Qian Fei beamed brightly and said, "I'm guessing your dad's name should be Li Qiansheng, am I right?"
Li Yifei's mouth instantly fell open, his expression frozen in a state of shock that looked utterly incongruous with his usual proud and handsome demeanor.
"How did you know?!"
After a moment's thought, he realized this might not be the most pressing question and quickly changed it.
"When did you find out?!"
Qian Fei picked up her phone, opened WeChat, found their conversation, and showed Li Yifei a photo.
It was the photo he had sent her when he was working overtime on the weekend.
●︶3︶●
During the daytime meeting, Qian Fei had been sitting at the head of the table looking down. The sea of faces below had given her an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
A sudden flash of insight struck her, and she quickly pulled out her phone.
Indeed, the photo Li Yifei had sent her was taken in this very conference room!
Moreover, the angle of the shot suggested it had been taken from the exact seat she was currently sitting in.
And what kind of person would have the authority to sit in this position and direct operations?
A bold hypothesis began forming in her mind.
To test this theory, she subtly probed Vice President Liao for information.
Vice President Liao told her that Chairman Li Qiansheng's wife had passed away many years ago.
Later, she went to the restroom and searched Baidu on her phone, trying to dig up gossip about "Li Qiansheng's son." Unfortunately, the wealthy businessman had protected his son's privacy too well—there was almost nothing to be found online. The only relevant information was a brief Q&A from an interview:
Reporter: You've never publicly mentioned your children, though it's vaguely known you have a son. Is this to protect him?
Li Qiansheng: Actually, I want him to see the people around him for who they truly are, without their motives being clouded by his identity. I worry that once people know he's my son, their intentions in befriending him might no longer be genuine.
Reading this exchange, Qian Fei reflected deeply, recalling many previously overlooked details.
—When dealing with Hu Zining, Li Yifei had mentioned asking an uncle in city government to directly contact the hotel's chairman.
—Once, while drinking beer together, Li Yifei had seriously told her he was a "rich second generation." She had thought he was joking and didn't believe him.
—He had once said his father worried people only befriended him for his money, a comment she had dismissed at the time.
—He and Liao Shiyu had grown up together. The group's equity structure showed Liao Shiyu and her parents and uncle all held shares.
—Then there were the luxury teas, Wuliangye liquor, and special porcelain wares.
These details surged through Qian Fei's mind like a tidal wave.
Her bold hypothesis seemed increasingly likely to be true.
Gritting her teeth, she turned off her phone to resist the urge to call and ask him directly.
●︶3︶●
Li Yifei watched Qian Fei nervously as she remained silent for nearly ten minutes. Tentatively, he poked her arm. "Jinjin, don't just stay quiet—say something! Anything!"
Qian Fei looked at him. "Anything?"
Li Yifei nodded vigorously.
Qian Fei: "Li Yifei, your uncle!"
Li Yifei sighed inwardly—what could he do? Both his father and he were only children; he didn't have an uncle.After pouring her heart out with that emotional statement, Qian Fei fell silent again. Li Yifei continued to poke her, "Don't stop now, say something more. If you really don't want to talk, you can just hit me instead!"
Qian Fei glared at him.
Then her phone rang.
She picked it up to answer. Liao Shiyu's somewhat panicked voice came through the receiver.
"Qian Fei, I went to find Wang Ruohai, but he kept vomiting and even passed out for a moment. I've taken him to the hospital now! But he refuses to let the doctor examine him, saying he only wants to see you!" Her voice was loud, and Li Yifei, standing nearby, heard every word clearly.
Qian Fei's heart skipped a beat. She asked for the hospital and ward details.
After hanging up, she told Li Yifei, "We'll settle our accounts later. Right now, I need to go to the hospital."
Li Yifei sprang to his feet. "So what if Wang Ruohai is vomiting? Why should you go just because he says he wants to see you? Does he not realize you're way out of his league and should feel ashamed of himself? No, I don't agree with you going!"
Qian Fei looked up at him, emphasizing certain words, "When I left 'your family's building' tonight, a sign fell from the opposite side of 'your family's building.' It was heading straight for my head, but Wang Ruohai pushed me out of the way from behind, so it hit him instead. He took the hit for me and now has concussion symptoms. Tell me, should I go check on him or not?"
