Chen Hao glanced at Jiang Cheng and instantly waved his hands. "Old Jiang, not me—marriage at my age? No way. I want to keep breathing that fresh, free air a few more years."
Then he complained to Wang Zheng: "A buddy's wife is off-limits, man. Don't go saying random stuff. The only thing I'm jealous of is them landing such a great project—has nothing to do with women."
Jiang Cheng didn't mind; he just smiled. "Quit the nonsense. I'm a stand-up guy, and stand-up guys belong to womankind at large. The chance to be a live-in son-in-law? That's all yours."
Truth be told, Jiang Cheng did have some ideas about An Xin.
But only under the principle of not taking the initiative and not taking responsibility.
If dating her meant getting tangled in such a messy web, he'd have to politely pass.
He hadn't even seen all the Girls of the motherland in their different skins and skill sets yet!
Oops—wrong wording: the great rivers and mountains of the motherland!
The moment they heard that, everyone rushed to state their position.
Wang Zheng jumped in: "Sister Xin's gorgeous, but too young for me—I'm into thirty-something milfs."
Qin Fen shot him a disgusted look. "No wonder you've been reeking of auntie vibes lately."
Wang Zheng laughed back: "What do you know? A thirty-year-old milf is at her juiciest."
Wang Congcong burst out laughing. "Totally agree. Speaking of which, I'm reminded of Big Secret—damn, she never answers my texts."
With that, Wang Congcong grabbed his phone and started typing; Jiang Cheng curiously leaned over.
"Babe, why aren't you replying??"
Jiang Cheng pointed at the wechat icon. "That's Big Secret?"
Wang Congcong nodded, looking smug.
Seconds later, Big Secret replied: "????"
Wang Congcong gleefully shot back: "What are you doing??"
Just as Jiang Cheng thought they'd reached something special, Big Secret answered: "Who is this, please?"
Jiang Cheng burst out laughing. "Wait—you called her 'babe' and she doesn't know you?"
Wang Congcong shrugged. "We're not close—never even met. How could we be? I added her yesterday; she ignored me then. This is her first reply ever."
He happily typed again: "I'm Principal Wang. When are you free for dinner?"
Jiang Cheng was speechless. As expected—Principal Wang, the guy who believes his fate runs on oil, not on cheese.
After that message, Big Honey never responded.
Minutes later, seeing Wang Congcong still glued to his screen, Jiang Cheng chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Didn't expect the principal to slip off his high horse."
Wang Congcong raised an eyebrow. "You don't get it—I love women who aren't swayed by my money."
"Doesn't Big Honey have a husband?" Jiang Cheng frowned.
Honestly, Jiang Cheng didn't follow showbiz much.
He only recalled that after rising to fame, Big Secret had a flash marriage and a kid.
Wang Congcong gave a knowing smile. "You haven't heard about her husband 'discussing scripts'? With Big Secret's temper, she'll never stand it; divorce is only a matter of time."
Qin Fen cut in, intrigued. "Bro Wang, you planning to become an instant dad?"
"Buzz off. I'm not like you matchmaking types. My feelings for Big Secret are pure admiration—don't smear your dirty thoughts on me."
Jiang Cheng grinned mischievously. "So you're not into her? Actually, I wouldn't mind Big Secret."
Surprised but unruffled, Wang Congcong asked, "What do you see in her?"
Jiang Cheng pondered, then pretended to be profound. "Yang Mi is a fascinating Girl; I admire her a lot, and she's stunning…"
Wang Congcong frowned again. "Old Jiang, sometimes your words warp space-time—I feel like I should be the one saying that, yet I'm sure I never did."
Jiang Cheng only smiled, not telling him those were exactly the lines Wang himself had once uttered.
He shot back: "You think she's… 'hard and straight'?"
Wang Congcong blinked. "'Hard and straight'?"
"And you studied in the UK—can't even recognize 'interesting'?"
"Damn, I instantly pictured something dirty."
After that, Wang Zheng chimed in: "Old Jiang, you planning to be an instant dad too?"
Jiang Cheng shook his head. "You guys are too conservative. We haven't even met. If one day we click—she likes me, I like her—that's true love. Love is pure; it's just between two people. A kiss, a cuddle, and it's done—no need to complicate things."
Chen Hao burst out laughing. "All that fancy talk just means you don't want to take responsibility."
They bantered on; Wang Congcong stayed quiet. Seeing no reply from Big Honey, he texted again.
"Is this how you treat someone who cares about you?"
After sending it he muttered: "It's been minutes—why hasn't she answered?"
Just as he started doubting himself, Big Honey replied.
Wang Congcong triumphantly picked up his phone.
Only to find Big Secret's icy answer: "No time, washing my hair."
Unfazed, he quickly replied.
"Let me see!"
She soon sent back a single-question-mark sticker.
"Let me see you??"
After that last message, Big Honey's wechat went silent again.
Jiang Cheng almost spit his drink, reminded of Wang Congcong's hot search saga with Sun Yining.
Back then he'd pursued Sun just as shamelessly.
He'd ridden a car for hours from Shanghai to Hangzhou just to see her, only to wheedle a single minute of her time.
Yet Principal Wang didn't quit; after she started dating someone, he turned to tearing her down online.
That was when his simp quotes went viral.