Wang Qiqi scrambled out of her warm bed before dawn and then floated to the bathroom to attend to her morning toilette. Although it was Saturday, a day begging for a lie-in, the problem was that her mother-in-law was descending upon them today. As the daughter-in-law, and with Han Tao away in the capital, Luo Hongjuan was visiting Beijing for the very first time, and Wang Qiqi felt both the obligation and the responsibility to go and fetch her.

Shi Man drifted out of her room, eyes still heavy with sleep, and saw Wang Qiqi fully dressed. "Is Auntie staying here?"

Wang Qiqi nodded. "Yeah, we can't exactly have her stay over at Idiot's place, can we?" Although Luo Hongjuan could stay in Han Tao’s room, Wang Qiqi always felt that room belonged to her and Han Tao. More importantly, if Luo Hongjuan stayed there, how would Idiot and Lu Qiaowei manage their proximity? "Well, for the next few days..." Having an elder suddenly in the house gave one the uncomfortable sensation of being constantly scrutinized. Wang Qiqi could certainly empathize with everyone's feelings.

Shi Man waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine. We like Auntie's cooking too. To be honest, even though Weiwei is quite the cook, I've really missed home-style food. Once Auntie arrives, I'm going to order everything on the menu without reservation."

"Deal." Wang Qiqi understood that Shi Man and Zhu Lina must have discussed this beforehand; it would certainly save Luo Hongjuan a lot of awkwardness.

After hugging Shi Man, Wang Qiqi prepared to leave, needing to change her shoes. If she didn't leave soon, the old lady would be waiting at the station. Making one's mother-in-law wait was a serious offense. "Thanks, you two. Oh, and don't bring up that stuff about Ding Meina that Nana mentioned the other day," Wang Qiqi suddenly remembered something and cautioned Shi Man again.

Shi Man looked at the worried Wang Qiqi and sighed, muttering softly, "Only you remember that stuff. When would I have the time to keep track of such things?" Lately, Shi Man's entire focus had been dedicated to conquering the TOEFL exam. How could she spare a thought for things that didn't concern her? Even if Han Tao's cousin was the protagonist of that drama, so what? It was only silly Wang Qiqi who kept it in her heart.

Wang Qiqi realized she was definitely overthinking things, stuck out her tongue, and asked, "I'll bring back breakfast. What do you guys want?"

Bring back breakfast? Shi Man was about to readily agree, but then she calculated the time. "Will there even be breakfast left by the time you get back?"

Wang Qiqi chuckled a few times. "I'm off now. Just wash the dishes in the sink when you get a chance." Although Wang Qiqi had cleaned up earlier in the week, there were still the remnants of last night's late-night snack in the sink. Wang Qiqi had planned to get up early to wash them, but now it seemed she wouldn't make it in time and could only entrust it to Shi Man. She couldn't possibly let her mother-in-law arrive to see dirty dishes in the sink, could she?

Shi Man watched Wang Qiqi, who kept saying she was leaving but never actually departed. She couldn't help herself and pointed at the clock. "If you don't leave now, you're going to miss meeting your mother-in-law." Sigh, it was just a few dishes, why the persistent nagging? "If you're that worried, why don't you wash them yourself before you go? You're not exactly running late."

Wang Qiqi glared at Shi Man, turned to say something more, but caught the look in Shi Man's eyes. She knew if she pressed the issue, Shi Man would explode. So, she obediently closed the door and left. After Wang Qiqi was gone, Shi Man sighed. "Honestly, it’s not the first time meeting a mother-in-law. Does she need to be this tense? I wasn't nearly this anxious when I went to Feng Xuanxiang's house back then."

Although Shi Man spoke of Wang Qiqi with a hint of disdain, after taking care of her own necessities, she did wash the dishes in the sink and gave the living room cabinets, especially the coffee table, a quick tidy-up. "Done. What a simple task, why the need for constant reminders?" Shi Man swayed her slender waist and returned to her room to catch up on sleep. Ah, ever since she started grappling with the English dictionary, Shi Man noticed her sleep quality had plummeted—what a miserable existence! Don't let her earlier confidence when talking to Dai Lijun fool you; she was actually quite panicked inside. She had taken several practice tests and the scores were far from ideal. How could this not worry her? The more anxious she became, the worse her sleep got. Returning to her bed, Shi Man immediately picked up her dictionary and resumed cramming.

Wang Qiqi took a circuitous route—subway followed by a taxi—finally arriving at the train station exit. Before she could even catch her breath, she heard, "Qiqi, Qiqi!" Luo Hongjuan let out a sigh of relief when she spotted Wang Qiqi charging toward her. When she first exited, she had searched the area several times without finding Wang Qiqi, which had made her very nervous. Fortunately, she had finally spotted her. "Don't rush, don't rush," Luo Hongjuan said, looking at the throng of people coming and going, all burdened with luggage. It would be bad if she bumped into someone.

By the time Wang Qiqi reached Luo Hongjuan, her face was flushed, and a button on her blouse had popped open from the heat. "Mom, I'm so sorry, so sorry..." It was cold outside, and making Mom wait for her was entirely wrong. "Mom, let's find a place to grab a bite, okay?" Wang Qiqi suggested, looking around for an eatery.

