"Wow! It’s so beautiful!"
"Mr. Chen, you take such amazing photos! You could totally be a professional photographer!"
Chen Cheng smiled and countered, "What’s wrong?"
"It’s just a ruse for Mr. Chen to get Liu Liu’s WeChat, isn’t it? Otherwise, how could you give the photos to Liu Liu!"
Chen Cheng picked up the teacup, "You caught on to my little scheme."
"Mr. Chen is really something else!"
It was time for Liu Zhiya to add her own touch, "Brother Cheng, how come I didn’t realize it at the time?"
"Liu Liu, you’ve been blinded by love!"
Hearing everyone’s comments, Chen Cheng knew that he would have to continue weaving this lie.
"We kept shooting for nearly half an hour when my driver arrived with the new batteries." Chen Cheng intentionally kept it vague, fuelling everyone’s imagination even more.
"Driver? Wow, what kind of fairy tale is this!"
The girls exclaimed, "Mr. Chen, you even brought your driver on the trip, that’s too extravagant!"
Chen Cheng smiled helplessly, "I had no choice, I’m usually too busy, and so is the driver. It’s only fair he gets some time off too."
"Understandable, understandable,"
The girl with melon seed shaped face nodded repeatedly, with an "I get it" look, "For a successful man like Mr. Chen, time is money, you have to cherish it."
The other girls all showed agreement, looking at Chen Cheng with admiration and desire.
"What happened next? What happened next?" the girl with the melon seed face eagerly asked, "After the driver arrived, did you split up?"
"No," Chen Cheng shook his head.
The girls’ curiosity was completely piqued, and they all stretched their necks, afraid to miss any detail.
"I changed Xiao Ya’s battery," Chen Cheng said with a smile, "and invited her to continue being my model the next day."
"Liu Liu, did you agree?"
Chen Cheng purposely held back, not answering directly, but instead asked, "Xiao Ya, what do you say?"
All eyes turned to Liu Zhiya, waiting for her response.
"I agreed," she said softly.
"Wow! I knew it!" the girls erupted into cheers.
"Liu Liu, you’re so naughty! Keeping this romantic encounter in Dali a secret from us!"
"That’s right, you’re really naughty!"
Liu Zhiya blushed, not knowing what to say, and turned her pleading eyes to Chen Cheng.
Chen Cheng held her hand, giving her a reassuring look, and then said with a smile to everyone else, "Actually, it was after that we gradually got to know each other, right Xiao Ya?"
Liu Zhiya nodded, implicitly agreeing with Chen Cheng’s statement.
"And then what? What happened then?"
The girl with the melon seed face still asked enthusiastically, "How did you become boyfriend and girlfriend?"
Chen Cheng dragged out his voice, pretending to reminisce, "That time, Xiao Ya and I really enjoyed our time together."
"She’s such a pure and kind girl. Being with her, I felt very relaxed, as if all my worries disappeared..."
Chen Cheng spoke while gazing lovingly at Liu Zhiya; her cheeks reddened even more and she kept her head down, not daring to meet Chen Cheng’s eyes.
The girls were utterly entranced, feeling as if they were the heroines in the story experiencing a romantic love affair.
"Those days, we would cycle along Erhai Lake, watch the sunset together, and chat."
Chen Cheng continued, "Until the day we returned to Beijing, we met again on the same flight, and I’ll never forget her surprised little expression. Look, just like now."
Liu Zhiya never expected Chen Cheng to describe events that never happened in such a vivid and colorful way, making her feel as if it wasn’t Liu Zhiying who went with her to Dali, but him instead.
The girls looked at Liu Zhiya’s surprised and happy expression, each with a motherly smile on their face.
"Wow, this is straight out of an idol drama!" the girl with the melon seed face clapped her hands excitedly, "Such a fated meeting, it’s so romantic!"
"Yes, yes, meeting again on the plane, that’s too much of a coincidence!" another girl chimed in, "It’s even more exciting than a novel!"
Liu Zhiya, embarrassed by their words, bowed her head, but her heart felt as sweet as if she had eaten honey.
Chen Cheng watched her shy demeanor, his smile growing deeper.
He reached out and gently stroked Liu Zhiya’s hair, whispering, "So you see, Xiao Ya is a gift from heaven for me, we’re simply meant to be."
"Wow! Mr. Chen is such a smooth talker!" the girls teased in unison, "Liu Liu, you are so lucky!"
Liu Zhiya lifted her head, looking affectionately at the man before her.
But before she could continue, another voice reached everyone’s ears.
Chen Donghai arrived carrying loads of shopping bags, from Fendi to Gucci, from Chanel to Cartier, appearing before the table of people.
Chen Cheng nodded slightly, while the chorus of discussion among the girls grew louder.
"Did you hear what he just called Mr. Chen?" the girl with the melon seed face whispered conspiratorially, "Mr... Chen??"
The other girls nodded as well, their eyes filled with wonder and curiosity.
"Could it be that Mr. Chen is the young master of some hidden, powerful family?"
"You’ve been reading too many novels, haven’t you? He’s obviously a prominent figure in Beijing!"
"My goodness, this is just unbelievable!"
"I knew it, Mr. Chen’s demeanor is so outstanding, you can tell he’s not an ordinary person at first glance!"