Wang Qiqi pushed her luggage out of the airport and was immediately hit by the unusually biting cold. Coming straight from a tropical resort to this Northern capital city made her feel completely out of sorts. She scanned the arrivals area but couldn't spot Song Yao. That struck her as odd; Yao had explicitly promised to pick her up. Now, Qiqi faced a difficult choice: should she grab a taxi or wait right here?

"Qiqi, Qiqi!" Gong Peixing waved his arms wildly, shouting her name. He'd been terrified he wouldn't make it in time, but seeing Qiqi emerge with her bags made him exhale in relief. He couldn't even imagine how furious his wife would be if he’d failed to meet Qiqi.

Wang Qiqi turned toward the man waving frantically. Huh? Why was it Gong Peixing? She found it genuinely strange. Wasn't he supposed to be swamped with work? For such a busy man to come pick her up was rather alarming. "Uncle-in-law, what are you doing here?" Qiqi instantly handed over her carry-on, feeling a significant weight lift from her shoulders as Peixing took the handle.

"The beauty salon had an emergency; she had to deal with it," Peixing explained why Song Yao was absent. Usually, his wife always met Qiqi upon her return, so he understood why Qiqi would be surprised by her absence.

A salon emergency? Qiqi’s relief evaporated instantly, replaced by mounting tension. "What kind of emergency?" she pressed. Surely it wasn't anything major. In a place like the capital, it wasn't just the sheer number of wealthy people, but also the abundance of officials—so many second-generation officials and military figures. If they ran into a reasonable one, fine, but facing a truly arrogant one could spell endless trouble.

Gong Peixing saw the paleness wash over Qiqi’s face. Although his wife had specifically instructed him not to reveal the good news first, seeing Qiqi so worried made it impossible not to say something. "It’s good news, Qiqi, don’t worry. Say, are you tired from such a long flight?" Peixing looked at the young woman who seemed so much further ahead of him now. He felt a pang of melancholy. He had thought that after years of striving, he was established, that he was closing the gap with her. But after just one year of studying abroad, she came back announcing she’d invested in an IT company in the States. While IT firms might not cost much initially, there was no denying that once established, they were massive money-makers, far eclipsing his machine processing plant. IT required huge upfront capital but yielded enormous returns, whereas his factory, despite looking profitable with good margins, constantly demanded new machinery purchases.

Peixing had once imagined he could at least keep pace with Song Yao, earning far more than her consignment shop brought in. But before Qiqi left, she had convinced Song Yao to invest in an English tutoring school started by one of Qiqi’s classmates. That business was now booming. Peixing often overheard clients mentioning their children were being prepped there for future overseas study. And this year, on top of that success, Yao had opened a beauty salon and planned to launch a wellness center—the latter’s prospects were still unknown, but the salon was pulling in substantial cash. This reality kept Peixing from ever daring to look down on the seemingly delicate girl standing beside him, and it had thoroughly extinguished any lingering thoughts of straying outside their marriage. "How long are you staying this time, Qiqi?"

Though Wang Qiqi knew about Gong Peixing's past indiscretions, she chose not to dwell on them. In her mind, if Song Yao truly couldn't bear it, divorce was the answer; there was no need to cling to one failing branch. But if Yao wanted to make the marriage work, Qiqi saw no reason to constantly dredge up old mistakes. "About ten days. I have a few things to sort out; there's plenty demanding my attention back in the US too."

While Wang Qiqi secretly wished she could laze around without dealing with overseas matters, she knew she couldn't escape for long. John wouldn't let her take it easy back home, especially since he was swamped. The company needed to relocate, investments were nearly finalized, and contracts needed signing—enough to keep John buried under stress.

After Gong Peixing loaded the luggage into the trunk, he mentioned, "Song Ziwen is coming over in a couple of days. Say, Qiqi, are you really planning to withdraw your investment?" No one was surprised that Qiqi’s career focus was moving abroad, but after she entered two domestic sectors last year, Peixing had assumed that no matter how well she did overseas, she wouldn’t abandon the Chinese market, which still offered solid returns and served as a crucial fallback. However, Qiqi’s suggestion to pull her capital from Ziwen’s factory made Peixing wonder when she might announce a similar withdrawal from his own business.

