Clearly, Annie knew very well how to use her charming traits to please people.
Upon hearing the other person's words, she immediately responded obediently, "Really?? Thank you, beautiful sisters. You two are so pretty."
Annie blinked her big, watery eyes, a sweet smile hanging on the corners of her mouth. That innocent look made anyone who saw it feel joy in their heart.
With Annie's praise, the hearts of Qiao Yinyin and Huang Yao melted instantly.
They couldn't help but cover their cheeks with both hands.
Especially Huang Yao, whose smile grew even brighter as she marveled in an almost exaggerated tone, "You're the one who's good-looking! You're the prettiest Little Girl I've ever seen. Your eyes are so beautiful."
Seeing that Qiao Yinyin and Huang Yao were completely captivated by Annie, with each girl holding one of Annie's hands, An Xin shook her head helplessly.
She then looked at Jiang Cheng. "You don't mind, do you??"
Hearing An Xin's words, Jiang Cheng smiled.
"How could I?? I haven't properly thanked you for the bidding matter yet."
He keenly noticed that An Xin's state was very different from before.
Last time, during their chance encounter with Zhou Ying at Steinway, An Xin's emotional fluctuations had been exceptionally intense.
She had seemed somewhat out of control, as if long-suppressed emotions deep within her heart had suddenly surged out.
Although she hadn't directly attacked Zhou Ying, every question she asked was sharp as a blade.
Even when speaking to Jiang Cheng, her tone carried a faint hint of interrogation.
Questions like, did they know about each other??
What do you plan to do?? And things like that.
But this time, An Xin clearly lacked that anger and confusion.
At this moment, An Xin standing before him appeared exceptionally calm.
From the moment she saw Jiang Cheng and Qiao Yinyin, her expression had been quite normal.
Aside from a couple of teasing remarks, An Xin didn't ask a single question about anything else.
This demeanor actually left Jiang Cheng feeling a bit puzzled.
Seeing Jiang Cheng mention this, Wen Ang's loathsome face instantly surfaced in An Xin's mind.
Her face suddenly darkened, and her originally soft expression seemed to be covered by a layer of frost, involuntarily becoming cold and stern.
Next, she turned her gaze toward Annie, who was happily chatting with Qiao Yinyin.
"It's what your company deserves. If you didn't have some advantages, it wouldn't have mattered how much I accommodated you."
Even though An Xin had yet to find concrete evidence to prove that this matter was linked to Jiang Cheng,
deep down, she was quite certain that this matter was eighty percent likely related to him.
However, she knew in her heart that if Jiang Cheng hadn't acted back then, she herself would definitely not have let Wen Ang off in the end.
Only she knew how hard her heart truly was beneath her seemingly silent and patient exterior.
Although Annie was not her biological child,
at the beginning, she had gone through a period of weariness and even regret about bringing her along.
But as time passed, under the soaking of maternal love and the drive of responsibility, An Xin's originally iron-hard heart gradually began to melt.
Under these circumstances, for Wen Ang to actually try to move against Annie had already crossed her bottom line.
Sensing a sudden dark side appearing in An Xin's heart, Jiang Cheng frowned and also looked at Annie.
He saw Annie smiling with a face full of innocence.
"This child is getting better and better at making people like her."
An Xin nodded in agreement after hearing this and said with emotion, "Children grow up so fast. By the way, were you filming a video just now??"
"Yeah, she's filming a shop exploration video. Don't worry, I'll cut the part with you guys out later."
"Send the cut footage to me."
Jiang Cheng glanced at Annie upon hearing this and then said, "Sure, the scenery here is good, and I captured you guys looking very beautiful."
An Xin smiled and didn't reply further.
She was not originally a person who liked taking photos.
But for some reason, she really wanted to see what the video Jiang Cheng had just taken of them looked like.
Perhaps it was simply because it was the first video Jiang Cheng had ever filmed for her.
Hearing this, Annie immediately beamed and opened her little mouth to say, "Really, Brother Jiang Cheng? Look, the clothes I'm wearing today are the ones you bought for me last time. They're so pretty, look."
As she spoke, Annie even did a little twirl.
Following Annie's movements and looking closely, a hint of tenderness and admiration appeared in Jiang Cheng's eyes as he responded, "It really is. You look great in them."
