Super Soldier in the City
Chapter 48 - 47 Xu Yingying’s Test

Chapter 48: Chapter 47 Xu Yingying’s Test

Last night, when she was washing Li Yifei’s underwear, Xu Yingying kept criticizing him continuously, but tonight, after Li Yifei finished his shower first and left his underwear on the washing machine, her heart didn’t harbor the same disgust when she washed them again.

"I’m only helping him wash because he helped me out, and he even cooked me a meal," Xu Yingying found an excuse for herself, but her reason told her very clearly that she was somewhat attracted to Li Yifei.

However, Xu Yingying still shook her head. Although Li Yifei was indeed in some respects a suitable partner, the kind of husband a career-driven woman like her needed, her standards for a boyfriend were high. Li Yifei obviously had many aspects that she couldn’t stand, so that kind of thought was just a fleeting one, which Xu Yingying immediately dismissed.

The next morning, Li Yifei used some leftovers from yesterday to make two bowls of seafood noodles, and Xu Yingying had the rare pleasure of having breakfast at home.

Li Yifei left home first. Xu Yingying went out a bit later, then went straight to the underground garage to get her car, drove out of the neighborhood, and subconsciously glanced toward the bus station. She caught sight of Li Yifei talking with a girl carrying a backpack, who was giggling nonstop and smiling intermittently, looking rather intimate with Li Yifei.

This made Xu Yingying frown immediately. She had a certain understanding of Li Yifei’s situation and knew that this guy had no relatives in Mile City and should know not many friends. Yet here he was, laughing and chatting with a girl who looked like a student, which really made one suspect their relationship.

As a modern person, Xu Yingying wouldn’t mind how many girlfriends a man had before marriage, but Li Yifei courting even young girls, that was despicable to her. Any good feelings she had for Li Yifei vanished in an instant.

Nevertheless, Xu Yingying remained calm. She hadn’t verified this incident herself. Perhaps the girl was the child of one of Li Yifei’s friends, which would make sense.

At that moment, the bus arrived. Li Yifei stretched out his hands, guarding the little girl as she boarded the bus. The girl kept talking to Li Yifei, looking back while chattering away; they seemed to have been acquainted for a long time and had a very close relationship.

"Beep beep." A car horn sounded from behind, and Xu Yingying realized that her car had been idling all this time, simply coasting slowly forward. She quickly stepped on the accelerator, and her Buick gradually picked up speed, merging into the flow of traffic on the main road.

There was some traffic today, and Xu Yingying arrived at the office later than usual. After parking her car, she saw Li Yifei again at the entrance of the company. He had just got off the bus with that girl, exchanged a few words, and then the girl skipped into the nearby high school.

Xu Yingying frowned but didn’t wait for Li Yifei. Instead, she went straight into the company and stood waiting for the elevator.

The elevator hadn’t come down yet when Li Yifei arrived behind her and greeted, "Good morning, President Xu."

"Hmph!" Xu Yingying huffed at Li Yifei for no reason.

Li Yifei was taken aback, not understanding what was wrong with Xu Yingying this early morning. Everything seemed fine at home, and since work hadn’t even started at the office, he didn’t think he had done anything wrong.

"Good morning, President Xu." Accompanied by the sound of high heels, Director He Fangqing arrived at the elevator.

Xu Yingying greeted Director He and then suddenly remembered that Li Yifei had called Director He that evening. She subconsciously paid attention to the two, but noticed that besides greeting Li Yifei, Director He no longer talked to him, seemingly as if they were quite strangers to each other.

This made Xu Yingying feel that something was off. If they could call each other in the evening, that indicated a good relationship, but in the company, Director He acted as if she barely knew Li Yifei. It seemed there was only one reason for that, which was to conceal their acquaintance.

Because she had to hide her fake relationship with Li Yifei, Xu Yingying was particularly sensitive to such things. Additionally, with news from the head office that Director He’s marriage was not going well and she was in the process of getting a divorce, it would not be surprising if Director He was seeing someone else.

It was just that Director He being interested in Li Yifei was somewhat unbelievable to Xu Yingying. What was it about Li Yifei that made a senior executive like Director He take an interest in him? After all, Director He had been quite a figurehead at the head office and was transferred to their company as the financial director for some special reasons.

Then the elevator arrived. Everyone squeezed in, but not as tightly packed as that other day. There was a distance between each person, with Director He chatting quietly with Xu Yingying and not glancing at Li Yifei at all.

The day before yesterday, Director He had called Li Yifei out of the blue and later deeply regretted it. Even if her marriage had reached its end, she didn’t want to indulge herself recklessly. Having experienced one failed marriage, her understanding of men had become much clearer. Those who sweet-talked her every day were not necessarily the ones who could accompany her for life. At this time, she needed to be even more restrained, especially if her not-yet-divorced husband found out, it would only create a heap of trouble, and that guy was just waiting to find fault with her.

