An Jingsheng looked at Jiang Cheng upon hearing this. "Are you trying to get An Xin to..."
Now that the two of them had spoken openly, Jiang Cheng no longer hid his intentions.
"Old An, it must have taken quite a bit of effort and manipulation to get those people to listen to you, right?"
For someone like Jiang Cheng, who was born with a powerful background and a 'cheat system,' he was destined not to need special means to force others into submission in such complex relationships.
But An Jingsheng was different, no matter how formidable his methods were abroad.
In Huaxia, a businessman is just a businessman.
No matter how much of a 'Gao Qiqiang' you are, you still have to bow and scrape when you meet the big shots of the city.
An Jingsheng's lips curled into a smile. "That's right, it did take some effort. As long as there are no major changes, the An Group still has a lot of say."
Jiang Cheng shook his head; clever tactics could only last for so long.
Like the great families of Hong Kong Island, everyone looked glorious during the economic upswing of 2018.
But a few years later, when the economy faced a comprehensive downturn...
Only a certain family followed the government's policies and began to shed their identity as mere businessmen.
As they took that step further, the family didn't just avoid decline; they actually moved in a positive direction.
Jiang Cheng spoke up, "Have you never thought about taking it a step further?"
Seeing Jiang Cheng discuss such a topic with her father, An Xin's beautiful eyes couldn't help but widen slightly.
An Jingsheng instantly understood Jiang Cheng's meaning.
To be honest, he didn't want to 'progress.'
Having dominated the world for half his life, he wanted to 'lie flat' just like Jiang Cheng.
However, as the family business continued to expand, the pressure and the eyes on him increased day by day.
Previously, the An Group had hosted so many activities in Chengdu, but they always played the role of a low-profile sponsor behind the scenes, never thinking of stepping into the spotlight.
However, Jiang Cheng's words did make some sense.
If An Jingsheng were willing to stay under someone else's thumb, then keeping a low profile wouldn't be a problem.
He could even consider changing his nationality to another country; that way, as long as he didn't make a major mistake, he could do whatever he wanted.
The problem was that An Jingsheng wanted to keep his Huaxia household registration while also refusing to be suppressed.
For An Xin's sake, An Jingsheng had to keep standing tall.
"To be honest, I hadn't thought about it before, but now that you mention it, I think it's worth considering."
"It's only normal for an established local leading enterprise like the An Group to get some good publicity."
"Hahaha, you're right. Then let's go together..."
Seeing An Jingsheng in a great mood, he enthusiastically put his arm around Jiang Cheng's shoulder, and they walked forward together.
At this moment, An Xin's eyes were wide, her face full of suspicion.
And it wasn't just her; the group of big shots following behind them were also completely bewildered.
Clearly, they were baffled by this sudden change.
The atmosphere had been so heavy when they first met; how did the two of them become so close in the blink of an eye?
After a few seconds of daze, An Xin quickly caught up with An Jingsheng.
She asked with a face full of doubt, "Dad, you're going on stage?"
An Jingsheng turned his head and looked at her with a smile.
He said in a relaxed tone, "Yes, that's right. The event hasn't started yet, so I'll have them delay it a bit. You should have a formal dress in the car, right? Don't wear this; go get one and change into it quickly."
Although An Xin really wanted to know what he and Jiang Cheng had talked about and why their relationship had progressed so rapidly, she didn't ask.
After seeing the hint in An Jingsheng's eyes, she nodded very steadily.
She didn't ask another question.
Soon, the group arrived at the event site.
When An Xin reappeared at the venue, the originally noisy front row suddenly went quiet for a few seconds.
At this time, Jiang Cheng was making small talk with the Director of the Bureau of Culture and Tourism and An Jingsheng.
His gaze followed the others and caught sight of An Xin as she walked over.
His train of thought was suddenly interrupted, and he actually forgot to respond.
The lights on the stage happened to fall on An Xin.
It made that Dark Green Cheongsam, under the illumination of the lights,
look like peacock tail feathers, radiating a charming luster.
Her steps were light and elegant.
Every step seemed to be carefully measured.
The sway of her waist was just right.
It showcased a woman's soft and feminine charm without any hint of frivolity.
Damn, why is my heart racing?
The An Xin before him was undoubtedly the kind of goddess who makes one fall in love at first sight.
Her beauty lay not just in her appearance, but also in the temperament and charm of her every move.
Jiang Cheng sighed inwardly.
She truly deserved to be a beauty with a charm score of over 90.
Even when she dressed casually, she was already attractive enough.
