In the bar, a group of young people were playing dice and drinking.
A trendy-haired young man lost, and everyone egged him on: "Dajun, drink up, hurry!"
Dajun didn’t hesitate—he grabbed the drink and downed it. After setting the glass down, he shoved the guy next to him.
"Li Yifei, what the hell are you doing? You’ve been texting the whole time, making me lose!"
Li Yifei smirked. "What’s your losing got to do with me?"
Dajun snapped back, "How’s it not related? How many times did I top up my phone bill just to get that lousy bag of tea for you? And then you just gave it away like it was nothing! You’re messing with me!"
Li Yifei had originally intended to give the tea to Gui Lili for her dad. But when Gui Lili stayed out all night, he got pissed and gave it to Qian Fei instead.
Li Yifei shrugged. "Come on, even if I didn’t ask you to exchange the tea, you’d still be topping up your phone bill, wouldn’t you? Don’t think I don’t know you’re sneaking around playing online games behind your mom’s back!"
Dajun groaned. "You know how ridiculous my mom is? I’m a grown-ass man, and she still watches me like a hawk! She monitors my bank account like a prison warden and swears if she sees another game charge, she’ll chop me up with a knife! How ruthless is that? Hey, how about you take a week off and help me beat the game?"
Li Yifei scoffed. "Kneel and beg me."
Dajun spat in disgust.
Li Yifei glanced at him. "But how long do you think you can keep using phone credit to buy game points? Your mom’s not stupid. If you blow through a huge top-up in a few days, she’s gonna figure it out."
Dajun flicked his hair. "I’ll take whatever I can get! Life’s short—gotta live it up while you can!"
Li Yifei said, "Oh, is that so? Then next time, remember to get me the 29,999-yuan tea. The 18,888 one feels a bit cheap."
Dajun kicked him. "Screw you! You want me to die with millions in unused phone credit?" Then he asked, "So how’s it going with your 'true love' girlfriend? Still fighting like it’s the end of the world every day?"
Li Yifei shot him a glare.
Dajun sighed. "Honestly, you should just listen to your old man."
Li Yifei stood up to leave.
Dajun quickly grabbed him. "Alright, alright! I won’t bring it up again, okay?" Trying to change the subject, he asked, "So who were you texting earlier?"
Li Yifei drooped his eyelids. "Someone pretty interesting."
Dajun squinted at him with a sly grin. "Guy or girl?"
Li Yifei reached for the dice cup. "Beat me, and I’ll tell you."
By the end of the night, Dajun had thrown up eight times and still hadn’t found out whether the interesting person was a guy or a girl.
Before passing out, he grabbed Li Yifei’s collar and slurred, "It’s a girl, right?!"
Li Yifei pried his fingers off. "Yeah, it’s a girl. Happy now? Let go!"
Dajun pointed at him, swaying drunkenly with a dumb grin. "So you’re… giving up on your little true love… and stepping out, huh?"
Li Yifei shoved his face away. "Step out my ass! She’s more of a dude than you are! Could you get it up for a guy? I sure couldn’t. This young master only likes sweet, delicate, soft, and pretty girls!""Like your little true love?" Before he could even wait for an answer, Dajun covered his mouth and ran out to vomit again.
Li Yifei lowered his head to check the unread text message on his phone.
The tomboy had asked him: "Is your buddy married? Or if he's unfortunately already married, does he have any unmarried brothers?"
Unable to resist teasing her, he replied: Yes, me.
A while later, the tomboy sent back a message: Maybe I should just throw the tea away after all...
He couldn't help but smirk.
※※※※※※
The next day, Qian Fei brought the tea leaves to the office. To ease her conscience, she decided she'd pay this month's electricity bill herself.
At the company, seizing the moment when Manager Kong's office was empty, Qian Fei crept in like a thief, knocking furtively before slipping inside.
Steeling herself, she repeated the lines Sister Jin had taught her and handed over the tea. She saw Manager Kong's eyes light up when he saw the bag. She recognized that gleam—it was called "knowing quality goods."
Her anxious heart thudded back into place with a "thump."
Sure enough, during the afternoon meeting, she was called into the conference room. The meeting, chaired by Manager Kong, was mainly about forming a hotel sponsorship and listing project team. The team leader was Liu Yifeng, a sponsor representative personally mentored by Manager Kong, with members including her and several other colleagues. Manager Kong said this project would be co-sponsored with another securities firm and told everyone to review the hotel materials afterward, as they'd soon need to conduct on-site due diligence and restructuring work at the hotel.
After the meeting, Qian Fei was exhilarated and buzzing with excitement. She felt like she could see stacks of pink bills flapping their wings recklessly toward her embrace.
That evening after work, she called Yao Jingjing, still high-spirited as she shared that she'd finally made it onto a project team. On the other end, Yao Jingjing sighed: "Honestly, is this really worth getting so excited about? This is something you should've achieved years ago!"
Qian Fei scoffed unhappily: "Easy for you to say! Why don't you try working at our company—I guarantee you wouldn't have made it onto a project team by now either!"
Yao Jingjing "pfft"-ed: "Look at your ambitions! If I worked at your company, forget project teams—you might be calling me 'boss's wife' by now!"
Qian Fei's knees nearly buckled in awe.
"Seriously, can't you take any path that doesn't involve seducing people? Oh right, speaking of seduction—how's Dalian? How far have you gotten with that tycoon of yours?" Qian Fei asked.