So He Fangqing made up her mind, no matter what, she had to completely sever her relationship with Li Yifei and could no longer have any entanglements with him.

Xu Yingying and He Fangqing were both very serious about their work. They had met in the morning to discuss work matters. He Fangqing had tidied up her things and was about to leave when Xu Yingying seemingly casually said, "Director He, what do you think about the current personnel arrangements within the company?"

"Personnel arrangements, President Xu? I’m in charge of finance, isn’t personnel out of my jurisdiction?" He Fangqing was somewhat mystified by the question Xu Yingying posed.

"I’m not asking you to arrange it, but the staffing in our company is still too bloated. Some people related to the head office, or other departments, not only don’t work properly in our company but also affect the work enthusiasm of other employees. This really gives me a headache. I’m wondering if Director He has any good solutions?"

It wasn’t a specific study, just a chat, or a discussion, so He Fangqing also thought about it and said, "This matter is indeed troublesome, not just in the branch office but also within the head office. Those people are not easy to offend; if you touch them, you’ll offend people from all sides. However, if you don’t manage them properly, the impact on other employees is huge, especially on those who work diligently. It’s absolutely unfair for them to earn the same salary as those who do nothing, but if you want to increase their salary, the idlers will surely not agree. This is also a real dilemma for the company’s financial system."

Xu Yingying sighed and said, "Yeah, in the first half of last year, the company did not encounter such a situation. In the second half of the year, more and more people came to our company, and they were all people who took money without doing any work, just like the day I arranged for Li Yifei to join the company, I knew that people inside the company would think he was another one just taking money without working."

Upon hearing Li Yifei’s name, He Fangqing’s heart rate increased, and she probed, "Li Yifei was actually arranged by President Xu to come in? Could it be that he really has connections upstairs?"

Xu Yingying noticed the subtle change in He Fangqing’s facial expression and became more interested. She shook her head and said, "No, he was originally a security guard in our building. I saw that he was very conscientious in his work and had some abilities. Although our company has many idlers, there are not many talents, so I was moved by the desire to recruit talent and brought him into the company."

"Oh, I see, President Xu really is desperate for talent."

"He can’t really be considered a talent," she said, "he’s just usable. Why, Director He, are you familiar with him as well?"

"No... not familiar. How could I be familiar with him? I only found out about him after coming to the branch office. The first day, when he helped me with office supplies, that’s when I met him."

Xu Yingying suddenly asked this question and disrupted He Fangqing’s composure. Although her explanation was clear, there was a sense of trying to hide something more. With Xu Yingying’s keen observational skills as a senior executive, she could tell that He Fangqing wasn’t telling the truth, but of course, she wouldn’t point it out at that moment. She smiled slightly and said, "I’m just voicing a few complaints, Director He doesn’t need to worry too much. In this company, the only one I can really talk to is probably you, Director He."

"Thank you for the trust, President Xu. If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back to work then."

"Sure, go ahead." Xu Yingying nodded.

After He Fangqing left, Xu Yingying tapped her fingers lightly on the desk, really unable to understand the relationship between Li Yifei and He Fangqing. If He Fangqing hadn’t been so defensive, she might really have failed to see any connection between them. At most, she believed He Fangqing might have occasionally asked Li Yifei for help with something minor. But He Fangqing’s defensiveness hinted that their relationship was out of the ordinary, and it was incredible for Xu Yingying to think a senior executive like He Fangqing could have an unusual relationship with a former security guard like Li Yifei.

But soon she laughed at herself mockingly. It was one thing to find He Fangqing’s situation incredible, but her own was even more so. She was still living under the same roof as Li Yifei, experiencing a semblance of domestic life. If He Fangqing knew, who knew what she would think?

Back in her office, He Fangqing was feeling uneasy and reflected carefully on the words Xu Yingying had uttered to her. She suddenly felt that Xu Yingying might have been testing her. Could Xu Yingying have noticed her relationship with Li Yifei?

That was unlikely, wasn’t it? Apart from a one-night stand, her contact with Li Yifei at the company, after the first day, was limited to just two encounters in the elevator. Moreover, she had deliberately kept a distance from Li Yifei, so how could Xu Yingying have possibly noticed any relationship between them?

Could it be that day in the elevator when she and Li Yifei were squeezed together, and that guy played a trick that let Xu Yingying see?

"Oh my..." Thinking about this, He Fangqing really wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. If Xu Yingying had really discovered what had happened between them that day, she would have lost all face.

"Damn Li Yifei, you’ve really killed me." He Fangqing now really wanted to summon Li Yifei to her office and bite him, but she didn’t have the courage to let Li Yifei come to her office now. She could only keep cursing Li Yifei in her room.