After the on-site due diligence work was completed, Qian Fei and Li Yifei returned to their respective companies to resume work.
Ever since that drunken night, Qian Fei had felt that Li Yifei was acting a bit strange. But she couldn’t quite put her finger on what exactly was off. In any case, she sensed that he seemed to be caught in some sort of tangled, conflicted mood. She thought with slight irritation that perhaps Gui Lili’s marriage had hit him harder than expected.
Rumors about the IPO market reopening had circulated several times, only to be brutally debunked each time. The reopening date remained elusive, while the number of companies queued up for approval with the China Securities Regulatory Commission had already exceeded seven hundred. With stocks unable to be issued and capital unable to be raised, investment banks began struggling. Many securities firms started cutting the allowances for their sponsors. Qian Fei’s company fared even worse—not only were sponsor allowances reduced, but employee salaries were slashed as well.
When the new month’s salary arrived, Qian Fei nearly dropped to her knees in despair—her pay had been cut by a full eight hundred yuan. Xiao Yuan was even more furious, slamming her desk and cursing headquarters: "Whose goddamn idea was this? My salary’s barely higher than a noodle shop waitress now! If anyone calls me a white-collar worker again, I’ll be too ashamed to even respond!"
Sister Jin tried to calm everyone down: "Keep it down, everyone. This is just the first step. If the IPO market doesn’t reopen soon, I wouldn’t be surprised if layoffs start happening!"
After that, no one dared to openly complain anymore.
Secretly, though, everyone seized whatever opportunities they could to recoup some of their losses. For instance, when running errands, they’d take the subway instead of a taxi, then ask friends for taxi receipts to submit for reimbursement. Or when dining out—where no one used to bother with receipts—now they not only collected invoices for their own meals but also asked friends to save theirs. Once they’d gathered enough, they’d submit them at month’s end under the guise of project activity expenses, signed off by the project leader, and handed to accounting—effectively clawing back some of their lost wages.
Liu Yifeng was particularly kind to Qian Fei, turning a blind eye to her receipts without scrutinizing each one. Whenever she brought them to him, he’d simply sign off in the project leader column with a flourish. Qian Fei was deeply grateful—without these reimbursements, she might not even have been able to keep up with her mortgage payments.
However, Sister Jin privately shared an unverified rumor with her, cautioning her not to spread it yet.
"A certain Sino-foreign joint venture securities firm might be poaching Director Kong and Liu Yifeng!"
Qian Fei’s heart sank at the news. Just as she’d finally built good relationships with Director Kong and Liu Yifeng, this happened. She felt like fate was toying with her. She decided to visit the Lama Temple that weekend to pray for Buddha’s blessing—hoping Director Kong and Liu Yifeng would stay at the company a little longer, at least until she was fully capable on her own before saying goodbye.
The company used to have a policy where full-time employees could apply for a new computer every three years. Qian Fei had gotten a laptop three years prior—the one she was still using at home. She’d originally thought she wouldn’t take advantage of company resources as long as her current laptop still worked. But after the pay cut, she felt her spirit had been severely wounded. She urgently needed other benefits to soothe this injury and decided to abandon any pretense of noble self-restraint—she would actively and reasonably exercise her rights.She wasn't used to Apple's operating system, and after much deliberation, decided to forgo showing off and bought a practical, durable ThinkPad instead.
While setting up her new laptop that evening, she got a call from Yao Jingjing, who asked her for a favor over the phone.
"Feifei, I have an aunt from my hometown who married into a rural family when she was young. They've always struggled financially. My cousin is a really honest girl, but she didn’t do well in school and didn’t get into college. My aunt heard I was in Beijing and asked me to help my cousin get into a culinary school—she wants to learn stir-frying. I’ve already looked into the school and housing arrangements, and this weekend, my aunt and cousin are coming to town. But something came up with Lu Ze, and neither of us can get away. So, Feifei, I’m counting on you to help take care of them!"
Qian Fei immediately thumped her chest in assurance. "No problem, leave it to me!"
Yao Jingjing pleaded over the phone, "Feifei, please take good care of them. My uncle passed away early, and my aunt raised my cousin all by herself—it hasn’t been easy. When I was little, I used to spend holidays at their place in the countryside. This is the first time they’ve ever asked me for help, and I can’t even be there!"
Qian Fei said right away, "You don’t have to worry when I’m on the case—I’m way more reliable than you anyway! Just wait and see, I won’t let you down!"
