On the first day of the due diligence process, as usual, there was a meeting between the company executives and the two sponsoring securities firms.
Li Yifei and Qian Fei, along with their respective securities firm colleagues, arrived early and were led into the conference room.
Qian Fei had been worried that the appearance of the boss would give Li Yifei a greenish shock, but she hadn’t anticipated that the first person to deliver such a shock wouldn’t be the boss, but Gui Lili.
They had just settled in when the secretary led a group of people into the room, introducing them one by one. First was the person walking in front, “Everyone, this is our company’s Chairman’s Assistant!”
There were also introductions for the General Manager, Deputy General Manager, and others, but Qian Fei was no longer paying attention. She was staring intently at the person in front.
It was Gui Lili, radiating with the gleam of designer brands from head to toe.
Gui Lili had also noticed her and Li Yifei.
She only glanced at them briefly before turning away nonchalantly, flashing a smile that revealed eight teeth, and greeting the project team members: “Hello everyone, I’m Gui Lili. I’m sorry to say that Chairman Niu had to leave on an urgent business trip due to some unexpected events, so for this period, the General Manager and I will be primarily responsible for liaising with you all!”
Qian Fei noticed that Gui Lili’s voice seemed to tremble slightly.
The project team members were exchanging business cards with Gui Lili.
When it was Qian Fei’s turn, she smiled apologetically at Gui Lili: “I’m sorry, Assistant Gui, I forgot to bring my business cards!”
Gui Lili smiled back: “That’s alright! May I ask how I should address you?”
Qian Fei was momentarily stunned, but quickly regained her composure and played along with the charade of being strangers. “My name is Qian Fei. ‘Qian’ as in ‘lack of money’, and ‘Fei’ as in ‘Liu Yifei’.”
She noticed Gui Lili’s face turn a bit pale after hearing her introduction.
Suddenly, she felt a twinge of guilt. The words “Yifei” must have struck a nerve.
It was Zhao De’s turn to exchange cards with Gui Lili, and Li Yifei was next. She glanced furtively at Li Yifei. She was afraid that the proud Li Yifei, unable to bear Gui Lili’s pretense of not knowing him, might say something to embarrass everyone.
She kept vigilantly eyeing Li Yifei, ready to “accidentally” twist her ankle and fall towards him if the situation became awkward, conveniently landing on him to shut him up.
But to her surprise, when it was Li Yifei’s turn, he stood up with grace and poise. She wasn’t sure when she had first noticed, but she realized that whenever Li Yifei wore a suit and was seated, he always unbuttoned his jacket. Now, as he stood up gracefully, he smoothed his tie with one hand, then elegantly buttoned his jacket before shaking hands with Gui Lili. This series of movements was fluid and full of aesthetic appeal. Qian Fei felt that at this moment, his demeanor had suddenly changed. He looked just like an elegant and handsome nobleman from a romantic drama.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t bring my card either. My name is Li Yifei. ‘Li’ as in ‘Li Guitian’, ‘Yi’ as in ‘Liu Yifei’, and ‘Fei’ as in ‘freei’ without the grass radical,” he introduced himself with a smile.
Qian Fei almost laughed out loud when she heard his introduction.
This guy was following her lead.
She saw that Gui Lili’s face had turned almost ghostly pale.
Liu Yifeng, standing nearby, seemed to sense the awkward atmosphere and quickly tried to smooth things over, “Xiao Qian, Xiao Li, what’s with these nonsensical introductions? You’ve startled Assistant Gui!” He turned to explain to Gui Lili, “These two are usually very serious and professional at work. They might be trying to leave a lasting impression because Assistant Gui is so beautiful!”
Gui Lili forced a smile and said softly, “It’s alright!” As she said this, Qian Fei noticed her glancing at Li Yifei. The lingering affection in her eyes made Qian Fei lose all sympathy for her.
Qian Fei sighed inwardly.
What she despised most was this kind of unresolved feelings after a breakup. How was it any different from being pathetic?
