"Buying a house?" Wang Qiqi's casual remark startled the Song siblings and Gong Peixing. Song Yao instinctively licked her lips, then glanced at Gong Peixing, noting his stunned silence. "Qiqi, you know buying a house costs a fortune." Song Yao and Gong Peixing had actually considered handling the housing situation themselves. "You also know that the work unit doesn't allocate housing anymore, and even if they did, who knows when it would be our turn."

"What if your in-laws are willing to contribute a portion, and then you look into a bank loan?" Wang Qiqi suggested, though she was merely offering an idea.

Song Yao pondered this. She knew such a major decision wasn't one she and Gong Peixing could make alone; the most crucial step was gaining the approval of her future in-laws, Gong Peixing's parents. "Do you mind if I come over to your place later?" Of course, before that, Song Yao needed to consult with Wang Qiqi and then make a final decision with Gong Peixing. "Are you coming?"

Gong Peixing thought for a moment. "Sure."

"Ziwen, you come too," Song Yao turned and instructed Song Ziwen. It wasn't that she was being domineering; it was simply a habit formed since childhood, always telling her younger brother what to do.

Song Ziwen pointed to himself. "Me? Why?" Good heavens, he wasn't the one getting married, nor was he the one buying the house; what business did he have going there? "I... I have plans." He had arranged to play mahjong with friends today; how could he bear to trade that fun time for listening to boring talk about mortgages?

When Song Yao heard her brother mention plans, she narrowed her eyes. "You have plans? What plans could you possibly have? Are you meeting someone to play mahjong again? I told you not to go. Your friends are probably ganging up on you, maybe even colluding to cheat you out of money." Song Yao couldn't believe her little brother’s luck at mahjong could be consistently that bad, losing money every time.

In the past, when his sister said things like this, Song Ziwen would have simply stayed quiet—not out of obedience, but because he usually admitted his sister made sense. But this time, Song Ziwen shook his finger. "Sister, my luck has been great recently. I won quite a bit back, covering all my previous losses, and even made a little extra. I plan to win some more this time." Since his luck was good, why not press his advantage?

Wang Qiqi listened to their exchange, looking at the clueless Song Ziwen. In truth, even if he lost now, the stakes weren't very high, as the mahjong games were casual. But after winning a few rounds, his friends would inevitably suggest raising the stakes—that was the beginning of Song Ziwen’s nightmare. "Mahjong, mahjong... there's always a winner and a loser; you can't just keep winning or losing. And when the small pots add up, someone suggests a bigger bet for more excitement. But that usually means losing much more, leaving no chance to recover—look at our uncle, for example." Wang Qiqi didn't need to cite external examples; Wang Dagui was the most readily available case study. "Brother, do you think you have a backer ready to bail you out if you lose big?"

"Exactly! I told you not to gamble. If you have money, you might as well lend it to me, your sister. You wouldn't want your sister living in such a cramped room after marriage, would you? And you wouldn't want to see your future grandson growing up in such a small space, would you?" Song Yao suddenly realized; the only reason her brother gambled was because he had spare cash. If she borrowed all that money, what would he do? "Worst comes to worst, I’ll pay you back with bank interest."

Song Ziwen saw his sister wanting to borrow money and felt too embarrassed to refuse. When they were kids, their parents were busy with work, and his sister always took care of him. After she started working, she often used part of her modest salary to buy him the martial arts novels he loved to read. Back then, he promised he would repay her kindness. But now... "But I don't have that much money." Although their parents didn't take his salary, he still had to cover his living expenses, plus his own spending habits. And since Song Ziwen was always extravagant, even with a higher salary than Song Yao, he might not have saved as much as she had.

"Not much is still money. We can pool our resources later." Thinking this, Song Yao suddenly remembered someone—how could she forget such a person? She turned to look at Wang Qiqi.

Wang Qiqi hadn't expected Song Yao to set her sights on her. Was this a miscalculation on her part? She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Let's discuss it when we get back." This wasn't the right place for serious talk; after all, Li Cui’s gaze was already drifting in their direction.

Li Cui honestly didn't care what the younger ones were discussing, but she noticed the Song siblings chatting animatedly with Wang Qiqi, while her own daughter, Wang Rui, sat off to the side eating quietly. In Li Cui’s eyes, this looked like the four of them ganging up on her daughter. "Qiqi, what were you talking about? You should have included your sister. Although just now..."

Wang Qiqi felt like she was being unfairly blamed. "We were talking about some fun things that happened on my recent trip. Sister Yao Yao also asked Xiao Rui about things, but it seemed like Xiao Rui was preoccupied and took a long time to respond." Look at your own daughter, she thought. With her aloof attitude, who would enjoy talking to her when she acts like speaking to you is a favor she's bestowing? None of us are masochists.

"Exactly, Auntie, we wanted to talk to Xiao Rui, but she was swinging between happy and angry, sitting by herself lost in thought. What could we do?" Song Yao spoke frankly. "Auntie, please don't put too much pressure on Xiao Rui. Good grades are important, but health is more crucial."

