Wang Qiqi rubbed her aching lower back as she ascended to the attic, finding Han Tao hunched over his keyboard, typing furiously. "Still hooked up with Fatty?" Even though Han Tao had taken leave these past few days, work was piling up, so Wang Qiqi wasn't surprised to see him busy.

Han Tao rapidly struck a few keys, set the computer aside, and asked, "Did anything happen today when you brought Song Ziwen and the others back?" Han Tao thought back for a long moment, feeling that Song Ziwen's odd behavior began the moment he got out of the car; the expressions of the couple seemed slightly off, followed by Song Ziwen’s incessant inquiries about his company.

Honestly, Han Tao found it very strange. What concern was the company's future to Song Ziwen? Why the deep interest? Even if he was looking out for Qiqi, hoping his wife wouldn't have to struggle in the future, the questions he asked were simply too much.

Wang Qiqi knew she couldn't hide it from Han Tao, though she had been debating when to bring it up. Her original plan was to wait until Song Ziwen and his wife had left before discussing it, but since he asked, Wang Qiqi decided to tell him everything that happened in the car, including the relationship between Yang Jing and Wang Rui.

Han Tao was already displeased when he heard Song Ziwen somewhat coercively tried to get Qiqi to give up her shares in the IT company, but hearing about the good relationship between Yang Jing and Wang Rui made his face fall instantly. "What nerve. He knows perfectly well you and Wang Rui don't get along, yet he’s trying to play both sides. That’s truly repulsive." Han Tao knew Yang Jing was primarily at fault, but as a man, could Song Ziwen truly not know? He absolutely knew, and for him to be so brazen afterward showed a remarkable thickness of skin. "Why should you give him shares? The value of those shares keeps climbing; there's no need to transfer them, we aren't exactly short on cash."

The more Han Tao thought about it, the angrier he became. "Thank goodness he didn't buy a house here; who knows how much more disgusting things might get. Wang Rui might even come to live here."

"Don't be so angry. I'm also quite relieved we found out Yang Jing's true colors early. Otherwise, she might have tricked us into going somewhere completely different." Wang Qiqi felt a wave of relief too. If Yang Jing had managed to latch onto our success and bolster her own finances, wouldn't Wang Rui have more power to leverage? "I suspect Song Ziwen and his wife will cooperate with Gao Kai soon." Only now did Wang Qiqi understand Wang Rui's confidence in securing the position of Mrs. Gao. "Maybe I shouldn't have intervened to stop Song Ziwen from partnering with Gao Kai last time. Perhaps Yang Jing is cursing me internally for missing out on so many financial opportunities."

Certainly, real estate was lucrative, but the issue was that their background wasn't strong. Developing locally might be manageable, but if the Gao family and the Song family joined forces, Wang Qiqi didn't think their small hometown would even register on their radar if they built their foundation solidly step by step. Perhaps their future lives would be smooth, but if they spread themselves too thin, Wang Qiqi truly didn't know how they would sustain it, especially with Gao Kai constantly maneuvering around Song Ziwen, no matter how careful he was, alongside Yang Jing's pillow talk. What could Song Ziwen possibly do?

Han Tao understood all the worries swirling in Wang Qiqi’s mind. He kissed her forehead. "Everyone chooses their own path; you don't need to overthink it. Maybe it's better for him to invest in real estate; then he won't covet the shares you hold. Besides, real estate is booming right now."

Hearing Han Tao say that, Wang Qiqi thought his suggestion was quite good. "Mhm, but if I bring it up, won't it seem too obvious?" If she hadn't expressed such strong repulsion earlier, perhaps Song Ziwen and his wife wouldn't have made those associations. But given her previous attitude, suggesting how great real estate is now would surely make them connect the dots.

Han Tao looked at Wang Qiqi, who hadn't quite figured it out, and thought it was rather nice that his wife wasn't omniscient; otherwise, if Qiqi thought of everything, he, as a man, would lose too much face. "It might be inconvenient for you to say, but it wouldn't be for Nana, would it? Won't she be going to New York soon?"

