Chapter 96 Have you always been like this?

Chapter 96: Chapter 96 Have you always been like this?"President Xu, Li Yifei and I, we are not in that kind of relationship, we..." He Fangqing wanted to explain, but considering she and Li Yifei were living together at Xu Yingying’s place, it seemed really hard to justify.

Xu Yingying immediately glared at Li Yifei and angrily said, "Li Yifei, are you looking down on Sister Fangqing just because she has been divorced?"

Li Yifei hurriedly waved his hands and said, "Of course not."

"Then you think Sister Fangqing is not good enough for you?" Xu Yingying’s face grew even more stern.

Li Yifei chuckled awkwardly and said, "That’s even less the case. Sister Fangqing is so beautiful, even if she had been divorced ten or eight times, she’d still be more than good enough for me."

"What do you mean by that?" Xu Yingying’s face softened, but she was still staring at Li Yifei.

At this moment, He Fangqing quickly interjected, "President Xu, you’re really overthinking this. We’re all adults here. I was in a bad mood and needed to vent. It doesn’t necessarily involve feelings, and it’s not that Yifei has treated me badly. It’s just that I truly have no intention of remarrying."

"Sister Fangqing, you can’t seriously believe that, right?" Xu Yingying looked at He Fangqing in surprise. In her eyes, He Fangqing was still a fairly traditional woman. Things like one-night stands seemed out of character for her, plus she was a meticulous person. The notion of sleeping with someone without having feelings for them was something Xu Yingying found hard to accept.

He Fangqing smiled slightly and said, "I really do think that way. After going through emotional turmoil once, I no longer dare to easily invest my feelings. I feel pretty good about how things are now. There’s no burden on anyone, no need to take on any responsibility; it’s actually very relaxing."

Xu Yingying frowned slightly and said, "Well, suit yourselves, but... actually, it wouldn’t be bad if you two really got together."

He Fangqing glanced at Li Yifei, who grinned sheepishly while feigning innocence. He Fangqing then smiled and said to Xu Yingying, "President Xu, you really don’t need to worry. We’re grown-ups and we understand what we’re doing."

"Alright then, I won’t meddle anymore. Li Yifei, don’t go out today. I need to head out for a bit later."

Li Yifei nodded in agreement and quickly left, both relieving He Fangqing and fearful of Xu Yingying’s penchant for matchmaking.

By nine in the morning, Xu Yingying and He Fangqing were sitting in Li Yifei’s car. Both of them were silent on the ride, with somber expressions, as if they had difficult decisions to make.

"Li Yifei, if someone offered you better conditions now, a better opportunity for development, would you take it?" Xu Yingying suddenly asked Li Yifei, without any context.

Although Li Yifei was puzzled, he still replied, "Why do you think I left my security job to join your company if not for the better prospects?"

Xu Yingying uttered, "Oh," then fell back into deep thought. After a while, He Fangqing said, "President Xu, if possible, I really do hope you make such a decision."

Xu Yingying sighed and said, "I know the offer is very tempting, but this company has been my hard work these past few days. It’s not easy to just walk away; I feel very attached."

He Fangqing snorted and said, "If this company had a good boss, it’d be worth your attachment, but look at the decisions made recently. Which one truly had the company’s best interests at heart? To them, this subsidiary is nothing but a goose laying golden eggs. They were content just taking the eggs, but now they’re even willing to kill the goose to get them. What’s left there for you to cling to?"

Xu Yingying sighed softly once more and said, "Let me think it over a little longer."

Listening to Xu Yingying and He Fangqing, Li Yifei had roughly figured out what they were discussing. It seemed a great company wanted to poach them. He Fangqing was eager for the chance to stay away from her ex-husband and Su Juan’s harassment, whereas Xu Yingying was hesitant. After all, she had built the company up to its current state, investing so much of herself into it, making it hard for her to let go.

As for the company trying to poach them, Li Yifei’s thoughts suddenly turned to Su Mengxin, Huaxia’s most beautiful woman, who was incredibly capable. Seeing that she had invited Xu Yingying out alone showed her high regard for Xu Yingying, making her the likely candidate behind the poaching.

However, Li Yifei kept his thoughts to himself, as such matters were beyond the purview of a low-level employee like him.

Upon reaching the Tax Bureau, He Fangqing and Xu Yingying entered together, mentioning they would be a while. With his hair feeling a bit long, Li Yifei went to a nearby barber shop for a haircut.

No sooner had he stepped out of the barber shop than two men dashed past him, followed quickly by a woman who also sped past.

It was Lin Qiong. Though she rushed quickly by Li Yifei’s side, he recognized her. Dressed in her police uniform, she looked stunning, but her face was flushed red – presumably from the chase and not faring well at it.

Li Yifei found the situation rather amusing. The female police officer was certainly dedicated, but clearly lacking in experience and not very proficient. Chasing two men alone, he wondered if she might end up in trouble.

