Shi Man had already left? Wang Qiqi felt quite strange in her heart. Although she wanted to ask more about the situation, the people around Meng Fei wouldn't allow it.

"Qiqi, Manman is back." Just as Wang Qiqi squeezed out of the crowd, she heard Zhu Lina call out. Looking over, Shi Man was indeed standing beside her. "I was wondering where you went." Although this was in a public place, a whole person vanishing was bound to cause some alarm.

Shi Man pulled Wang Qiqi and the others outside and produced a business card. "This person stopped me just now." Shi Man also found the whole thing baffling; she had only come down to pick up some documents and ended up being detained by someone.

Wang Qiqi took the card and looked. "Feng Xuanxiang?" Even though his title was listed, Wang Qiqi found it odd. "What's his intention?" To manage our finances for us? Wang Qiqi didn't believe their current capital would catch the eye of someone like that. Moreover, Wang Qiqi didn't feel the need to hand their money over to them for management; that would incur fees.

Shi Man nodded. "Yes, and he even said the stocks we hold will go up, with at least three to four times the room for growth, and told us not to sell." Shi Man found it extremely strange that someone would say such things to her. Initially, Shi Man thought he was just trying to leverage a connection, perhaps wanting to know why she was holding onto those specific stocks, but unexpectedly, he hadn't asked a single probing question.

Wang Qiqi glanced doubtfully at Zhu Lina, then at Shi Man. "He's quite a strange person." Wang Qiqi wasn't concerned about how Feng Xuanxiang knew about their stock holdings; for someone inside a brokerage firm, obtaining such information shouldn't be difficult. What struck Wang Qiqi as truly odd was, "How did he remember us, and why would he say something like that?"

Wang Qiqi didn't believe their investment volume was significant enough to qualify them as major clients. Although it was 1998, there should still be plenty of wealthy individuals, and they shouldn't have drawn his attention. Furthermore, he hadn't adopted a posture suggestive of recruitment. Instead, he claimed the stocks would rise—she wondered if this counted as professional guidance. "Did you know him before?"

Zhu Lina and Shi Man both shook their heads, denying any prior acquaintance with Feng Xuanxiang. "Truly a strange individual. But never mind him; why should we worry about that?" Shi Man quickly dropped the subject. "What are we doing next?"

"Qiqi is going to get a library card; I plan to get one too. We can visit the library often from now on." Zhu Lina outlined their plans, including Wang Qiqi's.

The library? Shi Man had expected them to at least stop by the dormitory first. She hadn't anticipated the library. "I'll come too." C University’s library wasn't just something Wang Qiqi had always been keen on; Shi Man, upon seeing the exterior of the C University library, had developed a strong interest as well. She had always thought the city library was massive, but C University's was even larger, and reportedly, the reading areas inside were quite vast too. "Oh, I forgot my student ID." Shi Man realized at that moment she hadn't brought her ID. This meant she would be walking herself ragged today: from the school gate to the dorm, then dorm to the library, then the cafeteria, and finally back to the dorm. Shi Man finally understood why, even with lighter course loads, there weren't many overweight students in college.

Zhu Lina also remembered she hadn't brought her student ID. Ugh, thinking about that long distance, she felt a wave of dizziness coming on. "I just remembered something—we should probably buy a bicycle." This topic had actually been brought up before, but after reporting to school, they immediately had military training, and today was their first day of classes, so it slipped their minds.

"Right, right, buy bikes, buy bikes. I want to buy a Giant," Shi Man had always admired a particular model from Giant, priced over nine hundred, but it was expensive, and her parents worried about her cycling to school. So, even though she knew how to ride, she had never owned a bicycle.

A Giant? Wang Qiqi knew Shi Man hadn't forgotten that bike. Certainly, that model was light to ride and stylish, but that also made it a prime target for thieves. Even though this was a university, Wang Qiqi didn't believe petty thieves were few and far between. She recalled buying five bicycles during her four years of college, although the first was new, and the rest were used. The second-hand market near the university was incredibly busy—there were both generic brands and brand names. Where did all these bikes come from? Most were probably stolen, perhaps even belonging to fellow students. "I'll just buy one for a little over a hundred dollars."

A bicycle costing over a hundred? Shi Man frowned. "Wouldn't the quality of that bike be poor?" Of course, the main issue was that it would feel heavy to ride.

"As long as it rides, that's enough. Besides, there might be thieves on campus too," Wang Qiqi explained why she preferred a cheaper bike.

Shi Man pouted. This girl had been rather childish moments ago, and now she was saying something so pragmatic. "I still want to buy a Giant. I have to cycle this far every day; I should treat myself better. And we have money now," she added.

Faced with Shi Man's attitude, Wang Qiqi had only one thought: someone was being too flashy. "Then I'll go buy a bike first?"

Shi Man nodded excitedly. "I'll go get some money first."

