Qian Fei arrived home and handed the two bottles of liquor to her father. The old man was so moved he nearly burst into tears, endlessly praising his "excellent son-in-law" whom he'd never met as a wonderful young man. He kept pressing Qian Fei to show him a photo of this "excellent son-in-law." When Qian Fei said she didn't have one, her father stubbornly insisted, "Then have him take one right now and send it over!"
Cornered, Qian Fei had no choice but to download a random photo of actor Lau Ching-wan from the internet and show it to her father on her phone.
Peering through his reading glasses, the old man examined it carefully before saying with slight regret, "He looks a bit older than expected, and quite tanned too. But that's alright—what matters is that he's a good person. Besides, his voice sounded quite youthful on the phone!"
Qian Fei nearly collapsed in exasperation.
Those two bottles of liquor had completely revolutionized her father's outlook on life and aesthetic standards.
On New Year's Eve, Qian Fei stayed with her father and stepmother, making dumplings while watching the Spring Festival Gala.
The elderly couple didn't seem to have high expectations—they praised every performance, repeatedly exclaiming, "This year's director is so much better than last year's! Though that long-faced host with the horse-like features still looks as awkward as ever." Qian Fei desperately wanted to tell them that this year's director was the same person as last year's—and happened to be the "horse-face" host's wife.
When the dumplings were wrapped and just minutes remained until midnight, her father asked Qian Fei, "How come Zhao Benshan's skit hasn't appeared yet at this hour?"
With a blank expression, Qian Fei asked, "Didn't you know there's no Zhao Benshan skit in this year's gala?"
Her father froze for a moment before compromising with a pout, "Well, if there's no skit, then his song-and-dance performance would do too!"
Qian Fei felt like kneeling before this old man.
The hosts took turns delivering their lines, with the particularly emotional male host in the middle apparently flubbing one line. Then midnight arrived. A large clock plastered with advertisements counted down—five, four, three, two, one—as the hosts shouted "Happy New Year!" with hoarse and slightly out-of-sync enthusiasm.
Qian Fei jumped up, declaring, "I'll go boil the dumplings!"
Her father grabbed her arm. "Your phone's ringing!" he said, handing her the device.
Unconcerned, Qian Fei continued toward the kitchen. "It's just mass New Year's greetings—ignore it!"
Her father held on persistently. "It's not a text—it's Li Jiaoying calling! Answer it!"
With firecrackers exploding noisily outside, Qian Fei didn't immediately catch the name her father mentioned. Puzzled, she took the phone to look.
The screen displayed three characters: "Li Jiaoying."
Surprised, Qian Fei answered the call, and two completely different conversations unfolded simultaneously from both ends.
Qian Fei: "Did the gas run out or is the electricity gone?"
Li Yifei: "Happy New Year!"
After two seconds of silence, Li Yifei exploded: "Damn it! I'm giving you New Year's greetings—could you be a little more sincere?!"
Qian Fei burst into laughter. "Happy New Year to you too! Wow, I never imagined Young Master Li would respect his landlady enough to stoop to wishing her a happy new year!"
Li Yifei scoffed and commanded imperiously, "Pass the phone to your dad!"
Qian Fei was baffled. "Why my dad?"
Li Yifei mocked her. "I'm kindly helping you commit to the act—hurry up and appreciate the gesture! Aren't I your so-called boyfriend? What kind of boyfriend doesn't wish his future father-in-law a happy new year?"Qian Fei seemed to hear a faint sound resembling a plate dropping from the other end of the phone. She let out a carefree laugh, "You really care about the integrity of the plot and logic!" She turned her head, avoiding her father, and lowered her voice into the phone, "I say, is your girlfriend at home? Are you two cooking? I definitely heard the sound of a plate dropping! You two better take it easy, don’t go wrecking the kitchen for me!"
Li Yifei replied irritably, "Cut the nonsense and hand the phone to your dad!"
Qian Fei turned around and passed the phone to her father.
