Wang Qiqi went upstairs and discovered that the master bedroom even had an attached bathroom. Although it wasn't very large, it would certainly make handling certain matters more convenient. "This upstairs area is quite nice; we could put an ironing board here." Wang Qiqi noticed a small empty space just above the stairs, perfect for ironing clothes.

Shi Man sized up the space and surveyed the surroundings. "We could place a stool and a small table here. It would be quite pleasant for having afternoon tea or reading a book alone." The view from this spot was also quite good, even if it was mostly just trees.

The master bedroom was certainly fine, at least it had a bed. But when Wang Qiqi pushed open the doors to the other two rooms, she was utterly speechless. "Your man isn't just planning for a world built just for the two of you, is he?" Forget bedding—there weren't even any actual beds. "He doesn't expect me and Dai Lijun to sleep on the floor, does he?" While sleeping on the floor in the middle of summer was fine, Wang Qiqi felt this guy was going too far; he hadn't even bothered to set up these rooms! "And look at the dust on the floor." Ugh, everything was covered in a dull layer of grime, especially when compared to how clean the master bedroom was. Wang Qiqi suspected this kid had only bothered to clean downstairs and the master bedroom upstairs.

Shi Man also felt quite embarrassed; not only were there no beds for Qiqi and the others, but the rooms hadn't even been cleaned. "He’s been quite busy recently; he took out a mortgage for the house, so he’s had a tough time too." Don't let Shi Man's earlier silence fool you; she had taken in every word Feng Xuanxiang had explained. "He pulled some money out of the stock market, but it still wasn't quite enough, so he’s been busy working late with his boss."

Wang Qiqi watched Shi Man earnestly making excuses for the man and let out a few cold snorts. "Alright, if your man doesn't have time to clean, then you should help out. But I’m just worried that now that he owns a house, he'll become even more sought after. Are you prepared for that?" Perhaps Feng Xuanxiang was quite the catch before, and many girls were interested in him, but now that he actually owned property, he must seem like a true golden bachelor in the eyes of many women.

Shi Man naturally worried about that issue. "Can my worrying actually solve anything? Besides, he'll be busy paying off the loan and focusing on his studies later. It won't be easy for him to cheat. And next semester, we actually have a lot of free time." Most of the schedule will be taken up by internships or working on graduation theses; how busy can they really be?

Wang Qiqi conceded the point. "Han Tao will be coming over directly next year. He can discuss his thesis with his advisor online and just return to school for the final defense." Han Tao had received special permission from the professor, but Wang Qiqi didn't think she had that much pull with the faculty, and besides, she had plans of her own. "I plan to go find Li Qian while I don't have classes." Although she frequently received beautiful scenic photos from Li Qian, no matter how stunning the landscape, it never felt as satisfying as experiencing it firsthand. Plus, having a place to stay meant Wang Qiqi wanted to embrace a thoroughly slow life over there.

Go find Li Qian? Just as Shi Man was about to say something, a miserable shriek echoed up from downstairs. "Hmph, serves him right." He was showing off so much on the plane earlier; it wouldn't do to not teach him a small lesson.

Wang Qiqi pretended not to hear. "I plan to stay there for a month, just to see the place where the handsome Duan Yu lives."

"And the commercial vibe there isn't very strong right now. If I weren't planning on staying long-term, I'd seriously consider buying a place." Wang Qiqi knew housing prices in Lijiang weren't high, but she had no urge to buy property. If she bought a place to convert into a hostel, it would be useless without someone managing it. Although she could hire staff, Wang Qiqi truly felt that such an endeavor sounded exhausting. "But since Sister Qian has a house there, it’s the same for me to stay with her. Especially with that huge rooftop terrace for drinking tea and having lunch." Even though the photos suggested the view from the terrace was mainly distant mountains and rooftops, the expanse of blue sky, white clouds, and the dark roofing gave off an undeniably comfortable feeling.

"I want to go too," Shi Man said with envy. When she first received those photos, Shi Man had been quite captivated. The scenery was beautiful, and most importantly, there weren't many people on the streets, making it far better than some of the over-developed ancient towns.

"You shouldn't stay here guarding your man." She had seemed set on staying in the US for the whole next semester; how could she suddenly say she wanted to go to Li Qian's place?

"It's fine; I'll only stay for about ten days." Shi Man calculated and gave an answer. "I can stop by and work a bit while I’m there," to experience life a little. "Or I could be the procurement agent and look for interesting items. Those guys only know how to purchase things according to a list; don't expect them to go hunting for anything truly unique." Shi Man knew these men well enough; they were fine purchasing regular stock items at a mall, but asking them to go window shopping was out of the question.

