Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
On the morning of the next day, Chen Jin combed his sideburns and slicked his hair back in the typical hairstyle of a businessman. Decked out in a high-end tailor-made western suit, he left villa no.8 with a handsome appearance. A Bentley Versailles 65 led the way while he sat in the Knight XV Bulletproof SUV that was behind the Bentley. He had brought along all five of his bodyguards. Under the worshipful gaze of the woman at the villa’s entrance, the vehicles sped towards Wuzhen, which was more than a hundred kilometers away.
In the comfortable and luxurious sedan, Chen Jin loosened the tie at his neck and texted Brother Lei, “On the way. I’ll be there in two hours at the latest.”
“Boss, your noodles.” Still wearing his sunglasses, the bodyguard in the front seat passed the steaming Master Kang cup noodles to Chen Jin.
Chen Jin took the noodles and began slurping them down with a spoon. He had expended a lot of energy last night. He did not hire a chef for the villa either. Soon after setting off, his stomach started growling, hence he had to stop the car and get a bodyguard to buy some cup noodles from the convenience store. The noodles cooked using the hot water in the car. Perhaps it was because he had not eaten this kind of food in a long time, but he had a really good appetite. In a few moments, the wonderful scent of cup noodles permeated the air.
The annual World Internet Conference, inaugurated in 20X4, was to be held in Z country’s Wuzhen this year. Every year, it was held between November to December. This was the seventh conference. It was not only a grand meeting for the internet sector in Z country, but it was also a grand event for the international internet sector. The attention that it would receive from media all over the world was multiplied.
Chen Jin had decided to participate in this year’s World Internet Conference after receiving a warm invitation from the organizer, as well as the many urgings from Brother Lei. He wanted to join in the fun and feel like he was alive too. Actually, Chen Jin had received an invitation card from the organizer for last year’s event, too. However, he was busy at that time and so he replied that he was not free to participate in the event.
This year, the organizer starting calling to inquire about his attendance in September. It was two months in advance, and they were asking if his schedule would allow him to attend the World Internet Conference this year. They even expressed in a euphemistic way that the organizer was willing to make slight adjustments to the date of the conference to accommodate his schedule so that he could attend the event.
As the organizer was so sincere in compromising, it would be rude to reject him. Chen Jin agreed on the spot that he would go and that the organizer did not have to adjust the date of the conference.
“That’s great.” The other party was extremely happy.
…
The scenery outside the car flew past. After two hours, he arrived in Wuzhen. This little town was one of the first batches of historical and cultural towns. It was highly attractive and well-known. The township had an outstandingly beautiful environment and was a national 5A-grade scenic area with the reputation of being “the last water village in Z country.” The history of civilization in the area stretched back to more than 7,000 years ago, and the town itself had a history that spanned 1,300 years. It was a classic ancient water town in the Jiangnan region. It was also called, “the land of milk and honey; the home of silks.”
It was a popular tourism town with 27 square meters of ancient architecture, more than 9,000 meters of rivers, and 72 ancient bridges; the average number of rivers and ancient bridges in the town was the most in Z country. In addition, the town had the Jiangnan 100 Bed Museum, Jiangnan Folk Museum, Jiangnan Wood Carving Exhibition Hall, Yuliangliang Coin Hall, Muxin Art Museum, etc; a total of more than ten museums. One could see that this town had a rich cultural heritage.
Ever since the first World Internet Conference in 20X4 was held in Wuzhen, the town had become the long-term default venue for the event. It could be said that this town was an important town in the technological circle. The blend of traditional culture and modern technology in this ancient town lent a unique charm to this place. In addition, the local food of Wuzhen was quite famous. The banquets of the internet VIPs in attendance provided great relish for the vast numbers of netizens.
Honestly, Chen Jin had been wanting to visit this highly interesting location for some time.
…
In the International Internet Exhibition and Convention Center surrounded by the water village, the seventh World Internet Conference was about to begin. However, the President of Da Mi Company, Lei Xiao Jun, was waiting anxiously at the parking lot outside the venue. He would glance at the time on his watch repeatedly, and crane his neck as he looked around. “The opening ceremony is about to begin, why is he still not here? Could he be in a traffic jam? Or is it because of some other reasons? Two hours is enough for him to come from Shang Hai. Brother Chen, you better not stand me up.”
