Wang Qiqi made it a routine to stroll around the neighborhood with her husband after dinner, linking arms with him to aid digestion and share sweet whispers. Of course, another crucial task was watching Dai Lijun trudge along, miserably jogging, always accompanied by a bicycle rider constantly shouting, "Dummy, why have you stopped running?" "Did you not eat enough for dinner?" Wang Qiqi and Han Tao always found this statement hilarious. They knew Dai Lijun's dinner was just a small bowl of rice (a privilege granted only after his earnest pleading, and forfeited entirely if he failed his tasks the previous day). As for side dishes, absolutely no meat—only vegetables, nothing but vegetables. Honestly, Wang Qiqi couldn't help but admire Dai Lijun's resolve. "If it were me, I'd rather starve to death. With this little food, I don't think I could bear it even if I didn't exercise all day." The power of love was truly magnificent.

Wang Qiqi’s remark left Han Tao, walking beside her, utterly speechless. Good heavens, he really wanted to choke this woman. "It's fine if you're fat, but we can't be?" This logic was too much.

"That's because I'm a woman," Wang Qiqi waved her hand dismissively. "You know, some things just require men to put in the effort, so it doesn't matter if I’m a bit plump. Besides, didn't you say yourself that skinny people aren't comfortable to touch?"

Han Tao deeply felt that their Dummy wasn't wrong when he mentioned his woman's current standards were getting increasingly bold. "Qiqi, you shouldn't say things like that within Dummy's hearing, or he'll lose all motivation to lose weight." Or perhaps, he might be tempted to strangle this woman.

Wang Qiqi certainly understood this. "Don't worry, I’m careful too. Even though I eat a lot, I actually exercise a lot as well." It wasn't just for weight loss; Wang Qiqi felt that spending all day sitting in class or in front of the computer translating manuscripts meant she was essentially a massive homebody. If this continued, her health wouldn't hold up.

When Dai Lijun passed the conspicuous couple again, he shot them a fierce glare. Dai Lijun was filled with regret, immense regret. Why had he opened his big mouth that day to offend this couple? And this couple was incredibly petty. Most infuriatingly, someone had actually had Lu Qiaowei confiscate his money, making it impossible for him to even run a small smuggling operation at school—truly, the most venomous heart of a woman! "Is this what you call exercise?" He had mentioned they would exercise with him, and Dai Lijun had initially thought his brother was being considerate. Now, he felt they were just there to watch him make a fool of himself, which was far more detestable than Shi Man and the others.

Han Tao grunted and waved at him. "Two more laps to go! Finish strong. If you go over the time limit, you won't get any late-night snack tonight." Hahaha, although the "snack" was only a tiny portion for Dummy, it was what he looked forward to most, his biggest pre-sleep perk, especially since it affected the next day's dinner as well.

Dai Lijun immediately zipped his mouth shut and sped up, charging forward. The speed made Wang Qiqi gasp. "Even though Dummy is a bit heavy, his movements are really agile." Agile enough that you couldn't tell he was a nearly six-foot-tall overweight man. "It just goes to show that human potential is infinite."

Han Tao watched as Dai Lijun accelerated so fast that he vanished from sight almost instantly. He was stunned. Honestly, in all the time he had known Dummy, he had never seen him move this fast. His mouth hung wide open. After a long moment, he mumbled, "Am I seeing things? Can food power really be this strong?" Han Tao sincerely hoped that Dummy could maintain this exercise regimen until the end of his diet.

"There should be results. Dummy weighed himself yesterday and said he dropped about two catties (one kilogram)," Wang Qiqi recalled being quite surprised. It had only been a few days of dieting, and results were already showing. However, she admitted that after staring at the plump man for a while, "Two catties spread across Dummy's body really doesn't make much of a visible difference. Maybe he needs to drop twenty catties all at once to be striking." She remembered TOP losing forty catties in forty days, transforming from a heavy-set person into a handsome man. Wang Qiqi wondered if Dai Lijun could become a looker if he had TOP's perseverance.

Dropping twenty catties at once? Han Tao’s face twitched. What kind of speed was that? "I doubt Dummy could achieve that goal even if he stopped eating and exercised all day," Han Tao thought that if Dummy overheard their conversation today, he would probably just play dead and drop the topic of dieting altogether.

"It just means the motivation isn't strong enough," Wang Qiqi sighed. "Alright, let’s continue our walk and head back. I won't be over there tonight." She had no overtime tasks today, so she’d return to her own place. While sleeping cuddled up with her man was nice, the problem was he went to bed extremely late, often not until the small hours of the morning, which was affecting Wang Qiqi’s sleep quality lately.

