As Wang Qiqi and Shi Man finally awoke, they found the living room already buzzing with activity. Gong Junyu and the others had all arrived, and Zhu Lina was curled up on the sofa chatting with them. Wang Qiqi scanned the room, "Huh, where's Weiwei? Still sleeping?" This kid could really sleep.

Zhu Lina pointed toward the kitchen. "She was up long ago, helping Daizi prepare the food. You two..." As the hostess, letting guests fend for themselves felt wrong. Although Daizi and his friends always helped out when they ate here before, today was Lu Qiaowei’s first time dining at their place, and they let her work—this was...

Wang Qiqi had only just woken up and was still a bit groggy. Hearing Zhu Lina’s slightly critical tone, she pointed behind her, "Manman said so. To punish him for not telling us sooner that he has a girlfriend..." Wang Qiqi started to continue, but catching the look in Zhu Lina’s eyes, she instantly shivered and switched gears. "Manman said, why wouldn't you bring such a wonderful girl out? Are you worried we'll say the wrong thing and scare Daizi's girlfriend away? This morning, when Manman got back and saw Daizi, she gave him a severe lecture, and then Daizi voluntarily offered to go buy and prepare the vegetables." Wang Qiqi knew Daizi wouldn't betray Manman; it wasn't just because they were close, but because when Manman gave you that cold stare, the chill made you feel like you were in the dead of winter, even in summer.

Shi Man nodded repeatedly from behind and then shouted toward the kitchen, "Daizi, come out! Tell everyone here if I bullied you." Even if she had bullied Daizi a little, she certainly wasn't going to admit the blame, especially since Daizi had agreed to do the task himself.

Dai Lijun had been cooperating perfectly with his girlfriend in the kitchen. Though they weren't chatting much, every time he looked up, he saw Lu Qiaowei diligently working beside him, evoking the same feeling as seeing Wang Qiqi and Han Tao working together in the kitchen. Just as Dai Lijun was about to reach out and brush the hair from his girlfriend’s face, he heard his dear friend Manman call out, and he let out a sigh.

Dai Lijun thought to himself that someone else had forced him into this chore, but could he really say that in front of everyone? That would be courting death. He poked half his head out. "Manman lectured me today. She said I needed to apologize and perform well for Weiwei, so she sent me to buy and prepare the vegetables." After saying this, Dai Lijun retreated back into the kitchen, completely ignoring the reactions of everyone in the living room.

When Lu Qiaowei heard Wang Qiqi’s words, her heart felt a little heavy, but looking at her boyfriend’s expression after Shi Man forced him to answer, she genuinely wanted to laugh. His face was like that of a mouse encountering a cat. "You mean..." Lu Qiaowei murmured; her boyfriend's earlier statement was clearly coerced.

Dai Lijun nodded. "I meant it. Anyway, we’ll all disperse after dinner. Manman and the others are leaving tonight; the next time we meet will be after the festival. I need to settle this score before the New Year; I can’t drag it past the holiday. Besides, I was telling the truth." Dai Lijun recounted the morning's events with a hint of grievance. Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to reveal everything Shi Man had said to him; instead, he chose only select parts, like Shi Man criticizing him for not considering his girlfriend’s feelings. "Manman is a good person. She keeps a cold expression in public, but she’s never polite around acquaintances. You’ll see once you get closer to her. Back then..."

Dai Lijun didn't want to dwell on those past days. Honestly, if Manman hadn't been there constantly supporting him—even Wang Qiqi, who disliked shopping, had accompanied him a few times, even if she ended up finding a place to sit down every time—Han Tao hadn’t even received that kind of treatment. "They are all very, very good friends."

Lu Qiaowei felt a pang of sourness listening, but she knew this was inevitable. She hadn't been involved in Dai Lijun’s past matters, and she wouldn't be involved in future ones either. "En, we will become good friends."

The couple in the kitchen was chatting animatedly, but the atmosphere in the living room was strange. After Daizi made his statement, Wang Qiqi darted into the bathroom to wash up. Although she was close with all of them, she couldn't chat for long with an unwashed face. Moreover, Shi Man must be furious right now, even if what Daizi said was true.

The moment Wang Qiqi entered the bathroom and before she even picked up her toothbrush, she heard Shi Man complaining, "Does this kid know how to act? I was clearly trying to be kind, telling him to show off properly in front of his girlfriend. Look how well Han Tao performs! I just wanted him to step up. Otherwise, with that dull look of his, I'm truly worried about him..." Shi Man acted as if she had done so much for the boy, yet Daizi just couldn't understand her. Shi Man felt terribly wronged. Though she did occasionally enslave Daizi, didn't he still need to eat?

Zhu Lina looked at the agitated Shi Man, shook her head, and returned to reviewing her documents. Tomorrow, when she got home, she’d have to report her insights from the past six months to the old man. Gong Junyu and the others just covered their mouths and chuckled. They wouldn't get involved; their relationship was fine, and they would make up soon enough. Why step in and be the bad guy?

