Zhao De's sudden passing had a profound impact on Qian Fei.
She came to understand one truth: people shouldn't suppress their emotions. If you want to do something, be brave and do it without hesitation or excessive concerns. Otherwise, if one day you unexpectedly pass away before getting the chance, it would leave both the living and the deceased with irreparable lifelong regrets.
She calmed her mind and thought carefully about many things. She realized her previous positioning and attitude toward Li Yifei had been somewhat affected. Before, she thought she was being prudent, tempering Li Yifei, and discerning whether he was truly the right person to entrust her life to. But now, she felt she had simply been wasting time.
Why so many concerns? Life is so short and unpredictable—how can we not seize the day?
On their way to work one morning, while waiting at a red light, Li Yifei reached over to hold her hand. At that moment, waves of emotion surged in her heart. Unlike usual, when she would half-jokingly say, "Men and women shouldn't touch—stop being a rogue," she instead tightly grasped his hand in return.
Li Yifei turned to her in surprise and exclaimed, "Huh? You're being unusually docile today!"
Qian Fei turned her head, looked at him seriously, and said, "Li Yifei, starting today, let's officially date!"
Li Yifei froze, so stunned he didn't even notice the light turn green.
The cars behind them honked furiously. Li Yifei glanced at Qian Fei, then shifted gears and drove forward.
Once the car was moving steadily, Li Yifei kept his eyes on the road and asked, "What's gotten into you?"
Qian Fei replied, "Originally, I thought I'd wait until after my sponsor representative exam to carefully consider what kind of relationship to pursue with you. But now, I feel nothing is more important than seizing the moment! I don't care anymore—even if one day you grow tired of me, I'm willing to take that risk. We can't stop eating for fear of choking, nor can we give up the joy of a good process just because we're afraid of a bad outcome."
Li Yifei remained silent, his fingers drumming rhythmically on the steering wheel.
Qian Fei nudged him and asked, "What are you thinking? Here I am having an epiphany about life, and you're just sitting there saying nothing—is that fair?"
Li Yifei spared her a sidelong glance and said, "I've been the one chasing you all this time. Now that you're finally chasing me for once, can't I prolong this moment of being pursued, savor the feeling, and torment the pursuer a little?"
Looking at his smug, cheeky expression, Qian Fei couldn't help but laugh helplessly.
●︶3︶●
On November 30th, Qian Fei calmly headed to the exam center.
A week later, she checked her results on the Securities Association website.
She had passed!
Out of the four people in their company's Beijing branches who passed this round, the other three had taken the exam multiple times and were much older. Thus, the young Qian Fei became instantly famous for passing on her first attempt, becoming the only female quasi-sponsor in her department and the youngest female quasi-sponsor in the entire company.
The day the results came out, the deputy general manager's attitude toward Qian Fei did a complete 180-degree turn. He patted Li Yifei on the shoulder and said, "Xiao Li, you were right! Xiao Qian really passed on her first try!"
Qian Fei proposed treating their department colleagues to dinner after work that evening.
She told Li Yifei, "I want to thank everyone for putting up with me focusing on studying and not working much before."Li Yifei raised an eyebrow at her with a playful grin. "Then you should thank me—I did your share of the work too!" After laughing, he patted her shoulder. "Go ahead and treat them if you want. After all, you’ll be their leader soon. Building good relationships now will make things easier later."
Qian Fei was taken aback. "How would I become their leader? Aren’t you the head of our department?"
Li Yifei smiled. "I’ve pretty much reached the top in this field, so I don’t think I’ll stay in this line of work much longer." He ruffled her hair. "I need to train you up as quickly as possible!"
Qian Fei thought for a moment before asking, "And after that?"
Li Yifei replied, "After that, this world will be yours. I’ll go do what I’m meant to do."
She almost asked what that was, but then remembered his import-export company outside of work and didn’t press further. She assumed his "meant to do" referred to expanding that business.
●︶3︶●
Throughout December, Li Yifei took Qian Fei to Zhejiang for a private bond project. The work wasn’t particularly challenging, and Li Yifei felt it didn’t truly push her abilities. What he really wanted was an equity offering project—that way, Qian Fei could sign as a co-organizer and officially register as a sponsor representative after completion.
By late December, the on-site work for the private bond project was finished. Li Yifei returned to Beijing with Qian Fei and the project team. Before the month ended, they submitted the bond issuance materials to the Shanghai Stock Exchange for filing. This was Qian Fei’s first time completing a project as a core team member. Though small in scale, it held extraordinary significance for her.
On December 31st, Qian Fei woke up early to find Li Yifei already sitting in the living room. "Why are you up so early?" she asked.
Instead of answering, he asked, "Do you know the meaning of '1314'?"
Qian Fei paused, then nodded. Recently, social media had been flooded with posts like: "Spend New Year’s Eve 2013 with someone, and you’ll go from '13' to '14'—meaning you’ll stay together for a lifetime!"
With a chuckle, she teased, "Are you indirectly confessing your love to me?"
Li Yifei narrowed his eyes, his expression playful but his voice sincere and tender. "Today, let’s stay home—just the two of us—and quietly ring in the New Year. We’ll spend the day being sweet, and tonight, you’ll stir-fry eggplant while I cook the rice. Let’s give our '1314,' and the lifetime after it, the perfect start."
Qian Fei looked at him and smiled happily.
●︶3︶●
On January 1st, Li Yifei received a phone call that left him visibly upset. From the fragments of conversation she overheard, Qian Fei guessed it was from his father. She couldn’t make out what they were arguing about, and Li Yifei refused to explain.
