Li Yifei found the private room where Dajun and the others were seated. He went in, sat down, and asked Jin Tian, who was sitting next to him, "Have you eaten anything yet?"
Jin Tian looked at him with watery eyes and shook her head. "I had no appetite without you here!"
Li Yifei nodded, turned around, and called for a waiter. "Bring her a bowl of snow fungus and papaya soup," he said, then turned back to Jin Tian. "Try this—it's really delicious. I'm sure it'll whet your appetite!"
Jin Tian beamed at him sweetly.
He smiled back and said, "Eat slowly. Chew the snow fungus well, and don't talk while eating!" Then he turned away and whispered to Dajun.
"Later, help me take Jin Tian home."
Dajun curled his lip. "And what are you gonna do?"
Li Yifei said matter-of-factly, "I have to take those two drunk girls home."
Dajun glanced over at Jin Tian and lowered his voice. "Dude, is it really appropriate for me to keep picking up and dropping off the girls you bring out? I do all the dirty work for you—don’t I deserve some kind of reward?"
Li Yifei punched him lightly. "Since when did you become so needy? Doing a little work and already fishing for praise!"
Dajun squinted at him. "So, who are those two girls anyway?"
Li Yifei raised an eyebrow. "One’s a tomboy, the other’s her best friend."
Dajun’s expression shifted, and he asked slyly, "Which one’s the tomboy? The one with shoulder-length hair or the one with longer hair?"
Li Yifei answered, "The one with longer hair."
Dajun’s eyes lit up, and he whispered excitedly, "Damn! I think my taste might be a little twisted—I actually like the tomboy! Listen, Yifei, forget about rewards or praise. Just introduce me to her!"
Li Yifei smacked the back of his head. "Get lost! What are you thinking? She just dresses like a girl—deep down, she’s rougher than you are! If you want to date her, you might as well go to Thailand and find a wild ladyboy!"
Rubbing his head, Dajun grumbled, "Look at you, acting all protective like I’d ruin her. As if you’re really doing me a favor—pfft!"
Li Yifei’s expression turned serious as he looked at Dajun. "I am doing you a favor. I’m afraid you’ll get in too deep and won’t be able to back out. She’s not like us—she takes life seriously. Either you’re in it for marriage, or don’t even think about playing around. She’s not the type to mess with—or to get hurt."
●︶3︶●
When Li Yifei returned to the smaller private room, Qian Fei and Lu Ze’s conversation was just wrapping up.
They were discussing where to stay for the night.
Qian Fei said to Lu Ze, "I’m taking Yaojing home. You can find a hotel for yourself."
Lu Ze looked at her, then at Li Yifei standing by the door, and asked, "Are you two leaving together?"
Qian Fei nodded. "Yeah!"
Lu Ze was silent for a moment before saying, "In that case, I’ll go back with you guys."
Li Yifei spoke before Qian Fei could. "Don’t compare yourself to me—I live there!"
Lu Ze stared at him expressionlessly. "I can sleep on the sofa."
Just as Qian Fei was about to say something, Li Yifei cut her off. "When I signed the lease, it was agreed that the living room is mine—so the sofa is mine too!"Lu Ze glanced at him and said in a low, indifferent tone, "I heard you're involved in export trade. I happen to have connections in Dalian handling sales to Japan."
Li Yifei's expression turned serious. "You're quite well-informed. Mind telling me how you got this information?"
A faint smirk tugged at Lu Ze's lips. "Your friend passed your business card to mine."
Li Yifei studied him carefully, rubbing his chin.
Qian Fei swayed slightly as she stood up, impatient. "What are you two whispering about? Speak up so us drunkards can understand without straining our brains!" She pointed at Lu Ze and asked Li Yifei, "So what's the plan for him tonight?"
Li Yifei's attitude shifted instantly as he slapped her hand away. "Where are your manners? Don't point at people like that! He's coming home with us tonight!"
The sudden change made Qian Fei choke on her breath. "Huh? Coming home with us? Where's he gonna sleep then?"
Li Yifei replied, "The living room sofa."
Qian Fei gave an "Oh" and called for the bill.
Li Yifei stopped her. "Don't bother!"
Qian Fei's face lit up. "You already paid?"
