228 The Dinner of the Elites

Chapter 228: The Dinner of the Elites

Translator: _Min_Editor: Yukira_

After bidding Sun Jiao goodbye, Jiang Chen returned to the modern world.

It was around eight in the morning, thinking of the promise he made with Ayesha last night, Jiang Chen's face broke into a smile.

After preparing breakfast and putting it into the microwave, Jiang Chen took a shower before he entered Ayesha's room, smirking all the while.

When the two came out of the room, it was already ten o'clock.

"I shouldn't have prepared breakfast had I known it'd be lunchtime soon," Jiang Chen uttered in disappointment as he removed the bread and poached egg from the microwave.

"It's okay. Just put it in the fridge, and we'll eat it tomorrow," face still blushing furiously, Ayesha muttered and took the plate out of Jiang Chen's hand.

After putting the plate in the refrigerator, Ayesha started preparing lunch while wearing an apron.

Looking at Ayesha's profile, Jiang Chen was enamored by the scene.

The loose brown curls reflected a golden streak in the sun. Beneath it was a gentle and serene face, and with the elegant apron, she resembled a newly married wife.

"Mhmm?" Ayesha seemed to have sensed Jiang Chen's gaze because she slightly tilted her head and looked up.

"Uh, nothing, just thinking how beautiful you are." Jiang Chen scratched his cheek.

Face blushing, Ayesha lowered her head shyly and started cutting the meat.

Lunch was roasted beef and borsch with steamed rice, a combination of western and oriental cuisine.

When the two finished their lunch, it was already twelve o'clock. After cleaning up the dishes, Ayesha, as part of her usual routine, she headed to the gym to complete today's virtual reality training content. Jiang Chen rested a bit more on the sofa, and then went out of the door and drove to the metropolis.

Tonight he was going to attend the Wanghai Business Forum. Jiang Chen, who had not always been confident in his own style, wisely decided to leave the task to the professionals to deal with. Although what's inside was more important, it was also necessary for the look to reflect that.

Jiang Chen allowed the cold but gentle hands to fiddle with his face and hair for a while before coming out of the high-end style studio feeling refreshed. Although his hair was still short hair, he felt sleeker.

Then he headed to the mall to buy a few sets of formal suits. Although he didn't know which attire would be most appropriate for the event tonight, the best choice would be to buy the most expensive one!

After throwing the tens of thousands worth of formal suits on the counter, Jiang Chen, in front of the cashier whose eyes had already turned into glittering stars, swiped his card without blinking.

It was already three o'clock when he was done with everything.

Seeing that there was still some time to spare, Jiang Chen went to a Starbucks and ordered a cup coffee before he started fiddling with his phone.

When it was about five o'clock, Jiang Chen drove to the venue where the party would be held, Linhua Hotel.

...

One could see the elegance of the beautifully designed building just by looking at its appearance. Marble and red brick were the main materials used, which gave a touch modern simplicity combined with the elegance of classic beauty.

Linhua Hotel—an embellished sign with huge neon letters.

The parking lot was almost like a luxury car dealership. He actually saw no less than two or three of Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, etc. So that his car Maybach S600 being parked there looked inconspicuous.

When he parked the car, following the direction of the valet, he was ushered to the front of the hotel. After flashing his invitation, he then entered the hotel along with those well-dressed elites.

Although it was a fancy banquet, in the end, it was still hosted by locals. Jiang Chen didn't get to see some famous people and could not recognize most attendees.

But he didn't look down on the party because of it. While they may not appear in the media, it did not mean they could not do so. Sometimes the more low-key the people were, the more powerful they truly were.

When he entered the hotel, he distinctly noticed a lot of people staring at him.

In this regard, Jiang Chen did not appear to be the least bit anxious, After all, it was not the first time he would be participating in a gathering this level. When he was in Sanya, he attended a birthday dinner hosted by the hospitable prince of Arabia for his princess. Although the birthday party was more private and informal than the business forum, the process was, in fact, roughly similar.

After the host delivered all kinds of ceremonial speech, the business elites naturally formed themselves into a small clique and exchanged ideas with those they were interested in.

Because he was not good at this kind of things, Jiang Chen deliberately picked a secluded spot in the corner of the hall and started enjoying the delicious food.

