All the way there, Wang Rui kept chattering to Gao Kai, throwing smug glances at Wang Qiqi every now and then. She admitted she was showing off, but so what?

Wang Qiqi didn't have the time to spare for Wang Rui's looks. She truly had no interest in the topics they were discussing. Even if Gao Kai was quite articulate—by today's standards, he was genuinely a learned child—after experiencing the online world, Wang Qiqi felt what he knew was barely enough to impress some naive girl.

Wang Qiqi engrossed herself in memorizing her English vocabulary, ignoring the actions of both Gao Kai and Wang Rui. Their actions looked completely different through her eyes.

Wang Rui hadn't expected Wang Qiqi to be completely unbothered by her provocations. She was secretly delighted, thinking Wang Qiqi hadn't fully recovered emotionally and was still caught up in her sadness. But perhaps this was better; if Qiqi had been too engaged with Gao Kai, it would have been even worse.

Although Gao Kai was engaged in lively conversation with Wang Rui, he constantly watched the expression of the silent Wang Qiqi beside him. He assumed Wang Qiqi’s silence meant she was jealous because he and Wang Rui were chatting so animatedly. Gao Kai, in his self-centered way, believed Wang Qiqi was jealous of him.

Even though Wang Rui hated separating from Gao Kai, she could only reluctantly leave him where they parted ways. If she could, she truly wished they could commute to and from school together. Thinking of this, Wang Rui suddenly felt it was essential for her to get into Gao Kai’s school so they could travel together in the future. Even if it was only for a year, it would be worth the struggle.

Wang Qiqi watched the girl reluctantly leave her—oh wait, leave Gao Kai—and could only shake her head. Sigh, this silly girl must be terribly envious of me right now. I hope she’s not muttering any petty curses at me.

Gao Kai finally endured the moment of separation from Wang Rui and let out a breath. “Your sister is really quite cheerful. But she’s truly worried about you; she told me you’ve had a really tough time lately.”

Wang Qiqi smiled faintly. Wang Rui worried about me? Get real. If she were such a good person, she wouldn't have tried to steal her own brother-in-law. “Xiao Rui is a very cheerful person.”

Wang Qiqi’s reply was brief. The less Wang Qiqi said, the happier Gao Kai felt. “Actually, to me, I find her cute—because she’s your sister.”

Wang Qiqi walked ahead by herself. Seriously, is this man overconfident, or what? Why won't he stop rambling? All I want right now is a rag to stuff into someone’s mouth. “Don’t you think Xiao Rui is better than me?”

“In my eyes, you are the best.” Gao Kai thought that, by any measure, Wang Qiqi’s current situation made her far more suitable than Wang Rui. He believed Wang Rui liked him only because of his family's standing, but Wang Qiqi was different. “Oh, right, your sister went to buy new clothes. Why didn’t you get new ones?”

In the past, when Wang Rui and Wang Qiqi went out together, they often wore similar clothes, and Wang Qiqi almost always wore something new every year. This time, Wang Qiqi was wearing last year's clothes, while Wang Rui wore something new.

“Last year’s clothes are still wearable. Besides, there’s no need to be so wasteful.” Wang Qiqi thought Wang Rui’s new clothes had nothing to do with her. “Is it strange that I’m not wearing new clothes?”

Gao Kai shook his head repeatedly. “No, no, I was just asking. Say, you missed classes these past few days. Do you need me to tutor you?” Gao Kai had really wanted to ask why she hung up on him the other day and didn't even put the receiver back properly, but upon seeing Wang Qiqi today, he forgot. “Oh, right, that time I called you...”

Wang Qiqi knew Gao Kai’s nature; he would definitely ask when he saw her, so she already had an answer prepared. “That day? The receiver wasn’t set properly. What’s up? Did you need to discuss something?”

“I just heard from your cousin that you handle everything yourself. I just feel like we’re both in the second year of high school; the studies are demanding enough. Some things you should just let your uncle and the others handle; there’s no need for you to manage everything yourself...”

Wang Qiqi listened to him rambling on and on. “Classmate Gao Kai, these are my family matters. Do you think I’m asking for trouble, or that I don't trust my relatives?”

Gao Kai hadn’t expected Wang Qiqi to get angry, but he nodded anyway. Wasn’t this the reason she handled things herself?

Wang Qiqi let out a few cold laughs. “Do you know? When my parents passed away, I asked my second uncle—Wang Rui’s father—to help rent two ice coffins. But you know what? He even managed to make money off it, earning a few dozen yuan a day. Just calculate how long my parents’ wake lasted and how much he made. After all that, do you think I still trust my second uncle?” Wang Qiqi thought, You think Wang Rui is such a good person, right? Fine, I’ll just lay it all out. “And you don’t know that my second uncle tried to settle things privately behind my back, secretly keeping a significant portion of the compensation money. Do you think I can trust someone like that?”

Saying this, Wang Qiqi stormed off ahead in anger. After taking a couple of steps, she added, “In short, this is my family business. How I interact with my second uncle’s family is my private affair. Also, I’ve read Dream of the Red Chamber; I won’t be a Lin Daiyu who can’t even protect her family inheritance.”

Gao Kai hadn't realized that Wang Qiqi refused her uncle’s help because of these reasons. Honestly, he didn't find it strange that Wang Rui's father would act that way; he would probably have done the same if it were him. But he hadn’t expected Qiqi’s uncle to move in right after her parents died, and for Qiqi to discover it. Still, it was probably for the best; the money was better off in Qiqi’s hands than in her uncle’s, wasn't it?

