After work that day, Xu Miyu rarely didn't have overtime. She took a taxi directly to the Night Encounter bar. Coincidentally, Li Qiaoqi had invited her a few days earlier.
Having heard from Xue Rui that Xu Miyu and Ji Feng had quickly started a relationship and just as quickly broken up, Li Qiaoqi felt Xu Miyu must have many thoughts bottled up inside.
So she invited Xu Miyu over, wanting to draw out those unspoken words. She told Xu Miyu: "Tonight we can drink freely and talk openly. I have a private lounge here—if we get drunk, we can just sleep in the lounge tonight."
Xu Miyu smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Actually, when I heard from Xue Rui that you and Ji Feng were together, I wasn't surprised at all."
Li Qiaoqi sat with Xu Miyu at the bar counter, legs crossed while swirling her whiskey with ice. Tilting her head, she looked at Xu Miyu and said: "From your first visit here together, whenever you two appeared in the same frame, Ji Feng's eyes never left your face. It's just that you both were quite amusing back then—you seemed to be trying very hard to convince yourself that you couldn't like him, and he was trying equally hard to convince himself that he shouldn't like you. But the more you imposed this 'no' ban on yourselves, the more irresistibly drawn you became to each other."
Listening to Li Qiaoqi's words, Xu Miyu thought that outsiders had long seen through the turbulent undercurrents between her and Ji Feng.
"However, when I heard you broke up so quickly, I was momentarily surprised, but upon reflection, not entirely so. The surprise came from feeling that you genuinely liked each other; the lack of surprise stemmed from sensing you'd be the more exhausted one in this relationship."
Xu Miyu quietly watched Li Qiaoqi. She wondered how this woman could understand her so well—understand women, understand human nature in love.
Li Qiaoqi raised her glass and gently clinked it against Xu Miyu's: "To you having been together." Then clinked again: "To you having broken up; and to having loved."
Xu Miyu smiled and threw back her drink.
"Now, do you want to talk to me about this relationship? And why you wanted to break up?" Li Qiaoqi asked Xu Miyu.
Li Qiaoqi could probably guess why Xu Miyu and Ji Feng wanted to break up, but she felt Xu Miyu needed the catharsis of speaking it aloud herself.
Xu Miyu silently watched the glass in her hand, observing the ice cubes gradually melting in the pale golden liquor. The drink's flavor was being diluted, much like the sadness she felt when first deciding to break up had been slowly fading until now.
Diluted to the point where she could now face it directly—she should be able to talk about it calmly.
She put down her glass, turned to look at Li Qiaoqi, and recounted to her everything about her relationship with Ji Feng: how they got together, what they did, the disparities between them, and her feelings during their time together.
She told Li Qiaoqi that she had chosen the wrong time to be with Ji Feng—this was something she realized after resolutely ending things.
They shouldn't have gotten together when she was so humble and insignificant. Perhaps if she had agreed to be with him only when she was sufficiently accomplished and self-assured, their relationship could have unfolded more comfortably and happily."What nonsense." Li Qiaoqi directly refuted Xu Miyu, "When love comes, it comes. How could you possibly choose the right timing? If you can choose the timing, it's not love."
After a pause, Li Qiaoqi swirled her wine glass and summarized for Xu Miyu: "So, you ultimately decided to break up with Ji Feng because you lacked a sense of security in this relationship. And your insecurity actually stems from your lack of self-confidence. Or to put it more bluntly, you feel inferior in front of Ji Feng and the people around him, right?"
Xu Miyu nodded awkwardly.
Li Qiaoqi chuckled: "Xu Miyu, you're thirty-one years old, not a young girl anymore. If you can be in a relationship with a man, you should seize every moment to be with him. Who cares about confidence or inferiority? Listen to me, sometimes you overthink things. You've engraved the huge gap between you and Ji Feng into your bones, constantly thinking and pondering about it. The more you think, the more convinced you become that you're not good enough for him. Then, the thick-skinned straight man Ji Feng doesn't know what you're thinking. He tries to do things for you according to his own logic, but no matter what he does, in your eyes, it seems to confirm that you're not good enough for him and that he minds your previous marriage. Xu Miyu, you're torturing yourself with your lack of self-confidence. Actually, Ji Feng probably really likes you."
Xu Miyu took Li Qiaoqi's words to heart. She knew Li Qiaoqi was right.
