A doctoral degree? Wang Qiqi felt faint. Although Han Tao was quite the academic star, based on what she knew of him, he hadn't planned on getting a Ph.D. within the next five years. As for Qiqi herself, she had no such intention either; what good were more degrees for someone specializing in finance? What mattered was hands-on experience.

"A real talent, absolutely a talent." Wang Qiqi was speechless regarding Zhu Hanlin. Someone who didn't look like an academic at all was actually pursuing a doctorate. "You two should chat more in the future." Since they were all close friends, Wang Qiqi hoped her friend's man would become familiar with Han Tao.

"Sure thing." Zhu Hanlin might not know everything about Juliana's friends and their partners, but he had certainly heard bits and pieces. For instance, Wang Qiqi's man was in IT and currently thinking about starting a business. Shi Man's partner was in finance—men like that were definitely worth befriending. "Nana often tells me how excellent Han Tao is, saying he was earning US dollars before even graduating from university. Compared to him, I’m far behind."

"Not at all, he was just lucky. There are plenty of people more capable than him." This was no false modesty on Wang Qiqi's part. Han Tao often said that if he hadn't met John during his trip abroad, he might not have gotten such a good opportunity. While his grades in university were good, there were certainly people stronger than him; some just lacked a single chance.

Juliana watched the two exchange such humble remarks. "Alright, we aren't out in public; why the need to be so modest?" They were clearly all incredibly accomplished people. "Especially you, Qiqi. Aren't you usually quite proud, bragging about how great your Han Tao is? If this project really succeeds, you can just look forward to your billionaire dreams and an early retirement."

Juliana felt a headache coming on just thinking about herself still struggling through stacks of documents, dealing with endless urgent matters daily, and juggling clients and superiors. In contrast, Qiqi hadn't missed out on earning money, nor had she missed out on fun. More importantly, even though there were people causing trouble right in front of her, she didn't have to pay them any mind—she could simply turn away if they annoyed her, or even step in and silence them completely. "Now that is how you live life."

"You're living life too. You're a second-generation rich kid; people call you CEO whenever you go out. If we dress normally, who pays attention to us?" Wang Qiqi covered her mouth, laughing. "Of course, I prefer my current life." Wang Qiqi certainly didn't envy Juliana’s life; it sounded far too arduous.

"Okay, okay, let's drop this topic and talk about something happier." Juliana couldn't help but call a halt. Good heavens, if this continued, she might actually faint from frustration. "Right, Manman said you've been learning French recently?"

"Are you planning to be a translator for your entire life?" Juliana wondered. Wang Qiqi’s English was first-rate, and her Japanese was decent too; wasn't she currently taking on some simple Japanese translation jobs? In the blink of an eye, she was picking up French. Juliana truly admired this pace. "You still have time to study?" Graduate school abroad wasn't easy. Wang Qiqi never complained, but Shi Man had griped multiple times, saying it was too exhausting—the amount of reading she did in a week would take at least two months back in China. And Wang Qiqi also had to work under her advisor. Juliana couldn't imagine where she found the time, yet this woman was still learning another language.

"It's fun. Someone said French is the most elegant language in the world. Besides, I’m working under my BOSS now. Although outsiders think I’m doing well, Nana, I've essentially hit a ceiling, and I don't have that much aptitude." Wang Qiqi didn't hide anything from Juliana, frankly explaining the difficulties she was facing. "Given my situation, how can I possibly advance in finance? Translation is different. Although I can't establish my own firm, I'm already somewhat known in the translation world. If I'm going to stay in this field, I can't just know Chinese, English, and Japanese." No matter what field one was in, once you had mastered one thing, you needed to learn a few more.

"Ah, but you seem to be doing quite well. Didn't Manman say your BOSS praised you last time?" Juliana had been considering that if Qiqi was capable enough, perhaps they could all start an investment firm together later. Then Qiqi, with her network of seniors and juniors in the overseas financial markets, could support the company. But hearing Qiqi now, who seemed unconvinced of her own capabilities, Juliana felt her daydream being shattered right then and there. What a disheartening thing that was.

"I'm fine at gathering data and assisting, but if I really had to take the lead, I predict my BOSS would chew me out." Wang Qiqi set down her chopsticks. "Home-cooked food is the best. Thank you for treating us, Teacher Zhu."

Although Wang Qiqi seemed preoccupied with eating, occasionally bickering with Juliana or chatting about random things, she hadn't stopped observing Zhu Hanlin. To truly understand someone over the course of one meal was wishful thinking, but Wang Qiqi was quite satisfied with Zhu Hanlin. If nothing else, his eyes were clear, without any ill intentions. Perhaps that was a superficial assessment, but Wang Qiqi always believed that people with clean, transparent eyes couldn't be bad people.