After retrieving the cash, Shi Man inquired around and found a Giant dealership not far from the school. Upon entering, Shi Man’s gaze swept around, and she immediately headed in a specific direction. "Can I test ride this one?"

"Certainly." Before the salesperson could introduce the bike's features, a young woman walked in and directly asked for a test ride, which surprised her. However, it also indicated a high probability of a successful sale. Perhaps the customer had already researched the bike's performance elsewhere, or she wouldn't have headed straight for this model upon entering.

Shi Man rode it around once. "I'll take this one." She inspected it thoroughly, checking if the paint was chipped anywhere. Once everything was deemed satisfactory, Shi Man purchased the first Giant bicycle of her life.

After Shi Man’s bike purchase was complete, she saw Wang Qiqi standing next to Zhu Lina, listening to the salesperson's introduction. She thought Qiqi might have changed her mind and decided on a Giant as well. In Shi Man's view, this was entirely normal; Qiqi wasn't short on money, so why ride a shoddy bike?

Zhu Lina bought a Giant bicycle priced over five hundred after listening to the pitch for quite some time, but Wang Qiqi made no move to buy one. This confirmed for Shi Man that Wang Qiqi truly wouldn't buy a Giant. She looked at Wang Qiqi. Alright, she admitted she truly couldn't read Wang Qiqi. Considering that she and Zhu Lina had both bought Giant bicycles, what would Qiqi's roommates think if she bought a bike costing just over a hundred? Shi Man could almost feel the smugness radiating from the Korean beauty just thinking about it.

Wang Qiqi led the two of them through a familiar route to a shop specializing in budget-friendly bicycles. Compared to the spacious and brightly lit Giant dealership, this bike shop occupied a small space. Basically, every visible spot was filled with bikes, and even the aisle was extremely narrow.

Wang Qiqi didn't really want to go inside, nor could she easily enter. After inquiring about prices and test-riding a few models, Wang Qiqi settled on a bicycle. Her requirements weren't high; this bike perfectly met what she needed.

As the three of them, riding their new bicycles, were about to park them in the shed near the dormitory, they saw Bai Ge and a few others emerging from the dorm building. "You're heading out?" Wang Qiqi greeted them first.

Duan Xiaomin nodded. "I finished the books I borrowed a few days ago." She walked up to Wang Qiqi and glanced at Qiqi's bike. While she couldn't discern the brand, she was sure it wasn't a Giant. "You went to buy bikes?"

"Yeah, we have to. The campus is huge—dorm, classrooms, cafeteria, library. I don't want to wear my legs thin," Wang Qiqi said, keeping her student ID with her, so she wasn't planning to go upstairs. Zhu Lina and Shi Man placed their bikes next to Qiqi, leaving them unlocked, and ran upstairs.

"Should we buy bikes too?" Feng Yanjie stared at Shi Man's bike for a long time. She thought if she bought a bike, it should be one like that. "By the way, Qiqi, how much was your bike?"

Wang Qiqi knew from Feng Yanjie's intense focus on Shi Man's bike that she wanted to know Manman's bike's price. "Mine was cheap, 130 including a lock. Manman's was probably over nine hundred, and Lina's was over five hundred." Wang Qiqi didn't just state her and Shi Man's prices; she offered the cost of all three bikes.

Before Wang Qiqi finished speaking, she heard gasps from the group, especially Feng Yanjie, who hadn't expected the bike she admired to be so expensive. "Oh my god, that’s more than a month of my living expenses!" Feng Yanjie knew her living expenses were around the middle range in the dorm, but she hadn't expected it to take a month and a half of her allowance just for a bicycle. "Qiqi, is your bike easy to ride?" Forget it; she might as well buy one like Qiqi’s; it was just for riding around campus anyway.

"It works, but it's not as light to ride as Manman's or Lina's. But that’s the price difference; I couldn't bring myself to buy such an expensive bike," Wang Qiqi answered honestly.

Feng Yanjie nodded in agreement beside her. "Yes, yes." After they confirmed where the bikes were purchased, they all discussed maybe buying bikes that very day so they wouldn't have to leave so early for class the next morning.

By the time Shi Man and Zhu Lina came back down with their student IDs, Feng Yanjie and the others had already left. "Your roommates didn't wait for you?"

"They're going to buy bikes. But Manman, many people liked your bike—too bad it’s so expensive," Wang Qiqi chuckled.

"Can't be helped. It’s expensive, but I like it. Oh right, Qiqi, I heard there’s a nearby garage where we can park them, and someone watches them there," Shi Man mentioned, having heard it from the dorm supervisor. "She said there are still bike thieves and asked if I wanted to store mine there."

"How much per month, and is it close?" Wang Qiqi asked.

"Fifteen, five minutes' walk."

Wang Qiqi heard the security fee. Although it was a bit steep, it sounded like a good arrangement for Shi Man and the others’ bikes. "That’s great. Ah, too bad we didn't know earlier." If she had known, Wang Qiqi guaranteed she would have bought a slightly cheaper Giant model. Alas.