She understood the reasoning, but the objective facts remained objective facts—
"But whether I'm confident or not, I truly am not good enough for him. I've been divorced, I'm older and no longer a young girl, my family background is terrible, and in terms of career, money, connections, living environment, and so on, there's a world of difference between us."
Li Qiaoqi shook her head: "So what if you've been divorced? What era is this? Are divorced people inferior? I think only you always think that way. Besides, are you dating Ji Feng's conditions or him as a person? If you're dating his conditions, then you should have all these worries. If you're just dating him as a person, then love fiercely and freely. Why overthink it?"
Xu Miyu looked at this woman who lived so transparently and was somewhat stunned by Li Qiaoqi's words. After digesting them, she continued to voice her troubles and doubts.
"And when he gives me expensive gifts, I can't help but think that those things are also proof of the huge gap between us. So the more expensive the gifts he gives me, the sadder I feel when accepting them."
He knew Ji Feng had seen it too. He even felt that Ji Feng had some special and mysterious channel and had known in advance that Xu Miyu was already here before coming.
He turned to ask Ji Feng: "Boss, Mi Yu is here. Should we go say hello?"
Ji Feng looked at him coldly: "Just because she's here, do I have to go say hello? Can't she drink hers, and I drink mine?"
"..." Xue Rui looked at Ji Feng's feigned indifference and swallowed all the good advice he had, not wanting to say anything more.
Encountering such a straight man who says one thing but means another, he truly deserves to be single forever, and deserves to secretly digest the aftermath of his breakup alone.They found a booth and sat down.
A man approached the bar and tried to strike up a conversation with Xu Miyu, wanting to have a drink with her.
Xu Miyu gracefully declined.
Afterward, other men kept coming over, trying to invite Xu Miyu for a drink or a dance. She turned them all down, elegantly enjoying her solitude.
Xue Rui noticed that every time someone approached, Ji Feng’s eyes turned sharp as knives. Unfortunately, his pride was as stubborn as ever, and he refused to admit he was bothered.
This made Xue Rui want to twist the knife further into his stubborn, contradictory boss: "Boss, look how popular Mi Yu is! None of the other young women sitting at the bar with her are as captivating. See how many handsome guys are trying to befriend her?"
Ji Feng raised his glass and downed a mouthful of red wine. Setting the glass down, he sneered, "Handsome guys? They’re just a bunch of shameless wolves."
Xue Rui almost suspected that what Ji Feng had just drunk wasn’t wine but vinegar—the air was practically acidic with jealousy.
Just then, the sound of a couple arguing came from the booth next to them.
Both Ji Feng and Xue Rui glanced over. It was a young man and woman in the middle of a quarrel.
The young man was agitatedly saying to the girl, "Where’s the dress I bought you? It was so expensive—why aren’t you wearing it? Why insist on wearing this cheap dress of yours? The friends I’m meeting later are all influential people. Dressing well will make them think more highly of you!"
Ji Feng commented, "What he said isn’t wrong." Clothes make the man—or in this case, the woman. High-quality attire can elevate a person’s presence, ensuring that potential business or collaboration partners take them seriously from the first impression.
Xue Rui, sitting nearby, remained silent.
The young girl, however, grew furious at the man’s words. She retorted angrily, "Do you look down on me? Are you ashamed of me wearing my own cheap dress? Do you think I’m only worthy of you if I wear the expensive dress you bought?"
Ji Feng frowned. "Making a mountain out of a molehill. So dramatic."
Xue Rui stayed quiet.
The young man was also angry and fired back, "I’m doing this for your own good. Aren’t you being overly dramatic by blowing this out of proportion?"
Ji Feng let out a cold laugh. "See? He feels the same way I do."
Xue Rui said nothing.
But as soon as Ji Feng finished his sarcastic remark, he couldn’t help but recall how he had once bought Xu Miyu expensive dresses and shoes, only for her to tell him they weren’t what she wanted.
She had said they felt like constant reminders that she couldn’t afford such things on her own—that she wasn’t worthy of such luxurious clothes and shoes.
The memory made Ji Feng set down his glass. Suddenly, he found himself genuinely interested in listening to the couple’s argument next door.
The young girl was loudly accusing the young man, "It’s obvious you subconsciously think I’m not good enough for you! Otherwise, why emphasize that your friends are influential? Why insist that I wear the dress you bought to avoid embarrassment? And you’re calling me dramatic?"