Hearing Jiang Cheng's praise, Annie's heart felt as sweet as honey, and she couldn't help but let out a "hee hee hee" laugh.
An Xin, standing to the side, smiled and picked up the conversation, "Don't buy her such expensive things in the future; you'll spoil her."
Although the words were a scolding, the doting tone in her voice couldn't be hidden.
The conversation between the three fell into the ears of Qiao Yinyin and Huang Yao.
A look of surprise surfaced on both their faces simultaneously.
In comparison, Qiao Yinyin was relatively more composed.
After all, having been by Jiang Cheng's side for a while, her horizons had already broadened significantly.
Furthermore, just now when she first saw An Xin and Annie, she could tell from their attire alone that this mother and daughter must come from an extraordinary background.
Taking Annie for a simple example, the coat and shoes she was wearing were actually Dior.
As everyone knows, children's clothing from these brands is not cheap.
Most of them are even more expensive than adult clothing.
This whole outfit could conservatively be estimated to cost as much as an ordinary car.
Although it was said that Jiang Cheng bought it, looking at An Xin's outfit, she could definitely afford it too.
Hearing this, Huang Yao looked even more closely at the clothes on Annie.
When she saw it was actually Chanel, she clicked her tongue in amazement while also feeling a bit envious.
Her gaze couldn't help but drift to Jiang Cheng's profile, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
From that incredibly luxurious rolls-royce just now to the precious gifts worth hundreds of thousands given to Annie at this moment,
these things, which far exceeded Huang Yao's daily sphere of experience, were like heavy hammers striking her heart, giving her a great sense of shock and impact.
Jiang Cheng was completely unaware of the subtle changes in Huang Yao's internal emotions.
He turned his head and casually instructed the two waitresses to continue leading the way.
Then he naturally turned to Qiao Yinyin and reached out his hand, signaling her to hand him her phone.
Qiao Yinyin hadn't expected that with outsiders present, Jiang Cheng would still want to help her film the video.
A wave of sweetness couldn't help but rise in her heart, but at the same time, she felt a bit shy and embarrassed.
She subconsciously raised her hand, gently tucking a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, trying to hide the blush on her face.
Then, she spoke softly, "Let's not film today. We can do it next time. I didn't absolutely have to come here to film today anyway."
From her slightly constrained tone and movements, Jiang Cheng could clearly see that she was a bit inhibited at the moment.
He spoke up, "Not filming won't do. Today I absolutely have to let you two see my photography skills."
Watching this scene, Huang Yao muttered to herself internally... "This is Yinyin's boyfriend~~"
"This is Yinyin's boyfriend~"
"This is Yinyin's boyfriend~~"
After a bout of self-psychological suggestion and persuasion, Huang Yao took a deep breath and then spoke up, "Big shot, I saw the video you just took. Seriously, have you studied photography? Those camera movements were just incredible."
Jiang Cheng spread his hands. "I told you, professional photography skills. Do you believe me now??"
At this, a flash of anticipation appeared in Huang Yao's eyes, and she quickly nodded like a woodpecker, responding, "I believe you, I absolutely believe you! Big shot, can you also help me take a few beautiful photos later? That way I can post them to my moments and show off a bit~"
Hearing this, Qiao Yinyin, seeing the situation, pretended to be angry and pouted.
"Hmph, do you think I didn't take good enough photos for you just now? I put a lot of heart into it!"
The group continued walking along the path while talking.
And during this process, Jiang Cheng never stopped what he was doing.
He tirelessly and proactively arranged Qiao Yinyin's standing positions and carefully sought out the best lighting angles, sometimes bending over, sometimes half-squatting on the ground, focusing on filming the video.
Seeing Jiang Cheng proactively arranging Qiao Yinyin's positions and looking for light spots while hunching over to film the video without finding it troublesome all along the way,
a hint of confusion and incomprehension couldn't help but appear on An Xin's face as she followed behind.
She felt that her current perception of emotions was a bit muddled.
She began to doubt whether her understanding of relationships had become blurred.
After all, the way Jiang Cheng treated Qiao Yinyin before her eyes was almost identical to how young couples in the heat of passion acted in real life.
Mainly, the way Jiang Cheng smiled while half-squatting to follow behind Qiao Yinyin to film the video was simply no different from the young couples seen in reality.
