Siheyuan: A Very Happy Era

Chapter 659 I just feel like I was so stupid before.

"By the way, um, I still don't know what you do for a living."

Suddenly, Gu Lingfei seemed to think of something and asked cautiously.

"Me? I used to manage a bar for someone, but now I'm unemployed," Li Guoqiang replied with a raised eyebrow and a chuckle.

"Unemployed?" Gu Lingfei was slightly taken aback, then asked with some curiosity, "Then are you a rich second-generation?"

“No, my parents are both working-class people,” Li Guoqiang shook his head and said calmly.

"Then how did you earn so much money?" Gu Lingfei frowned, becoming more and more confused as she listened.

"I'll explain this to you when I have the chance later. Go take a shower now!" Li Guoqiang interrupted Gu Lingfei as she seemed to be turning into a troublemaker.

"Oh!" Upon hearing this, Gu Lingfei seemed to realize that she had asked a lot of questions, and an embarrassed look appeared on her face.

Then, she slowly stood up and walked into the room.

A short while later, she came out with a set of pure cotton pajamas, and then glanced at Li Guoqiang shyly.

Seeing this, Li Guoqiang felt a slight smile to himself, then picked up his teacup and took a sip.

In comparison, Ruan Muning is like a heavily made-up actress, while Gu Lingfei is more like the girl next door.

However, this girl next door is less innocent and more realistic.

Soon, as time passed, the cup of hot water with the inscription "Wishing you prosperity" was finished.

Gu Lingfei, seemingly oblivious to the value of time, remained in the bathroom the entire time.

Just as Li Guoqiang was getting a little impatient, there was a sudden "thud" sound, and then Gu Lingfei slowly walked out with a mist of water vapor.

At this moment, she was wearing a pure cotton pajama set, with a little bear pattern on the pajama set that seemed to be peeking out vividly, immediately attracting attention.

In addition, her makeup was removed, revealing her youthful appearance with plenty of collagen, giving her a radiant, fresh look.

What's most captivating is her head of wet, lustrous hair, which exudes a gentle and pure charm.

She reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her gaze meeting Li Guoqiang's briefly before she looked away, her eyes darting like a deer's. Then, she lowered her head and asked, "Um, do you want to take a shower?"

"Hmm!" Upon hearing this, Li Guoqiang nodded slightly in agreement, then stood up and strode over.

Seeing this, Gu Lingfei quickly turned around and went into the bedroom to get Li Guoqiang a new towel.

Then, she looked at Li Guoqiang's clothes and said somewhat shyly, "Um, if you don't mind, you can use my bath towel later."

As she spoke, she pointed to the bathroom.

"Hmm!" Li Guoqiang's gaze gently swept over Gu Lingfei's neck, and a pair of delicate collarbones came into his mind.

He didn't say anything after that, but turned around and went into the bathroom.

Gu Lingfei watched Li Guoqiang's figure disappear behind the door and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She then slowly walked to the sofa and sat down, drying her hair with a hairdryer while wondering if what she was doing was right.

As she thought about it, she couldn't help but recall the days when she had to smile and run around trying to earn a commission of a hundred or so yuan, as well as her elderly parents and her younger siblings who were waiting for money.

She knew that, under normal circumstances, unless a miracle happened, she might never be able to change her family's hardship and poverty by working and earning money on her own.

Now that she has an opportunity to take a shortcut, she should definitely seize it.

Moreover, Li Guoqiang had always given her a good impression; he never seemed to treat her like a plaything.

Perhaps she can view this relationship as a special kind of romance.

That way, she might be able to accept it more easily.

Another issue she was quite worried about was...

How long will Li Guoqiang keep her here?
If it's only three to five years, she won't be thirty by then, so even if she wants to find someone else to marry, it won't be too difficult.

If it's seven or eight years, or even more than ten years, she'll be in her late thirties or early forties by then, and even if she wanted to find someone to marry again, she probably wouldn't have a good chance.

More importantly, over such a long period of time, it would be difficult for her to control herself from developing any different feelings for Li Guoqiang.

