Seeing An Xin respond and head toward the kitchen, Annie's eyes darted around. She looked at Brother Jiang Cheng with a grin. "Then, Brother Jiang Cheng, you drove that car here today. Can you take me for a spin after dinner? Just one lap..."
Jiang Cheng chuckled and waved his hand. "Alright, alright, just one lap. I'll have your mother hold you in the passenger seat later. Look at you, acting like you've never seen the world... Don't let some 'Huangmao' trick you in the future..."
"Yay, yay, yay!" Annie clapped her hands happily, then asked, "Brother Jiang Cheng, what is a 'Huangmao'? Is it someone who dyes their hair like Brother Cheng Xiaodong?"
As soon as those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the living room froze for a moment.
Cheng Gui's hand, holding a teacup, paused mid-air, and the smile on his face stiffened for a second.
An Jingsheng's eyebrows twitched imperceptibly. He shot a quick glance at Cheng Gui before turning his gaze back to Jiang Cheng's face.
Jiang Cheng's expression remained unchanged. The faint smile from before still lingered on his lips, though his eyes darkened slightly. He glanced at Annie and said in a relaxed tone, "You little girl, you certainly know a lot."
Annie didn't notice anything and continued to blink her eyes. "I learned it from my iPad. Nailong said he hates it when people call him a 'Huangmao' the most..."
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Speaking of which, does that Yellow Dragon have any hair?
Hmm... I suppose it does...
An Xin's voice came from the direction of the kitchen. "Annie, come here and help Mommy!"
Annie gave an "Oh" and skipped away.
The living room fell silent for a couple of seconds.
Cheng Gui was the first to break the silence, letting out a laugh that carried a hint of forced relaxation:
"That hair of Xiaodong's—I've been telling him to dye it back for a long time. Dyeing it like some delinquent's yellow hair is indeed disgraceful."
As he spoke, he picked up his teacup and took a sip, as if trying to hide something.
An Jingsheng glanced at him, then at Jiang Cheng.
He naturally knew about Cheng Xiaodong's situation.
It was just that Cheng Gui was someone he had mentored and supported all along.
An Jingsheng leaned back against the sofa and spoke at a measured pace, "Old Cheng..."
He drew out the last word, his fingers tapping on his knee.
"Speaking of which, there's something I've been meaning to say to you."
Cheng Gui looked up, his smile fading slightly as he adopted an attentive expression. "Please go ahead, President An."
An Jingsheng didn't speak directly but first looked at Jiang Cheng with an inquiring gaze.
Seeing that Jiang Cheng showed no reaction, An Jingsheng turned back to Cheng Gui, his tone leisurely as if they were just making small talk.
"Old Cheng, you've been in City for so many years. You know better than anyone how you managed to reach this point. Knowing when to bow your head, when to leverage others' strength, and when to endure—you haven't survived in City all these years just on luck; it's because of your clarity."
Cheng Gui listened without interrupting, simply nodding along.
An Jingsheng's tone shifted.
"But some young people haven't suffered enough, so they don't understand this. They always think that if the sky falls, their elders will hold it up, so they look down on everyone. It's only when trouble truly strikes that they realize mountains can crumble and people can flee. In the end, they still have to rely on their elders to swallow their pride and clean up their mess."
As he spoke, he glanced at Cheng Gui, his tone softening slightly. "That boy Xiaodong is smart, but he just needs a good beating. It's better to get it sooner than later. Getting it from Jiang Cheng is better than getting it from someone else. Wouldn't you agree, Old Cheng?"
Cheng Gui remained silent for two seconds.
He could tell that An Jingsheng was giving him a way out.
And also giving him a warning.
Rationally, he had to admit it.
If he hadn't met his match in Jiang Cheng, with Xiaodong's arrogant temper...
Relying on his status as the sole heir of the Cheng family, if the family business were truly handed over to him in the future, forget about navigating between big shots like An Jingsheng and Jiang Cheng as his father did...
He probably wouldn't even know how to find his footing and would eventually cause trouble ten times worse than this.
At that time, forget the family business—he might not even be able to save his own life.
But emotionally, seeing the scene of his son's pathetic punishment, his heart as a father couldn't help but tighten.
After all, he was an only child, the apple of his eye. Even knowing his son was in the wrong and that the beating was deserved, the heartache was not lessened in the slightest.
He had already humbled himself to plead with Jiang Cheng before. Although Jiang Cheng didn't hold a grudge, the rift between them still remained.
He was always somewhat restrained in front of Jiang Cheng, fearing that a wrong word might offend him again.
Cheng Gui couldn't help but shoot a grateful look at An Jingsheng. "President An, to be honest, I wouldn't have been able to establish myself in City all these years without the guidance and support of old friends like you..."
How could Jiang Cheng not understand An Jingsheng's meaning?
These words seemed to be a warning to Cheng Gui, but in reality, they were a way to bring everything out into the open while they were all together, serving as a roundabout way to seek reconciliation for Cheng Gui.
At this moment, Jiang Cheng didn't have any particular issues with Cheng Gui.
As long as Cheng Xiaodong didn't act stupid, everyone could get along just fine.
But if he were to come looking for trouble again in the future, Jiang Cheng wouldn't have any reservations about old ties.