Wang Qiqi had originally planned to rest for just two hours before getting up to finish putting things away in the corner, do a bit of cleaning, and then tackle the next stage of tidying tomorrow, which included moving her bed upstairs. However, she couldn't figure out how her small frame would manage to haul the bed up there. She drifted off to sleep without solving the bed dilemma.

Shi Man excitedly rushed up to the attic, "Qiqi, Qiqi, I have to tell you..." Her words abruptly stopped. She looked around and found no trace of Wang Qiqi. That was strange; the bicycle was inside, and it was still dirty, so Qiqi couldn't have gone out. "Is she still asleep?"

Shi Man supposed that was possible. Though disturbing Wang Qiqi’s sleep might earn her some ire, this was major good news that absolutely needed sharing. Thinking this, Shi Man dismissed any worries about Qiqi's morning temper.

"Qiqi, Qiqi, wake up, I have great news for you." Shi Man entered the room and saw Wang Qiqi sleeping soundly in bed. Annoyance flared in her chest. Here she was, running around busy outside, while Qiqi was dead asleep inside. Although Shi Man had been busy all morning, she hadn't been idle. With that thought, Shi Man put more force into shaking Wang Qiqi’s arm.

Wang Qiqi was jolted awake from her dream by the earth-shaking movement. "Hey, what are you doing?" Wang Qiqi grumbled, sounding thoroughly annoyed, projecting an aura that suggested she wouldn't let Shi Man off the hook until she got a satisfying explanation.

Shi Man wasn't worried; she knew what she was about to say would delight Wang Qiqi. "The house is rented! Do you know who rented it?"

Wang Qiqi sat up groggily in bed, staring at Shi Man. She thought, I’ve been cozied up sleeping at home, how on earth would I know who came to rent the place? "Do you think I'm a god or a fortune teller?" Wang Qiqi snapped. "If I could foresee the future, I'd set up a stall and tell fortunes; I could make a fortune that way."

Shi Man knew that once roused, the other person’s temper wouldn't be great, but this reaction seemed overly harsh.

Seeing Shi Man remain silent, Wang Qiqi efficiently flopped back down. She still wanted to sleep and didn't have the leisure time to watch Shi Man space out. I'm not some Miss China whose beauty makes Lao Feng blind to her flaws. "If you're not going to say it, get out. I'm going back to sleep. Make something good for dinner tonight; don't try to fob me off with macaroni." Hmph. If Shi Man had time to daze off, she’d be better off in the kitchen making something delicious. Wang Qiqi casually listed a few dishes Shi Man cooked quite well.

Shi Man watched Wang Qiqi just lie back down, completely ignoring her presence, and was utterly stunned. She had initially planned to show off a little, but what was there to show off now? She was about to be demoted to kitchen maid. "I ran into an acquaintance. She and her friend need a place to rent." Shi Man was thrilled. She hadn't expected today’s outing to yield such a great opportunity, securing the rental so quickly, especially to someone familiar—someone she generally knew well. "It’s someone you know too."

Wang Qiqi, still lying in bed, finally turned her head when Shi Man mentioned that. "Someone I know?" Wang Qiqi mentally cycled through people she and Shi Man both knew who were coming to study in England, people she was quite close to. But after thinking it over, none of the people she knew were studying in this specific city in the UK. "Who is it?" Since she couldn't recall, Wang Qiqi saw no point in wasting brainpower; she wouldn't do anything useless for nothing. "Hurry up and tell me, or I’m going back to sleep."

Shi Man retorted sharply, "It’s Rongrong, Zhao Rongrong." Can’t even enjoy a little moment of pride; Qiqi is getting worse.

Zhao Rongrong? Wang Qiqi narrowed her eyes, wondering if the Zhao Rongrong Shi Man mentioned was the same one she knew. But that didn’t seem right. While it was true she studied in England, Qiqi distinctly remembered her studying in a different northern city in England. "Isn't she in London?"

Shi Man thought Wang Qiqi had forgotten who Zhao Rongrong was, wondering why she needed so long to recall. She was about to tease Qiqi that her brain must be failing now that she had a boyfriend, but then realized Qiqi was perplexed about why they’d meet Zhao Rongrong here. "She didn't go into specifics, and I didn't press her. But after I described the situation here, she was very interested and said she'd come over soon." Although Shi Man hadn't stated definitively that they would rent, she knew Zhao Rongrong was in urgent need of housing. Finding a two-bedroom place was expensive and difficult to secure quickly; sharing was highly probable. If they had to share, having a familiar face as a housemate was certainly best, which was why Shi Man was so happy.

It really was her. Wang Qiqi let out an "Oh." "Is she downstairs?" Wang Qiqi thought it was embarrassing to still be lounging in bed when someone had already come to view the place. "I'll squeeze in with you today." The attic should be sorted out by tomorrow.

