Chapter 50 - The Gossiping President Xu

Chapter 50: Chapter 49: The Gossiping President XuZhao QingSheng took a heavy fall, sprawling across the hallway like a painting, huffing and puffing several times before struggling to his feet. To everyone’s surprise, his nose was actually bleeding. No one knew why he hadn’t protected himself with his hands when he fell.

"Ugh..." Tears nearly spilled from Zhao QingSheng’s eyes as he caught his breath, then exploded in anger, bellowing, "You little scoundrel, you dared to trip me?"

Li Yifei’s eyes widened innocently as he said, "General Zhao, you must be mistaken. When did I ever trip you? Everyone saw it clearly. You ordered me to get out of the way; with a voice that could shatter rocks, you were bursting with such an imposing presence that it bore down on me. How could a small employee like me withstand such a formidable air? I quickly made way for you. I am still in awe of your overwhelming aura; my legs are still trembling. How could I dare trip you?"

Zhao QingSheng, pointing at Li Yifei, was so furious he nearly spat blood, nodding vehemently as he gritted his teeth and said, "You just wait, you little brat." Then he stormed off in a rage.

"Pfft..." Shen Yajuan was the first to let out a laugh, then everyone in the office followed suit. Although no one dared to laugh out loud, their muffled giggles were full of glee. Seeing Zhao QingSheng make such a fool of himself was a great relief to all of them.

The computer Zhao QingSheng had seized was now in Li Yifei’s hands. He passed it to the young man from the finance department and said, "You better take this quickly before some big shot decides to snatch it away again. I don’t know if I’ll be able to secure it for the finance department next time."

The young man also sensed this place was fraught with trouble and quickly took the two computers, making a swift exit.

"Brother Li, you’ve offended General Zhao even more now. What are we going to do?" Michelle looked worriedly at Li Yifei.

Shen Yajuan weighed in as well, "Yes, you’ve really done it this time. Not only did you refuse to give him face, but you also caused him to fall. Little Li, you should’ve just let him take the computer. If anything happened, we could’ve just pinned it on him."

Li Zhisheng shook his head and said, "I don’t see it that way. If we had let him take the computer, finance definitely wouldn’t have stood for it. When things got traced back, Little Li and Michelle, who let the computers go without seeing a voucher, would be at fault. Michelle might have gotten away with it, but Little Li would certainly have been made to take the blame as an excuse."

Michelle quickly said, "But now he’s taken a fall, and he’s sure to hate Brother Li even more."

Li Yifei chuckled, "Well, he already hated me. A little more or a little less hate doesn’t make much difference."

"It’s all my fault," Michelle began to blame herself again.

"Look, if you bring it up again, I really can’t be friends with you," Li Yifei retorted.

Sister Shen interjected at this point, "What? Little Li, you and Michelle are friends now?"

Li Yifei felt a wave of exasperation, responding, "Sister Shen, the friendship I meant is like the one you and I have. Don’t get the wrong idea, okay?"

Sister Shen chuckled mischievously, "I think you two being friends is a good thing. Want me to play matchmaker for you?"

Michelle’s face flushed crimson like a big apple, while Li Yifei just laughed it off, "Sister Shen, please don’t start matchmaking out of nowhere."

Shen Yajuan giggled, "What do you mean ’out of nowhere’? I think you two are quite suitable. You take good care of Michelle. In the past, she would have had to marry you to pay off the debt."

Michelle became more embarrassed, stuttering, "Sister Shen, you’re making fun of me again."

Li Yifei quickly said, "Sister Shen, don’t tease anymore. If you keep it up, you’ll drive Michelle away, and she won’t be my apprentice anymore."

The group continued to joke and laugh, yet deep down they were all worried for Li Yifei, knowing well that Zhao QingSheng was infamous in the company for his vengeful nature. Crossing him would mean he wouldn’t let things go easily.

However, Zhao QingSheng did not make another appearance for the rest of the day, and he wasn’t seen when passing by the vice-president’s office either.

When it was time to leave work, Li Yifei and Michelle walked out of the company building together, only to see Chu Xiaoyao, the young girl, waiting at the entrance.

"Uncle!" The girl shouted as soon as she saw Li Yifei emerge, completely indifferent to the stares of others.

Li Yifei waved to his colleagues with a smile, "I’ll be leaving first."

"Who’s that little girl?" Shen Yajuan asked, watching Li Yifei walk toward the bus stop with Chu Xiaoyao, curious.

No one answered, as no one else knew Chu Xiaoyao. It wasn’t until a bit later that Li Zhisheng replied, "She must be a child from one of his friends’ families. Didn’t you see her calling Little Li ’uncle’?"

Shen Yajuan nodded, "Nevertheless, that girl is really pretty. When she grows up, she’s sure to be no worse than Michelle."

Li Yifei, unaware that his colleagues were discussing Chu Xiaoyao, continued walking with her toward the bus station, asking, "Xiaoyao, I thought students didn’t start school until March first, so why are you already starting now?"

