After seeing the three slightly inebriated friends off in a taxi, Wang Qiqi asked, "Are we going our separate ways too?"

Zhang Yan was also quite tipsy, though she remained more lucid. "I'm heading home. Qiqi, let's all get together sometime soon." They needed to discuss when to leave, especially if they planned to find housing together beforehand.

Wang Qiqi gave an "OK" gesture, and Zhang Yan signaled with a phone gesture before hailing a cab and leaving.

"You're going home?" Wang Qiqi asked Bai Ge.

"I thought I'd go over there, sit for a bit, and chat. We haven't seen each other in ages, and we barely spoke today." Dorm reunions were mostly just listening to successful people brag about their bliss and trading compliments. While there might be a sliver of genuine feeling when recalling old times, upon closer inspection, there was very little emotion left.

"Then want to grab some beer to take back?" Wang Qiqi figured it was a perfect day for drinking. "Do you have to work tomorrow?"

"It's fine; I don't have much work these days. I can go in the afternoon; that's the good thing about being your own boss." Bai Ge found being a boss tiring, but at least the work hours were flexible. Success or failure rested solely on her shoulders, so Bai Ge rarely took breaks. Even on Sundays, she stayed glued to the shop, worried about missing a walk-in client who might then be snatched up by a competitor.

"Then I'll go to the shop and pack up some snacks to go with it." Wang Qiqi turned back toward the shop to prepare some chicken wings and feet. As for the beer, she'd just buy it from the small convenience store; restaurant beer was definitely overpriced.

Shi Man was sprawled on the sofa at home, watching TV, occasionally glancing at the European history book in her hand. When she heard the door open, signaling Wang Qiqi's return, she asked, "Why the sudden dorm dinner tonight?" Shi Man had been utterly surprised to learn Wang Qiqi was attending a reunion with her dorm mates. A group whose relationships weren't exactly stellar—who on earth had the odd idea to gather? Weren't they worried things might go sour over a disagreement at the dinner table? Shi Man had been about to ask if that envious girl had given Wang Qiqi any trouble, but upon noticing Bai Ge had come along too, she silently swallowed the question.

Wang Qiqi shrugged, signaling she didn't know. "I got the invite last minute too. Have you eaten? We brought back some beer and snacks." Wang Qiqi gestured with the drinks and food in her hands.

Beer? Shi Man looked at Wang Qiqi with surprise. "We have red wine at home; why did you think of buying that?" Someone had once famously declared beer tasted like horse piss, so why was she so enthusiastically buying it now? It must have been a disastrous gathering, or why else would she make such a mistake?

"I just feel like drinking beer fits well with the timing of entering the group," Wang Qiqi said, heading into the kitchen to fetch some bowls, plates, cups, and chopsticks. "Want some? Oh, right, I only bought a few bottles of beer; we'll drink the red wine later." Wang Qiqi knew that unless it was a large class reunion, a dorm gathering like this would likely just devolve into drinking—nothing much to say, leading to awkward silences.

"It was supposed to be a general gathering, but in the end, it was the three of us footing the bill," Bai Ge fumed just thinking about it. Dorm gatherings usually used dorm funds or were split evenly, but since three of them were drunk and one left early, the burden fell on the remaining three to keep drinking. "Oh, wait, Qiqi, did you pay the taxi fare?" Bai Ge suddenly remembered something and asked Wang Qiqi.

Wang Qiqi stared at Bai Ge in surprise. "I didn't. I thought you paid." Wang Qiqi figured seeing the drunkards safely into the cab was achievement enough; who remembers that stuff? Besides, she assumed Bai Ge would pay since she was helping Duan Xiaomin into the front seat.

"No, I didn't. You were talking to the driver, telling him where to take them, standing by the window for quite a while; I assumed you paid," Bai Ge panicked too. "Quick, call Zhang Yan." This whole situation was giving Bai Ge a headache.

Shi Man watched the two of them grow tense and thought they were overreacting. Those three, though drunk, weren't unconscious. "You didn't escort them; will they manage to get upstairs safely?"

"Of course they will; they aren't too drunk to walk." Wang Qiqi thought that if they truly couldn't walk, she absolutely would have escorted them to their dorm, or at the very least, found them a room nearby.

"Then that's settled." Shi Man rolled her eyes. These two, who had navigated the professional world, didn't understand basic things. Even from the sidelines, she could deduce what had happened.

