CHAPTER 1518: CHAPTER 1570: GONE AND RETURNED

Through the video system by the door, Wu Shuwei saw the person banging on the door outside. She blinked and confirmed she wasn’t mistaken before opening the door.

Li Yifei stood with his arms crossed, head tilted, a slight impatience on his face, standing in front of the door and looking at Wu Shuwei, who appeared somewhat astonished after opening the door.

Li Yifei didn’t speak, nor did Wu Shuwei. The two of them looked at each other for dozens of seconds before Wu Shuwei finally asked, "Why... did you come back?"

She had thought Li Yifei had left, perhaps they would never meet again, so her sadness just now was partly due to this feeling, a hard-to-describe sensation, an emptiness in her heart. She even had an illusion that in the face of such difficulties, there should be someone standing by her side, firmly standing there, supporting her, or someone saying, no big deal, I’ll take care of it for you.

Li Yifei stood straight, with a calm expression, and said, "I was hungry. After going through a day and night for you, you didn’t invite me for a meal of lobster and abalone or something. It feels like a huge loss, so I came back."

In reality, Li Yifei realized after driving a distance that he had no idea where the wealthy prince Sashar lived and had no contact information. Even if he wanted to find him, he didn’t know how. So, he thought it was better to find a place to stay first. Then he turned around and returned to the hotel where Wu Shuwei was.

He asked for Wu Shuwei’s room number at the front desk, which refused to give it to him. Li Yifei had to say she was his wife and they were having a small disagreement. The desk still didn’t believe him, so Li Yifei had to resort to giving out money before the front desk secretly gave him Wu Shuwei’s room number.

Anyway, Li Yifei managed to find her.

After hearing Li Yifei’s excuse, Wu Shuwei glared for over ten seconds, suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, stepped aside, welcomed Li Yifei in, and said, "Come in, I haven’t eaten either, I’ll treat you later."

Li Yifei nodded naturally and said, "Of course, a room costing over five hundred US dollars per night must be accompanied by a big meal."

"Is ten thousand US dollars enough to buy your meal?" Wu Shuwei asked.

"Depends on what we’re eating," Li Yifei walked in, wandering around. The environment here was very nice, one could see the sea from afar, the blue sky, the blue seawater, the scenery was pleasing.

Wu Shuwei should have maintained a cool demeanor like she does facing other leaders and employees in the company, but when facing Li Yifei, she couldn’t keep her cool. Moreover, her previously bad mood got much better because of Li Yifei’s return.

After washing her face in the bathroom, tidying her hair and clothes briefly, Wu Shuwei came out looking refreshed.

Sitting on the couch lost in thought, Li Yifei glanced back, showing a trace of appreciation in his eyes, nodded, and praised, "Not bad, clean and neat, quite a beauty. But why didn’t I take a few more looks last night? By the way, how old are you?"

At first, Wu Shuwei was quite pleased. She was always confident about her looks, even though she never thought women should rely on their faces for sustenance, being attractive still made her comfortable.

However, by the end, Wu Shuwei felt like throwing the towel in her hand into Li Yifei’s face.

After holding back for a while, Wu Shuwei answered, "Thirty-three."

"Really doesn’t look like it, I thought you were twenty-five," Li Yifei shook his head seriously.

Wu Shuwei took a deep breath and responded, "I was twenty-five several years ago."

"That answer... well, though you’re beautiful, you’re still not as pretty as my wives. And don’t take it personally, I was just appreciating beauty, taking a few more glances, that’s all."

"Let’s eat!" Wu Shuwei didn’t want to hear Li Yifei talking any further.

Li Yifei laughed heartily, stood up, and followed Wu Shuwei out.

Getting into the car, Wu Shuwei guided Li Yifei to a high-end restaurant. Wu Shuwei wasn’t stingy, choosing the most expensive items to order from the menu.

On the contrary, Li Yifei stopped her, speaking in Arabic to the server, "No need for all that, just choose a few signature dishes from the store."

Wu Shuwei said, "No need to save for me. You saved me, treating you to a good meal is the least I could do."

Li Yifei chuckled, closed the menu, handed it back to the server, and said, "Following that logic, shouldn’t you be arranging a place for me to stay later?"

Wu Shuwei felt a bit stuck but quickly responded, "Sure, the presidential suite on the top floor."

Li Yifei just shook his head, not saying anything.

After a moment of silence, Wu Shuwei said, "Actually, you don’t need to purposely talk to me like this. Although you saved me, I won’t fall in love with you. I’m a non-marriage believer, I don’t believe in marriage, I don’t believe in men, but I do genuinely thank you. If it weren’t for you, I might have already suffered ****, and maybe even been killed. I’ve rarely been grateful to anyone in my life and you’re one of them. As long as you ask, I can give you whatever I have."