Over the weekend, Qian Fei told Li Yifei to go find his own food—she had something to take care of.
Li Yifei grabbed her and asked what was up. Qian Fei briefly explained Yao Jingjing’s request.
Li Yifei lounged on the sofa, crossing his legs, and let out a long, drawn-out "Ohhh." Then he said, "You should be awarded the title of 'Model of Socialist Virtues'—such a kindhearted soul!" He then shook his foot and raised an eyebrow. "Normally, I wouldn’t bother with this kind of trivial matter, but today, I’m in a good mood. A buddy of mine happens to have an uncle who’s the principal of that school. If you want to secure a good dorm spot for the kid and maybe waive some unnecessary fees, all it takes is one call from me. If you’re interested, you’ve got thirty seconds to start buttering me up."
Without hesitation, Qian Fei pounced on him, wrapping her arms around his leg and shaking it. "Oh mighty warrior, noble hero! Make that call! I’ll pay the phone bill—if it costs fifty cents, I’ll give you a whole yuan! You’re like a blazing fire in winter, warming my heart—oh my gosh, so toasty!"
Li Yifei shook her off, scoffing, "Cut it out, stop finding excuses to grope me!" He picked up his phone and made the call. Qian Fei could hear every word—he sounded like a boss giving orders, and through the phone, she could practically see the other person nodding like a chicken pecking at rice, frantically agreeing, "Yes, yes, no problem, got it!"
She thought this young master really had the art of bossing people around down to a science.
After hanging up, Li Yifei told her everything was settled—Yao Jingjing’s cousin would get the royal treatment with a top-tier dorm spot.
Qian Fei checked the time. There was no chance to compose an 800-word praise essay, so she just said, "I’ll make you stir-fried eggplant later!" and bolted out the door toward the train station.
Behind her, Li Yifei’s voice seemed to linger in the air. Unfortunately, she didn’t catch it clearly—it was the young master condescendingly asking, "Do you want me to come with you?"Thus, she completely missed the sight of Young Master Li's proud and sulky demeanor—his cold expression, furrowed brows, and haughty snort at the sky—after being ignored by her.
After picking up Yao Jingjing’s aunt and cousin, Qian Fei took them to the school’s address and busied herself helping them complete the enrollment procedures. That phone call from Li Yifei indeed spared the cousin many fees, and for the dormitory, she got a double room at the price of an eight-person one. Qian Fei genuinely felt she ought to cook Li Yifei a proper meal when she got back.
Once the fees were paid, Qian Fei took the cousin to the dorm, helped her make the bed, tidy up the room, and even smoothed things over with the roommates. She handled everything she could think of with thoroughness and grace.
After settling them in, Qian Fei decided to treat the mother and daughter to a nice meal before seeing the aunt off. During the meal, she unexpectedly sensed the cousin’s boundless longing for a laptop. The girl said, “When I earn money, two-thirds will go to my mom, and the remaining third I’ll save up to buy a laptop!”
Qian Fei’s heart ached at this. After all the girl’s hard work, this was her only wish. After the meal, she rushed home, transferred the files from her old laptop, and took the computer back to the culinary school.
When she handed the laptop to the cousin, the girl burst into tears of joy. The aunt insisted on paying, but Qian Fei adamantly refused, saying it was Yao Jingjing’s idea. In the end, the aunt also cried, clutching Qian Fei’s hand and saying, “How can I ever thank you, dear niece?”
Qian Fei felt a pang in her heart. Having lived in the dazzling metropolis for so long, she had nearly forgotten what it meant to be “content.” Yet the aunt and cousin, despite their hardships, understood gratitude and satisfaction far better than she did.
The next day, Qian Fei saw the aunt off at the train station. On the subway ride home, she received a call from Yao Jingjing.
“Feifei, thank you for taking such good care of my aunt and cousin! My aunt called me in tears, saying you even gave your laptop to my cousin! Feifei, I won’t bother with formalities—we’ve got a whole lifetime ahead of us, and I’ll make it up to you! Oh, and Feifei, happy birthday! I’ll always love you, you beast!”
Only then did Qian Fei remember—today was her birthday.
Telling Yao Jingjing to stop being so sentimental because she couldn’t take it, Qian Fei nonetheless felt warmth spread through her chest.
As she was about to exit the subway, she received a text from an unknown number—just four words: Happy birthday.
