Si Qing's blunt display of closeness made him startle slightly.
Turning his head, he caught a glimpse of Si Nian's tightly furrowed brows.
The competitive spark in her eyes was impossible to hide.
During the Chinese New Year period, while chatting with the Twin Sisters, Jiang Cheng had vaguely felt that the two were somewhat at odds.
When they met the day before yesterday, there were only some undercurrents flowing.
He hadn't expected them to compete so undisguisedly in front of him today.
It was as if that subtle layer of window paper had suddenly been poked through.
Just as he was pondering, Xiao Dong's flustered cry of "President Jiang" pulled his thoughts back.
"What are you doing here?"
Sweat still hung from the corners of Xiao Dong's forehead from running, and his eyes darted around, not daring to look Jiang Cheng in the eye.
He rubbed his hands repeatedly against the seams of his pants, his voice trembling: "I, I just happened to be passing by, looking for a friend..."
"Oh?" Jiang Cheng's voice trailed off lightly. His gaze fell on the man's pale face, but he didn't move or respond.
Jiang Cheng's eyes were too heavy, like a deep pool with no visible bottom, staring straight at Xiao Dong.
Xiao Dong felt as if his blood was about to freeze.
Scenes of his suffering over the past few days flashed uncontrollably through his mind.
Ever since Xingchen made preparations to withdraw its investment, Tianlong Real Estate's stock had been like a slide.
It had plummeted shockingly within a few days.
Billions had already evaporated during this period.
He heard from his mother that Cheng Gui's sideburns had turned white.
Panic reigned within Tianlong Real Estate.
Seeing the major financial news, Xiao Dong finally tasted the true meaning of fear.
"President Jiang..." Xiao Dong's voice began to tremble, his legs feeling as if the bones had been removed.
He knew that if he didn't show some'sincerity' today, this would likely not end well.
Hardening his heart, he knelt on the ground with a 'thud'. The crisp sound of his knees hitting the stone path caused the surroundings to instantly fall silent.
"President Jiang! I beg you to show mercy!" His head was buried almost against the ground, his voice carrying a sob, "I was a scoundrel, I failed to recognize your greatness! Please spare our family; if this continues, we really are finished!"
This kneel was like a sudden thunderclap on level ground.
A few passing students who were laughing and joking just now froze with their milk tea in mid-air, their eyes wide.
Someone's handbag fell to the ground with a 'clatter', but they didn't even bother to pick it up, only staring at this dramatic scene.
Whispers rose like a tide, only to be stifled into sharp gasps upon seeing Jiang Cheng's calm and unruffled expression.
"No way, he knelt down?? Who is this boyfriend of the Twin Sisters?"
"He's definitely a big shot... this is too terrifying..."
"Look at Lin Weiwei's expression. Did you see the photos on the forum yesterday??"
"I saw them. Wasn't this man standing with Lin Weiwei just now?? Could he be here to apologize to the Twin Sisters??"
Lin Weiwei stood to the side, completely stunned.
The bag in her hand fell to her feet with a 'thud'.
The color drained completely from her face, her eyes went wide, and her mouth hung slightly open, yet she couldn't utter a single word.
Just a moment ago, she was flattering Xiao Dong and even secretly slandering Si Nian and Si Qing.
But in an instant, this 'Brother Dong' she wanted to cling to actually knelt down to Jiang Cheng?
Yesterday she had pointed at Jiang Cheng's nose in the parking lot and provoked him... Cold sweat instantly crawled up her spine, and the clothes on her back were suddenly soaked through.
Her legs shook uncontrollably; she could barely stand.
Si Nian and Si Qing, standing on either side of Jiang Cheng, were also stunned by this sudden turn of events.
The sisters instinctively looked at each other, both seeing the surprise in the other's eyes.
The competitive thoughts from earlier were temporarily suppressed.
In their place was a complex set of emotions.
Jiang Cheng always seemed capable of bringing them unexpected shocks.
The moment his knees hit the ground, Xiao Dong's head buzzed as if something had shattered.
It hurt. Not just the dull pain from his kneecaps.
The discussions around him were more like needles, piercing through the shell of arrogance and superiority he had wrapped himself in over the years.
The days he spent in the detention center recently flashed through his mind again.
The iron bars were cold, and the nights were so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat.
He had thought about a lot back then.
How could Jiang Cheng be so ruthless?
Why did he have to provoke this person like he was crazy in the first place?
Thinking back, his obsession with An Xin all these years was entirely one-sided.
On the way here, he thought he had figured it out.
He thought that bowing his head and admitting his mistake to Jiang Cheng was nothing.
But at this very moment, with so many eyes watching, as he bent his knees to Jiang Cheng...
Those memories he had deliberately suppressed suddenly all came flooding back.
When he was little, An Xin had stepped in to help him when he was being bullied, which was why he fell for her.
But after growing up, he had become the very kind of person he disliked most as a child.
Even just last year, because a waiter accidentally spilled some wine on his limited-edition sneakers.
He forced the person to kneel in the restaurant lobby for ten minutes.
Watching the other person say 'I'm sorry' with red eyes, while he and the blonde-haired punks laughed arrogantly.
Even during this year's New Year's Eve at a bar, just because someone at the next table looked at the girls at their table a few extra times.
He had people corner the man in an alley, eventually forcing him to pay the bill while bowing and scraping, even having to say "Young Master Cheng is magnanimous"... Those scenes of him lording over others and his current state of kneeling on the ground were like two fires clashing in his head, burning his cheeks hot and making his eyes sting.
So this was what it felt like to be forced to bow one's head.
It turned out that the dignity he had once treated so lightly was so heavy when he had to pick it back up.
"President Jiang..." His voice shook uncontrollably, and tears pathetically welled up and fell down his cheeks, creating a small wet patch on the ground, "I know I was wrong... I really do..."
After saying that, Xiao Dong even kowtowed forcefully.
With his forehead against the cold ground, his voice carried a sob but was clearer than before: "I used to be a bastard, walking over everyone in Chengdu, bullying people just because my family had some power... I'm not human..."
"This time I've truly woken up. Please spare our family this once. I will definitely be a good person from now on and never act like a fool again!"
"Really, President Jiang, I swear. My dad said that to show our sincerity, for the project in the eastern region, your Xingchen will take eighty percent, and our Tianlong will only take twenty percent." He kowtowed again, his voice choking, yet filled with a desperate earnestness.