A faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corners of Wang Congcong's lips as it drifted across his handsome face.
There was unmistakable teasing in that smile.
He picked up the thread of conversation unhurriedly. "You're seriously asking what's going on?"
Wang Zheng, standing nearby, nodded frantically. "Old Qin's drunk tonight—he actually believes Cheng's not a total scumbag."
"Exactly," Chen Hao chimed in. "Only you and Sis-in-law would buy Brother Cheng's line."
Qin Fen listened to the chorus of banter without the slightest irritation; instead, his grin widened.
He answered cheerfully, "I meant, is he staying in the room with Sis-in-law, or going back after he sees her home? Haha!"
The moment Qin Fen finished his teasing remark, Wang Congcong stepped closer to Qi Yuan, slapped the rather skinny Qin Fen on the shoulder, and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Old Qin, are you stupid? He dragged her all the way here—anyone can see he's totally whipped. Who else would it be?"
Wang Zheng could no longer hold back his laughter.
He burst into uproarious, hearty guffaws.
His slightly green-tinted scalp quivered wildly.
Between laughs he added, "Right—Sis-in-law would never let Cheng come back out."
Watching the guys draping their arms over their Girls in blatant showing-off, Jiang Cheng let out a snort of disdain.
At first glance the Girls' looks were decent enough,
but the Character Scanning System painted a ghastly picture—utter blackout.
Three of them scored above 75 in charm, placing them in the upper-middle range.
In stark contrast were the other two.
Their noses were strikingly upturned,
a feature that should have been outstanding,
yet to Jiang Cheng's shock their charm barely scraped fifty.
To the naked eye those two should have cleared seventy easily,
but the system's rating was brutally low.
Only two explanations: either master-class makeup
or surgical intervention.
Even wilder were their privacy values.
One read sixty-eight, the other a jaw-dropping seventy-five.
After seeing that, Jiang Cheng could only think:
Most guys who chase cougars or widows expect single-digit favorability, right?
These two weren't even forty,
yet their privacy stats were through the roof.
Whether built up over years or exploded here tonight,
either way it was mind-blowing.
He couldn't hold back.
He almost blurted, "Look at the rejects you picked—how dare you compare them with Si Qing?"
But with the ladies standing right there, good manners stopped him.
Instead he said, "Are you guys toxic? Please, save the bragging until you've landed some decent dishes."
They opened their mouths to retort,
then realized he had a point.
Tonight Si Qing wore the simplest outfit,
practically invisible,
yet an innate star-quality aura still radiated from her.
Impossible to ignore.
Close inspection showed only the thinnest veil of foundation—no eye makeup at all.
Meanwhile their carefully invited Girls were dolled up to the nines,
but years of experience let them spot the tell-tale traces of scalpels and filler needles at a glance.
The contrast made Jiang Cheng's jab unassailable.
Seeing their gloomy faces, Jiang Cheng added,
"By the way, my girlfriend is her younger sister; tonight I brought the elder one."
He lifted the glass of red wine from the table
and tossed back the crimson liquid in one swallow.
The instant Jiang Cheng drained it, Wang Congcong sprang up, smoothly snatched the bottle, and refilled him.
Teasing aside, Wang Congcong always positioned himself one step lower in action.
In silence, Jin refilled the glass Jiang Cheng had just emptied with more red wine.
Once the glass was full, Wang Congcong's previously calm face instantly turned into one of eager gossip.
He blurted, "Holy crap—didn't you say last time they still think you don't know they're twins? So the two of you were just acting for each other?"
Seeing Wang Congcong finish pouring, Qi Yuan beside him lifted his own glass and held it out for a refill.
Ignoring Wang Congcong's eye-roll, Qi Yuan picked up the thread: "No way, you're playing it that wild? Sounds exciting."
Jiang Cheng shook his head, raised the glass, and knocked it back in one go.
"Today she was pretending to be her sister again—let me state up front, I had absolutely no idea."
At that, everyone at the table chorused, "Holy crap!"
Qin Fen complained, "So that's how you play it—gonna freeload a sister-in-law tonight?"
"I'm done, I'm done. Why do I have to hear this? Classic scumbag move."
With that he spun around and looked at the beautiful older woman standing nearby.
A teasing smile on his face, he asked softly, "Excuse me—do you have any sisters on a buy-one-get-one-free deal?"
The beauty froze for a second, then burst into tinkling laughter as though he'd hit her funny bone.
She laughed so hard her whole body trembled.
With her laughter, the full curves wrapped in her tight white bustier rose and fell, drawing every eye.
"Young Master Qi, you're hilarious…"
Seeing Jiang Cheng drain another glass, Qin Fen said sourly, "Old Jiang, take it easy or you'll crash the second you lie down—your lady's still waiting downstairs."
Jiang Cheng gave them a half-smile. "It's my strategy. Haven't hit a bar in a while—don't forget I'm not you lightweights."
A man's pride at stake, bar veteran Wang Congcong snapped upright as if pulled by a string.
Then, like a punctured balloon, he deflated and let out a long sigh.
If anyone else had thrown down that gauntlet…
Given Wang Congcong's usual fiery temper, he'd already be jumping and cursing the challenger's ancestors to the eighteenth generation.
But the one openly challenging him now was Jiang Cheng.
The memory of how Jiang Cheng had once drunk them all under the table…
Leaving them sprawled unconscious on the tabletop…
Wang Congcong's newly summoned bravado withered like a leaking balloon.
He exhaled helplessly. "I swap girlfriends all the time; I used to think they were great, but next to the Girl beside you they look plain. Where do you even find them?"
Qi Yuan shot back mercilessly, "Bro Wang, sit down. Are you as handsome as Cheng? As young? As rich? What have you got to compete with?"
Wang Congcong: "…"
Everyone at the table wore the same sour expression.
They were all Second-generation rich.
Money could buy them women…
But they didn't want to rely on cash for every relationship.
Besides the occasional fling, who wouldn't want a steady girlfriend to actually date?
If Qin Fen didn't want that, he wouldn't now be a proud new dad.
Yet the richer they got, the rarer the simple, decent Girls became.
Jiang Cheng could filter the Girls around him thanks to the Character Scanning System.
Take Xia Meng, for instance.
The first time she came to the club, without the System Jiang Cheng would have picked purely by his own tastes…
Judging by figure, charm, the usual checklist.
After all, Xia Meng was on the short side among the Girls.
So if the System hadn't shown him her 0-point privacy value bonus…
He probably wouldn't have chosen her at all.
After another round of drinks, Xu Ruai glided in.
Smiling broadly, he breezed to Jiang Cheng's side and bent slightly.
He murmured, "President Jiang, Miss Si is having a facial and full-body spa. It's late; she seems to have dozed off. Per your orders we didn't wake her and lit the aromatherapy."