Wang Qiqi, bristling with anger, rushed to the school only to remember something: she had forgotten her original class. That was easy to find, but worse, she had forgotten her assigned seat.

Just as Wang Qiqi stood there, stunned, Shi Man patted her shoulder from the side. “Qiqi, you’re back in school. Aren’t you going to rest for a couple more days?”

The sudden tap startled Wang Qiqi. She had been wondering who was being so rough, but when she turned around, she saw it was Shi Man. “Shi Man, you’re going to scare people to death like that!” With Shi Man here, everything felt much better. Wang Qiqi remembered she sat right next to Shi Man, separated only by a walkway. “Sigh, staying home was just sad, and besides, I’ve missed so much school; I’ll fall too far behind in my lessons.”

Shi Man hummed thoughtfully and looked around, noticing the absence of a certain hanger-on. “Huh? Where is that little shadow?” Shi Man didn't particularly like, or rather, got along poorly with Gao Kai. When they were together, they simply disliked each other. Seeing him missing now made her quite surprised.

Wang Qiqi knew Shi Man disliked Gao Kai intensely. She had said long ago that Gao Kai wasn't the right person for her and that she would only suffer if she stayed with him. But at the time, with her parents’ sudden passing, Gao Kai had been so kind and considerate, making Wang Qiqi feel he was wonderful. Because of Shi Man’s attitude then, Wang Qiqi had slowly distanced herself from her friend. Now, looking back, Wang Qiqi realized Shi Man’s judgment of people was far superior to her own, and she certainly didn't want to lose this friend now.

“Him? He probably has a new target. Besides, right now, I just want to focus on my studies and get into a good university.” Wang Qiqi didn't want to dwell on Gao Kai. “By the way, let’s go to the library this weekend to study?”

“To the library?” Shi Man sounded surprised. She remembered that a long time ago, Wang Qiqi stopped going to the library with her to study, instead going to Gao Kai’s house with a group of people.

Wang Qiqi noticed Shi Man’s hesitation. “You don’t stop going to the library to study now, do you?” Wang Qiqi couldn’t recall when she had stopped studying with Shi Man at the library. If she had still been studying with Shi Man in her previous life, perhaps many things wouldn't have been different. Even if she hadn't managed to secure her inheritance, her life path might have changed—perhaps heading toward a better university and securing a decent career later.

Wang Qiqi wondered if Shi Man still felt resigned toward her now. After all the turmoil her family had faced, Shi Man had visited to pay respects to her parents, but they hadn't spoken much, which worried Wang Qiqi. Shi Man was arguably the friend she least wanted to lose.

Shi Man shook her head. “I still go, but didn't you say you can’t chat when studying at the library?”

Hearing Shi Man say that, Wang Qiqi knew she hadn’t given up on her entirely yet. “Right. I just feel that it’s hard to discuss problems when reviewing lessons at the library. How about we go to my place instead?” As soon as Wang Qiqi proposed this, she felt it might be inappropriate, wondering if Shi Man would be sensitive, considering her parents had lain in repose at home for so long.

“No problem, but we’re not bringing him along, you know.” Shi Man didn't have a strong opinion on where to study; the reason she stopped going with Wang Qiqi to that person's house was precisely to avoid seeing him.

“Why would we bring him? This is time for us best friends to spend together.” Wang Qiqi recalled that Shi Man, like herself, wasn't great at math, although slightly better. “And I’ve been reviewing math seriously at home lately. I even found a master’s secret manual for math, and I realized math isn't that hard at all.” Wang Qiqi knew Shi Man would be overjoyed to hear that.

Shi Man’s mouth dropped wide open when she heard this. “Really?” She wouldn't think Wang Qiqi was lying to her. Although Wang Qiqi had changed since becoming close with Gao Kai, there was no reason for her to lie about something like this.

Wang Qiqi nodded. “Yeah, I’m not tricking you. How about we go to my place today?”

Wang Rui nodded eagerly. “My parents are on a business trip for a few days. After school, come with me to my place to grab some clothes; I can stay at your house for two days then.” True or not, her good friend had been through so much lately; she needed to be there for her.

“Seriously?” Wang Qiqi raised an eyebrow, wondering if it was that coincidental. But regardless, “Deal. But my house only has vegetables; we’ll have to buy some cooked dishes to supplement the meal later.”

Wang Qiqi’s statement stunned Shi Man. “Ah, you’re eating vegetarian? Can you manage?” But then she pinched the fat on her own body. “I feel like I’ve gained weight recently too. I might as well go vegetarian too; consider it dieting.”

New book seeking Pink Tickets, seeking subscriptions, crawling pathetically begging for a whole month. 【Gilded Decadence / Qing Feng Ling Xin】Beauty’s fragrance fades like fallen flowers, withered by the wind. The scent of paper and ink lingers for a thousand years, spreading through ages. She is reborn on the path to death, watching how she will carve out a new life. 【Wu You’s Double Life】In front of others, she is a top student from a key university and a moderately famous online author. Behind the scenes, she is an ESP strategist serving the Empire, the future daughter-in-law of the Empire's first family. 【Immortal Codex】(Book ID 2067941, Author: Snake Hair Elegance) Synopsis: The cultivation path of an ordinary woman. RS