After all, this crowd knew Zhou Ying.
She was afraid that if she spoke up, everyone would start getting the wrong idea.
Fang Yuan shot Jiang Cheng a glance.
Seeing that Jiang Cheng looked unruffled and seemed in no mood to explain,
even wore a faint, almost imperceptible smile,
after a few seconds of silence Fang Yuan finally lifted the same gentle smile Zhou Ying always wore.
She even deliberately copied Zhou Ying's tone.
"Hello, everyone."
Beside her, Wang Congcong chimed in, "Cheng, that's not cool—taking your sister-in-law to dinner without inviting us."
Since Fang Yuan was letting the mistake stand, Jiang Cheng still said nothing.
What could he say?
Tell them this was his Mother-in-law?
If he did, these three dirty-minded guys would explode on the spot.
Jiang Cheng answered, "If you three come to Chengdu, I've got you covered—how could I skip one meal? What's up?"
When he finished, Qin Fen asked, "When are you back to Shanghai? We all miss you."
Wang Congcong continued, "Yeah, nights out are boring without you."
After that, Wang Zheng joked, "Sis, don't worry—Cheng's different from us; besides drinking, he doesn't touch anything."
Fang Yuan hadn't felt the buzz of being teased like this in ages.
And, truth be told, the youthful vibe made her heart flutter a little.
Just like Zhou Ying, she only covered her mouth and giggled bashfully at the teasing,
never saying anything inappropriate.
Jiang Cheng cut in, "All right, you idiots, let's get to the point."
Qin Fen said, "Old Wang dragged us out tonight. After listening to you yesterday, he's been torn—first he wanted to throw in half a million, now he's getting cold feet."
Wang Congcong added, "All that whining—five hundred K barely covers the booze on this table."
Wang Zheng laughed back, "Bro Wang, Bro Qin, you don't get it. Spending money is fine—doesn't hurt—but getting scammed into spending it? That stings if it's really a black-hole investment..."
Jiang Cheng understood Wang Zheng perfectly.
These guys invested in cars, houses, stocks, property rights—how many pitfalls and scam losses hadn't they seen?
These words were just an excuse to meet up and get someone to buy the drinks.
"Dummy, the two next to you are rolling in cash—five hundred grand? Just borrow it from them."
The moment Jiang Cheng said it, Qin Fen and Wang Congcong jumped up.
"Damn, Cheng, you're the toxic one!"
"Right, what's this 'rolling in cash'? I just dropped a billion—right now I..."
As Qin Fen spoke, Wang Congcong elbowed him hard,
motioning him to shut up.
In the background, Wang Zheng hissed, "Don't blow it, damn it."
Seeing the three of them looking oddly shifty,
Jiang Cheng asked in surprise, "What? So Old Wang put in five hundred K and you threw in over a billion?"
In Jiang Cheng's mind, Qin Fen couldn't be that stupid, could he?
Realizing he'd misspoken,
Qin Fen quickly answered in a deliberately light tone,
"Just some small investments. When are you back to Shanghai? We... uh..."
He faltered, mouthed something to Wang Congcong.
Wang Congcong took over at once.
"Bad signal, Cheng! Anyway, give us a heads-up before you're back—we'll throw you a welcome party!"
The video call was hastily hung up.
Once it ended, Wang Congcong cursed,
"You almost spilled the beans!"
Wang Zheng tried to ease the tension,
then said, "Why do I feel we three are more nervous than picking a gift for a girlfriend?"
Qin Fen grinned, "Sounds like you even have a girlfriend."
"Ouch, that hurts."
Wang Congcong mused, "Was that really Zhou Ying? The vibe felt off..."
Qin Fen swirled his glass thoughtfully. "Whoever she is, the point is we finish the paperwork before Cheng gets back."
"He Youjun already wrapped things up at Club Med; we'll sail the yacht straight to international waters, and the surprise on board..."