"It's fine, she’s not moving in until tomorrow; she just extended her current room for one more day." Even as Shi Man said this, she helped Wang Qiqi tidy up the slightly messy room and carried Qiqi's luggage to her room. "She’s going to meet up with her friend first. Don’t worry, I gave them the address and directions on how to get here." Since they had just arrived, they weren't familiar with the roads. Earlier, the two of them had only gone to a large supermarket nearby to stock up, so Shi Man wasn't worried that Zhao Rongrong wouldn't find them.

Wang Qiqi retrieved a towel, washed her face, and said, "I'll go upstairs and sort out my space first. Wake me when they arrive." If it was Zhao Rongrong, Wang Qiqi felt a sense of relief; they were acquaintances, and living under the same roof was acceptable. She just wondered about the friend's personality, but surely, birds of a feather flock together—Wang Qiqi guessed Zhao Rongrong's friend couldn't be too bad. "By the way, the rent?" Previously, they had discussed adding a slight premium for renting to strangers, but now that it was Zhao Rongrong, Wang Qiqi wasn't sure if charging extra would seem a bit much.

"I quoted the price we discussed earlier, and she said it wasn't too expensive." Shi Man suddenly remembered she hadn't coordinated with Qiqi. It wouldn't be good if Qiqi accidentally let the true rate slip, especially since they were overtly profiting from the arrangement.

Since Shi Man had quoted that price, Wang Qiqi didn't find it excessive. "We rented the entire building, so there’s a slight discount. Renting rooms out individually would naturally be more expensive." Wang Qiqi noticed Shi Man looked a bit uneasy and explained, "Let's clean up the living room. We can't have guests arriving to an unpleasant sight." Hmph. Even though she delivered good news, that didn't mean she forgot the good deed Shi Man performed by waking her up earlier.

Regarding that punishment, Shi Man felt absolutely no pressure. "I won't tell you that Zhang Yan is already cleaning downstairs, and you need to take a shower before meeting the guests later." Shi Man kindly reminded her, "Otherwise, seeing you looking so messy from lunch, you might scare away the guests I worked so hard to bring in."

Wang Qiqi paused on the stairs. If she hadn't been ascending them, she might have tripped, causing a serious problem. "Don't worry, I'll mind my manners." Wang Qiqi thought to herself that she was only lax about her attire around people she was close to; otherwise, she usually paid attention to etiquette.

"I'm just worried you'll be too groggy," Shi Man said with a touch of concern. "I hope the friend Zhao Rongrong brings is easygoing; otherwise, it could be difficult."

"No matter how difficult, we'll have to accept them." If not for the money, then for Zhao Rongrong's sake, they had to agree.

"Ding-dong, ding-dong." Shi Man and Zhang Yan had just finished cleaning the living room and bathroom and were lounging on the sofa, regaining their energy, when they heard the doorbell. "I'll get it." Shi Man slowly got up from the sofa. She assumed Zhao Rongrong and her friend had arrived, but when she opened the door, there was no one there.

Shi Man’s first thought was whether they had encountered a supernatural event—why else would the doorbell ring and no one be there when the door opened?

Shi Man patted her chest. Ghosts during the day? If there were ghosts, they’d show up at night. She cautiously peered outside and saw two figures standing in the yard. She let out a huge sigh of relief. So someone had rung the bell, but those two were wicked—didn't they know how terrifying it was to ring the bell and then open the door to find no one there? "Rongrong, Rongrong..." Shi Man waved at them. She realized she hadn't even gone to check the nearby lawn, while the two of them were already touring the garden.

Zhao Rongrong and her friend Shi Hongrui were looking around the garden. They felt the house wasn't huge, but the environment was quite nice, complete with a small garage and a garden. Although the price was a bit higher than the shared apartments they had previously inquired about, it wasn't unacceptable, especially since Shi Man had specifically mentioned the rule about no men staying overnight, which made them feel very secure.

"It's nice. If the interior furnishings are good, we'll rent it," Shi Hongrui said. Although she didn't know her future housemate well, someone Zhao Rongrong got along with couldn't be too bad. Just for the sake of the garden that allowed BBQs, Shi Hongrui felt she’d be kicking herself if she missed out on such a nice place.

"Okay." After bidding farewell to Shi Man, Zhao Rongrong had viewed another place. It was large, but it somehow felt less secure, giving off a vibe of mixed-gender living arrangements. Even though closing the door separated them from the outside, the rooms were small, and the thought of being confined to her room during free time was suffocating. Furthermore, Zhao Rongrong felt uneasy about the eyes of one of the men in the house, which felt a bit dangerous. "It's all women living here, and no overnight male guests allowed—I think that’s perfect."

"I'll go call Qiqi." After Zhao Rongrong and the others entered, Shi Man remembered she had forgotten to call Wang Qiqi. Ugh, she really had a pig’s brain. She was about to run upstairs.