What if she really falls in love with Li Guoqiang and gets used to being with him?
Thinking about these issues, she gradually became somewhat irritable.

She only snapped back to reality when she heard a "thud" and looked up toward the bathroom.

Li Guoqiang was wearing a bath towel, revealing his well-defined and strong arms, which immediately attracted attention.

"Give me the hairdryer!" Li Guoqiang walked up to Gu Lingfei, held out his hand, and said softly.

"Oh!" Gu Lingfei suddenly came to her senses and then hurriedly handed over the hairdryer.

During that moment, her fingers accidentally touched Li Guoqiang's hand, and her heart skipped a beat, as if she had been electrocuted.

Immediately afterwards, Li Guoqiang stood in front of her and pressed the switch on the hairdryer.

As a gust of wind howled, her gaze couldn't help but fall on Li Guoqiang's ordinary yet rugged face.

In fact, she had once fantasized about what her future husband would be like.

However, as she grew older and the pressures of life weighed on her, she gradually lost the motivation to dream.

At this moment, she suddenly felt as if her past fantasies had come to life.

"What are you thinking about? You seem so engrossed in your thoughts?" Li Guoqiang dried his hair and saw Gu Lingfei just staring at him blankly, which made him chuckle.

"No, I wasn't thinking about anything!" Gu Lingfei shook her head slightly embarrassed upon hearing this.

"Oh, I thought you were thinking of me!" Li Guoqiang raised an eyebrow, then pretended to be a little disappointed as he sat down next to him.

Seeing this, Gu Lingfei opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something.

However, she was not an experienced actress like Ruan Mu Ning, and she simply couldn't act in front of Li Guoqiang.

"Alright, I was just teasing you! Even if you didn't say it, I know you couldn't possibly miss me." Li Guoqiang chuckled to himself when he saw Gu Lingfei's conflicted expression, then waved his hand and said.

"Hmm!" Gu Lingfei breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Then, before she could react, her mouth was suddenly covered.

The traffic jam lasted for more than an hour before we even realized it.

When she regained her freedom, she was still in a daze for a long time. "How was it? Are you satisfied with this job?" Li Guoqiang smiled slightly and asked softly.

Upon hearing this, Gu Lingfei slowly shifted her gaze to Li Guoqiang's face, then nodded and shook her head.

Before this, she had wondered what this job would be like, but she never imagined it would be so "hard".

"Heh! What do you mean by nodding and shaking your head like that?" Li Guoqiang chuckled, then asked with great interest.

"It's nothing, I just feel like I was so stupid before." Gu Lingfei shook her head and then said with some emotion.

Once upon a time, when she was just starting out in the industry, she encountered a major client who offered her a job.

However, at that time, she firmly believed that she could earn enough wealth to change her family's predicament with her own hands.

In addition, the other party was quite old and already bald, so she declined him without much hesitation.

Later, this big order fell to a female colleague who worked at the same store as her.

"It's alright, it's not too late for you to understand now, and as long as you're willing, you can keep doing this job." Li Guoqiang gently patted Gu Lingfei's back and then softly comforted her.

"Hmm!" Gu Lingfei's eyes lit up slightly, and then she let out a soft hum from her nose.

Immediately afterwards, she grabbed Li Guoqiang's hand and said somewhat pleadingly, "Well, it's getting late, why don't we go out for dinner first?"

"Okay, you decide what you want to eat first, and I'll go with you to eat later." Li Guoqiang raised an eyebrow, then nodded and agreed.

At the same time, he has decided to hand over the management of the investment company he is about to establish to Gu Lingfei.

Even if Gu Lingfei doesn't understand, it doesn't matter.

Because you can learn what you don't know, but trust requires a foundation.

After saying that, he got up and went to the bathroom to put on the clothes he had changed out of earlier.

Seeing this, Gu Lingfei breathed a slight sigh of relief, then sat up with a slight frown and tidied up the room a little.

When she came out of the room, she found that Li Guoqiang was already dressed and sitting on the sofa talking on the phone.

