Wang Qiqi withdrew the money from the bank first thing the next morning. Since she had withdrawn money the day before, making another withdrawal today would seem strange to the tellers. Wang Qiqi would simply smile and explain that the two thousand withdrawn previously was a gift for Wang Rui to celebrate her acceptance into high school, and today's two thousand was for the trip her mother had promised to take her on.

Before Wang Qiqi even reached Wang Dagui’s house, many neighbors already knew that Wang Qiqi had given four thousand yuan for Wang Dagui’s daughter’s high school enrollment, murmuring about how kind-hearted Wang Qiqi was. Wang Qiqi listened with a gentle smile; this was precisely the effect she aimed for. Any complaint Li Cui made would now only boil down to calling her stingy.

When Wang Qiqi knocked, the entire Wang Dagui household was still asleep. No one answered the door for a long time, which struck her as odd. Usually, her aunt would be up early doing chores. Perhaps she was too exhausted from yesterday's labor and overslept?

Just as Wang Qiqi was about to give up, she finally heard footsteps, though their slightly rushed pace suggested the walker was not entirely clear-headed—likely disturbed by the knocking.

Li Cui navigated around the uncleared table and chairs, opening the door to see Wang Qiqi standing outside. “Qiqi, you’re here so early?”

Peeking through the crack in the door, Wang Qiqi noticed the table hadn't been tidied. In this heat, leaving food out uncovered would surely start to smell, even with the windows open. Wang Qiqi wrinkled her nose. “Didn’t I give two thousand yesterday as a celebration gift for Xiao Rui getting into high school? Xiao Rui mentioned yesterday that she’ll be in her final year next summer and won't be able to go to Beijing with me, so I converted the travel money into another two thousand. That’s why I came over early this morning to give it to her...”

The reason Wang Qiqi explained herself so thoroughly was simple: from her standing position, she could see numerous gossiping neighbors lingering in the stairwells both below and above, listening in. A slight explanation was necessary.

Li Cui simply uttered an “Oh,” took the money without ceremony, and turned to go back to bed. But catching sight of the two filled tables of food and the askew chairs, she turned back to Wang Qiqi. “Qiqi, look at the mess from last night’s party...”

Wang Qiqi inwardly thought this woman still hadn't given up. “My helper is coming this afternoon to work. Since she wasn’t here yesterday, she’ll have to mop, handle chores, and then cook dinner today, I don't know how late she'll be. Perhaps I can ask her to help out after she finishes her work.” Wang Qiqi said generously, though who knew when the helper would actually be available to assist. If Aunt Li Cui could wait, she was welcome to.

Li Cui hadn't expected Wang Qiqi to agree so readily, but the next sentence soured her mood. “Isn't she the auntie you hired specifically to look after you? Why is she only coming this afternoon?” In Li Cui’s mind, this was clearly a delaying tactic.

Wang Qiqi took two steps back, looking at Li Cui with disbelief. “How could I possibly hire a full-time auntie to come to the house just to do chores? I hired hourly help—three hours a day, paid for the day she works. Do I need a full-time nanny? Aunt, I truly don't know what you’re thinking.”

Li Cui cared little whether the helper was full-time or hourly; what mattered to her was that her niece had someone to wait on her, living a far better life. “Ah, didn’t you say you were hiring a full-time one?”

“Full-time costs a fortune. What I’m using now is the principal amount; every penny spent is a penny less. Does Aunt think I can just squander the compensation money my parents received?” Wang Qiqi shot her a sharp look. Did they all think she was a fool? “I still have university tuition. That’s all money. If you truly need help, Aunt, I can ask her to come over? It’s five yuan an hour.”

Hearing five yuan an hour, while not prohibitively expensive, struck Li Cui as an unnecessary expense. She offered a strained smile. “Never mind, I’ll manage it myself.”

Wang Qiqi simply said, “Oh,” and turned to go downstairs. With that foul smell lingering, she didn't want to stand at the doorway much longer in case something else happened.

As Wang Qiqi turned to leave, Li Cui suddenly thought she could offer to help clean up. However, the words died on her lips. It was their party, not Wang Qiqi’s. Besides, hiring an hourly worker explicitly stated she had no time for chores; why would she suddenly pitch in to clean up afterward?

Wang Qiqi, unaware of Li Cui’s thoughts, was focused on getting back home to sleep and then starting her studies.

Gong Hong finished cleaning and preparing dinner, then left. The pay was good for the work, and more importantly, the employer was easygoing; once the tasks were done, that was it, regardless of how she managed her time.

