Shi Man suddenly burst out laughing while clutching her cushion, drawing the attention of both Wang Qiqi and Julietna, neither of whom had been in a good mood.

Julietna shot Shi Man a look that was far from friendly. She thought this brat must believe her current misery wasn't enough, actually daring to mock her—it was too much. Julietna decided that if Shi Man couldn't give her a satisfactory explanation, she wouldn't let her off lightly with a little lesson from the 'Ancestor.'

Watching Julietna’s expression sour, Wang Qiqi silently prayed for Shi Man. That kid had dared to provoke them earlier, and that debt hadn't even been settled. Now, she was provoking Julietna too. Wang Qiqi instinctively prayed that if someone decided to act, they wouldn't be too heavy-handed. It wasn’t exactly sisterly affection driving her concern; she was just worried that if Julietna struck too hard, Feng Xuanxiang would ache to scold Shi Man. After laughing for a while—perhaps she’d laughed enough—Shi Man managed to sit up straighter, hugging her cushion. "Qiqi snagged her boyfriend back in high school. My man and I met when I was trading stocks. If Qiqi and I hadn't had such good fortune, we would probably be facing the same scene Nana encountered today—being highly sought after. Though, that 'sought after' part..." Shi Man paused, picturing the scenario where she was the female lead in today’s romantic fiasco. She found the thought quite comical, but she didn't like the scene much, feeling it was somewhat terrifying, and she shivered as she spoke.

As Shi Man finished speaking, Julietna's expression softened slightly, but she still asked in a low, sinister voice, "Are you implying you’re charming? Your man practically fell for you over time—chased you relentlessly, so he must be quite smug about it." Recalling this, Julietna found it utterly unbelievable. "The other day, the three of us went out. We were supposed to be three beautiful young women—I might be a bit plump, but I look prosperous; Qiqi is a lovely girl too. But you, Manman, you always wear a stony face, clearly not someone easy to get along with. How did your man lock eyes on you immediately?"

Julietna truly couldn't comprehend this. She and Wang Qiqi had secretly discussed this issue before, concluding that Feng Xuanxiang must just love that particular type. Especially in front of outsiders, he was absolutely an iceberg. Only after building familiarity would the temperature on her icy facade rise, and for her to completely drop her guard required an extremely close bond. "Don't start rambling about your great charm. I think your man is just a frigid snob. Remember how utterly proper he was when we first met him?"

Wang Qiqi chimed in, "He's still the same now. If someone told him a joke that makes everyone howl with laughter, he can still deliver the joke with perfect seriousness, and then, seeing everyone laugh, he’ll ask, 'Is that joke actually funny?'" Wang Qiqi even attempted to mimic a few of Feng Xuanxiang’s jokes, though not very successfully, lacking the other person's composure. "So, Feng Xuanxiang is definitely a cold fish on the outside but hot inside. Otherwise, why would he choose Shi Man at first glance? Cold fish on the outside but hot inside share a common trait:"

Shi Man heard Wang Qiqi and Julietna attacking her man, and worse, attacking her—they clearly weren't taking her seriously!

In her rage, Shi Man unleashed her claws without hesitation on Wang Qiqi and Julietna. Although her attack was sudden and full of impact, knocking a yelp out of Wang Qiqi and Julietna initially, she was, after all, just one person. Soon, Wang Qiqi and Julietna snapped out of their shock and ganged up on Shi Man. The two-on-one situation quickly led to Shi Man begging for mercy. "Great heroes, spare me! Great heroes, spare me!" Shi Man repeatedly bowed and apologized. "I apologize for the few mistakes I made tonight; I'm truly sorry." Shi Man made sure to apologize for all her previous errors along with the current ones, to prevent the other two from bringing up old grievances that night. "Oh, right, Qiqi, I just thought of something. No matter why your scummy classmate couple is pursuing Nana, we can't just sit back and do nothing. We must strike back. Ideally, we should make them turn on each other."

In Shi Man's view, everyone had probably been too soft, never truly confronting the issue, which had allowed the other party to become increasingly outrageous. Therefore, a lesson absolutely had to be taught.

Wang Qiqi also wanted to teach the other party a lesson, to let them know some people were off-limits. However, another question lingered. "But what if that trashy man eventually dumps Gong Yiying and openly pursues Nana?" The mind of a truly base person was beyond normal human comprehension. It wasn't impossible that Deng Zhi might find an excuse to discard Gong Yiying. Even though being cheated on was a profound humiliation for a man, for a man who pursues women for money, what were dignity and character? These things meant nothing compared to hard cash. Wang Qiqi felt they needed to reassess the situation entirely. Although Julietna was initially inclined to go along with Shi Man's suggestion, before she could agree and suggest Qiqi execute the plan, Qiqi dropped that bombshell. This made Julietna hesitate. She knew that although Deng Zhi currently showed a tendency to pursue her, it was under the guise of seeking advice. He wouldn't dare pursue her openly. But if news spread that he was cheating on Gong Yiying, he might put on an act—a 'good man' discarded by a flighty woman—and then constantly circle around Julietna, asking for advice and discussing feelings. What should she do then? After all, some people sympathize with the underdog.

