Wang Qiqi rubbed her eyes, staring at the person practically dancing in front of her, and sighed, “It’s just taking a flight, do you have to be this excited?” She vaguely recalled someone mentioning that this person had flown before when accompanying her parents on business trips, so she wasn’t a complete novice. Why the excessive excitement? Maybe when this little one can actually fly a plane herself, she won’t get so worked up about it.

Shi Man of course had flown before. “Isn’t this my first time going abroad, Qiqi? Aren’t you excited?” Juliana had traveled internationally before, so her composure was understandable. But Qiqi had only ever traveled within the country; why wasn't she excited? “Don’t you want to see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Champs-Élysées?”

The thought that she would be in France in less than twenty hours made Shi Man even more thrilled. She wished she were already there, to see how the reality measured up to what she had read in books.

“Yeah, yeah, but girl, our flight isn’t until the afternoon. It’s only a little past seven now.” Wang Qiqi truly had to concede to her. They had talked until one in the morning yesterday, and Qiqi remembered getting up for the restroom around five a.m., noticing the light still on in Shi Man’s room. “You didn’t sleep at all last night, did you?” My goodness, Wang Qiqi thought, is this girl trying to become an immortal?

“I’ll sleep on the plane. Didn't they say we need to adjust to the time difference?” Shi Man looked at Wang Qiqi with disdain, signaling that she hadn't listened to Nana’s advice when she should have, and now she regretted it. “So I plan to sleep on the flight.” Shi Man felt she had planned everything perfectly.

That logic was sound enough, but this person seemed to have forgotten one small detail. “It looks like we arrive in France around evening time. If you sleep really well on the plane, and then you can’t sleep for a few hours after landing, will you actually be able to sleep?” If she could keep sleeping, Wang Qiqi thought, she’d be comparable to some kind of animal. After saying this, Wang Qiqi rolled over and went to sleep, leaving the other person looking somewhat dumbfounded.

Shi Man had been feeling quite smug, thinking that since they were sleeping now, they would be bored on the plane, unable to sleep, and then upon landing, when they wanted to play, too bad—sleepiness would strike. She never expected to be the one making the crucial miscalculation this time, making Shi Man feel like the absolute biggest fool.

Shi Man considered it, realized she couldn't fight the fatigue either, and decided to rest for a bit. She'd sleep for three hours, then sleep another seven or eight on the plane, and use the remaining flight time to chat and read. That way, when they arrived in France, they could eat something, take a short walk around the streets, and then sleep to ensure they were well-rested for shopping the next day.

In truth, Wang Qiqi’s original idea for this first international trip—since everyone except Juliana was a complete novice visiting France—was to at least wander around the Parisian surroundings. Provence would have been ideal, of course. In her previous life, Wang Qiqi had longed to see the lavender fields in France, but in the end, she never managed to visit Provence, or even Hokkaido in Japan, or the lavender fields in Xinjiang. However, Juliana mentioned that since it was everyone’s first time, they didn’t know if they could move the procured goods; if they couldn't sell them, those items would become dead stock. Although they had made substantial money in the stock market, Juliana insisted that capital meant for earning more money couldn't be wasted. Consequently, Wang Qiqi’s first trip abroad, her first journey to France, completely transformed into a procurement trip.

Since it had devolved into a shopping expedition, far removed from Wang Qiqi’s initial vision, how could she possess the same level of excitement and desire as Shi Man? She viewed it merely as a journey of over ten hours to source goods, transport them back, and make money. While others moved merchandise via long-distance buses or trains, their method was more upscale—an airplane. But the problem was, it wasn't comfortable; they were in economy class, not first. Wang Qiqi had completely lost faith in the glamorous idea of an overseas trip. If it weren't for the motivation of 'Grandpa Mao' (money), Wang Qiqi estimated she would have declared, "I'm not doing this anymore."

Wang Qiqi didn't slowly drag herself out of bed until noon. After eating a little something, she noticed Shi Man still hadn't woken up, even though Wang Qiqi had called out to her earlier, and she had agreed to get up.

Wang Qiqi returned to the room to find the person who had just agreed to rise rolling over to continue sleeping. “We have to leave now, or we’ll be late.” Although there were still several hours before takeoff, she worried about potential issues on the road or problems during baggage check-in.

Shi Man felt like she had only just fallen asleep when she heard the sound of someone calling her name. She mumbled a response and tried to roll back over, assuming it was Qiqi retaliating for being woken up early that morning. But soon after, she heard the sound of rolling suitcase wheels. She panicked, scrambling out of bed. “Is it time already?” Impossible. Shi Man was worried that if she didn't get up right away, the others truly wouldn't wait for her.

