Though Wang Qiqi wasn't entirely thrilled, she knew she couldn't back out of learning to drive just because of a few words from Han Tao. In that place called the States, getting around without a car was genuinely inconvenient. "Fine, I'll go learn to drive, and you're responsible for buying the car then." Hmph, Wang Qiqi could already foresee how miserable their driver would have it, sigh.

Han Tao thumped his chest. "Don't worry. We can't afford a new car here, but I can afford one when we go abroad. Of course, for now..." Han Tao glanced cautiously at Wang Qiqi, "...we'll just buy a used car to practice with." Even though new cars were cheaper than in China, Han Tao thought, who practices driving in a brand-new car? "Once we're both in the States, we'll buy a new one."

"An old car for you to drive?" Wang Qiqi gave the man a look and asked casually.

"Is that even a question?" Although men generally have a great interest in cars, Han Tao's attraction to automobiles could never rival that of computers. Hearing this topic, Daly Jun, sitting in the study, could only shake his head, unsure what to say. Han Tao's answer didn't surprise him; if he had given any other response, it would have just been him teasing Wang Qiqi.

Wang Qiqi pointed to the coffee machine. "The coffee will be ready soon. Drink less water." Wang Qiqi wasn't too surprised by Han Tao's answer. Even if he had some interest in cars, all his current energy and time were devoted to his computer; it was already a blessing that he had a car at all. "Why don't you learn now too?" Wang Qiqi thought it would be a bit lonely learning by herself and wanted to drag her man along.

Han Tao poured half a cup of plain boiled water in the kitchen. "I'm not planning to learn here. First, there isn't enough time, and second, it's expensive." He'd rather use that money to learn abroad; he didn't believe he couldn't pass the test with his abilities.

Wang Qiqi figured that was true; they could learn later. Besides, when he returned to China, she could drag him around everywhere and keep an eye on him in the process. "Alright, when we get back to China, I'll be the driver. Just remember to pay my salary."

Pay salary? Han Tao whispered into Wang Qiqi's ear, "Haven't I always been supplying the public grain? Aren't you satisfied yet?" Han Tao wasn't surprised to see Wang Qiqi blush, and then her ears slowly started turning red too. He immediately darted away at the first moment; if he hadn't, there wouldn't have been any pleasant consequences.

Wang Qiqi hadn't expected this reserved man to say something like that. Did men change significantly after tasting intimacy? But he was really something, how could he say that in this situation? She remembered 'Daizi' was in the house. Wang Qiqi admitted she might have bullied Daizi a bit too much recently. If Daizi heard what Han Tao said, she would definitely look at her with ambiguous eyes and seek revenge at the first opportunity. Wang Qiqi snapped back to reality and realized something was wrong: she felt like she had been taken advantage of verbally by someone. The salary she meant was money—RMB or USD—but what was this "public grain" he was talking about? Damn it, that was too much! Just as Wang Qiqi snapped out of it and was about to lecture the man, she saw he had already quickly retreated to the study. "Hmph, he runs fast enough. But I will definitely get revenge for this." Wang Qiqi only dared to say this in a low voice.

When Lu Qiaowei woke up, she found herself alone by the bedside. Listening closely, she could hear Han Tao and her man talking, knowing they were still home, so she lay there for a little longer. When she finally emerged from the room, she expected it to be just her and Daizi, the three of them gone, but to her surprise, Wang Qiqi was brewing coffee. Recalling what Daizi and she had done earlier, her face flushed slightly. "Qiqi, are you making coffee?"

Wang Qiqi hummed an affirmation; the coffee was ready just then. "Want some?"

Lu Qiaowei shook her head. "No, thanks." Having just slept well, Lu Qiaowei wasn't tired. She wasn't that addicted to coffee; for her, it was just a way to stay alert. "Is this for Han Tao and the others?" Seeing Wang Qiqi carrying the cups toward the study, Lu Qiaowei immediately stepped forward to take them.

With someone so enthusiastically helping carry the coffee, Wang Qiqi certainly didn't object. It was getting late, and she still hadn't changed her clothes. She might as well check her email online. The tenant the agent found last time really wasn't ideal; Wang Qiqi wasn't satisfied, feeling the person didn't seem like a good sort. Wang Qiqi worried that when the lease ended or business wasn't good, the tenant might cause trouble when leaving. After discussing it with Song Yao, Wang Qiqi decided to find a new tenant. Besides posting through the agent, Wang Qiqi had also mentioned it to Ye Ruizhi, who said he would try to find if any friends needed a storefront. In short, the current plan was to cast a wide net to secure a decent tenant.

When she opened her mailbox and found no new emails, Wang Qiqi gave a wry smile and closed it, picking up the coffee she had set aside to drink. She thought keeping this property wasn't a long-term solution; for her and Song Yao right now, the monthly mortgage was a significant burden.

