He paused, his tone carrying a hint of emotion:
"To be honest, after that incident with Xiao Dong, I went back and thought about it for a long time. This child has been spoiled by me since he was little; no one could control him. This time, if he hadn't run into President Jiang and learned that there's always someone better, who knows how much trouble he would have caused in the future."
As he spoke, he turned to Jiang Cheng, adopting a very humble posture:
"President Jiang, that day in Magic City, when Xiao Dong apologized to you, I was also there. I know you are broad-minded and won't hold it against him. Today, taking advantage of President An's place, I'll say one more thing to you... if that kid acts up again in the future, feel free to hit him or scold him as you see fit. You don't need to show me any face."
Jiang Cheng looked at him, the corners of his mouth curling slightly into a faint smile:
"Old Cheng, are you handing your son over to me for discipline?"
Cheng Gui quickly waved his hands: "I wouldn't dare, I just..."
Jiang Cheng waved him off, interrupting:
"Fine, that matter is in the past. As long as Xiao Dong doesn't shove his face in front of me again, I won't bring up old scores."
Jiang Cheng spoke casually, but Cheng Gui could hear the underlying meaning.
If he did it again, then don't blame me for being heartless.
Cheng Gui felt a chill in his heart, but his face was piled with smiles:
"Of course, of course. I will definitely keep a close eye on him when I get back and won't let him cause you any more trouble."
An Jingsheng, who had been watching from the side, finally spoke with a smile:
"Old Cheng, today you've managed to snag a free meal and a way out of an awkward situation. You've taken all the benefits."
Cheng Gui was amused by him and quickly replied: "President An, look at what you're saying. I'm just basking in your reflected glory. Later, I'll have the people from City send over some local specialties for you. Please don't look down on them."
An Jingsheng waved his hand: "Forget it, don't I know your 'local specialties'? You send them by the truckload; I don't even have room to stack them anymore."
...
Soon, the dishes were served.
An Jingsheng put down his chopsticks, glanced at his phone, and suddenly let out a "Huh?"
"What's wrong?" Jiang Cheng asked casually.
An Jingsheng turned his phone screen toward him.
[Breaking! TikTok's overseas expansion hindered; ByteDance faces collective blockade by international capital]
[Wall Street pressures capital circles; multiple institutions suspend investment intentions in ByteDance]
"I remember you seem to have shares in TikTok?" President An asked.
Jiang Cheng took the phone and glanced at the photo.
In the news photo, Zhang Yiming stood at the press conference, his expression solemn.
His face was wrinkled like a bitter melon.
Looking at this headline, Jiang Cheng's brow furrowed, and his mind began to recall some things from his past life.
Back then, he didn't have shares in the TikTok equivalent.
He was just a man who liked scrolling through TikTok to watch pretty girls and various news.
Around 2018, TikTok did indeed run into trouble.
Those overseas capitalists, seeing TikTok surging too fast in Southeast Asia and North America, got jealous and started making trouble.
First was the media war.
They found a bunch of foreign media to write every day about "TikTok stealing privacy" and "data being sent back to China" to scare those foreign users.
Then came the political manipulation.
They incited countries like Indonesia and India to launch so-called "national security investigations."
In reality, it was just an excuse to choke off TikTok's overseas expansion.
The most ruthless move was the financing ambush.
ByteDance was pushing forward with a new round of financing at the time, with a valuation of 75 billion US dollars.
As a result, Wall Street directly put out the word: anyone who dared to invest was making an enemy of the entire Western capital circle.
SoftBank and Sequoia, which originally had intentions, all backed off one by one.
During that period, Zhang Yiming appeared in the news every day with that bitter melon face.
In his past life, Jiang Cheng had watched the drama and even joined netizens in spamming "feel sorry for Brother Yiming" in the comments.
But how was it resolved later?
He seemed to remember it was... toughed out? Or did he find some kind of backing?
He couldn't remember the specific details.
After all, games at that level were too far removed from who he was back then.
But one thing he remembered very clearly.
That round of financing was ultimately successful.
Not only did TikTok not die, but it grew stronger and stronger, with its valuation soaring from 75 billion all the way to several hundred billion.
Back then, he had even bragged to his friends: "If I had 1% of TikTok's shares, I'd be set for life."
And now, he didn't have 1%.
He had 10%.
Jiang Cheng's lips quirked almost imperceptibly as he handed the phone back to An Jingsheng, his tone flat:
"This bit of wind and waves, slang reference to Zhang Yiming should be able to pull through."
An Jingsheng took the phone and gave him a half-smile: "Is that so? Looking at how much he's frowning, it doesn't seem like something he can handle. This isn't just a problem money can solve. This company is currently the pig at the center of the storm; when the wind blows, it can fly. But when trouble hits, the first thing to suffer will definitely be the shares in the hands of you shareholders..."
Jiang Cheng understood An Jingsheng's words, but the decision-making power for the TikTok equivalent was currently with slang reference to Zhang Yiming.
He couldn't exactly go knocking on his door to solve his problems for him...
After picking up his wine glass and taking a sip, Jiang Cheng didn't pursue the topic.