Though Dai Lijun felt dizzy, it didn't mean he was completely without awareness. Hearing words clearly laced with disdain, he grew angry. He desperately wanted to shout a rebuttal, but the sound that escaped was merely a low murmur: "I—I—I’m not holding us back. I’m a man."

"You’re not holding us back? Look at the mess you made with a simple bowl! Alright, alright, get up now."

Having finally understood the reason for Dai Lijun's collapse, Shi Man showed him no mercy. She walked over to him and roughly hauled him up from the floor.

"The kitchen is so greasy, and you still managed to sit on the ground? Aren't you worried about getting your pants dirty? Humph, I bet it’s because you never do any housework normally."

Shi Man said fiercely, dragging Dai Lijun to the sink and rinsing his hand. "Weiwei, you really can't spoil this simpleton so much. You're raising him like a son, and he’s supposed to go to America someday."

Dai Lijun secretly wished he could just faint right then and there. Although it was embarrassing, at least some people wouldn't speak of him with such contempt, nor suggest that Weiwei treated him too well. "I'm good to Weiwei, so she's good to me," Dai Lijun defended himself.

"It’s your duty to be good to Weiwei, otherwise why would she be your girlfriend?"

Seeing that the blood was gone from Dai Lijun's hand, Shi Man said, "I'll go get a bandage. Don't move from here."

Wang Qiqi, observing Shi Man’s imposing demeanor, covered her mouth and whispered to Zhu Lina, "Don't you think Shi Man looks exactly like the simpleton’s mother right now? She has that whole 'mother scolding her son' vibe."

Zhu Lina nodded. "Yeah, but the simpleton is acting strangely today. Usually, he acts like a pampered lord."

Wang Qiqi stifled a laugh, softly explaining why Dai Lijun was being so unusually proactive. "But I estimate that if he hadn't tried so hard..."

Now he had not only suffered this immense pain but couldn't even avoid it.

"It's a guilty conscience," Zhu Lina observed, watching the man hobble out of the kitchen, holding up one finger as if he'd sustained a grievous injury. "Simpleton, it was just a little blood, is that really such a scare? As women, we lose far more blood every month; if it were the same for you, I bet we would have fainted multiple times already. It's a lack of exercise."

"Exactly. Can't even handle a few bowls. And he calls himself a man," Wang Qiqi said dismissively. "You have to exercise, or how will you manage when you go to America?"

"Seriously. You absolutely must train hard," Shi Man stated sternly. "You're completely useless. Weiwei, you can't keep shielding your man. Look at him now, he’s practically a child. He can't do anything."

Dai Lijun’s face darkened as he listened to a group of women criticize him. "Ladies, ladies, please spare me. I’m a man, why should I have to do these things?"

His own father had never stepped foot in the kitchen his entire life, and no one had ever criticized him for it. Why was it such a huge offense when it came to him?

The moment Dai Lijun uttered these words, not only did Wang Qiqi and the others look displeased, but even Lu Qiaowei's expression soured. Her face tightened. "Yes, you're a man, so you don't need to do housework. But the issue is, is this all something women must do?"

It was too much. Although Lu Qiaowei generally considered her temperament suited for being a good wife and mother, hearing her own man say that made her deeply uncomfortable. If good-tempered Lu Qiaowei snapped, let alone Wang Qiqi and the others. "Let’s eat, let’s eat. The injured fellow can stay on the side and recover," Shi Man quipped. "He bled so much; he needs to eat things that replenish blood. We still have dates, right? Let’s boil some date soup."

"Oh, that's a good idea. A few days of that, and he’ll definitely recover all the blood lost today," Wang Qiqi offered kindly.

"For the next few days, don't eat anything else, just that for blood replenishment," Shi Man insisted.

"Add some red beans too," Zhu Lina suggested, chiming in. "Don't eat anything else, or the blood-replenishing effect won't be as good."

Dai Lijun was completely stunned. No way. "Are you all just going to abandon me...?"

Dai Lijun watched in horror as Wang Qiqi and the others unceremoniously put his bowl and chopsticks back into the cupboard. The fact that his own woman was doing it made Dai Lijun feel utterly heartbroken.

"If you want to eat, you can cook it yourself. Starting tomorrow, we stop cooking here," Lu Qiaowei declared with unexpected spirit. "Qiqi, starting tomorrow, I'll cook at your place, and I'll stay over at night."

Shi Man naturally had no objections. "I agree with that suggestion with both hands and both feet." As long as someone was feeding her, Shi Man was never one to complain.

Dai Lijun was unhappy. He left the dining table and sat glumly on the sofa. But the four women seemed not to notice, happily clustering together, eating enthusiastically and chatting animatedly. If that wasn't enough, Wang Qiqi even started discussing how one should educate a man—specifically, how to mold a man into what women define as a 'good man.'