While Han Tao went to clear the dishes, Juliana plopped down next to Wang Qiqi. "So?" Although Wang Qiqi's expression suggested satisfaction with Zhu Hanlin, Juliana still wanted to hear her friend say directly that this man was good.

"His conversation skills are excellent, and he takes great care of you. The key is his eyes are so clean, and his voice has a magnetic quality, very manly." Wang Qiqi praised him without reservation. "It truly suits his name, Han Lin—it sounds like a scholar. Being a university lecturer at such a young age shows he has some substance. While it might not be as lucrative as being a middle or high school teacher, marrying you, he doesn't need a powerhouse career; a decent job is enough." Wang Qiqi hadn't forgotten how Juliana had initially tried to mislead her by suggesting the man might marry into her family. Now she understood: Juliana had wanted her to form a preconceived negative impression of Zhu Hanlin.

Juliana managed a wry smile at the teasing. "My dad really did want a son-in-law who would marry into the family. He felt the Zhu family business shouldn't fall into outsiders' hands. But now that I'm marrying a man with the surname Zhu, my dad said there's no need to worry about all that." The 'marrying into the family' talk was just talk; Juliana didn't dare imagine how Zhu Hanlin would react if he heard such a thing.

"Do you think he doesn't know?" Wang Qiqi kindly reminded Juliana, who was acting like an ostrich avoiding the topic. "Even if your dad isn't a big talker, if he sounded out this idea with certain people, don't you think the information would spread?" What? Wang Qiqi never believed in promises of secrecy. No secret could be kept forever unless the person involved chose not to reveal it. "Think about it—aren't your relatives constantly watching and obsessing over your marriage? If they found out you were marrying a man into the family, wouldn't they work hard to spread the news?"

Regarding Zhu Hanlin, even though he seemed uninterested in management, he was a university lecturer and Juliana's childhood sweetheart. Would the Zhu family relatives allow him to take charge so easily? Wang Qiqi suspected it would be difficult. The more capable the man Juliana chose, the greater the perceived threat to them. If the man knew there was an arrangement for him to marry into the family, it would certainly create a rift in Zhu Hanlin's heart, eventually leading to an explosion. At that point, the Zhu family would be busy dealing with internal strife.

"They already spread it." Juliana knew her family well enough. "My dad originally had that thought, but now he thinks this is an opportunity to see who hasn't given up stirring things up. I didn't expect some people to be so brainless." Still, Juliana felt a little regret because the deepest player hadn't surfaced yet. But it didn't matter; unless he was willing to keep his tail tucked forever, would he be content?

Already spread? Wang Qiqi was startled. "Then he knows?" Could the male lead know, and yet remain so calm? Was this calmness masking an impending volcano that would erupt with immense destructive force?

"He knows. But my dad told him he has to handle the marital home, while our family will prepare the renovations, furniture, and appliances." Juliana admired her own father's tactics. With just that one sentence, his stance was clear. He didn't say much more; after all, they had never officially announced intentions for a son-in-law marrying into the family; the discussions had only happened during family gatherings, where her father would just follow along with their words.

The older generation truly was wiser, Wang Qiqi could only sigh. That single statement carried profound meaning—the groom preparing the house was the posture of a man marrying a wife. "Then why did you tell me about marrying a son-in-law?" Wang Qiqi realized. In Juliana's eyes, perhaps her own mouth wasn't tight enough, which is why Juliana had tried to guard the information so much. Wang Qiqi felt quite annoyed.

"No, no." Juliana hadn't expected to revisit the topic in the end. "I just misspoke that day. I was actually hoping you would pick holes in it, but I didn't expect..." Juliana hadn't anticipated Wang Qiqi would have such a good impression of Zhu Hanlin; she truly miscalculated. "Alright, alright. We both have the surname Zhu; whether he marries in isn't important. What matters is the children will have the surname Zhu. My dad said even a grandson is fine. In a couple of years, I'll emigrate, and then we can just have several children." Although Juliana found pregnancy troublesome, she later reasoned that having children meant a period of rest. Why not? And one child could be lonely; Juliana had always wished she had an older brother. So, if possible, she wanted two children so they wouldn't be isolated and all the pressure wouldn't fall on just one person.

"Actually, I don't care if I marry into the family, but my grandparents would never agree." Zhu Hanlin walked out carrying a plate of sliced apples and oranges, handing Juliana a cup of lemon tea as he passed.