"Why isn't Qiqi here?" Zhao Rongrong glanced around the living room and noticed only the person she had just met was present. Wang Qiqi was missing. She wondered if she was still sleeping.

"She's cleaning the attic. How about I show you around first?" Shi Man figured calling Wang Qiqi down right then might be awkward. Forget it; let her finish cleaning upstairs.

"Okay." Zhao Rongrong had no objections. At that moment, she remembered she hadn't introduced her friend. "This is my friend, Shi Hongrui."

"Hello, I'm Shi Man."

"Hello, I'm Zhang Yan."

After the four exchanged brief introductions, Shi Man and Zhang Yan began showing Zhao Rongrong and her friend around. "The living room is a bit empty, but Qiqi said in winter we can curl up here to read; using the fireplace will heat the room and save some on utility costs." Shi Man felt awkward saying that Qiqi had also mentioned having pajama parties, as they weren't familiar with the newcomers, and saying such things might make them think they weren't respectable people.

Zhao Rongrong had also felt the living room was sparse, but since they were only staying for a year, there was no need to buy a lot of furniture. "Having extra open space is good, we can do stretches or yoga, and in winter, we can sleep on floor mats." The winters in Northern England were severe, and while heating systems worked, the costs were considerable. The fireplace was better; they just needed to pay attention to sourcing firewood.

Shi Hongrui walked up to the fireplace, examining it closely and gesturing with her hand. "We can rig up a wire rack on it; we can grill food at the same time." It would truly be a way to combine warmth and eating.

Shi Hongrui's comment made Shi Man and Zhang Yan exchange a look. Not bad, she seems straightforward, should be easy to get along with. However, this girl seemed like a glutton. Zhao Rongrong’s comments were perfectly normal, but the first thing this girl said after introducing herself was about food. Zhao Rongrong almost wished she didn't know this person. Even if you're a foodie, you should put up a small front; don't let Shi Man and the others know your true colors so quickly. Furthermore, Zhao Rongrong was worried about one specific thing.

"Just like Qiqi said. By the way, can you cook?" Shi Man thought that someone so fond of eating must be familiar with the kitchen and at least have passable cooking skills. If that were true, Shi Man felt her own burden would be significantly lightened; they would effectively have three chefs.

Shi Hongrui laughed without any pretense of modesty, "I only know how to taste."

Shi Man looked at the earnest and completely unashamed Shi Hongrui and could only admire her, then admire her again. While many women didn't cook, there was no need to sound so proud of not knowing how! Shi Man felt a pang of bitterness. If five people were sharing, and only she and Qiqi cooked, wouldn't their responsibility be crushing? If the other three only cleaned the public areas except the kitchen, wouldn't their burden be lighter?

Zhang Yan, hearing that the new tenant couldn't cook, covertly glanced at Shi Man. She knew Shi Man had been excited earlier because she thought they were gaining another chef, but who would have thought someone who looked like they should cook couldn't? "Zhao Rongrong, can you cook?"

Zhao Rongrong looked quite embarrassed and shook her head. "Sorry, I only know how to eat." Zhao Rongrong had agreed to rent with Wang Qiqi and the others precisely because she knew Qiqi could cook, solving the most critical issue of daily sustenance.

Zhang Yan finally understood the sadness on Shi Man’s face. "The three of us discussed this earlier: since Qiqi and Shi Man can cook, and I can't, they would handle the cooking, and I would clean the first and second-floor common areas. If you two also eat with us, then the three of us will clean the common areas." Zhang Yan directly stated what they had previously arranged. "Including the kitchen, living room, dining room, bathrooms, and stairs."

Shi Hongrui calculated internally. If the cooking skills were good, cleaning would still be required. After all, sharing a house meant taking turns cleaning. Now, only three out of five people would be cleaning. "I have no problem with that. By the way, the cooking skills should be decent, right?"

The phrase "decent cooking skills" left Shi Man unsure how to answer. "Cooking skills depend on individual taste." China is vast; tastes change every hundred kilometers. "I think it's edible," Shi Man offered an ambiguous answer.

"That’s good, I think it’ll be fine," Zhao Rongrong interjected. She had eaten a few meals cooked by Wang Qiqi when they were in Lijiang, and the taste was quite good. "Qiqi rarely uses many seasonings when she cooks; she strives for the original flavor." It might take some getting used to initially, but after a few meals, one adapts.

Striving for the original flavor—meaning no MSG. "Do you use chicken essence, then?" Shi Hongrui's family rarely ate MSG, so she was more concerned about chicken essence.

"Very little," Zhao Rongrong nudged Shi Hongrui beside her. Does this girl think she’s eating at home? "Oh right, the kitchen is huge, and there's a large oven."