Li Yifei glanced at Wu Shuwei, waiting for her to finish, then grinned showing his teeth, and said, "First, I didn’t purposely talk in a certain way. Second, I have multiple personalities. Third, even if you like me, I can’t touch you. Fourth, if I’m bringing a woman home, it’s subject to the approval of my wives, and now I’m almost unable to handle them and surely won’t bring more home. Fifth, I don’t know how much you have, but I don’t care about money."

"The sixth one, eating is just eating, can we drop the useless chatter?" Li Yifei said, lightly tapping the table. The waiter came over, and Li Yifei handed over his phone, saying, "Could you please charge this for me? Thank you."

The waiter said, "Sir, please wait a moment. We have a charger here, and there’s a power outlet right next to you."

A minute later, the waiter brought a charger. Li Yifei plugged his phone in, waited two minutes, then turned it on and dialed a number he saw.

The call was to Meng Xiaofei. As soon as the phone was on, her message popped up first. Within seconds, Meng Xiaofei answered, excitedly shouting, "Brother Li, your phone is finally on! You’re in Dubai now, right? How is it?"

"It’s not bad. I arrived yesterday and got a bit busy, so I just turned it on," Li Yifei replied.

Meng Xiaofei said, "Uh-huh, no worries. I’ll pass the phone to the other sisters for you."

"Just let them know for me, oh, and say that I miss them."

"Okay, no problem. Anything else?"

"Also, I miss you too."

"Hehe, muah~. Here’s a kiss for you!"

While Li Yifei was on the call, Wu Shuwei across from him was frowning the whole time. She had said those things earlier only to give him a gentle reminder. Who would have thought this man would be so direct, listing six points? Am I that bad? Even if I’m a bit older, I shouldn’t be avoided like the plague, right? Wu Shuwei felt a bit indignant.

Listening to Li Yifei’s call, Wu Shuwei was thinking, does this guy really have multiple wives? How is that possible? In Huaxia, monogamy is enshrined in law, and no one can violate it. Those who keep mistresses are doing it stealthily. Yet, when Li Yifei was on the phone, it was as if he was talking to several wives, and they all lived together?

Oh my, Wu Shuwei’s mouth unknowingly dropped open, feeling a bit shocked.

Li Yifei was about to hang up, but then Meng Xiaofei mentioned Su Yiyi came over, so he chatted with Su Yiyi for a bit. When the other women heard Li Yifei on the phone, they all came over, and he ended up chatting for over ten minutes.

During these ten minutes, Li Yifei used female names and mentioned wives almost ten times. If not for the changing female voices on the phone, Wu Shuwei would have thought Li Yifei was just acting alone.

Wu Shuwei felt somewhat shocked. The man sitting across from her, who exactly is he, to be so... extraordinary!

Wu Shuwei had been abroad for years and wasn’t familiar with domestic matters. Occasionally when she returned home, she’d just stay with her parents and didn’t socialize much. Otherwise, the name Li Yifei wouldn’t be unfamiliar to her.

Neither knew much about the other. Li Yifei only guessed that Wu Shuwei’s identity wasn’t simple. Otherwise, who would spend over a hundred thousand US dollars to kidnap a woman when that amount could attract plenty of women? And an average woman wouldn’t be so calm. Li Yifei still remembered how composed Wu Shuwei looked when he locked eyes with her while chasing the car that kidnapped her.

As for Wu Shuwei, she also didn’t know Li Yifei’s identity, making her all the more curious—especially since this guy seemed to really have so many wives.

Women are naturally curious beings. When curiosity is piqued, attention shifts, leaving troublesome thoughts temporarily behind.

The ordered dishes arrived one by one. Li Yifei finished the call and smiled at Wu Shuwei, signaling her to start eating.

They didn’t continue the previous topic, as it seemed like kids arguing.

The food tasted quite good. Li Yifei ate most of it, and Wu Shuwei, who initially had no appetite, also ate quite a bit upon seeing Li Yifei devour the food.

The bill for the meal came to less than a thousand dollars. If they had ordered according to Wu Shuwei’s initial selections, the meal could have cost over ten thousand.

After finishing the meal, Li Yifei got up to return to the hotel, but Wu Shuwei grabbed his clothes, saying, "No rush to go back yet."

"Where to then?"

"Next door." Wu Shuwei motioned with her chin towards the shopping mall next door.

Since all her luggage was in the kidnappers’ car, and there weren’t many clothes in the hotel, she needed to buy a few outfits. She also thought of buying a set for Li Yifei, who was dressed plainly, as a token of gratitude.

Li Yifei didn’t mind either. Shopping for clothes would kill time, but when it came time to pay, Li Yifei simply pulled out a black card from a certain bank and swiped it.

Seeing the black card, Wu Shuwei was certain that Li Yifei’s identity wasn’t simple. Such cards are rare globally, and their holders are either wealthiest or influential, requiring high assets and symbolizing status.