Chapter 608: Striking Acquaintances

The night sky, dark and low, was dotted with stars.

An orange glow from the lamp in front coated the green grass of the lawn in a dim yellow.

Having gulped down too much at the party, Jiang Qin felt hollow, so he asked Mrs. Wu to make him some noodles.

Since yesterday afternoon, when his uncle summoned him to the study for a private talk about meeting Feng Shihua, his aunt has showered him with affection to the extent he couldn’t even enter the master bedroom and was now relegated to the study.

The little rich girl was commandeered by the aunt for a sleepover, hauled off for a facial mask at ten.

Jiang Qin couldn’t comprehend why Feng Nanshu, with her egg-like face, still needed a facial mask.

He slurped noodles while casually scrolling through his phone, checking the agenda for tomorrow’s conference.

Mr. Ma from Alibaba, a skilled speaker, was there tomorrow; they had a session planned where they needed to respond in kind, and he couldn’t afford to be outdone.

“Son-in-law, do you want some garlic?”

“No thanks, Mrs. Wu. It’s late and garlic upsets my stomach. You should get some rest.”

“I’ll sleep after you’re done.”

“Don’t bother, I’m no aristocrat needing such fuss. I’ll wash my bowl when I’m done. You go rest.”

Jiang Qin slurped another bite of noodles: “As a kid, I’d hide under the covers with a flashlight to read comics. If I got hungry, I’d sneak out for food and clean up so well, even my savvy mom never noticed.”

Mrs. Wu smiled warmly at this and then took off her apron to head to the small building across.

She always felt the young mistress was lucky to have a son-in-law like him, but after these few days, she started to feel even more fortunate that the young mistress had him.

Jiang Qin quickly finished his midnight snack, cleaned his bowl, and headed back to the living room for a short break before bed. Yet, his eyes wandered to the enrollment brochure from Red Maple Leaf International Kindergarten on the coffee table.

Once, twice, three times he glanced.

Rubbing his hands on his knees, he scanned the living room, figuring no one was coming, he casually picked it up.

The kindergarten had impressive teaching credentials, and the qualifications of the teachers were notably high.

The scenery within the grounds was pleasant too, and it boasted comprehensive facilities.

But just as the little rich girl had said, the extracurricular activities seemed overwhelmingly excessive.

Music, art, English, programming, piano…

My goodness, wouldn’t all this wear out Jiang Ainan too much?

Frowning, Jiang Qin tossed the brochure back onto the coffee table, unwilling to accept it.

The little rich girl was taken away from her aunt’s house at eight; maybe this was the kind of life she’d been leading.

Music, art, piano, and Go were bearable, but judo and horse riding too?

It was Feng Nanshu’s own unhappiness that made her so sensitive about these extracurricular plans; she didn’t want Jiang Ainan to live this kind of life.

With this thought, he couldn’t help but imagine a scene.

He and Feng Nanshu squatting on the floor, watching a toddling cute kid with uneven teeth, babbling ‘Daddy, Mummy’.

“Damn, that’s thrilling! Totally different from calling Guo Zihang a godfather. Amazing!”

“No more thoughts, time to sleep!”

Stimulated to the point his scalp tingled, Jiang Qin shot up from the couch and went upstairs, only to find Feng Nanshu.

She was sitting on a corridor couch, draped in a grey silk nightgown that highlighted her figure due to its softness, her bare feet wriggling on the couch.

Seeing Jiang Qin ascend, the little rich girl softly bid him goodnight.

Jiang Qin reciprocated and headed into his room, yet noticed the little rich girl watching him, without moving to leave.

After a thought, Jiang Qin stepped back out from the guest room, bent down, and kissed her passionately until her toes curled, then he let go.

The kissed little rich girl staggered back to her aunt’s room flush-faced and collapsed onto the bed as if drunk.

Qin Jingqiu, having just done her facial, was applying serum at the vanity when she saw her niece looking flushed as if from bad liquor, looking puzzled.

“What’s wrong, Nanshu? Your cheeks are so red. Do you have a fever?”

“It was… Jiang Qin’s kiss…”

“You… why would you say that out loud?”

“It was Jiang Qin’s kiss…”

Feng Nanshu rolled around on the aunт’s bed mumbling about Jiang Qin’s kiss.

Seeing this, Qin Jingqiu couldn’t help but smile, though her expression soon turned to one of pity.

