Looking at the pot of stuff An Xin brought out, his brows twitched slightly.
It was a dark, messy lump; one couldn't tell what kind of dish it was.
"What dish is this?"
Seeing a hint of curiosity in Jiang Cheng's tone, although An Xin's face remained expressionless, her tone carried a bit of excitement and a touch of nervousness.
"Stewed beef with black truffle and mushrooms."
After saying that, as if afraid Jiang Cheng wouldn't know she made it, she paused and added, "I saw it in a cookbook. I just made it casually to try it out."
Seeing An Xin's eyes drifting toward his face, Jiang Cheng picked up the serving chopsticks and took a bite.
He put the meat into his mouth and chewed.
After just two bites, Jiang Cheng's movements came to a halt.
Beside them, Annie, who had been blinking her eyes and eating quietly, finally spoke up: "Jiang Cheng Pa... Brother, is it good?"
This question was asked not just by An Xin, but even An Jingsheng and Cheng Gui all looked at Jiang Cheng in unison.
Seeing this, Jiang Cheng suppressed the urge to spit out the beef.
His eyes widened slightly, and a look of exaggerated surprise appeared on his face.
"Mmm—" he drawled, speaking in a flamboyant tone, "It's delicious! Really, I've never eaten anything this good!"
As he spoke, he even smacked his lips, looking as if he were savoring an endless aftertaste.
An Xin was stunned for a moment.
Beside her, An Jingsheng and Annie were also stunned.
The number of times An Xin had cooked could be counted on one hand; in fact, the number of successful attempts could be counted on just two fingers.
Seeing that he seemed to be over-exaggerating, Jiang Cheng reined in his expression.
He swallowed, turned to look at An Xin, with a hint of playful laughter in his eyes: "Did you really make this?"
Questioned like this, An Xin's face reddened slightly, but she still tried to maintain that indifferent tone: "Yes, I made it."
Seeing Jiang Cheng take another piece to eat, Annie blinked her big eyes again: "Is it really that good?"
Jiang Cheng looked down at her with a face full of sincerity: "Really. When has Brother Jiang ever lied to you? Come, come, come, you eat some quickly."
After saying that, Jiang Cheng immediately served a piece to Annie, then turned to Cheng Gui and An Jingsheng:
"Mmm~~ You two try it quickly! Don't let me finish it all..."
Cheng Gui was taken aback, then quickly responded with a smile: "Ah, okay, okay, I'll try it! What Xiao Xin makes must be delicious..."
Seeing Cheng Gui take a piece of meat, An Jingsheng also followed suit and took a bite.
After the two of them both put the beef into their mouths and chewed.
The smiles on their faces froze.
Their brows furrowed subconsciously, the corners of their mouths twitched slightly, and it seemed a bit difficult for them to swallow.
An Jingsheng was okay; the strangeness on his face was displayed directly.
Cheng Gui had it a bit harder; although it didn't taste good, he could only endure it, squeezing out a smile at Jiang Cheng: "Delicious, delicious..."
An Xin finally realized something was wrong.
She looked at Jiang Cheng's expression of suppressed laughter, then at Cheng Gui's bitter face from being dragged into the mess, and then at her own father's "I don't know anything" look.
Her beautiful face felt a wave of heat. She then picked up her chopsticks, took a small piece, and stuffed it into her mouth.
As soon as she took a bite, her brows instantly knitted into a clump.
"Ugh... why is it so salty?!"
She blurted out, then suddenly looked at Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng was holding a teacup, laughing so hard his shoulders were shaking.
"You...!" An Xin's face flushed instantly, "You lied to me!"
Jiang Cheng put down the teacup, laughing uncontrollably: "I didn't lie to you. I have a heavy palate; I just like eating salty things."
As soon as he spoke, An Xin couldn't help but press her legs together.
Biting her lip, she glared at him, her eyes turning a bit red.
"Jiang Cheng!"
She shouted, reaching out to hit him.
Jiang Cheng laughed and dodged: "Hey, hey, hey, don't get physical! Old An is still here!"
Just as he spoke, a little girl's confused voice sounded nearby.
"Mama?"
