Wang Qiqi helped the unsteady Han Tao slowly walk out of the KTV. "Are you alright?" Honestly, why did he have to drink so much with that Cao Jiaming when he had such a low tolerance for alcohol? But that guy was truly despicable; he kept pushing drinks even when Han Tao was clearly disoriented. He’s not a good person at all.

Song Yao also took some issue with Cao Jiaming and didn't want to see him at that moment. "You go take Wang Rui and the others back; come pick us up later." Really, Han Tao isn't a good drinker. Even though Song Ziwen loved to joke around, he never forced alcohol on people like that. It was always, 'Drink as much as you can handle.' But this kid from the south, banking on his high tolerance, dared to bully Han Tao. How could Song Yao not be angry? In Song Yao's eyes, Wang Qiqi was like a blood sister, while Wang Rui was only a distant cousin, the kind where the relation is miles away. Yet, her man thought the politeness everyone showed him before was because of his family fortune. It wasn't Song Yao who said it; his pride stemmed entirely from his parents. He hadn't earned a single penny, and he never registered in Song Yao's view.

"Okay." Gong Peixing agreed without a second thought. To be honest, if he weren't driving, he wouldn't have wanted to see that kid from the south either. He was insufferably arrogant. When he wasn't drinking, he was tolerable, or perhaps, good at hiding it. But once he had a little, or drank too much, his whole demeanor changed, and his true colors showed—a look that screamed, 'I am the best under the heavens.' The thought alone irritated him.

What displeased Gong Peixing even more was that Wang Rui, being a girl, was also quite drunk. "I'll go get the car; you all wait here for a moment."

Song Yao and Wang Qiqi supported Han Tao, one on each side, while Cao Jiaming and Wang Rui let themselves sit on the ground and cause a scene. Although they were internally furious and desperately wanted to help them up, the problem was that the pair had started singing right there in the middle of the road. "I think they live like this often." Song Yao watched Wang Rui navigate back into the private room with such familiarity and shuddered. And the way she effortlessly poured drinks—Song Yao wondered how long it had been since she started university for her to have turned out like this. Alas.

Wang Qiqi paid them no mind; they were too embarrassing. "They ordered forty bottles of beer, and those two downed about thirty of them." Even Wang Qiqi and Song Yao were forced to drink a few bottles. Even then, Wang Rui looked at them with disdain and commented on their poor tolerance. At that moment, Wang Qiqi really wanted to storm out, but she held back. Even if she left, someone still had to pay the bill. "Good thing I brought some cash." They had already eaten their fill before going to sing, but the moment they entered, Wang Rui started ordering lavishly as if she were footing the bill. Then she turned to Wang Qiqi and said, "Oops, sister, I ordered too much, maybe we should..." In front of the waiter, how could Wang Qiqi possibly say, 'Then order fewer items'? Even if Wang Qiqi didn't mind, the manager of the karaoke place happened to be Song Yao’s classmate, so the image-conscious Song Yao would never agree.

"How much was the bill?" Song Yao asked in a low voice, as Wang Qiqi had gone to settle the payment. Song Yao had been busy looking after the drunks and hadn't followed her out.

"Fifteen hundred, and that was after a discount," Wang Qiqi said, feeling her temper flare just thinking about it. "As if I look like a rich tycoon to them!" Damn it, dinner was only a little over six hundred, yet Wang Rui had looked pained about that amount. "I should have ordered more dishes." Wang Qiqi had hoped this girl would be a little more restrained that night and not order so much, but she never expected... In short, Wang Qiqi felt she had overestimated someone.

Song Yao nodded along beside her. "I told you Wang Rui has no conscience."

Not long after, Gong Peixing, driving Wang Rui, prepared to leave. "Brother-in-law, you come pick up my sister later; we'll take a cab back." Wang Qiqi gripped the car door, addressing Gong Peixing. "Bring me some of those specialty goods from Beijing when you come over." Wang Qiqi had forgotten to pick them up earlier. She had planned to give them to Wang Damei tomorrow, but now, if someone saw them then, it would cause another uproar.

"Sure." If it were anyone else, Gong Peixing might have offered some polite demurral, but with Qiqi, he wouldn't be so formal. They were family; why be so distant? "Be careful on the road." As for the taxi fare, Gong Peixing knew that as long as his wife was around, she wouldn't let Qiqi pay.

It took all the strength Wang Qiqi and Song Yao had to finally get Han Tao up to the apartment. Both were sweating by the time they were done, and Song Yao shook her slightly numb arm. "Her brother-in-law is useless. How can he still not be back after taking someone home?" He left before them, so why hadn't he returned yet?

"He must be taking two drunkards upstairs," Wang Qiqi replied, taking a slice of watermelon she had bought that afternoon from the kitchen. "It’s really good."

Song Yao, also feeling thirsty, said thanks and started eating. "Did you know Han Tao's cousin is getting a divorce?" Song Yao knew Wang Qiqi would be interested in the affairs of the Han family; she hadn't remembered to mention it in the car earlier.

