Chapter 43 - Too Careless
Chapter 43 of "Super Soldier in the City" kicks off revealing: Chapter 43: Chapter 42 Too CarelessLi Yifeiâs house didnât have a hammer, but it did... Find out whatâs next!
Chapter 43: Chapter 42 Too CarelessLi Yifeiâs house didnât have a hammer, but it did have a mover, left behind by the landlord. Although it wasnât ideal for driving nails, it was sturdy enough and could withstand some force. For Li Yifei, hammering nails was more than manageable.
Under Meng Xiaofeiâs guidance, Li Yifei put two nails in the living room wall. Meng Xiaofei immediately hung two picture frames on them, both containing her artistic photos. Looking at the photos, Li Yifei couldnât help but praise, "Youâre this beautiful and still taking artistic photos? Arenât you just purposely making everyone else jealous?"
"Giggle, itâs my own home, not outside," Meng Xiaofei said, very happy to receive such compliments from Li Yifei.
"You even said you hoped to grow up to be an ugly monster, and now youâre still so vain. Youâre totally fibbing."
"I didnât! Iâve already grown up to be like this, and thereâs nothing I can do about it. If I canât change it, I might as well enjoy it."
Li Yifei couldnât help but chuckle; Meng Xiaofei was indeed an interesting girl. Talking with her always amused him. Having met many women, he had never encountered anyone with her personality before.
Seeing Meng Xiaofei still admiring her artistic photos, Li Yifei shook his head and said with a smile, "Wait until I leave before you admire yourself. Anywhere else you need a nail?"
"Let me think, yes! Another nail above the head of the bed in the bedroom," Meng Xiaofei said as she immediately led Li Yifei to the bedroom.
The bedroom door had been closed, but as Meng Xiaofei opened it, Li Yifei got a glimpse of the inside and immediately felt his nose warm up. The room was a bit too romantic for a man to take in.
Scattered across the bed and the floor were several pairs of stockings, some flesh-colored, some blackâa strange thing to have out in the middle of winter.
Not just stockings, but also several bras and panties were strewn about the bed, and they were those enticing lace kinds. Even for someone as worldly as Li Yifei, this sudden sight was a bit overwhelming.
"Ah!" Meng Xiaofei cried out, hurriedly rushing in to frantically gather all the lingerie together. Then she pulled open the wardrobe and dumped them inside.
Once everything was tidied, she turned back, her face and ears red, and said, "I... I washed them and hung them to dry but hadnât put them away yet."
Li Yifei was both amused and exasperated, saying, "Itâs a good thing Iâm not a pervert, or seeing your lingerie lying here, I definitely might have taken advantage of you."
Meng Xiaofei was quite embarrassed but quickly stuck out her tongue in a mischievous manner and said, "I know Brother Li is a good person, otherwise I wouldnât dare to let you into my house."
"No need to flatter me, letâs get that nail in so I can head back."
Meng Xiaofei immediately hopped onto the bed, moved the pillows aside, and pointed to the spot right above the head of the bed, saying, "Right here."
Li Yifei climbed onto the bed and hammered in the nail. Being on a womanâs bed without actually doing anything was a situation he hadnât found himself in before.
After the nail was in, Meng Xiaofei handed Li Yifei a large picture frame and said, "Brother Li, help me hang this."
Li Yifei took it, admired it for a momentâthe photo was a sexy shot of Meng Xiaofei in scant clothing, a small tank top, and hot shorts, incredibly seductive. Such a picture was perfect for the bedroom, but too eye-catching for the living room. And he was fortunate enough to have seen it.
"Stop looking, hurry up and hang it for me," Meng Xiaofei urged, a bit red-faced by now.
Li Yifei laughed and said, "You had it taken and wonât let me look? Itâs a good thing you didnât actually dress like that in front of me, or I really might have turned into a pervert."
Meng Xiaofei, with a flush still on her face, scolded playfully, "Stop it, Brother Li, youâre teasing me."
Li Yifei hung up the picture frame, and then he had Meng Xiaofei check and adjust its position. Once Meng Xiaofei was satisfied, he hopped off the bed.
Leaving the bedroom, Meng Xiaofei said to Li Yifei, "Thank you, Brother Li."
"Donât mention it. Weâre neighbors; itâs only right to help each other out. If thereâs nothing else, Iâll be going back."
"Sure, sure," said Meng Xiaofei as she saw Li Yifei to the door. As he was opening it to leave, Meng Xiaofei suddenly asked, "Brother Li, can I still come over to your place for a meal in the future?"
Li Yifei turned to look at Meng Xiaofei who quickly stuck out her tongue in embarrassment and hurriedly said, "I can buy groceries; I just donât know how to cook."
"Alright. If I have the time, you can come over for a meal."
"Yay, Iâve found myself a good neighbor! Brother Li, thank you. Iâm flying out tomorrow, but when I get back, Iâll buy the groceries."
Seeing Meng Xiaofeiâs excitement, Li Yifei was infected by her enthusiasm and said with a smile, "Okay, itâll even save me some money. After all, thereâs not much difference between cooking for one and cooking for two."
"Itâs a deal then!" Meng Xiaofei waved at Li Yifei, gave another radiant smile, withdrew her head, and closed the door.
