Chapter 10, one must study diligently

Qian Fei had a sincere expression, "Is that true? Chairman Lin, if I can look like you do now when I am in my fifties, as if I am in my thirties, then my life will have been worth it!"

Hu Zining said: "I saw Director Lin asking you for your business card, he probably wants to introduce you to someone! Feifei, if he tries to introduce you to someone in the future, just tell him you already have a partner, and that person is me"

His attitude was as if the cold war from the previous week had completely vanished, which left her somewhat perplexed

She occasionally discovered from Gui Lili that there were indeed some matters in which she had previously been overly sentimental. For instance, after an incident had passed, she would still occasionally bring it up during arguments to settle old scores, or when she started crying, it would go on endlessly, which was quite distressing to witness

She thought that Hu Zining would not pay attention to her, after all, he had not spoken to her for a week. However, to her surprise, Hu Zining took the initiative to walk over and greeted her: "Feifei, is your company responsible for helping us with the listing?"

Qian Fei, in a moment of impulsiveness, fueled by alcohol, channeled her usual banter with Yao Jingjing, said, "Director Lin, you are too modest. If I were to live to your age and own such an impressive hotel in my early thirties, I wouldn't just settle for lying on the beach; I would be willing to lie on the train tracks!"

Qian Fei smiled and turned around to see Li Yifei and their other colleagues from the company

Hu Zining looked at her and asked, "Why didn't you tell me? Are these all your colleagues?"

Director Lin smiled, her crow's feet lines stretching out, "Where do you see me in my thirties? I am already over fifty!"

Qian Fei was taken aback for a moment and replied, "Yes... what is it?"

Hu Zining raised her hand to touch her head, "Feifei, you are truly adorable!"

She raised her head and saw Li Yifei looking at her with a strange expression in his eyes

Qian Fei was chewing her food, and a piece got stuck in her throat. She looked at Hu Zining, almost choking with tears in her eyes: "Thank you!"

In the past, their arguments were similar to those of the neighbors, always over trivial matters, endlessly refusing to yield to one another. In the end, it usually culminated with Wang Ruohai slamming the door and leaving, while she sat at home crying, following the same pattern as Li Yifei and Gui Lili.

Qian Fei had no choice but to transform the two words "thank you," which were stuck in her throat, into a breath that she slowly exhaled

Qian Fei chuckled twice: "Where is it? I was just talking nonsense under the influence of alcohol."

His performance at work left Qian Fei speechless. As she marveled, she began to feel a sense of inferiority. No wonder he was involved in the core aspects of the projects, while she was only responsible for organizing the working papers

She noticed that Li Yifei seemed to slightly furrow his brow. That slight furrow was so subtle that she was not even sure if she had seen it correctly

Hu Zining greeted others with a smile, saying, "Hello everyone," and then focused her gaze on Qian Fei's face, "Feifei, I have to go back to work now. Make sure to drink more water. Wait for me after work, and we will have dinner together"

"Was that man just now your boyfriend?" he suddenly asked

She had been drinking, and her vision was somewhat blurred, so she squinted and strained to see. Finally, she realized that the person was none other than Hu Zining.

Hu Zining smiled as he served her food, "Anyway, if he comes looking for you, remember to say a few good words for me. We are about to go public, and many positions will undergo corresponding adjustments. If everything goes well, I can get promoted to a middle management position!" He put down his chopsticks and took Qian Fei's hand, "Feifei, if I get promoted to middle management, my salary will also increase, and I will be able to help you pay off the mortgage in the future!"

Qian Fei felt her face burning and was somewhat uncomfortable

Li Yifei glanced at her, paused for two seconds, raised an eyebrow and said: "It's nothing, just asking."

After comparing herself to others, Qian Fei finally understood the emotion known as "infuriating" in the human world. She began to memorize regulations repeatedly, started reviewing the courses for the CPA exam, and engaged in extensive reading of financial literature. She felt that her eagerness to learn was almost extraordinary; even before her university final exams, she had never been this proactive and conscientious in her studies.

As the dishes were served, Hu Zining said to Qian Fei while serving her food, "This week has been incredibly busy. The hotel is preparing to go public, and there is a lot of work we need to do, so I haven't had the chance to reach out to you!"

Qian Fei let out a disdainful "Hmph" and hung up the phone

"What happened?" she asked in confusion, "Is there something wrong?"

The chairman of the hotel held Qian Fei's hand and smiled, saying: "Truly, exceptional talents are emerging! Even such a young girl can independently take a company public! I can no longer deny my age! It seems that the time has truly come to lie on the beach!"

In the evening, she called Yao Jingjing and recounted the events of the entire day in a chronological manner, then asked Yao Jingjing for her opinion

Qian Fei felt a warmth in her heart and wanted to say "thank you," but Li Yifei had already turned around and walked ahead.

Qian Fei nodded again, watching Hu Zining leave with a smile.

Qian Fei felt a bit dazed, "I think your Director Lin only took my business card because he was drunk. Once he sobers up, he will have forgotten who I am, let alone the matter of introducing a partner!" She chuckled twice, "Zining, I think you are overthinking it!"