She heard Yao Jingjing sigh deeply: "Ah, how to put it... I think the tycoon has feelings for me, but then out of nowhere, an ex-girlfriend showed up. His attitude toward her is so ambiguous I can't figure it out. One thing's certain though—that ex definitely wants him back as her rebound. As for me, I've been locked in intense battles of wits with his ex!"
Qian Fei tsked twice, generously offering encouragement: "May your naturally thick skin and self-proclaimed peerless coquettish charm repel all unnecessary new flames and old loves!"
Yao Jingjing calmly thanked her: "Why thank you!" Then asked, "So how's it going with your blind date?"Qian Fei sighed, "Don't even mention it. I was just about to tell you—last time, that jerk took me to his place trying to sleep with me. My moral compass was too strong that day, thinking about promoting socialist harmony, so I refused. After that, he seemed really upset and has been ignoring me ever since."
Yao Jingjing burst out laughing, "Ha! How noble of him to so blatantly display his frustration from unmet desires! Just how desperate is he? Listen, Feifei, this is a problem—you can't indulge it. Give him the cold shoulder for a few days. If he keeps this up, just cut him off. If he comes crawling back, then you can decide whether to continue based on his attitude."
Hearing Yao Jingjing echo Xiao Yuan's advice, Qian Fei felt even more resolved. She decided she wouldn’t waste her warmth on Hu Zining’s cold indifference these next few days.
Before hanging up, Qian Fei suddenly remembered something and quickly added, "Yao Jingjing, I’m telling you—stop reporting my life updates to Wang Ruohai! Like hanging up with me and immediately telling him I joined a project team and am about to make big money, got it?"
Yao Jingjing cackled on the other end, "Hahaha! Feifei, no wonder we’re besties—you know me too well! Fine, fine, since you asked, I won’t volunteer the info. But if he calls asking, I can’t promise I’ll keep my mouth shut!"
Qian Fei sighed helplessly, "Can you not stir the pot for once?"
Yao Jingjing replied without hesitation, "Absolutely not! In this lifetime, I’ll make sure Wang Ruohai realizes what he lost is a treasure he’ll never find again!"
Qian Fei suddenly felt like crying—not because of Wang Ruohai, but because of Yao Jingjing’s seemingly carefree yet deeply considerate heart.
※※※※※※
Qian Fei and her colleagues spent nearly a week preparing. The project manager assigned specific tasks to each team member. Qian Fei had been hopeful, thinking she’d finally get to participate in restructuring, guidance, and drafting the prospectus. But her assigned task? Still compiling and organizing work documents.
She was a little disappointed but quickly rallied her spirits.
Even if it was still paperwork, this time she was officially part of the project team—eligible for a share of the project bonus.
Though her cut might be smaller than others’, it was still miles better than the measly thousand or so she used to get for unofficial side work.
Over the week, she noticed Li Yifei was also working late. Once, they ran into each other at the subway after overtime and exchanged a few words. That’s how she learned Li Yifei’s team was also prepping for a project.
The week also saw no end to Li Yifei and Gu Lili’s arguments. Sometimes Qian Fei marveled at how these two kept dating despite the constant bickering—truly the eighth wonder of the world. She felt she deserved the title of "Beijing’s Noise-Endurance Pioneer" for surviving their daily screeching matches with her sanity intact—still foolishly yearning for marriage and family, still hoping that Hu Zining, who’d been ignoring her since she turned him down, would send her a text.After a hectic week, Qian Fei and her colleagues officially began their on-site due diligence at the hotel.
On the very first day, Qian Fei never expected to run into Li Yifei—turns out his securities firm was the joint sponsor working alongside hers on the hotel’s IPO.
Li Yifei seemed equally surprised to see her. She clearly noticed him raising an eyebrow at her.
After the two firms held a coordination meeting to clarify their respective tasks and responsibilities, it was nearly time for lunch. The hotel’s chairman and senior executives personally hosted them in a private dining room within the staff cafeteria. On the way there, Qian Fei caught glimpses of the hotel employees’ awed and envious looks, and for the first time, she felt the intoxicating prestige of being an investment banker. Working on the project team meant rubbing shoulders with wealthy, high-status elites, and the experience gave her a surreal yet exhilarating sense that she, too, was on the fast track to success.
The meal was filled with mutual flattery and toasts between the hotel executives and the project team members. Qian Fei inevitably ended up drinking a few glasses herself, and by the time lunch was over, she was feeling slightly lightheaded.
As they left the dining room, the hotel chairman shook hands with each member of the project team. When it was Qian Fei’s turn, he smiled and said, “The younger generation truly surpasses the old! Even someone as young as you can independently handle an IPO. I can’t deny I’m getting old—guess it’s time for me to be washed up on the shore!”
Author’s Note: Li, you little jerk, who are you calling a tomboy? (╰_╯)# So what if Qian Fei’s so man-deprived she’s practically growing a beard? She still uses the women’s restroom like a proper lady!!!
Girls, don’t rush me—I’ll speed things up as much as reasonably possible. The thing is, if I just had the guy break up, the girl break up, and then shoved them together, sure, it’d be fast, but it’d also feel super abrupt and awkward. So don’t stress, okay? Ninth Bro will make sure the affair happens, grin~
Holding face Begging for flowers, comments, and hopefully a shot at the seasonal rankings! Aaaaaah! cries (Also, if you’re leaving a comment, could you maybe toss in a 2-point rating? Mwah! >3<)
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