Song Yao watched the two clearly slightly inebriated figures return home, a hint of displeasure coloring her tone. "Both of you are supposed to be responsible adults, how did you end up drinking?" Fortunately, neither seemed truly drunk. "So, did the meeting go well? Did they agree on the profit split?"

"Happier than any profit share," Wang Qiqi chirped, waving a finger at Song Yao before grabbing her hand and abruptly pulling her into a clumsy ballroom dance. Shi Man leaned against the wall, emitting soft, idiotic giggles.

Luo Hongjuan heard the noise and emerged from her room, stopping dead in her tracks, utterly bewildered by the scene. What in the world was going on? Why was Qiqi acting so wildly, and especially with Shi Man standing there grinning foolishly? To Luo Hongjuan, they looked like a pair of simpletons. "What are you two doing?"

"Mama, Auntie, what are you doing?" Taotao asked sleepily from the top of the stairs, rubbing his eyes. He found it incredibly strange—why was Auntie spinning Mama around nonstop, and why did his own mother have such a peculiar expression? "I want to join too!" Taotao didn't care about the time; if something looked fun, he wanted in.

Song Yao was already dizzy from being forcibly dragged around by Wang Qiqi in this impromptu dance. To think that her son, who should have been asleep hours ago, was now clamoring to join the chaos—Song Yao panicked. If she didn't get this little tyrant into bed soon, who knew how long he’d keep playing.

Song Yao steadied herself, managing to stop Wang Qiqi’s insistent tugging, and shouted toward the study, "Gong Peixing, hurry up and get Taotao to sleep!"

Moments later, Gong Peixing poked his head out of the study before slowly emerging. "Son isn't asleep yet?" He too was taken aback by the tableau confronting him—Song Yao and Wang Qiqi’s positions. While he recognized they were attempting a waltz or similar dance, the fact remained that it was late at night, not a holiday, so why was Qiqi acting so unhinged? Could something truly good have happened?

"Qiqi, you're back," Gong Peixing greeted Shi Man and the others before quickly taking the stairs two at a time, scooping up his son who was already halfway down. "Little man needs to go to bed early, or you won't grow tall..." At this moment, the threat of stunted growth was Taotao's greatest fear.

Although Taotao felt the urge to resist, he was still just a small child. He was swiftly subdued by his father.

Seeing Taotao safely ushered back to his room, Song Yao yanked Wang Qiqi over and unceremoniously plopped her onto the sofa. "Spit it out," she demanded, her tone sharp. "What wonderful thing happened to make you this happy?" It couldn't be just meeting an old acquaintance. While Qiqi did have some university classmates remaining in the Capital, their relationship was lukewarm. Bai Ge was close, but she was away on a business trip recently. "Don't tell me Mr. Ye gave you a raise."

Wang Qiqi wasn't offended by Song Yao's ungentle manner. "Sister, do you know? I met Sister Qian today. And we closed a deal." Wang Qiqi felt that things had been going quite smoothly for her lately; though there were hurdles, the general trajectory was upward, which was one reason for her current uncharacteristic high spirits.

What? They finalized a deal? Song Yao stared at Shi Man in surprise. "Weren't you two meeting Li Qian today?" Had they somehow managed another collaboration with Li Qian? While Song Yao had developed a profound appreciation for her cousin's knack for making money, hearing again that Qiqi was about to earn more made her slightly envious, especially after the conversation she'd had with Gong Peixing the previous night, which had left Song Yao feeling immense pressure. She had always thought that with her and her husband working so hard, they couldn't be that far behind Qiqi, but now she realized the gap was significant. Especially that project Han Tao was developing—if it really took off, that single endeavor would take her and her husband many years of toil to match.

"Yes, and you know what, Sister..." Wang Qiqi launched into a full, breathless recounting of the entire affair. "Sister, you see? I told you the Traditional Chinese Medicine wellness industry is absolutely worth investing in! Sister Qian already sees the potential to take this concept huge."

Li Qian was bullish on the concept of TCM wellness? Song Yao was stunned. She knew Qiqi wouldn't lie to her. Song Yao had initially doubted Qiqi’s judgment when she heard that even Zhu Lina had rejected her proposal, thinking Qiqi had misread the situation this time. But to find an ally so quickly—though her interactions with Li Qian were few, Song Yao knew that Li Qian had been thriving since her divorce, and her new husband was also excellent. If someone like that approved of the project, Song Yao figured it couldn't be bad. "Then shall we give it a try?" Li Qian had Ye Ruizhi backing her; Song Yao didn't know his exact status, but he likely held significant influence. Moreover, he had promised to handle all the paperwork required for licensing—he wouldn't make such a commitment without capability.

"Sister, you absolutely must join this partnership. You know all the day-to-day management will fall to you," Wang Qiqi told Song Yao, who was seated nearby. Qiqi had considered teasing Song Yao a bit longer but decided against it. "Sister Qian could easily do this alone. The fact that she wants to partner with us is really because she wants you to help oversee the shop."

