After finishing the purchase, Jiang Cheng spoke again, "Then you wait here obediently for your mom. I'm going to head off now."
This time, Annie didn't continue to stop Jiang Cheng but nodded understandingly.
Pouting, she looked at Jiang Cheng and said softly, "Then, Brother Jiang Cheng, will you go to the amusement park with me again when you have time? I really want to go one more time..."
Seeing the anticipation in Annie's eyes, Jiang Cheng gently stroked her hair.
"Sure, if you're a good girl, I'll go with you next time I'm free."
Hearing Jiang Cheng's promise, Annie immediately revealed a happy smile.
She nodded obediently and agreed, "Okay, I'll definitely be good and listen~"
Just as Jiang Cheng was preparing to leave with Zhou Ying and Fang Yuan, An Xin hurriedly walked in from another entrance.
Annie's gaze followed Jiang Cheng's figure, and An Xin also looked in the direction of Annie's eyes.
At this sight, An Xin's footsteps suddenly halted.
Although she could only see Jiang Cheng's profile, An Xin still recognized that familiar figure at a glance.
A complex mix of emotions involuntarily surged in her heart.
Especially since Jiang Cheng was accompanied by two girls at that moment.
One of the girls even had her hand tightly looped through Jiang Cheng's arm.
An Xin didn't call out to stop Jiang Cheng; she just watched the three people's backs with a slight frown.
Looking at Zhou Ying's profile, An Xin quickly recognized her.
After all, they had met once before.
Seeing this scene, An Xin's heart immediately felt a pang of pain.
Coincidentally, at that moment, Fang Yuan, who was walking behind, seemed to sense someone watching her.
She turned her head, and her gaze soon met An Xin's.
Looking at this face so strikingly similar to Zhou Ying's, An Xin's brow instantly furrowed slightly.
She had met Zhou Ying last time, but she hadn't met Fang Yuan before.
She thought to herself, "Could she be Zhou Ying's sister? Or perhaps...?"
Although Fang Yuan's gaze soon shifted away,
as someone experienced, she still very keenly sensed the unusual atmosphere between An Xin and Jiang Cheng.
Especially the way An Xin looked at Jiang Cheng.
If their relationship were normal, An Xin should have openly called out to Jiang Cheng.
Instead of standing behind him, looking at him with such a pained expression.
Thinking of this, an even greater wave of worry surged in Fang Yuan's heart.
She and Zhou Ying's father had no feelings for each other, but the number of women around Zhou Ying's father was countless.
She knew that men were always easily tempted.
If Jiang Cheng really had other women, with Zhou Ying's personality, could she compete with these women?
Over the years, she had dealt with this kind of situation many times, and she had long grown accustomed to such a life.
But Zhou Ying was different. Without her own watchful eye, I'm afraid... Thinking this far, Fang Yuan's mood grew even heavier, and her gaze couldn't help but focus on Jiang Cheng again.
On Annie's side, seeing An Xin return, she immediately happily hugged An Xin's leg and said in a soft, sweet voice, "Mommy, are you done with work?"
Seeing Annie's well-behaved appearance, a trace of guilt rose in An Xin's heart.
She crouched down, gently stroked Annie's hair, and said softly, "Sweetie, I'm sorry. Mommy was a bit busy earlier and couldn't be with you. But it's okay now, I'll choose with you."
Annie rubbed her face against An Xin's chest, looking blissful.
A bright smile appeared on her little face. "It's okay, Mommy, I'm not angry anymore."
Seeing Annie so sensible, An Xin looked at her with adoration and touched Annie's cheek.
"Let's choose together."
After saying this, An Xin wanted to take her hand and head towards the children's section.
Seeing this, Annie immediately tugged at the hem of her clothes and excitedly pointed at several exquisite shopping bags on the sofa in the lounge area.
"No need, Mommy, look, Brother Jiang Cheng already bought them for me," Annie said happily.
Hearing this, An Xin looked surprised and followed Annie's pointing finger.
Seeing the Dior logo printed on those shopping bags, An Xin couldn't help but frown.
"What did he buy for you?"
An Xin asked while walking over to the shopping bags to check their contents.
Opening them and seeing that they were indeed these expensive children's clothes, An Xin's expression turned serious.
Finally, upon seeing the payment amount, she couldn't help but rub her temples with a headache.