After Shi Man complained for a while, she noticed everyone else was either looking at documents or working on their laptops. If she had only grumbled a little before, Shi Man was genuinely furious now. "You all, you all..." This was too much; they didn't even know how to comfort her wounded heart.

Zhu Lina waved her hand. "Alright, alright, we know you mean well for Daizi. But you’ve been up for a while now; haven't you washed up yet?"

"We are not Feng Xuanxiang; whining won't work on us."

"Have you packed your luggage?"

All the sharp retorts came from Gong Junyu and the others—not a single word of comfort. Shi Man could only stomp off toward the bathroom feeling utterly wronged, deeply believing that perhaps only Wang Qiqi would comfort her now.

When Wang Qiqi saw Shi Man walk into the bathroom looking dejected, she immediately recognized the mood. "Manman, go wash your face. You still have to pack your luggage later, right?" Wang Qiqi looked at Shi Man’s expression, which clearly broadcasted 'I am miserable and need comfort and petting,' but she pretended not to see it and walked out on her own.

Shi Man hadn't expected her social standing to be this low; not a single person offered comfort. She let out a few wails in the bathroom. Zhu Lina heard it from the living room and impatiently tapped the coffee table. "Shi Man, we are not your man, Feng Xuanxiang. Go find your man if you want to act spoiled."

Wang Qiqi picked up the breakfast someone had brought back, which had since gone cold. "Exactly, Manman, you need to be more demure and gentle. Today is Daizi's good friend visiting with his girlfriend. It’s her first time here, and she even cooked something nice for you, his little sister-in-law. If you wail like that, what will people think?"

Lu Qiaowei, hearing Shi Man’s cries from the kitchen, looked at Dai Lijun again. "Should we..." Since it was her boyfriend who caused the trouble, she couldn't just stay hidden in the kitchen and ignore it.

Dai Lijun held back his girlfriend who was about to go comfort Shi Man. "Oh, her. She’s just having a spell. It happens sometimes. Just let her kick up a fuss; she’ll be fine in a bit. At most, we’ll yield a bit at the dinner table." Everyone knew this was Shi Man’s habitual behavior. At first, people offered comfort, but after a few times, they understood: if Feng Xuanxiang were here, he would automatically comfort her. Since Feng Xuanxiang wasn't around, Shi Man was clearly trying to coax Lu Qiaowei into comforting her. Dai Lijun was resistant. Let Shi Man fuss; humph, in this cold weather, he had gone out alone and miserably to buy vegetables, and then had to prepare them when he returned. If his dear girlfriend hadn't helped, Dai Lijun wouldn't have known what to do.

Lu Qiaowei stared at Dai Lijun for a long time before finally deciding to heed her boyfriend’s words.

It had to be said that Dai Lijun understood Shi Man quite well. After Wang Qiqi also ignored her, Shi Man remembered she still had the newcomer, Lu Qiaowei, around. She must be coming over to comfort her, right? But to her surprise, after howling for a while, she never saw the girl appear. Hmph, she was clearly being held back by Dai Lijun. What was this girl up to? She was letting Daizi suppress her? That simply lowered the dignity of us women! Shi Man decided she absolutely had to have a serious talk with Lu Qiaowei about the secret to reigning in men. Look at Qiqi, and look at me—we’ve got our men totally under control.

Dai Lijun watched his girlfriend quietly stay by his side, peeling vegetables, feeling that his own girl was superior; she listened to him. But if Dai Lijun knew that later on, Shi Man would often drag Weiwei into lengthy discussions about how to manage men, he might regret stopping his girlfriend from comforting Shi Man today. Unfortunately, there is no regret medicine in this world.

Shi Man sat in the living room, constantly patting her stomach, her gaze drifting toward the kitchen. Her stomach was so hungry it was starting to protest. Although Zhu Lina mentioned there were some cookies at home she could snack on, Shi Man flatly refused. After all, this meal was the first time Daizi and his partner had worked together to cook, and it smelled so good—how could she miss it? The problem was that Daizi was taking forever to announce dinner. Shi Man kept mentally cursing Daizi for being slow; it was just peeling some vegetables, and they were even doing it together, yet they were still slow.

Wang Qiqi and Zhu Lina also commented that Daizi was a bit slow. They could smell the deliciousness but heard no news of dinner. Wang Qiqi was secretly glad she had managed to eat some breakfast earlier, otherwise, her own stomach would surely be protesting. Wang Qiqi looked at Shi Man, who was constantly rubbing her stomach, and wondered if this was Daizi's revenge on Shi Man. But Daizi, if you want revenge on someone, you can’t let everyone starve in the process, right? As for eating cookies, Wang Qiqi also refused. She had held out this long; she couldn't fail at the final hurdle.

【The Double Life of Wuyou】In public, she is a top student from a prestigious university and a moderately famous online writer. In private, she is an ability-wielding strategist serving the Empire, the future daughter-in-law of the Empire’s First Family. (To be continued)