Those words struck Cheng Xiaodong's heart like a sledgehammer.
Raised in luxury, he'd never imagined what being "kicked out of the Cheng family" would feel like, but the ruthlessness in his father's eyes was no bluff.
It was the kind of resolve that would turn into action.
His mother hovered nearby, tears streaming, desperate to plead yet too afraid.
She could only clutch Cheng Xiaodong's arm, silently begging him to yield.
His lips trembled; finally the fight drained out of him. Shoulders sagging, he croaked, "I… I'll go… I'll apologize, all right…?"
Cheng Gui gave a cold grunt, withdrew his gaze, and strode toward the study. "Remember your words. If you mess up tomorrow, don't ever set foot in this house again."
The study door slammed; only the mother and son's muffled sobs remained in the living-room.
Under the crystal chandelier, Cheng Xiaodong's hands shook. For the first time he realized the trouble he'd brewed was far beyond tantrums and theatrics.
By the end of the meal Jiang Cheng could sense a subtle shift in the sisters' attitudes.
After all, they weren't Bai Xiaoxiao and Qiao Yinyin.
They were the Twin Sisters who had grown up together.
So even if rivalry surfaced, it would never explode into the kind of spectacle Bai Xiaoxiao and Qiao Yinyin could stage.
At most, when Si Nian picked up food for Jiang Cheng with her chopsticks, Si Qing immediately followed suit.
Facing this invisible "clash of blades,"
Jiang Cheng naturally pretended to notice nothing.
At that moment the hotpot in the private room bubbled away; the aroma of beef tallow and chili drilled into everyone's nostrils.
No sooner had Jiang Cheng dropped a just-scalded piece of tripe into Si Nian's bowl than Si Qing teased, "Wow, so partial! You remember Niannian loves tripe—do you even know I adore duck intestine?"
He slid the freshly cooked duck intestine into her bowl. "Impatient? Think I'd leave you out?"
As his fingertips brushed the rim, Si Qing lifted her gaze; her eyes sparkled.
While Si Nian looked down to mix her dipping sauce, Si Qing secretly grazed Jiang Cheng's calf with her toe.
Wuhu! Moments ago she'd feared Si Nian would discover their relationship; now she was taking the initiative to flirt.
A tickle ran through Jiang Cheng, yet he kept a straight face and added another piece of beef soaked in chili broth to her bowl.
"Did you have fun at your aunt's place last time?"
At the mention both Si Qing and Si Nian broke into bright smiles.
In unison they answered, "Mm, we had a great time."
"The snow park in the Alps was amazing; pity Auntie was so busy—we came back to Pengcheng after only a few days. Staying home was deadly boring… sigh…"
Seeing their expressions, Jiang Cheng asked skeptically, "I've never been to Pengcheng, but I hear the economy's booming—shouldn't be so dull, right?"
The moment he finished, Si Nian replied softly, "Well, we rarely went out there. Even when we did, it was just to a nearby mall. Mom kept us on a tight leash."
Si Qing nodded repeatedly in agreement.
"Yeah, education competition in Pengcheng is brutal—everyone's 'involuted.' We lived a two-point line life: classes, then cram school. Even during vacations we had talent courses; no time to play."
Si Nian took over, a trace of emotion in her voice, "Mm, compared with that, Modu is great. In Pengcheng Mom controlled everything—even hotpot. She claimed chili would ruin our voices and wouldn't let us have even yuanyang pot too often."
That's regional diet differences for you.
Guangdong cuisine leans light and mild.
Many parents there really dislike spicy food.
Si Nian's fingers unconsciously clenched her skirt, nails leaving faint creases in the fabric.
"Our schedules were packed to the brim. On my birthday in junior high I was still doing papers at cram school past midnight; when I looked up, only the light in our room was still on."
Si Qing nodded, voice softer, "Yeah, weekends meant art class, dance class. At our age we'd never sat down to a proper hotpot like this."
Hearing that, Jiang Cheng gave an understanding nod.
Guangdong is a populous province after all.
He'd long heard its education is fiercely competitive.
The pressure to advance is far higher than in Chengdu.
According to 2017 data, Pengcheng had 67,800 middle-school exam takers.
Yet public high-school places numbered only 33,000.
That meant half the kids couldn't enter academic high school at all.
So starting from junior high, most parents cram their kids with extra lessons.
Recalling that terrifying academic arms race, Jiang Cheng once again felt lucky his parents had chosen Chengdu—a laid-back city with a pleasant environment.
Listening, he placed slices of beef coated in red oil into each girl's bowl.
With studied casualness he soothed, "Whenever you crave hotpot, just tell me." Skipping further talk of education, he used the motion of serving food
to lightly squeeze Si Nian's wrist.
Si Qing noticed but said nothing, only shifted closer to Jiang Cheng.
She deliberately nudged him with her elbow. "Deal! Next time we want tomato-yuanyang pot. Niannian can't handle too much chili—you have to stop her sneaking into the spicy side."
"Poor things. Don't worry—stick with big bro and I'll show you the high life." Jiang Cheng put on a playboy air, slipping an arm around each sister.
This time the girls reacted better than in the car earlier.
Neither stiffened; in silent accord they even angled slightly to let him hold them.
Feeling their bodies slowly lean toward him,
Jiang Cheng couldn't stop the corners of his mouth lifting—though he knew this wasn't the moment for excitement.
Mm… besides their identical faces, the sisters' panda sizes seemed pretty similar too…
Following his usual rule, Jiang Cheng merely enjoyed the blissful moment of embracing two beauties, then reined himself in and let go.
Brief though it was, compared with the earlier joking hug,
this move struck the girls as a more probing advance.
Jiang Cheng's ambition was bared ever clearer.
Yet even seeing through it, neither girl backed off—especially Si Qing. Last time, while seeing them off to the high-speed rail, Jiang Cheng had hugged her when Si Nian was on a call.
But today he didn't take any extra liberties with her.