The young man shouted back, "Asking you to dress nicely means I think you’re not good enough? Is it your own insecurity or my condescension? Dressing appropriately is a matter of etiquette! Even a five-star luxury hotel requires you to be well-dressed to enter, doesn’t it?"The girl cried out, "You never consider my feelings at all! You have no idea what I really want!"
The young man raised his voice even louder: "Then what would considering your feelings look like?"
The girl retorted, "If you truly considered my feelings, you wouldn't widen the gap between me and your friends! By doing this, you're just emphasizing that I'm not good enough for you, not good enough for your circle!"
The man was momentarily speechless. Seizing the opportunity, the girl shoved him and said, "Go find a woman who can wear her own dress and still feel worthy chatting with your distinguished friends! I'm not good enough, okay?!" Then she ran off, both angry and hurt.
The young man stood there, so furious he looked ready to smash his glass. A server suddenly appeared out of nowhere, swiftly protecting the bar's property.
Stamping his feet in frustration, the young man vented to the server, "You saw that, right? She's being completely unreasonable! I buy her nice clothes, and she's still unhappy—isn't that just crazy?"
Ji Feng, who had been observing, remarked thoughtfully, "I don't think anything he said was wrong." He had fully empathized with the young man.
Xue Rui: "..."
After shaking his head, Xue Rui finally offered his critique: "That guy either has shallow brain wrinkles or his emotional intelligence has fallen into a ditch."
Ji Feng turned his head and glared coldly at Xue Rui.
Xue Rui said, "Oh," and added, "I forgot you agree with him. But boss, I really didn't mean to indirectly criticize you." I'm just plainly mocking you, Ji, you straight man.
Ji Feng continued to stare coldly at Xue Rui, until Xue Rui began to worry that Ji Feng had sensed his internal criticism and nearly confessed out of guilt.
"Was I really wrong in my thinking?" Ji Feng suddenly asked.
Xue Rui secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yeah, of course. Boss, you've never been right when it comes to handling matters between men and women," Xue Rui bluntly criticized Ji Feng. Afraid of losing his job after the blunt remark, he quickly backtracked, "But it's understandable, since you've never been in a relationship."
Surprisingly, Ji Feng didn't take offense this time and even displayed rare patience in seeking advice.
"Then tell me, how was I wrong?" After asking, he felt a bit unwilling. Wasn't this directly admitting his mistake in front of his assistant? He corrected himself, "I mean, that guy earlier—what exactly did he do wrong?"
Xue Rui didn't expose Ji Feng's attempt to save face and went along with it: "That guy's mistake was that, since there's already a gap between him and the girl, and she feels insecure because of it, what he should have done was give her a sense of security, not amplify the feeling of disparity."
Ji Feng listened thoughtfully.
"Actually, that guy should have said this to the girl: 'I want to buy these clothes for you not because they're expensive, but because they're only worth their price when worn by you. Your usual T-shirts are also great, but for gatherings with friends, it's better to dress a bit more formally. Dressing appropriately is a way of showing respect to others. Today, I bought you clothes; later, remember to buy me one of the T-shirts you often like to wear. That way, I'll have another piece of our everyday couple wear.'"
Ji Feng stared fixedly at Xue Rui. He was struck by how this guy could articulate the nuances of male-female relationships so clearly."Boss, look, it's actually really simple to handle." Xue Rui concluded, "Just remember—don't unintentionally emphasize the gap with women by saying things like 'the people we're about to meet are all important figures, and the clothes you bought yourself aren't good enough.' Instead, give women a sense of security by telling her that dressing formally is also about respecting the other party, and that you're usually happy to wear matching cheap outfits with her. This way, women won't start wondering—is the gap between me and my boyfriend and his social circle too large? Do the people around my boyfriend think I'm not good enough for him?—those kinds of questions."
Ji Feng listened and pondered, feeling as if he'd had a minor revelation.
After a long pause, he said to Xue Rui, "But I've actually never thought there was any gap between her and me."
Xue Rui replied, "It's not enough for just you to think that way. The key is you have to speak your thoughts directly to Sister Mi Yu. You can't expect her to figure out on her own that you don't actually think there's any gap between you. Trust me, boss, men and women think differently. What you assume women can figure out themselves—if you don't say it, they won't understand and might even misinterpret completely. We men rely on actions, but women need to hear you say it out loud."
After hearing this, Ji Feng raised his glass and clinked it with Xue Rui's.