Li Yifei shook his head, returning to his house with a smile on his face, feeling fortunate to have such a neighbor, ensuring he wouldnât be bored when coming home in the future.
Just as he sat down, Xu Shanshanâs call came through again. Li Yifei hesitated for a moment before picking up, and Xu Shanshan immediately giggled, "Brother-in-law, where are you?"
"Iâm outside," Li Yifei replied offhandedly as he settled on the sofa, knowing he absolutely couldnât admit he was at home.
"Where exactly? Did you ask for leave from my sister?"
"Iâm dealing with something with a few colleagues outside, and Iâve told your sister already."
"Really? But my sister said you just went out, and youâre already together with your colleagues so quickly?"
Li Yifei broke out in a cold sweat. Xu Yingying had received Xu Shanshanâs call but hadnât notified him at all. At that moment, he heard the call waiting beep and glanced at his phone. Seeing that the incoming call was from the second line, which he reserved for Xu Yingying, he realized Xu Yingying was calling just now, obviously too late.
"It was quick, their car was waiting for me just outside the complex."
"Is that so? Brother-in-law, itâs not good for kids to lie, you know. How come every time I call you guys, youâre never together?"
"Who knows? It might just be a coincidence," Li Yifei could only offer that reason, but he quickly thought of a better one, "Iâm just worried about affecting your sisterâs work, thatâs why nobody at the office knows about our relationship. In their eyes, Iâm still single, so naturally, Iâm always out having fun."
"Then tonight Iâll call you guys in the middle of the night, I want to see if youâre together or not."
"Why would you call in the middle of the night? That would be disturbing the peace."
"Iâm going to disturb you guys. I always feel thereâs something off about you two; you donât seem like a couple at all. Iâm going to expose you, hehe, and if you confess now, I wonât bother you anymore."
Li Yifei couldnât confess; that would provoke Xu Yingying to settle scores with him, so he could only laugh, "You little rascal, go ahead and call then, but donât blame your sister if she gets mad at you."
"Iâm not afraid. Itâs her fault for finding you to pretend to be her boyfriend. Now itâs causing my mom to nag me endlessly. I will expose you two, and then let mom continue to nag her, hahaha..." Having said that, Xu Shanshan hung up the phone, laughing triumphantly.
Only then did Li Yifei answer Xu Yingyingâs call, saying helplessly, "Youâre calling me, and Shanshan was just talking to me."
"What did she tell you?" Xu Yingying immediately asked anxiously.
Li Yifei recounted the entire conversation with Xu Shanshan to Xu Yingying. After hearing it, Xu Yingying said bitterly, "That dead girl, obviously afraid weâd collude, used two different phones to call me and you, and she called you straight after without even finishing her talk with me, making it impossible for me to give you a heads up."
Li Yifei suddenly felt a headache coming on, saying, "In that case, weâre definitely going to slip up. Isnât it better to just drop the act? Youâve already started working, thereâs no need to keep deceiving them, right?"
"No, if my mom finds out, she would definitely scold me. And sheâd keep pressuring me to find a boyfriend."
Li Yifei said with a wry smile, "President Xu, youâve got to give me some consideration. Shanshan could call me anytime, and Iâm really unprepared. Plus, she said sheâs going to call tonight, what should we do?"
After thinking for a moment, Xu Yingying said, "Just ignore her. If she calls you, donât pick up. Pretend youâve had too much to drink. She wouldnât have any way around that, and she canât come over to verify it anyway. Weâll just keep denying, and she canât do anything about it."
"President Xu, this might work for one night, but what about after that? I havenât had much contact with Shanshan, but I feel like sheâs someone whoâs very persistent. What if she calls again in the middle of the night in a few days? Donât tell me Iâm out getting drunk every night."
Xu Yingying was truly troubled by now. Her difficult sister was capable of causing trouble, and the main thing was, they both wanted to escape their motherâs nagging. Xu Shanshan was determined to unravel it so she wouldnât be the one nagged at.
"Let me tell you, if you really want to get Shanshan to drop this idea, we need to let her actually prove that weâre still together. The only way is if we spend the nights together."
Xu Yingying snorted coldly, "What on earth are you thinking?"
"If I wanted to do something, I would have done it long ago; wouldnât have waited until now. Anyway, this is the only solution I can think of, so if you donât like it, then itâs up to you to come up with something," Li Yifei said.
There was silence on Xu Yingyingâs end. After a long while, she finally spoke, "Let me think about it, and Iâll call you back."
After hanging up the phone, Li Yifei shook his head repeatedly. He had taken on this task intrigued by the fun of it and hoping to have a good place to spend the New Year. If only heâd known there would be so many troubles afterward, he wouldnât have agreed to Xu Yingyingâs request. But now that he was in too deep, and not one to shirk responsibility, Li Yifei knew he would have to soldier on and find a way to help Xu Yingying.
Less than half an hour later, Xu Yingying called, "Why donât you come and stay at my place for a few days?"
"What?" Li Yifeiâs eyes widened in shock, utterly unprepared for Xu Yingyingâs quick consent. He felt like heâd shot himself in the foot.