Han Tao moved his lips, wanting to hold Wang Qiqi back. Even if she wouldn't stay up late to keep him company, for Han Tao, seeing the soundly sleeping Wang Qiqi in their bed always gave him a surge of motivation after a tiring day. But he knew that no matter how gently he got into bed, it often woke her up. "Don't stay up talking to Shi Man and the others too late tonight. She’s always exchanging emails with Feng Xuanxiang; you don't need to accompany her." The last time Wang Qiqi stayed over, she looked completely haggard after just one night.

Wang Qiqi certainly knew that. "You should go to sleep earlier too."

Shi Man was sprawled on the sofa, watching TV and periodically refreshing her screen, waiting for a new email. Hearing the door open, Shi Man assumed it was Julietta returning and, without turning her head, maintained her posture. "There's food in the kitchen; eat if you’re hungry."

"Nana hasn't returned yet?" After changing her shoes, Wang Qiqi slowly walked into the living room and plopped down on the sofa. Seeing the messy coffee table littered with several empty drink bottles and many snack bags, Wang Qiqi shook her head, retrieved the nearby trash can, and swept all the empty packaging into it. "The trash can is right here, Miss. Can you kindly toss things in when you finish eating?"

Wang Qiqi felt she lived a pampered life over there, where Lu Qiaowei handled many chores. But here, Wang Qiqi had to worry about most of the cleaning. She couldn't understand how someone’s habits had changed so much since Feng Xuanxiang went to the States. She wasn't inherently messy, so why did she now let the house get so filthy? Even with daily cleaning, it always looked uncomfortable.

"I'll clean up after I eat," Shi Man hadn't expected Wang Qiqi to come back today and was genuinely startled. Ever since she ate something and didn't clean up that one time, Shi Man suddenly felt there was no need to clean every day—it was too tiring. She could do other things with that time. Moreover, since Qiqi stayed over there most of the time and Nana was also busy, they wouldn't notice the changes around here, so Shi Man felt safe leaving things scattered. But she was caught red-handed by Wang Qiqi, leaving her with nothing but awkward giggles.

Wang Qiqi looked around; although the room was a bit messy, the situation wasn't catastrophic. She sighed, sat on the sofa, and had no intention of helping clean up. She remembered cleaning up the last time she returned, and Wang Qiqi wasn't planning on doing it again this time. "Ask your man how the stock market has been lately." This was what Wang Qiqi cared about most. After all, this was the capital they needed to establish themselves in the US down the road. Wang Qiqi had once calculated their assets and realized that when converted to US dollars, she was essentially poor. To achieve her goal, the growth of his salary was a huge issue.

"The stock market situation is excellent," Shi Man didn't even lift her head, let alone move toward the computer, continuing to stare at the television.

Wang Qiqi pouted. Of course, she knew the market was doing well, but the point was, didn't she want to know exactly how much money they had earned? "Right, how is our business doing since you visited there recently?" Wang Qiqi suddenly remembered, after reminding Han Tao today, that she hadn't seen Li Qian in four months. Li Qian hadn't even had time to pick up the gifts she brought back from the US; they were passed through the coffee shop server. This struck Wang Qiqi as odd; she truly didn't know what Li Qian was so busy with.

"Business is okay, much better than before; the reputation is improving," Shi Man paused, wondering whether to share the news she heard today with Wang Qiqi. After some thought, she decided it was necessary to mention it, lest Wang Qiqi be shocked later. "I heard that Li Xiangdong’s mistress is pregnant."

His mistress is pregnant? Seeing Shi Man’s conflicted expression, Wang Qiqi initially thought Li Qian had made some move, but she hadn't expected such explosive news. Wang Qiqi jumped up, facing Shi Man. "You didn't mishear?" No way. Li Xiangdong would be an old man eligible to be a grandfather in a few years; his son was already in university in Europe. How could he make such a mistake in his old age? Although Wang Qiqi always knew Li Xiangdong had affairs, in her view, he wasn't this reckless anymore. If he divorced now, Li Qian would surely claim half his fortune, which Li Xiangdong would never agree to.

Shi Man shook her head. "I only found out when the coffee shop owner was talking to someone. They say the couple is currently fighting for divorce and division of assets." Alas, honestly, ever since hearing the news, Shi Man had worn a look of surprise and hadn't quite recovered. If Wang Qiqi hadn't returned today, Shi Man hadn't planned to say anything.