A week later, the old man's surgery was successful.
The day before the surgery, Yao Jingjing, having heard the news, made a special trip back from Dalian. The next day, she accompanied Qian Fei as they waited outside the operating room together.
Li Yifei looked at them and said sincerely, "I used to think the term 'best friends' was almost ruined by those bizarre pairs of women on BBS who pretend to be close but secretly scheme against each other, turning it into a derogatory term. But seeing you two, I’m starting to believe it’s still a good word—that life is full of positive energy and hope!"
Qian Fei and Yao Jingjing were quite flattered by this sentiment but begged Li Yifei to stick to his usual carefree tone in the future. They found his sudden shift to a news-anchor-like earnestness, especially the overly lofty ending, a bit too much to handle.
After the successful surgery, Yao Jingjing returned to Dalian, basking in the honor of being the "Best Friend of China."
Qian Fei took leave from work to help Aunt He care for the old man during the day. In the evenings, after dinner and once the old man had fallen asleep, she would hand over duties to the nurse and head home with Li Yifei.
Whenever she could manage, she would study for two hours at home to prepare for the securities qualification exam at the end of November.
Though exhausted every day, she felt it was all worth it. Seeing the old man recover day by day without any post-surgery complications, she considered herself the luckiest person in the world.
During this time, Wang Ruohai came to the hospital to visit the old man, but Qian Fei stopped him. The old man still gritted his teeth at the mention of Wang Ruohai, and she was afraid his presence might upset him.
Wang Ruohai looked dejected. Before leaving, he asked gloomily, "How have you been lately?" He added, "You’ve lost so much weight—take care of yourself!" and told her, "I’m still single."
Qian Fei replied calmly, "I already have someone I like."
Wang Ruohai stared at her, his eyes flickering with shock, regret, loss, and unwillingness. Finally, under Qian Fei’s unwavering composure, he left in defeat.
Li Yifei wasn’t present during Wang Ruohai’s visit. When he later heard about it, his expression darkened.
"I’ve never seen such a ridiculous person. Who does he think he is? After cheating and running off, he has the nerve to come back with love and regret, acting like some invincible true love?" Li Yifei’s words were sharp and biting, as if his tongue were a laser gun’s trigger.
Qian Fei responded mildly, "I’ve met someone like that before."
Li Yifei asked, "Who?"
Qian Fei said, "Gui Lili."
Li Yifei fell silent.
Later, he asked Qian Fei, "I never got the chance to ask—didn’t that Wang guy cheat on you for some rich woman? Why did he come back? Who was she, and where did she go? How useless could she be, failing to keep him tied down?" That woman was truly unreliable—able to conquer but not hold, giving that good-for-nothing Wang Ruohai chances to keep popping up and making his presence felt.
Qian Fei said, "I heard she was quite spoiled and didn’t treat his mother well."
Li Yifei almost remarked, "At least he’s still a man who knows filial piety," but then realized it would make Wang Ruohai look better, so he swallowed the words.The next noon, while Qian Fei was taking care of her father in the hospital, she received a call from her company and stepped out to answer it. When she returned, the scene unfolding in the ward nearly made her scream in shock.
She actually saw Li Yifei helping her father urinate!
No amount of imagination in her lifetime could have prepared her for such a sight!
That man—pampered, germaphobic, and suffering from an extreme case of young master syndrome—who would scrub his face raw if even a speck of someone else’s saliva landed on it, was now rolling up his sleeves and personally helping her father relieve himself, unbothered by the filth, exhaustion, or the stench!
Qian Fei was stunned. For a moment, she wondered if she was witnessing a smog-induced mirage in Beijing.
When Li Yifei got up to wash his hands, Qian Fei followed him.
To his surprise, he saw her reflection in the mirror looking on the verge of tears.
He raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s up? About to cry? Did I mistreat the old man or something?”
Qian Fei sniffled, shot him a glare, and said, “Can’t I just be moved by you for once?”
Li Yifei turned off the faucet, shook the water from his hands, ran his fingers through his hair from front to back, and flashed a smug, handsome grin as he asked, “Am I just the epitome of charm, sexiness, and handsomeness?”
Qian Fei felt all her sincere gratitude evaporate instantly.
With a deadpan expression, she asked, “Weren’t you disgusted?”
Li Yifei answered honestly, “I was!”
Qian Fei pressed, “Then why did you still do it?”
Li Yifei replied, “Because he’s your dad.”
Qian Fei sniffled again, then patted his shoulder and said, “Good boy. Since you’re so well-behaved, I promise I won’t trick my dad with Liu Qingyun’s photos anymore!”
●︶3︶●
After the urination incident, Qian Fei’s father once again launched into an endless cycle of praise for his “future son-in-law,” his enthusiasm belying the fact that he had just undergone a life-threatening surgery.
Holding Qian Fei’s hand weakly but chattering nonstop, he said, “Sweetheart, remember to put on a face mask when you get home! Look how sallow your skin has gotten from these past few days! Xiao Li is just wonderful—handsome, smart, dresses better than you, and isn’t afraid of getting dirty or tired while taking care of me. This future son-in-law of mine is a living Lei Feng you couldn’t find even with a lantern! Little Feifei, listen to your dad—don’t stay up with me tonight, go home and get your beauty sleep! If those dark circles don’t fade, you won’t be good enough for Xiao Li!”
After listening to this lengthy speech, Qian Fei had only one response for her panting father.
“Dad, do you need some oxygen first?”
Later, Qian Fei privately asked Aunt He how she could tolerate such a chatterbox. Aunt He smiled and said, “That’s exactly why I fell for your dad in the first place!”
Qian Fei was touched. While most people held biases against stepmothers, she had witnessed her stepmother’s unwavering devotion to her father.
