Immediately afterward, he put his arm around Shen Shuang and turned around calmly, not giving Xu Zhi, who was frozen in place with an ashen face, another look.
Watching helplessly as Jiang Cheng held Shen Shuang and disappeared around the corridor corner in an intimate manner, Xu Zhi stood there like a stiff stone statue.
His ears were buzzing—the sound of blood rushing to his head; his vision went dark in waves—the extreme humiliation was burning his retinas.
Jiang Cheng! Jiang Cheng again! He gets all the good things!
He wouldn't even leave a drop of soup? Shen Shuang was clearly the one he had'set his sights on' first! This was simply a monumental disgrace!
A monumental disgrace! This Jiang Cheng! I want him dead!
"Jiang Cheng... Shen Shuang..." He bit his gums until he tasted blood, a broken low growl squeezing out from deep in his throat.
Drunkenness, jealousy, and the sharp pain of being slapped in public, mixed with his long-standing hatred of Jiang Cheng's high-and-mighty attitude, finally broke through the last dam built by his father's warnings.
Why? Why did he have to endure it every single time?
Jiang Cheng must have done it on purpose!
"No... I can't let it go like this..." A surge of alcohol-fueled, overbearing bloodlust rushed straight to his head.
Meanwhile, as Shen Shuang was led down the stairs by Jiang Cheng's half-embrace, feeling the warmth and strength from the hand on her shoulder, her heartbeat didn't calm down; instead, it beat even faster, and her cheeks couldn't help but burn slightly.
At that moment just now, Jiang Cheng's appearance was like a beam of light, cutting through all the gloom and threats brought by Xu Zhi.
That feeling of being protected and valued was something she had never felt from Xu Zhi or any other suitor.
She could even smell the crisp, pleasant scent on him, mixed with a faint aroma of wine.
"This is Churan's boyfriend... this is Churan's boyfriend..." Shen Shuang repeated to herself over and over in her heart.
She tried to suppress that ill-timed throb of excitement, but it had little effect.
Her mind involuntarily replayed the calm, collected, yet powerful way Jiang Cheng appeared just now, forming a sharp contrast with Xu Zhi's exasperation.
A hero saving a beauty... though it was a cliché, when it actually happened to her, especially when the savior was so outstanding, the impact was far greater than she could have imagined.
The sensation of that kiss just now still lingered on her lips, burning and clear.
She hardly dared to think back on what she had done.
"Tha... thank you, Big Boss."
Jiang Cheng turned his head, his gaze sweeping over her lowered profile with its trembling eyelashes and that unfaded flush.
After letting go of her, he said teasingly, "So that kiss just now was to thank me?"
Hearing this, Shen Shuang's small face turned red again.
Seeing that they were about to reach the booth, she could already see Jiang Churan standing up and looking around for them.
Her mind was a mess, filled with thoughts like 'What if Churan finds out?', 'Was I too impulsive just now?', and 'That was still my first kiss...'
She suddenly stopped in her tracks, subconsciously letting go of the hem of Jiang Cheng's shirt she had been mindlessly clutching, and took a small step back to create some distance.
Then she looked up, her speech rapid, earnest, and tinged with a subtle trace of panic.
She whispered to Jiang Cheng, "Um... just now... it was just the heat of the moment, I wasn't... don't misunderstand."
She paused, her cheeks crimson and her voice even lower: "That was also... also my first kiss... I just wanted to piss that bastard off, nothing else... Please don't tell Churan, okay? I'm begging you!"
If these words had come from Xu Yan, Jiang Cheng certainly wouldn't have accepted this explanation; he might even have countered with, "You playgirl, playing with my feelings."
After all, Xu Yan's beauty score was 94, and her body score was as high as 96.
Just based on that ridiculous chest size... er, outstanding conditions, Jiang Cheng might have reluctantly considered it.
That's right, he was just that... principled.
After all, Shen Shuang's beauty score barely reached the mid-80s, which was still a bit inferior compared to Jiang Churan and Xu Yan.