Juliana leaned against the doorframe, giving Wang Qiqi a thumbs-up, signaling that her method was superior. “We have fifteen minutes. You need to hurry up.”

Hearing there were only fifteen minutes left until departure, Shi Man ripped off her towel and blanket and shot out of the room like a cannonball, completely unconcerned with the clean-up duties there.

Wang Qiqi could only shake her head and go tidy up her own room. Meanwhile, Juliana packed Shi Man’s breakfast and lunch into a bag. At this moment, both of them were profoundly grateful that everything had been packed the day before.

After rapidly getting herself presentable, Shi Man rushed into her room and dragged out her luggage and carry-on. “I’m done! We can go.”

The response she got was Wang Qiqi and Juliana checking the house appliances, windows, and ensuring the gas canisters were completely shut off. Seeing their movements, Shi Man quickly rushed to the main water valve, turned it off, and tucked everything away in cabinets.

Juliana stood at the main door, looking around one last time, confirming with Wang Qiqi and Shi Man that the water, electricity, and gas were all off. Finding no lingering issues, she closed the door. As they reached downstairs, they saw Han Tao already waiting for them, dragging his suitcase. “Let’s go. The car will be here soon.”

This time, Wang Qiqi and the others weren’t taking a taxi. They arranged for a public transport vehicle through Li Xiangdong. The driver happened to be heading to the airport at that time to pick up a leader, allowing him to earn some extra income, while Wang Qiqi and the others saved money and avoided the risk of unscrupulous drivers taking them on detours.

Once the driver picked them up, he sped toward the airport. Despite the high speed, Wang Qiqi felt the ride was remarkably smooth. There were far fewer cars on the road than in later years, meaning minimal congestion. The driver was especially chatty, talking non-stop about things happening in Beijing. He didn't ask where Wang Qiqi and the others were headed, though he had been stunned when he first met them earlier. Wang Qiqi thought a driver who kept his mouth shut like this was excellent and worth long-term cooperation with.

As they neared the airport, Wang Qiqi inquired, “Master Huang, I wonder if we could call you to pick us up when we return?” Having already booked their return flights, Wang Qiqi had calculated their arrival time in Beijing, so she provided him with the return date.

Although Huang Yong often helped his unit by picking up guests at the train station and airport, the benefits within the organization were minimal; those without connections never got the chance to drive for the leaders. Huang Yong wasn't impatient, though; occasionally landing one or two such jobs felt like earning half a month’s wages. He was surprised these young women wanted him to pick them up on their return. He quickly calculated their arrival time and readily agreed. “Absolutely. I’ll be there half an hour early to meet you. I’ll take you to where I usually park; you can wait for me there after you get off the vehicle.” Huang Yong gave them his home number. “For future rides, call after six p.m. If I’m not home, my wife or daughter will be there.”

“Then I look forward to future cooperation,” Wang Qiqi said as she said goodbye to Huang Yong and followed Juliana into the airport with her luggage. She and Shi Man had flown before, but neither had ever been to the Beijing airport, let alone taken an international flight. As for the novice, Han Tao, that was out of the question. The three of them followed Juliana meekly, like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, afraid to stray far.

Huang Yong watched the four people walk inside, momentarily stunned, before driving the car to the parking lot and heading toward the arrival exit to meet his leader. At that moment, he assumed the four were heading off on a holiday. “Such wealthy kids, traveling by car at such a young age.” Huang Yong shook his head. In all his years of work, he’d hardly traveled, let alone flown on a plane.

Huang Yong successfully picked up his leader and headed back into the city. As for Wang Qiqi and the others, they soon faded from his mind. However, he carefully noted the flight number, arrival time, and date in a small notebook—this was a potential source of income, after all.

While Huang Yong was picking up his passenger, Wang Qiqi and the others had finished checking their baggage and proceeded through the gate. Han Tao followed closely behind them, mimicking their every action. Yet, his ability to learn on the spot, combined with his unexpectedly calm demeanor, made many onlookers assume he was someone who had flown a few times before, despite his age.

“Honestly, Han Tao, you really don’t look like a newbie,” Shi Man said. She knew Han Tao was smart, but she hadn't expected him to be so adept at putting on a show.

“I can’t exactly let people think I’m just some hanger-on living off handouts, can I?” Han Tao, with his backpack on, found four empty seats, sat down, then immediately stood up and looked around. “I’ll go buy some food.”

Wang Qiqi shook her head. “Even though airplane food isn’t great, we stocked up on a ton of things yesterday. No need to buy anything.”

“Buy some water,” Shi Man interjected. “I want bottled mineral water. Just get some mineral water.” While water would be provided on the plane, it wouldn’t be available the moment they boarded, and they still had over an hour before boarding.