Chapter 126: Chapter 20 comes one, kiss one!_2
"If you see someone you like, go for it. None of the women here are my type."
"Alright, Da Sheng!"
He had been waiting for his cousin to say just that.
If his cousin didn’t give the word, he wouldn’t dare make a move.
If the woman I like also catches his cousin’s eye, what’s the point of even trying? I might as well go home, wash up, and go to bed.
Watching Sun Dacheng scurry off after a woman, Sun Dasheng was happy to see it.
He’s not young anymore. Uncle and Auntie must be getting anxious. They probably want him to settle down and start a family soon.
In a corner of the private room, a group of young women huddled together, whispering amongst themselves.
"So? You didn’t make the cut either?"
The last woman to approach them also shook her head, indicating she hadn’t been chosen.
The women had been competitors just moments before, naturally guarded against one another. Now, they were all in the same boat, rejected without a second glance. Suddenly, they had plenty to talk about.
"President Sun’s standards are ridiculously high. With so many of us here, not a single one caught his eye?" a woman said, deflated.
"Hmph! Maybe he’s just playing hard to get. Even if he saw someone he liked, he wouldn’t show it. I know how these big bosses are. They’re all inscrutable and keep their cards close to their chest. How could a bunch of little girls like you possibly guess what they’re thinking?" a man nearby interjected.
Inwardly, he was gloating. Serves you right for not even sparing me a glance. What now? Trying to chase a rich, handsome guy? Trying to snag a big boss? Eat shit! Keep dreaming.
"That’s not necessarily true. Maybe he just genuinely wasn’t interested in any of them," another man chimed in.
"That’s possible. After all, how can women from a small county compare to those from the big city? President Sun runs such a huge business in Shanghai City; what kind of beauties hasn’t he seen? Why would he possibly be interested in women from a small county?" the first man added.
One of the women wasn’t having it.
"Who says a small county can’t produce great beauties?"
"Aren’t most of those big-city beauties originally from small places like ours anyway?"
Another woman quickly agreed. "You’re right, sis. A lot of truly stunning women come from small counties. Those born-and-bred city girls really can’t compare."
"You’ve talked so much, but where is this so-called great beauty?" a man scoffed.
Right. Where was she?
It seemed there wasn’t a single one in the room.
While the women present were attractive, scoring around 70 points each, and could pass for goddesses in an ordinary person’s eyes after getting dolled up, they were still a far cry from being "great beauties."
"Hmph! I’m calling my best friend over right now. She’s a true beauty from our small county. I’ll let you men, who are blind as bats, finally see what you’re missing," a girl from the group snapped, unable to take it anymore, and dialed a number.
"Qi Qi, please, you have to come and help your friend save face."
After much pleading, she finally convinced her best friend on the other end of the line.
The woman lifted her chin proudly. "Just you wait. The great beauty is on her way."
She said it so loudly that everyone in the room heard her.
The room fell silent for a few seconds.
"A great beauty is coming? Who?"
The announcement sent a ripple of excited howls through the private room.
Even Sun Dasheng’s curiosity was piqued. He sipped his drink, his eyes drifting toward the door every so often.
Soon, the great beauty arrived!
She did not disappoint.
She was, indeed, a great beauty.
Sun Dasheng chuckled. So, it’s her.
He then turned away and went back to playing drinking games with the others.
The newcomer was none other than Si Ruoqi—the blind date Madam Xie had arranged for him. She was also the ice queen who had impulsively shown up at his house on New Year’s Eve. And, of course, a woman he had no intention of getting involved with.
Their families were too close. If he got involved with her, marriage would be inevitable.
But he didn’t want to get married. He wasn’t about to give up an entire forest for a single tree.
"Qi Qi, over here, quick!" The woman who had called her, Pang Yan, waved eagerly.
But Si Ruoqi’s attention was fixed on Sun Dasheng, who sat in the center of the room. She only snapped out of it when her best friend came and pulled her arm, her cool facade cracking as a faint blush rose to her cheeks.
"Ta-da! This is my best friend, the great beauty, Si Ruoqi." Pang Yan brandished her fists playfully. "Now, who was it that said our small county couldn’t produce great beauties? Stand up and admit you were wrong."