Because the speaker was on, she immediately recognized the voice as that of Ruan Muning, whom she had once thought was her best friend.

Just when she thought Li Guoqiang wanted to ask Ruan Mu Ning out so that the two of them, who were just pretending to be best friends, could get to know each other again, she heard Ruan Mu Ning speak first and ask:
"Brother Qiang, are you still planning to buy a villa?"

"No, I plan to use this money to start an investment company."

"Oh, I see! Should I talk to Feifei for you?"

"what ever!"

"Oh! Let me take a look at the documents you need to set up an investment company first, and then I'll come and pick them up when you have time."

"Row."

Soon, Li Guoqiang hung up the phone and turned to look at Gu Lingfei, who was already sitting next to him.

"Brother Qiang, you really don't plan to buy a villa?" Gu Lingfei gently grasped Li Guoqiang's hand and asked with some disappointment.

After all, if she could actually close this deal, her commission would be in the millions!

"What? You regret it?" Li Guoqiang smiled slightly and then asked softly.

"No, that's not what I meant. I just think that a villa would be more befitting of your status," Gu Lingfei shook her head and explained nervously.

"Identity? My current identity is that of an unemployed person, and I live alone. Why would I buy such a big villa?" Li Guoqiang chuckled to himself and then said.

"If you're not planning to buy it, why did you ask me to show you villas before?" Gu Lingfei couldn't help but ask with a hint of resentment.

"Because I wanted to see if my financial assistant was qualified! Who knew she would introduce you to me!" Li Guoqiang thought to himself with amusement, then said with a hint of amusement.

"Uh..." Gu Lingfei was speechless when she heard Li Guoqiang say that.

Then, she suddenly remembered some things Ruan Mu Ning had said to her, and she vaguely felt a sense of enlightenment.

Perhaps this is the kind of capriciousness that only the rich can have!

"Alright, you heard it too. I'm planning to use the money to start an investment company. You can manage it for me!" Li Guoqiang gently pulled Gu Lingfei into his arms and said softly.

"No, you want me to help you manage the company? I... I don't know how!" Gu Lingfei's eyes widened in surprise.

"If you don't know how, you can learn!" Li Guoqiang smiled slightly and said nonchalantly.

"And what about you?" Gu Lingfei was slightly taken aback, then asked with some confusion.

"I plan to go back to my hometown and enjoy rural life." Upon hearing this, Li Guoqiang didn't try to hide it from Gu Lingfei and told her his plan directly.

Upon hearing this, Gu Lingfei was speechless.

No matter how she thought about it, she never imagined that Li Guoqiang's plan would be to go back to his hometown to farm.

Putting aside the fact that she might not have much of a chance to see Li Guoqiang for the rest of the year, the mere fact that she was going to help manage the investment company made her feel somewhat uncertain.

Isn't Li Guoqiang afraid that she will lose all the company's money?

"It's alright, I'll still come to see you from time to time." Seeing that Gu Lingfei hadn't said anything, Li Guoqiang assumed she was worried about not having meat to eat in the future, so he quickly waved his hand and comforted her.

"So how much money are you planning to invest?" Gu Lingfei came back to her senses, and after holding back for a while, she finally couldn't help but ask.

"Well, in the initial stage, let's invest ten million to test the waters! If things go smoothly, I'll increase the investment to one hundred and fifty million." Li Guoqiang pondered for a moment, then spoke earnestly.

In his view, the initial investment of ten million was enough to get the investment company up and running.

This way, it won't look too low-class, and it also avoids too much risk.

"Okay, I'll listen to you then." Gu Lingfei breathed a slight sigh of relief when she heard that the initial investment was only ten million, and then a fierce fighting spirit suddenly burst forth in her eyes.

Previously, she simply hadn't encountered the right opportunities, so she could only struggle at the bottom.

Now that Li Guoqiang has practically handed her the opportunity, she naturally has to seize it and give it her all.

If all goes well, perhaps in a few years, she won't have to worry about being reduced to her original state after leaving Li Guoqiang.

(End of this chapter)