After days of rushing around, Wang Qiqi finally secured the other two properties. Since they were both small units, the total price remained under budget, which was a huge relief to her. As for the Shi family, they had given their answer: they would buy the house, though Shi Man’s family was only purchasing one unit.

Shi Man's parents had certainly discussed buying two more properties, but the issue was that their capital was tied up in the stock market, which was appreciating daily—an asset they were unwilling to part with right now. Furthermore, Shi Man's father vetoed the idea of taking out loans for the houses; he felt the pressure would be too great and that loans could easily expose certain matters. Thus, they decided to wait a couple more years before buying. Besides, with a property secured in Beijing, they wouldn't worry about Shi Man's future if she decided not to return to their hometown. After all these recent twists and turns, Shi Man’s family no longer forced her to seek employment in the state system.

The real estate agent was thrilled to have sold the two extra units she possessed, even offering a 20% discount on her commission. She even suggested that for any future properties they spotted, they should tell her, and she could find a way to get the owner's details and offer the same discount. This left Shi Man and Wang Qiqi rather speechless, considering they were buying real estate, not cabbages.

The agent handed Wang Qiqi the finalized property deeds and loan cards one by one. "I’ll put the properties up for rent, and Qiqi, don't forget to deposit money into the card every month." Watching the two still-immature girls, the agent couldn't help but feel sentimental. Nowadays, everything required such early preparation. When she was their age, she was still squeezed into a room with her sisters; these modern kids were direct homeowners.

Wang Qiqi thanked the agent auntie again. While the woman was certainly earning a commission, she had been quite decent, handling all the subsequent paperwork for the property deeds and loans. This was a great comfort to Wang Qiqi, who was already back in school and busy earning money. Although securing a loan wasn't difficult these days, a single error in the documents meant endless trips back and forth. Having someone to run errands for her was certainly welcome. Wang Qiqi knew the agent auntie must have used a bank with connections to her, but so what? The interest rate was the same everywhere; which bank issued the loan made no difference.

Shi Man kept lightly patting the bag she carried, grinning foolishly the whole way. Wang Qiqi thought, It's just one house, why be so excited? Her excitement made Wang Qiqi feel like she was standing next to an idiot. Although Wang Qiqi seriously considered putting on an expression of feigned unfamiliarity, she knew if she did that, the person beside her would constantly whine about her lack of loyalty. For the sake of her own ears, Wang Qiqi could only tolerate it.

Perhaps influenced by the slightly strange looks cast by people around Shi Man, Shi Man gradually noticed her own odd behavior. She finally curbed her expression, which resembled that of a simple-minded fool, and looped her arm through Wang Qiqi’s. "Qiqi, let's go look at houses again." Although the two had thoroughly inspected this property before, even bringing in an expert to check for issues, and Qiqi had discreetly inquired if anything untoward had happened there, for Shi Man, this viewing felt vastly different from all previous ones.

Wang Qiqi wasn't quite as exhilarated. "Sure. Today, let's treat everyone to a meal, at the new place." Wang Qiqi maintained a habit: whenever she bought a house, regardless of its current decoration, she had to spend at least one night there to consecrate it as hers starting that day. What happened to it afterward—renting it out or whatever—was unimportant.

Shi Man was used to Wang Qiqi's odd fixation with spending a night in every new property, and she felt the same way. Even if the house were rented out tomorrow, she needed to sleep there tonight to mark it as her domain. "Okay, but where should we host the dinner?" With so many people involved, hosting two separate meals or having guests shuttle between two locations seemed impractical—not to mention it wouldn't be lively, and they’d have to cook double the food.

Wang Qiqi had already settled this point. "One place cooks the meal, the other is responsible for hosting the guests." This counted as splitting the hosting duties. "Which place will handle the cooking, and which will host?"

Shi Man almost suggested cooking at her place, but she quickly reconsidered. If they cooked at her house, Qiqi would probably shirk the cooking duties and push the labor onto her. After comparing the options, she decided her place would host the guests. At worst, she could call people over to help clean up, which was much easier than slaving over a hot stove.

Wang Qiqi wasn't surprised by her friend's choice. If Shi Man had opted to cook, Qiqi would have worried whether the meal would end in disaster for the guests. "In that case, don't bother cleaning the house; just call someone to clean it up tomorrow. Let's go buy groceries first." There were only a few people attending—just Dai Lijun and a few others. Wang Qiqi hadn't planned on inviting her roommates, and Shi Man had the same idea.

