Chapter 469

Chapter 469 Don’t You Two Know Each Other

Shi Cheng’s words clearly carried some unfriendly undertones, because recently there had been a lot of negative news about pharmaceutical sales reps — bribing doctors, accompanying clients to dinner and bed, and so on — the entire profession’s image had taken a hit.

Xia Qing heard what Shi Cheng said and felt a pang of anxiety, then looked over at Su Rui with some concern.

Su Rui shook his head slightly and smiled. “It’s really not a big deal. The industry isn’t as dark as the rumors make it out to be. We all earn our money the hard way.”

“Playing games during work hours — that does sound pretty tough.” Shi Cheng said flatly.

Xia Min frowned slightly. He hadn’t expected Shi Cheng to be so pleasant before, only to lose his composure the moment he saw Su Rui. It seemed this future son-in-law wasn’t quite as broad-minded as he’d thought.

Hearing this, Su Rui felt like strangling that fat Cao a few hundred times all over again. If it weren’t for that guy running his mouth, he wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble.

“I only play occasionally when the work pressure gets to be too much.” Su Rui’s smile remained calm and composed, completely unfazed by Shi Cheng’s jabs.

Tenghui Pharmaceuticals had acquired 3,000 mu of land in Jianghe City for a new project — the shady dealings behind that were probably far deeper than anything in the so-called pharmaceutical sales rep industry.

Compare the timeline of Tenghui Pharmaceuticals’ investment in Jianghe City with when Shi Cheng became assistant to the Greater China president, and you’d find the two periods lined up suspiciously well.

It was entirely possible that Shi Huabin had used his own son’s career as a bargaining chip, helping Tenghui Pharmaceuticals Group bend the rules and open doors it had no business opening.

Xia Min watched from the side and gave a slight nod. Having served in a leadership role in government for many years, he had developed a sharp eye for reading people. The few words Su Rui had spoken were already enough to show that this young man had a commendable bearing and refinement.

At that moment, the servers had more or less finished bringing out all the dishes. Looking at the table full of delicacies, Ma Lan said with some concern, “Shi Cheng, why go to all this trouble? This spread must have cost quite a bit, right?”

“Auntie, you and Uncle rarely come to Ninghai. I’m only afraid I haven’t been hospitable enough.” Shi Cheng smiled. Ma Lan’s question made him feel quite pleased with himself.

Given his annual salary, a table of food costing around ten thousand yuan was really nothing to him.

“Shi Cheng is truly young and accomplished — you’re your father’s pride.” Ma Lan said with admiration. Although this Su Rui had made a decent first impression, there was still a bit of a gap between him and Shi Cheng, no matter how you looked at it.

Shi Cheng was nodding with self-satisfaction when his eyes caught sight of a graceful figure gliding toward them.

The Queen of Junlan — Qin Yueran!

At the sight of her, his breath began to quicken involuntarily.

As a normal man, seeing beauties as strikingly different as Xia Qing and Qin Yueran, it was impossible not to have some fantasy about having them both.

Su Rui turned his head and also spotted Qin Yueran, a flicker of awkwardness crossing his face.

Perhaps because things had been so intense the night before, Qin Yueran’s walk now seemed ever so slightly unnatural — though of course, this was only because Su Rui was paying particularly close attention. Thinking back on the madness of before, Su Rui couldn’t help but shake his head with a wry smile.

Qin Yueran had known in advance that Xia Qing would be here, so she had made a point of coming over. She had already broken into a smile from a distance.

Seeing the famous Queen of Junlan smiling at him, Shi Cheng’s heart began to pound wildly. He had only met her once before, and yet this woman remembered him so clearly!

Shi Cheng greeted Qin Yueran, then said to Xia Qing’s parents, “This is Qin Yueran, the general manager of Junlan Hotel. She’s from the Qin family in the capital. She and I are friends.”

Sometimes, a man’s vanity is truly something that does him no good at all.

Hearing this, Xia Qing’s expression shifted with a hint of surprise.

She and Qin Yueran were the closest of friends. Whether or not Qin Yueran knew Shi Cheng — she knew better than anyone.

Su Rui then said, “It seems Brother Shi Cheng has friends everywhere. Even the famous Queen of Junlan — she’s quite the well-known figure in high society.”

Su Rui’s words made Shi Cheng feel very gratified. He smiled slightly, watching Qin Yueran draw closer, and said, “Our company entertains clients here often, so we’ve naturally gotten to know each other over time.”

Hearing the words “the Qin family of the capital,” Xia Min fell into quiet thought.

Qin Yueran walked over on those incomparable legs of hers, and was met with Shi Cheng smiling at her — which left her somewhat puzzled. Did she know this person?

Out of politeness, she smiled back.

That one smile made Shi Cheng’s heart leap. He wasn’t a man ruled by desire, but even with his self-control, he was absolutely no match for Qin Yueran’s allure.

Of course, the fact that Qin Yueran didn’t recognize Shi Cheng didn’t mean she didn’t know who he was — Xia Qing had already filled her in on the whole situation before she arrived.

“Wanting to pursue our Xia Qing? Take a good look at yourself first.”

A feeling of disdain rose in Qin Yueran’s heart. A man like this held almost negative appeal for her.

