The instant Shi Man heard the tone of the voice calling out, she knew it wasn't a local; it had to be a foreigner. She wondered if this was the man Qi Qi had met on the plane. She looked up and scanned the area, immediately spotting a man waving toward Wang Qiqi. "Wow, a handsome guy." Shi Man was so impressed she almost whistled. At that moment, she couldn't believe she didn't remember having such a handsome man sitting nearby; otherwise, Shi Man would never have forgotten.

"We swapped seats." Not knowing Shi Man's thoughts, Julina was happy to clear up the confusion.

So that was it. Shi Man remarked that even though she had crossed several time zones, her brain was still functioning; she would absolutely never forget a handsome man like that. "You’re under some pressure," she teased.

Wang Qiqi walked past John's seat and settled into the one in front of him. "Han Tao, this is John. I just met him on the plane. John, this is my boyfriend, Han Tao. He also studies computer science."

Han Tao was shocked that this blond man, with his long hair and appearance so much like an artist, actually studied computer science. He found it hard to accept. To his surprise, John immediately started discussing computer science topics with Han Tao in English. At first, Han Tao thought John was just posturing, but John spoke with such clarity and insight that the two soon became engrossed in a heated discussion, with Han Tao even pulling up a chair right next to John.

Shi Man had initially planned to tease Han Tao a bit, making him a little worried and aware of how popular Wang Qiqi was, but she never expected them to hit it off so well, showing no signs of being rivals. "What is going on here?" she muttered, displeased. "I was expecting some entertainment..."

Julina yawned, rubbing her slightly empty stomach. "I’m going to eat the good food early. I'm starving." Even though hot meals were served on the plane and everyone had brought snacks, Julina always felt like she hadn't eaten anything truly hot and delicious. "I'm so hungry I could eat a whole cow."

Eat a whole cow? Shi Man was quite surprised. She knew Julina never missed a meal and always cleaned her plate, and she’d eaten plenty of snacks too. How could she still look like a starving ghost?

Julina snorted at the way Shi Man was looking at her. "Are you not interested in French cuisine?" After all, the three of them were usually passionate about food, though only Wang Qiqi occasionally cooked something; the other two were content just to eat.

"French cuisine?" Shi Man's eyes went wide. She involuntarily started reciting some descriptions of French dishes she had read in books. "Right, we definitely need to have several big feasts this time."

At that moment, Shi Man suddenly remembered how much of their budget would actually be left for indulging in good food, and she regretted not bringing more money with her.

"Absolutely," Wang Qiqi said, leaning back against her seat toward Julina. "We can’t possibly eat badly and not have fun this time." That would truly be miserable.

Julina hummed in agreement. "We’ve allocated a large portion of our funds just for eating and drinking. As for the 'fun' Qi Qi mentioned, I think visiting places nearby should be fine. Here’s my plan..." Julina quietly outlined her schedule. "For shopping, we’ll look around first, get a general idea..."

Wang Qiqi had no objections to Julina’s plan. "That sounds good. I can also take a walk by the Seine..."

"Get a portrait painted by those artists, right?" Shi Man had heard Wang Qiqi mention this several times. She genuinely couldn't understand the appeal of having a portrait done. In Shi Man's mind, portraits were mostly for the elderly to have something for the hereafter. Besides, sitting still for a painting took so long; Shi Man didn't have that kind of patience.

Wang Qiqi recognized the meaning behind the slight curl of Shi Man's lip. "I like it." Even though it was tiring to hold a pose for so long, the effect of a sketch was very different from a photograph. "Plus, there are so many cafés along the river..." Perhaps certain cafés were places where famous masters had sat, where they might have conceived an idea or written a great novel.

"But you don't like drinking coffee?" Julina was indifferent to both coffee and tea; she liked anything that offered a boost. But Wang Qiqi preferred tea and rarely drank coffee.

"I don't drink much coffee, but don't you think the aroma is quite rich? I can have a cup occasionally." What Wang Qiqi didn't want to say was that the coffee she had at home was instant. She wasn't fond of those things at all; while the flavor might be rich, they contained too many additives, which Wang Qiqi was very wary of. "Remember, they sell freshly ground coffee here."

Freshly ground coffee—hearing Wang Qiqi say that, Julina felt a surge of coffee craving. "The first time I ever had coffee was freshly ground. What a shame..." While the instant stuff tasted decent afterward, most of what they had domestically was instant, yet Julina had fallen in love with drinking coffee.