That evening, her father shooed her out of the hospital early, insisting, “Go home and get your beauty sleep—don’t embarrass Xiao Li!”
After dinner, she sat at her desk reviewing her studies.
Li Yifei sat beside her, wearing headphones and playing an online game.
When she came across a problem she was unsure about, she nudged Li Yifei’s arm for help.
Without hesitation, he paused the game, took off his headphones, and picked up the workbook to explain the problem to her in detail.Qian Fei tilted her head, propping her cheek with her hand as she watched Li Yifei, listening attentively. The light cast on her face exuded a serene and gentle glow.
Under her gaze, Li Yifei's explanation gradually slowed, his voice shifting from crisp to lingering. Eventually, he stopped speaking, leaned in close, and kissed her.
After a while, Qian Fei pushed him away.
"Your headset is blowing up!"
Li Yifei stared into her eyes, rubbing her lips, his voice hoarse as he said, "I thought you'd slap me again!"
Qian Fei grinned at him. "Not today—it felt pretty good!"
Li Yifei laughed too, his eyes brimming with mischief. "Then can I kiss you again tomorrow?"
Qian Fei arched an eyebrow in imitation of him. "We'll see tomorrow!"
Just as Li Yifei was about to say more, his phone suddenly rang.
He answered. On the other end, Dajun was howling like someone had stepped on his tail, his voice so loud that even Qian Fei could hear every word clearly.
"Li Yifei, you goddamn bastard! Can you take some responsibility for once?! You said you'd help me level up, but then you just stopped out of nowhere at the critical moment! I got wrecked by the boss and sent back thirty years, you jerk! What the hell were you even doing?! Tell me! Tell me! If you don’t give me a good reason, I’m coming over with a cleaver to chop you to pieces!!! Hurry up, what were you doing just now?! Why didn’t you answer when I was screaming for help in the headset?!"
Li Yifei replied nonchalantly into the phone, "Kissing my woman."
Dajun let out a wail, crying and roaring, "Li Yifei, you’re a traitorous, womanizing scumbag! I’m never playing with you again!"
●︶3︶●
By mid-October, the old man showed no signs of relapse and had recovered well. Qian Fei sent him and Auntie He back to their hometown hospital for recuperation. Li Yifei wanted to go with them, but Qian Fei refused. Issues had arisen with the hotel project their companies were collaborating on, and the securities regulator was coming to investigate, so she insisted he stay to handle the inspection.
Qian Fei hired an expensive but seemingly reliable full-time caregiver from a local agency to assist Auntie He in looking after the old man. Both the old man and Auntie He fretted over the cost, but Qian Fei firmly reassured them, "Don’t worry about the money. Next month, I’ll officially be a candidate sponsor rep. Once I sign a project, I’ll be a full-fledged sponsor in no time, and I’ll make tons of money for you in minutes!"
After settling everything, she returned to Beijing, exhausted from the journey.
The day after her return, she got up early and went straight to the office.
Not long after arriving, she was summoned into the big boss’s office.
The boss dropped a bombshell on her.
Very tactfully, he informed her that due to her excessive absenteeism, headquarters had decided to let her go.
When Qian Fei heard the news, the world seemed to spin around her. She had worked so hard preparing for the sponsor representative exam, only to receive this blow.
She didn’t know what was happening to her lately—one misfortune after another, leaving her no time to catch her breath.
She packed up her things that same day. As she was leaving, Xiaoyuan and Sister Jin came out to see her off, their eyes brimming with tears.
Suddenly, she felt that these years hadn’t been wasted—at least she had earned some genuine tears upon her departure.
And so, she cried too, feeling oddly fulfilled.
●︶3︶●Qian Fei didn't tell Li Yifei about being fired. She carried a cardboard box and took the subway home alone.
After getting home, she lay gloomily on the bed, thinking about her uncertain future and not wanting to do anything.
After a while, Li Yifei texted her, telling her not to leave after work and wait for him to pick her up so they could go home together.
She replied weakly to Li Yifei that she was already home.
The next second, Li Yifei called directly: "Why are you home already at noon? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
Qian Fei tried to keep her voice steady and normal: "I'm not unwell anywhere, I just got fired for skipping work too much!"
On the other end of the phone, Li Yifei was silent for two seconds before saying: "Wait for me at home!" Then he hung up.
Qian Fei stared blankly at the hung-up phone. She still wanted to tell him to focus on work, not to worry, that she was fine.
An hour later, Li Yifei stormed into the house like a whirlwind.
He rushed into Qian Fei's room, scooped up the lump lying on the bed, his face beaming with joy.
Qian Fei almost doubted whether she had misread his facial expression.
She looked at him puzzled and asked: "Are your nerve endings malfunctioning? I've lost my job, can't take the sponsor representative exam anymore, yet you look happier than winning five million?"
Li Yifei shook her shoulders, delighted: "Why shouldn't I be happy? Now I can get you into our company and openly flirt with you every day!"
Author's note:
Exams like the sponsor representative exam can't be registered individually; you must rely on a securities company to register. Meaning if Qian Fei loses her job, she can't register for the exam... So you should understand how bad it is for her to be fired, and Li Yifei is practically saving her from dire straits, haha...
I've already said, beauties who haven't received points, don't worry, it's just that I can't send them out TT. Every day's update is forced, and replying to comments is pure luck. Collections drop by one or two hundred daily, JJ's current behavior is driving me crazy TT.
Damn, so many people threw mines, bombs, and cannons yesterday! Bowing in gratitude!!! But beauties, please don't spend any more money!!! And you two little rich kids, stop throwing money like crazy, I really can't take it anymore!!!!!!!!!!
OpenNovel