Watching Qin Yueran step up to the table, Shi Cheng put on his most charming smile and said, “Yueran, it’s been a while.”

In his mind, Qin Yueran bore the title of Queen of Junlan, which meant her emotional intelligence had to be off the charts. Even if she couldn’t quite place who he was, she would never openly contradict him in public — after all, you don’t slap a smiling face.

But reality and imagination are always worlds apart. This time, Shi Cheng had miscalculated — completely and utterly.

Qin Yueran raised an eyebrow at his words, her voice cool and crisp. “Yueran? And who gave you the right to call me that?”

Those words hit Shi Cheng like a bolt of lightning crashing down on his head.

What was going on? Had this woman lost her mind? How could she say something so ignorant and rude?

He had just boasted that they were friends! What she was doing now was nothing short of slapping him in the face in public!

In that instant, staring at Qin Yueran’s beautiful face, Shi Cheng felt his own face burning with a stinging heat.

He could clearly feel the gazes of Xia Qing’s parents fixed squarely on him.

If he couldn’t talk his way out of this, he would never be able to hold his head up in front of the Xia family again.

“Uh, Yueran, you might have forgotten — I’m Shi Cheng, assistant to the Greater China president at Tenghui Pharmaceuticals Group. We’ve dealt with each other quite a bit before.”

Shi Cheng was desperately trying to patch up the lie he’d told.

But Qin Yueran was sharp as a tack, and she immediately saw through what he was trying to do. She laughed coldly. “We’ve dealt with each other quite a bit? News to me.”

Hearing this, Shi Cheng nearly fell apart. This woman really wasn’t going to give him an inch. Did she not understand the concept of offering someone a graceful way out? Was giving each other a face-saving exit really that hard?

“You must just have a lot on your plate, Yueran — too busy to keep track of everyone. Besides, Junlan receives so many guests every day, it’s only natural you can’t remember them all.” Shi Cheng was still trying to salvage the lie. He had already caught Su Rui’s amused expression.

This was a complete disaster.

Over a woman, how had he ended up making such a fool of himself?

“No. Junlan Kaibin may receive many guests every day, but I never get things mixed up. Tenghui Group’s executives have only dined here once. Perhaps that was the one time you saw me. Let me be clear — only once. Absolutely not the frequent dealings you described.”

Qin Yueran’s tone was mild, but her words nearly made Shi Cheng spit blood.

She was right. Tenghui’s executives had indeed only dined here once, and on that occasion, Shi Cheng, as the president’s assistant, hadn’t even been qualified to sit at the main table — he had eaten a working meal in the adjacent private room with the drivers.

How did this woman have such an impeccable memory? She even remembered that single occasion with perfect clarity.

At this point, anyone with a reasonably functioning brain could read between the lines of what Qin Yueran was saying.

So this Shi Cheng had just been putting on a show.

In his own mind, perhaps the role of assistant to the Greater China president of Tenghui Pharmaceuticals was an impressive position with considerable status. But in the eyes of someone like Qin Yueran, born into a powerful family, what was a mere president’s assistant? Even if the head of the entire Tenghui Group showed up in person, what of it?

On the soil of Huaxia, Tenghui was an outsider. Even the Qin family alone could keep them firmly in check.

Xia Min gripped his teacup and let out a barely audible sigh.

That sigh, falling on Shi Cheng’s ears, sent a shudder through his entire body.

His future father-in-law was disappointed in him.

Ma Lan also showed a trace of helplessness. She had thought this son-in-law was exceptionally outstanding — humble and highly capable — but now it seemed his vanity had exceeded even her imagination.

She truly didn’t know how much of what came out of this young man’s mouth was actually true.

At this moment, Shi Cheng was filled with regret. Why had he told such a ridiculous lie? Once you tell one lie, you need dozens or hundreds more to cover it up.

If you can pull it off, all well and good — but if you can’t, the fall is devastating. And to make matters worse, he had run into a Qin Yueran who was relentless and showed absolutely no mercy.

“Yueran, some things — why take them so seriously?” Shi Cheng scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.

“I have two things to say to you. Remember them.”

Qin Yueran looked Shi Cheng directly in the eye, her gaze ice-cold. “First, I’m not being overly serious — I take everything I do seriously, which is exactly how I’ve gotten to where I am today. Second, I’ll say it one more time: don’t call me Yueran. That’s not a name you have the right to use.”

Qin Yueran’s words carried the unmistakable air of a powerful woman in command. Absolutely stunning.

“This girl is really delivering today! How is she doing such a great job of making me look good?” Su Rui sat there watching the scene unfold, feeling rather pleased with himself. Seeing Shi Cheng’s humiliated expression, he was almost ready to give Qin Yueran a thumbs-up.

As Qin Yueran spoke, she unconsciously radiated the aura of someone who stood above others.

She had grown up in the Qin family, with countless resources at her disposal. Calling her a daughter of heaven would not be an exaggeration. Was her name something just anyone could casually call out?

Shi Cheng’s face was burning with embarrassment. Mortified to the point of wanting to disappear, he still tried to explain. “I thought you came over here for me. I’m sorry — I was getting ahead of myself just now.”

“Of course you were getting ahead of yourself.”

Qin Yueran said with a cold laugh, “There is only one person at this table worth coming over to toast, and that’s Su Rui.”