Even though his factory was doing well, if Qiqi decided to pull out, it would place considerable financial pressure on him. Of course, absorbing new shareholders was an option, but would any new shareholder be as accommodating as Qiqi? A shareholder who only reviewed audit reports and collected dividends without ever interfering in company operations? Thinking that way, Gong Peixing desperately hoped Qiqi wouldn’t bring up pulling out. Yet, he knew that even convincing Song Yao wouldn't matter; everything depended on Qiqi’s decision.

"Yes. There's an investment opportunity in the US that needs funding. Besides, when I opened the beauty salon and planned the wellness center, I didn't bring Brother Ziwen along. He might feel slighted. Since that’s the case, I thought I’d pull the investment." Qiqi recognized that while Peixing was asking about Ziwen’s factory, he was really asking on his own behalf. She knew Song Yao would have already clarified her intentions to him.

Oh, a new investment? Gong Peixing was startled by Qiqi’s announcement. Song Yao had mentioned Qiqi probably needed cash overseas, assuming she was buying a new house, since the IT company was quite a distance from their existing property. But a new investment? He wondered if securing foreign investments was really that easy. "You have another plan brewing? Willing to bring us along?" Peixing knew one thing for sure: following Qiqi usually meant there was profit to be made.

Wang Qiqi hadn’t expected Peixing to immediately ask to be included just because she mentioned an investment plan. Honestly, it wasn't impossible. For Old Feng’s investment company, the more capital, the better. "Old Feng, the man who married Shi Man, is planning to go independent and start his own investment firm. A few of us were thinking of giving him some seed money—partly to support him, and partly to see if we can make money breed."

Feng’s husband was going independent? Peixing honestly didn't know him well. By the time he came to Beijing to develop his business, Feng had already left for the US. His return had been brief and hurried, and he only heard casual mentions from Song Yao, describing Old Feng as quite capable. "Is he the one handling all your financial management in the States?" Peixing had often found that strange before. Qiqi studied finance herself; why rely on someone else for that, which surely meant paying them a handsome fee? Back then, he’d wondered if Qiqi had become a rich fool with too much money. Now, he suspected Qiqi was executing a grand strategy.

"Yes, but back then he only handled it when he had the time. It’s different now; he can do it full-time. I’m sure the investments will turn out very well." They had discussed the company's future prospects during their Maldives trip. Although Feng’s partners weren't present, the core group had agreed on the direction; the next step was for Feng to negotiate with the other party. Based on what Feng had indicated, the chances of approval were high. "Of course, stock market investments always carry risk. It’s not a guaranteed profit," Wang Qiqi added quickly. She didn't want Peixing to jump in based on that statement alone. If it made money, great for everyone, but if it tanked, she didn't want him blaming her for misinformation.

"I certainly know that. Even in machine processing, you can lose money." Peixing understood market risk without Qiqi needing to remind him. But if Qiqi was putting her money in, he felt that even with the risk, it was an opportunity not to be missed. "I’ll go discuss this with your sister when I get back. We have some savings. Say, Qiqi, if my sister and I invest, and the investment company does well, can I immigrate?" While investment immigration was respectable, having a company established in the US would certainly carry more prestige.

Immigrate through an investment firm? "Of course, you can. Given your current standing, immigrating isn’t an issue." Wang Qiqi knew that most wealthy people these days were focused solely on accumulating more money, giving little thought to emigration—or if they did, the numbers were small. "You could immigrate then, Uncle-in-law. We plan to immigrate after Han Tao graduates from his research institute."

Song Yao tapped lightly on the attic door before pushing it open, finding Wang Qiqi engrossed, holding a laptop. "Video chatting with Han Tao?" Honestly, they’d just parted ways not long ago, and already she was desperate for a video call—youth and intense affection, indeed. "I'll come back later." Since the young couple was chatting, Song Yao decided it was best to let them have their moment without interruption.

