For the last three days, Wang Qiqi had rested quite well, and Shi Man and Zhulina had also managed to get some rest. Of course, their rest couldn't compare to Wang Qiqi's, but it was certainly much better than that of many other classmates.

Han Tao, with his schoolbag slung over his shoulder, left his house under his mother's escort. "Mom, you should rest well at home. Just treat it like an ordinary exam."

Luo Hongjuan looked up at her son, who was now taller than her, and patted his shoulder. "Do well on the exam, and double-check your answers."

Han Tao nodded. "Got it, Mom. Just wait at home for my good news."

Luo Hongjuan actually wanted to escort her son to the examination hall. She knew that many parents, even if they didn't wait outside the venue for their children to finish, would at least see them off. However, her son had mentioned that someone would be driving them to the test site, so Luo Hongjuan dropped the idea.

Wang Qiqi and the other two girls walked out, holding up a video camera and filming as they went. Naturally, Wang Qiqi was the main focus. "Mom, Dad, today is the second most important exam of my life—the Gaokao. Don't worry. Your daughter, that is, me, will certainly achieve excellent results. Just wait for my good news." Wang Qiqi even deliberately made a V-sign with her fingers.

After saying this, Wang Qiqi noticed the upstairs neighbor coming down and freezing upon seeing her antics. She rubbed her head. "I just want to capture the important moments of my life to show my parents later."

The upstairs neighbor closed his mouth, which had dropped open in surprise. After a moment, seemingly having processed the situation, he said, "If your parents were here, they would definitely be taking you to the hall. By the way, Qiqi, I wish you all great scores. And Han Tao, you too."

"We will, thank you, Uncle," Wang Qiqi replied, glancing at the time. "Alright, let's go."

Luo Hongjuan walked the four children downstairs and spotted a black sedan waiting. She had initially assumed that the "someone driving them" her son mentioned was just a hired taxi, but she hadn't expected a private car. Luo Hongjuan looked at the other two girls, genuinely surprised that these sweet-talking young ladies came from such affluent families. However, it was just a fleeting thought. She never believed her son needed to marry into wealth to succeed, as people would gossip, and Luo Hongjuan firmly believed her son would succeed on his own merits, regardless of his wife's financial standing. "Be careful on the road, and take your time with the exam. Qiqi, you too."

"Mom, go back and get some more sleep. It's okay, I will focus completely on the test." Han Tao looked at his mother, who had stayed up half the night chatting with his late father's spirit, praying for a good exam result, and then sat by his father's photograph until dawn, preparing him a "one-hundred-percent" breakfast.

Luo Hongjuan hummed, watching the car start up and roar away. As she walked back upstairs, she deliberately looked around, not seeing Wang Dagui and his wife. She sighed inwardly. She hadn't expected that girl Qiqi would be heading off to the Gaokao with none of her immediate relatives there to see her off, not even Wang Dagui and his wife from the same complex—those who should have acted as elders.

Wang Qiqi sat in the car with her eyes closed. She knew no one would come to see her off for the Gaokao. Her aunt had called yesterday to say her whole family had to work overtime and couldn't make it to the hall, asking Qiqi not to mind. Wang Qiqi thought to herself that she had nothing to mind about them not coming; compared to her uncle, her aunt was better, at least she made a call. But perhaps it was for the best; if they had shown up, that would have been a real hassle.

Shi Man and Zhulina also closed their eyes, trying to review key concepts. Although they had taken more time off recently, thanks to Wang Qiqi's influence, they were still a bit anxious. Alas, you regret not studying enough only when you need the knowledge most. "Qiqi, I'm really worried. I feel like there are areas I haven't reviewed," Shi Man said anxiously, grasping Wang Qiqi's hand.

Though Zhulina remained silent, the way she nodded beside them showed she felt much the same.

Wang Qiqi patted their hands. "If you haven't covered it, neither have those people. Relax. Your foundations are actually quite solid now. Lina, have you forgotten your score from the last mock exam?" Everyone had been stunned by Zhulina's results in that mock test; she had improved her total score by forty points. Considering Zhulina's grades were already decent, gaining forty points was extraordinary.

"But that was just a mock exam. If I could improve by forty points in the Gaokao too, how wonderful that would be," Zhulina thought, wondering if a forty-point jump was truly feasible. "And, coincidentally, the topics on that exam were all things I knew well."

"Have some faith in yourself," Han Tao said, turning around from the front seat. "If you don't know it, maybe they don't either. But if you panic and they stay calm, you'll definitely be the one who loses."

