Wang Qiqi struggled to find information about the Maldives islands. Although the internet existed, it wasn't as powerful as it would be later, where news from the other side of the globe was instantly known. Wang Qiqi searched and searched, discovering that very few hotels even had websites, and those that did had sparse content, clearly indicating a lack of faith in the medium. This left Wang Qiqi quite discouraged.

Daili Jun poured a cup of tea and returned to his seat, noticing Wang Qiqi staring blankly at the computer, motionless for a long time. He found this odd. "No new orders for you these past few days?" The Fatty had actually noticed something was off with Wang Qiqi for a while now; even her previous attitude toward Anna—snide and dismissive—had improved to complete indifference. She used to let out occasional snorts, but now, staring at the screen without moving, something was definitely wrong.

Orders? "What orders?" Wang Qiqi looked at the Fatty in confusion. She thought to herself, I'm just an assistant; I don't have any tasks. Did someone assign me something while I was spacing out today?

Daili Jun looked worriedly at Han Tao. "Is your Qiqi okay?" Why was she asking him back?

Han Tao understood Wang Qiqi's strange behavior but didn't know how to explain it. He had also searched online and found very little. He had even sent Qiqi to the library, but they hadn't found much useful material. "She's looking for some data, but she just can't find it."

The Fatty grunted, intending to drop the subject, but seeing Qiqi so troubled, he couldn't help but ask one more time. "What exactly are you looking for, Qiqi?" Maybe the order she recently took was difficult, requiring research.

"Information on the Maldives," Wang Qiqi replied listlessly. "I want to look up the situation with the hotels there." At this time, the Maldives should be one island, one hotel, right? She just didn't know how many hotels were open and needed to do some checking.

Maldives data, specifically about hotels? The Fatty mused. Why would Wang Qiqi suddenly be looking into this? Then he remembered the year-end holiday; the company certainly wouldn't expect overtime then. "You're not thinking of going to the Maldives for vacation, are you?" The Fatty squinted at Wang Qiqi, his eyes occasionally flicking toward Han Tao, thinking this guy was something else, only thinking of his own trip and not considering his brother.

Han Tao caught the Fatty’s glance and immediately lowered his head to type on his keyboard. He had previously told the Fatty he would ask him about going, but instead, he had told Qiqi that the Fatty and the others already had plans for Christmas.

Wang Qiqi also sensed the situation was turning sour and silently swallowed the words she was about to say: Didn't you say you weren't going? "Shouldn't we make a plan first? I haven't even discussed it with Manman."

When the Fatty heard even Shi Man wasn't aware, he let go of his grievance. "Vivian and I are definitely going to the Maldives." Even if he wasn't sure it would be fun, it was better than staying home and staring at a computer during overtime. "I originally said I'd take her out after she arrived in the US, but since Vivian got here, I haven't taken her anywhere—not even when she left for college; she went by herself." Even though Vivian said it was fine, the more she acted that way, the more the Fatty felt he owed her.

"I was wondering how to spend Christmas anyway. Since you guys are going to the Maldives, let’s all go together; it’ll be more lively with more people." The Fatty spoke while watching their reactions. He saw Qiqi looking completely agreeable. As for his brother Han Tao, he knew instantly that Han Tao was planning on ditching him. Hmph. If the other person had discussed things properly with him earlier, the Fatty wouldn't have minded choosing a different vacation spot, but since the other party had resorted to such tactics, he couldn't be blamed for not holding back.

"I'll ask Manman if she wants to go." To deflect the verbal attack from the other person and perhaps provoke him further, the Fatty decided to play a bigger game. "Oh, right, I heard Nana has a boyfriend now, too, right? Should I ask her if she’s coming? I’ve never met her man, and it would be a good chance for the few of us to gather."

Han Tao’s face grew darker and darker. If Qiqi hadn't been present, he might have thrown a punch. Is this how a brother treats another? The Fatty could have easily chosen a different place to vacation, allowing them to have their own separate time, avoiding the scenario where a group of women clustered together. Han Tao could already foresee that if the women all left together, the few men might just end up hanging out alone during the day.

Should I invite Juliana? Wang Qiqi hesitated. "She’s very busy; I don’t know if she’ll have time." Wang Qiqi felt a bit guilty. If she invited Nana, she wondered if her older sister would insist on coming too. Ah, whatever, she would ask Nana first; maybe she wouldn't come after all. Even if it meant letting her sister down, Wang Qiqi felt helpless. Even the densest person could sense something was off with the other person.

