Chapter 112: Initiating the Declaration of War

“You—shameless!” Apart from cursing Long Fei, Ye Qian had no other way to deal with him.

“Alright, alright, stop making a fuss. Hand over the keys. I’ll take you back now!” Long Fei stretched out his hand.

Ye Qian ignored him, like an enraged tigress—specifically, a female tiger—and immediately snarled, “Long Fei, you bastard! Are you even a man? The fight with my father was all because of you! Do you know I’ve never once opposed him like this in my life? How could you treat me this way? Are you really a man?!”

Long Fei’s heart skipped a beat; being called not a man by a woman was hardly pleasant. Seeing Yang Dani repeatedly wink at him, he realized Ye Qian had successfully won her sympathy. Feeling awkward, Long Fei said, “I didn’t mean it that way. You can stay here if you want, but I’m just worried your mother will be worried about you.”

“I told Mom when I came. People have to grow up, right? I can’t expect my parents to take care of me forever. I have to learn to be independent!” Ye Qian’s tone softened as she saw Long Fei weaken.

“But if you stay here, your mother will overthink it, and your father too. They’ll surely think I did something to you!” Long Fei suddenly turned lecherous again. Since he couldn’t oppose her, he might as well tease her a bit to vent his frustration.

Unfortunately, Long Fei was disappointed again. He hoped to see Ye Qian blush or hear her angrily call him a pervert, but instead, she lowered her head with a flushed face and softly said, “I’m not afraid. Why are you scared?”

Sweat trickled down Long Fei’s forehead. What was wrong with this woman? What did she mean? Was she inviting him to take advantage of her? No, no, it sounded like she didn’t mind if he did!

“Fine, you can stay here. There are plenty of empty rooms. Pick one for yourself. But you mustn’t bother me at night, and definitely not boss me around!” Long Fei declared first.

Ye Qian rolled her eyes at him and teased, “You not bothering me would be a blessing. Who would bother you anyway? Ridiculous!”

Seeing Ye Qian didn’t object to his conditions, Long Fei relented but held out his hand. “Now hand over the keys.”

Ye Qian obediently handed over one key. “Here, take it.”

“What about the others?” Long Fei was puzzled. Did she want the house key too? Was she trying to claim ownership?

“There’s only one left. Of course, I have to keep it. Otherwise, how would I get in when I come home?” Ye Qian clutched her small handbag tightly, as if fearing Long Fei might snatch it.

Yang Dani could no longer hide her displeasure. She frowned at Ye Qian, who seemed anxious, then glanced at Long Fei.

Clearly, Yang Dani sensed something was off. Ye Qian was trying to strip her of her status as the lady of the house. Without the keys, how could she enter? It was a ruthless move—and Ye Qian was willing to spend money to call a locksmith and change the locks. Only she would think of that.

Long Fei was helpless too. With only one key, how was he supposed to distribute them? It was a problem.

Noticing Yang Dani’s dissatisfaction, Ye Qian quickly smiled at her. “Sorry, Dani, I was careless and forgot to give you a key. How about this? I’ll get one made when I have time and give it to you, okay?”

“When will you have time? Probably never!”

Still, although Yang Dani saw through Ye Qian’s little scheme, as an older sister, she couldn’t really argue. She nodded and smiled faintly but said nothing, too annoyed to speak.

Neither Long Fei nor Yang Dani expected Ye Qian to actually cook dinner herself. Long Fei could hardly believe his eyes. Pointing at the beautifully arranged dishes on the table, he asked Ye Qian, “Did you really make these?”

Ye Qian beamed with pride. “Of course. Don’t be fooled by the fact that I usually don’t cook at home. When it comes to cooking, I’m more professional than most. Well, maybe a little less than you, but I’ll work hard. Soon, I’ll surpass you!”

Long Fei nodded and laughed, “That’s the spirit.”

“Then hurry and try it. How does it taste?” Ye Qian was nervous. It was her first time cooking, and though she had followed the recipes strictly, she knew that if a cookbook alone could guarantee delicious food, there’d be no need for culinary schools or master chefs. She regretted not tasting everything as she cooked.

Long Fei and Yang Dani exchanged worried glances. As a man, Long Fei felt he should be the first to try. Even if it was poison, he had to swallow it bravely.

“Shall we try it?” Long Fei asked cautiously, secretly thinking they were all starving.

With Ye Qian’s encouragement, Long Fei carefully picked up a piece of sweet-and-sour pork ribs and put it in his mouth. Nervously chewing a few bites, he smiled and nodded. It was bad, but not as awful as he expected—definitely edible.

Seeing Long Fei didn’t spit it out, Yang Dani tried a piece too. She didn’t dare try anything else yet since Long Fei hadn’t. But as soon as the ribs touched her tongue, her brow furrowed deeply. Ye Qian’s cooking was far inferior to hers. After all, Long Fei was used to surviving in the African wilderness. If he could stomach that, this dish was nothing.

“Not good?” Ye Qian asked nervously, noticing Long Fei’s nod and Yang Dani’s frown.

Yang Dani chewed the ribs several times, discreetly spitting out the bones and all the meat afterwards. Despite the lingering sweetness that annoyed her, she forced a smile. “It’s okay... it’s okay.”

“Okay?” What kind of compliment was that?

Ye Qian frowned. Since she couldn’t read their expressions, she took a piece herself but immediately spat it out, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and a hint of anger. “What do you mean? It’s so bad, and you’re lying to me!”

“We never said it was bad, and we ate it just fine, didn’t we?” Long Fei laughed.

“You—how dare you say that!” Ye Qian pointed at him, ready to scold, but then reconsidered. After all, it was her own cooking. In fact, Long Fei was the real victim. So she fell silent and muttered, “But I followed the book exactly. Where did I go wrong?”

