The three of them politely declined offers of help from kind strangers, choosing instead to pore over an operations manual themselves. Naturally, they also managed to purchase their stocks. By a little after two o'clock, the trio successfully withdrew. The reason they lingered until this hour was because Wang Qiqi insisted on waiting to see if their stocks had yielded any profit.

Just as Wang Qiqi and the others reached the stairwell, they ran into Meng Fei. “Are you heading back?” Meng Fei had just been called into the office by her superior. Previously, when her manager called her, she would feel a pang of anxiety, worried she’d hear bad news. But today, when the manager summoned her, for the first time, she felt surprisingly unafraid. As expected, in the office, Meng Fei heard the manager announce that she was being made a full employee. This news brought tears to Meng Fei’s eyes, as she had held onto this hope for a full year. In fact, Meng Fei had considered giving up several times, thinking she should just find a new job. But every time that thought surfaced, she dismissed it. She knew her true ambition was to become a stock trader, so she refused to quit. She never expected that just before the manager issued his final ultimatum, she would actually accomplish her goal.

Wang Qiqi nodded. “Yes, Miss Meng, we’ve taken care of everything. Thank you so much for your help today.” Wang Qiqi thought to herself that without her assistance, even opening the accounts would have taken until two o’clock. After two o’clock, the stocks were already beginning to rise. Although the ascent wasn't fast—just a dime up—for Wang Qiqi, that dime might just cover their taxes.

“You’re welcome. To be honest, I should be thanking you,” Meng Fei thought. This was her job anyway, and the final outcome helped both them and herself—it was mutually beneficial.

Thanking us? Wang Qiqi paused, surprised. “Then, in the future, if you happen to hear any inside tips, I wonder if you could share one or two?” Wang Qiqi didn't believe there was much chance Meng Fei had actual insider information. And even if she did, would she really share it?

Meng Fei hadn't expected Wang Qiqi to be so direct about asking for tips. She smiled faintly. “I’m sorry, I’m just a very low-level employee; I don’t get access to inside information. And even if I did, I couldn't tell you. Not every tip is accurate, after all.”

Wang Qiqi hadn’t anticipated Meng Fei’s blunt response. While it sounded a bit harsh, it was certainly better than some vague, noncommittal answer. “Just joking, Miss Meng. But may I ask a favor of you? Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to do anything that violates your professional conduct.”

Despite Wang Qiqi’s reassurance, Meng Fei remained cautious. She figured that whatever Wang Qiqi was about to ask, if it required her to ask for a favor, it was likely more than just casual gossip.

Wang Qiqi quickly recited a stock ticker symbol. “Could I trouble you, Miss Meng, to tell me the opening price, closing price, highest price, and lowest price for this stock each day, along with its daily trading volume?” Wang Qiqi mused that right now, she could trade in and out of stocks daily, but once school started, especially when military training began, she might not be able to keep up with the market. Truthfully, even if she invested all her money right now, while Wang Qiqi had studied the trends over the past ten-plus days—the fluctuations weren't huge, but they were frequent—she wasn't sure if this indicated the stock was being shaken out or if the major players had already accumulated most of the shares. Still, gathering information was essential.

Meng Fei let out a breath of relief when she heard what Wang Qiqi was asking for. “Okay, no problem. How should I relay this information to you?”

Wang Qiqi thought for a moment. She wanted to buy a mobile phone, but the question was: even if she bought one, would she be allowed to use it at school? Absolutely not. Maybe a pager then? At least that would last her three or four years. “Could you perhaps write it down in a notebook for now? Because school starts in a few days, and we’ll have military training.” Of course, Wang Qiqi didn't think Meng Fei was obligated to do something so detailed for her; she wasn't her broker, and she certainly wasn't offering payment. “If it’s inconvenient for you…”

Meng Fei cut her off quickly. “It’s not inconvenient at all. I actually study stock trends myself sometimes. It’s just one extra record. Don’t worry.” It was barely an effort and wouldn't take up much of her time.

Wang Qiqi hadn't realized Meng Fei also studied the market. But then again, people working at a brokerage firm—how many truly wanted to stay on the front lines forever? Every soldier dreams of being a general. “It seems I asked the right person. Thank you again.”

“It’s nothing.” After seeing Wang Qiqi and the others off, Meng Fei reread the slip of paper in her hand. She had memorized the stock code and company name written there. However, Meng Fei found it quite strange. Why did this girl only want her to track this single stock? Meng Fei was familiar with this stock before, but she didn't think its performance would be particularly strong, although it could certainly be traded for short-term gains.

Although Meng Fei found it odd, she carefully tucked the note away. She noticed that after lunch that day, when she returned to the front desk, the gazes of the people around her seemed a bit strange. Well, they had all approached her directly, vying for the same contract. They were all on equal footing regarding whether they would land the account, but luck had landed it with her, and it wasn't a small order. It was natural for them to feel a little envious. Their reaction made Meng Fei feel the cruelty of the adult world for the first time.