Han Tao turned his head back and noticed how exceptionally quiet Wang Qiqi was, sitting there calmly comforting the two unsettled girls. If it weren't for Wang Qiqi's age, Han Tao would have thought she had already gone through one Gaokao.

"Exactly. Be quiet. The more composed you are, the more it makes people around you nervous," Wang Qiqi admitted that what she was saying might sound a bit unkind, but right now, she couldn't worry about that. "Xiao Man, Lina, will your parents be waiting for you at the school gate?"

Shi Man shook her head. "They said they would wait for me at the gate yesterday, but I refused. It's just an exam." Shi Man thought that she was probably anxious enough already; if they showed up, nagging her with endless reminders, she'd only get more flustered. "I arranged to go home directly with them after the last day."

Having lived at Qiqi's place for nearly a year, Shi Man was already starting to miss her own single room. Plus, the exam was over, and she needed to go home and properly debrief her family on her exam experience. Of course, all the distant relatives would also be crowding around, eager to ask how she did.

"I didn't ask them to come either; besides, they are busy," Zhulina chimed in. "After my exams are done, I need to go out and explore for a bit." Her father had already made it clear: since she was unwilling to study abroad and insisted on staying in the country for university, starting the day the Gaokao ended, she would have to follow him closely to gradually familiarize herself with the family business, a condition Zhulina had already agreed to.

"So, when are we heading to Jingcheng?" Shi Man asked. She had heard Zhulina mention it once before, but right now, her primary concern was the living situation for the three of them after university—this was paramount to the quality of their future university life. Since the three of them were studying two different majors, it was clear they wouldn't share a dorm room. This displeased Shi Man; if they got good roommates, fine, but if they ended up with a bad one, it would be like running into the worst luck imaginable.

"Once the acceptance letters arrive," Zhulina declared grandly. "That's not an issue at all. I already settled it with my parents: if I get into C University, they will buy an apartment for me in a nearby complex."

Zhulina felt a bit sheepish about leaving out the detail that her father had initially offered her a car for commuting to classes, which Zhulina declined as being too ostentatious. However, she gladly accepted the apartment. After working hard for over a year, if her results were genuinely good, accepting a reward of property from her parents was warranted.

An apartment? In Jingcheng? Shi Man felt like she couldn't catch her breath. Surely apartments in Jingcheng wouldn't be cheap? "Down with the local tyrants! Qiqi, I regret it, I truly regret it," Shi Man clutched her heart, feeling immense regret, regretting it deeply.

Wang Qiqi also nodded with a pained expression. "I regret it too. I truly regret it." Damn it, receiving an apartment as a reward for getting into university—even ten years later, this would be an incredible bonus. Although property prices weren't exorbitant now, the wage gap wasn't that vast either. Wang Qiqi knew the small amount of money she had wouldn't allow her to maximize her profits if she tried to buy property now; prices wouldn't skyrocket drastically in the next couple of years, but the stock market looked ripe for a massive bull run that Wang Qiqi definitely didn't want to miss. However, that was a topic for later; right now, their target was a certain local tyrant.

Regret? Zhulina found it strange. What were these two regretting?

"Stop looking, it's you," Shi Man said to Zhulina. "Why didn't I think of how someone here is a local tyrant? If I had known, Qiqi, we should have made the old tyrant treat us to lunch today."

Wang Qiqi pinched her chin and nodded. "Not just lunch. Everything we eat, drink, use, wear, and play with should be the responsibility of this person."

"Exactly! How about this: Lina, you treat us to a round-the-world trip," Shi Man said, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. A round-the-world trip—what a marvelous thing.

A round-the-world trip? Zhulina really wanted to shout, 'Sister, I haven't even traveled around the world myself!' "Alas, I am also poor, you know. How about this: you two can move in, and I won't charge rent."

"You were actually planning to charge rent?" Shi Man and Wang Qiqi shouted in unison. "No wonder they say the richer people are, the stingier they are! I never believed it before, but seeing you, Lina, I finally understand that saying is true."

"Then how about a different way to apologize? I will cover the expenses for this trip to Jingcheng, okay?" Zhulina quickly offered an alternative way to atone.

"Now that's more like it," Wang Qiqi replied haughtily.

With the three of them joking around, Shi Man and Zhulina's tightly wound nerves suddenly eased considerably. As Han Tao got out of the car, he gave Wang Qiqi a thumbs-up, and Wang Qiqi returned an OK sign. In truth, even if she wanted to ease their tension, Shi Man and the others had to be willing to play along with her line of conversation. (To be continued)