When Han Tao entered the room to change, he saw Wang Qiqi sitting by the bed looking dejected and felt confused. "What's wrong?" Could his wife still be angry about what happened earlier?

Hearing Han Tao's words, Wang Qiqi shook her head at him and stood up. "Nothing, I'm just thinking about the shop. There hasn't been any news for days."

"Don't rush. It's only been a few days. Tenants need to be found slowly; we must find a good one. The last one really wouldn't do." Han Tao had been present when discussing things with that tenant previously. "You were right not to rent to him; he’s not honest, and if any small issues arise later, he'll constantly bother you."

Wang Qiqi certainly knew that. "Sigh, I won't think about it anymore. By the way, are we leaving soon?"

Han Tao hummed. "Nana just called; she said she'll be here in twenty minutes."

Twenty minutes! Wang Qiqi only then remembered, "Why isn't Manman coming?" Someone said today she was going to the library to find materials; had she forgotten? Wang Qiqi really didn't know what that girl was so secretive about lately. Wang Qiqi had noticed several times that when Manman went to find Shi Man, she seemed particularly nervous, quickly hiding something away. Although Wang Qiqi was very curious and really wanted to know what the girl was up to, Shi Man always brushed it off, saying it was nothing. Wang Qiqi could only wait for her to slip up.

Just as Wang Qiqi asked about Shi Man, she heard Shi Man panting, "Good thing I made it."

Wang Qiqi walked out of the room and saw the girl's face was flushed red from running. "Why didn't you watch the time when you went to the library? Really, if you couldn't make it, you could have called us, and we would have gone to pick you up from the library." However, Wang Qiqi noticed Shi Man wasn't holding any books, which made her curious. Normally, if someone went to the library, they would absolutely borrow books, whether professional texts or others, but Shi Man hadn't borrowed any today? Nor had she brought any books to the library. How could Wang Qiqi not find this strange?

Wang Qiqi's eyes were fixed on Shi Man's hands. Shi Man found this very odd. She remembered washing her hands before leaving; Wang Qiqi absolutely wouldn't notice anything. But after watching for a while, Shi Man understood the reason. "I'll go back first to put my books away, and then I'll just head straight home tonight." Shi Man thought that person was too meticulous; she even noticed such a small detail.

Shi Man's reply wasn't wrong. Wang Qiqi, who was initially puzzled whether Shi Man had gone out to do something, was now certain through that statement that Shi Man probably hadn't gone out or even to the library. She must have been hiding at home. After all, Shi Man knew that today Wang Qiqi was accompanying Lu Qiaowei to pick up Daly Jun, and Han Tao had no classes in the afternoon, meaning Wang Qiqi basically wouldn't be back. So, everything pointed to one conclusion.

Wang Qiqi certainly wouldn't expose the girl's lie. She just stared at Shi Man with a knowing, half-smile for a while before saying, "That's good. Have something to drink, and then we'll get ready to go." So the little girl had secrets now. Wang Qiqi was quite interested in what the girl was up to privately.

Shi Man, looking at Wang Qiqi's smile, felt a shock inside. Alas, she knew she couldn't hide it from Wang Qiqi. She was truly terrible; she couldn't even keep a little secret. Actually, Shi Man didn't want to hide anything from Qiqi, but she felt her achievement was so trashy and terrible that it was really embarrassing to show. Plus, there was the fact that Wang Qiqi didn't seem like the type to do such things. If she found out, or if Han Tao found out, what would Han Tao think?

Wang Qiqi looked at Shi Man's thoughtful expression and wondered if this girl's secret had anything to do with her. Could she be preparing a birthday surprise for her? But Wang Qiqi felt that was pure wishful thinking. Although her birthday was only half a month away, the problem was Wang Qiqi didn't think Shi Man would put much effort into her birthday gift. But Feng Xuanxiang's birthday wasn't until the latter half of the year; it couldn't be that she was preparing for it now? "Oh, right, Manman, I plan to learn to drive. Are you interested?"

Learn to drive? Shi Man repeated the words a few times. She thought about it—she didn't seem to have any reason to learn to drive. "I don't want to learn." Learning would just be a waste of money, and she didn't have money to waste. Even if she could afford those few thousand yuan, the fact was she wasn't buying a car in China, so it was purely an act of wastefulness.

"If we learn now, it will be much easier to get our driver's licenses when we go to the States. Then we can..." Wang Qiqi described the wonderful days after driving and getting a license to Shi Man. As Wang Qiqi spoke, a moved expression appeared on Shi Man's face.

"I'll learn, I'll learn." Even if she had to re-test when they went to the States later, having a foundation would make passing the exam easy. Shi Man was successfully swayed by Wang Qiqi to learn to drive.