Her voice was low, but Long Fei heard clearly and smirked, “The book’s not wrong. You are.”

“How do you know I made a mistake if you didn’t watch me cook?” Ye Qian protested.

“No recipe can stop you from mistaking soy sauce for vinegar, haha!” Long Fei hit the mark.

Ye Qian seemed to realize this. She put down her chopsticks and rushed into the kitchen. After searching around, she returned looking disappointed and nodded at Long Fei. “How did you know? You guessed right!”

“No worries. Even if you failed this time, you can try again,” Long Fei comforted her, thinking to himself that he’d just buy more ingredients. Besides, since he wouldn’t be home much, she could experiment all she wanted. The sooner her skills improved, the less suffering she’d have.

Ye Qian felt reassured by Long Fei’s uncharacteristic encouragement and pointed at the other dishes. “Right, right, try these. I think they’re better than the sweet-and-sour ribs!”

Long Fei and Yang Dani exchanged looks but didn’t dare touch their chopsticks. Good heavens, Long Fei was glad he hadn’t left any poison in the kitchen, or Ye Qian might have mistaken it for vinegar.

“To be honest, Ye Qian, when you called, we were eating, so we’re not hungry now. Why don’t you have dinner with Long Fei? I won’t eat,” Yang Dani said firmly, setting down her chopsticks. She wasn’t joking about this—she didn’t want to betray her stomach or take any risks.

Seeing Ye Qian glare at her, Long Fei smiled awkwardly. “Actually, I’m not hungry either. Really!”

Sorry, Ye Qian, no playing with you tonight. If I did, I’d never get any sleep. You’d disgust me to death!

“You don’t mean that! You actually look down on me? Fine! If you won’t eat, I’ll just eat by myself!” Ye Qian huffed, picking up some other dishes. But she soon spat most of it out.

Four dishes and a soup—only the soup was drinkable. The other four dishes all had problems, and besides the ribs, the other three were seriously bad.

Yet Ye Qian’s willpower was strong. Despite everything, she finished her bowl of rice with gritted teeth, determined to learn how to cook properly. Next time, she’d better test the food on a puppy or kitten first. If it was safe, she’d try it herself; if not, she’d give it to the beggars under the Xujiahui overpass—both a test and a chance to do a good deed.

Yang Dani wanted to wash the dishes but was cheerfully blocked by Ye Qian. Washing dishes was the lady of the house’s job. Since Ye Qian had dared to change the locks and keep the keys, it meant she was determined to declare war on Yang Dani. She might as well be aggressive. No matter how much she disliked washing dishes, she couldn’t let Yang Dani steal this right away. In a way, it was a battle for the title of lady of the house.

Whether Ye Qian actually cleaned the dishes properly was unknown. Maybe she worried Yang Dani and Long Fei spending too much time together. Anyway, she soon emerged from the kitchen holding a bowl of herbal medicine.

Long Fei had planned to play a little trick on Yang Dani while Ye Qian was away but didn’t expect her to come out so soon. Seeing the herbal medicine, he remembered she was still taking it to enhance her bust. He had thought she wouldn’t last more than a few days, yet she never stopped.

Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Long Fei felt Ye Qian’s chest had slightly risen. He pondered how much women valued their busts—things men could hardly understand.

“What’s wrong?” Yang Dani frowned, having always disliked herbal medicine. As an older sister, no matter how much Ye Qian declared war, she had to care. After all, Ye Qian was Long Fei’s official girlfriend. Though she herself had been intimate with Long Fei and might be less favored, their relationship was unique. Who knew if Long Fei might truly fall for Ye Qian someday? She needed to maintain a good relationship with her.

She had said she didn’t care if Long Fei had other women. Though she might not truly believe it, she had to try. Not just to show Long Fei her generosity and tolerance, but because it was her principle.

Women easily fall in love with men, but once together, they often lose that spark and eventually give up.

Women rarely fall in love, but when they do, they change madly for it. In the end, she becomes someone else, while the man remains himself.

That was a woman’s tragedy, but being a woman, it was unchangeable.

Ye Qian noticed Long Fei’s unusual gaze on her chest and felt a little pleased. She cared most about the bust enhancement, measuring herself daily with a tape measure, accurate to the millimeter. She knew that after just over a week, the herbal remedy’s effect was neither great nor negligible.

“Oh, Dani, this is herbal medicine Long Fei prepared for me, specially to enhance my bust. Long Fei said he doesn’t like small chests and that soon mine will get bigger—maybe even bigger than yours!”

Long Fei was startled. Was she crazy? Why would she say such things to Yang Dani? Didn’t she mind embarrassing herself? Also, she was lying—when had he ever said that?

Before Long Fei could speak, Ye Qian shot him a fierce warning look. He opened his mouth to protest several times but dared not say a word, coughing instead.

Yang Dani’s face flushed bright red. Embarrassed, she smiled faintly and said, “Oh, you two chat. I’m going to rest now.”

“I’m going too!” Long Fei stood to follow. He was leaving for Japan tomorrow and had to make the most of tonight.

Ye Qian grabbed Long Fei’s arm, glaring at him fiercely, teeth clenched, saying nothing.

Yang Dani stopped and looked at Long Fei with some doubt, seemingly watching his reaction. But Long Fei’s response disappointed her. He seemed capable with every woman in the world except Ye Qian. Could it be that he owed Ye Qian from a past life, which is why they met again and became happy adversaries?

Without turning, Ye Qian guessed Yang Dani’s expression and quickly smiled. “Dani, you go rest. Long Fei says he still has to help me enhance my bust. Herbal medicine alone won’t do; he says it needs to be combined with massage techniques to work!”

“Come on, let’s go to my room!” Seeing Long Fei frozen in place, Ye Qian immediately grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the room.