Chapter 251 - Having Friends

Chapter 251: Chapter 255: Having FriendsThe calls seemed endless today. No sooner had Su Yiyi hung up than Li Yifei’s phone rang again—it was Lin Qiong. Li Yifei answered casually, only to hear Lin Qiong’s annoyed voice blast through immediately: "Li Yifei, you asshole, I’m starving to death."

Li Yifei was stunned for a moment, his face suddenly lined with chagrin. Today’s events had totally slipped his mind—he hadn’t stopped by Lin Qiong’s after work, and she was still at home nursing her injuries, unable to move around much. Without him dropping by, she likely hadn’t eaten all day.

"I was swamped with work at the company all day and just finished up. I’ll be right over," he said.

"You asshole, you definitely forgot about me."

"Heh, how could I forget about you? Just wait for me, I won’t be more than twenty minutes before I get there," he chuckled.

After hanging up, Li Yifei quickly threw on his clothes and dashed out the door, then picked up some fast food before heading to Lin Qiong’s place.

Lin Qiong was lying on her bed, wearing a pajama top and a towel blanket over her lower half, turning her head to glare at Li Yifei with a mix of anger and helplessness.

Li Yifei sat down beside Lin Qiong and swiftly set out the fast food. "Hungry, huh? Eat up."

Lin Qiong snorted yet said nothing more, grabbing the chopsticks and starting to eat. She had been too preoccupied with bickering with Li Yifei in the morning to eat much, and now the day had passed. How could she not be hungry? If hunger hadn’t overwhelmed her, she wouldn’t have called Li Yifei.

After wolfing down the fast food Li Yifei brought, Lin Qiong took a sip of water and looked satisfied. "What kind of care is this? Not bringing me lunch is one thing, but dinner too?"

Li Yifei laughed lightly. "I was just letting you appreciate the importance of food. Look at you—you tossed that delicious meat bun this morning like it was nothing. I bet after being hungry like this, you won’t waste food again."

"Go to hell," Lin Qiong said, giving Li Yifei a look. But deep down, she wasn’t really upset. After all, Li Yifei was just a friend—she had never helped him, yet he always came to her aid, even putting up with her bad temper. That in itself was no small feat.

"Here, let me change your dressing," Li Yifei suggested, reaching out to lift the towel from Lin Qiong’s buttocks in order to avoid her scolding.

Lin Qiong quickly pressed her hand down, saying, "Isn’t it okay not to change it? It’s already scabbed over."

"I still need to check it. Do you plan to lie in bed forever?" he asked.

"Well... alright," Lin Qiong conceded, burying her face in her hands, the most embarrassed she could be—having a man look at her buttocks was bound to make her feel awkward.

Li Yifei lifted the towel blanket, taken aback to discover that Lin Qiong wasn’t wearing anything underneath. He chuckled and teased, "And here I was wondering why you weren’t wearing anything—is this your way of deliberately giving me a show?"

"Drop dead!" Lin Qiong flushed with angry embarrassment, pinching Li Yifei’s thigh fiercely.

Li Yifei yelped and jumped up, complaining, "Ouch, that really hurts—you didn’t have to go so hard."

"That’s what you get for talking nonsense. The wound is just healing, and it hurts like hell to move with clothes on. How am I supposed to wear anything?" she retorted.

"I was just joking with you; how could I not understand?" Li Yifei said with a grin, sitting back down next to Lin Qiong to inspect the wound. It had indeed scabbed over and shouldn’t pose a problem. Plus, not wearing pants during the day meant the wound was exposed to the air, which was better for healing. After applying some disinfectant, he covered her again with the towel blanket.

In the midst of these actions, Li Yifei couldn’t help but sneak glances at Lin Qiong’s more private areas. Not out of malice, but as a man, to not look would mean he wasn’t a man at all.

After the ointment was applied, an awkward silence fell between them, and nobody spoke for a while.

"Li Yifei!"

"Officer Lin!"

Both seemed eager to break the silence and called out to each other simultaneously.

"You first!"

This time, they said in unison, and then burst into laughter, instantly dispelling the awkwardness.

Li Yifei stopped laughing first, "You go ahead."

Lin Qiong nodded and began, "I got a tip today. They’re going to have another big shipment arriving in Mile City soon, so we’ll need to act in the next couple of days. Otherwise, once they’ve sold off this batch, it’ll be a while before we can make another move."

"But with your injury, can you handle it?" Li Yifei frowned slightly.

"Didn’t you see I didn’t wear pants today, so I would heal faster?"

"All right then, when do we act, and what do you need me to do?"

"Here’s the plan—tomorrow night, we meet with a small distributor working for them. He doesn’t have a lot of product, so we’ll take what he has. If he can’t supply enough, he’ll naturally put us in contact with his bosses," Lin Qiong explained.

"Cool. But if we’re going together, what about our cover?"

Lin Qiong bit her lip and glared at Li Yifei, irritated. "You’re a Nouveau Riche, and I’m your mistress."

"Mistress? Why not wife?"

"Nonsense. Who brings their wife on this kind of business? That would be a lack of face, wouldn’t it?"

