Wang Qiqi was completely unconcerned about the evening's plans, showing up in front of Shi Man brimming with energy, while Shi Man and Juliana were slumped over their desks like dead snakes—it was obvious the two of them had partied hard the previous day. In fact, many in the class looked listless; even those who seemed a bit more alert lacked their usual vigor, mumbling about where they had been yesterday.

After settling into her chair, Wang Qiqi let out a huge yawn. "I'm exhausted. The teacher isn't here yet, right? I’m going to rest for a bit."

Shi Man’s voice was anything but husky after singing for so long—that would be an understatement. "You’re tired too?" Ah, that woman had been resting and eating snacks at the KTV yesterday; just thinking about it made her jealous. "It’s a relief Juliana's voice is shot too. Word is we start classes again next Monday."

Shi Man felt a wave of sadness thinking about it. Today was Friday, meaning they only got the luxury of the double weekend, and this summer break was their last chance to enjoy it. From September until the end of the college entrance exams next year, the senior class students wouldn't get another weekend off. The more Shi Man dwelled on it, the more painful it became. Were these few days merely the last struggle?

"Qiqi, let's go out for a bit." Before the tutoring sessions start, they should get out and walk around; Shi Man felt she might collapse otherwise.

Go out for a walk? Wang Qiqi was surprised that after just two days, she was still thinking about going out. Forget it, she'd rest at home these few days. "Let's go out after the tutoring ends. We can go to the seaside." Going to the seaside now, wearing a swimsuit, swimming in the ocean, and maybe hooking a few cute guys or young heartthrobs wouldn't be bad. Of course, Wang Qiqi was looking forward to eating seafood there—it would be absolutely fresh. Although, if they went to HN, she wondered if that knife was sharp enough.

The seaside? Shi Man quickly calculated. "QD, maybe?" Or "BDH?" Both were summer resort areas, especially the latter, though the latter was quite a distance from where they were.

Wang Qiqi considered it, feeling odd that HN hadn't been mentioned. Then she realized: it required a flight. Flights these days had few schedules and were incredibly expensive, nothing like the huge discounts available later on. "QD then."

Shi Man mused, "Should we ask her if she wants to come? Though I suspect her chances of agreeing are slim." Children from wealthy families usually went abroad for travel, not local trips. Even though Juliana hadn't disclosed much about her family situation, judging by how freely she spent money, she certainly wasn't lacking funds.

"Whether she comes or not doesn't matter; I have a 'battle' to fight tonight." Although Wang Qiqi was mentally prepared, the thought of the evening's engagement still made her deeply uncomfortable.

A battle? Shi Man felt like she hadn't seen Qiqi for just one night, and suddenly she couldn't understand her words. Confused, she looked toward Wang Qiqi.

"It’s been unlucky since this morning. My uncle and his family are coming over for dinner today," Wang Qiqi said, her mood visibly dropping.

Shi Man covered her mouth, chuckling. "A dinner invitation, isn't that good?"

Wang Qiqi managed a bitter smile. "The problem is, some meals you can't eat, or rather, can't afford. How can an orphaned girl like me afford my uncle's dinner? That meal might cost ten thousand." It was just about getting into a high school, why was Li Cui being so generous with the invitation, especially inviting her husband's relatives? Although she often brought things back to her maiden family to show off, the crucial point was that most of those things weren't bought with her money.

Shi Man understood; it was about that. "I heard the non-local student slots are quite competitive this year; your uncle might not even secure one for fifteen thousand."

"Not securing it is one thing, but the stance they've taken is clearly that we should pay. It would be best if Wang Rui doesn't get in. Otherwise, looking at her constantly flaunting herself in front of me for the next whole year—Wang Qiqi thought the senior year would be absolute torture. It was already grueling enough, and adding the sight of that face... Ugh, a tragedy squared."

"Oh, come on, you can just complain. How much can you actually pay? I estimate you'll manage to fork out maybe one or two thousand at most," Shi Man tapped her chin. She knew this girl had considerable fighting power; asking her to pay for her uncle's expenses was practically asking for her life. "Speaking of which, don't you claim to be broke? How can you..."

"What difference does having money make? People are inherently greedy. Take a thousand, and they immediately think of ten thousand; take ten thousand, and they think of a hundred thousand. Have you read Dream of the Red Chamber? My uncle and his family are far less easygoing than Grandmother Jia or Lady Wang," Wang Qiqi commented spitefully. "If I hadn't stood up and taken charge of these matters myself, who knows where my family's assets would have ended up? They were the ones who eagerly rushed to discuss my parents' compensation, hiding half the settlement money and splitting it with my aunt. What kind of behavior is that? Then they probe, asking why our family only has this little money—you can tell they're rotten apples. So, they won't get money from me easily. Even if I give some, I'll make sure they know that taking money from Wang Qiqi is extremely difficult, and their reputation will suffer horribly. Besides, are we the only wealthy ones in the family? My aunt's family has money too. If they want to contribute financially, fine, let everyone chip in together. Let's see how my aunt negotiates then."