She sighed helplessly and then said, "Annie, do you know how much 480,000 is? How could you let someone else buy you such expensive things?"
Annie tilted her head and asked curiously, "Mommy, how much is 480,000?"
Although somewhat exasperated, An Xin patiently explained.
"480,000 can buy a lot, a lot of delicious food and fun toys. You could even buy several ordinary cars if the requirements aren't high. We shouldn't casually accept such expensive gifts from others."
Seeing An Xin's expression, Annie knew she seemed to have made a mistake.
Somewhat fearfully, she lowered her head and whispered, "I told Brother Jiang Cheng that my mommy would get angry later, but he said it was a gift for me and that you wouldn't be angry."
Seeing Annie bowing her head looking scared, An Xin couldn't bring herself to be angry.
After all, she usually hadn't taught her the concept of money.
She just felt the gift was too extravagant.
Although she knew Jiang Cheng had money, this was 480,000, not 48,000! If Jiang Cheng spent this money on her, she would directly refuse, and it might not even stir much emotion in her heart.
But him being so indulgent towards Annie easily unsettled her, the mother's, inner peace. She sighed helplessly and spoke gently to Annie.
"Annie, even though Brother Jiang Cheng is very good to you, we still can't casually accept such expensive gifts from others. It might make the other person feel pressured, and it's also not very appropriate. In the future, when you encounter this kind of situation, remember to discuss it with Mommy first, okay?"
Annie nodded sensibly and agreed, "Okay, Mommy, I understand. Next time, I won't let Brother Jiang Cheng buy me such expensive things."
Even so, seeing how well Jiang Cheng treated Annie, An Xin's heart couldn't help but stir with a trace of emotion.
No matter what, Jiang Cheng was genuinely good to Annie.
An Xin: favorability value +1!
"Was the girl with Brother Jiang Cheng the older sister we met at Steinway last time?" An Xin asked again.
Annie nodded, "Yes, and her mommy."
Hearing Annie say this, An Xin couldn't help but widen her eyes in disbelief and asked, "The other girl is that sister's mommy?"
Annie nodded vigorously, saying excitedly, "Yes, her mommy is so beautiful, just as beautiful as you. Oh, and they also said I was cute and helped me pick out clothes."
Annie's words plunged An Xin into silence.
Although Fang Yuan's condition surprised her greatly,
what was even more surprising was that Jiang Cheng was actually shopping with Zhou Ying's mother?
Last time, he said that his feelings for the girls around him were all true love.
An Xin originally didn't believe it.
But if it wasn't true love, just fooling around, why meet the parents??
If things have reached this point, it should be serious, right??
Thinking of the girls around Jiang Cheng, An Xin suddenly felt a bit confused??
What was the relationship between these girls?
Could it really be as he said, that each girl had her own unique position and meaning?
This thought left An Xin feeling perplexed and uneasy.
After all, such a relationship model was far removed from traditional notions, making it difficult to understand.
An Xin couldn't help but start contemplating her own views on love again.
Should she accept such a diverse emotional world?
Or should she stick to the traditional one-on-one view of romance?
Or perhaps, everyone's love is unique and cannot be measured by fixed standards.
After the three of them left, they didn't continue shopping. Zhou Ying held Jiang Cheng's left hand and looped her right arm through Fang Yuan's as the three headed towards the food court upstairs.
After walking around, Zhou Ying's gaze was captured by a restaurant with particularly unique decorations.
The name of this shop was Barbarian.
Pointing at the Christmas decorations at the entrance and the huge Christmas tree inside, she said to Jiang Cheng, "Wow, this place has such a great atmosphere. It reminds me of the scene when we went shopping at Christmas."
Seeing the happy smile on Zhou Ying's face, Jiang Cheng nodded approvingly.
Zhou Ying was thinking of the scene of the two of them holding hands while shopping, but what Jiang Cheng recalled more was Zhou Ying wearing her Christmas outfit.
With Fang Yuan present, Jiang Cheng didn't voice his inner thoughts. Instead, he nodded seriously, "So, shall we eat here?"
Zhou Ying nodded, then turned to Fang Yuan to ask for her opinion, "Mom, what do you think?"
Fang Yuan smiled and nodded without objection, "I'm fine with anything. I'll eat whatever you two eat."
Although the foot traffic in the shopping area downstairs wasn't heavy, surprisingly, this restaurant was quite popular.
