Lin Fei, carrying his usual clothes, had arrived at the Purple Garden Pavilion. It was nearly dusk, and he carried a slight trace of inebriation.
He shared a bottle of cheap liquor with Xiao Hu, splitting it half and half. With Lin Fei's capacity for alcohol, half a bottle wasn't usually enough to make him tipsy; however, as they say, he wasn't inebriated by the alcohol, but rather by his sorrows, which actually deepened as he drank.
"Aunt Lan, you're back," Ms. Lan opened the door for Lin Fei, and as they brushed past each other, she frowned, "Sir, have you been drinking?"
As Lin Fei walked towards the living room, he nodded, "Yes, just a little."
Aunt Lan followed him, taking his clothes from his hands, "You sit in the living room for a while. I'll make you some hangover soup."
Lin Fei gestured dismissively, "Aunt Lan, no need to bother. I'll just rest for a bit." He knew his own condition best; he wasn't truly drunk and didn't need any hangover soup.
Aunt Lan appeared troubled and sighed, "Sir, you might not be aware, but the missus is very sensitive to the smell of alcohol. She's about to finish work, and when she comes back and sees that you've been drinking, she definitely won't be pleased."
Lin Fei noncommittally replied, "Really, it's fine, Aunt Lan. It's not like she's ever shown me a happy face before."
"Sir..."
Lin Fei stood up and walked directly to the second floor, "You said it yourself, Aunt Lan. She'll be back soon. I'll go to my room to sleep. If she comes looking for me, just tell her I'm already asleep. Just don't let her disturb me."
Had it not been for Mu Hong's insistence, he, Lin Fei, wouldn't have bothered moving back here. If even drinking had to be done with consideration for Mu Shanshan's moods, Lin Fei would rather stay at his rented apartment.
Fortunately, Aunt Lan knew Lin Fei was coming back and had already prepared a bedroom for him, saving him a lot of trouble. Feeling slightly drunk, Lin Fei lay down on the bed and fell asleep immediately.
Lin Fei had refused Aunt Lan's offer of hangover soup because he wanted to use his intoxication as a means to fall asleep. If he were completely sober, it would only add to his sadness.
Shortly after Lin Fei fell asleep, Mu Shanshan, dressed in a light blue business suit and white high heels, entered through the door.
"Why did you come back so early today?"
Aunt Lan had just come out of Lin Fei's room and was surprised to see Mu Shanshan enter the living room. Mu Shanshan seldom finished work on time; oftentimes, she even had to work very late. Lin Fei had just entered, and Mu Shanshan followed right behind, which really surprised Aunt Lan.
Mu Shanshan put down her bag, her face turning cold, "Aunt Lan, has that bastard Lin Fei come back?"
"Miss, no matter what, he is your husband. Can't you try to accept him?" Seeing Mu Shanshan's unfriendly expression, Aunt Lan couldn't help but try to persuade her.
Mu Shanshan snorted and pulled Aunt Lan closer, "Aunt Lan, you have no idea what he did at the office today. Just tell me, has he come back?"
Thinking back to how Ling Weiwei had come to her office to complain today, Mu Shanshan was infuriated despite her usual composure. The General Affairs Department was Mu Shanshan's stronghold, and Ling Weiwei was her confidant within those confidants. Lin Fei had been recommended by Mu Shanshan herself for the department, but on his first day, he had managed to play all the female staff there.
It was clear that he was causing problems and embarrassment for her, Mu Shanshan. She was well aware of Lin Fei's carefree nature, otherwise, she wouldn't have placed him in a department completely under her control.
However, no matter how clever Mu Shanshan was, she hadn't expected Lin Fei to be so bold. Not only did he extort the department's senior manager on his first day, but he also played all the staff.
After causing such a huge mess, Lin Fei had simply walked away, leaving all the troubles for her, Mu Shanshan, to clean up. Mu Shanshan was not going to let Lin Fei off lightly.
"The sir has not yet returned, miss. You've had a long day, why don't you take a bath first? I'll go make dinner."
Sensing Mu Shanshan's poor mood and remembering Lin Fei's previous caution, Aunt Lan unusually told a lie to Mu Shanshan.
"When he comes back, you must tell me immediately, Aunt Lan."
Mu Shanshan coldly dropped these words before turning to go upstairs.
Watching Mu Shanshan enter the bedroom, Aunt Lan, not bothering with cooking, hurried to Lin Fei's bedroom, planning to warn him not to come out.
Entering Lin Fei's bedroom, Aunt Lan realized she had been overanxious. Lin Fei was already fast asleep, sprawled out on the bed, and clearly wouldn't wake up anytime soon.
After leaving Lin Fei's room, Aunt Lan went downstairs to prepare dinner for Mu Shanshan. After taking a bath and coming downstairs, Mu Shanshan had dinner and then sat in the living room, quietly waiting for Lin Fei to return.
By 10 p.m., with Lin Fei still not back, Mu Shanshan, unable to resist her sleepiness, went upstairs to sleep. Little did she know, the person she had been waiting for, Lin Fei, was sleeping soundly right next door.
...
