When Jiang Churan heard Jiang Cheng suddenly call her name so intimately,
her heart skipped a beat.
She glanced at him, a little awkwardly.
Shen Shuang, of course, noticed the way Jiang Cheng addressed Jiang Churan.
Her eyes flicked toward Jiang Churan, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
She'd seen yesterday's hot search post, and judging from Xu Zhi's behavior just now, the odds of Jiang Cheng and Xu Zhi becoming good friends were pretty slim.
Shen Shuang didn't hold back: "Yeah, before he left Xu Zhi handed his QR code to Chu Ran. She added him so I wouldn't feel awkward, but the second they connected on WeChat he sent her this message. It's insane. I'd heard he's a player and doesn't respect women—now I've seen it for myself."
Jiang Churan's heart warmed at Shen Shuang's words. She turned to Jiang Cheng, curious about his reaction.
But Jiang Cheng's face was dark, his gaze fixed on the chat history on the phone screen.
It looked as if he wanted to reach through the screen and tear Xu Zhi apart.
Uncomfortable, Jiang Churan looked away toward the dance floor.
She couldn't tell what had caused that expression on his face.
Still, she silently warned herself not to overthink things.
"Forget it, just ignore him. I'll pretend I never saw it," she said.
The moment the words left her mouth, another message from Xu Zhi arrived.
This time it was just a photo.
Jiang Churan opened it: a shot of his hotel room number.
Seeing it, Shen Shuang frowned. "From what I know of Xu Zhi, he's petty. There was a girl he liked who wouldn't date him, so he spread a rumor that she had some disease. Because of the gossip her boyfriend dumped her."
Shen Shuang's story left Jiang Churan speechless and made Jiang Cheng shake his head in disbelief.
This guy's really that small-minded?
At their level they could have any woman they wanted.
Why pester one who isn't interested?
Just in their Company song-and-dance troupe alone there were enough women that you could have a different one every day.
You could go a whole month without repeats.
Jiang Cheng hadn't expected a man of Xu Zhi's status to stoop to trash-talk that could ruin his own reputation.
Though he could settle the matter for Jiang Churan, Jiang Cheng didn't volunteer.
"Chu Ran, I shouldn't have brought you to this gathering. Sorry," Shen Shuang said, guilt all over her face.
"Sister Shuang, what are you talking about? I insisted on coming. Even if he starts rumors I'm not afraid—I don't have a boyfriend, so what do I care?"
Shen Shuang looked miserable, shaking her head. "Maybe, but if he gets people spreading garbage at school, what then? Ugh, this is disgusting. And he came with a date tonight—you saw them all lovey-dovey when we walked in…"
Mid-sentence Shen Shuang's attention snapped to Jiang Cheng.
Her eyes lit up. "I've got it. Chu Ran, just pretend you're Jiang Cheng's girlfriend."
Both Jiang Churan and Jiang Cheng froze.
Jiang Churan quickly caught on.
They all knew Xu Zhi seemed wary of Jiang Cheng.
Claiming to be Jiang Cheng's girlfriend might make Xu Zhi back off.
But Jiang Churan felt awkward.
They'd only just met—why would Jiang Cheng help her?
And pretending to be her boyfriend… the thought felt presumptuous.
She snuck a nervous glance at Jiang Cheng and shook her head.
"That's not necessary. Really, Sister Shuang, you know me—gossip doesn't bother me at all…"
Shen Shuang rolled her eyes, teasing, "Sure, tough girl. Weren't you the one crying under the covers last night?"
Heat flooded Jiang Churan's cheeks.
She clapped a hand over Shen Shuang's mouth. "Stop it, Sister Shuang, I did not cry."
Jiang Cheng watched them, curious. "Cry? Are people bullying you at school?"
"Of course not. It's the twenty-first century—who gets bullied at school anymore?"
Seeing Jiang Churan dodge the question, Shen Shuang rolled her eyes again and turned to Jiang Cheng.
"Jiang Cheng, Xu Zhi seemed pretty familiar with you. What's your connection?"
"We're not close. Met for the first time yesterday."
Shen Shuang had seen Xu Zhi toasting Jiang Cheng earlier; the deference was obvious.
"Not close? Then we're out of luck," she sighed theatrically.
She looked back at Jiang Churan. "Guess we'll have to think of something else."
When Jiang Churan still didn't catch on, Shen Shuang nudged her foot.
Jiang Churan yelped, staring in confusion.
Shen Shuang winked.
Jiang Churan understood but shook her head again, unwilling.
Jiang Cheng noticed every subtle exchange.
Picking up Shen Shuang's cue, he said, "If you don't want to go, Shen Shuang's idea works. Snap a photo with me, send it to Xu Zhi, and you're off the hook."
Jiang Churan hesitated. "But what if he comes after you…?"
Jiang Cheng didn't mind Shen Shuang's matchmaking.
A beauty like Jiang Churan, exactly his type—why refuse?
If it were one of the other tough girls here, he'd have to think twice.
They were fierce but came with endless drama; he wanted no part of that.
But Jiang Churan rated 96 in looks with a privacy value of 0.
A gorgeous girl with zero baggage—Jiang Cheng couldn't wait to find her something to do.