"Yes, Qiqi decided to rent the place the moment she saw this oven," Shi Man said, looking at the oven and remembering something. "Oh no, we forgot to buy cake ingredients!" If we bought them now, we could have late-night snacks tonight! Shi Man felt she was getting old and forgetful; she even forgot something so simple.

"You're making cake, or..." Shi Hongrui wasn't interested in the kitchen facilities, as she couldn't cook, but she knew if someone could bake, then that oven was necessary. "Wait, it should be Qiqi, right?" Didn't they say Qiqi decided to rent the house because she saw the oven? Besides her, Shi Hongrui couldn't imagine who else would be baking. Moreover, what baker would forget to buy baking ingredients?

When it came to food, Zhao Rongrong knew Shi Hongrui was highly perceptive. "Qiqi supposedly makes excellent cake, but I haven't tasted it myself." She just recalled an instance when they bought a cake, and Shi Man mentioned how much she missed Qiqi's pastries. Shi Man wasn't exactly a picky eater, but if she missed something that much, Qiqi’s baking must taste incredible. "I'm in luck this time; I finally get to taste what you've been raving about."

Shi Hongrui kept glancing at her friend. She never knew her friend could be so eloquent. She thought she should show this to everyone who called her upright; she was flattering to an extreme degree.

"Qiqi’s pastries are genuinely excellent, almost as good as a professional bakery’s," Shi Man said, growing hungrier for bread the more she spoke. "Oh, I can't resist! YanYan, you take them on the tour; I'm going to the supermarket to buy ingredients for baking." Shi Man was certain the supermarket would have baking supplies, secretly thanking her lucky stars for often trailing Qiqi to the supermarket, which gave her a decent grasp of what was needed for baking.

Zhang Yan was about to ask if she should confirm what Qiqi planned to bake and which ingredients were needed, but she only heard the door slam shut. She shook her head with a helpless smile. "Manman is always so quick." Judging by her demeanor, she seemed to know what she was doing.

Watching the person rush out to buy ingredients, Shi Hongrui had only one thought: "Wow, will we have pastries tonight?" Only someone with such energy and drive would do this.

Zhao Rongrong was speechless. She tugged her friend's sleeve. Didn't they hear earlier that Qiqi was cleaning the attic? It was possible she wouldn't have time to bake pastries today. Even if she did have time, perhaps they wouldn't be ready to eat until nine or ten at night, by which time they would have long returned to the hotel to rest.

Shi Hongrui was tugged by Zhao Rongrong and could only bite back her words. The feeling of knowing delicious food was coming but having no chance to taste it was a huge blow to a foodie. Alas, she supposed she’d just buy some pastries on the way back. But Shi Hongrui quickly comforted herself; if she couldn't taste it this time, there would be plenty of opportunities later. "Let’s rent this place; the living room is big." Shi Hongrui restrained herself from saying more because Zhang Yan was present, but she knew Rongrong must understand her intentions.

How could Zhao Rongrong not understand her friend's thoughts? "We still need to see the rooms."

Zhang Yan couldn't help but smile internally. Is this gluttonous Shi Hongrui renting this place purely because of the promise of good food? If so, why did they bother cleaning the house so hard earlier? They really should have waited for the new tenants to arrive before cleaning together.

Zhao Rongrong and Shi Hongrui went upstairs and saw that the available rooms faced north, which made their expressions turn slightly grim. People living in the south usually preferred south-facing rooms so that sunlight would stream in during winter, keeping the rooms warmer.

"The south-facing rooms are smaller than the north-facing ones, and both Shi Man and I already claimed those," Zhang Yan noticed their expressions change upon entering the rooms and realized they weren't satisfied with the northern orientation. She led them to her room to have a look.

Shi Hongrui didn't go in, just stood at the doorway for a look and noticed the south-facing room was indeed smaller. "The north-facing one is fine too." With less light, they wouldn't worry about having too many things making the room feel cramped. She disliked having too many possessions cluttering a room.

Zhao Rongrong knew that aside from the north-facing room, she didn't have a choice anyway. "North-facing is fine too." Regardless, this place was significantly better than the other houses they had viewed. "Qiqi, you'll take the attic?" Although she didn't know the attic's condition, given the size of the second floor, she assumed the attic must be quite spacious. However, her impression of attics wasn't great. The old house she grew up in also had an attic, and her feeling about them was that they were dim, and unbearably hot in the summer.

Zhang Yan nodded. "Let's go take a look. Actually, out of the five rooms, Qiqi's attic room is the largest. But it was previously used as storage. The landlord only agreed to rent it out because Qiqi liked it. But Qiqi has to clean all the stuff up herself. Only Qiqi would like it; if it were me, I wouldn't take it either—it’s stuffed full of junk and disgustingly filthy." Zhang Yan explained this to preemptively counter any jealousy that might arise if someone coveted Qiqi's large room and tried to move in later, which would cause trouble.