Now that she had dressed up seriously, she was simply stunning.
Not just Jiang Cheng, but even the other big shots couldn't help but steal glances at her.
Seeing An Xin approach, An Jingsheng, who was originally sitting next to Jiang Cheng, suddenly stood up.
He made a gesture as if inviting An Xin to come and sit.
While he made the movement, he was actually secretly shifting over one spot, giving his seat to An Xin and sitting in the adjacent seat himself.
This way, it ended up with An Xin sitting in a central position, with her father on her left and Jiang Cheng on her right.
Seeing her father act this way, although An Xin's expression remained cold and elegant, her heart was actually slightly stirred.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," An Xin said softly, then slowly sat down next to Jiang Cheng.
She kept her legs together and tilted them slightly; this movement caused the slit of the cheongsam to reveal three fingers' width of snowy skin.
It was half-hidden and half-visible, inviting imagination.
The scent wafting from her was not the usual floral or fruity fragrance favored by socialites.
Instead, it was agarwood with a hint of medicinal bitterness, very much like the "Bone-Waking Fragrance" described in ancient texts.
Smelling this scent, Jiang Cheng silently recited the 'Good Man's Code' several times in his heart.
Don't initiate, don't refuse... Soon, the event began.
After the opening intangible cultural heritage dance and a song and dance performance by the star Lou Xiaoxiao, the host walked onto the stage.
This event was being broadcast both through online live streaming and television.
Bai Xiaoxiao, Qiao Yinyin, and the others stood to the side, waiting to go on stage.
When they saw Jiang Cheng, who hadn't been recognized by anyone just moments ago, suddenly sitting in the middle of the first row,
and even sitting with the big shots from the Bureau of Culture,
a hint of surprise couldn't help but rise on the faces of the three women.
All three knew Jiang Cheng was very rich, but they didn't expect him to be able to sit in the center at an event like this.
According to the primary invitation materials, this intangible cultural heritage event not only had practitioners from over sixty countries, including Italy, Great Goose Country, and Japan, but also so-called experts and scholars.
It could be called the largest intangible cultural heritage exhibition in Huaxia.
There were many entrepreneurs below as well, with over a hundred well-known companies participating in licensing negotiations.
In this setting, Jiang Cheng was actually able to hold the C-position?
So, had the three of them underestimated Xingchen Investment, Xingchen Media, or had they underestimated Jiang Cheng?
Wait, hasn't Xingchen Investment not gone public yet?
Did it already have such great influence even before going public?
It wasn't just Qiao Yinyin's group; as early as when Jiang Cheng took his seat, some entrepreneurs behind them had been secretly focusing their gazes on him.
"Who is this big shot? I haven't seen him before?"
"The person in the middle seems to be President An. President An actually attended this year?"
"This couldn't be President An's illegitimate... son, could it?"
"Probably not. Doesn't the An Group only have one daughter? If he were illegitimate, how could he come to this kind of occasion..."
...After a few intangible cultural heritage production and promotion performances, Qiao Yinyin and the other Internet Celebrities began to go on stage to experience the manual production of intangible cultural heritage products.
Seeing Jiang Cheng suddenly take out his phone to take pictures of the stage,
An Xin, sitting beside him, couldn't help but fix her gaze on the several Internet Celebrities on the stage.
Her gaze slowly swept from left to right, carefully sizing up these girls.
She saw that each and every one of them was extremely pretty with beautiful features, making them stand out.
However, An Xin's brow furrowed tightly without her realizing it.
An Xin had not handled the invitation list for this event.
When she saw Jiang Cheng earlier, he hadn't mentioned that he had come with his own Internet Celebrities.
Although she had seen Qiao Yinyin from a distance at the entrance of the Peace Hotel before,
naturally, she couldn't remember who she was from just that one glance.
Jiang Cheng's peripheral vision naturally noticed An Xin's actions.
He saw An Xin's previously relaxed body suddenly sit up straight, then slowly lean back against the chair.
She pretended to lean back, but in reality, she was creating distance from him.
She placed her gaze on his phone screen.
After seeing clearly who Jiang Cheng was photographing, An Xin's fingers unconsciously rubbed the armrest of the seat, the genuine leather material making a slight sound under her fingertips.
However, Jiang Cheng did not put away his phone; he still held it openly, taking all sorts of photos.
Seeing Jiang Cheng finish photographing Qiao Yinyin and then photograph Bai Xiaoxiao next to her,
and then put his phone away after taking several shots, An Xin's brow immediately furrowed.
There were five Internet Celebrities on stage in total, yet he only photographed two?