The next day, Lin Fei woke up at past ten in the morning, while Mu Shanshan had already gone to the office; thus, Lin Fei had narrowly escaped a confrontation.
Of course, Lin Fei knew nothing about all this. After a night's deep sleep, all his troubles seemed to have been tossed aside. Coming downstairs for breakfast, which Aunt Lan had prepared, Lin Fei felt quite cheerful.
During the three years he spent abroad, he had played it by ear, with his head constantly on a swivel—living wherever he went, eating whatever was available.
After returning to the country, because he lived in a rented apartment, Lin Fei was practically estranged from breakfast.
Having breakfast ready upon waking up and not having to clean the room, Lin Fei suddenly felt that moving to the Purple Garden Pavilion and living with Shanshan wasn't such a bad thing after all.
"Son-in-law, the young lady waited up for you last night. Did you upset her again?"
Aunt Lan recounted last night's performance of Shanshan to Lin Fei.
"No worries, we were just messing around."
Lin Fei patted his stomach, smiling cheerfully.
Of course, things weren't actually that way; Lin Fei knew exactly why Shanshan had waited for him. However, those weren't things he could tell Aunt Lan; if he confessed everything, Aunt Lan would surely side with Shanshan and complain about him.
"Aunt Lan, you're busy; I'm headed to the office."
After all, he had promised Mu Hong that he would look after Shanshan in the office. Even though Lin didn's know much about running a company, he still had to go.
If Mu Hong really asked about it later, Lin Fei would have an explanation.
...
At the Moongaze Building, inside the twelfth floor where the General Affairs Department was located, the elevator doors opened and revealed Lin Fei.
With one hand in his pocket, Lin Fei sauntered lazily into the office area of the General Affairs Department. On the surface, Lin Fei appeared carefree and indifferent.
However, deep down, Lin Fei was on high alert, ready to bolt at the slightest hint of trouble.
Although he hadn't been caught and lectured by Shanshan the night before, the vivid memories of flirting with several female colleagues lingered with Lin Fei.
Lin Fei had fully indulged his hands and mouth; the female employees of the General Affairs Department, who had been taken advantage of, were itching with resentment. If Lin Fei hadn't run fast the day before, his fate would have been very miserable.
In this world, only women and villains are difficult to raise, and Lin Fei had trespassed against not one, but a group of women. Therefore, how could Lin Fei take things lightly?
However, as he walked into the General Affairs Department's office area, Lin Fei realized that he might be overthinking things.
One by one, the female employees of the General Affairs Department with beautiful figures and faces appeared not to notice the arrival of Lin Fei, their nemesis, continuing with their work and coffee drinking.
Even those who did glance up and notice Lin Fei only showed a flicker of annoyance in their eyes, nothing more. Most of the women treated Lin Fei as if he were air, not even worth a look.
"This isn't right?"
In Lin Fei's experience, women tended to hold grudges. He had tricked these women the day before; it was impossible that all these generous and kind-hearted women would let it slide, which puzzled Lin Fei.
Rubbing his chin, Lin Fei muttered to himself, "Could it be that I've become more handsome recently, and these women are smitten by my handsome and compelling presence?"
Dressed in a tailored suit that accentuated her curvaceous and attractive figure, Xiao Yina, carrying some documents, walked past Lin Fei just as he muttered to himself.
Xiao Yina, stumbling in her high heels, almost fell to the ground. She turned her head, her pretty eyes icy, and glared fiercely at Lin Fei, almost unable to resist throwing the documents at his head.
"How can there be such a shameless bastard in this world!"
Xiao Yina dropped a comment and, swaying her enchanting hips, walked away gracefully.
"Yina, how can you ignore me? If I remember correctly, we were quite intimate just yesterday. How can you be like this…"
"Bastard, shut your mouth!"
Xiao Yina suddenly turned around, her glittery eyes pinned on Lin Fei, her teeth tightly clenched, looking ready to fight if Lin Fei dared say another word.
"Really, if you don't want to talk, then don't. I didn't ask you to take responsibility. It was just a kiss, not like we had sex."
Lin Fei spread his hands, a very generous gesture.
"I... you go to die!" Xiao Yina's face was icy as she raised the documents in her hand, ready to charge at Lin Fei. She was truly infuriated by Lin Fei, her ample chest heaving up and down, breathing heavily.
After going home last night, Xiao Yina, thinking back to how she had actively kissed Lin Fei, was extremely mortified, even losing sleep over it. Today's makeup was also to cover up her dark circles.
Unfortunately for her, Lin Fei was bringing up exactly what should not be mentioned, speaking more and more outrageously, making it hard for Xiao Yina to hold back.
However, before Xiao Yina could charge a few steps, her female colleagues in the office held her back and whispered something in her ear.
After listening to her colleague's whisper, Xiao Yina actually calmed down, casting a cold glance at Lin Fei, no longer pursuing the matter, and turned to leave.
"There's something fishy!"
From the reactions of Xiao Yina and the other female employees of the General Affairs Department, they had definitely come to some sort of agreement; otherwise, Xiao Yina wouldn't have been able to restrain herself under Lin Fei's repeated provocations.
It was clear that this consensus was aimed at Lin Fei, arousing his curiosity.