Chapter 322 - The Big Crash

Chapter 322: Chapter 330 The Big Crash"""\

They played mahjong all the way until four in the afternoon. Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan lost badly, while Mother Xu won big, which made her grinning from ear to ear. Xu Shanshan immediately pouted and said, "Not satisfied, not satisfied. Let’s play again tonight."\

Mother Xu chuckled, "Playing again tonight, huh? Aren’t you afraid you’ll lose all your money? I won’t hold back today."\

"I’m not afraid. If I lose everything, I’ll just live off my brother-in-law and sister from now on. Brother-in-law, you won’t abandon your sister-in-law, right?" Xu Shanshan blinked at Li Yifei pitifully.\

Li Yifei couldn’t help but feel a flutter in his heart. How could he possibly refuse such a sister-in-law, he thought with a smile, "No problem. Then I’ll make sure Auntie wins it all."\

"You’re the best, brother-in-law." Xu Shanshan jumped over and affectionately hugged Li Yifei’s arm, swaying it a couple of times.\

Xu Zhenguo and his wife didn’t think much of Xu Shanshan and Li Yifei’s closeness. They were all family, and it was normal for a brother-in-law and sister-in-law to share a joke. The main thing was that Xu Shanshan had been actively bringing Xu Yingying and Li Yifei together, so naturally, they wouldn’t think Xu Shanshan harbored any feelings for Li Yifei.\

However, what they didn’t know was that the brother-in-law and sister-in-law had just been up to sneaky tricks under the mahjong table.\

Usually, when Li Yifei was around, everyone ate at home, but they were having so much fun today they hadn’t even bought any groceries. So, they decided to eat out.\

Pingyang City wasn’t a huge city, just a prefecture-level city, not as big as Mile City, but still quite prosperous. The five of them drove to a nice restaurant nearby and got a private room. Xu Yingying made sure to order some good dishes and wine. The Xu Zhenguo couple weren’t the kind of older folks who were too thrifty; they were quite accepting of a little indulgent spending.\

Everyone was eating, drinking, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. Li Yifei also drank quite a bit with Xu Zhenguo, but after drinking, he felt the need to use the restroom. Saying he’d be right back, he left the room and asked a waiter for directions to the restroom.\

After he was done, he bumped head-on with a man in his fifties while walking out.\

"Yifei!" the man exclaimed in surprise and delight.\

Seeing who it was, Li Yifei almost jumped in shock. It was none other than Lin Qiong’s father, Lin Zhenhai; he hurriedly said, "Lin... Dad, what are you doing here?"\

Lin Qiong’s father, Lin Zhenhai, laughed and said, "Little Qiong’s mother and I came here to visit relatives. Little Qiong said you were supposed to be on a business trip this weekend, so you didn’t come with us, but here you are, on a business trip in this same place."\

Li Yifei suddenly felt a headache. What a coincidence. Lin Qiong hadn’t mentioned anything about this beforehand, but then, how could Lin Qiong have known she’d run into him here?\

Luckily, he wasn’t out with Xu Yingying’s father. Otherwise, if the two fathers-in-law met, it would be disastrous. He quickly smiled and said, "Dad, I’ll come by later to offer a toast, and I’ll settle your bill. I’ve got a client over here."\

"It’s good to drop by when you can. We’re all family; getting to know each other is never bad, but don’t let it disrupt your work."\

"It won’t. Why don’t you tell me your room number, and I’ll come by later after I speak to my client?"\

Lin Zhenhai gave him the room number and let Li Yifei get back to his business. The Lin family liked Li Yifei a lot, and now they just had the excuse to introduce him to their relatives, also letting him settle the bill would bring face to them.\

Being a government official himself, though not a high-ranking one, Lin Zhenhai valued such things, so he didn’t think it inappropriate for Li Yifei to cover the bill. They had already given their savings to Li Yifei and Lin Qiong, so it wasn’t about making him spend money, just about face.\

Li Yifei hurried back to the Xu family’s private room, smiling, "Sorry, I ran into an old acquaintance outside, chatted with him for a bit."\

Xu Zhenguo asked curiously, "You know other people in Pingyang?"\

Li Yifei quickly said, "He’s also from Mile City, just here visiting relatives, and I’m going over to offer a toast later."\

Xu Zhenguo said immediately, "Makes sense. Take Yingying with you; it’ll be more polite that way."\

Li Yifei agreed readily. He did have to mention it to Xu Yingying, and they especially needed to avoid meeting each other’s group of people.\