Wang Qiqi and Bai Ge exchanged speechless glances. "Looks like we shouldn't go to the next gathering."

"That’s ridiculous, how could they do that?"

Bai Ge thought she was incredibly stupid for letting them pull one over on her. After a moment of anger, she waved her hand dismissively. "Since we know they're fine, why worry? Besides, they aren't completely broke."

Bai Ge still felt a sting of resentment. "This time the three of us paid. How about I organize a dinner, and those four pay for it?" If calculated strictly, they actually came out ahead.

"Yeah, it’s a good thing we didn't pay the cab fare, or they might have called us fools," Wang Qiqi said, not entirely agreeing with Bai Ge’s suggestion. "Be careful; next time, three of you might get drunk and leave early again, and the other three will pay. Just take this loss as a blessing in disguise. Besides, you run your own business; why haggle with them?"

Although Bai Ge was still a bit put out, Wang Qiqi made sense. She shrugged. "Let's not dwell on it. Let's drink and chat. I didn't enjoy drinking over there today. Oh, by the way, I noticed Li Xin was quite polite to you today."

"I didn't have any feud with her to begin with," Wang Qiqi replied, finding Li Xin's attitude perfectly fine today. "Drink, drink. Why talk about such depressing things?"

Shi Man had long since lost interest in Wang Qiqi's dorm mates. "People in my dorm are even more status-conscious. Knowing Nana is out of town and couldn't make it, they organized one round and then dropped it. But that's fine. We have such ordinary relationships normally, yet suddenly everyone is trying to curry favor now that we're going abroad, hoping we'll help them bring things back. Hmph, what do they take me for?" Shi Man thought if they had a good relationship, fine, but ordinary classmates expecting favors? Dream on.

Bai Ge considered this and suddenly understood why Li Xin and Feng Yanjie had been so nice to Qiqi today. "Chances are, Li Xin will also ask Qiqi to help carry things later." Whether Qiqi would agree, however, was a definite 'no,' in Bai Ge’s mind.

The three of them finished the store-bought beer that was meant to go with the takeout snacks, added two bottles of red wine, and then, while still possessing a modicum of sense, headed to the bathroom to shower before retiring to their respective rooms for the night.

Bai Ge lay in Wang Qiqi's bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. When Wang Qiqi entered, she saw Bai Ge staring upward, clearly deep in thought. "What's wrong?"

"I'm thinking about the path I should take for my future." Although her graphic design studio was doing well, Bai Ge felt she shouldn't stop there. Song Yao hadn't developed her business enough, yet her brother-in-law had already opened a machine shop. Bai Ge also wanted to expand her career further, and the only person she could ask for advice was Wang Qiqi. She couldn't imagine anyone else. Her own parents just managed their shop; what advice could they offer? They might even think her current situation was ideal: owning property in Beijing, having her own shop, and securing her younger siblings' education. But Bai Ge knew the principle of stagnation being the same as regression, and she was still young; she couldn't just settle for her current venture.

Wang Qiqi was drying her hair with a towel and found herself recalling him. If he were here, these tedious matters wouldn't be her responsibility. Having a doting man was incredibly lucky and happy, but the bitter truth was that he wasn't by her side.

Thinking of this, Wang Qiqi let out a long sigh, perfectly timed right after Bai Ge asked her question. The sigh landed in Bai Ge's ears as confirmation that Wang Qiqi had no good advice for her future either, which irritated Bai Ge immensely.

Wang Qiqi snapped back to reality, realizing she had stopped sighing, only to find Bai Ge tossing and turning in her bed. Well, a glimpse of fair flesh tumbling on the mattress could certainly spark imagination, but the problem was, she wasn't a man; what one girl possessed, the other did too. "Why are you sighing so late? You'll get wrinkles, you know. No amount of face mask can fix that."

Hearing Wang Qiqi's righteous pronouncements, Bai Ge really wanted to jump up and deliver a swift kick. "Didn't you sigh first? If you hadn't sighed, would I have sighed?" Fine, only you are allowed to sigh; how domineering!

What did that mean? Wang Qiqi looked at Bai Ge, confused as to why her sighing was contingent on Wang Qiqi's sighing.

Bai Ge impatiently repeated the previous situation. Wang Qiqi finally understood; so, Bai Ge was worried about that. But honestly, she had no advice for the specific concern Bai Ge was fretting over. "Actually, becoming a landlord has great prospects. Isn't that your goal too?"