The two men from before promptly stood up and admitted their mistake, dutifully downing three glasses as a self-imposed punishment.
"Little Swallow, I admit I was out of line. My apologies."
"Little Swallow, how come we’ve never met your friend before? Keeping a beauty like this hidden away is just not right!"
Pang Yan accepted their apology and pulled her best friend down to sit. "Why was she hidden? To protect her from you wolves, obviously. Our Qi Qi is too exceptional. She needs to find a husband who’s even more outstanding than she is. You guys don’t even come close."
"Here, only President Sun is barely a worthy match."
KO!
Pang Yan’s words left the men speechless. They were well aware of their own standing. A top-tier woman like her was completely out of their league—to be admired from a distance, never touched.
"That’s right! Only a successful man like President Sun is worthy of a woman as divine as a Heavenly Immortal."
Since they couldn’t have her, there was no harm in flattering President Sun. What if he was pleased and offered one of them a high-paying job? That would be a huge win. The men were nothing if not rational and composed.
"I agree. President Sun and Qi Qi are a match made in heaven—a man of wealth and a woman of beauty."
Pang Yan thought to herself that if her best friend successfully latched onto this powerful connection, she, as the one who’d engineered it, would surely reap some of the benefits.
Sitting beside her, Si Ruoqi seemed unaffected by the idle chatter. She just sat there quietly, saying nothing, her thoughts a mystery.
Suddenly, a force pulled her from her seat and pushed her toward the center of the room. Everyone else tactfully scattered, clearing a large space in the middle.
Pang Yan dragged her best friend over and sat her down right next to Sun Dasheng.
"President Sun," she said, as if presenting a prize, "what do you think of my friend?"
"Very beautiful," Sun Dasheng said honestly.
Pang Yan beamed. That was more like it. His attitude towards them versus his attitude towards Si Ruoqi wasn’t just different—it was worlds apart.
"Qi Qi just came back from Shanghai City. She graduated from a prestigious university and was a manager at a Fortune 500 company, earning hundreds of thousands a year. If it weren’t for..."
Before she could finish, Sun Dasheng cut in. "Her parents’ poor health. She quit her job and came back home to become a civil servant so she could take care of them."
Pang Yan was dumbfounded. "President Sun, how did you know that?"
She glanced from Sun Dasheng to her best friend and back again. "Don’t tell me... you two already knew each other?"
Si Ruoqi didn’t explain, and Sun Dasheng couldn’t be bothered.
This set Pang Yan’s imagination racing. Exceptional people are always drawn to each other, right? And what about her friend’s strange reaction when she first walked in, the one I ignored? It all makes sense now. They must have known each other for a long time. But now they’re sitting together like strangers. Could there be a story here? Did they used to be in love? Or maybe...?
Pang Yan’s mind was already playing out scenes from several melodramatic TV dramas about overbearing CEOs.
"Did you go to the countryside for New Year’s visits today?" The silence was getting awkward, so Sun Dasheng spoke first.
"Mm," Si Ruoqi replied. She really was a bit aloof, just like the online stereotypes about people from Hubei.
But that was how she was with others. With Sun Dasheng, she was slightly different. She asked a question back.
"You?"
"I also just got back from visiting family in the countryside," Sun Dasheng said.
"Oh," Si Ruoqi responded.
Sitting beside them, Pang Yan was on pins and needles. Are these two performing a silent play? Just ’Mm’ this and ’Oh’ that...
She went over to the song selection station and then returned, handing them each a microphone.
"President Sun, everyone requested this song especially for you. And since Qi Qi is here and she’s a wonderful singer, she can sing it with you."
Not giving them a chance to refuse, she thrust the microphones into their hands.
The musical intro began, and the room quieted down.
*"And now, the handsome President Sun and the beautiful Qi Qi will sing the classic hit, ’Intimate Lover’! Let’s give them a round of applause!"*
Applause thundered through the private room.
"WHOOO!" someone yelled.
Wolf whistles cut through the air.
In the end, it all melted into a single chant:
"Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!"