The exquisitely furnished RV living room held He Ye and Xu Chu, each seated opposite the file that inexplicably made both of them feel a surge of excitement.

Wang Zhuo, however, was absent; he had gone alone to the dining area to watch the evening news broadcast.

This segment was the most cherished thirty minutes for every citizen, offering a chance to feel the unity and warmth of the great national family while simultaneously finding a sense of proud superiority amidst the suffering of people around the world. How could he possibly miss it?

"It truly feels like a dream..."

He Ye was the first to shatter the silence. She let out a faint sigh, shaking her head repeatedly.

"Tell me about it," Xu Chu exhaled, laughing. "To earn over a hundred million in profit in the first year—that means twenty million each for us." "Do we really deserve this much?" He Ye asked with a hint of self-mockery.

Xu Chu shrugged. "I majored in mental health. If I hadn't naturally suffered from hypertrichosis and managed a chain of beauty clinics, I probably wouldn't have anything to do with this."

"I studied oral medicine," He Ye replied with an equally wry smile. "If it involved pulling teeth or fitting crowns, that would be my expertise..."

One word simultaneously surfaced in both their minds: Forced into a role.

"Yu..."

He Ye suddenly gave a soft exclamation and walked over to the decorative cabinet in the corner of the living room, opening it. From inside, she took out a hand-painted ceramic pen holder.

Seeing her strange expression as she repeatedly examined the holder, Xu Chu asked curiously, "Is there anything special about this pen holder?"

"I gave this to Wang Zhuo, a long time ago..." He Ye replied thoughtfully. "I didn't see it in his dorm the last time I was there, so I assumed he’d thrown it out. I never expected to find it here..."

As she spoke, she brought the pen holder over and handed it to Xu Chu for inspection.

It was a handcrafted, brightly colored ceramic piece, bearing a distinctively ethnic flavor reminiscent of Peking Opera makeup—quite refined and unique. Xu Chu had seen similar items in shops, remembering they cost upward of two hundred yuan. For an ordinary student, it was indeed an object worth cherishing, but without any particular fondness, it didn't seem like something a big shot like Wang Zhuo would specifically keep in his luxury RV.

"Hey?!"

She suddenly gasped, then burst into a fit of giggles.

"What's wrong?" He Ye was completely perplexed by her laughter. Was there something going on?

Xu Chu covered her mouth, chuckling. "My dear, next time, absolutely do not give things like this to men. It can lead to misunderstandings."

He Ye was bewildered, asking sheepishly, "It's just a very ordinary piece of stationery. What kind of misunderstanding could it cause?"

"Look here," Xu Chu explained with a grin. "The character for 'holder' (, tǒng) sounds exactly the same as the character for 'to screw up' (, tǒng). And I shouldn't have to explain what the character for 'pen' (, bǐ) sounds like, right? Every woman has that organ! Think about it—when you gave Wang Zhuo a bǐ-tǒng, what were you really giving him?"

He Ye was momentarily stunned silent. After a long pause, she could only respond with a wry, frustrated laugh. "Your associative capacity is truly boundless..."

Xu Chu shook her head playfully and beckoned to He Ye conspiratorially. "Come here, I have something to tell you."

He Ye, having been the top scorer in the provincial college entrance exams, certainly had no lack of intelligence. Seeing Xu Chu’s mysterious demeanor, she immediately knew this was about the afternoon's events.

After a moment of hesitation, she decided candor was the best policy. The twenty percent stake in 'Xinsheng' had already clarified Wang Zhuo's stance. It seemed they really did need to get along well with this older girl, as Wang Zhuo had suggested—there would be plenty of time later.

Originally, when facing Xu Chu, He Ye had harbored a degree of comparison, carrying a certain competitive edge and sense of superiority. While Xu Chu's family background was far beyond her reach, He Ye prided herself on her beauty and intelligence and was far from accepting defeat.

This arrogance wasn't unearned; Xu Chu was a local student in Jiangzhou, needing only 550 points to enter Jiangzhou Medical University, whereas He Ye had been admitted with a staggering 650. Coupled with the pride cultivated as the long-time campus belle, she hadn't taken Xu Chu, this newly molted ugly duckling, seriously.

But now, the only arbiter was Wang Zhuo. He had already stripped away He Ye's veneer of pride. Measured against his standards, He Ye found she was neither more beautiful than Xu Chu, nor sexier, nor more compliant. Her only advantage was being slightly smarter, which Wang Zhuo had mocked as merely 'petty cleverness,' inferior to Xu Chu's genuine nature.

Thus, He Ye wisely abandoned any notion of competing with Xu Chu to determine who was the reigning queen. They were two grasshoppers on the same rope now; harmony was clearly the better path!

As for whether they would unite against external threats in the future—given Wang Zhuo's tyrannical and possessive nature, He Ye figured it was best not to even think about it.

"What exactly did you two do in that lounge today?"

Xu Chu asked delicately; she was, in fact, rather naive, far less calculating than He Ye.

He Ye twitched the corner of her mouth, trying to manage a wry smile but failing. "He did to me what he did to you the afternoon before the National Day holiday..."

"Hiss..." Xu Chu sucked in a sharp breath. She hadn't expected He Ye's answer to be so direct, causing her considerable awkwardness. She asked in a low voice, "How do you know about that day? Did he tell you?"