After leaving the room with Xu Yingying, Li Yifei whispered, "Lin Qiong’s family is here."\

"What?" Xu Yingying was startled, "How did they end up here? My parents mustn’t meet hers; it would be a disaster."\

Li Yifei nodded, "Exactly. I’ll go offer a toast and see when they’re done. If they’re just starting, we’ll leave early. If they’re almost done, we’ll linger a bit longer."\

"Understood. I’ll wait for you by the restroom."\

Li Yifei parted ways with Xu Yingying and headed toward Lin Qiong’s room, seeing Lin Qiong waiting for him in the hallway.\

Lin Qiong hurried forward with delight, "What are you doing here?"\

Li Yifei gave a wry smile, "Yingying’s parents live in Pingyang, and we’re here for her mother’s birthday, eating in a room over there."\

"Ah!" Lin Qiong’s smile disappeared instantly, "That’s quite the coincidence."\

"Yeah, too much so. We’re almost done eating, give it another half hour."\

"We’re about the same."\

Then they both spoke simultaneously, "We’ll leave first; you guys drag it out."\

They paused and exchanged a bitter smile. Li Yifei said, "You probably have more people here, so the decision isn’t up to you. We’ll drag it out."\

Lin Qiong didn’t argue, nodding in agreement.\

They entered the room, which was quite large, with a big round table surrounded by more than ten people, mostly older, with only four around Lin Qiong’s age.\

"This is Little Qiong’s fiancé, Li Yifei. Little Qiong, introduce him to everyone."\

Lin Qiong blushed, not from embarrassment but sheer ordeal, and quickly smiled, "Yifei, this is my uncle, my aunt, my second aunt, and second uncle..."\

Lin Qiong introduced each of them to Li Yifei, who greeted them one by one. He had to put on a brave face and play the good son-in-law.\

Finally, introductions over, Li Yifei poured everyone a drink and said, "Since you’re all Qiongqiong’s family, you’re my family, too. I hope we all get along well."\

With that, Li Yifei downed a glass of beer.\

Everyone else drank with him, immediately showering him with praises. Li Yifei looked good and spoke well, had a nice demeanor, and people were easily charmed. Plus, Lin Qiong’s parents had mentioned Li Yifei was a company manager now, which added to their approval.\

Lin Zhenhai said, "Yifei, if you’re busy, handle your thing first. We’ll have a proper get-together for New Year’s."\

Li Yifei quickly said, "Sure thing, apologies to everyone; my client is important today, but I’ll cover the tab here. Enjoy yourselves."\

Lin Qiong escorted Li Yifei out, finally breathing a sigh of relief, "Phew, that was close."\

Li Yifei smiled, "No big deal. I’ll head out now."\

Lin Qiong parted her lips, but didn’t say anything, motioning him to leave.\

Li Yifei felt she had something to say, asked, "Is there anything else?"\

Lin Qiong finally said, "I’m not leaving tonight. I’m afraid my parents might ask you to come over."\

"I’ll just say I have to return to Mile City tonight."\

"Okay, let’s go with that."\

After separating from Lin Qiong, Xu Yingying immediately came over, whispering, "How’s it going?"\

"They’re almost done eating too. We’ll stay a bit longer."\

Xu Yingying nodded, "When we get back, just stay put. No wandering around, or we might run into trouble."\

They agreed and returned to the room together. Xu Shanshan pouted and said, "Brother-in-law, why did you take so long?"\

Li Yifei laughed, sat down, and said, "Gotta offer a toast and say a few words; otherwise, it’d be impolite."\

Xu Shanshan retorted, "Whatever, today’s mom’s birthday, and she’s the boss. You can’t run off again."\

Yesterday, Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan’s feet were a bit unruly. In the presence of this fake sister-in-law, he felt a peculiar sensation but later regretted how he had let his desires get the best of him with Xu Shanshan. One Xu Yingying was headache enough; throwing Xu Shanshan into the mix, how would he ever resolve this mess?\

These two were nothing like He Fangqing, who from the beginning had a defined position, nor like the gentle and compliant Su Yiyi, who considered everything for him.\

So, today, Li Yifei dared not indulge in any ambiguous acts with Xu Shanshan, saying, "Alright, I’ll be good today and stay with Mom. Not going anywhere."\

After all, they needed to stall for time, hanging around until Lin Qiong’s party left.\

"I need to use the restroom," Li Yifei didn’t want to leave, but a moment later, Xu Zhenguo went out again.\

But just as Xu Zhenguo stepped out, Li Yifei heard his joyous exclamation, "Old Lin, what are you doing here?"\