Wang Qiqi trusted Han Tao implicitly, but regarding Jiang Xin, she privately resolved to keep a close watch on her. She was particularly curious how Jiang Xin had obtained information about Han Tao’s whereabouts—was it through constant surveillance or an informant? Wang Qiqi felt she absolutely had to get to the bottom of this, especially the latter possibility; that mole had to be rooted out.

After Han Tao offered repeated assurances, he noticed Wang Qiqi’s expression hadn't softened. He knew her lack of relaxation wasn't due to distrust in his words; his wife’s stance on his sincerity was absolute trust. Although she rarely monitored his male relationships closely, after the rumors about his trip to the US spread at school, Han Tao suddenly became a prominent figure, sought after by many young women. Qiqi had only shown up at school a few times to assert her status as his primary wife, but otherwise, she displayed no possessiveness, never questioning him about how many girls walked past him looking perfectly made up, or if he’d had any chance encounters.

Han Tao understood Wang Qiqi’s trust wasn't born of generosity, but necessity. Should she ever discover infidelity—and this included not just physical acts but anything emotional—he was certain Qiqi would leave him the instant she knew, and before departing, she would meticulously settle all their joint finances.

Everyone, including Luo Hongjuan, assumed Han Tao handed over his entire salary to Qiqi, who then managed it all collectively. But Han Tao knew Qiqi tracked every bit of his income with meticulous precision; even their joint expenses were split precisely in half. If he claimed to gift Qiqi something, she would itemize it under that specific expenditure, and anything she gave him was noted similarly. Han Tao had reservations, but he could only let Wang Qiqi proceed as she wished. His only recourse was to hold fast to his core principles. “Don’t worry, my heart is only with you.” Han Tao kissed Wang Qiqi softly. “Tell me, what was troubling you before?”

Before Jiang Xin’s strange behavior, Wang Qiqi felt her previous worries were indeed minor. She recounted the incident of someone knitting a sweater and then tried to brush it off lightly, “I was just thinking my knitting skills aren't great, that’s all…” Qiqi watched his face, relaxed yet acutely attuned to her husband’s subtle facial shifts, and thus she noticed a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

Han Tao hadn't expected Shi Man to knit a sweater for Feng Xuanxiang; this was far beyond his expectations. But then he understood why Qiqi had seemed so unsettled the entire evening. “It’s nothing, nothing. I was worried you’d end up knitting a sweater so ugly I wouldn’t be able to wear it.” Han Tao spoke with an air that was half relief, half feigned concern.

While Wang Qiqi secretly hoped he would want to wear a sweater knitted with her loving intent, she certainly didn’t want to hear him mock it, effectively dodging the effort. She had initially intended to retort, Hmph, since you don’t want one, I’ll knit you one anyway, ugly or not, and you’ll have to wear it, see what you can do? But Wang Qiqi paused; this felt like a deliberate goading tactic from him.

Realizing this, Wang Qiqi’s expression of annoyance remained, but when she looked at Han Tao, she detected a hint of genuine anticipation in his eyes. This confirmed for her that he had indeed tried to provoke her. However, Han Tao probably wanted Wang Qiqi to realize he was employing reverse psychology. Considering his expectation, Qiqi decided to play along. Hmph, what’s one sweater? But then she reconsidered—knitting a sweater seemed rather difficult. Wang Qiqi immediately dismissed the idea of the sweater and decided to switch to something easier: a scarf. Yes, she would knit a scarf. Since she was aiming to deploy a heartfelt yarn-based gesture toward her man, she ought to choose something more immediately noticeable. A scarf was the perfect choice. Decision made.

Having settled on what she would weave for her man, Wang Qiqi felt much more relaxed. Nevertheless, she maintained a perfectly poised, slightly haughty demeanor. “Hmph, trying to goad me into knitting you a sweater? You take me for a fool. Don’t worry, to prevent you from looking ridiculous, to keep Manman from having a chance to mock me, and for various other self-preserving reasons, I’ve decided against subjecting us to mutual torment. Don’t expect it.”

Han Tao wasn’t entirely surprised by the outcome, yet a small sense of disappointment lingered. “I should thank you, really. Otherwise, my reputation, sigh…” Han Tao gently stroked her hair. “Since I know now, there’s no need for you to stress over it. I’ll head back to work.” Han Tao felt that if he lingered any longer, he might end up begging Qiqi to knit him a sweater, regardless of whether it was beautiful or utterly unwearable.

Watching Han Tao walk out of the room looking somewhat dejected, Wang Qiqi’s lips curved into a wide smile, which she quickly covered with her hand. No matter what, this unexecuted secret had to be kept safe. Wang Qiqi found herself genuinely looking forward to seeing her man’s expression when he received her Christmas or New Year’s gift.