After the three of them entered, a long line soon started forming behind them.
Upon entering the restaurant, a strong retro atmosphere greeted them.
The entire space was designed in a cave style, as if transporting people back to medieval Europe.
Even the main door was made of two heavy, solid wooden planks.
The restaurant tables were also very distinctive, each made from a whole tree cross-section.
Retro wooden ornaments, ox horns, woodblock prints... every hanging decoration bore the marks of time.
The walls were covered in rough stone, giving a primitive and mysterious feel.
The lighting inside the restaurant was dim and warm, creating a tranquil and cozy atmosphere.
Under the Waitress's guidance, the three came to a corner by the window.
There was a table for four here with an excellent view. They could see the traffic outside the window and the distant skyscrapers, creating a stark contrast with the retro interior and a unique visual impact.
After sitting down, the three began studying the menu.
They discovered this barbecue restaurant specialized in Latin American-style barbecue, with its specialty being various kinds of skewers.
After discussing, the three decided to first try their appetizer—the Barbarian Salad, priced at 78 yuan.
Next, they ordered Steamed Mussels in White Wine as one of the main courses, priced at 98 yuan.
Also, selected U.S. Bavette Steak, ordered two portions, each 288 yuan.
The reason for ordering two portions was that these two women were very mindful of their figure management and stated they would share one portion.
Considering that portions at such a restaurant might be small, Jiang Cheng added a Barbarian Grilled Eggplant, priced at 58 yuan.
Also, one portion of Viking Noodles, priced at 166 yuan.
A Barbarian Feast Skewer Platter, priced at 398 yuan.
Additionally, they ordered three cocktails, each priced at 90 yuan.
Seeing they had ordered customized cocktails, the Waitress proceeded to introduce, "Our customized cocktails are very distinctive. You can choose your favorite from 30 types of base spirits, then select the flavor and aroma profile. Our head bartender will create a unique taste for you based on your chosen combination."
Just as Zhou Ying was confirming the flavors with the Waitress,
Fang Yuan, perhaps feeling hot, took off the jacket she was wearing over her clothes.
Fang Yuan's movements were graceful and natural. She gently let the jacket slip from her shoulders, revealing her alluring figure wrapped in a black, form-fitting base-layer sweater.
Her expression seemed somewhat languid as she took it off.
One must know, unintentional actions are the most captivating.
Even Jiang Cheng, a seasoned veteran, couldn't help but let his gaze linger on her at this moment.
He had only gotten a rough taste of its wonders at noon.
Seeing her now like this made him feel even more that it wasn't quite enough.
Although Fang Yuan's figure score was 4 points lower than Zhou Ying's,
today he had witnessed firsthand that this 4-point difference was likely in the overall height.
After all, Zhou Ying's height was 172 cm, while Fang Yuan's was 168 cm.
The difference in their 'panda' assets wasn't significant.
And perhaps due to genetic reasons, although he hadn't seen for himself, based on Jiang Cheng's tactile memory,
every part was exceptionally smooth.
There was no feeling of coarseness.
Fang Yuan clearly sensed Jiang Cheng's gaze, but she could only choose to pretend not to notice.
What else could she do? Zhou Ying was right beside her!
Tell Jiang Cheng not to look??
Or put her jacket back on?
Both actions would seem a bit deliberate. If she did that, Zhou Ying would definitely notice something was off, right?
She had already resolved not to let Zhou Ying detect any strangeness between her and Jiang Cheng.
So, she could only close her eyes and pretend not to see Jiang Cheng's burning gaze.
Even before this, she had noticed Jiang Cheng's unusual look when he glanced at her.
At that time, her heart was truly conflicted, both tangled and proud.
After all, receiving the favor of a man so many years younger than herself would make anyone feel a bit smug, more or less.
Fang Yuan silently gazed out the window.
She sighed inwardly.
If she hadn't slept in Zhou Ying's room today, but in the guest room,
then Jiang Cheng probably wouldn't have mistaken her for Zhou Ying.
Naturally, there wouldn't have been today's physical contact either.
And they wouldn't have reached such an awkward step.
One could only say, with some things, once you take a wrong step, you start taking more wrong steps.
Soon, the Waitress began bringing the dishes one after another.
Zhou Ying and Fang Yuan shared one portion of steak.
Zhou Ying's appetite was very small.