CHAPTER 1583: CHAPTER 1635: A CHANGED COMRADE-IN-ARMS

The woman next to Li Yifei introduced herself as Zhao Yi. Her looks were average, maybe a two or three out of ten. She had a good figure but gave off a whiff of silicone, which Li Yifei really didn’t like.

The woman started off warmly, but after hearing Yan Silong introduce Li Yifei as his old captain from the military who had returned home after retiring, and without much more introduction from Yan Silong, the woman let her imagination run. She looked at Li Yifei’s outfit, which appeared quite ordinary and the brand wasn’t recognizable. It didn’t seem worth much, so she stopped trying to get closer to Li Yifei.

Like that Little Flower, she’s now attached to Yan Silong, settled in Capital City, and got a few hundred thousand from Yan Silong to open a small shop. Now she has a few employees in the shop, and as the boss lady, she just goes shopping, drinks coffee, does beauty treatments, and gets her nails done every day, living quite freely. Although she is a mistress, her life is easy, which Zhao Yi greatly envies.

Although being a mistress isn’t that easy, being called upon whenever and dismissed whenever. Plus, she can only see Yan Silong when he’s available, spending a few nights together a month. Even moments of affection have to be scheduled.

Yet Zhao Yi still felt it’s quite good. That’s why she had Little Flower bring her out, hitting up a dinner was secondary, getting to know some wealthy people was the key. Being rich wasn’t enough; they had to have looks, age, figure, personality, and other attributes to consider too.

Who made Zhao Yi think she was pretty? With a bit of grooming, she thought she’d look even more eye-catching. As people say, clothes make the man, and gold makes the Buddha. She figured she could find a man better than Yan Silong, even if it meant being someone’s mistress.

Zhao Yi graduated from an arts school, not in Capital City, but one in her hometown, a somewhat unreliable one. Yet she had lofty ambitions. After graduating, she came to Capital City but struggled for two years without success, almost ending up in the clouds and heavens.

In short, Zhao Yi came today hoping to find a big spender or a big shot. As for how wealthy or how high-ranking, as long as they could provide her with a leisurely life, that would be fine.

But upon arrival, she found those men already had women around them, some even more beautiful than herself. So she automatically sat next to the only one without a partner, Li Yifei, only to find he was a dull gourd. When she took the initiative to speak, he just replied with perfunctory "mm-hmm"s and "uh-huh"s.

Who was he pretending for, just being a retired soldier? Besides being fit, what other advantages did he have? If he was truly capable, he wouldn’t have hit someone, causing trouble, and having to rely on Yan Silong to bail him out. Zhao Yi knew about this because Yan Silong texted Little Flower, who in turn told Zhao Yi.

An outsider is just an outsider, Zhao Yi thought to herself. She glanced at Li Yifei, noticing his drooping eyelids and slightly vacant eyes, as if he was lost in thought, she lost even more interest in engaging with him, adding silently in her heart, a mere soldier with no worldly insight.

With the other not proactively interacting with her, Li Yifei was also happy for it to be that way.

Today, he intended to avoid trouble. Yet surprisingly, things became more complicated, and he got to witness the transformation of an old comrade. Li Yifei could understand these changes, but understanding didn’t erase the thorn in his heart.

If it were a few years ago, Li Yifei might have stood up and left already. Who was he putting on a show for? Moreover, a mere deputy departmental level official without real power, even with some ability, wouldn’t boast about it. What was there to show off?

However, the present Li Yifei had seen a lot, experienced much, and instead became more indifferent. Since he was here to eat, he should eat. A comrade once, and besides, today he did help him out a bit. Li Yifei couldn’t show a bad face and walk away.

The group wasn’t complete yet, so the dishes and drinks weren’t served. Yan Silong had invited friends today who were around his status, seemingly to show Li Yifei. Once these people arrived, they began to speak grandly about inspecting some projects in certain places or discussing the recent bullish stock market. The Fifth had made a few million recently, while Old A lost a few hundred thousand. Even Yan Silong himself said he made nearly a million. Beside him, Little Flower quickly chimed in, asking if Brother Long was going to give her anything. Yan Silong laughed loudly and promised, "I’ll give you a big diamond ring, one costing in the six-figure range."

Little Flower giggled, snuggling into his arms, clinging together, making Zhao Yi on the side feel a pang of envy.

Looking around, the women those men brought seemed none were first wives. Each draped in gold and silver, appearing quite content, and Zhao Yi sighed inwardly again.

Li Yifei stood up, saying he was going to the restroom. Yan Silong asked, "Need me to accompany you?"

Li Yifei shook his head and walked out.

As soon as he left, questions erupted in the private room. Someone asked Yan Silong, "Silong, your old captain seems a bit wooden, doesn’t he? Sitting next to such a beauty, he’s not even making conversation. That’s not like a soldier."