The old man took the phone with a suspicious look, but upon hearing the voice on the other end, his expression instantly brightened as if performing a face-changing act: "Ah, Xiao Li! Thank you! Happy New Year to you too! Good! Good! The liquor is great! It’s just too expensive, thank you so much! Oh no, we can’t accept more, two bottles are enough! You must come over when you have time, your uncle and aunt will make dumplings for you! Send my regards to your father! Alright, take care of yourself too, goodbye!"
The old man returned the phone to Qian Fei with great satisfaction, still praising, "This kid is so thoughtful! Such a good boy!"
Qian Fei barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
She took the phone back and asked Li Yifei, "Hey buddy, what did you say to my dad to make him so happy?"
Li Yifei evaded the question, "When are you coming back?"
Qian Fei asked, "What, are you going to pick me up?"
Li Yifei: "Do you have a lot of stuff?"
Qian Fei: "A lot."
Li Yifei: "Then forget I asked."
Qian Fei: "..."
After hanging up, Qian Fei finally couldn’t hold back and rolled her eyes.
Her father was still muttering beside her, "...Xiao Fei, why do you call such a good kid 'Li Pretentious'? You can’t be too picky, you’re not getting any younger, don’t end up a leftover woman from being too choosy!"
Qian Fei resisted the urge to cover her ears and fled to the kitchen like her life depended on it.
As she boiled dumplings, she thought indignantly: Li Pretentious is such a menace, way too good at winning people over!
●︶3︶●
Jin Tian heard that Li Yifei wasn’t going back to spend New Year’s with his father, so she canceled her ticket home. On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, Li Yifei brought her to his place. While he wasn’t paying attention, she sneaked a peek at Qian Fei’s room.
The furnishings were simple, even rough, with not a trace of girlish style—no pink hues whatsoever.
It was practically a man’s room. She finally felt somewhat relieved. This female landlord’s personality was truly that of a tomboy.
Li Yifei had always kept her at arm’s length, leaving her feeling uncertain. She had met Li Yifei through Dajun, who was a friend of her best friend’s boyfriend. From Dajun, she learned that Li Yifei was no poor boy—his family was loaded. Once she knew about his background and saw his looks, she was determined to win this man over.
Many of her girlfriends had landed big-brand endorsements after climbing the social ladder; some even had wealthy "boyfriends" willing to invest in them, forcefully propping up two or three rising starlets.
She believed her own foundation wasn’t bad, but she’d never had the chance to meet the right people. Meeting Li Yifei, she was struck by how his family background and looks were no worse—if not better—than those of her friends’ lovers.She went all out to please Li Yifei, putting in great effort to present her most sweet and obedient side. At first, she thought Li Yifei had developed feelings for her too, but then, without her noticing exactly when, his attitude toward her quietly changed.
The more time they spent together, the less it felt like they were actually dating. Or rather, upon closer reflection, the relationship Li Yifei had crafted for them never truly progressed beyond the "almost lovers" stage.
She grew increasingly anxious, especially after seeing that female landlord. A woman's intuition made her keenly aware that Li Yifei's feelings and interactions with that landlord were different from how he treated any other woman.
She had been racking her brain, trying to figure out how to push him to take the next step—to break through that thin barrier and officially define their relationship as "boyfriend and girlfriend." Just as she was struggling to find a way forward, he unexpectedly invited her to celebrate the New Year with him.
She thought she saw hope.
But once they got to his place, all he asked was, "Can you cook?"
She replied that she only knew a few simple dishes.
So he asked her to teach him.
Then, at midnight, he hurried into the living room to make a phone call.
As she washed the dishes, she overheard him say, "I’m just trying to help you keep up appearances—you should appreciate it! Aren’t I supposed to be your so-called boyfriend? What kind of boyfriend doesn’t pay New Year’s respects to his future father-in-law?"
Her hands trembled, and a plate slipped to the floor.
●︶3︶●
After hanging up, Li Yifei walked into the kitchen and saw Jin Tian bent over, picking up the broken pieces. "What happened?" he asked.