Staring at Shen Shuang for a moment, Jiang Cheng opened the Character Scanning System.
[Name: Shen Shuang]
[Age: 19]
[Height: 169 cm]
[Beauty Score: 85]
[Body Score: 80]
[Privacy: 0]
[favorability value: 88]
Seeing this, Jiang Cheng's brows instantly twitched.
This Girl's favorability value toward him was actually this high.
Tsk tsk~
However, Jiang Cheng was a good man with principles and standards.
Regarding the order of these three Girls, Jiang Cheng still preferred Jiang Churan and Xu Yan.
As for Shen Shuang, we'll see if fate allows it.
After all, they were best friends.
Today, he had just conquered Jiang Churan using the Demon-Breaking Technique.
He hadn't yet consolidated their 'intimate' relationship particularly firmly, so with Shen Shuang suddenly popping up, Jiang Cheng felt things were becoming a bit uncontrollable.
He could only put on a reluctant look and look at Shen Shuang: "Churan knows I came to find you..."
These words were clever; they both pointed out that his actions were 'above board' and attributed the intimate behavior just now to being entrusted by Jiang Churan.
This invisibly soothed Shen Shuang's worries and cleared him of any suspicion of being the 'initiator.'
Shen Shuang understood the underlying meaning. Her heart was a whirlwind of emotions as she could only repeat softly, "I know... so, please..."
While they were talking, they had already approached the booth.
Jiang Churan, who had been keeping an eye on their whereabouts, immediately stood up. With concern on her face, she quickly walked forward to meet them.
"What took you so long? Are you okay?"
Hearing this, Shen Shuang rushed to reply with an unnatural smile, trying to make her tone sound light: "I'm fine, I just ran into that idiot Xu Zhi and exchanged a few words. Fortunately, the Big Boss showed up in time to help me out."
As she spoke, she quietly glanced at Jiang Cheng out of the corner of her eye. Seeing that he looked normal, she finally felt a bit relieved.
Hearing this, Jiang Churan frowned and looked at Jiang Cheng: "Xu Zhi? He didn't make things difficult for Shuang Shuang, did he?"
Hearing this, Shen Shuang rushed to reply again: "No." After saying that, Shen Shuang looked at Jiang Cheng again: "Thanks, Big Boss. I'll treat you to dinner next time."
After Jiang Cheng sat down in the booth, he put his arm around Jiang Churan: "Why treat me to dinner? Just treat Churan to dinner."
After a few jokes, the group didn't mention Xu Zhi again.
Jiang Churan nodded in relief and took Shen Shuang's arm: "It's good that you're okay. Stay away from people like that in the future."
Seeing Jiang Churan say this, Jiang Cheng offered a piece of advice: "It's best for your family to cut off cooperation with Daheng as soon as possible."
Hearing this, Shen Shuang nodded with a somewhat solemn expression.
"I'll tell my dad when I get back."
With her relationship with Xu Zhi turning out like this, it would be very risky for her family to continue doing business with Daheng.
Moreover, Shen Shuang also faintly sensed that Jiang Cheng seemed to want to deal with Xu Zhi.
If something happened to Daheng, they, as suppliers, wouldn't be able to escape unscathed either.
Not only did Shen Shuang notice this, but Shen An and the others also sensed it.
It was just that everyone tacitly refrained from speaking up.
The Daheng system was not something the few of them could easily shake.
However, since Jiang Cheng had shown off his strength on the racetrack today, Shen An and the others had no doubts about Jiang Cheng's power... After saying this, Jiang Cheng stopped paying attention to Shen Shuang and silently opened the system.
Earlier at Renji Mountain Villa, he had used a 'Special Gepi Card.'
"Ding! Special environment detected. Since the taster meets the'swallow whole' conditions, the Special Gepi Card has been used successfully!"
"Calculating based on the taster's satisfaction level."
"Congratulations, Host, you have received a reward of two billion!"
"Ding! This reward comes from a specific stock in the us stock market. The Host can withdraw it at any time. The channel is legal and compliant, so please do not worry!"