Han Jun is getting a divorce? Wang Qiqi was stunned by Song Yao's news. "Who brought it up?" Logically, Ding Meina shouldn't be the one to suggest divorce. "Did the other party agree to marry her?" Otherwise, why would a heavily pregnant woman propose a divorce?

Song Yao hadn't expected Wang Qiqi seemed to know something. She pointed at her. "You—you don't happen to know that the baby Ding Meina is carrying isn't from the Han family, do you?" This news had only surfaced recently. Luo Hongjuan had specifically told Song Yao not to mention this to Wang Qiqi and the others to avoid worrying them while they were in Beijing. Actually, Song Yao felt that whether Han Jun divorced or whether the child was Han's bloodline wasn't important to Wang Qiqi and the others. "Was it Zhu Lina who told you?" If it was her, then everything made sense.

Wang Qiqi hummed an acknowledgement. "I don't know exactly who, only that the person is a client of the Ding family, but someone who is already married. Wait, is Ding Meina pregnant and filing for divorce?" But then she reconsidered: if the other party was willing to marry her, why would they bring up divorce after the marriage? The logic didn't hold up.

"It wasn't Ding Meina who brought it up; it was Xue Hong. After she found out the child Ding Meina carries isn't Han's, she started making a scene," Song Yao thought Xue Hong was utterly brainless. Why would she expose the fact that her daughter-in-law's child wasn't a Han when that put the Ding family in the wrong? But wasn't it also saying her son was wearing a massive cuckold's hat? Any mother-in-law with an ounce of sense wouldn't have blown things up like that. Even if a divorce was inevitable, she should have used this leverage to threaten the Ding family for a better settlement. But instead, she immediately exposed everything. Although many people said the Ding family acted improperly, it equally enraged the Ding family, driving them to cornered desperation. "The two families have completely torn each other apart now."

Wang Qiqi was speechless; she really couldn't have high expectations for Xue Hong's intelligence. "She should have slowly ground down the Ding family, squeezed money out of them. If she had held onto this secret, the Ding family, for whatever reason, would have kept paying money just to buy peace." As long as the other party held their position, they would continue giving orders to the Ding family. As long as the Ding family made money, they were an endless vault—at least enough to cover the high-interest loans they took out for the wedding, maybe even enough for a house. But now, that was out of the question.

Song Yao took large bites of watermelon. "Now that they've fallen out with the Ding family, remember how much money they borrowed for the wedding? Those creditors saw the situation and started showing up at their door demanding repayment. You know they exhausted their savings just to marry this daughter-in-law. Where would they get the money to repay the debt?"

"So now they've set their sights on Han Tao's mother?" Wang Qiqi sighed, thinking the Han family was shamelessly thick-skinned. "Don't they have a house? If they don't have money for debt, they should sell the house." Hmph, with a house in hand, why worry about repaying debt?

"They have a docile, easy-to-dupe cash cow right there; why would they sell the house? Besides, selling the house would only emphasize that they are even worse off than Han Tao. But their family situation is quite amusing: the elders are at home wailing about the family's disgrace for marrying such a scandalous daughter-in-law, yet Han Jun is still living at the Ding house, hovering around Ding Meina day in and day out." This was the funniest part, the part that made outsiders laugh the most.

Wang Qiqi was completely stunned. She knew Han Jun was greedy, but she never imagined he would abandon his moral bottom line for money. She stared at Song Yao, dumbfounded. "He knows the child isn't his, and he’s still shamelessly clinging to the Ding family?" Now Wang Qiqi understood why the Ding family was so calm: the male party involved was truly a lesser man than Liu Adou. "He's never had a moment of backbone in his life; is he even a man?" To watch his wife sleep with another man while she was pregnant, especially when that man was the biological father of the child in her belly...

Wang Qiqi thought to herself, no wonder the Ding family insisted the child take the Ding surname. First, they knew it wasn't Han's child, and second, if they raised the child well, they could keep Han Jun compliant; if he stepped out of line, they could kick him out immediately. Given Han Jun's subservience, Wang Qiqi figured as long as they provided him with food and drink, he would remain docile.

"So there’s going to be a lot of drama. But your mother-in-law will leave in a couple of days. Let them cause trouble then. But your neighbors really aren't the best," Song Yao said, recalling how Luo Hongjuan and Wang Damei had talked about the neighbors watching the drama unfold without a single person stepping in to mediate, which felt quite disheartening.

"That's why I plan to move. I intend to rent out this place," Wang Qiqi seized the opportunity to say. "I plan to take most of my things when I leave eventually. I'm genuinely worried that if I come back later, the house will have been cleaned out by people, and no one will even notice."

Song Yao hadn't expected Wang Qiqi to have this idea. In her mind, this place was a no-go zone for Wang Qiqi, and she would only stay there occasionally when she returned. "You plan to spend money to buy another house?"

"Mhm. Even if I only come back once a year, I don't want to see the faces of these people." Seeing them just made her angry. (To be continued)