Jin Tian looked up at him with pitiful eyes. "My hands slipped, and the plate fell! I’m sorry, Yifei!"
Li Yifei raised an eyebrow. "It’s fine. I’ll buy new ones tomorrow. A tough girl like you wouldn’t get upset over this."
Once Jin Tian finished cleaning up, he added, "Let me take you out for a late-night snack. After that, I’ll drop you off at home."
Jin Tian was visibly taken aback. "You don’t want me to stay with you?"
Li Yifei smirked. "Dajun just texted me to come over to his place."
Jin Tian’s heart sank.
In the elevator, she finally couldn’t hold back anymore. "Yifei, why did you invite me over today?"
Li Yifei replied, "You mentioned you weren’t going home for the New Year, so I thought you might be lonely. I figured we could watch some TV together, and you could teach me a bit of cooking."
Jin Tian looked at him mournfully. "But did you know? I only canceled my train ticket home because of you!"
Li Yifei glanced down at her and frowned slightly. "You really didn’t have to do that. I’ll buy you a plane ticket home tomorrow."
Tears welled up in Jin Tian’s eyes. "Yifei, answer me this—in your heart, do I even count as your girlfriend?"
Li Yifei paused, thinking carefully before responding, "Jin Tian, why don’t you be my little sister instead? From now on, if you ever need anything, come to me. I’ll help you however I can."
The elevator reached the ground floor, and the doors slid open with a "ding."
Tears streaming down her face, Jin Tian asked, "Is it because of her?"
Li Yifei frowned. "Honestly, I don’t know."He felt that this "she" defied all his usual aesthetic standards—she wasn't sweet, didn't act coy or spoiled, was careless and thick-skinned, and even had that despicable do-gooder mentality. By all accounts, she embodied every trait he disliked in women, yet he found himself increasingly enjoying her company. Their daily bickering and banter somehow brought him genuine joy. It had only been a few days since she left, yet the house already felt unbearably empty and dull.
Jin Tian smiled through her tears and said to him, "Remember, you promised that if I ever needed anything, I could come to you, and you'd take care of it!"
Li Yifei nodded.
Jin Tian wiped her tears away. "Then... take me home, big brother!"
●︶3︶●
On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Qian Fei received another call from Li Jiaoyang (Mr. Finicky).
As soon as the call connected, she heard Li Yifei's lazy drawl: "Hey Sanitary Pad, when are you coming back?"
Qian Fei was pretty sure she'd told him she'd return to Beijing on the tenth. "What's the matter? Can't your girlfriend satisfy your cravings with her stir-fried eggplant strips? And who are you calling 'Sanitary Pad'?"
Li Yifei replied sarcastically, "How inconsiderate can you be? Work resumes on the ninth, yet you're only coming back on the tenth. Do you even deserve that socialist salary of yours?"
Qian Fei scoffed. "Look who's talking—a capitalist-spoiled playboy lecturing me! This is the only time all year I get to visit home, and I can't even stay a couple extra days?"
Li Yifei shot back, "You should've gone home during National Day!"
Qian Fei argued, "My dad and stepmom were traveling then—what home was there to go back to?"
Suddenly, she realized there was no point in bickering with Li Yifei over this. His call was baffling. She glanced at the digital wall clock, its bright red display flashing: Fifth day of the Guisi Year, February 14, 2013.
Author's Note: Thank you to all the generous patrons who threw thunderbolts! Mwah mwah mwah mwah mwah mwah mwah! [Lips puckered into plump sausages] Already ranked over 200th—I'm overwhelmed, thank you all! Deep bow!!!!
Some girls just asked for points and left comments like "Give points." It's not that I won't give them to you, but the system only enables the "send points" button for comments over 25 characters. With just two words, I literally can't send them even if I wanted to ><
As you wished, Little Sweetie has been dealt with, heh... [By the way, I saw a mischievous reader calling her "Diabetes" in the comments—where on earth did you get that brilliant idea?!]
Comments over 25 characters will receive 2 points—every single one gets points! ^_^
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