Upon returning to the Capital, Luo Hongjuan immediately plunged into the frantic preparations for opening her shop. Wang Qiqi managed to finalize the terms with the young girl who had previously helped with sales at the café, successfully poaching her. For one, the girl was decent enough, and second, having someone familiar with the ropes would be helpful. Besides, Wang Qiqi knew this girl had actually been specifically hired by the café owners because of their initial setup there; now that Wang Qiqi’s group had retreated, the girl’s position was rather awkward.

Wang Qiqi and the others became consumed with preparing for their final exams. Dai Lijun had originally intended to treat everyone to a meal as soon as Qiqi was back, eager to gloat to Wang Qiqi about his good news, but seeing how engrossed everyone was in their studies, he sighed, "You guys have it easy. You still have a full year of university left. Even if finals are hectic, the rest of the time is quite relaxed."

This comment managed to infuriate not only Wang Qiqi but also Shi Man and Lu Qiaowei. Shi Man was already stressed enough dealing with the TOEFL exam, finals, and her shop’s matters. To have someone showing off right next to her was unbearable. As Dai Lijun walked by, she swiftly kicked him twice. Lu Qiaowei, being Dai Lijun’s girlfriend, certainly didn't spare Wang Qiqi, and delivered a couple of kicks herself. "Show off, show off! Don't you know we're already stressed enough?" Lu Qiaowei already felt a headache coming on just looking at the English vocabulary; now add the material she had to memorize for exams. She felt like she saw test papers every time she closed her eyes. To have her beloved boyfriend say something like that right now was truly infuriating. "When you have time, go buy some fruit. Not too many watermelons—three will suffice. Nothing too big, nothing too small."

Dai Lijun was stunned. He only meant to needle Wang Qiqi a bit, but before he could bother Qiqi, his own girlfriend started the trouble. And three watermelons—even medium-sized ones. Just as Dai Lijun was starting to feel the weight of this mission,

"Remember to bring back some grapes," Shi Man said distractedly, flipping a page of her book. Hmph, show off, show off. Hitting you lightly was too kind; you should have been sent to do chores. If you show off again, the dinner tonight will be entirely on the shoulders of this idle, showing-off male.

Wang Qiqi suddenly remembered they were out of kiwis. "If there are kiwis, bring some back. If there are apples, bring some apples. It’s so hot; a fruit salad for a late-night snack would be nice."

"Oh, and we're out of yogurt at home. Make sure to buy plenty of yogurt. And we're out of milk, too," Zhu Lina announced as if just remembering. "I actually planned to buy milk, but things got busy, and with exams approaching, I completely forgot. You're the lucky one, Daizi."

If the others’ words only slightly saddened Daizi, then Han Tao’s comment was the final blow that utterly crushed him. "Brother, since you're home with nothing much to do, this logistics job falls to you. Just make sure we have fruit we like and properly heated meals waiting for us when we get back. You can handle the cleaning work while you’re at it."

Dai Lijun stared, dumbfounded, at Han Tao, who spoke as if delegating minor tasks. He let out a loud cry and dove onto Han Tao, hitting him repeatedly. "Brother, are you still my brother? How easily you sold me out! You know what I hate most." Han Tao had witnessed how he was bossed around by this group of women before, yet he deliberately pulled a move like this. Did he want Dai Lijun to die faster?

"Well, I watch you sitting around the house all day with nothing to do, and it seems awfully boring."

Dai Lijun knew his earlier actions were a bit much, but he felt so happy! Seeing others suffer only made him feel supremely fortunate. "I just wanted to gloat a little," he mumbled.

"Gloat is normal, but you have to see which side you’re standing on—the majority or the minority?" Wang Qiqi thought that gloating was fine, but what mattered was whether you were popular. "Alright, stop wasting time. Hurry up and go buy the fruit. You’re not trying to stall until we forget, are you? Oh, and pick up some bread while you’re out; tomorrow's breakfast is bread."

"Then grab some cured sausage while you're at it," Shi Man thought, finding just bread too boring. "Oh, and we’re out of eggs at home. Buy some eggs; we’ll make sandwiches tomorrow morning."

Hearing that they hadn't forgotten about the fruit, and that the list of required items was only growing, Dai Lijun quickly got up and headed for the door. "Hey, Qiqi, can I borrow your car? Otherwise, I won’t be able to carry everything back."

Wang Qiqi waved him off. "The keys are on the shoe cabinet; just grab them."

A moment later, he called out again, "I need to buy so much stuff. I’ll shout when I get back to the door; make sure you come out to help me bring it in."