"I saw it with my own eyes..." He Ye replied truthfully with a slight, knowing smile. "When you went looking for him, I was already in his dorm room. Later, I hid in an empty room, so you didn't notice." What? Xu Chu's mouth gaped wide enough to swallow an egg. Realizing there had been an audience for that performance, her face instantly flushed crimson.

"You, you..." She stammered for a long time before asking with a mixture of tears and laughter, "Before me, did you... already do that with him?"

This time, He Ye misunderstood. She quickly waved her hands, clarifying, "No, no! You didn't catch my saliva. We didn't do anything that day..."

A moment of awkward silence descended upon the room, as if a crow were flying overhead...

Wang Zhuo, who had just finished watching the happily ever after news report and was eavesdropping on their conversation using his clairvoyance, was already doubled over with laughter. Clutching his stomach that ached from mirth, his smile stretched all the way to his ears.

He Ye looked at Xu Chu in surprise. She stood up, walked to the door, and switched off all the lights in the living room, saying with a bitter smile, "I think it's better if we chat with the lights off. What do you think?"

Female residents always had the tradition of late-night chats after lights-out. Sensitive topics were easier to broach in such an environment. He Ye instantly felt Xu Chu's suggestion was excellent; it relieved the awkward tension they had felt moments before.

"Let's start from the beginning..." Xu Chu settled back onto the sofa, maintaining a half-arm's length separation from He Ye, allowing for quiet conversation.

"Okay," He Ye agreed. She felt some things needed to be laid bare.

Occasionally, car headlights sweeping from a distance cast mottled, moving light across their faces and figures. For the most part, they could only discern the silhouettes of each other's bodies and pronounced facial expressions.

Two pairs of bright eyes flickered in the darkness. This conversation was deeper, more explicit, and more candid than any they had shared before.

Even Wang Zhuo gleaned quite a few secrets he had never known before, making the effort quite rewarding.

Xu Chu recounted how she had colluded with Hu Zhiyuan to monitor Wang Zhuo and gather extensive information and secrets about him. He Ye confessed that she had once marked Wang Zhuo as her top potential rich husband, but he had seen through her scheme early on, causing him to distance himself.

As mutual understanding grew and the conversation deepened, the subject matter gradually shifted toward matters of sexuality.

"You have real nerve, daring to ask him directly if he was a pervert," Xu Chu murmured in amazement, adding with a wry smile, "Actually, sometimes I really do wonder if the man I like is a pervert..."

"You think that too?" He Ye immediately felt she had found a kindred spirit.

"How could I not?" Xu Chu could only offer a bitter smile. "To be honest, I'm still a virgin..."

"Ah?" He Ye was genuinely startled and blurted out instinctively, "No way... his desire is very strong..."

Xu Chu shrugged. "It is very strong, but he just won't do that. And it's not something I feel comfortable asking about..."

He Ye paused, then suddenly had a flash of insight. "Wait, wait! That's not right!"

Xu Chu blinked in surprise. "What's wrong? What isn't right?"

"Didn't I just say my normal body temperature is thirty-six degrees Celsius, and sometimes even lower?" He Ye spoke a bit breathlessly. "And you said it was the complete opposite for you—a thirty-seven-degree girl, right?"

What did this have to do with Wang Zhuo's perversion? Xu Chu casually affirmed, feeling rather lost.

"Do you know about ice and fire?" He Ye suddenly posed a completely unrelated question.

But Xu Chu did know! It was something Wang Zhuo had specially educated her on a few days ago when feeding her the 'nutritional meal,' even praising how her temperature achieved the effect of 'fire' without needing external hot water, especially during deep penetration, feeling as if it could melt her.

"I think... I understand..."

Xu Chu leaned her head back against the sofa cushion, all the muscles in her body relaxing. "So he's not a pervert; it was premeditated all along..."

He Ye nodded, uttering only four words: "The Ice and Fire Feast..."

The Ice and Fire Feast? Wang Zhuo, in the dining room, scratched his head. He thought that description was indeed more fitting than his previous code name, Manchu-Han Imperial Banquet. Perhaps the campus belle really was more cultured.

Xu Chu suddenly laughed irritably. "But now I think he's even more of a pervert."

"I won't let him succeed..." He Ye stated sternly, though deep down, she had absolutely no conviction.

The soft patter-patter of slippers sounded from the hallway. Both women instantly tensed. Then, Wang Zhuo pushed the door open and entered with breezy confidence.

However, he didn't turn on the lights, simply taking a seat on the sofa casually and asking with a faint smile, "How was the chat?"

"Everything that needed saying has been made clear," He Ye replied. The darkness had given her the courage to speak, and Xu Chu's competitive skills were limited. Thus, she wisely chose to let He Ye speak for them both.

Wang Zhuo knowingly asked, "Did you discuss the issue of my perverse behavior?"

After a moment of silence, this time Xu Chu cleared her throat and said softly that they had.

After all, she had more direct contact with Wang Zhuo, believing her relationship with him was closer than He Ye's. She felt it was better for her to answer this particular question.

"That's something worth having a discussion about..." Wang Zhuo chuckled darkly. "Nothing happens without reason, right? I did what I did for a reason. If He Ye hadn't brought it up today, I truly wouldn't have thought about it carefully."

The two women remained silent, their bright eyes fixed on him, waiting for him to continue.

"You both really want to know the reason, don't you?" Wang Zhuo smiled with unruffled composure. "Then I'll tell you right now..."