"What an attentive man." Wang Qiqi could only exclaim. Usually, men would just lounge on the sofa eating what was served, then continue lounging while watching TV or reading the newspaper. But Juliana had spent the entire time with her in the living room, except for initially asking for help. Zhu Hanlin, after washing the dishes, didn't forget to cut fruit. "When my Han Tao comes back, I'll have him come over to learn from you properly. Fatty too."

Looking at the considerate Zhu Hanlin, Wang Qiqi suddenly felt all sorts of dissatisfaction with Han Tao. "Last year around the end of the year, Han Tao and Fatty stayed at my place. It was like a den of men. Fatty wouldn't lift a finger and just ordered food, demanding this and that. Thank goodness for the power outage caused by the blizzard, or I truly would have turned into a cook." With limited ingredients, she had to constantly whip up new dishes, unable to serve the same thing repeatedly. And yet, Fatty still complained that the food wasn't great, giving Wang Qiqi the urge to wring Fatty's neck—he was too infuriating, showing too little respect for the labor of working people.

The hardship Wang Qiqi endured during that period, though they weren't there, was well-known to them through her online complaints and the smug posts of a certain someone. Their entire group had cheered on Wang Qiqi's miserable plight. "Fatty and the others were also very tired. After such a hard day, they traveled all the way to the UK to accompany you, and they ran into a blizzard. They suffered too."

What? Wang Qiqi had only intended a minor complaint, but it had somehow turned into her fault. "I... I... I..." Wang Qiqi truly couldn't argue back. If it weren't for her, Han Tao wouldn't have flown to the UK to accompany her, and Fatty certainly wouldn't have gone. Logically speaking, it was her problem. "But I didn't foresee a blizzard! Honestly, I regret calling Fatty over. If Fatty hadn't gone to the UK, Han Tao and I would have immediately bought train tickets to London after hearing news of the blizzard, then flown to Thailand for a vacation." But the presence of Fatty complicated many of their plans. "Hmph, we should have gone to Thailand long ago, just to give someone a good shock." Shocking someone else was better than being shocked yourself, but Wang Qiqi realized this truth too late.

"But you didn't do that at the time." Zhu Hanlin usually wouldn't interrupt, but after chatting over dinner, he knew Qiqi was reasonable. "If it were me, I would have made egg-fried rice every single day and see if he dared to complain again." A chef understands the other's heart best; having painstakingly prepared meals dismissed with disdain would surely anger any cook. "My Nana is the same way; when she’s swamped, she neglects everything. Even when I bring her food, she complains."

"Then you should have starved her for a couple of meals to see if she’d still be picky. Back when we were studying in Beijing, calling Nana to eat whenever she was busy was torture. No one wanted to go in and call her, worried about getting hit by whatever she might throw if she was in a bad mood." Wang Qiqi was ecstatic upon hearing the casual confession from someone who understood her situation. Hah! Finally, a kindred spirit! "Thank goodness my Han Tao isn't like that, or I would have beaten him. As for Fatty, that’s Weiwei’s problem. Poor Weiwei."

Fatty? Weiwei? Zhu Hanlin quickly filtered through names in his mind. After a moment, he recalled: an IT guy, also quite round, who apparently was starting a business with Han Tao this time. It seemed their friendship was indeed strong.

Now it was Juliana's turn to be dumbfounded. How did a perfectly good session of criticizing Wang Qiqi turn into a critique of unappreciative diners by two chefs, thanks to her own man? "Hey, Qiqi, you need evidence for what you say. When did I ever throw things at you?" This was a serious accusation. Juliana had no memory of ever doing such a thing. "I'll sue you for slander."

"You didn't." Wang Qiqi wasn't worried about slander. "You threw something at Manman. Poor Manman almost got disfigured! But my Nana really loves work. I always thought she would remain a workaholic forever, but thankfully, she found a good man. Nana is a good girl, very kind-hearted, and she takes great care of me and Manman." Wang Qiqi ultimately said a few good words for Juliana. A woman being assertive occasionally is interesting to a man, but constant assertiveness will eventually wear on him.

"I know." Zhu Hanlin understood that Wang Qiqi was subtly advising him not to take Shi Man's overly dominant, career-woman attitude to heart. "I watched Nana grow up. She was a natural leader as a child, always talking like she was the boss. She only started to tone it down during her studies, but now..."