While he did consider using this opportunity to get acquainted with some business associates, but he was somewhat unable to get started after arriving here. Most of the active participants here were not a first-timer in this kind of event. As such, a number of people in the circle were familiar with each other. It was undoubtedly difficult for some newcomers like Jiang Chen to mingle with this clique.

But he had clearly underestimated his presence in the technology sector because who would actually cast a delicious morsel of cake aside?

The profitability of Future Technology did make people green with envy, but for those who could take part in the event of this caliber, how many were actually short-sighted? Ignoring Jiang Chen because of jealousy, only a philistine would do that.

He hadn't sat for long before a middle-aged man sat beside him with a smile.

"Mr. Jiang is young and promising but doesn't show off in public. It's really rare at this age. Ah, I can't help but grow admiration for you even I were to be in 70s."

"Nah," despite feeling proud inside, Jiang Chen still humbly acknowledged the compliment, and then asked, "and you are?"

Though the person looked familiar, Jiang Chen was still unable to remember where he had seen him.

"I'm Zhou Hongwei." Zhou Hongwei smiled.

Isn't that the president of 361 Corporation, Zhou Hongwei? It made Jiang Chen somewhat shocked.

"So it's Mr. Zhou, I apologize for not realizing it sooner." Not even recognizing his own strategic partner was a bit embarrassing.

With the advent of a social media platform, Future Technology and other communication technologies like Penguin naturally stood on the opposite side. In particular, the impact of Future 1.0 on Wechat, which caused a drastic decrease in their users, had naturally earned Penguin's displeasure. Because of this, Future Technology was removed from all channels by Penguin, but it did little to Future Technology as they had already occupied the user group.

The competitor's adversary would naturally band together. Most especially after the Lingyu Technology's incident, towards 361 Corporation's gesture of goodwill to Jiang Chen, Future Technology would naturally take the same initiative as the 361 Corporation. Both parties used Chenfeng Entertainment as a joint venture platform to form a tight relationship in the mobile gaming sector, focusing on low and mid-end games with short development cycles. 361 Corporation being the main developer while Future Technology was responsible for the channel. It can be said that this was the honeymoon period of cooperation between the two sides.

"It's okay, I'm already over 40 years old with an average-looking face, so even if I went on CTV, no one would remember me." Zhou Hongwei quipped good-naturedly, which cleverly resolved the awkwardness, then he began chatting with Jiang Chen.

When two Internet giants sat together, it would naturally attract a lot of people in the "same circle" to join their conversation. Without him knowing, Jiang Chen was equally surprised to realize that the quiet spot he had chosen for himself had somehow become the center of the forum.

In fact, Jiang Chen had somehow underestimated intricacies this business forum. If he had given it more thoughts, there were just few hundred companies with over 10 billion market value in the entire China. Now this Wanghai Business Forum, though the requirement was high, it was not as extreme as he initially thought.

It could be even be said that in this entire venue, he and Zhou Hongwei could be considered to stand at the top of the pyramid. On the other hand, Zhou Hongwei only possessed 14% share in 361 Corporation, but Jiang Chen had an unbelievable 99% share in Future Technology. From this perspective, while both companies had a market value of 10 billion, Jiang Chen's "worth" had overwhelmed Zhou Hongwei.

Other than the internet giants, the rest were mid-sized companies with good profitability and future prospects. While they probably have billions in assets, there was still a noticeable gap compared to Jiang Chen's assets.

As such, there were quite a number of people who used all sort of methods in an attempt to establish a connection with him. Especially considering he was still a bachelor, the big bosses with daughters, regardless whether their daughter had a boyfriend or not, began to talk marriage with Jiang Chen.

"Haha, Mr. Jiang is 22 this year, my princess is 21. Would Jiang Chen be interested in meeting her?"

"No wonder Mr. Jiang Chen is capable of gracing the headline twice on Wall Street Journal, Mr. Jiang is indeed a talented person and gives face to his own country!"

"Is Mr. Jiang interested in a partnership? Our company had recently developed an O2O takeout software, considering Future 1.0 traffic, we can definitely..."

Networking, fawning, and partnership.

To be honest, his vanity was satisfied while looking at a group of rich people formed a circle around him as the center. Jiang Chen naturally responded to everyone's friendliness and listened to their business proposals.

As for those seeking to arrange marriage, Jiang Chen chose to politely ignore them.

In this relaxed atmosphere, halfway through the party, a familiar voice floated through Jiang Chen's ears just as he was about to start eating.

"Hello Mr. Jiang, we meet again."