"Oh? How is it not like a soldier? He seems pretty soldier-like to me," said a man nearby who looked like a big boss.

The other replied, "Haven’t you heard the saying, ’after three years in the army, even a sow looks like Diao Chan’? Your captain doesn’t seem like that. He barely even glances at the beauty beside him."

Yan Silong laughed and cursed, "Damn it, don’t talk nonsense, my old captain has a solid character."

"Come on, he either likes women or likes men. Hmm, Old Yan, your orientation is really a problem," said another friend.

The little flower beside Yan Silong puffed up her chest, stood up and said, "I can prove that Silong’s sexual orientation is completely normal, and very strong too."

"Yo... Haha, look how good Sister Hua is to you, even praising you for such things," said the woman next to the boss, evidently very familiar with Little Flower, "But I must say, my man is also quite amazing."

The boss hugged her and gave her a kiss, promising a reward later.

A bunch of people laughed and joked. A few minutes later, Li Yifei came back. After pushing the door open, he could clearly feel the room pause for a moment, then the conversation resumed, but the topic shifted back to things like cars, travel, stocks, and investments. Outsiders might think their businesses had reached a very high level.

At least, the female companions nearby all had similar feelings, their eyes full of little stars.

Li Yifei returned to his seat and handed a stack of money to Yan Silong. Yan Silong, who was enthusiastically chatting with someone on the other side, turned his head to look at the money and Li Yifei, hesitated slightly, raised his hand to push it back, and said, "Old Captain, you’re being too polite. Keep the money; you must have other uses for it. You can see, I don’t lack money. Just give it to me someday, or even if you don’t, what’s a mere ten thousand or so between us."

Little Flower glanced at the money and added, "Exactly, Old Li, don’t be polite with Silong. It’s just ten thousand yuan or so. Tonight’s meal costs thousands. If you need it, you should keep it; no need to return it."

The words were big-hearted, but the surrounding guests witnessed this and looked down on Li Yifei even more, thinking someone who couldn’t even produce ten thousand yuan couldn’t amount to much. It seemed he really was just a simple-minded veteran unfit for more sophisticated settings.

Zhao Yi looked at the ten thousand yuan and felt a bit emotional. She was living very frugally now, even thinking twice before spending a hundred yuan, let alone ten thousand. Yet Little Flower could easily decide for Yan Silong like that. Sigh, comparisons are truly odious.

Li Yifei, after listening to their cross talk, chuckled and handed the money back, saying, "Business is business. This is for what you covered for me earlier. I must give it to you, and I do have enough money for myself."

Yan Silong widened his eyes and said, "Old Captain, don’t be so polite with me. You heard just now; I made over a million in one stock market wave, so I’m really not short of money. If you need it, just keep the money."

Li Yifei shook his head and said, "I have enough; I won’t spend much anyway."

Only then did Yan Silong stop insisting and took the money, saying to everyone, "We haven’t seen each other for a few years. The Old Captain is being a bit formal with me. So, I’ll drink a bit more later to make amends. You all help me drink with the Old Captain too."

After saying this, he casually handed the stack of money to Little Flower beside him, saying, "Here you go. I don’t have anywhere to put it. Later, buy yourself a dress."

Little Flower gave a sweet smile and thanked him, then whispered even more softly to Yan Silong, "Darling, if you buy me a six-figure diamond ring, I’ll let you do something special tonight."

The voice was so low that no one else heard it, but Li Yifei did. He specifically shot a glance at Little Flower, her figure flashed in his mind, and Li Yifei subtly shook his head. With such a figure, doing anything special wouldn’t be that enjoyable. Nothing compares to Xu Shanshan... Uh, better stop thinking, or Li Yifei might embarrass himself.

Zhao Yi was even more envious, biting her lip. Just like that, there’s ten thousand in cash, plus a promised six-figure diamond ring, all received in such a short time. Sigh... Zhao Yi sighed inwardly.

She wanted to change seats, hoping to meet another rich person. She also realized that the friends Yan Silong gathered tonight were all wealthy, if not powerful, which often meant wealthy. Unfortunately, they all had female companions, so she couldn’t just approach them.

While feeling slightly regretful, there was a knock on the door. Everyone’s attention was drawn over, and they saw a tall man walk in. He wasn’t particularly handsome but wore all designer clothes from his shoes to his shirt, even his epaulette was meticulously matched, no less than twenty or thirty thousand yuan.

Li Yifei glanced at him and then returned his gaze to his phone. He was chatting with his eldest daughter, Li Yufei, and wasn’t in the mood to check out the newcomer.

But Zhao Yi beside him was different; when she saw the man walk in, her eyes suddenly brightened.