Lin Qiong was indeed a police officer with a strong sense of responsibility. This wasn’t her jurisdiction – she had been at the Sub-bureau that morning for business. On her way back, she had spotted two men stealing wallets and immediately tried to apprehend them. They shook free and ran, prompting her to give chase. Though she had hoped others would assist in stopping them, the thieves brandished knives, scaring any would-be helpers away. Undeterred, Lin Qiong pursued them alone. Because she couldn’t keep up, she was exhausted to the point of fearing she’d have no energy left to shout, so she pursued in silence.

They chased for a full kilometer, and at that point, the two thieves could no longer run, but they still hadn’t shaken off Lin Qiong, which frustrated them to no end. In their frantic dash, they had inadvertently dashed into a building’s passageway, only to find it was a dead-end.

"Stop! If you resist any further, your crimes will be even more severe!" Finally cornering the thieves, Lin Qiong shouted aloud and then leaned on her knees, panting heavily.

The two thieves were also gasping for air, but the expressions on their faces were ferocious. They slowly began to approach Lin Qiong.

"Stop right there!" Lin Qiong immediately shouted loudly, straightening her body, her face showing nervousness because both men were holding daggers.

"Little cop, get out of the way, or don’t blame us for getting desperate," one of the thieves said darkly, his words devoid of any emotion.

Lin Qiong was taken aback. If these were ordinary thieves, being caught by the police would not provoke such an extreme reaction, since theft wasn’t a major crime—usually resulting in just a year or two of jail time, or often just ten to fifteen days before release. It definitely wasn’t worth fighting the police to the death.

Such a reaction could only mean one thing: These two were involved in more than petty theft—they might have major crimes on their record. Seeing the daggers in their hands, it was entirely possible that they had even committed murder.

Though nervous, Lin Qiong did not retreat. Instead, she glared and shouted, "Assaulting a police officer is a serious crime. Are you prepared to spend the rest of your lives in prison?"

"Little cop, try catching us first," the thieves said as they came closer, one of them directly lunging at Lin Qiong with his dagger.

Lin Qiong was now certain they weren’t just petty thieves. The stab was quick and vicious. Although it wasn’t aimed at her vital points, she believed it wasn’t a bluff. Having learned some techniques at the police academy, Lin Qiong swiftly dodged the attack.

But the other thief swung his dagger at Lin Qiong’s waist without mercy.

Lin Qiong was shocked. The moves she’d learned, which had seemed useful in theory, now felt ineffective in the face of true criminals. Though she managed to twist her body and narrowly escape, the dagger sliced through her uniform and even cut open her undershirt.

Feeling a chill at her waist, Lin Qiong was terrified, thinking she had been stabbed. Fear clouded her mind, and her movements lost all coordination. The two criminals took advantage of her panic and lunged at her simultaneously. She screamed, unsure of how to dodge.

"It’s over!" Lin Qiong thought, with only these two words in mind. She had always known that policing was dangerous, but she had only focused on the prestige and justice of being an officer. Now, before she could fulfill any of her ambitions, she was likely to lose her life here.

"Bang! Bang!" Instead of feeling the daggers piercing her, she saw the two criminals flying sideways through the air, and suddenly, someone else was by her side.

Lin Qiong immediately turned to look and burst out in relief, exclaiming, "It’s you!"

This person, whom Lin Qiong had failed to identify using a computer back at the station, had appeared once again, and for the second time, he had saved her.

"Sigh, you’re a girl who isn’t that skilled in martial arts, yet you became a cop. Why are you pushing yourself so hard?" The man was naturally Li Yifei, who shook his head, looking quite helpless.

Though his words hurt her pride, Lin Qiong didn’t feel upset; instead, she expressed her gratitude. "Thank you for saving me again."

Li Yifei said with an expressionless face, "I didn’t want to, you know. Who knew you’d be so unlucky that I’d bump into you in danger just by randomly walking down the street?"

Lin Qiong smiled awkwardly, "I’ve only been in danger twice, and both times I bumped into you. I’m starting to wonder if you’ve been following me around every day."

"Young girl, you really are naive. Why would I follow you for no reason?" Li Yifei was truly amused by Lin Qiong’s imagination.

"You’ve been following me..." Lin Qiong started, her mouth agape, but she couldn’t find any plausible reason to believe in and was hugely embarrassed.

"Stop zoning out. You haven’t caught those two yet," Li Yifei said.

Lin Qiong was alarmed and quickly turned to look at the two men, seeing that they had already gotten up. However, they hesitated to approach, clearly intimidated by the martial prowess of the person beside her.

"Friend, give us a way out, and we may meet again under better circumstances," one criminal said to Li Yifei, making a fist and bowing in a very humble manner.

Li Yifei smiled faintly and said, "It’s not up to me to decide whether you get a way out. You need to discuss that with this police officer here."

The faces of the two criminals instantly twisted, and after exchanging looks, they suddenly shouted and, gripping their daggers tightly, charged at Lin Qiong once more.