Right, how could she forget Juliana? She worked in real estate. If she dropped a few words about it, it would be far more effective than anything she could say herself. "Mhm, I'll talk to Nana then. Real estate is definitely a way to get rich, but unfortunately, the industry is too deep with complexities." It required navigating relationships with all sorts of people, something Wang Qiqi knew she couldn't handle. "Song Ziwen is quite suitable for it."

"So, there's always a solution. Let's sleep," Han Tao said, pulling Wang Qiqi close as they prepared for bed. Juggling official duties and setting up the house these past few days had certainly exhausted him.

Song Yao watched Wang Qiqi humming a tune while making breakfast, glancing up occasionally. "You seem to be in a great mood today?" Although Qiqi had hidden her unhappiness well yesterday, everyone could sense it. Yet, after just one night, she looked cheerful. Could it be that her brother-in-law's skill at coaxing her had vastly improved recently?

"Very good. Seeing you all, and knowing I get a few days off, I can’t help but feel I should be happy," Wang Qiqi replied with a bright smile, setting a freshly fried egg onto a plate. "My breakfast skills are decent, right?"

"Decent, decent," Song Yao replied perfunctorily. "At least the fried eggs are good; the yolk is still a bit runny." Song Yao genuinely couldn't understand why Han Tao liked his eggs like that. Had spending too much time overseas turned him into a bit of a barbarian?

"Mom, Auntie, how did you sleep?" Wang Qiqi greeted Luo Hongjuan and Wang Damei as they walked downstairs, "What would you like for breakfast?"

Luo Hongjuan and Wang Damei were taken aback by Qiqi’s question. Could they actually order breakfast? That seemed almost too sophisticated. Of course, Wang Damei felt a pang of bitterness; she was also a Master's degree holder, yet she still had to do this kind of work. Luo Hongjuan, however, was quite satisfied: what a wonderful daughter-in-law—wealthy, beautiful, capable, yet still happily cooking in the kitchen and taking such good care of her son.

"You can only choose between Chinese or Western style," Wang Qiqi clarified, worried they might ask for things like fried dough sticks and soy milk, which she couldn't conjure up. "Chinese is century egg and lean pork congee with some preserved vegetables and meat floss—I make it myself. Western is milk, juice, bread, ham, or fried eggs."

Luo Hongjuan, upon hearing only milk, asked, "No soy milk?" She was accustomed to drinking soy milk every day and felt she couldn't adapt without it.

She had guessed correctly. They were used to drinking soy milk in China. "When we go to New York this time, I'll see if they sell a soy milk maker and buy one to bring back. It would be nice to have some soy milk occasionally." Many things needed to be prepared now; otherwise, if the old lady flew over to the US to look after them and found things missing, it would be a disaster.

Luo Hongjuan had mentioned it casually, never expecting Qiqi to agree so readily, which made her very happy. She looked around, noticing Han Tao wasn't there. "Has Han Tao gone to work?" She remembered her son saying he had to work today.

"He'll leave shortly, Mom. Where are you planning to go sightseeing, or will you rest at home?" Although they had practically slept through the journey, jet lag would still affect them.

"I'll rest at home; my head feels fuzzy." Having experienced jet lag before, Luo Hongjuan knew how unpleasant it was. "Oh, right, when will the agreement for the house be signed?" Luo Hongjuan hadn't expected Song Yao and her husband to decide on the house so quickly.

"Very soon," Wang Qiqi calculated mentally. "And I'll be here; I'll handle it." Once the house was sorted, Song Yao could apply for immigration; naturally, the family would move over in stages.

"That reassures me. Once your auntie arrives, we can chat often." Luo Hongjuan felt quite anxious about living in the US, always uneasy. Although she had experienced being away from home once, that was still China, and she understood the language. Moving here made her feel like an illiterate, unable to understand anything when she went out.

"Yes, it's a pity Ziwen is unwilling to buy a house here," Wang Damei complained, annoyed that her son insisted on following his wife's wishes to buy property in New York. "Sigh, never mind. Mentioning it just makes me angry. Anyway, I'm old; I'll rely on my daughter." Wang Damei found that since moving to the capital, she misunderstood her son constantly. When living abroad, it was best for the whole family to stay near each other for mutual support, but he insisted on living far away. "He doesn't consider what happens if there are problems with his house when he's living in New York. Here, at least Qiqi is watching over things."