She scrutinized the number but didn’t recognize it. Still, since the sender knew it was her birthday, they must be someone she knew.
She tried calling back, but all she got was an automated voice informing her that the number was out of service.
Qian Fei found it a little surreal—how could a deactivated number still send texts?
●︶3︶●
When she got home, she was surprised to find the dining table laden with dishes and a case of beer on the floor beside it. Hearing her come in, Li Yifei emerged from his room.
Qian Fei’s jaw nearly hit the floor. Pointing at the table, she asked Li Yifei, “You made this?”
Li Yifei smirked. “Would you believe me if I said yes?”
Qian Fei shook her head. “No!” After a pause, she tapped her forehead. “Right, then why am I so surprised?” She concluded confidently, “You ordered takeout, didn’t you?”Li Yifei nodded and went into the kitchen, returning with a bottle of red wine and two glasses.
Qian Fei was a bit stunned. "What's going on? Breaking out the red?"
Li Yifei said, "It's your birthday after all. Gotta elevate the quality and style of your life!"
Qian Fei chuckled. "So you remembered it's my birthday today! Heh!" She nudged the beer cans at her feet with her foot and asked, "What about these?"
Li Yifei replied, "We'll tackle them after the red." He subtly shifted his gaze and asked, "Besides me, who else remembered your birthday?"
Qian Fei said, "Yao Jing and an unknown number."
Li Yifei poured two glasses of red wine, handing one to Qian Fei and keeping the other for himself. "Unknown number?"
Qian Fei passed her phone to Li Yifei. "Here, look! It's really strange. I tried calling back to ask who it was, but the line was always disconnected. Can you still send texts if your phone is disconnected?"
Li Yifei glanced at the number on the phone and memorized it instantly. A thought struck him. He returned the phone to Qian Fei, set his wine glass on the table, and excused himself to the bathroom, saying he needed to clear his system before coming back to drink with her. Once in the bathroom, he dialed the number on his own phone.
The ringback tone that played shocked him.
He was all too familiar with the most obnoxious ringback tone in the entire capital—so much so that it nearly made him sick. He had mocked the old man's management style countless times for resorting to such extreme measures to promote the company. Yet, the stubborn old man paid no heed to his ridicule, insisting that every employee in the group had to set this absurd ringback tone. Even more absurd was the fact that some people actually took pride in using it.
Amid a melodious tune, a gentle female voice announced: "Warmly celebrating Qiansheng Group's new achievements! We welcome sincere partners for collaboration! Qiansheng Group is an enterprise with a..."
Before the glorious historical background could finish reciting, the call was answered. A man's voice came through the receiver, asking, "Hello, may I ask who's calling?"
Li Yifei quickly composed himself, suppressing his astonishment, and lowered his voice to improvise, "Is this President Wang?"
The other party sounded displeased. "No, you've got the wrong number!"
Before the man could hang up, Li Yifei hurriedly asked, "My apologies. May I ask your surname, then? Vice President Liao gave me this number to contact President Wang, but it led me to you."
Hearing Vice President Liao mentioned, the man's tone shifted, shedding his impatience. "My surname is Wang. The President Wang you're referring to retired at the end of last year. I've taken over his position now."
Li Yifei said, "Ah, I see. I must have misunderstood. I'll double-check President Wang's number then."
He hung up, his mind racing with countless thoughts.
He remembered Qian Fei mentioning that her cheating ex-boyfriend's surname was Wang—Wang something, he couldn't recall the full name.
He also remembered her saying he worked at a big company. But he never imagined that this "big company" was the old man's empire.
A wave of irritation washed over him. Of course, he knew President Wang had retired at the end of last year, but he hadn't expected this Wang guy to be the successor. He'd climbed the ladder fast!
What was this Wang guy playing at? Clearly, he had blocked Qian Fei's number, so why would he send her a birthday message?Li Yifei felt this damned pretty boy was way too much of a bully—what gave him the right to mess around with his honest and naive ex-girlfriend on a whim?
For a fleeting moment, he suddenly had the urge to make up with that damn old man!
Author's Note:
What exactly does that little bitch Wang Ruohai mean, hehehehe...
Jinjiang is being so damn glitchy!! Can't send out points, don't worry everyone, I'll send them all once it stops acting up!!!
Big thanks to all you generous beauties who threw mines and bombs! Truly appreciate your love, you really really really shouldn't have!!! I wanna be friends with you all!!!!!!!
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