After draining his glass in one go, Xue Rui put it down and sighed, "Actually, Sister Mi Yu is quite an easy woman to handle, really. She's much simpler to deal with than that temptress Li Qiaoqi. She just hopes you could be more proactive, not always maintaining that aloof, superior stance that makes her feel insecure..."
Ji Feng interrupted him, "Me? Aloof? Superior stance?"
Xue Rui nodded, "Absolutely."
"When have I ever been like that?" Ji Feng protested.
"..." Xue Rui sighed, "You've always been like this. For example, during your cold wars, you'd coldly maintain your position waiting for Sister Mi Yu to approach you first; when you broke up, you'd still hold your ground waiting for her to say she regrets it; or how you never hide your disdain for the small, shabby apartment Sister Mi Yu rents... ah, there are too many examples."
Ji Feng frowned in deep thought, falling into self-reflection.
So his behaviors and attitudes had been superior and undermining others' sense of security?
He tilted his head back and drank his wine.
After putting down the glass, he told Xue Rui, "I understand. Continue."
Xue Rui then picked up where he left off, "And Sister Mi Yu, she just wants to hear you say directly that you like her, that you've never looked down on her, and that you don't mind her having been married once. If you'd just say these words out loud, she'd definitely stop overthinking and feeling insecure."
Here Xue Rui paused and directly questioned Ji Feng, "Boss, have you never actually said these words to Sister Mi Yu? Do you think saying them is too corny, and that even if you don't say them, Sister Mi Yu must surely know them in her heart?"
Ji Feng looked at Xue Rui and nodded.
Xue Rui slapped his thigh, "My boss, this is exactly where you're wrong!"
Ji Feng gripped his wine glass, the smooth glass surface emitting an unpleasant grinding sound under his tight grasp.He defended himself: "But if she wanted to hear these words from me, couldn't she just tell me directly?" He now thought that as long as she told him, even if he found it cheesy, he would say it to her.
"If she didn't explain clearly, how could I know what she really wanted?" Then she felt wronged and directly gave him the cold shoulder, leading to a breakup.
Xue Rui weakly retorted: "Actually, Mi Yu might not have said nothing... Didn't she ask you before whether you would fall for other women in the future? It was you who thought her question was pseudoscience and refused to give a proper answer..."
Ji Feng was instantly rendered speechless.
Xue Rui had reasoned with him about this before, but he had refused to back down, unwilling to admit that his approach was too rigid. Now, however, after being tormented day by day by the lingering pain of the breakup, he couldn't help but start reflecting on himself.
It seemed he really hadn't handled things well. Applying scientific logic in matters of the heart only intensified her insecurities.
It was a pity that he was only willing to admit this now, finally recognizing the truth.
After letting out a heavy sigh in his heart, he turned to look at the slender figure standing at the bar. Unbeknownst to him, his eyes were filled with deep affection, tenderness, and a subtle infatuation.
He tilted his head back and drained the glass in one go.
After the alcohol settled, he suddenly turned back and glared fiercely at Xue Rui: "Why didn't you say all this earlier? The fact that she and I ended up like this is all your fault for speaking too late!"
"………………"
Xue Rui felt like swallowing the glass and ending it all.
How did he end up with such a childish boss who loved to shift blame?
Xu Miyu and her team's globally launched new product launch event for the major corporation ultimately achieved resounding success. The event's impact far exceeded expectations, with outstanding results.
The corporation's CEO, Lü Qiankun, was extremely satisfied with everything Xu Miyu and her team had accomplished. After the event concluded perfectly, he immediately proposed entrusting all of the corporation's major events for the next three years to Xu Miyu and her team.
Manager Tian, head of the planning department, was overjoyed by this windfall. He directly submitted a report to the boss, Ji Feng, commending Xu Miyu's contributions and applying for her promotion—Manager Tian intended to promote Xu Miyu to be his assistant and planning supervisor.
Ji Feng looked at the commendation and promotion applications submitted by Manager Tian and let out a derisive laugh.
Xue Rui asked him what was so funny.
Ji Feng tapped his finger on the two applications and said, "Look at this woman, how capable she is. It hasn't been long since she joined the new department, and she's already conquered it."
Xue Rui nodded in agreement: "Exactly, Mi Yu is quite talented and has a certain personal charm."
While signing his approval, Ji Feng grumbled irritably, "So what exactly does she have to feel inferior about?"
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