"Qi Qi?" Wang Rui trailed behind Gao Kai and the others as they left the library, habitually scanning her surroundings when she spotted a few familiar figures. The most familiar, of course, was Wang Qiqi—wasn't she usually at home studying?

Gao Kai hadn't intended to pay any mind to Wang Rui, but upon hearing her mention Qi Qi, he wondered if Wang Qiqi had also come to the library to study. However, he hadn't seen Wang Qiqi in the study hall.

Wang Qiqi walked along, discussing math problems with Shi Man. Inside the reading room, the three of them barely spoke; if they needed to communicate, it was through passing small notes. How could they discuss math problems like this?

Zhu Lina was memorizing English vocabulary. "Qi Qi, your sister and Gao Kai are at the entrance." Zhu Lina looked up toward the front and realized she had run into Gao Kai's group. Moreover, Qiqi's sister, Wang Rui, was mixed in with them. Since when were those few people on such good terms?

Zhu Lina truly couldn't understand. Hadn't Gao Kai embarrassed himself several times precisely because of Wang Rui? How could he still be associating with her? There must be something going on.

Wang Qiqi heard Zhu Lina mention seeing Wang Rui with Gao Kai, but she didn't lift her head, continuing her discussion with Shi Man. Wang Rui walking with Gao Kai was their business.

Since Wang Qiqi was so composed, Shi Man certainly wasn't going to feel upset; she just kept discussing the problems with Wang Qiqi. After all, the people over there were all people she disliked anyway.

Wang Rui had expected Wang Qiqi to greet her upon seeing her, but she never imagined Qiqi would act as if she hadn't noticed, still engrossed in discussing problems.

"Jiejie, you're studying here too." Wang Rui had silently cursed Wang Qiqi countless times in her mind, but when Wang Qiqi walked up to her, she still offered a cheerful greeting.

Wang Qiqi put on a look of great surprise upon hearing Wang Rui speak, "Xiao Rui, you're here studying today too?"

Then, spotting Gao Kai, Wang Qiqi smiled at him. "Gao Kai, what a coincidence, you're here studying too."

She greeted Gao Kai and took the opportunity to greet others she knew. Regardless of their attitude toward her, one shouldn't be rude to a smiling face. If she didn't greet them, it would be another piece of evidence against her. She didn't expect to get closer to Gao Kai's circle, nor did she expect them to speak well of her; she just hoped they wouldn't speak ill of her.

Gao Kai hadn't expected Wang Qiqi to greet him. "Hello, Qiqi. Didn't you usually avoid coming to the library to read? By the way, why didn't I see you studying in the reading hall?" Gao Kai thought it was impossible he could have missed the three of them.

"The study hall was full, so we just found a place to sit down and study." Wang Qiqi thought that if it hadn't been for the power outage today, she wouldn't have come here. If she had known they would be leaving for lunch at this time, she really should have delayed leaving the building a bit longer.

Gao Kai could tell Wang Qiqi was actually trying to avoid him. "The study hall was full"—though it was crowded, there were certainly three empty seats available. "Are you heading out for lunch?"

Wang Qiqi nodded. "Yes, we're planning to have hot pot." Wang Qiqi stated this generously. She knew a certain someone disliked hot pot—not because of the lingering smell on clothes, but because eating hot pot felt a bit beneath the status of a young master whose family owned a restaurant.

Hot pot? Gao Kai hesitated. He had originally intended to ask Wang Qiqi to lunch, but he hadn't expected her to suggest hot pot. This left Gao Kai unsure what to do. If he went, he felt the atmosphere of a hot pot restaurant wasn't suitable for him; but if he didn't go, he didn't want to give up such a good opportunity.

"Jie, Gao Kai said he’s treating us to Korean BBQ." Wang Rui noticed Gao Kai's expression shifting repeatedly and knew he probably wanted to go for hot pot with Wang Qiqi.

Korean BBQ—that was high-priced food. She hadn't expected Gao Kai to treat them to that. Considering the number of people, three or four hundred wouldn't cover it. "BBQ sounds great, eat plenty," Wang Qiqi cheerfully commented, happy that someone else had decided on their midday meal. "We're off to eat hot pot then."

Wang Qiqi waved, calling Shi Man and Zhu Lina to go eat hot pot with her. Hahaha, she finally wouldn't have to see people she didn't want to see at noon.

"Korean BBQ is quite good, eat a lot. I remember there’s a really nice Korean barbecue place nearby." As Wang Qiqi and her group started to leave, Zhu Lina turned back and said to them, "We ate there yesterday too, the taste was excellent. The pork belly, especially that premium cut, even though it’s pricier, the flavor after grilling is definitely much better than regular pork belly."

Zhu Lina covered her mouth as she walked away. She wouldn't admit she had said that deliberately. A serving of premium pork belly cost about forty to fifty percent more than the regular cut—this would surely make the young Master Gao dig deep into his pockets.

