Dai Xi smiled as she met Chen Cheng's appraising gaze. "That's very rude of you."

He wasn't some kid who would be scared into apologizing profusely after just one sentence.

Chen Cheng smiled, knitting his brows slightly. "You have such an intellectual air about you, big sister. Do you work in the arts?"

Dai Xi was taken aback; this kid was actually quite sharp. "You're very clever."

Chen Cheng curled the corner of his lips. Since Dai Xi hadn't objected to being called 'big sister,' she at least wasn't resistant to or annoyed by buddy.

As for her praise, Chen Cheng didn't take it to heart at all.

He shrugged. "Thanks for the compliment."

"You're certainly not humble."

Chen Cheng spread his hands. "When I'm complimented, I'm happy inside. Being humble on the outside would just seem a bit hypocritical."

Dai Xi curled the corner of her lips and nodded appreciatively. "You're very direct." She reached out a hand toward Chen Cheng. "Let's get acquainted. I'm Dai Xi, and you?"

Chen Cheng curled the corner of his lips; this woman was starting to get interested in him.

He reached out and took Dai Xi's slender hand, calling her name. "Hello, Daisy. You can call me Charles."

Dai Xi frowned slightly; the other party clearly had no intention of revealing his true identity.

She rolled her eyes and didn't ask for an explanation of his name either.

They were just passing acquaintances; there was really no need to explain too much.

Mainly because Chen Cheng had just been reported on by the media, and he didn't want to blow his cover just yet.

The moment he saw Dai Xi, he had become interested. He certainly wouldn't let a romantic encounter be ruined by his secret identity.

Although Dai Xi was a bit older, her temperament was still very alluring.

When men look at women, they look at the face when they are young, the figure when they are older, and when they advance further, they are more attracted by their bearing.

The Dai Xi before him was exactly that type.

Like a bottle of rich, aged wine—mellow and charming.

Actually, Pei Yin was also this type of elegant beauty.

Chen Cheng held onto Dai Xi's hand, reluctant to let go.

Must say, she was well-maintained. Aside from a few fine lines of age on the back of her hand, the rest of her skin looked smooth and firm.

Dai Xi looked at Chen Cheng's handsome face, not even realizing that her hand was still in his.

Chen Cheng raised an eyebrow and asked, "You said 'back' just now, Daisy?"

Dai Xi nodded. "Yes, I just got back from Milan."

"Visiting family?"

"Getting a divorce~"

Chen Cheng's eyes narrowed. Woman, are you reminding me that you're single?

Chen Cheng smiled, released her hand, and picked up his wine glass. "Congratulations on regaining your freedom, big sister."

Dai Xi clinked her glass against his without a care. "Actually, I've been separated from him for many years. We both have our own lives; we just hadn't finalized the paperwork."

Chen Cheng curled the corner of his lips. Isn't that just doing your own thing?

"What about you? What do you do?" Dai Xi asked, looking at Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng raised an eyebrow, a wicked smile on his face as he met her gaze. "Big sister, being curious about a man is not a good thing."

Dai Xi chuckled derisively. "At my age, what kind of storms haven't I seen?"

Chen Cheng wore a mischievous grin. "Some storms aren't something you've seen just because you're older."

As soon as these words were spoken, even a worldly woman like Dai Xi blushed.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Do you usually talk like this?"

Chen Cheng shook his head. "I rarely go out..." He pondered for a moment. "This seems to be my first time at a bar since returning to the country."

He added, "Unless you count livehouses."

A smile appeared on Dai Xi's face, her eyes dancing as she asked, "You like going to livehouses?"

Chen Cheng frowned slightly. "Hmm... not really. I just took a few little ones to see a performance."

Dai Xi chuckled, a sweet feeling rising in her heart, knowing that Chen Cheng was telling the truth.

"Returned to the country? Were you abroad before?"

Chen Cheng nodded. "Yes, studying in America."

"PhD?"

"Yes, PhD."

Here's an explanation: PhD is directly translated as Doctor of Philosophy, but it doesn't specifically refer to philosophy like Aristotle or Socrates. It is a general term referring to someone who has studied very deeply in a certain field. Upon graduating from a PhD program, the school will confer titles such as Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science or Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering. Domestic doctorates actually correspond to PhDs. The 4+4 thing actually exploits the loophole in the translation of MD and PhD. However, even for an MD, without a medical background, one must take biology and chemistry courses, then go to medical school for four years, and then undergo 3-7 years of residency training. Only then is an MD degree awarded. The positioning of an MD is a professional doctorate. In the domestic environment, one needs to do both clinical work and scientific research. Therefore, many medical Overseas students will choose MD-PhD dual degree programs. The duration is also relatively long, lasting 7-8 years. Of course, there are those with extraordinary talent who get the degree in three years, but most people need more than 6 years. If it is a better domestic institution, and the graduate school is in the other party's exemption catalog, one can directly obtain an MD degree, but an additional thesis is required. The protagonist previously jumped directly to studying for a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, which is actually completely feasible in reality. American undergraduates can apply directly to PhD programs. The premise is that you are excellent enough and have published many or highly influential top-tier conference papers. In the end, PhD programs are application-based, and there are no specific standards.

"Let me guess, what are you researching?" Dai Xi looked at Chen Cheng with a smile.

Chen Cheng shrugged. It didn't matter; if she wanted to guess, let her guess.

Dai Xi looked at Chen Cheng's attire and said lightly, "Your image looks very elite, but also a bit casual. It's really hard to guess."

"Sociology?" Dai Xi frowned.

Chen Cheng couldn't help but smile; it looked like the little aunt was tipsy.

He shook his head. "Not really..."

"It wouldn't be psychology, would it?" Dai Xi frowned as she looked at Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng chuckled, not prepared to continue on this topic. "It's a little bit related. I was previously in a PhD program for behavioral finance."

"Now I've switched fields to Artificial Intelligence."

"Huh?"

Dai Xi's eyes widened, and she shook her head with a smile. "You don't look like a programmer at all."

Chen Cheng also shook his head with a smile and clinked his glass with Dai Xi's.

Dai Xi tilted her head back and finished the little remaining wine in her glass.

Chen Cheng put down his glass, picked up the bottle, and poured her another one. "You don't mind mixing drinks, do you?"

Dai Xi waved to the bartender and asked for a new glass.

Chen Cheng didn't mind; it was very consistent with his impression of old Shanghai people.

Two words...

The bartender handed over the glass, and Chen Cheng took the Yamazaki 12 Year and poured Dai Xi another one.

He teased with a smile, "Looks like you have a good tolerance for alcohol, Daisy."

Dai Xi raised an eyebrow and glanced at the bottle in Chen Cheng's hand. "Aren't you the same?"

Chen Cheng curled the corner of his lips. buddy is a total boozehound with a whole wall of wine cabinets in one of his houses, so his tolerance naturally wouldn't be bad.

"They say women who love to drink all have stories."

"Who says that?" Dai Xi asked suspiciously.

Chen Cheng chuckled. "I do."