As the two of them pushed open the private room door, Ji Nanjia looked up.

"Sister Nanjia~" As soon as she saw her, Qiao Xichen let go of Chen Cheng and walked over with open arms, greeting her with a smile.

"Oh, look at you~" Ji Nanjia laughed and gave Qiao Xichen a hug.

Then, she turned her head to size up Chen Cheng. After just a couple of seconds, Ji Nanjia smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Qiao, you weren't lying. This boyfriend of yours really is quite handsome."

With a warm smile on his face, Chen Cheng extended his hand toward Ji Nanjia. "Hello, Sister Nanjia. I'm Chen Jianan."

"Ji Nanjia~" Ji Nanjia wasn't one to be shy either; she reached out and shook hands with Chen Cheng.

After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, Qiao Xichen had them add each other's contact information.

Qiao Xichen sat down next to Ji Nanjia.

Chen Cheng sat next to Qiao Xichen, which happened to put him in the seat of honor.

Clearly, Ji Nanjia had left this seat open on purpose.

"Have you ordered yet?" Chen Cheng asked Ji Nanjia with a smile.

"Not yet~ I didn't know if you had any dietary restrictions, so I thought I'd wait until you arrived to order."

Chen Cheng looked at Qiao Xichen. "Does your other friend have any dietary restrictions?"

"Hmm..." Qiao Xichen thought for a moment. "No," she said, glancing at Ji Nanjia. "The few of us eat everything."

Chen Cheng closed the menu with a chuckle. "Then I won't order from scratch."

"I've pre-arranged four cold dishes and eight hot ones, plus one soup, two staples, and a dessert."

"Cold dishes: Sautéed Tripe with Coriander, Qianlong Cabbage, Sauce-Braised Beef Shank, and Blueberry Yam;"

"Hot dishes: Braised Oxtail, Casserole Lamb Head, Halal Roast Duck, Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions, Two-Way Prawns, Braised Short Ribs, Sautéed Diced Fish, and Shark Fin with Minced Chicken; Soup: Thick Shark Fin Soup;"

"Staples: Lamb and Scallion Meat Pies, Yangzhou Fried Rice;"

"For drinks, I've prepared Feitian Moutai and a 2012 Lafite. The restaurant also has all the major beer brands."

"The Feitian is mellow and lingering, a perfect match for the rich flavors of the Braised Oxtail and Casserole Lamb Head;"

"The Lafite has an elegant cedar aroma, fine tannins, and a long finish, making it suitable for red meats with rich sauces."

"Beer is refreshing and cuts through the grease."

"Shall we proceed with what's been arranged?"

Qiao Xichen suppressed a smile, very satisfied with Chen Cheng's arrangements. "Mm~ go ahead. Xu Yan will be here soon too."

Ji Nanjia was also stunned by Chen Cheng's ability to recite the menu. She stared at him with wide eyes. "Chen, you're hosting a dinner and you've memorized the whole menu?"

Chen Cheng nodded to the waiter, signaling them to serve the food.

Only then did he turn back and answer Ji Nanjia. "I have a pretty good memory; I remember everything after just a glance."

Ji Nanjia looked at Qiao Xichen in surprise, and Qiao Xichen nodded. "Mm-hmm~"

She praised Chen Cheng with a grin. "He doesn't have many virtues, but he is smart."

"Qiao Xichen, watch what you say. Do I really have no other virtues?"

"Hmph~" Qiao Xichen tilted her chin up and gave a light snort, but her eyes were as sweet as honey.

Beside them, Ji Nanjia watched their flirting, nearly rolling her eyes in exasperation.

She glanced at Qiao Xichen and said in a low voice with a smile, "This man of yours knows a lot about drinks. He's at a level where he could steal my job."

Qiao Xichen pursed her lips to hide a smile and whispered her complaint to Ji Nanjia: "He's just a boozehound; he loves to drink."

"Didn't you see it when I moved last time? He has a whole wall of whisky, wine, and baijiu at his place."

Chen Cheng smiled. "We can head back and have a few more drinks after dinner."

"Let President Ji sample my collection as well."

Ji Nanjia laughed. "Then I'll gladly accept."

After the three of them chatted for a while, the private room door was suddenly pushed open.

