After checking their luggage, Wang Qiqi and Han Tao found a place to grab a bite. Although they had nibbled on something before leaving, the sight of Shi Man and Zhu Lina beaming about their impending romantic getaway made Wang Qiqi feel slightly nauseous. How could she possibly eat? She barely managed a couple of hurried bites before dragging Han Tao away as if fleeing for their lives.

Han Tao's face was also flushed. While he and Wang Qiqi had certainly done their share, being openly teased by Zhu Lina and the others was more than he could handle as a man. Still, seeing Shi Man’s smug look, Han Tao resolved that when he next saw Feng Xuanxiang, he would have a serious discussion about someone’s girlfriend. That was too much; Han Tao refused to believe Feng Xuanxiang and Shi Man wouldn't get up to something the next time they went out together.

Wang Qiqi wandered around but couldn't bring herself to go inside anywhere. Everything was just too expensive; even a simple instant noodle pack had seen a significant price hike. It was completely unreasonable. “Why aren’t you going in?” Han Tao noticed Wang Qiqi had walked the circuit without settling on a place to eat. “Even if the prices are a bit steep, we can’t get on the plane on an empty stomach.”

Wang Qiqi patted her wallet. She had money, but the food at the airport wasn't very appealing. “Forget it, I’m not that hungry. It’s just that dinner tonight feels off. This last meal in the country for the year doesn't sit right.” Wang Qiqi glanced around at the shops. “But right now, eating here would give me not just a stomachache, but heartache too—it’s so expensive. I brought some chocolate bread and beef jerky.” They had been meant for the flight, but now, even the dreaded airplane meal couldn't be worse than this.

Han Tao watched Wang Qiqi munching on bread while fiddling with her laptop. “Still rushing that manuscript?” Didn’t she say she had to finish the current legal job before heading overseas? Why was she still working on it now?

Wang Qiqi hummed in response. “It’s not that urgent, but there’s a lot of material this time. I don’t know where CEO Li got it from; it looks like it’s from a book.” Wang Qiqi felt extremely strange; when had Li Xiangdong started taking on jobs like this? “Even though the content isn't huge, CEO Li said I need to translate it well.” ...And it was literature, no less. Wang Qiqi inwardly stuck out her tongue. As someone who had studied economics in both her lives, reading literature was fine, but asking her to translate this? Was he out of his mind? Wang Qiqi inwardly stuck out her tongue. Was Li Xiangdong planning to expand his business scope?

Wang Qiqi signaled that she didn't understand, but she felt Li Xiangdong was dreaming too big. This kind of work required a certain literary flair, didn't it? It wasn't like the commercial contracts or similar documents she usually handled—this was completely outside her professional expertise.

Translating a book? Han Tao looked at Wang Qiqi in surprise, then rubbed his ear. Had he heard correctly? Although his girlfriend worked as a translator, he remembered Wang Qiqi specialized in the commercial field. How had she suddenly switched to translating books? “Financial material?”

Wang Qiqi shook her head. “It’s literary. I truly don’t understand what Comrade Old Li is smoking.” The thought alone gave Wang Qiqi a headache. “He probably thinks my two trips abroad have made me fluent in English.” People go to France, but for her, it's still all Greek. Alas.

Han Tao reached out and touched Wang Qiqi’s forehead. “It’s okay if you don’t know how. Besides, they know your background; maybe this is just a test.” Han Tao desperately wanted to help Wang Qiqi pay off her mortgage. Sometimes, he truly couldn't grasp why Uncle Wang’s compensation money, money Wang Qiqi refused to touch to pay off the house loan, remained untouched in the bank. Han Tao had seen the deposit slip once—the expression on her face then was terrible, and she stayed in a bad mood for days afterward. Han Tao never asked about it again. Perhaps that was Qiqi’s forbidden zone, money earned by the price of her parents' lives, money she would never use.

Wang Qiqi hummed, glancing at the time on the computer; it wasn't long until boarding time... “Shut the laptop. Next up is the long journey. We’ll land in France around morning,” and Han Tao helped stuff the snacks into the bags.

As soon as she boarded the plane, Wang Qiqi went straight to sleep. She had been pushing hard, pulling all-nighters to meet the deadline. On the plane, besides handling necessary biological functions, it was just eating and then sleeping again. This made Han Tao, sitting beside her, quite uncomfortable. Previously, she slept on planes too, but she never put on an eye mask the moment she sat down. “Tired?” Han Tao rested Wang Qiqi’s head on his shoulder, trying to make her sleep more comfortably.

Wang Qiqi yawned. “Yeah, exhausted. I was rushing work. This flight is good, fewer layovers, less time stuck in transit.” Even though it was expensive, the upside was being able to spend a few extra days in France. Otherwise, it would be land, find a hotel, eat, sleep, and then shop the next day. As for nightclubs and whatnot—sorry, that wasn't for good kids. Wang Qiqi just found bars noisy, and she worried the dazzling nightlife might corrupt the pure intentions of the fine young man beside her, turning him into a club-goer. If that happened in America during the winter break, she would be in tears if he suddenly became obsessed with bar-hopping.