Bai Ge knew that goal; she was striving for it. But the issue was, "I can't just aspire to be a pampered landlord, can I? Forget about the capital I need to buy property to become one; look at you—you’re investing in factories and hotels while claiming you want to be a 'rice-worm landlord.'"

Bai Ge was stating facts, but Wang Qiqi felt wronged; what advice could she offer? "How about opening a training center?" Although she hadn't been involved in that sector in her previous life, she knew it was profitable. Institutions like New Oriental were thriving, especially with the increasing number of people studying abroad; such training centers were raking it in. They were opening branches everywhere across the country; jumping in now could secure a piece of the pie. However, the pressure would likely be immense: you have to recruit students and hire teachers. The better the teachers, the better the students' results, and the greater the reputation—a virtuous cycle, it seemed.

A training center? Bai Ge leaned in to listen as Wang Qiqi continued. She knew such an institution would be lucrative; her years tutoring were proof enough that parents today spared no expense for their children's education. "You mean opening a cram school? That's not bad." Bai Ge felt that even though she had withdrawn from the field, her previous reputation remained. Parents still sought her out, hoping she'd take on two more students. She could hire a few college students to manage the initial setup and then slowly expand. Bai Ge thought this suggestion was actually quite good. It was easy money, and more importantly, aside from the initial start-up capital, there was absolutely no ongoing financial pressure, as tuition was paid upfront—perfect for her current situation.

A cram school? Wang Qiqi nearly fainted. "Bai Ge, please, have some ambition. Did you get addicted to tutoring? Always thinking about helping underachievers improve their grades?" While that felt rewarding, Bai Ge had been out of that particular game for a long time. She should leave some room for the newcomers and school teachers. "You need to broaden your vision, understand?"

Broaden it? Bai Ge wondered if her vision wasn't broad enough already. If she wasn't opening a cram school, what kind of training center could she open? Suddenly, a thought struck her. "Didn't you keep mentioning early childhood education before? Are you suggesting I open one of those?" Heavens above, if she did that, Bai Ge felt she might as well focus on expanding her graphic design studio. Even knowing that profiting from children was easy, having grown up helping raise her younger siblings, Bai Ge's view of children was simple: angels when quiet, but absolute devils—huge devils—when noisy. She didn't want the rest of her life spent facing a horde of devils. "Let's forget that idea."

Wang Qiqi looked at the person who had just worn an expression of extreme satisfaction, now suddenly recoiling and dismissing the idea herself. "Don't worry, we won't touch early childhood education. My sister originally wanted to open one, but she heard the water runs pretty deep there." However, Wang Qiqi reflected afterward: were other industries not deep waters? How would you know if you couldn't swim unless you tried? Honestly, when she, Shi Man, and the others started the purchasing agent business, Shi Man and the others had serious worries—like what if the sourced items didn't sell? Given the high cost of going abroad back then, it was a significant gamble. Yet, somehow, they had all pulled through.

Deep water? Bai Ge felt that wasn't really an excuse. Wasn't entering the graphic design industry deep water too? Plenty of people were in that field, yet she managed to carve out a niche. Song Yao was different; her husband was capable, and her family was a powerful backing. If all else failed, Qiqi was there to strategize. They operated as a family unit, so her hesitation and backing out weren't surprising. But Bai Ge was different; she had to strive to make a better life for her parents, siblings, and herself. "Where isn't the water deep? But Qiqi, if we aren't doing early childhood or tutoring, what kind of training center are we opening?" Bai Ge pressed, genuinely curious about the field Wang Qiqi intended for her.

Wang Qiqi knew Bai Ge still had drive. Her own older sister had lost some of her earlier ambition due to years of development, though her foundation was solid now, so a mindset of comfortable complacency wasn't strange, especially with her brother-in-law working hard. Leaning against the wall to dry her hair was getting tiring, so Wang Qiqi sat down heavily. "What do you think about TOEFL exam preparation?"

TOEFL prep? Wang Qiqi hadn't expected that suggestion. But honestly, TOEFL prep was a decent market niche. Four years ago, when they first enrolled, they rarely heard of seniors studying abroad. But with the economic growth over the past few years, discussions about studying abroad were common. Especially among the eight girls in the dorm, two were planning to leave. There weren't many institutions focusing on this area—and not too many overall—making it a relatively blank canvas for Bai Ge. But the issue was, "Isn't this too large a venture? And the teachers?"

