Chapter 182: The Unburdened Xu Yingying

Chapter 182: Chapter 182: The Unburdened Xu YingyingLi Yifei looked at Xu Yingying with deep affection and said with his magnetic voice, "Yingying, thank you!"

Caught off guard, Xu Yingying’s previously dazed expression suddenly melted away, and a hint of shyness appeared on her face. Meeting Li Yifei’s gaze, she whispered softly, "Sister Fangqing is still here, you know. You could be a little more discreet."

Li Yifei, without so much as a glance at He Fangqing, said, "In my eyes, there is only you right now. Even if there was a goddess beside me, I would remain indifferent."

Upon hearing this, He Fangqing felt rather suffocated. After all, she had shared several passionate nights with Li Yifei, and for him to say such things, she thought he truly deserved a spanking.

A blush crept across Xu Yingying’s cheeks as she looked at him with eyes as soft as water, bashfully stuttering, "You really are something, saying such cheesy stuff. And you know I’m not usually all that gentle; do you think you can handle me?"

"I believe I can adapt to you, but I have my shortcomings too, and I hope you can be understanding," he replied.

"That won’t do, I’m a woman after all. As a man, of course you should indulge me in every way, or else it wouldn’t be real love."

"Of course it’s real love. Love is grand and should indeed be about considering the other person unconditionally, but love also requires effort to maintain. So, I hope you can be a little more forgiving of me," he said earnestly.

"You’re right, love does need to be nurtured, so let’s work on that together," she agreed.

At that moment, both Li Yifei and Xu Yingying were trying to outsmart each other. Having spent some time with Xu Yingying, Li Yifei felt confident in his approach, but Xu Yingying, set on matching his persistence, displayed her business acumen. As a business elite, she was extremely shrewd at the negotiating table, an excellent actress at that, and now she brought the same prowess to their playful struggle, showing the qualities of a true elite without being overshadowed.

Seeing this, Li Yifei was somewhat disheartened by his failure to push Xu Yingying back. He had to resort to a tougher strategy. His hands suddenly slid down and grabbed Xu Yingying’s waist, pulling her into his embrace with a bit of force. He didn’t believe that Xu Yingying would go so far as to "sell" herself at this moment.

However, his calculation failed yet again. Although Xu Yingying’s body was a bit stiff, she let him wrap his arms around her and even hugged his waist in return, burying her head in his shoulder.

"Yifei!" she called out softly, rubbing her face gently against his shoulder.

Li Yifei was baffled. It felt as if Xu Yingying was being serious. Could it be that Xu Yingying had genuine feelings, and that their cohabitation had led to deeper affection? This game seemed to have taken a real turn.

But then Xu Yingying let go of Li Yifei, placed her hands on his chest, and tapped it lightly, saying, "Alright, you should go back for now. We’ll have dinner together tonight. We need to be mindful of our behavior in the office to avoid idle gossip among the staff. And no more thinking about hiring a pretty secretary."

Just as Li Yifei was about to respond, a knock on the door interrupted them, and he had no choice but to let go of Xu Yingying. She, on the other hand, resumed her usual cool demeanor and sat down behind her desk.

"Then I’ll be going," said Li Yifei as he turned to leave. But before he did, he caught a glimpse of He Fangqing’s face, which had taken on a noticeably sour expression. This led him to suspect that Xu Yingying’s behavior was something even He Fangqing had been unaware of, suggesting that perhaps there was truth to their involvement.

Once Xu Yingying finished her work, He Fangqing, looking at her, chuckled, "Yingying, you really are something. The way you acted just now was unmistakably that of a woman in love."

A blush rushed over Xu Yingying’s serious face. Even as a president accustomed to concealing her emotions, the mention of what had just transpired exposed her girlish sensibilities.

"Not at all. I was simply cornered by that guy," she protested.

He Fangqing laughed lightly and said, "Really? But I saw President Xu Yingying embracing him on her own initiative. Didn’t you end up at a disadvantage?"

Xu Yingying quickly defended herself, "We pretended to be boyfriend and girlfriend before; such actions are expected, so it’s not a big deal."

He Fangqing nodded in agreement, "That makes sense. Since you’ve already been to bed together, there’ll be no pressure to do it again in the future."

Xu Yingying sat down next to He Fangqing, put an arm around her shoulder, and laughed softly, "Sister Fangqing, why do I detect the scent of broken vinegar jars here?"

Now it was He Fangqing’s turn to feel awkward as she hurriedly replied, "Jealous? Why would I be? I’m just worried you’ll get too carried away and won’t know how to stop."