Li Yifei grinned mischievously. "Nope. Told them to add it to that big private room over there!"
Another "Oh" from Qian Fei, who then smiled obsequiously. "Next time that group goes out to eat, get me a small private room next to theirs!"
Following behind Lu Ze who was supporting Yao Jingjing, Li Yifei headed for the exit. "Keep me happy, and you'll get plenty more perks like this!" Pausing at the door, he turned back. "You sober yet?"
Qian Fei thumped her chest emphatically. "Of course! You think I can't hold my liquor?"
Seeing her pounding herself without restraint, Li Yifei knew she was still drunk. He sighed impatiently, returning to half-drag, half-support her out. "If I ever catch you drinking like this in public again, I'll slap you silly! What kind of woman behaves like this?"
Qian Fei chuckled. "What about at home then?"
Li Yifei said, "At home's fine—just make sure your future husband won't be disgusted by your drunken vomiting."
He helped Qian Fei out of the restaurant.
The four took a taxi home.
After arriving, Li Yifei washed up and went straight to bed. Qian Fei settled Lu Ze in the living room before helping Yao Jingjing to their room.
Yao Jingjing rolled around on the bed twice before complaining of nausea, forcing Qian Fei to escort her to the bathroom. Upon entering, Yao Jingjing seemed to find her life's purpose as she lunged for the toilet with vigorous retching.
After emptying her stomach, Yao Jingjing regained full alertness.
Wiping her mouth after rinsing, she declared with dramatic resolve, "Feifei, call him in here! I need to talk to him!"
Qian Fei nearly cried.
Having not vomited, only half the alcohol had metabolized while the rest churned in her stomach. All she wanted now was sleep, not more chaos.
Like a listless ghost, she shuffled out to swap places with Lu Ze.
The moment Lu Ze entered, he closed the door. Standing outside, Qian Fei suddenly felt as pitiful as the Little Match Girl—homeless during the holidays.
Exhausted, she collapsed on the sofa and fell asleep instantly.
But just as she drifted off, a loud "BANG!" erupted from the room.She suddenly sat up, still groggy from sleep, and thought the two people in the room were fighting. Like a rocket-propelled grenade had taken over her body, she immediately sprang up from the couch, rushed to the bedroom door, and slammed into it with all her might. "What's going on? Why are you fighting when you were just talking nicely...?"
Her voice trailed off as she froze at the sight of the two people tangled together in the room, fiercely biting at each other. At their feet lay her thick stack of professional books that had originally been placed on the table.
Just how wild were these two going at it...
Blushing furiously, she backed out and kindly closed the door behind her. Standing outside, she heard a click—the door had been locked from the inside. As the host, she had just been locked out of her own room.
She stood there dumbfounded, thinking to herself, Are those two inside really so shamelessly desperate...?
●︶3︶●
Early the next morning, Yao Jingjing and Lu Ze emerged from the room looking perfectly composed, their faces radiating such righteousness that it seemed as if they had spent the entire night sitting across from each other discussing Zen rather than engaging in any unspeakable activities.
Qian Fei had already prepared breakfast and was setting the table when she called out, "Yao Jing!" But before she could finish her sentence, Yao Jingjing cut her off with righteous indignation: "Don't ask me anything! I don’t remember what happened last night—I blacked out!"
Qian Fei paused, straightened up, and curled her lips disdainfully. "I was just going to ask if you wanted porridge or soy milk. But since you're acting so guilty, it'd be a shame not to play along with your holier-than-thou act!" She narrowed her eyes, and a mischievous expression instantly spread across her face. "Can you tell me why your lips are swollen? Did he slap you repeatedly while you were blacked out?" Qian Fei pointed at Lu Ze with a look of feigned curiosity.
Yao Jingjing remained unflustered. "I spent all night cursing you out—wore my lips out."
Qian Fei laughed. "Would it kill you to maintain a shred of dignity in front of your man?"
She motioned for Yao Jingjing and Lu Ze to sit at the table while she went to knock on Li Yifei’s door to wake him up for breakfast. Through the door, Li Yifei groaned and mumbled that he wanted to sleep a little longer, instructing her to save some of each breakfast dish for him and keep it warm in the pot. He also asked her to iron his favorite gold-buttoned shirt (the same style as before) and reminded her to empty the trash can in his bathroom.