Wang Qiqi beckoned her sister-in-law over, spoke two quick sentences into the computer, and set it aside. "He just arrived in the US; I told him to get some rest. By the way, Sister, what did you need me for?" It seemed Gong Peixing must have already mentioned the investment company to Song Yao.

Since Wang Qiqi wasn't video chatting with Han Tao, Song Yao quickly slipped under the covers with her. "I already talked to your uncle-in-law. I’m sleeping with you tonight. It’s been ages since we had a proper late-night chat." Song Yao couldn’t remember the last time they had one, but these opportunities were rare; she intended to monopolize Qiqi for these two days she was home. "And about your concern for Song Ziwen being unhappy that made you withdraw capital—how come you’re ready to invest in something else in the blink of an eye?"

Song Yao had shared some news with Gong Peixing but hadn't revealed everything. She’d just heard Peixing happily mention that Xiao Rourou planned to use the money withdrawn from Song Ziwen’s factory to invest in Old Feng’s new firm. Song Yao’s first thought was that Qiqi had fabricated an excuse. So, she rushed over to gauge Qiqi’s real intentions and figure out how to stop Gong Peixing from pursuing this idea.

"It wasn't in the blink of an eye; I didn’t even think about investing in Old Feng’s company when I was flying from the US for vacation." Xiao Rourou explained how the situation had evolved. "I didn't know about Old Feng and his partner before. But Shi Man knew I was pulling my funds from Ziwen’s factory. If I just stood by and let Old Feng start his company without investing when Shi Man knew I had the money, what would Shi Man think?"

"What else? She’d think your relationship had soured," Song Yao could foresee Shi Man’s reaction immediately. "I see. But didn't you used to say you had a great stock you planned to hold long-term, one you were sure would make money?"

"I thought so, but the stock I picked was a one-off deal. The market truly relies on professionals. I'll eventually need Old Feng’s expertise anyway, so it makes sense to collaborate now." Since Han Tao seemed a bit too eager about earning money, Qiqi decided she didn't need to obsess over that one stock. At worst, she could earn a little money later and slowly buy up some shares as a private reserve. "Han Tao and Old Feng are close. Feng took good care of Han Tao when I was studying in China."

So that was the reason. Since Qiqi was genuinely planning to invest, Song Yao stopped holding back. "Your uncle-in-law and I have money available. What do you think about us investing?"

Even Song Yao was asking her now? Wang Qiqi felt like crying. "I can’t guarantee anything, Sister. You trade stocks too; you know how high the market risk is. I’m not the principal decision-maker, so..." Wang Qiqi gave a brief overview of the overseas stock market, explaining all the risks involved. Since they were family, Qiqi certainly relayed the dangers truthfully.

Song Yao understood the risks. "Ask Old Feng if he’s willing to accept me as a shareholder. If he agrees, we’ll skip Japan during the Chinese New Year holiday and go to the US instead. We can celebrate the New Year together." Song Yao declared grandly. Although she had looked forward to soaking in Japanese hot springs, Japan was right next door. Visiting Qiqi’s new house in the US, doing some shopping, and gaining an extra way to make money sounded much better than simply spending money on a trip to Japan. Song Yao was highly anticipating the US journey.

Wang Qiqi felt immense pressure seeing Song Yao agree to invest so quickly. Did they think whatever she invested in was foolproof? Even after she explained the risks, they weren't listening. Sighing, she hoped her reputation as a reborn person meant she had good luck with investments. "Okay, I’ll ask Old Feng. But one thing: we expect dividends; we won't participate in company management." She didn't want Song Yao and her husband looking over the company management when Old Feng was solely responsible, leading to potential grievances.

"We know, we know," Song Yao thought to herself that Qiqi was being dense. She and Gong Peixing knew nothing about this; interfering would just be handing over money.

Since Song Yao and her husband agreed, Wang Qiqi felt the pressure ease and immediately drafted a letter detailing the request, mailing it to Old Feng to await his response.

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