"That's right. Sometimes too much pressure snaps a nerve, and big problems can arise," Song Ziwen added with genuine seriousness.

Wang Qiqi couldn't help but stifle a laugh seeing Song Ziwen looking so earnest. She glanced at Li Cui and noticed the muscles in her face twitching. "I think Xiao Rui is probably just thinking about homework. Xiao Rui, didn't you say you were going to QD over the summer? Was it fun?" Wang Qiqi quickly steered the conversation, worried that provoking Li Cui further might cause her to snap first. "I visited QD last year; the scenery there is nice. Did you go to the seaside? And the seafood there is excellent. I went to the coast this time too..." Wang Qiqi smoothly diverted the atmosphere back to pleasantries.

Li Cui shot a few sharp glances at Wang Rui before returning to her chat with Wang Damei. Wang Rui, despite not wanting to join the little clique of Song Yao and the others, felt compelled to. However, in her view, the topic they were discussing held no importance compared to the issues she needed to resolve. Furthermore, the dominant figures in their four-person conversation were Song Yao and Wang Qiqi, which made Wang Rui uninterested in participating. If the center of attention were Wang Rui, she would gladly join. Moreover, Wang Rui kept sensing that Wang Qiqi's gaze toward her that evening was strangely knowing, as if Wang Qiqi already foresaw the choice she was about to make. But even if Wang Qiqi knew, if she succeeded in securing a ticket [presumably to a desired status/outcome], the road ahead would undoubtedly be paved with stardom. Then she could flaunt new, expensive clothes daily right in front of Wang Qiqi. Hmph, what's a few hundred thousand in compensation money? The betrothal gifts from the Gao family might amount to that much anyway.

Wang Qiqi was surprised that a few glances from her had led Wang Rui’s imagination down such a dramatic path. However, if she had known Wang Rui was thinking this way, Wang Qiqi would have certainly increased the frequency of her glances to one every minute just to provoke her further.

After dinner, everyone dispersed, though this was done in front of Wang Dagui. Song Yao didn't want the news spreading by that big mouth before she had made a formal decision about whether she should buy the house or not.

When Wang Qiqi returned home, she turned on the air conditioning, set out some fruit, and settled onto the sofa to read, awaiting their arrival to discuss the matter.

Ding-dong, ding-dong. Wang Qiqi had only read a few pages when she heard the doorbell ring. She grabbed her book and went to open the door. She was startled by who she saw standing outside. "Auntie, Uncle, why haven't you gone back?" Wang Qiqi hadn't expected Wang Damei and her husband to come over. Song Yao had mentioned keeping the matter secret from her parents before they left. How could they have changed their minds so quickly?

Wang Damei hadn't planned on coming over either. However, all three young people had said they would be returning late because they had things to discuss. Combined with the fact that the four of them had been chatting so happily at the dinner table, and the exchange of looks as they left, Wang Damei grew suspicious. She suspected the four of them were secretly plotting how to pressure her and Song Wenbo into agreeing to Song Yao and Gong Peixing's marriage. Although the three denied it, Wang Damei insisted on following them. "You're not happy to see us?" Wang Damei's tone was not pleasant. She was displeased that the four of them seemed to be ganging up to oppose the elders; she considered that going too far.

"Welcome, welcome." Wang Qiqi detected the unhappiness in Wang Damei’s voice and knew she had to usher her in regardless of any lack of welcome. "I'm just very surprised. Uncle, you came too." After they entered, Wang Qiqi exchanged a meaningful look with Song Yao, signaling her concern about how they had ended up bringing the parents along. How could they discuss things now?

Though Wang Damei walked ahead, she knew the younger ones were exchanging silent reproaches. "Hurry up and come in! The air conditioning is on inside. Are you planning to let all the cool air out?" It was much more comfortable at her niece's house. Sitting alone in the living room with the AC running—that was truly wasteful.

Wang Qiqi murmured an "Oh," and signaled Song Yao to go make tea. "Auntie, there are grapes and peaches on the coffee table. Please have some first."

Song Yao, while searching for the tea canister, briefly explained, "Mom doesn't know why we came over, but I guess she assumes the four of us are trying to persuade you to agree to my marriage with Xiao Gong."

"Well, that's pretty much what it is, right?" Wang Qiqi knew that if Song Yao could secure a house when she married, they would certainly agree. Wang Qiqi understood Wang Damei's perspective: Gong Peixing has two sons, so it's natural for the parents to favor the younger one. If they couldn't secure their daughter's interests at the time of marriage, they would never secure them later. Perhaps when Gong Peixing's younger brother married, his parents would buy him a house, and the marital home for Song Yao would become the elders' property, subject to future division. This would leave Song Yao at the greatest disadvantage. From Gong Peixing's perspective, Wang Damei’s concern demonstrated a lack of trust in his family. And, as the subsequent events proved, Wang Damei’s worries were correct.