Wang Qiqi and Shi Man continued discussing their problems and didn't notice Zhu Lina trailing behind them until they heard someone panting. "What were you doing?"

"I just told them we ate at that barbecue place," Zhu Lina said, covering her mouth.

We ate at that barbecue place? Wang Qiqi and Shi Man exchanged glances. When had they gone there? "In our dreams," they said in unison.

Zhu Lina shook her head. "We didn't. I went there a few months ago with my cousin and some others. Five of us spent seven or eight hundred yuan that time."

When Wang Qiqi and Shi Man heard the price Zhu Lina quoted, they looked at each other and then both burst out laughing. "How many people were around Gao Kai just now?"

Shi Man thought for a moment. "I don't remember exactly, but at least ten people, right?" Even if they wouldn't order the expensive items like Zhu Lina's group, someone was bound to suggest the premium pork belly after hearing how good it was, and naturally, comparing the two, the premium cut would taste better. And for the sake of face, if someone suggested ordering the premium pork belly, would Gao Kai object?

"If he runs out of money, with so many people eating, and Gao Kai can't foot the bill, aren't there others there?" Wang Qiqi figured those rich young masters and ladies would definitely cover the cost.

Shi Man agreed. "Let's go eat hot pot now, and we can go try the BBQ tonight." They could take the opportunity to taste the delicious premium pork belly Zhu Lina mentioned.

"No problem. I'll page Aunt Gong later to let her know not to prepare dinner for us this afternoon." Wang Qiqi nodded; eating BBQ sounded nice too. "And send a message to Han Tao while you're at it."

Aunt Luo now worked a full day shift, and the daytime helper also worked as a cleaner. To save her the trouble, Han Tao had told her to rest more, saying he would handle dinner himself, plus Wang Qiqi and the others would cook dinner for Han Tao too.

"Okay." Shi Man didn't mind if there was one extra person for dinner, but then she suddenly thought of something. "Will Han Tao feel awkward? Eating at home before was one thing, but now that we’re eating out, Han Tao will definitely need to pay. Does that mean we can only afford the standard BBQ cuts?"

"Then we’ll split the bill equally." Wang Qiqi knew Han Tao wasn't without money. "At worst, we just order the cheaper items."

"Ah." Zhu Lina was about to protest that this meant none of them could order the premium items—the regular cuts were nowhere near as good as the premium ones—when she quickly changed her mind. "I'll cover the premium cuts. The three of you can cover the regular ones."

Wang Qiqi rubbed her full stomach as she walked out of the hot pot restaurant, sighing with satisfaction. "Eating hot pot is really nice; you just put in whatever you want to eat without worrying if the person across the table likes it or not."

Shi Man nodded in agreement. "If you like spicy, eat spicy; if you like light soup, eat light soup. It’s just that your clothes end up smelling like hot pot." Honestly, that smell was quite unpleasant.

After exchanging a few words with Shi Man about how hearty their lunch had been, Wang Qiqi and Shi Man resumed discussing math problems, while Zhu Lina went back to reciting her English vocabulary.

The three of them were in good spirits, but that good mood only lasted until they returned to the library entrance. "Jiejie, you're back?" Although Wang Rui's expression wasn't great, when she caught the scent of hot pot emanating from Wang Qiqi's group, her nose wrinkled, and she immediately pinched her nose closed.

Wang Qiqi gave Wang Rui a look of disdain. "You're exaggerating. You guys went for BBQ just now, and your clothes probably smell like grilled meat too." Humph, if the grilled meat didn't smell like meat, that would be a bigger problem. "The premium pork belly tasted good, right?"

Wang Qiqi admitted she had said that deliberately. Seeing Gao Kai's face, she knew that meal must have cost him dearly. But it was strange; didn't he have zero allowance? If he ran out of money, he'd just ask his parents. Could it be that he dropped out of the fast track class after the placement exams, so his parents restricted his allowance? Hahaha, that was truly satisfying.

It was better not to mention the pork belly. As soon as the premium pork belly was brought up, Gao Kai and his group’s faces changed, especially Gao Kai’s. "We're going back inside to study." Gao Kai suddenly felt utterly humiliated and rushed inside.

The others forced a strained smile and followed Gao Kai into the library.

Wang Qiqi watched their ghostly expressions, looking puzzledly at Shi Man and the others. "What's wrong? I just asked if the premium pork belly was good; why do they look like they heard something they shouldn't have?"

Zhu Lina had thought she was being quite unscrupulous, but it turned out Wang Qiqi was even more so. "Qi Qi, you're amazing."

Wang Qiqi smiled. She wanted to upset them, just to prevent that person from suggesting studying together later, and to stop him from holding a grudge against her. "Let's get back to studying; time is tight and the workload is heavy." Sigh, the homework assigned every weekend was truly mountainous. "Math takes brainpower; all the other subjects just leave your hands sore."

Shi Man and Zhu Lina also let out long sighs upon hearing Wang Qiqi's words. Ah, this miserable third year of high school had only just begun two months ago, and there were still eight more months to endure.