The mere thought of her man perhaps displaying a childlike joy filled Wang Qiqi with confidence in her endeavor. “But learning how to knit yarn from someone remains the issue.”

Shi Man was the obvious candidate for a mentor at home, but Wang Qiqi instinctively balked at learning from her. For one, Shi Man’s knitting skills weren’t top-tier. While making a scarf wasn't extremely complex, Qiqi wanted a competent instructor if she was going to learn. A more significant reason was that Wang Qiqi knew her own learning curve would involve a protracted period where she would serve as the perfect target for Shi Man’s ridicule. If she eventually succeeded in creating a finished product, that would be a triumph, a chance to redeem herself. But if she failed to produce anything, Wang Qiqi could fully foresee it becoming a lifelong stain, a recurring joke Shi Man would bring up every time they met.

The thought of being mocked by Shi Man only strengthened Wang Qiqi’s resolve to find a different teacher. But if not Shi Man, then whom? This presented a considerable problem for Wang Qiqi.

“Qiqi, what’s wrong? Are you in a bad mood today, or did you do something to upset Qiqi?” Dai Lijun turned, gave Han Tao a look implying he hadn't been behaving, and then turned back to his computer.

Han Tao felt incredibly wronged. What misdeed had he committed? He was a good guy! He had initially intended to share the news he’d overheard about the love-knit sweater. After all, Daizi (Day/Dai Lijun) shared his status of never having received a lovingly made garment, so it was unfair that only he was agonizing over it while the other man was looking smugly self-righteous about Qiqi’s supposed misbehavior. But then Han Tao recalled that his wife’s attempts at knitting in her childhood were already the subject of jokes his mother frequently recounted—especially after he and Qiqi became serious. His mother once declared that her son would never wear a sweater knitted by his wife. Han Tao didn’t know Lu Qiaowei’s full background; perhaps she couldn't knit now, but what if she learned quickly? Thinking this, Han Tao suppressed the idea. “Qiqi, I’m just feeling a bit down, nothing serious. Oh right, where were we in our conversation?”

Seeing Han Tao unwilling to elaborate, Dai Lijun didn't press the matter. It likely had nothing to do with him anyway. Despite his curiosity, he knew that if Han Tao didn't want to discuss something, no amount of questioning would yield results.

Wang Qiqi stood outside a yarn shop for a long time, unable to bring herself to enter. Ever since she resolved to knit a scarf for her boyfriend, she had been wandering around during her free time, looking for shops that offered hand-knitting lessons. But once she finally selected a yarn store after visiting several, she hesitated again. “Sigh, I’m so clumsy; I wonder if they’d even agree to teach me.” If she were clever, Wang Qiqi wouldn't worry; she could simply buy a large quantity of yarn, but she had zero confidence in her manual dexterity. She couldn't even estimate how long it would take her to complete a simple scarf from start to finish. Wang Qiqi genuinely feared that even if she purchased thousands of dollars worth of yarn, they might still refuse, simply because she, their self-proclaimed clumsy apprentice, was such a lost cause. Though this shop owner was the one Wang Qiqi judged to be the kindest after multiple comparisons.

But even the kindest owner—could they remain kind to someone as inept as her? Wang Qiqi truly wasn’t sure. “Maybe I should go back and buy an introductory knitting book first. At least then I’d have some basic foundation.” Wang Qiqi let out a long sigh. While she didn't trust the reliability of learning entirely from a book, it had to be better than starting completely clueless, didn't it? Besides, it was already May; if she didn't speed up, Wang Qiqi figured she’d only be ready to present her gift next Christmas.

Just as Wang Qiqi turned to head toward the Xinhua Bookstore, she saw a young girl carrying a school bag dart into the shop. A moment later, she overheard a sharp voice: “You child, how can this be? It’s just the twenty-six letters of the alphabet, and you just can’t learn them!”

“It’s maddening! I spent so much money hiring a tutor for you, and your grades haven't improved one bit. Fine, not improving grades is one thing, but you actually managed to drive the teacher away! I mean, you…”

“This time is even worse—you scored only in the low eighties on your English test. You’re only in the sixth grade, having studied English for over a year! With scores like this, do you think you can even get into a district key middle school?”

Wang Qiqi listened to the shop owner’s tirade, punctuated by the little girl’s explanations—like the tutor’s English being incomprehensible, or how she understood it at the time but forgot it later, or how she got confused during the test. In short, the young girl didn't entirely agree with her mother’s accusations, suggesting the fault lay with the tutor. “Mom, the English tutor you hired for me was terrible…” (To be continued)