Not inviting them wasn't due to bad relations; it was because they were all students, and the gap between them wasn't huge to begin with. To suddenly have a close classmate already owning property in Beijing before graduation—how would others view that? Moreover, one couldn't expect female friends to keep their mouths shut. Perhaps by the next day, the entire class would know Wang Qiqi and Shi Man bought houses; by the afternoon, the whole department would know; and by evening, it would be escalated to the whole school. Qiqi had no desire to become a center of attention whenever she entered or left campus; just look at Gong Yiying. Speaking of which, Wang Qiqi genuinely wondered why Deng Zhi treated her with such coldness, yet she still put up with it—that was truly strange.

"Oh, maybe we should invite Jiang Xin?" Shi Man suddenly remembered someone who used to frequently crash their place for free food and drink but hadn't shown up much since school started. She found this strange and felt a bit unsettled. If Jiang Xin came, someone would be around to chat with Shi Man and help out with chores.

Hearing Shi Man mention Jiang Xin, Wang Qiqi recalled that besides seeing her in class, she rarely encountered her otherwise recently. However, Wang Qiqi had been preoccupied with looking for houses and earning money, so she hadn't paid much attention. "Send her a message, ask if she's coming, and by the way, ask what she’s been busy with." Duan Xiaomin was busy campaigning for student officer positions in the department, with Bai Ge and others helping strategize behind the scenes. But they hadn't heard that Jiang Xin was running for anything, nor were her roommates.

"I think this girl might be dating," Shi Man said, crossing her arms, half-certain and half-doubtful. "If that’s true, that’s infuriating." She knew about her situation with Feng Xuanxiang; there was no reason she shouldn't know if Jiang Xin had a boyfriend. If she didn't, then fine. But if she did, Shi Man wondered how she should teach the other girl a lesson.

"Right," Wang Qiqi agreed. They had agreed that whoever got a partner first had to introduce them to everyone. But now, the person had a boyfriend and was actively avoiding them, not even keeping in touch. This behavior was unacceptable. "If she shows up tonight, fine. If not, then..." Wang Qiqi chuckled sinisterly.

Shi Man joined in with a wicked grin. People walking past them were struck by the sudden, eerie smiles of the two girls, wondering how two pretty girls could suddenly seem so mentally unstable.

After getting their fill of laughter, Wang Qiqi and Shi Man looked at each other, then stormed over to a public phone booth. They left messages on the pagers of Zhu Lina, Dai Lijun, and Han Tao, telling them the location of the gathering. For Jiang Xin’s pager, they added a threatening line: If you don't come, you bear all consequences. Wang Qiqi specifically instructed the paging operator to include the sound "Hmph hmph" at the end.

Watching Wang Qiqi hang up, Shi Man swiftly paid for the call. "I bet that paging operator nearly jumped out of her skin because of you." Shi Man mimicked Wang Qiqi’s tone and repeated the "Hmph hmph" part twice. "Honestly, we should have just called Jiang Xin directly; a message isn't as genuine as spoken words."

The two debated whether the girl would flee upon seeing the message or come to face their "interrogation." Though, both Wang Qiqi and Shi Man suspected Jiang Xin would probably pretend she never saw the message.

Jiang Xin felt conflicted after receiving the message on her pager. If it hadn't been for the two added "Hmph hmph" sounds, she would have assumed it was just a routine gathering. But those extra words, especially from Wang Qiqi, signaled they had noticed something was amiss. However, Jiang Xin hesitated about whether she should tell them. After all, Shi Man and the others had high standards, and they were surrounded by promising individuals like Daizi. They might not approve of him. This was why Jiang Xin had been wavering.

The conflicted expression on her face made the man beside her curious. "Xin Xin, what's wrong?" Cao Rui asked with genuine concern.

Jiang Xin was about to reveal the truth but then remembered the address wasn't Zhu Lina's apartment. Recalling what Qiqi and the others had mentioned about buying property, she swallowed the words forming on her tongue. "It's nothing, Qiqi needs me for something tonight, so I won't be dining with you."

Upon hearing Wang Qiqi's name, Cao Rui’s interest piqued. He almost asked if he should accompany her, but seeing Jiang Xin looking thoughtful, the qualified boyfriend knew better than to offer. "Then have fun tonight. Call me when you get back to the dorm."

His thoughtfulness touched Jiang Xin, but she still suppressed the urge to invite him along, which left Cao Rui disappointed. Cao Rui wasn't a fool; he had somehow learned about Zhu Lina's background through certain channels, information he certainly wouldn't share, not even with Jiang Xin. While he did like Jiang Xin to some extent, compared to that other person, he felt Jiang Xin was only suitable as a mistress. (To be continued.)