Han Tao looked at Wang Qiqi’s dark circles and sighed. “Sleep. Right, I’ll go buy the supplies; why don’t you rest in the room?”

Wang Qiqi shook her head. “I can do it.” We need to get everything purchased on the first day.” She still remembered the close call when they almost missed their flight because of shopping with Shi Man, which had scared her badly. Wang Qiqi wasn't going to make that mistake again; it was better to buy things daily and avoid rushing.

On the plane, Wang Qiqi pulled out her printed checklist, already annotated. Since she’d been on two shopping trips already, she had a decent idea of which malls and floors held which brands. Han Tao, however, was startled by the list Wang Qiqi produced. “These… these are what we’re buying this time?” Han Tao wondered if two suitcases would be enough to bring back. He truly couldn't understand why people were so obsessed with foreign brands. “It’s just a handbag, why spend so much? Honestly, to Han Tao now, people who buy designer goods are prodigals, and there are quite a few of them.”

“These are the ones we’ve already paid deposits for. The ones without deposits, and not yet on the list, are still pending.” Wang Qiqi recalled Shi Man’s sickly yellow complexion over the last few days and couldn't help but smile. She had certainly run around the malls quite a bit just to confirm the required deposits. The result was excellent, though; she had mentioned how much she hated this kind of shopping. Getting that admission from Shi Man, a self-proclaimed shopaholic, was no small feat. Zhu Lina later told Wang Qiqi that if she had known this would be the outcome, they should have brought it up sooner to spare everyone the monthly agony of shopping with Shi Man. Wang Qiqi and Zhu Lina were the types who zeroed in on their target, bought what they needed, and left. But for Shi Man, the joy was in the browsing, not the buying. Perhaps in the future, they could encourage Shi Man to explore more small shops abroad, look for interesting but reasonably priced items that could stock their future little store. This would satisfy her desire while also allowing them to make money.

Han Tao froze. Heavens, this wasn’t even the whole list. “Are there more things we need to pick up later?”

Wang Qiqi affirmed with a nod. “More stuff means more money for us. It’s just that we didn’t get many watches this time, alas.” Watches started in the tens of thousands; a ten percent commission meant thousands. That was much better than cosmetics. The last time, they hadn't lost money but actually made a profit precisely because there were five or six watches involved. One watch, in particular, was eighty thousand; the financial pressure had been immense. If Zhu Lina’s family hadn't loaned them some money that time, they wouldn’t have been able to handle the deal.

Han Tao watched Wang Qiqi look at her list with such fervor, and a thought struck him: Qiqi looked at that paper like it was Renminbi. Honestly, Han Tao couldn't understand it; Qiqi wasn't short on money... yet she was so obsessed with it. Sometimes, Han Tao felt that compared to money, money ranked higher than him. “Qiqi, I’m truly envious of the paper in your hands,” Han Tao said, his tone laced with sourness.

Wang Qiqi looked down at the paper, her mind filled only with images of Yuan flowing toward her... She hadn't noticed Han Tao’s slight shift beside her. When she heard his acidic comment, she blinked, leaned her entire weight onto Han Tao, and stared at him with wide eyes, making Han Tao feel a little uneasy. He turned his head, trying to avoid her intense gaze. “Darling, are you jealous?” My goodness, she couldn't believe Han Tao would ever reach a day where he would be jealous; Wang Qiqi was genuinely thrilled.

Han Tao shook his head back and forth incessantly. “I’m not!” Jealousy was impossible for him... Besides, competing with money for affection was rather amusing. Han Tao figured that if he worked hard to earn money and gave it all to Qiqi, she would surely love him, and his status would surely rise above that of the cash. (Perhaps this explains why, later, when Han Tao earned money, he handed it all over to Qiqi, and she gave him a monthly allowance?)

Wang Qiqi looked at her boyfriend, who was clearly speaking against his own feelings, and chuckled darkly. Didn't Han Tao know that avoiding someone’s eyes while speaking meant he was hiding something? “Is that so? Is that so?” Wang Qiqi firmly straightened Han Tao’s head to stop his fidgeting. “Tell me you aren’t jealous or envious?”

Han Tao looked at the mischievous grin on Wang Qiqi’s face and sighed. He patted her back. “I admit I’m jealous. Alright, everyone else is asleep; don’t disturb them.”

Wang Qiqi pouted, but he was telling the truth; disturbing sleeping people was impolite. “Your position in my heart is second; first is my parents.” Although Qiqi loved money, Han Tao’s position wasn't low either. He had walked with her through such difficult times. While she could have survived those days on her own, having someone care for her from behind her made a distinct difference.

Han Tao grunted, signaling that he understood.

(To be continued)