As he was anxiously muttering to himself, two attention-grabbing high-end sedans turned a corner. After receiving instructions from the staff, they drove into the parking lot. The Knight XV at the back was especially attention-grabbing. It was big, domineering, and aggressive, yet looked stable as a mountain with its muscular and powerful vibe. The image also captured Lei Xiao Jun’s attention. When he saw a young man wearing a pair of sunglasses stepping out of the Knight XV, his face broke out in a smile.
“Brother Chen!” He shouted and ran with quick, small steps. His bodyguards followed suit, running quickly in small steps. The group of them attracted some attention from the media present.
“Brother Lei.” Chen Jin recognized the man running at the front of the group. He had a side-part hairstyle and a doll-like smile… Who could that be but Brother Lei?
“Boss?” The bodyguard beside Chen Jin blocked his way with an alarmed look.
“He’s a good friend of mine; he’s not a threat.” Chen Jin asked his bodyguard to stand aside and opened his arms. Taking a few steps forwards, he hugged the man running at him. “Brother Lei, pleased to meet you.”
“Hahahaha!” Lei Xiao Jun laughed heartily. “Brother Chen, we’ve known each other for more than a year. I’ve said that I wanted to meet you many times, but today is the first day that I can finally do so. Haha, pleased to meet you too!”
The two embraced again as they patted each other’s shoulders. Their bromance filled the scene at the parking lot. This shot was captured by a journalist, who came up with an explosive headline “Shocking; Brother Lei in a passionate embrace with a young man.”
Chen Jin and Brother Lei exchanged greetings. Chen Jin asked with concern, “Brother Lei, Da Mi has been heavily fined by the European Union. And then it was again fined for 500 million by the Merica National Security Agency. You suffered great losses. The news floating online was that you had ‘disappeared’ for two months and were heavily depressed. This can’t be true. It’s just a trivial fine, isn’t it? It’s not worth getting depressed about.”
Shaking his head, Lei Xiao Jun forced a smile. “It was a near thing. The netizens cursed me so much that I didn’t even dare to go out. I’m only coming out now that the storm is over for some relaxation. Ah, Brother Chen, please don’t talk about these unhappy matters anymore.”
“I’ll stop talking about it. Brother Lei, it’s good that you’re not depressed. That problem is hard to cure.”
Lei Xiao Jun looked at his watch, which told him that it was 9:58am. Immediately grabbing Chen Jin’s sleeve, he said, “The opening ceremony will start in two minutes. Let’s stop talking. We’ll go into the convention center first.”
“Ok.” Chen Jin took off his sunglasses and windbreaker, passing them to his bodyguards. He pulled out the invitation from his pocket and walked towards the entrance of the center.
“Quickly!” Perhaps worrying that they were late, Brother Lei began dragging him into a run.
Chen Jin shook his head helplessly. No wonder Brother Lei was the top student in his university. With his punctuality, he was much better than Chen Jin, who went to classes just to clock in his attendance. However, when he entered the grand meeting hall of the convention center, Chen Jin finally understood why Brother Lei dare not be late.
Simply scanning the meeting hall, he saw that it was populated with the internet business VIPs, both domestic and overseas! Jie Kema from Ali Corporation. Xiao Mage from Teng Xun Coporation. Li Yanhong from Baidu. Liu Qiangxi from Jingxi Mall. There were also Shi Lei from Wangyi Group, Lu Yiming who appeared in today’s headlines, and Huang Qiang, the creator of Laiping Duo. Many foreign faces were present too. They could be very famous, even though Chen Jin was not familiar with them.
In short, all the big shots had gathered in this meeting hall.
“I hereby announce the official opening of the seventh World Internet Conference!” However, when the organizer spokesperson announced the opening ceremony from the rostrum, no applause could be heard from the audience. All eyes of the VIPs were uniformly set on the entranceway. Some of the VIPs sitting at the back of the hall even stood up.
In an instant, all eyes were focused on Chen Jin and Brother Lei, who were signing in their attendance.