"Oh, you’ve really thought this through," Li Yifei said with a chuckle, his gaze teasing as he looked at Lin Qiong.

Lin Qiong felt a shiver run down her spine from his look, and she ground her teeth, snapping, "What do you mean by that look?"

Li Yifei blinked and said, "Since we’re lovers, shouldn’t you act like one? Lovers can be coquettish and whiny. Can you do that?"

Lin Qiong raised an eyebrow and said, "What’s so hard about that? I’ve already thought about this. I’ll show you right now."

"No way?" Li Yifei’s eyes widened in astonishment. Lin Qiong had even thought of that, which meant her thoughts were really meticulous.

"Of course." Lin Qiong lifted her neck proudly, then stretched out her arms, her eyes suddenly filled with a flirtatious look as she spoke in a delicate voice, "Honey, pick me up."

Li Yifei immediately felt goosebumps all over and quickly jumped aside, staring with wide eyes and saying, "Can’t you talk normally? I can’t handle this."

Lin Qiong immediately straightened her face and said, "What? Did I not do it well? Don’t I look like a lover?"

Li Yifei briskly ran his hands along his arms twice before replying, "It’s not that you don’t look the part, but rather that you look too much the part. You never act like this with me normally, so this gives me the creeps."

Lin Qiong frowned and said, "Then you have to get used to it. What wealthy person with a lover doesn’t like a little coquettishness? Plus, you’re pretending to be a nouveau riche, a really foolish guy. You should like this sort of behavior even more."

"I’m dizzy. I even have to act foolish? This is really challenging."

"Otherwise, how could they see you as an easy mark, as someone suitable for this kind of trickery if they don’t sense that from you?"

"You really do have a point there. Then I... I’ll try my best to adapt," said Li Yifei with a bitter face, nervously sitting on the edge of the bed, perched as if ready to run at any moment.

"Move in a little. Am I that scary?" Lin Qiong was somewhat exasperated.

"You’re not just scary, you’re terribly scary."

"Go to hell!" Lin Qiong pinched Li Yifei fiercely, glaring at him.

Li Yifei chuckled and said, "That’s better. This is more like you."

"You... you really are a masochist," Lin Qiong said, practically speechless.

"Alright, alright, I’ll try to adapt," Li Yifei took a deep breath, his face the picture of a man bravely prepared to sacrifice himself.

Although Lin Qiong had already practiced how to act coy with Li Yifei at home today, she was still very nervous when actually facing him. However, Li Yifei’s deeply troubled expression actually helped Lin Qiong to completely cast aside her nervousness and shyness. Her biggest worry now was that Li Yifei might mess up the act when the time came.

So when she started acting cutesy, it was remarkably easy for her; moreover, she had to correct Li Yifei’s mistakes over and over again.

"Hey, when I lie on your legs, can you not be so stiff? Relax, relax... Brother, having a beauty lie on your legs should be enjoyable!"

"I’m telling you, you bastard, you obviously wanted to take advantage of me the first time we met. Why are you acting like a shy virgin now?"

Li Yifei gave a dry laugh and said, "Things change. Besides, it’s not just about taking advantage of you; I also have to venture into the tiger’s den. Can I really be relaxed?"

Thinking about it, Lin Qiong realized that it made sense. The situation was fraught with danger, so it was normal for Li Yifei to be nervous. She softened her tone and said, "Don’t be anxious. I will ensure your safety."

"That’s... Can you guarantee your own safety?"

"Of course, I can. I’m not just the Deputy Director anymore; I’m the Director. If real danger presents itself, I can call on people from the station to support us, and at most, I’ll stop investigating covertly," Lin Qiong reassured Li Yifei.

"Really?"

"Of course it’s true."

With that, Li Yifei finally let out a sigh of relief and said, "Since you say so, I feel relieved."

"Good, you should be relieved. Now let’s try again, Honey..."

Li Yifei shivered again, but at least he wasn’t stiff, which somewhat satisfied Lin Qiong. She continued, "Relax, yes, that’s better. But as a lover, how can you just sit there motionless?"

"Do I need to move?" Li Yifei looked down at Lin Qiong, eyes wide.

"Of course. How can your hands stay so idle at a time like this? I’m your lover, aren’t I? Shouldn’t you touch me?"

"Touch you too?" Li Yifei almost exclaimed.

"Nonsense! I don’t understand. I’m letting you touch me without any fuss, so what are you afraid of?"

"I... I’m afraid you’ll hold it against me later."

"I won’t hold anything against you. Go ahead and touch me."

"Am I really going to touch you?" Li Yifei raised his hand tentatively.

"Are you even a man?" Lin Qiong was almost beside herself with frustration. She grabbed Li Yifei’s hand, pulled it down forcefully onto her face, and shouted, "Touch me!"

"Okay!" Li Yifei shivered again, his fingers spread wide and his palm as stiff as a fan.

"You..." Lin Qiong felt like she was about to crumble, but she took a deep breath and managed not to lose her temper. In a gentler voice, she said, "Go on, touch me. Just like you used to touch your past girlfriends. Don’t think of me as Lin Qiong. Pretend I’m one of your old lovers. Yes, like that... Hey, where are you touching?"