Annie tugged at the corner of An Xin's clothes, looking up with a bewildered face: "Is the beef not good?"
An Xin's movements froze.
She looked down at her daughter's cute little face.
She suddenly realized that her aggressive behavior just now had been seen by her daughter.
An Xin's face turned even redder.
"...It's good." She tried to calm her voice, crouching down to look at her daughter, "But it's too salty. Mama put too much salt."
Annie blinked her eyes, then turned to look at Jiang Cheng.
"Brother Jiang Cheng," she tilted her little head, her tone filled with confusion, "Didn't you say it was good? You lied to my mama."
Jiang Cheng looked into her clear eyes and said seriously, "I didn't lie. I said it was good because your mama made it."
An Ning blinked her eyes, not quite understanding the meaning of those words.
After thinking for a moment, she spoke again: "Wow, Brother Jiang Cheng, you are so good to my mama..."
These words instantly made An Xin's cheeks heat up again.
"Wow, Annie, if this is being good, then your standards are way too low..."
"If Mama makes it, even if it's salty, Brother Jiang Cheng will say it's good. If that's not being good, then what is..."
The house full of laughter and subtle warmth fell into An Jingsheng's eyes, making him unable to snap out of it for a long time.
He watched his daughter chasing Jiang Cheng and playfully hitting him, watched Jiang Cheng laughing and dodging, watched the liveliness filling the room —
Was this his daughter?
Was this the An Xin who, from childhood to adulthood, had always been dignified, proper, sensible, steady, and never gave him any reason to worry?
When had she ever had this kind of expression?
This kind of... face flushed with anger, biting her lip, reaching out to hit someone?
He suddenly remembered that when An Xin was a child, he had also thought: when would there be a little girl who would act spoiled with him, pester him for candy, and act shamelessly in front of him?
But An Xin had been too sensible since she was young.
Her mother passed away early, and she knew how to take care of herself at a young age so he wouldn't have to worry.
As she grew up, she was even more capable, helping him manage the business and attending various occasions without him ever needing to say a word.
He thought that was just her personality.
But now he suddenly realized —
It wasn't that she didn't know how to act spoiled.
It was that she hadn't met the person she was willing to act spoiled for.
An Jingsheng watched his daughter chasing and hitting Jiang Cheng, watched Jiang Cheng laughing and dodging, watched the liveliness in the room...
It seemed... quite good...
The pagani sped through the night.
Jiang Cheng went directly back to the hotel.
He took a shower, changed into a bathrobe, and had just sat down on the sofa when his phone vibrated.
It was a message from Chen Xueer.
"Mr. Jiang, things aren't quite right on TikTok's side. Overseas public opinion is fermenting, Indonesia might launch an investigation, and several companies in the new round of financing are waiting and watching."
Jiang Cheng took a look but didn't reply.
Mainly because now three smooth butts were standing in a row right in front of him; how could Jiang Cheng have the mind for anything else?
The Forward and Backward cards weren't used last night.
After a night of adaptation, Jiang Cheng felt that using them tonight would definitely have the best effect.
He put his phone on the coffee table and stood up.
He slapped each of The three women lying on the table one by one with force...
Meanwhile, in Beijing.
The ByteDance headquarters building was already pitch black, and all the employees in the building had finished work and gone home.
Only a single lamp remained lit in Zhang Yiming's office on the top floor, looking exceptionally lonely in the deep night.
Outside the window were the cold lights of Beijing late at night, neon flashing, but they couldn't penetrate the silence in the office.
Inside, only Zhang Yiming sat alone at his large desk.
The computer screen in front of him was lit up, filled with dense messages that made him feel suffocated, each one like a heavy hammer striking his heart.
The most prominent one was an official letter from the Indonesian regulatory authorities.
It clearly stated: Effective immediately, all TikTok services in Indonesia are banned.
The reason given was "vulgar content, harming the physical and mental health of minors."
But only Zhang Yiming and those in the industry knew that this so-called "reason" was just a facade.
It wasn't that there was a problem with TikTok's content at all, but rather a targeted political ban.
The local Indonesian government was deliberately targeting the expansion of Chinese apps overseas.