"Mom," Song Yao quickly interjected as Wang Damei started nagging again, "If Yang Jing hears you, she’ll be unhappy. Try to hold back a little." Staying farther away was actually better; maybe they could remain relatives then. If they were constantly under Qiqi’s nose, who knew how unhappy Qiqi might become.

Wang Damei wanted to scold her daughter for telling her to hold back—after all, she was the mother-in-law—but Luo Hongjuan subtly tugged her sleeve, and Qiqi's expression also showed disapproval. Wang Damei could only sigh resignedly. "Grandchildren have their own fortunes." Her granddaughter had been raised by her maternal grandparents and was quite distant from her grandmother. Although polite, Wang Damei felt her granddaughter treated her like a guest, overly formal. "When Yao Yao and her husband immigrate, I'll come over to help with the children. As for Old Song, let him enjoy himself back in China."

Luo Hongjuan looked at the dejected Wang Damei, unsure how to comfort her. Although she had a husband, her relationship with him had grown increasingly distant over the past few years. "We'll keep each other company then."

Yang Jing, yawning as she led her daughter downstairs, was startled by Wang Qiqi’s smile. "Good morning, Qiqi! Did I wake up late?"

"Good morning, Auntie," Song Xiaoran greeted politely.

"Morning, Niuniu. Do you want milk or juice today?" Wang Qiqi called out to Niuniu. "Should Auntie fry you an egg?" This child had been raised very politely by Yang Jing's parents, but seeing a child barely a few years old sitting on the sofa like an adult, answering grown-ups with such formality, made Wang Qiqi feel they were overly mature. Perhaps in Yang Jing’s eyes, this was a good, obedient child, but Wang Qiqi felt they were stifling the child's natural spirit. In comparison, Wang Qiqi preferred Taotao, who, despite being more rambunctious, behaved exactly as a child should.

Taotao noticed Niuniu coming down, immediately put down his toy, and rushed over from the living room. "Morning, Niuniu! Let's go play outside. I saw a lake up ahead; we can go fishing."

Taotao, being just a child, might not have noticed, but Wang Qiqi observed that both Yang Jing and Niuniu frowned repeatedly at Taotao's appearance and subtly stepped back a few paces. This wasn't a reaction of being frightened by Taotao; it seemed more like disdain. Wang Qiqi felt a little displeased. Taotao was Niuniu's older cousin; he wouldn't hurt her. Was such a reaction necessary?

Wang Qiqi glanced back at Song Yao and was unsurprised to see the smile on her face dim slightly. "Sister, you just woke up. Can we talk about that after breakfast?" Yang Jing disliked the idea of fishing intensely—what fun was that? And what if this mischievous boy decided to play in the water soon? It was so dangerous. "Oh, right, Sister, did you finalize the house purchase yesterday?"

Song Yao waved Taotao away to play by himself and merely responded with an "Mm" to Yang Jing’s question. "We're signing the contract shortly. Want to come take a look together?" Song Yao hadn't invited Yang Jing to view the house yesterday, and Yang Jing’s expression had been sour afterward. Although Song Yao didn't want to deal with her sister-in-law, she thought it best not to cause unpleasantness in front of Wang Damei. Honestly, Song Yao was truly curious: before she moved to Beijing, their relationship was considered quite good, right? How could it have deteriorated so much in just a few years? Song Yao couldn't figure it out. Was it truly Wang Rui instigating things from the side?

"Sure," Yang Jing readily agreed. It was a perfect excuse to avoid fishing and see how large Song Yao's house was, so she could choose a similar one for herself when she went to New York. "Sister, shouldn't you look around a bit more?"

"No need. It’s rare to find a house this close to Qiqi’s place. If I move nearby, I'll have someone to chat and shop with." Song Yao thought to herself that she wasn't like Yang Jing, trying to get away from Qiqi. What she wanted was to be close to Qiqi. "You know my English isn't great. Without someone familiar around, I really won't survive those two years."

Yang Jing somewhat understood. She knew Song Yao wanted to live near Qiqi, not because she expected Qiqi to come up with money-making ideas, but purely so Wang Qiqi could look after her a little. Yang Jing considered her own English to be good, and New York was a large city, making shopping convenient. Naturally, she would choose the most convenient option.