d seen this perspective before. After thinking carefully, she remembered: once, while visiting a client entangled in legal trouble with their company, she had discreetly propped her phone against a laptop to record their conversation for evidence. Looking back at the photo on Yao Jingjing’s phone, she understood.
This was likely a screenshot from a secretly recorded video.
In the picture, the rich guy was quite handsome, his brows slightly furrowed, his expression cool, lips pressed together. His ex was pretty too, but Qian Fei couldn’t shake the subjective feeling that there was something pretentious about her.
She studied the image again and again, growing increasingly tempted to peek at the blocked messages to see what the rich guy had said.
So she did.
She saw a string of texts from him:
"Why aren’t you answering?"
"Where are you?"
"Why can’t I reach you?"
"Stop messing around—call me back!"
"Yao Jingjing, where are you?"
"Yao Jingjing, tell me where you are!"
"Yao Jingjing, are you trying to drive me crazy? Tell me where you are!"
Through the screen, Qian Fei could almost see a man frantic with worry.
She had a hunch—maybe the rich guy’s feelings for Yao Jingjing weren’t as casual as they seemed.
Author’s Note: Thank you to all the generous and beautiful readers who supported with gifts!!! Big virtual hugs from Ninth Brother!!! Your encouragement means the world—I’ll keep writing hard >3<
Xiao Qi, why’d you have to send such an expensive one?!Comments with 25+ characters will get 2 points (0 points not allowed). If the content is related to the story, I'll send bonus points~ Points can be used to read VIP chapters^ ^ (I won't reply individually when sending points, but rest assured I'll send them as long as the conditions are met. Just check your account backend^ ^) If anyone misses out, it means I didn't see the comment - just bump it up and I'll send the points when I see it●︶3︶●
Tomorrow, Little Waste and Little Scum will still celebrate New Year's together - bet you didn't see that coming, hohoho!
Time to test your luck again! If I say I'll double update tomorrow, will you all stop lurking and leave comments for Ninth Bro today?!
Going all out - double update tomorrow!!!! First update at 10:00 AM!!! [Not surfacing to cheer would be rude (╰_╯)# Cheerers get points from Ninth Bro, thigh flashes~~]
←This is Floating Cloud Little Sister's new work. The title says it all - what are you waiting for? Jump into the pit now^_^
OpenNovel