She felt incredibly lucky that her niece met Jiang Qin, who had developed the prowess to rival the Feng Corporation in just two years—a feat no one anticipated.

She often wished for Feng Nanshu to marry an ordinary man, essentially to avoid.

Avoid Yuan’s unfeeling father and that woman Duan Ying, and live peacefully as an ordinary person.

Given Nanshu’s temperament, she wouldn’t dare compete, especially not against Duan Ying’s cunning.

But now things were different. Jiang Qin would never let her suffer again; meeting Feng Shihua and Duan Ying might actually be a good thing.

Some things can’t be avoided. Qin Jingqiu hoped her niece could return a thousand folds the control and harm she endured. Jiang Qin might just make it possible.

“Nanshu, time to sleep.”

“Ow, I’m going to say goodnight to Jiang Qin.”

“Didn’t you just do that?”

“One more time.”

“…”

The next day, under a clear sunny sky, the Internet Conference officially commenced.

After breakfast with the little rich girl, Jiang Qin left the Xiangti Villa to attend the event, bearing the organizer-provided badge “Youth Entrepreneur, Group-Buy CEO,” stepping into the venue.

The very front row was reserved for important officials from the government, the second for Mr. Ma, Mr. Ma, and CEOs of the three major telecom operators, pillars of the internet industry.

Jiang Qin sat in the third row, alongside new industry figures like Lei Jun, Liu Qiangdong, and Ding Lei.

Feng Shihua, a backer, was in the sixth row of the west section; his nephew Duan Wenzhao had crashed the party the previous night but wasn’t eligible for the formal conference.

Cameras panned over the first three rows and the images were live-streamed to the large screen at the front.

When the camera caught Jiang Qin, whispers filled the hall.

Sitting in the middle to front rows were titans of the internet commerce sector, and Jiang Qin’s youth among them shone particularly bright.

At that moment, from the sixth row in the west, Feng Shihua couldn’t help but look over.

Though from a different sector, in terms of asset size, Group-Buy was still behind the Feng Corporation.

But in terms of resources and social status, Group-Buy far outshined Feng Corporation.

“Funny, Mr. Jiang’s about the age of my daughter.”

Feng Shihua mused, then the conference-opening music played.

The Internet Conference, a formal, official event, started with leaders discussing industry growth and external projections, like internet infrastructure plans and security regulations.

These were tired topics, but good enough for opening remarks.

The climax of the event was the announcement of 4G technology’s commercialization.

Rumored in the industry, today it was officially confirmed, heralding a new storm of internet development.

In 2008, 3G went commercial, spurring smartphone proliferation and countless companies pivoted to mobile internet.

In just four years, the 3G era had ended, and 4G’s arrival heralded changes likely no less significant than those brought by 3G.

Listening, Feng Shihua squinted, considering the opportunities this transformation could bring to Hurricane Investment.

The future was uncertain, how the internet would evolve, if the established giants could maintain their dominance in the 4G era, what the new opportunities and industry shifts might be, nobody in the hall, not even the metaphorical dogs with extrasensory perks, could predict.

Following the 4G announcement, the mobile company’s CEO took the stage, outlining the development strategy for 4G commercialization and plans to increase data speeds while reducing costs.

Then it was Mr. Ma’s turn, discussing innovation and the future in information technology.

Jiang Qin followed, representing the youngest in the field of internet commerce, speaking on modern entrepreneurship and the aspirations and goals entrepreneurs should embrace.

After his speech, under the host’s direction, Jiang Qin and Mr. Ma engaged in a stage dialogue.

Throughout, Jiang Qin shed any casual demeanor, presenting as a serious, driven young businessman.

The little rich girl, had she been there, might have swooned.

Because at that moment, Jiang Qin, in his sharp suit, exuded confidence and strength, holding his own against Mr. Ma and even appearing more spirited.

His charisma radiated from within; though his voice wasn’t rousing, each word resounded with gravity.

“I never touch money. I have no interest in it.”

“Group-Buy was founded to make no business too difficult to conduct in this world.”

“My biggest regret is actually founding Group-Buy. I originally just wanted to run a small business.”

“If to start over? Well, I would choose to be a rural teacher, to educate, to be a great engineer of the human spirit.”

As Jiang Qin spoke candidly to the camera, Mr. Ma, who had been casually crossing his legs, paused then squinted, his mind filled with questions.