Qian Fei spat at the door in disgust. "Pah! Getting addicted to playing the grandpa, are you? Like I’d actually take care of you—starve into being the grandson you are!"
Despite her words, when she returned to the table, she still set aside a bowl each of soy milk and porridge for him.
Yao Jingjing stared at her and clicked her tongue. "Looks like the saintly syndrome you were born with has gotten worse!"
Qian Fei snorted. "Even those two fat sausages of yours can’t stop your venomous tongue!"
She asked Yao Jingjing and Lu Ze what their plans were after breakfast—whether they wanted to go out or stay home and chat.
Lu Ze said, "I’m taking her back to Dalian later. My assistant already booked the tickets."
Qian Fei was taken aback and looked at Yao Jingjing with reluctance. "Leaving so soon? Can’t you stay a few more days?"
Yao Jingjing also pouted. "He’s got a high-level meeting to chair this afternoon!"Qian Fei looked incredulous. "No way! It's New Year's Day today! The whole of China is on holiday for the new year. Boss Lu, aren't you being a bit too much of a capitalist sweatshop owner like Huang Shiren?"
Lu Ze stared at her impassively and said, "No choice. It was supposed to be held yesterday afternoon, but someone threw a tantrum and I lost the mood for a meeting, so it had to be postponed to today."
Qian Fei glanced at Yao Jingjing and clicked her tongue. "You really have become a femme fatale who brings disaster to men!"
After breakfast, Qian Fei saw Yao Jingjing and Lu Ze off to the airport.
Before boarding, Qian Fei and Yao Jingjing clung to each other as if parting for life, chatting endlessly. Lu Ze watched from the side, both puzzled and exasperated. "Weren't you both just scrolling through Weibo silently in the car earlier?" His implication was clear—why are you talking nonstop now when you had all that time earlier?
Qian Fei and Yao Jingjing turned to him almost simultaneously and said, "You wouldn't understand!"
Qian Fei explained, "It's like exams. Would you study a week before? Of course not!"
Yao Jingjing added, "But the night before the exam? You'd probably pull an all-nighter cramming!"
Lu Ze looked at them, the corner of his mouth twitching imperceptibly.
Just before they entered the boarding gate, Qian Fei said to Lu Ze, "Hurry up and get everything settled at your Dalian branch so you can bring this femme fatale back to Beijing soon! I can't last too long without her—if it drags on, I'll die!"
Surprisingly, Lu Ze broke from his usual stoic demeanor and curled his lips slightly. "Definitely."
Qian Fei patted Yao Jingjing's shoulder. "Go on in, femme fatale!"
Yao Jingjing entered the boarding gate. Lu Ze strode after her with his long legs. After taking a couple of steps, he suddenly stopped and turned back to look at Qian Fei, his face deadpan as he said, "That Li Yifei looks very familiar to me."
Qian Fei put on a serious expression and replied, "Hmm, well, maybe it's because back when he still went by the surname Liu, he once cross-dressed to play a killer named Merciless in a movie!"
Lu Ze actually laughed. "What a coincidence. I watched that movie with Jingjing." He waved and walked away.
When he caught up to Yao Jingjing, she asked, "What were you talking to Feifei about just now?"
He smiled faintly. "Nothing much. I just thought that Li Yifei looks strikingly similar to the chairman of Qiansheng Group."
Yao Jingjing sighed in amazement. "Wow, Qiansheng Group! That bastard Wang Ruohai—oh, Feifei's ex—works there. I applied three times back then but never got in!" Clicking her tongue, she added, "Guess physiognomy is all nonsense. Similar faces, yet one's a big-shot group chairman and the other's a kept pretty boy—worlds apart!"
Lu Ze looked at her, the corner of his mouth twitching again.
These two girls—the one before him and the one named Qian Fei—were the most carefree, oblivious humans he had ever met.
Note: Qiansheng Group is fictional, heh...
Author's note: Thanks to Ma Huateng for the generous thunder and bombs yesterday; also thanks to everyone for your thunder, bombs, encouragement, and support these past few days. Thank you all! Love you!!!!!!!! Also, thanks to everyone who went to gawk at that idiot and left your footprints yesterday. Thanks!!!
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