Xu Yingying said with a mischievous smile, "There’s nothing I won’t be able to stop. If it really comes to that, you can step in for me. You’d be willing anyway."

He Fangqing tossed her head back confidently, "I’ve changed my mind; I won’t help you. You can handle it yourself."

"If you make me do it alone, I’ll drag you along with me. I won’t let you be the one to break the vinegar jar."

"No way. You even want to play a threesome, Xu president sure is bold."

"I’m just here to watch the show, haha..."

No one would expect a company president or a director to say such things, but when it comes to private conversations between women, there are truly no reservations. When they talk about men, they can even be more open than men themselves. In some villages, it’s often a group of middle-aged women who have young people blushing and running away, thoroughly embarrassed.

After the commotion, He Fangqing said, "Yingying, you’re having dinner with Li Yifei tonight. Have you thought about how to handle it?"

Xu Yingying chuckled and replied, "I am the one inviting him tonight. But so many people in the company are busy, of course I should extend the invitation."

He Fangqing also laughed and said, "So you’ve thought this through. But you can avoid it once, not forever. If you want to be his girlfriend, you have to act like one eventually, otherwise he’ll definitely see through you."

"Don’t worry, if Xu Yingying sets out to do something, she will succeed. I won’t let him see through me."

Seeing Xu Yingying so confident, He Fangqing sighed inwardly. Women can play and have fun, but they should never play with feelings, especially someone as serious as Xu Yingying. Once she plays with emotions, she might really end up hurt, unless there is a perfect ending.

But He Fangqing just opened her mouth and didn’t say these words. For one thing, Xu Yingying wouldn’t listen at this time, and for another, she had her own selfish reasons. If Xu Yingying and Li Yifei really ended up together, and if Xu Yingying really pleaded with her, she didn’t want to break ties with Li Yifei. Having tasted pleasure, spending time with Li Yifei had let her truly understand the joy of being a woman. Even if she didn’t wish to stay with Li Yifei forever, just an occasional romantic encounter would satisfy her.

That evening, because many people in the company were working overtime, Xu Yingying invited everyone to have dinner together, instead of going out alone with Li Yifei. This relieved Li Yifei somewhat, as he felt immense pressure when he was with Xu Yingying.

The next day, the notified employees had already come to the office to work, but Li Yifei only had these four people with him. He had neither a pleasant view of pretty secretaries nor could he stop thinking about Xu Yingying, which left him quite despondent as he looked at his four subordinates.

Seeing their manager’s gloomy face, each of the four subordinates was nervous. Working with a stern leader was the most challenging, so they were all extra cautious.

However, work had to be done. Li Yifei assigned the upcoming recruitment tasks to the four people and then hid in his own office. Now that he had subordinates, of course, he couldn’t do everything by himself.

At eleven o’clock, Li Yifei received a call from Xu Shanshan.

"Brother-in-law, treat me to lunch," Xu Shanshan began, still calling him brother-in-law, a name she had used for quite some time without change.

Li Yifei, used to it, laughed and said, "Sure, what do you want to eat?"

"I want to eat the food you make."

"It’s the middle of the day; I wouldn’t have time to cook, and we still have to work in the afternoon."

"Then how about you cook for me in the evening? I can come to your house; I’ve never been there."

Li Yifei hesitated for a moment, then said, "I don’t know how late I’ll have to work tonight. Your sister is like a slave driver these days, always making us work overtime."

"Hmph, she’s such a workaholic. So annoying. Well then, how about this: after you finish overtime, come to my house with her, and you can cook for us."

If it had been before, Li Yifei wouldn’t have minded. He got along quite well with Xu Shanshan and was somewhat friends with Xu Yingying, so cooking a meal wasn’t a big deal. But now, Li Yifei was a bit scared of being together with the two sisters, especially with President Xu — the pressure was simply too much.

So at that moment, Li Yifei tried to decline, "Shanshan, I can’t be sure about the evening, but I might have some time at noon. Tell me, what would you like to eat?"

"Then let’s go for Western food, and you can mix me a drink."

"Okay, Western food it is," Li Yifei readily agreed, hoping to use the opportunity to ask Xu Shanshan about some things.

He had just hung up the phone when it immediately rang again. Seeing the number, Li Yifei felt a headache coming on; it was Xu Yingying. He answered, "President Xu, what’s up?"

"Let’s go out for lunch today."

"I’ve already made a promise to someone else."

"I don’t care who you’ve promised, I want to have lunch with you."

"Yingying, can you give me some personal space, please?"

There was a brief pause on Xu Yingying’s end, then she said, "Fine then, go by yourself."