After the holiday, the company’s headquarters assigned a new project—an equity offering for a listed company—to the Beijing branch. Several departments competed fiercely for it, but Li Yifei pulled strings behind the scenes to secure it, determined to fast-track Qian Fei’s registration as a sponsor representative.He took Qian Fei and the rest of the department to form a project team and went on a business trip together.
During work, in Qian Fei's eyes, Li Yifei was at his most charismatic. His abilities and talents were displayed to the fullest, and he seemed to have a natural leadership quality. Though young, every analysis and decision he made was bold, accurate, and convincing. Sometimes, being ordered around by him even felt like a kind of enjoyment.
This time was different from before. At work, Li Yifei was exceptionally strict with her, almost to the point of being harsh.
At first, due to carelessness, she mixed up the accounts receivable and payable when organizing the financial data of corporate clients and suppliers. Li Yifei gave her a severe scolding, berating her for making such a basic mistake. He didn’t hold back when reprimanding her, doing so in front of everyone, his tone sharp and his expression stern.
She was so scolded that tears welled up in her eyes.
Later, back at the hotel, Li Yifei knocked on her door.
Feeling resentful, she refused to open it. Li Yifei simply waited outside.
A few minutes later, her resentment faded. She opened the door.
The first thing he asked when he entered was, "Are you mad at me?"
She nodded. "You tore into me like I was some nobody. Your words and tone were too harsh, and it was all under the guise of work. I had to take it and couldn’t fight back like usual. It was awful!"
He raised his hand and patted her head as if she were a little pet. "Jinjin, isn’t there a saying, 'The more you love, the stricter you are'? I did this because I want you to grow quickly. I know you—you’re actually very smart, but you’re too laid-back. Without someone pushing you, you won’t give it your all. I can’t protect you forever; you need to stand on your own soon!" He patted her cheek and asked, "Still mad?"
Qian Fei thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Not really, but for some reason, hearing all that made me feel inexplicably sad. What do you mean you can’t protect me forever? Is there something I don’t know that’s going to happen?"
Li Yifei raised an eyebrow and smiled. "What’s going to happen is unknown. Don’t overthink it—just focus on the project!"
From then on, Qian Fei rarely made mistakes. Under Li Yifei’s rigorous training, she grew rapidly.
Sometimes, Qian Fei wondered how Li Yifei, who was only a year older than her, could be so much more capable at work. She asked him how such a gap between people could exist—after all, they’d both grown up eating rice and receiving the same nine years of compulsory education. Even if he’d studied abroad, she hadn’t slacked off either, attending one of the top universities in the country. How could a mere 300-day age difference create such a vast gap in life?
Li Yifei didn’t explain it too complicatedly. He simply told her, "I’ve been immersed in business since childhood. It’s only natural I’d be a bit more exceptional."
Qian Fei figured it might have something to do with his father, who was self-employed.
Once, in the heat of conversation, she asked Li Yifei again what exactly his father did and whether he was actually a rich second-generation heir.After some thought, Li Yifei told her, "My dad really is self-employed, just a bit more successful than most. Honestly, I really dislike the term 'rich second generation.' If possible, I'd rather become the first-generation wealthy myself! I believe I'm fully capable of it!" It's just that the old man who's the first-generation wealthy above him wouldn't give him the chance. That old man built the family fortune, and Li Yifei couldn't just abandon helping him maintain it to strike out on his own. No matter how much they usually clashed, after all, he was his biological father.
Listening to Li Yifei's confident words, Qian Fei felt she must have been quite brave to pick someone so audacious out of the vast sea of people.
Qian Fei's professional skills continued to improve, but the troubles caused by her personality remained evident.
Corporate leaders often made various demands, and Qian Fei's inability to say no created many work complications. Li Yifei sternly reprimanded her for this, telling her, "You must change this trait of yours! Always being soft-hearted and compromising, unable to stand by your opinions, catering to whatever the company wants—constantly revising proposals until they nearly deviate from policy requirements is absolutely unacceptable! You need to be tougher, learn to stand your ground. You should propose the most suitable solutions based on the company's situation, then have the company adjust to you! After all, in terms of issuance, you're the expert, the leader—you should hold the authority! You must straighten your back and have your own opinions, otherwise even if you register as a sponsor representative, you'll never be able to independently handle a project!"
His words struck Qian Fei deeply. She listened to him and worked hard to change her interpersonal and professional approach, no longer being overly accommodating, meek, or compromising without principle.
Gradually, she developed her own temper and edges, no longer easily yielding when she needed to argue her point. She also cultivated her own way of handling matters, learning to refuse others tactfully and reasonably, leaving them feeling respected rather than rebuffed.
Unbeknownst to her, in Li Yifei's eyes, she had quietly grown into a capable, charming, and captivating woman.
At the end of January, Qian Fei went home for the New Year.
Originally, Li Yifei was supposed to accompany her, but just before departure, he told her something had come up at home—his father's checkup revealed more heart problems, so he had to return.
After the incident with Zhao De, everyone was almost afraid to discuss family conflicts. Qian Fei urged Li Yifei not to play at cutting ties with his father; while everyone was still healthy and alive, enjoying family bonds was more important than anything.
During the holiday, they kept in touch by phone.
When she returned after the New Year, she noticed Li Yifei seemed subtly anxious.
He told her they had to complete the project as soon as possible and get her registered as a sponsor representative quickly.
Not long after, the project was successfully completed. Soon after that, the company's additional stock issuance went through smoothly.
Qian Fei finally became a formally registered sponsor representative.
The night she registered, Li Yifei told her, "Jinjin, I have to resign."
OpenNovel