"No, no need." Luo Hongjuan thought, We're already here, and we’re not far from home. Why waste the money?

"Mom, it's fine. Eating something warm will make you feel much better, and then you can get a good rest tonight, and we'll go out for a nice dinner later." Wang Qiqi took hold of Luo Hongjuan's luggage. Seeing the amount made Luo Hongjuan gasp in surprise; she had brought back luggage that was no less substantial than what she had brought back last time. She expected Song Ziwen to call her a glutton. Last time she came to Beijing, she brought quite a few things, and this time Luo Hongjuan had brought just as much. The pressure was immense. Dai Lijun had been complaining that his meals had been good lately, and his weight was showing an unstoppable upward trend. If all this stuff were unloaded on him, that greedy man's weight would surely climb further. Thinking about it caused considerable stress.

"We eat well at home. Eating out is so expensive." Luo Hongjuan shook her head. Sigh, Qiqi is wonderful in every way, except she’s too careless with money. Although her son and daughter-in-law were earning a good income now, Luo Hongjuan was still accustomed to saving money. Besides, weren't they still in debt to the bank? Luo Hongjuan couldn't imagine how they could live so comfortably when she, if it were her situation, would lose sleep over owing the bank so much money.

Wang Qiqi held the luggage in one hand and hooked her arm through Luo Hongjuan's. "Mom, don't worry. Tonight, we're splurging! Nana said that once Auntie arrived, we would have to trouble you to cook us something good occasionally, so she specifically cleared her schedule today just to butter you up, hoping you'll cook something delicious for her."

Zhu Lina was treating? Luo Hongjuan understood. Even though she knew it was just an excuse, since they put it that way, she wouldn't refuse too strongly. After all, Zhu Lina was the daughter of a wealthy family. Luo Hongjuan worried what might happen if Zhu Lina was displeased and threw a fit. "Then let's eat somewhere cheaper."

Wang Qiqi found a clean-looking eatery and ordered a few dishes before stopping herself. For one, it was just the two of them; for another, if they ordered too much, Luo Hongjuan would surely feel the pinch. "Mom, was the journey smooth? And does my sister have any new opinions on the storefronts?" Although Song Yao couldn't come, she was extremely enthusiastic about selecting the location for the new shop—one idea after another—making Wang Qiqi really want to grab a hammer and knock her out. It was so annoying. Of course, Wang Qiqi was also worried that if Song Yao didn't like the finalized location, she might be overly critical, which would be troublesome.

"Everything went very smoothly." Luo Hongjuan sat down and poured herself a cup of hot water. It was quite cold standing on the platform, but she dared not move, fearing that if Wang Qiqi arrived and couldn't find her, they might miss each other entirely. "Your sister said to follow your lead. Once we've narrowed down the choices sufficiently, she'll come over. I think..." Luo Hongjuan knew that Song Yao used to always defer to Wang Qiqi's judgment, and if she agreed, Song Yao wouldn't object. But now that Song Yao was saying this, it sounded a bit like she didn't fully trust Wang Qiqi. Luo Hongjuan quickly explained, worried that Qiqi might overthink it.

Hearing this, Wang Qiqi actually breathed a sigh of relief. "It’s best if my sister comes in person. I was worried that I could make the final call on the storefront, but the interior design style..." While Wang Qiqi considered her own taste acceptable, it wasn't enough if she liked it; the owner had to be satisfied. "Mom, let's look at a few more storefronts, and then let my sister make the final decision." Since Song Yao was coming anyway, it was best to let her decide this matter too.

Luo Hongjuan saw that Wang Qiqi showed no sign of distress and was, in fact, speaking cheerfully. However, Wang Qiqi's last sentence made her suspect that Qiqi was just pretending. Perhaps she was terribly annoyed inside but too polite to show it. If the daughter-in-law didn't want to discuss it further, Luo Hongjuan decided not to press the issue either. "When is Tao Tao coming back?" She had thought her son would be back by mid-March, but unexpectedly, he was still in the US.

"End of the month. Han Tao emailed me yesterday to confirm his flight ticket," Wang Qiqi replied, refilling her mother-in-law’s water glass. "Mom, once you come to live in Beijing for a longer period, you'll get to see Tao Tao all the time." Wang Qiqi wondered where her older sister would rent the shop space; Luo Hongjuan's accommodation would then become an issue, given that they currently lived in the suburbs.

Luo Hongjuan nodded. "Yes, I've already arranged things with my unit; I’ll stop working in August. They are organizing early retirement packages anyway. Even if the salary is a bit lower, I don't mind." Song Yao was offering a decent salary, plus she'd get to stay with her son for a year. Luo Hongjuan felt early retirement was the best choice no matter how she calculated it. Moreover, the Han family situation had been rather unpleasant lately, and Luo Hongjuan didn't want to get further entangled in it.

Early retirement? Wang Qiqi pondered the term, which sounded distinctly unfamiliar, before finally grasping its meaning. "That's a good arrangement. Then Mom can collect two incomes from now on." Wang Qiqi had initially assumed she would have to resign and pay her own social security, but it seemed her original unit was being quite helpful. Perhaps the unit was happy too, finally freeing up a spot. Luo Hongjuan’s current position was quite relaxed, not the kind of job that would be eliminated, and certainly, many people had their eyes on that position. (To be continued)