Wang Qiqi had no idea if those two families had already conspired behind her back about this matter. If her aunt contributed, then she would contribute too, but definitely not more than her aunt’s side. Why should a junior be expected to contribute more than the elders? Humph. If they want to drag her into a pit, the diggers should also put in some effort. Furthermore, as the main party involved, they shouldn't expect all the money to come from them; they should bear the majority, and then after the aunts and uncles circle around, Wang Qiqi calculated that paying one thousand would be sufficient. The moment she thought about ten portraits of Chairman Mao leaving her possession, the pain was so intense she could barely breathe.

Shi Man looked at the distressed Wang Qiqi, sighing toward the heavens. It seemed like Qiqi had just spent several hundred yuan singing two days ago. If her uncle found out, he might actually vomit blood, considering how reluctant he was to cough up money for his own daughter's schooling but readily spends on his own revelry.

The report cards were handed out one by one, with the teacher specifically praising Wang Qiqi. "Classmate Wang Qiqi, despite taking half a month off, has not let her studies lag; in fact, she has maintained steady progress, especially in mathematics. I hope everyone will continue to work hard next semester. There are only a little over three hundred days until your college entrance exams. Do you have the confidence to get into your ideal universities?"

"Yes!" the students replied enthusiastically. In truth, many weren't that excited about the prospect of "ideal universities"; they were thrilled that summer vacation was approaching. Although there were rumors about mandatory summer tutoring, last year's sophomores hadn't had much tutoring during the break, so they were eagerly anticipating the teacher announcing only ten days of classes.

The head teacher looked at the students below, who were unusually excited, as if they’d been injected with adrenaline. Although she didn't want to dampen their spirits, some things needed to be said. "Starting next Monday, we will have twenty days of tutoring, followed by the summer break. We will then resume tutoring for another fifteen days starting August 10th."

Everyone went pale. What? Out of a summer vacation of only fifty-odd days, thirty-five were mandatory tutoring, leaving only about ten days for actual relaxation. More critically, there would be homework even during that ten-day break. Oh heavens, the classroom instantly erupted in wails, crying out that the school had no humanity.

The head teacher found the students' reaction perfectly normal; it would have been strange if they hadn't complained a little. "Alright, today is Friday, leaving two and a half days. The teachers won't assign homework. I hope to see everyone refreshed and energetic on Monday." The head teacher patted her behind and left, leaving behind a classroom full of weeping children.

Wang Qiqi finally saw the teacher retreat. She picked up her report card and stood up, ready to go home. She figured she had more energy to rest than to sit here wailing. While Wang Qiqi didn't hold much resentment toward the mandatory tutoring, the classroom only had two ceiling fans, making it incredibly hot, not to mention forty-odd people crammed together—every breath they took probably raised the room temperature by one or two degrees.

Shi Man was beside her, excitedly joining the other students in criticizing the school's inhumane decision, so she didn't notice Wang Qiqi's movements. She knew that compared to Monday's issues, Qiqi was probably worried about the evening engagement, but seeing her stand up and head for the door still struck her as odd. "Qiqi, what are you...?"

"Going home to rest. What else? Do you think crying will make the school suddenly decide not to hold tutoring? That's a pipe dream. We have more energy criticizing the school; we might as well use it to rest at home. I fought hard for this final exam, barely sleeping. I finally have two and a half days, and I must rest well, or I won't make it through," Wang Qiqi stated. She knew her results shouldn't just be "steady progress" as the teacher put it; they had shot up like a rocket, breaking into the top eight in the class. Although it was only a jump of three or four spots, achieving that much ranking improvement took immense effort, especially at the top tiers where progress became increasingly difficult.

The others, who had been silently envious of Wang Qiqi's ranking jump—even though they all studied hard—couldn't help but feel challenged by this sudden dark horse, especially those already in the top ten, who now viewed Wang Qiqi as a true competitor. Hearing Qiqi complain now, everyone understood—she had been burning the midnight oil studying too. That explained her exhausted expression.

Once Wang Qiqi spoke, the venting stopped. Indeed, no matter how much they complained, the teachers wouldn't listen. It was better to go home and rest, or study if they preferred. Soon, everyone had cleared out. Even three or four meters away from the teaching building, they could still hear someone crying about the unfairness of the school not granting a full summer break. They exchanged knowing glances and smiled, then found classmates heading the same way home. Of course, those with energy left called a few friends to go out and have one last fling. (To be continued)