Chu Xiaoyao rolled her eyes at Li Yifei, "Uncle, you’ve been walking with me for three days now, and only just thought of this?"

Li Yifei chuckled, "I just assumed it was normal for me to work while you go to school, but then it suddenly occurred to me that your school schedule is different from my work schedule."

"Uncle, are you an alien or something? I’m in my senior year now; do you really think we have any holidays in senior year?"

"So, you guys really have it tough."

Chu Xiaoyao immediately complained, "Exactly, it’s so annoying. It’s all just for getting into a college. What’s the point? All day long it’s College Entrance Exam this, College Entrance Exam that. Aside from studying, there’s nothing else. Is it like if you don’t get into college, you can’t live?"

Li Yifei smiled and said, "Isn’t that what studying is like nowadays? You’ve already reached senior year; just hang in there a little longer, and you’ll be in college. Things will be easier then."

"Pfft, that’s dull. I’m totally fed up with studying now. If it weren’t for my family pushing me, I would have quit a long time ago."

Li Yifei broke out in a cold sweat, realizing that Chu Xiaoyao was also the type who disliked studying, just like him during his school days. He chuckled and said, "Then what can you do? Just bear with it."

"Huh, uncle, you’re not going to lecture me?" Chu Xiaoyao looked at Li Yifei as if he were an alien.

"Why would I give you a lecture?"

"All the older people I’ve met before always go on like, ’You have to study hard, you know. Only by getting into a good college can you find a good job.’ I’m so sick of hearing that."

Li Yifei laughed heartily and said, "Do you know how much schooling your uncle here has had?"

"How much?"

"I didn’t even finish high school. I dropped out in the eleventh grade."

"Haha, at last, I’ve found a kindred spirit."

Li Yifei tapped Chu Xiaoyao on the head and said, "But don’t get cocky. I had no choice. Only after getting out did I realize that life was easiest when I was in school. Anyway, you’re not young anymore, and I don’t have much of a say in this. Just figure it out for yourself."

"Hehe, uncle, I love the way you talk. Come on, let’s get in the car and go home."

The two squeezed onto the bus, and Chu Xiaoyao chattered away to Li Yifei about amusing incidents at school. Li Yifei enjoyed listening, and the people around them were all drawn to Chu Xiaoyao, a pretty girl with a pleasant voice. Listening to her speak was a pleasure and helped ease some of the fatigue from work.

After getting off the bus, Li Yifei returned to Xu Yingying’s house, only to find Xu Yingying sitting in the living room, still in her work clothes.

"Xu president, you came back so early today?" Li Yifei casually hung his clothes on the coat rack by the door and asked with a smile.

However, Xu Yingying’s face was stern as she said, "There’s something I need to ask you."

"What is it?" Li Yifei sat down on the sofa to the side.

"Who is that little girl?"

"Little girl? Are you talking about the one I rode the bus with?" Li Yifei looked at Xu Yingying in surprise.

"Exactly." Xu Yingying nodded.

Li Yifei, seeing the expression on Xu Yingying’s face, then chuckled and said, "You know, Xu president, are you thinking about this with a rather dirty mind?"

Xu Yingying’s expression remained unchanged as she spoke calmly, "While I have no right to interfere with your private life, you’re an employee of my company. That little girl has been waiting for you at the company’s door these past few days, and it has started some speculation. I need to get to the bottom of this to avoid any issues. If something happens later, and her relatives make a scene at the company, it could affect the company too."

Li Yifei stood up and said, "Then you’ve got nothing to worry about. I may not be a great person, but I’m not interested in little girls. Plus, I have no plans to settle down just yet. I know my limits when it’s just for fun."

Xu Yingying, initially somewhat satisfied with the first part of Li Yifei’s response, found his last remark quite displeasing. What did he mean by ’just for fun’? This guy was obviously still not trustworthy. She snorted coldly and said, "So, are you just ’having fun’ with Director He, too?"

Li Yifei paused mid-step and said, "What about Director He? You must be mistaken. With someone like Director He, do I even have the standing to ’have fun’ with her?"

Xu Yingying had thought that her sudden interrogation might catch Li Yifei off guard and make him reveal something, but he had responded in such a way. Could it mean that her suspicions were wrong, and there was no special relationship between He Fangqing and Li Yifei?

"I do have some personal dealings with Director He, but they’re nothing worth mentioning. Manager Xu, please don’t be so nosy, all right? Prying into others’ privacy is a bad habit."

Finding herself directly called out by Li Yifei, Xu Yingying felt a bit embarrassed and could only retort stubbornly, "Who’s prying into your privacy? I’m just worried about Director He being taken in by you."

Li Yifei laughed out loud and said, "I didn’t expect our own Manager Xu to have such a gossipy side. If this got out to everyone at the company, they would absolutely be shocked." He then walked straight into the kitchen, determined to work hard on preparing tonight’s dinner.