The Huawei handset Jiang Cheng was keeping an eye on still hadn't released a model with Face ID.
In contrast, Chairman Lei's phones had followed Apple's lead and, in September 2017, launched the first smartphone with facial unlocking.
Only half a year had passed since the tech debuted on a handset.
During that short span, facial recognition had improved a bit, but it was far from perfect.
Jiang Cheng even remembered when the feature first rolled out—people unlocked phones with photos and videos.
So at this stage, it was no surprise the system was fooled by identical twins.
In a few more years, that trick wouldn't work.
Jiang Cheng put on a shocked face.
He spread his hands and sighed, "Ridiculous—if even a machine can be fooled, you two understand my pain now, right?"
The remark carried a double meaning; the two women exchanged glances.
Then Shuang Shuang pouted.
In perfect unison they said, "We're suffering too~"
Just then, a sales clerk walked up to them.
She greeted them warmly, "Need a phone? We have demo units inside—come take a look."
The clerk looked young, clearly a Girl fresh out of school.
Her fair cheeks held a faint blush, especially when her gaze met the handsome Jiang Cheng.
A hint of bashfulness flickered in her eyes, but alas, while she was old enough, her charm didn't meet Jiang Cheng's bar, so the covert glances didn't stir him.
Jiang Cheng pointed at the Face ID poster by the door.
Does facial unlocking work on twins?"
The clerk glanced at Si Nian and Si Qing—beautiful from behind, even more stunning as twins.
After a brief pause she recovered and answered confidently, "Of course. Our Apple promo videos tested plenty of twins; security is guaranteed."
Jiang Cheng said, "These two are special—they even share payment scans."
Hearing that, her professional smile flickered with surprise, but only for a second.
She quickly adjusted and went back into sales mode.
She took a breath and used the lines she'd learned from senior colleagues.
Our tech is different. The phone uses an advanced infrared projector," she said.
It fires precise scanning light at the face. Payment scanners might have loopholes, but not Apple—buy with confidence."
While her tone stayed polite and enthusiastic, she was subtly putting rival brands down.
Jiang Cheng turned to Si Nian and Si Qing.
Sounds impressive—think you can beat it?"
The two exchanged a look and nodded, catching his drift.
In truth, they didn't want him to spend the money.
Just as they were about to decline, the clerk seized the moment.
With a bright smile she said, "Why not try it? Test the Face ID—if one face unlocks both phones, they're free."
The sisters glanced at each other, awkwardness on their faces.
As they opened their mouths to refuse, Jiang Cheng cut in, "You serious, sis?"
The clerk gave a little laugh, dodged the question, and assured him, "Sir, rest easy—our Face ID is top-tier; no issues at all!"
Fine, I'll trust you this once—ring up two," Jiang Cheng said casually, as though buying two phones was nothing.
The remark stunned all three women; the clerk's sales smile froze on her face.
Her eyes went wide, her face full of disbelief as she stared at Jiang Cheng.
Si Nian and Si Qing, standing to the side, were equally stunned; the two exchanged another glance.
Only after several seconds did the sales clerk finally come to her senses.
A radiant smile instantly blossomed across her face.
Truth be told, she hadn't held out much hope when she first pitched the phone.
After all, this iPhone X was the first handset ever to break the ten-thousand-yuan barrier.
Earlier models had hovered around four or five thousand.
That price was already steep compared with some domestic phones that cost under a thousand.
Let alone the sky-high figure it now commanded.
Though the price had stirred plenty of buzz,
most buyers were the wealthy—or at least office workers.
Of course, there were also status-hungry students.
"Sir, did… did you just say you want two brand-new phones?"
She could barely contain her excitement.
Customers as generous as Jiang Cheng were few and far between.
Taking in the three women's expressions, Jiang Cheng simply nodded.
"Of course. Why waste time on demo units? Buy them outright and set them up at once."
The Si sisters still hadn't recovered from the shock.
Their mouths hung slightly open, words hovering but never spoken.
Except for the time Si Qing had run into Zheng Zhigang with Jiang Cheng at IFC,
their outings together had mostly been limited to meals.
Neither of them had ever gone shopping—both of them—at Jiang Cheng's side.
Watching Jiang Cheng stride into the store and chat with the enthusiastic sales clerk,
Si Nian and Si Qing traded a look.
Then, in silence, they followed him inside, matching his pace.
When they reached the display of demo units,
the sales clerk immediately turned to Jiang Cheng and politely explained,
"Mr. Jiang, the phone comes in Space Gray or Silver, and we have two storage options—64 GB or the larger 258 GB. Which would you prefer?"
After listening, Jiang Cheng glanced back.
The two women exchanged another look.
Though he was buying two phones, he hadn't explicitly said they were for them.
Still, the implication in his simple statement was obvious.
Neither Si Nian nor Si Qing put on false modesty or declined out of politeness.
After all, they'd already accepted a Chow Tai Fook trinket worth hundreds of thousands.
Making a show of refusing a phone that cost barely twenty thousand would be absurd.
Si Nian smiled first and replied,
"I think the silver one looks better—the polished stainless-steel frame has that mirror finish, very trendy and fresh."
Si Qing nodded in agreement.
"Same here. The gray steel and back shell are almost black; that low-key look suits guys better."
Jiang Cheng turned to the sales clerk. "Two silver, 258 GB."
"Certainly, one moment." The clerk soon returned, beaming, cradling two pristine iPhones.
Jiang Cheng didn't bring up the clerk's earlier joke about a free phone.
He knew it had only been a bit of sales banter.
There's no such thing as a free lunch.
The Girl was just trying to reel in customers and boost sales.
Who would take that seriously?
So he treated it as light humor and thought no more of it.
Without hesitation he pulled out his phone, opened the payment app, and displayed the QR code.
The clerk's already warm gaze turned almost scorching.
A man this witty, handsome, and easy-going was her dream guy.
Yet when she glanced at Si Nian and Si Qing beside him,
a pang of loss shot through her—she knew she stood no chance.
The two women were so striking in looks and bearing that she felt shabby by comparison.
Once the payment cleared, Jiang Cheng turned and asked quietly,
"So, what are your odds of successfully unlocking the device?"
Because they'd already used each other's payment codes,
Si Nian and Si Qing looked confident.
A rare, proud smile flickered across Si Nian's usually cool face.
She lifted her chin slightly. "Hmph, we're twins—we've got this."