"Weiwei, look how spoiled your man is because of you. You need to make him do this and that..." Wang Qiqi led the lecture, with Shi Man supporting her.

"Do you all take me for dead...?" Dai Lijun felt if he didn't speak up now, these women would look down on him entirely. He had to assert his dignity as a man.

Wang Qiqi and the others acted as if they hadn't heard him, continuing their discussion on male education. Dai Lijun finally understood—today he was the target, the lesson material for these women. Dai Lijun felt his life was truly miserable. "Brother, when are you coming back? I miss you so much."

Hmph, when Han Tao returned, Dai Lijun promised himself he would vent all the frustration he suffered from Wang Qiqi and the others onto Han Tao. It was his fault for being Wang Qiqi's man; if it weren't for him this time, Dai Lijun wouldn't have ended up in such a tragic state.

"Don't even think about it. My man is much more capable than you," Wang Qiqi shot back without restraint. "Han Tao is in America; at least he can keep the house tidy and worry about food and drink. What about you? You should at least know how to do the simplest tasks, right?"

"Exactly. You’re not planning on taking Lu Qiaowei with you, are you? You know Weiwei still has two more years of university," Shi Man added bluntly.

"If you want to eat, you must work," Shi Man recalled the miserable life she endured last year. Ah, it was unbearable to recall, but thinking about her current culinary achievements, Shi Man felt all the effort was worth it. "Right, no work means no food. You must earn your meals by working. Of course, it's best if you learn to cook yourself. At the very least, mastering simple egg fried rice is mandatory," Shi Man stated quite casually. "As for other dishes, just learn the easy ones."

Dai Lijun looked at the person speaking so easily now and let out a continuous cold snort. "I wonder who wasted so many ingredients back then just to make something edible." During that period, the house constantly smelled of a strange, mutated odor. Thankfully, the person managed to cook edible food before the heating system kicked in, otherwise, the house would have been uninhabitable.

"At least I know how to cook now, which is much better than some picky eater who can't cook at all, right?" Shi Man’s eyes twinkled. "If you think I’m clumsy, why don’t you try cooking once yourself?" Go on, if you dare to mock me, show me some real skill.

Dai Lijun initially intended to blurt out that cooking was easy—how hard could it be for a genius like himself? Wait, no, Shi Man was trying to provoke him. Dai Lijun paused, then shook his head. "My value isn't in cooking; it's in computing."

"Spending that much time learning to cook is a waste of time. I'd rather spend that time earning money and hiring a housekeeper later," Dai Lijun analyzed. "Do you all really think it's necessary for me to learn this?" In Dai Lijun’s view, this was a losing proposition.

Wang Qiqi sighed, having to admit that Dai Lijun was a little sharp in some ways, but the biggest problem was, "Labor isn't cheap in America. You can't use American dollars to hire a nanny from back home."

"Exactly. You pay in dollars, they receive dollars. Fast food might be similar to back home, but labor costs are astronomical," Shi Man pointed out. "Why do you think those foreigners moved their manufacturing to our country? Isn't it because the labor wages are cheap?"

Dai Lijun was dumbfounded. "No way," his eyes widened. "You’re kidding me."

"Why would we kid you?" Wang Qiqi said impatiently. "Oh well, never mind. Do whatever you want. When the time comes, you'll be the one starving, you'll be the one wearing dirty clothes, and you’ll be the one living in a pigsty. Why should we worry?"

"If you make your room look like a pigsty, chances are no one will rent you an apartment," Shi Man scoffed. "Forget it, forget it, let’s just eat. I hope you can last two years eating nothing but fast food. Chinese food abroad isn't cheap, and the taste..." Shi Man shook her head repeatedly. "It’s all modified Chinese food, not authentic at all. You won't be able to stomach it."

Dai Lijun had just sighed in relief, happy that Wang Qiqi and the others had finally let him off the hook, but he hadn't expected them to switch tactics, using retreat as a form of advance. However, listening to their discussion, Dai Lijun became uncertain. He couldn't tell if the women were saying this just to trick him into making a fool of himself cooking, or if it was the actual truth. For a moment, Dai Lijun couldn't make up his mind. Helpless, he decided to wait until his good brother returned to ask about the situation. Dai Lijun figured his brother wouldn't lie to him, right?

Wang Qiqi could tell from Dai Lijun's expression that he definitely planned to wait for Han Tao’s return before making a decision. Humph, the little devil. Wang Qiqi had originally planned to coordinate with Han Tao beforehand, but after a second thought, she dropped the idea. Forget it. If the man was this unconvinced, whether it turned out well or badly was his own business.

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