"You could buy a whole setup for grinding and brewing coffee," Wang Qiqi suggested. "We can split the cost of the machine." Then, having a cup of coffee every day would truly be a pleasure. "Imagine us, sitting in the sun every day, drinking freshly ground coffee. What do you think?"

"Paired with two pastries and a good book—that kind of life would make a lot of people envious." Julina had initially thought it was too much hassle to bring such things back after traveling so far, and instant coffee was tolerable. But after Wang Qiqi described it so vividly, Julina suddenly felt she could no longer tolerate the merely acceptable instant coffee. "I'm going to buy two sets to take back."

Two sets? Wang Qiqi looked at Julina in surprise. She knew the other girl hadn't even considered buying a coffee maker earlier, but suddenly wanting two sets seemed terribly extravagant and wasteful.

"One set for my parents. I think my mother would absolutely love it. It’ll be a great way to butter them up," Julina explained why she wanted the extra set.

Shi Man, clutching bag after bag, could feel the red marks where the handles cut into her hands. She looked around and saw everyone else walking easily while she was loaded down with so many bags. She really wanted to cry. "Why won't Han Tao come over and help carry things?" Didn't they call him over specifically so someone could help carry stuff? Why wasn't he here when they needed him most? "Did we buy such an expensive plane ticket just so he could discuss computers?"

Indeed, Han Tao and John were having a wonderful conversation. Han Tao realized that much of what he said was far ahead of what Daley Jun and the others knew. Even though Gong Junyu saw things from his university seniors, he was still significantly behind. John initially thought he had just met a novice interested in computers. But as they chatted happily in the car, even though Han Tao’s direct knowledge of computer science wasn't very deep—or perhaps he wasn't familiar with the very latest cutting-edge topics—his mind worked quickly. With just a small prompt, he could follow the line of thought, which surprised John. If John hadn't seen Han Tao's performance earlier in their initial meeting, he wouldn't have noticed such a stark contrast.

Wang Qiqi knew Shi Man was just venting. Han Tao hadn't even wanted to come initially; everyone just felt it would be better to have a man along, especially going to an unfamiliar place, making them feel safer. The second key reason was to haul luggage, but with their designated laborer refusing to move, how could everyone, especially Shi Man, feel happy?

"I'll treat everyone to a grand meal today—my treat, privately," Wang Qiqi could only try to placate Shi Man. "Consider it a reward for our Man Man, okay?"

Shi Man looked at Wang Qiqi, who was smiling apologetically, and replied crossly, "Is it just about the food that I'm lacking?" Shi Man just felt Wang Qiqi was being too lenient with Han Tao. "You treat Han Tao and Wang Da Gui completely differently; they seem like two different people."

"Haven't you seen how good Han Tao is to me?" Wang Qiqi thought, comparing him to Wang Da Gui. "One clearly looks like he has prospects and a future; the other only calculates how to get my money. And now, he's trying to cling to the leg of his future in-laws."

Julina, carrying her own bags, looked at a nearby café. "Let's grab something to drink and rest for a bit." They could discuss where to go shopping next. Julina used to find accompanying her mother to department stores enjoyable, but after walking through so many boutiques and large malls this time, she truly felt bored by the whole shopping spree.

Julina watched Wang Qiqi walk over to buy some sweet treats for Shi Man and smiled at her. "It looks to me like you’re taking advantage of the situation."

Shi Man laughed and took a sip of her coffee. "Well, Qi Qi is willing. But I am a little worried. Look how happily Han Tao is talking to that foreigner. I really don't get it—it’s just a computer, but they have so much to talk about. I even heard that guy ask Han Tao if he was willing to go to America, saying he could help him find an internship. Just listen to that..." Shi Man had desperately wanted to rush over and punch that foreigner, demanding to know what he meant—was he trying to break up Wang Qiqi and Han Tao by encouraging a man to abandon his girlfriend for a job?

Julina knew deep down that this trip to France might reignite the dream of going abroad that had already taken root in Han Tao's heart. "Going abroad is certain, but I worry he'll leave before finishing university." There are so many scams overseas. What if Han Tao sends back a breakup letter before Qi Qi even leaves? Don't underestimate Wang Qiqi’s resilience, but after everything she’s been through, if Han Tao crushes her spirit, what will become of her?

"Exactly, that's what worries me," Shi Man agreed. Otherwise, why would she find Han Tao so irritating at every turn right now? (To be continued)