Wang Qiqi had assumed Juliana's assertiveness developed after she started working. But after hearing Zhu Hanlin’s explanation, she realized Juliana had been domineering since childhood. This man must have seen the real Juliana long ago—that was actually a good thing. "Alright, it's getting late, I need to go." It was already past eight. "I still need to pack when I get back; I have to be at the airport early tomorrow morning." Don't underestimate the amount of things she needed to take to the UK, even though she’d only been back a few days. Shi Man's mother had sent quite a few items for her to carry over, not to mention the local specialties prepared by Song Ziwen and his wife.

"Do you want me to drive you tomorrow?" Juliana had wanted to stay longer, but hearing Wang Qiqi speak, she also stood up, ready to leave.

"My brother is taking me. I have too much stuff. I thought I'd only need one suitcase when I returned, but it ended up being two." Wang Qiqi felt her head ache just thinking about the piles of things waiting to be packed at home. "I need to visit my parents' graves first thing tomorrow morning, so I'll be up very early." Wang Qiqi was worried that the deserted early morning cemetery would frighten Juliana.

When Juliana heard about visiting Wang Qiqi's parents' graves so early, she stopped insisting on driving her. It wasn't that Juliana was unwilling to pay respects to Aunt and Uncle, but she was genuinely afraid of ghosts and spirits. "I will come with Hanlin to pay respects to your parents during the Qingming Festival," Juliana said softly to Wang Qiqi.

"Thank you." If anyone else had said that, Wang Qiqi would have politely declined, but coming from Juliana, she certainly wouldn't refuse. "While you're there, burn some joss paper for Han Tao's father too, and I'll give you the money for it."

"Done," Juliana readily agreed; it was right next door anyway. "Tell Han Tao to work hard. Whether I can retire early depends on him. If the company does well, I won't bother with the affairs here. Let them fight over it; as long as they give me money, that's all that matters."

Wang Qiqi kept giving Juliana meaningful glances, wondering why she was acting so strangely today. Had she been stimulated by something? Why was she airing such confidential matters so openly? Wasn't she supposed to keep them secret from her family? And what did it mean to say only half of it in front of Zhu Hanlin?

Zhu Hanlin, overhearing Juliana’s words, was also quite surprised. Hadn't Nana said she intended to make her parents' company bigger and stronger? How could her intentions change so quickly? He suppressed the urge to ask Juliana, knowing that if she didn't want to say anything, no amount of questioning would make her speak. Better to drop the thought.

"I used to find my insistence quite interesting, watching the company grow and strengthen under my management gave me a real sense of achievement. But chatting with you, listening to your and Shi Man’s plans for the future, and hearing about your time studying in the UK, I realized how hard my life has been." Juliana regretted it; why did she have to listen to Qiqi and Shi Man talk about their time studying abroad in the UK? Now look—she had completely lost all ambition for her career. This was a huge problem.

"What hardship? No pain, no gain. If my sister knew you were being so delicate, she’d probably curse you out." Wang Qiqi finished dressing and grabbed her bag, ready to leave.

"I made pumpkin cakes; just heat them up a bit when you get back." Zhu Hanlin, fully dressed, came out of the kitchen carrying two bags and handed one to Wang Qiqi.

"And one for me?" Wang Qiqi looked genuinely delighted. This guy knew how to win people over, not forgetting to send her off with something when leaving. "Oh, I shouldn't impose, eating and taking things too." Despite Wang Qiqi's show of reluctance, her hand moved quickly, snatching the bag from Zhu Hanlin's hand. "Now my brother and I have breakfast for tomorrow. Thanks, handsome. When you go abroad to study in the future, I'll introduce you to some rich kids, and you can dump that un-feminine Nana."

"Hey, hey, what kind of audacity is it to try and poach someone right in front of the main party?" Julina pinched Wang Qiqi's chubby cheek unceremoniously, a clear signal of her displeasure. "Here are the keys; you drive."

"Got it."

Only then did Wang Qiqi grasp why Zhu Hanlin had bothered changing clothes—he wasn't heading to the office at all, but rather for a leisurely drive with someone.

Wang Qiqi was just about to pull the car door open to get out when, as soon as the door swung ajar, she saw several figures charging out of the stairwell, heading straight toward her car.

The aggressive posture made Julina, seated in the passenger seat, deeply uneasy. "Qiqi, hurry up and get back inside." Even without knowing who they were, the sight sent a tremor of anxiety through her.

Who exactly were these people? Wang Qiqi couldn't fathom why they would be here, at this exact moment, encountering them like this. It felt genuinely strange; by the looks of it, they seemed to have been waiting for her for quite some time.