After seeing them off, Wang Qiqi was overjoyed, kneeling before her parents' memorial tablet. "Mom, Dad, did you see? They treat our home like a money bag. And Uncle... I even suspect that all the money he claimed to have lost before was likely a deception against us..." From now on, if Wang Dagui gambles again, she'll have to worry about it too. "Even Aunt Da said I shouldn't lend Uncle money for his gambling debts anymore."

Han Tao had just finished his tutoring session and was walking home when he heard a girl crying. The sound startled him so much that he leaned against the wall, listening carefully. It turned out to be Wang Qiqi weeping. This struck Han Tao as very strange. She had always appeared so resilient before; to see her express such deep grievance now was beyond his expectations. It reminded him of when his own father passed away in his childhood—at least he had his mother to rely on. But Wang Qiqi would soon be completely alone, and what good was money then?

After a long while, hearing that Wang Qiqi had stopped crying, he tapped gently on the door. The sound startled her too. Who could be standing outside so late? She turned her head and saw it was Han Tao. "You just got back?" It couldn't be; it was past ten, and he didn't look like someone who had just been out for a casual stroll. "Have you eaten?"

It seemed Aunt Luo was working late today; he wondered if she had prepared any food for Han Tao.

"My mom did," Han Tao replied. Knowing his mother was working late, he suspected there might genuinely be nothing to eat at home, but he wouldn't admit that in front of Wang Qiqi. If necessary, he could always go home and whip up some noodles.

"Why don't you eat something with me," Wang Qiqi suggested, feeling a pang of hunger herself. "Aunt Luo probably didn't leave anything for you, provided you don't mind that everything here is vegetarian."

Han Tao considered it. "Deal. Besides, there was that problem you showed me last time; I wanted to discuss the solution steps with you. Your approach was actually somewhat correct."

Wang Qiqi opened the security door to let Han Tao in and then headed to the kitchen to heat something up. "Do you want dumplings? I can warm up some xiaolongbao too." Wang Qiqi thought Han Tao was quite lucky; she had asked Gong Hong to buy some xiaolongbao and dumplings earlier that day specifically for her parents, but then remembered she was eating vegetarian and had intended to put them in the fridge.

Han Tao paused, puzzled. Didn't Qiqi eat vegetarian? Why were there wontons and xiaolongbao here?

"However, the wontons are a bit mushy; they were meant for my parents. Reheating them might not make them taste very good," Wang Qiqi suddenly realized, remembering that while she wanted to handle the leftovers, reheating them might compromise the texture.

"Ah, I see," Han Tao understood. "It's fine, I'm not picky. You should eat something too; you've gotten so much thinner recently." When Han Tao entered, he had been startled by Wang Qiqi's appearance. He didn't know what she looked like before, but the last time he ran into her in the morning, she hadn't been this thin.

Wang Qiqi managed a faint smile. "Even with Aunt Luo and Aunt Gong helping, most of the time I have to carry everything myself. Children without parents are truly pitiable." She wished someone could lend her a hand, but neither Wang Dagui nor Wang Damei ever mentioned staying up late with her; even when she offered to give her cousins ten thousand, Wang Damei only conceded that they would arrive earlier on the day of the funeral.

Han Tao remained silent outside. The neighbors had seen exactly how the Wang siblings behaved, and there wasn't much they could say; after all, it was family business. "Are you studying at home all the time now?" Han Tao had always tutored Wang Qiqi in math and had never seen her ask about English. So, noticing an English workbook on the desk, he picked it up casually and was stunned. Qiqi had filled in most of it, though he couldn't tell if she had checked the answers first. He put the English book down and picked up the math workbook beside it, noticing a mix of correct and incorrect answers—clearly his own work. He mused that perhaps she had also done the English problems herself, yet he hadn't expected her English to be so good.

Wang Qiqi finished preparing the food and brought it out, seeing Han Tao looking at the exercises she had done, specifically the math workbook. She felt quite embarrassed by how many mistakes there were. "Let's eat first."

Han Tao murmured an "Oh," putting down the books. He noticed there was only one bowl of wontons and one bowl of xiaolongbao. Looking at the spread, he asked, "Is all of this for me? What are you eating?"

"Mine is in the back; I boiled some noodles." Wang Qiqi turned and went back into the kitchen to prepare her own late-night snack, unsure how late her vigil would last, making supper essential.