"Sister Nanjia, Qiao Qiao..." Xu Yan suddenly froze when she saw the person in the middle.

No, she was completely dumbstruck.

Why was he here?

Why was he here?

"You're finally here~" Qiao Xichen stood up with a grin and invited Xu Yan and her little follower, Shen Zichang, to sit.

She pointed to the seat next to Chen Cheng. "Chang~ sit down quickly~"

After that, she began the introductions. "This is my good friend, Xu Yan."

"This handsome guy is her boyfriend, Shen Zichang. He's an honorable teacher..."

Xu Yan glanced at Chen Cheng and quickly interrupted with a firm tone, "Ex-boyfriend!"

Shen Zichang, who was just about to greet Chen Cheng, along with Ji Nanjia and Qiao Xichen, were all stunned.

Facing everyone's questioning gazes, Xu Yan nodded firmly. "Yes~ ex-boyfriend."

Qiao Xichen and Ji Nanjia exchanged a look, then she turned to Shen Zichang. "Did you two have a fight?"

Shen Zichang didn't know what to say, so he just nodded. "Yeah~"

Ji Nanjia glanced at the two and beckoned them. "Oh, just sit down. It's not the first time you two have fought."

"Today is Qiao's show. Do us a favor and call a temporary truce."

Xu Yan glanced at Chen Cheng's reaction. Seeing that he wasn't looking at her at all, she clicked her tongue and sat down next to Shen Zichang.

Seeing that both had sat down, Qiao Xichen introduced Chen Cheng to them. "Chen Jianan, my boyfriend."

Chen Cheng maintained a warm smile throughout, waving to greet them. "Hello, I'm Chen Jianan."

"You can just call me by my name."

"Brother Chen~ Hello, I'm Shen Zichang. You can just call me Xiao Shen," Shen Zichang greeted Chen Cheng with a smile.

Chen Cheng smiled and shook his hand. "Hello."

Although Shen Zichang was a bit of a mama's boy, Chen Cheng didn't dislike him.

It was just that he and Xu Yan weren't a good match.

As a primary school PE teacher, he couldn't afford a girl like Xu Yan... who had quite an appetite.

Chen Cheng glanced at Xu Yan, then at Ji Nanjia, and finally looked at Qiao Xichen dotingly. "Everyone's here, and the food is almost all served. Shall we start eating?"

"Let's go~ dig in~" Ji Nanjia laughed as she picked up her chopsticks, habitually helping to warm up the atmosphere.

"I'll also see what this 'Number One Halal Restaurant in the Capital' tastes like."

Chen Cheng looked at Shen Zichang with a smile. "Would you like some red wine or baijiu?"

Shen Zichang gave a somewhat constrained smile. "Brother Chen, I'm not much of a drinker."

"How about we have some red?"

Chen Cheng nodded. "Alright, then we'll all have red."

Chen Cheng picked up the decanter and poured wine for everyone.

Xu Yan kept her head down, her gaze a bit vacant, occasionally stealing a glance at Qiao Xichen.

The moment she walked in and saw Chen Cheng, she was completely stunned.

How could he be Qiao Qiao's boyfriend?

How could he be Qiao Qiao's boyfriend?

What made her even more flustered was that Shen Zichang had come looking for her today and followed her here like a piece of sticky plaster.

Why am I so unlucky? We've clearly already broken up.

Yet this damn Shen Zichang still won't stop pestering me.

And he even had to run into him.

The food tasted good, and the group dug in heartily. Amidst the clinking of glasses, the wine was consumed quickly.

Only Xu Yan was in a daze the whole time, her mind elsewhere.

On one side was Qiao Xichen, her best friend.

On the other side was Chen Cheng, the "sugar daddy" she had finally made up her mind to court.

But... how could these two be a couple?

What am I going to do?

While mechanically stuffing food into her mouth, an internal struggle raged in Xu Yan's mind.

Could it be...

Xu Yan glanced at Shen Zichang as he clinked glasses with Chen Cheng.

She immediately shook her head again.

No!

A good horse doesn't turn back to graze on old grass.

Besides, I've already slept with him.

But... how could I get involved with my best friend's boyfriend?

Would I even be human then?

Argh, this is so incredibly annoying!!!!