Chapter Twenty-Seven: Couple’s Phones

"This is all breakfast made by Long Fei—I just got here myself!" Seeing her daughter, Qi Yufei, appear even more nervous, her words became slightly unnatural.

"Could you two stop looking at me like that?" Long Fei, after drinking a bowl of porridge, couldn't take it anymore. What was going on? Why were these two women staring at him as if he were an alien?

"Yes, I didn't expect Long Fei's porridge to taste even better than Mom's. Hey, Long Fei, why don't you take up a side job as our housekeeper? Make us delicious food every day—we'll double your salary!" Ye Qian no longer felt any resistance toward Long Fei; in fact, she suddenly felt reluctant to see him leave. There’s a saying: to win a woman's heart, you must first win her stomach. Long Fei had evidently succeeded.

Yet, Long Fei found Ye Qian’s sudden change in attitude strangely disappointing. The former Ye Qian, always at odds with him, had far more character. Though he often dealt her retorts, he rather liked her. He had met many beautiful women and had been close with quite a few, so ordinary beauty neither harmed nor attracted him. What he truly liked and appreciated were women with distinctive personalities.

He shook his head firmly. "No way. I'll only be a bodyguard—not a housekeeper."

"Triple the salary," Ye Qian tempted him further.

"I wouldn't do it for ten times the salary," Long Fei refused flatly.

"Why not? Your cooking is so delicious!" Ye Qian said, disappointment in her voice.

Long Fei responded seriously, "I can only make this porridge. I don't even know how to cook any dishes!"

Seeing the skeptical looks from both Qi Yufei and Ye Qian, Long Fei grew agitated. "I'm telling the truth!"

"We never said you were lying, so why are you so anxious?" Ye Qian exchanged a glance with Qi Yufei and burst out laughing.

"Then why are you looking at me like that?" Long Fei thought that even becoming a bodyguard was already a concession; if he started cooking for others, what kind of man would he be? He was determined to refuse.

But seeing the two women still grinning at him, he had to repeat himself earnestly, "If you force me, I won't even be your bodyguard anymore!"

Qi Yufei and Ye Qian’s expressions dimmed simultaneously. Qi Yufei quickly said, "Don’t worry, we won’t force you."

"Yeah, how about you just cook for us occasionally? Say, four times a week?" But when Long Fei's gaze turned sharp, Ye Qian quickly retracted a finger. "Three times?"

"Two times?"

"Don't tell me you don't want to cook even once?" Ye Qian was nearly exasperated to death by Long Fei. She knew full well he was an excellent cook, but no matter how she pleaded, he refused to make her anything delicious. It was infuriating and depressing—like having a stunningly handsome man before her yet unable to pursue him.

"Fine, just cook whenever you feel like it," Ye Qian conceded in disappointment.

Long Fei finally nodded in satisfaction. "Deal!"

Over the next few days, Ye Qian obediently stayed home to recuperate, no longer clamoring to go out. Her relationship with Long Fei also grew increasingly complicated, and in Qi Yufei's eyes, Ye Qian’s attitude toward Long Fei became even more enigmatic.

Knowing Ye Qian's original temperament so well, Long Fei remained wary of her. Even when she deliberately showed kindness, he was always on guard, which only spurred Ye Qian to act out even more, looking for every opportunity to challenge him. Yet, when facing this spirited side of Ye Qian, Long Fei seemed more at ease. As Ye Qian put it, Long Fei was a glutton for punishment, stubborn as a mule.

Ye Qian’s luck wasn’t great—she lost her phone at Li Yan’s birthday banquet. Long Fei had reminded her that she’d probably lost it in the small grove, but Ye Qian insisted it was lost at the party and refused his suggestion to look for it in the woods.

But it was just a phone—it hardly mattered to Ye Qian, and she’d never return to that grove, not out of fear of snakes, but because it was a witness to her shame. Going back would only hurt her pride.

Accompanied by Long Fei, Ye Qian bought a new phone—a very fancy one, its bright red case suiting her personality perfectly.