To be honest, with the wealth Jiang Cheng now possessed, if true love were not considered,
whatever type of woman he wanted, he would only need to sit at home and easily hook his finger.
Thousands upon thousands of women would inevitably swarm toward him like a tide, scrambling to throw themselves at him.
There was simply no need to go through all this trouble of courting and romance like he was doing now.
But from An Xin's contact with Yu Xiaoxiao and Zhou Ying, and even Qiao Yinyin before her,
by observing the way Jiang Cheng interacted with them,
it was clearly visible that this was by no means as simple as a transaction of money and beauty.
Jiang Cheng himself had said that he indeed deeply loved these girls.
What exactly was going on??
Under the guidance of the Waitress, several of them entered the elevator and arrived at the private room on the third floor.
After filming a simple layout of the private room, Qiao Yinyin took her phone back.
"I'll film when the dishes are served later. I can just add the analysis of the dishes afterward."
Jiang Cheng nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
Seeing Jiang Cheng finish his work, Annie, who had been obediently following along, could no longer restrain herself.
She immediately stuck to Jiang Cheng and sat in the seat next to him. "Brother Jiang Cheng, I want to sit with you."
"You can, but you have to be good and eat your food later."
"I know~~"
Seeing Annie nod obediently, An Xin also sat down with a smile.
At this time, the dishes on the table had already been pre-ordered.
But due to the addition of An Xin and Annie, Jiang Cheng also added a few more substantial dishes and a seafood porridge suitable for children.
Before long, one dish after another, each excellent in color, aroma, and taste, was brought to the table by the waitresses.
Seeing Qiao Yinyin holding her phone to film the video, Huang Yao, sitting to the side, forcefully suppressed the complaints that almost escaped her lips.
Clipped above the dining table was a carefully printed and exquisitely designed menu, which listed the dishes they had pre-ordered today.
Initially, Huang Yao had some doubts about the dishes Jiang Cheng had ordered, such as why some items were double portions.
And these dozen or so dishes actually added up to over fifty thousand!
But looking at the dishes placed on the table, Huang Yao finally understood why Jiang Cheng had ordered like that.
Looking at these dishes before her, which were exquisite but pitifully small in quantity,
as a veteran foodie, her heart was simply in an uproar, and she felt like she was really about to spit blood.
It was hard to imagine that the honey-glazed smoked ribbonfish belly, priced at 298, actually only had one piece!
Fortunately, Jiang Cheng had ordered three portions. Otherwise, with just that one lonely piece of ribbonfish, how on earth would it be distributed? Was everyone supposed to take turns licking it?
The caviar golden sea urchin at 300 per portion also only had one... and the amber drunken soft-centered rich shrimp, already shelled, was also just one bite, with the price also being 298.
While such expensive dishes certainly couldn't be called bad-tasting,
for a foodie like Huang Yao who placed extra importance on cost-effectiveness, at this moment she sincerely believed that her school's cafeteria food was more delicious.
After all, the food there focused on being large in quantity, filling, economical, and having super high cost-effectiveness.
Facing these dishes that were so rich they made one's eyes blur, Huang Yao felt a heart-wrenching pain with every bite she took.
Seeing that Qiao Yinyin had finally finished filming the video, An Xin couldn't restrain the curiosity in her heart.
She asked softly, "Sister Qiao, you both look very young. I heard Jiang Cheng introduce you earlier; it seems you are still students??"
Qiao Yinyin nodded slightly and responded with a sweet smile, "Sister An, Yaoyao and I are students at Ligong University."
Hearing this, a flash of admiration instantly appeared in An Xin's eyes.
She then followed up with interest, "Ligong University, that's a good school. Ligong University should be focused on science and engineering majors, right??"
Just now, seeing Qiao Yinyin's skilled and confident posture while filming the video,
she had mistakenly thought she was one of those so-called 'outsourced socialites' in Shanghai who relied on packaging their appearance and lived for social activities.
But now, learning that they were actually proper students from a well-known university couldn't help but make An Xin feel a bit surprised... Qiao Yinyin nodded her head again and began to explain patiently.
"Sister An, you're right. Ligong University is indeed known for its science and engineering majors. It's just that... the major I chose is relatively niche and obscure. I feel like it might not be of much use in the future..."