Wang Qiqi returned with a large bowl and sat opposite Han Tao. "By the way, are you still giving private tutoring lessons at night?" She had assumed Han Tao only taught on weekends; she hadn't realized he was working every evening too.

"The high school entrance exams are approaching, and the ninth-grader I tutor needs me to go to his house for intensive review every day recently," Han Tao said wearily. Though exhausted, he couldn't refuse; the client was offering triple the usual rate and had been a regular for two years.

"Take care of yourself. Earning money is important, but your health is your foundation," Wang Qiqi insisted. She truly admired Han Tao; it was no wonder he would succeed later—it was connected to the hardships he endured from a young age. Truly, only those who taste the bitterest flavors can reach the highest heights. "How did you come up with the idea of earning money through tutoring?"

Wang Qiqi was intensely curious how someone so young had thought of tutoring, and even more surprised that someone would hire him. While his grades were excellent, surely parents preferred hiring certified teachers whose expertise would, generally speaking, surpass Han Tao's.

Han Tao smiled. "I've been making money since I was little. You don't know, when I was young, I even did homework assignments for classmates—how much per book." Han Tao thought that if it weren't for a few wealthy kids in the class, he never would have realized that one could actually earn money this way. But thanks to them, at least he never had to ask his family for money for tuition.

Wang Qiqi thought that such foolish people actually existed. "Copying down that holiday homework fast enough—the teacher might not even check." Such spoiled children. "But surely you didn't charge for your personal notes too?"

"Yes, those are the fruits of my labor. It's only right to charge them for looking at my notes," Han Tao confirmed. "Besides, those families have plenty of money; they'd just waste it otherwise." It was better that the money went to someone like him who truly needed it.

Wang Qiqi’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. "Then your relationships with your classmates at school..." Heavens! He even charged for his notebooks? That was incredibly stingy. Would anyone at school actually be friends with Han Tao?

"They're quite good. Besides, I only charge the ones who photocopy my notes; I don't charge those who just reference them," Han Tao clarified. He figured if he charged for that too, he wouldn't last long at school. "Right, are you seriously planning to live here alone from now on?"

Han Tao couldn't help but wonder if Wang Qiqi, such a young girl, was incredibly brave or simply naive to plan on living here by herself. Yet, he noted she had even hired an aunt to help—the deeper meaning of that was clear to anyone.

"Sometimes living alone is peaceful. What do you think would happen if I let my uncle and them move in?" Wang Qiqi knew the neighbors across the way were definitely not discreet people. For instance, she had learned about Han Tao tutoring by chance. Which outsider knew about such a thing? Indeed, Wang Qiqi found it strange that Han Tao would share such a significant detail with her. Perhaps he simply trusted her to keep quiet. Reversing the logic, wasn't she also assessing that his family wasn't gossipy before opening up to him? Otherwise, why would she mention it? And why invite him over for a meal? Even if it felt a bit like flattering him.

Han Tao understood. "Sometimes living alone is quite nice, at least for the quiet. My family is poor, so relatives don't visit. You're different. Your relatives, especially your uncle, won't give up easily." A girl suddenly possessing a fortune would certainly attract attention, especially Wang Dagui. Though Han Tao and his mother weren't gossips, precisely because Luo Hongjuan wasn't talkative, she often knew more secrets. Look at how the Wang Dagui couple viewed their elder brother who had always helped them—they still schemed against him. They would certainly scheme against the much younger Wang Qiqi.

Wang Qiqi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "So what if they don't give up? This is my house. My parents' assets are mine; what does it have to do with them? I've seen clearly how they treated me after my parents passed away. I have some money now, but what if I run out later? My situation could become wretched. They might even seize the family property and steal away any man I have—a failed life." Wang Qiqi sighed. Since returning, every time she slept, she dreamt of the fall from heaven to hell after her parents died, and the scene of her own death. Every time, Wang Qiqi couldn't sleep again. But for some unknown reason, she just wanted to share it with Han Tao. "Sometimes, relatives are truly less reliable than neighbors, like your mother and you."

"Having experienced it once, you understand what relatives truly are. My only wish now is to find a good job so I can give my mother a comfortable life. My mother has suffered too much in this life," Han Tao lamented, before finishing everything on the table. "I've eaten the food, thank you for the meal. In the summer, if you have problems you don't understand, you can come to my place."

Han Tao knew she wouldn't accept money, so he considered this payment for her tutoring lessons instead.

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