"This perfectly suits your desire to shop around," Wang Qiqi thought. This really was the perfect job for Shi Man. She enjoyed browsing, whereas Wang Qiqi preferred seeing sights over spending too much time shopping. For her, it was about instant chemistry: if she liked something, she'd try it on, and if it fit well, she’d buy it immediately. But Shi Man liked wandering aimlessly; she might browse for half a day only to get overwhelmed by choices or end up buying the first thing she saw. To Qiqi, that was such a time-consuming process. However, now that she thought about it, having a partner who enjoyed shopping among their business associates was genuinely necessary. "How about starting this holiday?" Wang Qiqi asked kindly.

When to start was inconsequential to Shi Man. "Why don't you ask your sister first? After all, the things I'd select would be unique items, unlike the brand-name goods we usually sourced. Even if they're cheap, we can't afford to lose money right now; the family needs cash badly."

Wang Qiqi gave an "OK" gesture, signaling that it was fine. "Actually, I think selecting some unique jewelry wouldn't be a big problem. It's a shame we can't take photos; otherwise, that would be a great idea." Letting customers see pictures before deciding whether to purchase.

"The foreigners wouldn't agree; they'd think we were trying to steal their design concepts." Shi Man also felt it was a pity. "How about I first purchase a few things based on my own taste, take photos, mail them to Sister Yaoyao, and if a customer likes something, I'll sell it directly then?"

Wang Qiqi thought this was a solid plan. Just as she was about to continue discussing with Shi Man how to get this venture started, she realized that while their previous profit split was an even five-way split, Wang Qiqi sometimes saw the drawbacks. Previously, everyone was involved in purchasing, so nobody felt cheated. But the current trend was that Juliana wouldn't participate in daily procurement, and since last September, Feng Xuanxiang had been handling many of the purchases. Yet, the profit share remained the same. Perhaps no one felt slighted yet, but what if someone eventually felt taken advantage of? How could they continue working together? If they couldn't cooperate, that was one thing, but they shouldn't end up losing their friendship over it.

"Manman, have you totaled everything you need?" Feng Xuanxiang asked, standing at the base of the stairs, with Dai Lijun standing silently beside him.

Shi Man hadn't intended to come downstairs; she could have just stated what needed to be purchased. But seeing Dai Lijun standing there, remembering how miserably he had been screaming earlier, she rushed downstairs and then deliberately bumped into Dai Lijun as if by accident. Dai Lijun immediately looked up. "Hey, what's your problem?" Hmph, after being bullied by the man, she was now bullying him too. What a pair of scoundrels, colluding together! Not only did they benefit from covering up the incident, but now they were bullying him too—too much, far too much!

Wang Qiqi, leaning on the stair railing, was eagerly waiting to see if any marks had appeared on the man’s face. To her disappointment, there was nothing. This made Wang Qiqi feel let down. "What were you screaming about? Feng Xuanxiang didn't even lay a hand on you, yet you shrieked so terribly. We thought..." Even if he wasn't seriously injured, shouldn't he at least look like a panda? How come there wasn't even a shiner? His face was perfectly clean. "Did he hit you somewhere else?"

Shi Man was also surprised by his clean face. She was just about to criticize her own man for lacking skill, for not fighting properly and still getting a bad reputation, when she heard Wang Qiqi's question, and her body reacted faster than her brain. "I say, has your fighting prowess dropped significantly?"

Dai Lijun was just turning to leave the room. "I'm going to..." He hadn't finished speaking when he felt his shirt being yanked. Without turning around, he knew it was Shi Man who had grabbed him.

Dai Lijun tried to pull the corner of his shirt free from Shi Man's grasp, but his hand was pinned down by Feng Xuanxiang, leaving him unable to move. "Brother, you don't have to be in such a hurry to betray me." Holding him still was one thing, but he was actually helping pull his shirt up.

Wang Qiqi, standing on the stairs, saw Dai Lijun's back and burst out laughing. "Feng Xuanxiang’s fighting power is actually quite good." There were patches of blue and purple there, but they probably looked worse than they were; it shouldn't be a serious issue. "Wait a moment, I’m going to get the camera to take a picture." Wang Qiqi felt this memorable scene absolutely could not be missed. "Remember to hold Dai Lijun down, don't let him run!"

Dai Lijun knew Wang Qiqi was the type to kick someone when they were down, but he hadn't expected her to add insult to injury. "Wang Qiqi, you..." He was about to call her black-hearted and venomous, but then he worried that provoking her too much might result in her taking even more pictures. He figured he'd be better off breaking free from the restraint, but the problem was that Feng Xuanxiang showed no sign of letting him go. Besides, he was rather curious to see the photos himself later. (To be continued.)