Song Yao had initially thought she was benefiting from Wang Qiqi's good fortune, but it turned out she wasn't riding Qiqi's coattails at all—it was the other way around, Qiqi was benefiting from her connection. "A deal this good? I must join." Song Yao was currently focused on earning money; even if she couldn't catch up to Qiqi, she certainly didn't want to fall too far behind. While the factory was profitable, it required massive initial investment in machinery, and these funds weren't a one-time placement; they demanded continuous input. Calculated closely, the terrifyingly high profit margin wasn't quite what it seemed. The TCM wellness center, however, after Song Yao had thought it over these past few days, required less initial outlay, with the bulk of the income coming later. And the returns wouldn't be small. "Oh, right, when is Nana coming to the Capital? Did you let her know?" Song Yao felt a surge of happiness. Just a few days ago, she was worrying about how to secure her future income, and now she was contemplating the future headache of being too busy. But for Song Yao, being busy was a good thing. If things got truly overwhelming, she could ask Aunt Luo to help manage things at home and summon her own mother to the Capital to help with household affairs.

"No," Wang Qiqi thought to herself that she hadn't even consulted Song Yao's wishes yet before contacting her. "And I haven't had a chance to reach her lately. We'll call her tomorrow morning." It seemed Zhu Lina had resumed her tours of the regional branches, meaning there might be a dinner engagement tonight, so it was best not to disturb her. "If she’s busy, have her husband come over instead. By the way, Sister, what do you think of Zhu Hanlin?" Zhu Lina couldn't always shuttle back and forth to the Capital for work, but Zhu Hanlin seemed to travel there frequently to handle matters. Song Yao hadn't mentioned anything about him before.

Regarding Zhu Hanlin, Song Yao was unsure why Qiqi suddenly brought him up. She paused to consider. "He's quite a decent person, but he’s not someone who speaks very fluently. However, his analytical skills are excellent." Song Yao had initially hoped that since the Zhu family was powerful, even if they couldn't find a match with equal standing, they should at least find someone capable. She was surprised that Zhu Lina had ended up with this man, but after spending time with him, Song Yao found the young man quite dependable. Someone less glib might actually be safer.

"He's smart, apparently aiming for a Ph.D. He’s focused on academics," Wang Qiqi said, admitting she had been worried Song Yao might not speak highly of Zhu Hanlin, suspecting their collaborations hadn't gone smoothly. Hearing her sister’s high praise relieved her. "That's good. Sister, I was worried you weren't getting along well with him during your work."

Song Yao then understood; Qiqi had been concerned about her professional relationship with Zhu Hanlin. She gave an exasperated look. "Don't worry, even if things weren't perfect, I would treat him with more consideration because of Nana." After all, she was a mother, far more established than the unmarried young man, Zhu Hanlin. "Once the wellness center opens, let Zhu Hanlin manage it. What's the point of him being that esteemed university lecturer? The salary is so meager." As for the beauty salon, even if Song Yao wanted Zhu Hanlin involved, she wouldn't dare, but the wellness center was different. In Song Yao’s view, running a business well, managing a wellness center—it wasn't an industry purely about ruthless capital. Zhu Hanlin should agree.

"Sister, don't even think about it," Wang Qiqi countered. She figured Zhu Lina’s father wasn't foolish; he understood Zhu Hanlin's capabilities, which was likely why he hadn't insisted he leave his position to solely assist Nana based only on their past neighborly bond. "Zhu Lina's father tried to persuade him to resign and support Nana, but he refused, saying he prefers the work of educating people."

"That’s just an excuse," Song Yao stated with certainty. "He’s probably worried about those relatives in the Zhu family." Every family has troublesome relatives. Song Yao’s own family had only risen recently, and yet a horde of relations had shown up. She could only imagine the resistance Zhu Hanlin would face from the many relatives already embedded in the Zhu family business. "Ask Nana. I doubt she wants Zhu Hanlin stuck like this either." If he lacked capability, fine, but having ability only to be looked down upon by his in-laws—no one would be happy about that. If Zhu Lina agreed, would Zhu Hanlin truly remain an issue?

"We'll ask Nana first, but I suspect Zhu Hanlin won't agree," Shi Man admitted. Though she hadn't met Zhu Hanlin often, she felt he was the type who preferred to stay out of the spotlight. Furthermore, Nana hadn't even publicized this venture, treating it as her private fund. If Zhu Hanlin showed up publicly managing it, wouldn't that draw unwanted attention?

Wang Qiqi realized Song Yao already had too many responsibilities to manage. "If it comes to that, we'll just hire someone. Doesn't Nana's family already employ managers for many of their posts? We can just conduct an annual audit, and Sister, you only need to offer general oversight. It cuts down the workload considerably." Hiring someone seemed like a good solution; it wasn't that Song Yao disliked managing, but she couldn't completely abandon her home life, and if she handled everything, she worried about inevitable conflicts flaring up later, leaving her burdened.