Bai Ge had zero experience in this area, and her foreign language skills weren't great. Although she passed CET-6, her level wasn't fantastic; she only passed with a low score thanks to Qiqi helping her with practice exams. Starting a training center now made her nervous. Could someone whose English wasn't great actually run such an institute? Furthermore, the investment must be significant. What if she lost money? Her family couldn't afford a major loss. Bai Ge felt anxious, but then she reasoned that while the initial investment was slightly larger, if she managed to build a reputation, the profits would be huge. Moreover, compared to general tutoring, the profit margin would be much higher, provided the teachers were competent.

Wang Qiqi watched Bai Ge's expression shift as she weighed the options. Honestly, the key to this venture was hiring good teachers, and Wang Qiqi couldn't help with that. She hadn't attended any training centers herself and didn't know any experienced instructors in that field. This was also related to the fact that few TOEFL prep centers currently existed. Still, if she tried, she could certainly poach some teachers.

"Qiqi, where do you think I should look to poach teachers?" Bai Ge had made her decision. She weighed the risks: even if this first venture failed, it wouldn't destroy her foundation. Bai Ge was determined; it was time to figure out how to establish the business. In any industry, early entrants held the advantage; latercomers had to work much harder to succeed.

"Poach teachers from other training centers," Wang Qiqi replied, placing the towel on the table and sliding into the covers. Although she wasn't completely drunk, and the shower had dispelled much of the alcohol's effect, drowsiness was creeping in. "But that’s not a long-term solution. If you poach their staff, they can poach yours back, driving up operating costs. Oh, wait, I remember Weiwei passed the TOEFL; she scored very high this time. She certainly has experience taking the test; you could try asking her to be a teacher."

Wang Qiqi wasn't suggesting Lu Qiaowei simply because she was an acquaintance. It was because Lu Qiaowei had worked part-time as a translator for Ye Ruizhi and had diligently studied numerous past exam papers, resulting in a high score. Compared to Wang Qiqi, who scored high easily due to her innate English proficiency, Wang Qiqi felt Lu Qiaowei was actually better suited to teach the TOEFL. She had experience taking the exam several times, likely understood the scope of the questions, and as a fellow student, she could empathize with the test-takers' mindset.

"Lu Qiaowei?" Bai Ge repeated. Her mind couldn't immediately connect the dots. Wang Qiqi had just said she couldn't help with teachers, yet suddenly she provided a candidate. Why did that name sound vaguely familiar?

Wang Qiqi hummed affirmatively. "She's the geek's girlfriend." Wang Qiqi recounted Lu Qiaowei's experience taking the TOEFL, adding her own rationale. "What do you think?"

Oh, her. Bai Ge suddenly understood. "Is she qualified?" After all, this was her flagship venture; Bai Ge wanted the first batch of students to achieve excellent results to benefit the future development of her small training center.

"Why wouldn't she be? Don't forget Han Tao started tutoring in high school, even teaching students in the same grade," Wang Qiqi said, though she wasn't entirely certain herself. She just had a feeling that having Lu Qiaowei teach wouldn't be a loss. "Besides, you won't hire just one teacher, right? You’ll hire several experienced ones. Weiwei could serve as an assistant instructor, and she can pass on her specific study experiences, which those other teachers might not have."

Bai Ge considered this and saw the value. She remembered receiving guidance from Qiqi when she took her English proficiency tests. "Agreed. But what about experienced teachers?"

Wang Qiqi was equally at a loss regarding this matter, though an idea did occur to her: "Perhaps I should go ask Boss Ye some other day." Since Comrade Director Ye started seeing Li Qian, Wang Qiqi had noticed that Ye, who never possessed much ambition to begin with, was spending increasingly long stretches of time in Lijiang. Yet, his translation agency hadn't suffered from his absence in the capital; in fact, the volume of work seemed to be increasing. Wang Qiqi had always been intensely curious if this had something to do with his past tenure in some state-related unit, but it was a question she certainly dared not voice. The reason Wang Qiqi thought of Boss Ye at this particular moment wasn't solely because she lacked other channels to reach the TOEFL tutor; it was also because she felt that, having navigated this circle for so long, he must know someone. Of course, whether they could secure a contract ultimately depended on how attractive the compensation and benefits package Bai Ge could offer. It was an economic society where everything ultimately boiled down to finance; sentiment was merely the initial opening. RS