The more Jiang Cheng thought about it, the more certain he felt that his guess was right.
How else could he explain Si Qing's bizarre behavior right now?
And those two sisters who had always been secretly competing against each other…
Suddenly they'd joined forces, turning their spears toward him.
At the thought, Jiang Cheng's heart gave a loud thud.
Though inwardly panicking, outwardly he stayed as steady as an old dog.
Jiang Cheng frowned, pointed at Si Nian and said, "Aren't you Si Nian?"
Si Nian didn't flinch or show the slightest surprise; instead a playful smile curved her lips.
Her big, watery eyes blinked mischievously as she answered coquettishly,
"Brother-in-law, I'm the elder sister. Still can't tell us apart? That won't do!"
Called out like that, Jiang Cheng instantly put on an awkward face.
His gaze shifted to Si Qing, doubt and uncertainty flickering in his eyes.
After a moment's silence he cautiously spoke.
"So you're Si Nian… hold on, I've got a question. Tell me—did I just hold the wrong hand?"
The two Girls smiled identically, half-teasing, and said in chorus, "Guess!"
Those two simple words carried endless mockery and provocation.
Jiang Cheng's brows knitted; he rubbed his temples.
Heaved a sigh.
"Enough. Let's eat first. Once I've filled my stomach I'll have the strength to keep guessing, or I'll go crazy. This is absolutely insane!"
With that he spread his hands helplessly and shook his head.
Just then the Waitress arrived like a lifesaver, menu in hand, hurrying to their table.
The sudden rescue made the two Girls temporarily halt their "siege" of Jiang Cheng.
Si Nian took the menu and asked Jiang Cheng what he liked.
Following the Waitress's recommendations she ticked several plates of pork belly, a serving of beef, and some vegetables.
After choosing she showed the Waitress the QR code of a group-buying voucher she'd already paid for on her phone.
The young waiter smiled politely, took the phone.
With practiced ease he opened a scanning app and swiftly verified the code.
Once confirmed he wasted no time, turning to head downstairs and arrange the dishes.
The speed of service here really was praiseworthy.
Before long a well-trained Waitress approached with light steps.
She carried tray after tray of what looked like exceptionally fresh ingredients.
The two Girls didn't wait for Jiang Cheng to grill for them.
Instead they took the initiative.
Si Qing reached first for the chopsticks on the table.
With practiced movements she picked up slices of marbled, glistening pork belly and laid them on the grill.
As the charcoal steadily radiated heat the pork began its magical transformation.
Under the high temperature it started to sizzle.
The surface gradually turned golden and crispy.
Jiang Cheng followed the two Girls' lead, picking up tongs and flipping the meat himself.
In a short while the pork belly was cooked.
Yet most of the time he found himself being fed by the two Girls.
Si Nian wrapped a piece of pork in a lettuce leaf first.
She dabbed on some Korean-style sauce and held it to Jiang Cheng's lips, telling him to open wide.
Seeing her enthusiasm Jiang Cheng wouldn't refuse.
He opened his mouth without hesitation and bit down.
Instantly the pork's smoky aroma and the sauce's unique flavor mingled in his mouth.
It was as though a grand feast for the taste buds had begun.
Meanwhile Si Qing focused on lifting perfectly grilled beef from the charcoal.
With deft hands she snipped it into even pieces and placed them gently on a plate.
Then she picked up one slice, dipped it in a little barbecue sauce, and tenderly brought it to Jiang Cheng's mouth.
The moment he bit down a "ding!" sounded.
"Congratulations, Host, for experiencing a wonderful culinary moment."
"Ding! Reward: two packs of Qingfeng tissues for Host!"
Seeing the reward Jiang Cheng almost flung his chopsticks to the floor.
Seriously, is this system toxic?
What's it implying?
Leaving aside the fact Jiang Cheng is young, successful, and owns cars and property—he doesn't even need to wipe the plane himself.
Most crucially, could he not afford tissues?
Fuming, he closed the system.
The waiter who'd taken their order happened to arrive again to serve dishes.
When he saw Jiang Cheng happily accepting the attentive feeding from the two beauties, without the slightest burden,
his eyes bulged, staring straight at Jiang Cheng, surprise and envy written across his face.
If only Si Nian were dining alone with Jiang Cheng he wouldn't have found it odd.
But Jiang Cheng had not one but two beauties beside him.
Worse—two identical twin beauties.
And most importantly, both were eagerly attending to Jiang Cheng, one on each side.
Their closeness and actions made the waiter so jealous his eyes reddened.
Besides, when ordering just now both Girls had catered to Jiang Cheng's tastes.
More importantly, it was clearly the two beauties paying for the meal.
After all they'd already bought a prepaid four-person group voucher for 288 yuan on the phone.
Thinking of this the waiter couldn't help sighing.
He recalled his usual meals with his girlfriend.
If he didn't rush to pick dishes for her first she'd nag for ages.
Sometimes if the ice-cream he bought melted a little she'd fly into a rage.
Most of the time his girlfriend acted as if her limbs were broken and she couldn't take care of herself—
everything fell on him.
Let alone her ever offering to pay for a date.
Why had he never met such wonderful Girls?
They were all men; he had every organ required.
He even considered himself fairly good-looking.
So where exactly had he lost?
Faced with the Girls' sudden enthusiasm Jiang Cheng no longer dared respond.
He didn't even give Si Qing a probing look.
He couldn't be sure whether Si Qing had told Si Nian what had happened between her and Jiang Cheng at the club.
If she had, should he act privately familiar when Si Nian was pretending to be Si Qing?
If he did, would Si Nian feel she'd been cuckolded?
If he showed no reaction, would the two suspect he already knew the truth?
Conversely, if Si Qing hadn't considered Si Nian,
then any reaction from him would directly expose his relationship with Si Qing.
Whatever the case, Jiang Cheng knew it was extremely disadvantageous to him.
He had a hunch that if the Girls discovered he'd been deliberately feigning ignorance to have it both ways he would very likely crash and burn.
So under these circumstances Jiang Cheng kept playing dumb, silently cooperating with their performance.
Jiang Cheng asked, "You two are catching the high-speed rail so late? Your home must be close to Modu, right?"
Si Qing answered, "From Modu to our home it's a thirteen-hour ride and there are few trains; the last one leaves around seven-thirty in the morning."
"Thirteen hours? That long? Where exactly is your hometown?"
Si Qing replied, "Meishan in Guizhou. I checked—our place isn't far from your Chengdu; the fastest train takes about half an hour."
Jiang Cheng nodded, then thought of his mom and dad.
According to his father, who knew whether they'd ever return to Chengdu.
He inclined his head slightly, and images of his parents drifted into his mind.
In his father's view,
Chengdu, once so familiar, might in future become a place they could never set foot in again.
Coming back to himself, Jiang Cheng looked at the two and asked,
"If this schedule isn't for going home, where are you planning to go?"
Si Nian said, "We're not heading home yet. We'll spend two days first at my aunt's place in Taicang; the high-speed rail from Modu to Kunshan takes only half an hour."
"Taicang? Is it fun there?"
Jiang Cheng had never visited the place.
Si Nian in the passenger seat answered,
"Taicang has lots of old towns. We mainly want to ski in the Alps Snow World; my aunt took us there before—it's huge and super fun."