Super Soldier in the City

Xu Yingying's father, Xu Zhenguo, took out a cigarette and offered it to Li Yifei. Li Yifei quickly accepted it, and then personally lit it for Xu Zhenguo, but he himself placed the cigarette on the coffee table.

"You don't smoke?" Xu Zhenguo asked, looking puzzled at Li Yifei.

"I do smoke, but Yingying doesn't really like me smoking, so I try to smoke as little as possible."

"If you smoke, smoke, as long as you don't smoke too much, a few a day is not a big deal. Come on, light up."

It was only then that Li Yifei lit the cigarette and took a delightful drag. Along the way, Xu Yingying had flat out forbidden him from smoking, which had really stifled him.

At that moment, Xu Zhenguo asked with a smiling face, "Yifei, what are you working as now?"

Li Yifei glanced at Xu Yingying, his expression briefly showing some difficulty, which immediately made Xu Yingying tense. This guy couldn't have forgotten the plan they had agreed upon beforehand, could he?

"Yingying, I feel it's really wrong to lie to Uncle and Auntie, we should just tell the truth."

Xu Yingying was even more alarmed, but she kept a poker face, shooting Li Yifei a dark look, and said, "Yifei, what is there for us to lie about?"

Xu Zhenguo slapped Li Yifei on the shoulder and said, "Just speak your mind. My daughter may be a bit formidable, but I've got your back here. Just say what you need to say, and don't always look to Yingying's face before speaking."

Li Yifei nodded gratefully and said, "Uncle Xu, originally Yingying and I had agreed to tell you that I am a manager at a company, but I feel that lying about it isn't right. Life is about striving, and nobody can succeed overnight, so we shouldn't feel inferior just because I'm currently only a security guard."

At this point, Xu Yingying's mother immediately frowned. Xu Yingying was now a big manager with a monthly salary of tens of thousands, and Li Yifei, just a lowly security guard, was not a match for her.

Xu Yingying was secretly infuriated. How could Li Yifei change their agreed story on his own? Not to mention the increased difficulty for her parents to accept this, even if they did accept it, all their future stories would have to change. How were they supposed to deal with the two elders now? Wouldn't that unnecessarily complicate things?

Xu Zhenguo fixed his tiger-like eyes on Li Yifei and slowly said, "I'm really curious, our Yingying is ambitious and has high standards. Ordinary people simply don't catch her eye. How could she possibly take a fancy to you, a security guard?"

At that moment, Li Yifei's chest puffed out straight, and he spoke with pride, "That's why I am proud. As for why Yingying took a fancy to me, that's simple too. It's because Yingying saw my potential and knows that gold will always shine eventually."

"Oh? You're that confident?"

"Indeed, I've been confident since I was young, and my confidence is not blind. I am only confident about things I believe I can achieve. Although there is a significant gap between Yingying and myself right now, as an outstanding soldier, one should have an indomitable spirit, to overcome any difficulties. I believe I can bridge the gap between Yingying's and my career within two years."

"Good! For that spirit alone, I support you," Xu Zhenguo said, giving Li Yifei a firm pat on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Uncle Xu, I promise to complete the mission," Li Yifei stood up and gave a military salute with a snap.

It has to be said, Li Yifei really hit the mark this time. Xu Zhenguo's favorite thing was young people with military spirit. Li Yifei's response was right up his alley.

"Little Li, who else do you have in your family?" Xu Yingying's mother asked at this point, her main concern being this.

Li Yifei immediately spoke with a tinge of sadness, "I am an abandoned child, raised in an orphanage without ever seeing my parents or knowing who they are. Right now, I am completely alone."

Xu Yingying's mother's eyes lit up and she said, "That's quite good."

Xu Yingying was momentarily at a loss for words and nudged her mother, who then said somewhat awkwardly, "Little Li, Auntie didn't mean that. I mean, now there's a generation gap between young people and the elderly, and it's hard for mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law to get along. Our Yingying has a bit of a temper, so it would be even harder for her to get along with her mother-in-law. I'm no longer worried about this now."