Just as Wang Qiqi and Han Tao were exchanging glances, with Wang Qiqi repeatedly clasping her hands together in a silent plea for forgiveness toward Han Tao, the Fatty had already connected with Shi Man. "Manman says her Mr. Feng is free this Christmas, and she’s considering where to go. If we all go to the Maldives, she’ll go too." Hahaha, Shi Man was going; this was a great start. The Fatty could already imagine how dark Han Tao’s face would turn if Juliana also agreed to come.

"Manman is really going?" Wang Qiqi was quite surprised. "Isn't she going shopping for the big sales?" Wang Qiqi suddenly felt her vision darken. She could already predict that Shi Man would definitely settle the score with her later. She glanced back at her computer and saw that Manman was indeed contacting her on QQ.

Wang Qiqi stopped begging the other person for forgiveness. Hmph. If he hadn't said earlier that Manman might be busy shopping, she wouldn't have forgotten Manman, and she wouldn't be in such a predicament now.

After a round of explanations, Shi Man said she generously forgave Wang Qiqi. Being bored, she also took on the task of choosing hotels. "Manman said she would be very happy if Nana also came. We always talked about traveling after graduating from college, but it never happened." According to their old agreement, they were supposed to travel to Southeast Asia or Japan, but company troubles required Juliana to rush over to handle things, and then Qiqi and the others were busy with family matters and preparing to go abroad, so the plan kept getting postponed. She never expected this task to finally happen a year after their graduate studies concluded. "Manman says she will ask Nana and will also handle choosing the hotels. Yay, it’s great to have travel companions; my task just got much easier."

Han Tao watched the delighted Wang Qiqi and decided to stick to programming instead—making money didn't hurt the body, and more importantly, the Fatty's expression made Han Tao feel utterly defeated.

After Han Tao withdrew from the confrontation, the Fatty also felt bored. "Oh, right, Qiqi, don't pick anything too expensive. I don't have much money left; I still need to buy a house. The company will be moving next year, so we can’t keep renting." This money had to be saved.

"Don't worry, none of us have a lot of money," Wang Qiqi reassured him. "We'll pick a hotel with average conditions and moderate expenses, and book the flights in advance."

After receiving Wang Qiqi's promise, the Fatty lowered his head to deal with work, while Wang Qiqi continuously exchanged information with Shi Man online.

"Nana said she's coming too, but she said she needs to check with her man to see if he has time; she'll ask him a bit later," Wang Qiqi said excitedly. "Even though this trip is a bit late, at least it counts as a delayed graduation trip."

Han Tao no longer felt excited hearing about who was going. No matter how excited he got, those people were still going anyway, so it was better not to give the Fatty any more chances to mock him. "Right, ask Sister Yaoyao if she’s going, and ask my mom if she’s going too. Oh, are your brothers going?" Since there were already quite a few people going, a few more wouldn't matter.

When the Fatty heard Han Tao rattling off names, he thought Han Tao must have realized he couldn't turn the situation around, so he decided to be magnanimous about it. At that moment, Daili Jun suddenly regretted his actions. Would Han Tao hold a grudge against him later? Alas, he shouldn't have teased Han Tao in the first place. If he had swallowed his pride and gone to the Maldives with Han Tao, the Fatty could have guaranteed that even if Han Tao disliked him, the Fatty would have been in the right first. But now, he was completely in the wrong. The Fatty deeply felt that his future looked bleak.

Just as the Fatty was wallowing in deep regret, Han Tao looked up and stared chillingly at the Fatty.

Just as Daili Jun was about to lower his head and return to work, he felt a malicious gaze directed at him. The Fatty knew that look had to be Han Tao's. He didn't dare look up; he could only stare down desperately. If he could, Daili Jun wished he could turn invisible; Han Tao’s stare was simply too terrifying.

Seeing Daili Jun acting this way, Han Tao felt satisfied. Hmph, he needed to put some pressure on the other guy; otherwise, he would think he could get away with anything. Hmph, he had gone too far, even interfering with a young couple's vacation plans. If he didn't scare him now, the Fatty might continue pulling stunts like this in the future.

Wang Qiqi hadn't noticed any of the silent exchange between Han Tao and Daili Jun. She was happily discussing the trip with Shi Man. If the Fatty or Han Tao happened to glance over, they would have noticed that their conversation had long since devolved into discussing how many clothes to pack, with the main focus being on how many swimsuits to bring and what styles they should be. According to Shi Man's preference, bikinis were the way to go for that kind of place, especially since all of them had good figures, young skin, and a nice glow. Shi Man was also enthusiastically insisting on taking lots of swimsuit photos so they could look back when they were old and reminisce about how great their bodies were when they were young. This suggestion instantly won over the slightly hesitant Wang Qiqi; this was practically a youth memento.