No sooner had Gong Hong left than there was a knock. She wondered if Wang Rui had come over. Knowing how much work there was, Li Cui would surely drag Wang Rui out to help. Without the protection of her parents, Wang Rui couldn't expect to live like a young lady anymore. If her grades were better, that would be another story; Li Cui was counting on using her daughter to turn things around.

“Open up, Qiqi.” Shi Man stood at the door with bags in hand, having waited impatiently. She had seen Aunt Gong downstairs and knew Wang Qiqi was home; even if she’d stepped out briefly, she should have been back by now.

Wang Qiqi recognized Shi Man’s voice and relaxed. She opened the door to find two people outside: Shi Man and Zhu Lina, both laden with bags.

Though finding the amount of luggage strange for a simple visit, Wang Qiqi helped carry the items inside. Some bags were light, but others were quite heavy.

After moving the bags in, Shi Man offered no explanation for the haul and immediately asked, “Can we eat? I’ve been running around all day, I’m dead tired.”

Zhu Lina didn't speak, but her actions conveyed her hunger—she patted her stomach and looked pleadingly at Wang Qiqi.

Wang Qiqi was startled by their gestures. She rushed to the kitchen to assess the remaining food and her heart sank; there truly wasn't enough for four people. “Why didn't you call ahead? I didn't prepare food for you.”

“Don’t you have the small wontons? I know Aunt Gong often makes dumplings, wontons, or shaomai and keeps them frozen, just in case you got hungry late at night and had nothing to eat.” Shi Man had only recently realized how picky Wang Qiqi was—she wouldn't even eat store-bought frozen foods. If Aunt Gong hadn't been there, Shi Man truly worried Wang Qiqi would starve to death, despite being otherwise capable.

Wang Qiqi thought to herself, why would I eat those? Those are snacks. “You eat shaomai?”

Shi Man shrugged; she wasn't keen on rice in the summer anyway. “I’ll boil some porridge and make some shaomai. Lina, do you want some shaomai? Let me tell you, Auntie’s shaomai tastes absolutely incredible.” If she opened a shop, the business would boom, but Shi Man knew that running a business wasn't easy; even a small vendor had their worries. Besides, if Aunt Gong opened a shop, she might not make the food quite as well for the sake of speed.

Porridge with shaomai sounded good. “I’ll go boil the congee.” It wasn't that Wang Qiqi refused to let guests work, but she knew this girl wouldn't contribute much more, and asking her to boil porridge might result in her scorching Wang Qiqi’s pot black—which, while cleanable, would take significant effort.

Shi Man knew Wang Qiqi wouldn't let her work, so she looked around. “Huh, why isn't the Han Tao expert here?” She had managed to convince her parents to agree to her plans by guaranteeing her grades wouldn't slip. Although classmate Wang Qiqi could tutor her, Han Tao was far better.

Wang Qiqi quickly cooked the congee in the pressure cooker. While it wouldn't taste as good as slow-simmered porridge, the two foodies wouldn't care about that. “He has a student today; he probably won’t be home until past five.” Wang Qiqi reflected that compared to him, although she had no parents, she was economically much better off, as she didn't have to hustle for money. “When the congee is done, Han Tao should be coming back too. We’ll eat then. By the way, if you’re hungry, should I boil some wontons for you first?”

Shi Man and the others weren't truly famished; they just wanted to make sure there would be dinner left for them.

After finishing up, Wang Qiqi returned to the living room only to find the pile of bags that had been blocking the doorway gone. Only two school bags and a few shopping totes remained. “Where’s the stuff?”

Wang Qiqi wondered if the two had bought some gifts to thank her for tutoring them previously. This made her quite expectant about what kind of gifts they might be.

“We put everything away,” Shi Man said, glancing at Zhu Lina. “We plan to live here for the next year.”

Zhu Lina nodded in agreement with Shi Man’s suggestion. Honestly, she had been worried at first. Showing up unannounced with luggage was rather impolite, perhaps very impolite, but Shi Man had assured her it would be fine.

Wang Qiqi was stunned, blinking repeatedly at Shi Man and Zhu Lina.

The two women continued nodding at Wang Qiqi. Wang Qiqi realized they might have intentionally sent her away earlier to handle the unpacking. “Let me be clear first: my parents’ master bedroom remains untouched.”

Shi Man nodded. “We know. Anyway, your bed is a huge one-meter-eight size; it’s big enough for the three of us.”

“And we will cover the living expenses,” Zhu Lina added, raising her hand. Although her family worried about her future, Zhu Lina felt this might be her last chance for indulgence. She didn't want to miss it. She hadn't expected that as her high school career ended, she would make two friends. Even though they had known each other for over a year, their bond wasn't deep. Yet, she found their relationship strengthening precisely as she clung to them insistently.