Qian Fei said deeply: "Fairy, you do not understand, someone like me who has been deeply hurt by men will not fall in love with anyone again; being able to like someone is already good enough! Moreover, although I do not love Hu Zining as a person that much, I deeply love his identity as a suitable marriage partner! Right now, I have a house, my work is also progressing towards a better direction, all I lack is a man I can marry!"

At this moment, Li Yifei's colleague called out to him from the front. He glanced at Qian Fei and said, "Is this your first time in the project team? In the future, drink less. If you encounter such situations again and someone offers you a drink, just say you can't drink and switch to a soft drink. You are not obligated to drink with corporate leaders. If this precedent is set, just wait to be forced to drink to excess in the future"

Hu Zining saw her smile, and the enthusiasm of the host gradually became more natural from being overly attentive

Yao Jingjing exclaimed, "This is easy! If you want to get married for this reason, it's completely unnecessary! You can just buy a few massage sticks on Taobao and be a bride every night! I guarantee you'll be so self-satisfied that you'll forget what loneliness, emptiness, and coldness feel like!"

Qian Fei endured without shivering

Qian Fei initially thought that Li Yifei was merely a decorative figure, but unexpectedly, he turned out to possess considerable ability

Beside me, Liu Yifeng teased: "Oh? Boyfriend? No wonder President Kong said you must be brought into the group, so it turns out there is this layer! President Kong is truly a good friend of the Matchmaker!"

Hu Zining suddenly said: "Our Director Lin is usually a very serious person, and there is not a single hotel staff member who is not afraid of him! However, Feifei, you are truly impressive; I saw you make him laugh so heartily today!"

Yao Jingjing scoffed, "You’re upset, my foot! As if you loved him so much!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Fei felt that he had managed to smooth over the awkward situation between the two of them quite well. She thought to herself that since he had provided a way out, she might as well take this opportunity to step down gracefully.

Qian Fei enthusiastically followed along, exclaiming, "Of course! We can meet every day now!"

Director Lin left with a beaming smile. Before departing, he specifically asked Qian Fei for a business card

Qian Fei nodded again

Usually, seeing him eat well, dress well, and play well, one would think he lives a life of indulgence, to the point where even washing a pair of socks seems to diminish his elegance and spirit. One would assume that such a hedonistic ancestor would lack capability, perhaps relying on connections or sheer luck to join the project team. However, Qian Fei did not expect that this indulgent ancestor would be so well-versed in the business. He could recite the regulations and clauses effortlessly, and he was fully aware of the progress of the work and the next steps to take. When the hotel's financial statements were brought to him, he merely glanced at them and identified several key issues.

"It is truly wonderful that you are the ones to handle our hotel's listing, how great this is! We can meet every day!" Hu Zining said with great joy.

She threw herself onto the bed, feeling somewhat irritable

When will he change his habit of not allowing others to finish speaking

Yao Jingjing warned her: "Qian Fei, stop it right now! I tell you, if you do something as degrading as marrying just for the sake of marriage, I will immediately sever ties with you!"

But even if one knows, what difference does it make? Things have changed and people have moved on. One can only remind oneself not to repeat these mistakes in the next relationship, not to be aggressive during arguments, and not to say those hurtful words that harm each other

Why did she think of Wang Ruohai again tonight

Qian Fei was about to reply to him, but then she noticed that there seemed to be another person standing not far behind him

After Director Lin left, Liu Yifeng, the project leader of Qianfei Company, walked over a bit unsteadily and patted her shoulder, saying: "I didn't expect it, Xiao Qian, you are quite eloquent! If I had known earlier, I would have let you take the stage at the banquet, so I wouldn't have had to drink with Director Lin in succession with Lao Yan! Why is it that those who run hotels can drink so much?" Lao Yan is the project group leader of Li Yifei's company.

She smiled and said, "Of course, we are also extremely busy!"

Qian Fei sighed: "If Hu Zining really reconciled with me just because he saw his leader asking for my business card, how heartbroken I would be!"

Qian Fei defended herself: "But do you know how lonely, empty, and cold I feel every time the night is deep and quiet!"

Before finishing work, Qian Fei sobered up. Hu Zining came to find her for dinner, and they went to a restaurant near the hotel

When Yao Jingjing was on the phone with her, she asked, "Who provoked you? On the day we graduated, didn't we vow to never study again? Whoever studies hard from now on is a fool!"

He was once again filled with that nauseating charm, causing her to sway between enjoyment and shivering

Yao Jingjing summarized two points in her speech: "Baboon, do you think that Lin is interested in you? Baboon, do you think that Hu Zining is interested in their leader and has taken a liking to you?"

A group of people moved towards the work area, with Qian Fei walking at the back of the line. Suddenly, Li Yifei, who was two steps ahead of her, stopped, and she had no choice but to stop as well due to his obstruction

When will she be able to completely stop thinking about the past and her matters with Wang Ruohai

Sometimes, this is how people are; in similar situations, one can only discover the mistakes they made at that time through others. It is often only after a relationship has ended that one can see where they went wrong before.

Qian Fei nodded blankly

After hanging up the phone, she vaguely heard what seemed to be an argument next door

As Qian Fei listened, she suddenly recalled the times when she used to argue with Wang Ruohai

Li Yifei curled her lips in a gesture resembling a smile and said, "I didn't expect you to be quite adept at flattering!"