When she learned that Long Fei didn’t even own a phone, she laughed at him for a while. Yet when buying her own, she took the initiative to buy one for Long Fei, also with a bright red case. Though it was larger and differently shaped, the two devices were unmistakably a matching set—a fact Long Fei dared not mention, knowing full well that a girl like Ye Qian hated having her secret thoughts exposed; it would only make her furious, and an angry woman is a fearsome thing.

In reality, Long Fei did have his own phone, but he changed SIM cards after every mission and never cared for his devices, so he often ended up without one. But as for using phones, he was an expert—no model could stump him, and he could even hack or unlock other people’s phones if he wanted. Still, when Ye Qian presumptuously saved her number in his phone, Long Fei dared not protest.

Ye Qian had her own reasoning: although Long Fei was her bodyguard, they were, after all, a man and a woman; he couldn’t shadow her twenty-four hours a day. Equipping Long Fei with a phone was, therefore, necessary. Her requirement: no matter where Long Fei was, he had to appear by her side within five minutes whenever she was in danger. To prevent him from forgetting her number, and worried he might not know how to save contacts, she reluctantly saved her number herself—and, even more reluctantly, bought him that phone.

That was Ye Qian’s explanation, and Long Fei never argued.

After these few days, their relationship remained more conflict than peace, but in Dream Garden, Long Fei had become increasingly bold. As Ye Qian put it, he had no sense of a bodyguard’s boundaries. Still, she no longer demanded that he leave—in fact, she often found excuses to ask him to teach her martial arts or driving skills, but Long Fei never agreed.

What a joke! Long Fei wasn’t stupid. If he taught her martial arts, he’d only be fueling her wild ways, and who knew how many people she’d bully—he might be her first test subject. Besides, his skills weren’t for show—they were deadly. If Ye Qian hurt someone, it’d be a disaster.

As for driving, Long Fei’s skills were formidable, but he knew Ye Qian’s nature: sometimes fierce as fire, impulsive, and always chasing thrills. If she learned only half-heartedly and went out seeking excitement, she’d disrupt the city’s traffic and keep the police busy—something Long Fei dared not take lightly, so he refused to teach her.

However, Long Fei did try to bring up breast enhancement for Ye Qian again. At first, she thought he was making fun of her and chased him around the villa with a kitchen knife. If not for Qi Yufei’s mediation, who knows how long it would’ve gone on. But when Long Fei spoke seriously, Ye Qian was genuinely tempted and asked him for advice. Yet, upon hearing his earnest answer—massage enhancement—she never brought it up again, certain it was just a pretext for him to take liberties with her.

Recently, Qi Yufei’s days were a mix of joy and worry, and she was quite exhausted. Ye Qian and Long Fei were like two children who never grew up, bickering and causing chaos daily. Often, they’d be fine in the morning, but by afternoon, the house would be in uproar. This both delighted and concerned her. She was happy because it felt like another family member had joined them, bringing new life into the home. But she worried what trouble Long Fei and Ye Qian might one day stir up—what if Ye Qian’s knife actually cut Long Fei’s face, or Long Fei used his devious leg technique on her, or worse, if Long Fei ever took advantage of Ye Qian with some underhanded trick?

Qi Yufei would often sit on the open-air plaza, watching Long Fei and Ye Qian quarrel and wrestle, a smile naturally blooming on her face as old memories surfaced in her heart. Seeing Long Fei, she was reminded of another man.

She remembered when she was young, she and another man caused a sensation throughout Beijing, almost turning the whole city upside down with their escapades. But as they grew older, life led them down separate paths. She eventually had to flee Beijing, seeking refuge in Shanghai.

It had been twenty years since she last returned to Beijing, and neither had Ye Wentian. They still had relatives in Beijing, but she didn’t want to go back—too afraid of seeing that man. And since she wouldn’t return, neither would Ye Wentian. Thus, throughout her life, Qi Yufei had found herself entangled with two men, feelings she had never been able to untangle.