“The manager told me I’m being promoted to full status.” Although everyone was a bit bitter about Meng Fei suddenly securing such a large account, they couldn't afford to sour their relationship with her right away. Seeing Meng Fei return, they asked with concern, “How was it?”

Meng Fei nodded. “Yes, it was. Thank you so much for your help this lunchtime. I’ll treat everyone to dinner this weekend.” Nuan Nuan was right. Even if she had been a top student in school with a sharp mind, she wasn't studying anymore; she was working now and needed to adapt to society and the interpersonal dynamics of this workplace, not rely on old habits. Nuan Nuan had also mentioned that since she was beautiful, they wouldn't dare treat her too badly even if they had complaints. It seemed Nuan Nuan was right again. Although Meng Fei hated that people focused more on her appearance than her grades, she couldn't deny that if she weren't so attractive, the manager likely would have shown her the door already.

Since the beauty offered to treat everyone to a meal, naturally, no one expressed any negativity. They all cheerfully confirmed they would attend on the weekend.

“Let’s go buy some fruit. I think we bought salad dressing yesterday, right? We can make something light tonight—I’ll whip up a few side dishes, and we can have congee at home.” Although eating out was convenient, Wang Qiqi always felt that food prepared outside was a bit greasy, and she craved something light for dinner.

“How about Qiqi, you make some braised chicken wings and feet?” Shi Man’s mouth watered just thinking about the braised snacks Wang Qiqi made before the college entrance exams. Although Wang Qiqi wasn’t a frequent cook, the food she made was excellent.

“Right, Qiqi, and make that dressed cucumber salad too.” Zhu Lina had never imagined that cucumber peelings could taste so good, though, truthfully, the dressed salad was mostly about the seasoning. Even though Zhu Lina had tried to learn how to dress it by following Wang Qiqi, she always felt it wasn’t as delicious as Qiqi’s version.

“Okay. Oh, and we need to go to the supermarket to buy ingredients for a dessert.” Although they had been shopping frequently over the past two days, they had only bought necessities. Even though Wang Qiqi remembered wanting dessert ingredients, every time she entered the supermarket and saw the cart filling up with other items, she forgot about them. “Oh, and we need to buy sunscreen. We might need it for military training in a few days.”

It seemed there wasn't much post-sunburn repair stuff available right now, but Wang Qiqi had already bought several aloe vera plants to keep at home, hoping that after military training, during the National Day holiday, she could dedicate time to treating her skin. Of course, diligent sun protection beforehand was crucial.

“That’s not urgent; we can buy it tomorrow.” Zhu Lina thought for a moment. “We need to buy the highest SPF available, which means we have to go to the department store. I always feel the quality of the ones at the supermarket isn't good enough.” Although Zhu Lina wasn't very old, her standards for skincare were quite high. She would insist on buying L'Oréal even for a simple jar of cream. Perhaps this brand is commonplace in a later era, even selling in supermarkets, but at this time, it was considered quite good—at least in Wang Qiqi’s opinion, it was better than Oil of Olay.

“Perfect, I need to buy some skincare products too. I wonder how much darker I’ll get during this military training.” Shi Man remembered they needed to go to the department store for sunscreen when Zhu Lina mentioned it, realizing her own moisturizer and toner were also running low.

“I don’t really care,” Wang Qiqi thought. Sunscreens nowadays were all pretty much the same; few were waterproof. Once you were under the sun and started sweating, the sunscreen would just wash right off.

A few days before school started, Han Tao also arrived in the capital city and naturally stayed in the guest room at Zhu Lina’s place. Han Tao had originally planned to arrive just before school began, but he unexpectedly received a new private tutoring job offer.

“Ah, you mean there’s someone in the capital city looking for you to tutor?” Han Tao had only just arrived in the capital and hadn't even finished unpacking when he explained why he had arrived early, which completely stunned Wang Qiqi. “You can’t possibly be that popular, can you?” They were both working to fund their education, so why was Han Tao’s reputation so stellar, while Wang Qiqi had found tutoring so difficult in her past life?

Han Tao smiled, took the water Shi Man handed him, thanked her, and drank more than half the glass in one go. “It’s not necessarily that. I have to go to the client's house for a trial session of a few days. Actually, it was recommended by a parent of one of my former tutoring students. He knew I was coming to the capital for university and asked about my plans. When he heard I was planning to earn my own tuition and living expenses, he offered to ask around among his former university classmates who live in the capital, as their son wasn't doing very well academically.”

Wang Qiqi finally understood. It was an introduction through an acquaintance. But having an introduction was definitely much better than standing outside a university or Xinhua Bookstore holding a sheet of A4 paper advertising tutoring services. Moreover, Han Tao had a good track record tutoring back in his hometown, so the pay for this job probably wouldn't be low either. “It seems capable people never have trouble finding work, wherever they go.”

(To be continued)