Li Yifei frowned. "Then I'll go with you!"
Qian Fei's face turned cold. "Do you still think I'm as easygoing as before? Let me tell you, Broker Qian has grown a temper! We haven't even settled the matter of who your father is yet, and just looking at you annoys me right now! If you dare follow me, I'll break your legs!"
With that, she grabbed her bag and headed for the door. After changing her shoes, she pointed menacingly at Li Yifei, who was fidgeting in the living room, and said, "Stay right there! Don't move!"
Li Yifei stood with one leg shaking. "Broker Qian, you're just going to leave me here alone and go see your ex-boyfriend? Is that really okay? That's not very considerate of you!"
Qian Fei raised an eyebrow. "Or would you prefer to take me to meet your dad? Let me tell you, seeing you just makes me angrier right now. You should just go home, okay? Otherwise, we might end up with a sequel to 'Where Are We Going, Dad?'"
Li Yifei, still shaking his leg, asked, "What sequel?"
Qian Fei replied sarcastically, "Your dad calling you later to ask, 'Son, son, where have you gone?'" With that, she opened the door and left.
Li Yifei stared at the slammed door, feeling like his shaking leg might cramp up.
●︶3︶●
On her way to the hospital, Qian Fei felt a suffocating anger building in her chest. She wasn't even sure who she was angry at, but she was furious.
If she blamed Li Yifei, he had actually told her he was a rich second-generation heir—she just hadn't believed him.
But if she didn't blame him, he had gone out of his way to lead her firmly down the path of believing he was the spoiled, good-for-nothing child of a small business owner.
The more she thought about it, the more this anger choked her. By the time she reached the hospital and saw Wang Ruohai vomiting repeatedly while refusing medical treatment just to wait for her, her pent-up anger finally erupted.
She pulled a chair over and sat by the hospital bed. Liao Shiyu tried to leave to give them privacy, but Qian Fei stopped her.After Wang Ruohai finished vomiting, she asked calmly, "Wang Ruohai, what do you want? Why won't you accept treatment unless I come?"
Wang Ruohai, his face deathly pale, said, "I don't know what I want either, but if you're not here, I feel like there's no point in getting treated!"
Qian Fei took a deep breath. "I'm grateful you took that hit for me, but right now, I'd rather it had been me who got hit—at least I wouldn't have to endure this emotional blackmail from you. I didn't want to be harsh, but it seems I have no choice now. Wang Ruohai, do you think you're unhappy? When you dumped me and I saw how well you were doing, I felt miserable too. Let me tell you, the reason you feel unhappy now is because I'm happy. If I were living a different life—constantly going on blind dates with balding old men and being nitpicked and rejected—do you think I'd still catch your eye? You probably wouldn't even spare me a second glance. And how miserable would I be living like that? If I hadn't met my current boyfriend, honestly, I might very well be living that kind of life. So when you admire the person I am now, don't forget the chain of events that led here. And your current unhappiness and sadness might not even be because you still have feelings for me—let's be real, it's just a sense of loss."
She paused, then continued, "Your life is your own and has nothing to do with me. You're vomiting like this and still refusing to let the doctors examine you, insisting I come—what's the point? Tell me."
She then looked up at Liao Shiyu and said, "If you're going to be the other woman, then commit to it fully. Don't half-ass it like this, doing whatever he tells you to do. Have you no self-respect? Am I a doctor? Since you've already become the third party, steel your heart and see it through to the end. Don't stop halfway. Your sudden nobility is something I can't stand, even if you're used to it!"
After saying this, Qian Fei pressed the bedside call button to summon the doctor.
●︶3︶●
When Qian Fei returned home, Li Yifei was still there.
Seeing her come back, he sprang up from the sofa and moved toward her.
Qian Fei held her head wearily and said, "Don't crowd me. I'm really annoyed with you today—go home! We'll talk tomorrow if there's anything."
She entered her room and closed the door.
Li Yifei stood outside the door and asked glumly, "Tell me you didn't hold his hand and say something like, 'Wang Ruohai, stay strong,' did you?"