After a morning of meetings, Qian Fei completely dismissed her worries about Li Yifei. She even found herself looking at him with newfound respect.
Li Yifei behaved exceptionally professionally during the meeting. Qian Fei wasn’t sure if it was just her perception, but she felt that today’s Li Yifei was different from usual. Every gesture and movement seemed calculated, always stopping at the most pleasing angle. Qian Fei suspected he must have studied the suave moves of male idols.
But she had to admit, this smooth Li Yifei looked handsome, exuding a unique charm. She noticed Gui Lili looking at him, her eyes filled with a mix of regret and nostalgia, and suddenly understood something amid her sighs.
Perhaps she had always underestimated Li Yifei’s emotional intelligence, thinking he was just spoiled, willful, and bad-tempered. But in reality, he was more shrewd than anyone. He knew exactly what kind of demeanor would make someone yearn, grieve, and even regret. She could see it now—Gui Lili looking at him with a hint of sadness and regret, a kind of melancholy immersed in his charisma.
Qian Fei suddenly realized that men like Li Yifei could be quite terrifying. Even after a breakup, they wouldn’t let you forget their good qualities. And even if you were close to forgetting, they’d find a way to make you remember bit by bit.
She shuddered involuntarily.
If Wang Ruohai had been like him, with such depth, she probably would have been driven to suicide many times over by now, heartbroken and miserable.
She suddenly felt a bit grateful to Wang Ruohai for showing her all the ugly sides she hadn’t seen before after their breakup, making her increasingly disillusioned with him.
At the end of the morning meeting, Gui Lili said, “I’m sorry, I’m not feeling well, so I won’t be joining you for lunch!” She instructed the General Manager, “Make sure to take good care of everyone!” Then she left.
Before leaving, she glanced at Qian Fei and Li Yifei several times.
After she was gone, Qian Fei overheard Liu Yifeng next to her, smilingly asking the General Manager in a low voice, “Old classmate, what’s the deal with this Chairman’s Assistant? She seems young! But it looks like even you have to listen to her?”
The General Manager winked at him and said in a hushed tone, “Ha! She used to be my subordinate, I recruited her into the company! But somehow, she caught the Chairman’s eye! I don’t know if the Chairman was already planning to divorce or if it was because of her, but anyway, her current status is the Chairman’s fiancée! I think they’ll be getting married before long!” He paused for a moment, and Qian Fei strained to hear more. “Hey, Liu, I think your colleague is eavesdropping on us!”
Qian Fei jumped, turned to look at Liu Yifeng and the General Manager, and laughed nervously, “No, no! How could I?”
Liu Yifeng tapped her forehead amusedly, “Are you stupid? You can’t even pretend properly! If you weren’t eavesdropping, how would you know we were talking about you?” He then turned to the General Manager and assured him, “Don’t worry, she’s my apprentice. She won’t gossip about this.”
Qian Fei nodded vigorously.
After nodding, she turned around and saw Li Yifei standing right next to her. She was startled.
After a moment’s thought, she leaned in and asked quietly, “Did you hear that too?”
Li Yifei looked down at her with droopy eyelids, responding indifferently, “Mm.”
Qian Fei looked at him, not knowing what to say, so she made small talk: “You were amazing this morning! It was like you were on another level! With those little mannerisms, it was like Xu Wenqiang had time-traveled to a securities company meeting. You were so cool! I give you a thumbs up!”
Li Yifei glanced at her disdainfully and smirked with endless sarcasm: “You’re so unsophisticated! This little display has you swooning already? If young master unleashed his full potential one day, you’d probably be crying and begging at my feet, pleading for me not to be too handsome because you couldn’t handle it!”
Qian Fei hadn’t eaten lunch yet; she felt that if she had anything in her stomach, she would have vomited it all over Li Yifei’s face right then and there.
After lunch, Zhao De excitedly asked Qian Fei and Li Yifei if they wanted to follow the usual routine and find a place to set up a game of Fight the Landlord.
Both agreed.
And so, their delightful lunchtime card-playing tradition was given a second life.