Julietna became truly conflicted. This outcome was far from what she desired. Julietna hoped for a solution that would drive away men like Deng Zhi—spineless men looking for sugar mamas—without them bothering her further. Yet, she didn't want the situation to explode into a massive scandal that would be impossible to clean up later.

The three sat dumbly on the sofa, constantly shifting their posture. Their expressions cycled through one after another—in short, each radiated the feeling: I'm annoyed and having a bad day, don't bother me.

Finally, Shi Man couldn't stand it anymore. She stood up abruptly and declared loudly, "Why are we agonizing over this and that? Let's deal with Gong Yiying first. And before that, Julietna just needs to say clearly that she has zero interest in men who already have girlfriends. That solves the issue." Overthinking and worrying wouldn't solve anything. "As for him pestering her, let him pester. Nana isn't always on campus anyway. Besides, isn't there still Cao Rui?"

Wang Qiqi and Julietna suddenly realized: Right, how could they forget that guy? If Deng Zhi openly pursued Julietna, never mind Nana’s feelings or reaction, that kid Cao Rui would certainly not feel comfortable or happy. He’d likely feel Deng Zhi was trying to steal his prize, and he would definitely cause trouble for Deng Zhi.

"That way, we can also take care of Jiang Xin," Shi Man grumbled hatefully. "I only heard from Dummy today that he went out that day to meet Jiang Xin. Hmph." Shi Man rattled off the details of what Dummy had experienced that day. "Thank goodness Dummy has some sense." Julietna was quite surprised, while Wang Qiqi, despite maintaining excellent control over her expression and immediately putting on a shocked look, kept scrutinizing Shi Man's face. She wondered if Dummy had told Shi Man anything else besides these matters. But after waiting a long time, Wang Qiqi only heard Shi Man's arrogant laughter. She knew Shi Man must have kept the most crucial part of the story to herself, otherwise, she would have shared it with everyone.

"So, if we're going to cause a fuss and make everyone anxious, we might as well make it huge," Shi Man said, adopting a smug, clever expression, shaking her head and ears—as show-offy as possible. "You two just think too much and worry too much. Simpler is better."

After saying this, the girl swayed her hips toward the bathroom to take a shower, still muttering about how brilliant she was and how she was the best at solving problems.

Although Shi Man’s smugness was infuriating enough to make someone want to hit her, her suggestion was actually quite good. Wang Qiqi and Julietna both pondered it. Wang Qiqi looked up at Julietna. "Nana, I think..."

"Qiqi, I think..." Julietna started at the same time.

"You go first," Wang Qiqi gestured for Julietna to speak, as she was the one directly involved and needed to make the final decision.

"Although Shi Man's way of speaking is showy, she has a point. I've decided to follow her plan." Since a perfect solution was impossible, she might as well let the two men fight it out. "Although I might end up becoming a campus celebrity because of this." Julietna realized that after a multi-party romance and struggle, it was entirely possible she'd become famous, and more schemers might emerge. "Qiqi, I think my dream of having a campus romance is getting further and further away." Although that possibility wasn't very high to begin with, at least there was hope before, right?

"So, what's your plan?" Since they agreed on the general direction, the execution timing was the next step. "The final exams are in a few days. Look..." It was already mid-January; everyone was busy reviewing for finals. Wang Qiqi was hoping to watch the drama unfold, and it would be better if the explosion happened after the winter break, then...

"Here's what I'm thinking..."

Julietna explained her thoughts. Some things, once you decide to act, you must strike decisively to crush the opponent, solving one problem at a time.

Although this was Julietna’s initial idea, it had to be said that a future big boss was indeed a big boss—she considered things more thoroughly than an ordinary citizen. Wang Qiqi gave Julietna a thumbs-up and then worked with her to refine the plan. Naturally, to get back at Shi Man for her earlier bragging, the two deliberately kept quiet and didn't mention anything to the person singing loudly in the bathroom.

"I wonder what Shi Man's expression will be like when she finds out," Julietna eagerly anticipated the sight of Shi Man's jaw dropping.

Wang Qiqi thought she should keep her camera handy to capture that moment and use it later to tease Shi Man when she got too cocky.

Starting today, the path forward will continue for six days with three updates; the third update will be at the usual time of ten o'clock: 【The Space in the Necklace】Go Rich by Wearing a Necklace 【Happiness is Simply Attainable】Rebirth Can Also Lead to Simple Happiness.

【Rebirth of 1976】Carrying a Bun to Find a Husband.