From behind the door, Qian Fei replied flatly, "Yeah, I did. Besides that, I also told him, 'Wang Ruohai, don't cry,' and 'Wang Ruohai, hang in there!'"
Li Yifei glared, itching to scratch the door. "Damn, you didn't! I only mentally deceived you for a brief moment out of infinite guilt—you don't have to be this cruel and torment me both mentally and physically, do you?"
Qian Fei ignored him.
Li Yifei knocked on the door. "Jinjin, don't sleep yet. Tell me, which hospital is Wang Ruohai in? I'll go see him."
After a moment, Qian Fei's voice came from behind the door. "Why do you want to see him?"
Li Yifei said, "I'll tell him that next time he gets a concussion, he can come straight to me. I can also hold his hand for you and encourage him: 'Wang Ruohai, don't you dare cry! Wang Ruohai, stand up and jerk off if you've got the guts!'"
Two seconds later, a loud thud came from inside the room.
Qian Fei had thrown a buckwheat pillow at the door.
"Get out! Go home and jerk off there!"
●︶3︶●Early the next morning, as Qian Fei arrived at Qiansheng with her project team, she heard gossip buzzing throughout the building.
"They say the young master is officially returning today to gradually take over the group's affairs!"
"Has anyone here actually seen the young master? Our chairman has kept him so well protected! I've never even known what he looks like!"
"Key mid-level and above staff who've worked overtime with him in the first conference room say he's unbelievably handsome!"
...
The project team members asked Qian Fei, "Director Qian, what kind of person do you think this young master really is?"
Qian Fei smirked coldly. She really wanted to tell them—he's your former boss, haha.
"Who knows? Probably just some sleazy rich kid," she said vindictively.
Her colleagues all nodded in agreement, curling their lips. "What decent kids ever come from wealthy families? Probably just some second-rate playboy!"
Qian Fei felt a little pleased inside.
After settling into the office the group had prepared for them, she received an internal call from Vice President Liao.
"Director Qian, here's the thing. Today is the first official day for Chairman Li's son at the group. He wants to understand the project's specifics and progress. Could you gather the other intermediary agencies and our group's executives for another meeting? Young Director Li can join the discussion too! Actually, you might even know our young director—he used to work in investment banking too!"
Qian Fei agreed, hanging up the phone with an involuntary scoff.
She wasn't sure if Vice President Liao genuinely didn't know or was pretending to be oblivious. Of course she knew their "young director."
She led her team to the conference room, where the other intermediaries had already arrived. This time, she deliberately didn't take the head seat.
She had to leave that spot open for the sleazy rich kid to flaunt himself.
Looking around, she saw curiosity written on many faces—especially her colleagues, who all wore expressions of "Who is he really?"
The conference room door opened, and everyone turned to look.
Li Yifei strode in with confident, graceful steps.
He wore a tailored suit that probably cost a fortune, accentuating his tall, commanding figure. His handsome face, more resolute and determined than when she'd first met him two years ago, now carried an unmistakable air of nobility and authority—no longer needing to be concealed.
She noticed that except for her, her teammates were completely stunned. The other intermediaries and group staff also gazed at Young Director Li with undisguised admiration and praise.
Qian Fei sighed inwardly about this superficial world obsessed with looks—it would never change.
Watching several female accountants follow Li Yifei with starry eyes, she mentally cursed in frustration.
Did this sleazy rich kid really have to make his entrance so damn dazzling? She was almost losing her resolve to stay angry!
Author's Note:The internet at home is really too slow to reply to comments or send out points. I'll reply and send points tomorrow noon when I get to the office. Also, I'm not replying to comments now because there are fewer comments—I'd reply even if there were more. Actually, the previous chapters had even fewer comments, dear ●︶3︶● The reason I started replying to comments yesterday is because the story is about to end. I replied to everyone in the early chapters, but later with business trips, overtime work, and daily updates, I couldn't keep up and could only manage to give points for each comment. I just wanted to try replying as much as possible before the end, since this journey is almost over TT. I'll go back to writing now and try to finish a nice, chunky final chapter tomorrow~ Thanks to all the generous readers who sent gifts—I really appreciate you spending on me even now. Aunt Jiu bows deeply in gratitude (Oops, my huge boobs just got in my way!).
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