For her mother, the most worrisome thing about her daughter getting married wasn't the prospective family's economic conditions, but rather the fear of a formidable mother-in-law. Now that her daughter had a successful career, the financial aspect was not a big issue. Li Yifei seemed tailor-made for Xu Yingying. Also, once her two daughters got married, they definitely wouldn't be around to take care of her in old age, as a son would. But Li Yifei, being an orphan, would be just like a son. Hence, based on this alone, she was quite pleased with Li Yifei, and she wasn't even concerned about whether or not he was a security guard.

Having won the approval of both elders, the following matters became much easier to handle, with everyone chatting joyfully. Especially when Li Yifei and Xu Zhenguo talked about their time in the military, they were animated and seemed to share a deep connection.

Xu Zhenguo, who had reached the rank of a regiment leader in the army before transferring to civilian work for the sake of his family, was now a District Director in Pingyang City. He didn't quite enjoy his job in the civilian sector and often missed his military days. That's why Li Yifei's military stories resonated so much with him.

Particularly after learning that Li Yifei had achieved commendations and carried out many missions in the military, Xu Zhenguo greatly admired him. He believed that a real man was forged in the army, and if someone had earned their stripes there, they were not likely to fall short in other endeavors.

Seeing Li Yifei getting along so well with her father, Xu Yingying finally breathed a sigh of relief. With her father's approval, everything else should be much easier.

At that moment, Xu Yingying's mother had finished preparing dinner and said to Xu Zhenguo, "Old man, call Shanshan and tell her to come home early for dinner."

Xu Zhenguo picked up the phone, and after dialing, said, "Shanshan, your sister's back, and she's brought your brother-in-law with her. Dinner's almost ready, so hurry back... What? Your brother-in-law is no less important than your classmates... Not leaving today, we'll all be here for the New Year... Alright, alright, just come back early and don't stay out too late."

After hanging up, Xu Zhenguo shook his head and said, "Yingying's sister is of a completely different temperament to Yingying; she's out all day playing with others and always comes back late. She even said that since you're here, you won't run away, and it will be fine if she acknowledges you later when she comes back."

Li Yifei immediately responded, "It's fine. Young people these days do like to have fun. There aren't many like Yingying and me, but it's not necessarily a bad thing."

"Heh, we'll leave her be then. We'll have our meal. You must join me for a drink tonight. It's been a long time since I had someone to drink with over the New Year, as these three women don't accompany me."

"No problem, but I can't hold my liquor that well, so Uncle Xu, please don't get me drunk."

Xu Zhenguo glared and barked, "What kind of soldier doesn't drink? Don't worry about Yingying; I'm here, how dare she stop you from drinking!"

"Well... I'm likely to be in for it later."

"You're wrong on that point. A man should have some spirit and can't be afraid of his wife. Listen to me, if you ought to drink, just drink. If a man never comes home drunk, he's not really a man."

Just then, Xu Yingying's mother came out of the kitchen with the dishes, heard her husband say this, and immediately glared at him, "You old fool, is that how you teach your daughter's boyfriend?"

Xu Zhenguo shook his head proudly and said, "I'm right, though. A man who's afraid of his wife won't go far in life or achieve much. I bet if Little Li were that sort of man, Yingying wouldn't even spare him a second glance."

Li Yifei was suddenly astonished and said, "You've seen right through that. Actually, what attracted Yingying to me was because I wasn't particularly respectful towards my general manager at first, which made her angry a few times, and that's how we finally got together."

"Haha... I just knew it. I know our Yingying's character best. She's the type that responds to strength, not weakness. You've got to be firmer than her; if you're soft, it's all over for you."

Xu Yingying, overhearing from the kitchen, was panic-stricken. Li Yifei was straying further and further from the script, completely out of her calculations. If her parents asked them separately later, it would be easy to slip up. She decided she needed to align their stories again with Li Yifei and to stop him from making things up, or else it would be even harder to handle.