Jiang Cheng nodded, exchanged a few more words with the two women, then climbed into the rolls-royce and headed for the address Qin Fen had sent.
Dusk in the Demon City—rush hour had struck and the roads were already jammed.
A trip that should have taken a few dozen minutes ended up swallowing nearly an hour and a half in the traffic snarl.
Qin Fen's chosen restaurant, Huai Banquet, sat on the Huangpu riverside in Lujiazui, right beside the Yacht Club.
The place screamed luxury: no public dining hall at all, only private rooms, each perfectly secluded.
Once inside, Jiang Cheng gave the room number to the Waitress at the door.
Seeing his designer outfit and striking looks, the Greeter's heart skipped a beat.
Professionalism won out; she swallowed the urge to ask for his wechat.
Face flushed, she led the way to the private room Qin Fen had booked.
They reached the door in moments.
It swung open to reveal several guys laughing and smoking, mid-conversation.
The moment Jiang Cheng stepped in, they all chimed in excitedly.
"Old Jiang, you've finally arrived—we've been waiting. You're the slowpoke again!"
"Don't tell us you were 'busy with state affairs' this morning too?"
"I thought I'd be last; I didn't even change clothes."
As they rattled on, Jiang Cheng grinned. "True, you boys are certainly fast… in every sense."
Catching his drift, they burst into a chorus of "Damn, man!"
"Old Jiang, say that again and I'm out—compare stamina, compare duration, I never lose."
"Exactly—real men don't clock-watch."
"This is a classy place; don't corrupt us."
Glancing at the nearly demolished cold dishes, Jiang Cheng realized they'd arrived early indeed.
They'd held off ordering the main courses until he showed—respect in action.
Once seated, Jiang Cheng waved the others to call for the menu.
Looking around, he asked, "Qi Yuan's not here?"
Wang Congcong answered, "National Day lockdown—family relatives are in town, his dad's making him stay home to play host."
Qin Fen laughed. "Stuck socializing with elders—brutal."
Jiang Cheng nodded in understanding.
Simple starters arrived, and the talk began flowing with the food.
Chen Haocouldn't hide his glee: "Old Jiang, thanks to our united siege, the wen family's in trouble—rumor says they're scrambling for connections to fix the mess."
Wang Zheng's eyes lit up. "All thanks to your intel, Old Jiang. Without it, our combined move would've flopped. We tripped the wen family early and caught them off guard."
Wang Congcong agreed: "In business, leaked intel is deadly—months of planning gone in a blink."
Qin Fen added excitedly, "Word is they're taking risks, flirting with bribery. My people say Wen Ang keeps hunting for middlemen—if true, he's handing us ammo."
Jiang Cheng sampled a dish and continued, "An Sheng Group still favors them and is quietly lending a hand. Safest play is to torpedo the deal and make An Sheng drop the wen family themselves."
Chen Hao snorted. "Exactly. Ansheng is bending over backward to find Sister Xin a perfect husband—lavish perks for the wen family, even pushing their status higher. What does Old An see in Wen Ang? Hasn't anyone told him Wen Ang's already a wreck?"
Wang Zheng grinned at Chen Hao. "I detect sour grapes. Sister An belongs to Old Jiang here—unless you're angling to be the wen family's live-in son-in-law for Sister Xin's connections?"