"Sure, don't worry. If we don't come out to get you, we’ll just worry you’ll drop everything. It’s fine for you to make the trip, but the main thing is that money is hard to earn," Han Tao stated plainly. "Be careful on the bike. Even if you get hurt, the stuff can't get damaged."

If he gets hurt, the stuff can't get damaged? Dai Lijun felt utterly aggrieved. He, a living person, was being ranked lower than inanimate objects. "I'm leaving."

"But you guys really have to come out and get me!" Five minutes later, just as everyone thought Dai Lijun had long since departed, he spoke up again.

This time, no one answered him. They simply picked up the nearest, handiest object and pretended to throw it. "Aren't you going out to shop yet?" Everyone shouted in unison, "If you dawdle any longer, the fruit shop will be closed!"

Dai Lijun flinched, swiftly closing the door behind him. "I'm leaving right now!" Good heavens, if he didn't leave, someone was going to get hurt. Wang Qiqi was actually grabbing a thick English-Chinese dictionary. My god, no matter how hard his head was, could it be harder than that dictionary? "Women! Women are truly a vicious species."

Dai Lijun grumbled as he cycled away. He thought his own woman was the best. Even while holding things, she was holding the lightest item—a notepad—and still made a puckering face gesture for him. Dai Lijun knew that was his wife’s way of comforting him. Hmph, if those other people hadn't been around, he knew his wife definitely wouldn't have done that. In short, everything was Wang Qiqi and the others’ fault. If they hadn't been there influencing his wife, would his wife be like this? And Han Tao was terrible too. It was clearly four women against two men, with the women already holding the advantage, yet his good brother couldn't see the situation clearly and kept siding with the women to attack him. Was that right? Maybe he should ask Han Tao to go out for a gathering so they could discuss whether they were on the same side. But now he felt it was unnecessary. He was about to go abroad soon. Dai Lijun couldn't believe the women wouldn't team up against Han Tao then. The thought of Han Tao having to endure that life made Dai Lijun feel smug and happy.

"Weiwei, your man is just too much, showing off endlessly," Shi Man put down her book with a long sigh. "The air feels fresher even without Daizi here. But Qiqi, after the exams, we must make Daizi treat us to a proper meal."

Lu Qiaowei, though agreeing her man was too boastful, was quite displeased with Shi Man seeming to exclude her. "Manman, you've struck gold too. When are you treating us to something good?"

Wang Qiqi finally lifted her gaze from her textbook. "Has the news been confirmed?" No way, the news came out this fast? That efficiency was too high.

Zhu Lina nodded, feeling a bit downcast herself. After this news broke, she hadn't stopped thinking about perhaps getting a small piece of the action, but before headquarters could even respond, the Hong Kong side had already secured the land plots; the contracts were signed immediately, leaving many people unable to get a taste. "In about three years, the price of the shops Shi Man and Daizi bought will skyrocket. The rental rates will be incredibly high too."

However, Zhu Lina found it strange that Wang Qiqi showed no sign of trying to get involved after hearing this news. And now, hearing this great news, Qiqi showed no expression of regret. Did she buy into it privately? But Qiqi wasn't that kind of person; she wouldn't stay quiet about something as major as buying property.

Wang Qiqi actually felt a pang of regret. If she had signed a contract and paid a deposit back then, she could have sold the asset now and at least made enough money for a year's living expenses. At the very least, she could have covered Han Tao’s and her round-trip airfare to the US. "If it’s not our money, it's not our money," Wang Qiqi reflected internally. "Speaking of which, can we eat two feasts, or rather, three?"

"Three?" Shi Man knew one feast was for her, but who were the other two for?

"One is for Daizi getting rich, which he’ll treat us to. The second is for Daizi going to the US; we should give him a farewell party," Wang Qiqi quickly adjusted her mood.

Daizi rushed back, struggling with a huge pile of things. Just as he triumphantly used his bicycle tire to push open the main door, he heard Wang Qiqi’s words and immediately cried out, "Wang Qiqi, no way! You want me to treat you to two meals?" Good heavens, even though his property value had increased, as long as he didn't sell, it was just paper wealth! "Shouldn't the farewell party be hosted by you guys, celebrating me going to the US?"

"The thing is, you're going to the US to enjoy life and earn US dollars, you're going to make a fortune! Everyone vote: should Daizi treat us to two meals or one?" Wang Qiqi ceded the right to vote to everyone else. "Daizi, I’m being very fair; the minority obeys the majority."

Dai Lijun had no energy left to complain about Wang Qiqi’s brand of fairness. "No need to vote. Two meals it is." After all, he had struck the jackpot this time. Compared to the money he stood to make, this was small change. Dai Lijun felt no pressure whatsoever. (To be continued.)