America: My Time

Chapter 114 Reception
Chapter 114 Cocktail Party

“Father, I don’t want to make a difficult decision either. I hope you can tell Grandpa that the family should not do anything to make things difficult for me. If anyone crosses my bottom line, don’t blame me for a fierce counterattack. I don’t want any conflict with the family, but the premise is that they don’t cross my bottom line.”

"Don't worry, your grandfather will handle it. No one will break the family rules. They can't afford the consequences of breaking the rules. At most, they'll just give them a talking-to. Your mother and I have been through similar situations before, so it's nothing serious. You can rest assured!" Compared to John's worries, Smith didn't care. He had already experienced similar situations before!
"That's for the best. It saves face for both of us and prevents us from becoming enemies, which would be bad for everyone!"

John was well aware of the many rules and regulations of large families, and he also knew how fierce the power struggles within them could be. It was perfectly normal for someone to have designs on him. He could accept a lecture, as the older generation often held some stubborn beliefs. However, he could not accept it if they crossed his bottom line, interfered with his freedom, or even dictated his life!

At this moment, Naoko also felt uneasy. Knowing John's background and the strictness of the family's rules, she worried that her presence might cause John unnecessary trouble and hinder his development. In Japan, family interests trump everything; many people are willing to sacrifice everything for their family.

However, Naoko was unaware that this was the United States. While large families had many rules and restrictions, these weren't absolute. Furthermore, she didn't know John well enough to know he had renounced his inheritance rights, and the family had no reason to interfere with his freedom. Most importantly, John's parents were open-minded and wouldn't interfere with his choices, much less prevent her from seeing him.

In John's parents' minds, the fact that Naoko had been brought home by John was already a clear statement, and there was no need to interfere. Moreover, in their view, John was young and impetuous, and there was no need to discuss such matters under these circumstances. Time was the best option!

A white Bentley slowly pulled up in front of the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco. John and Naoko got out of the car and asked the guards at the gate, "Comrades, is this the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco?"

This was just a pointless remark; the consulate general had a sign hanging there, and John could only use such words to defuse his awkwardness, given his Western appearance and the fact that it was a Chinese and overseas Chinese reception. Fortunately, John had Naoko by his side; although she was Japanese, no one knew her identity until she spoke.

For the gatekeeper, although he knew that the young man in front of him was talking nonsense and did not look Chinese, it didn't matter. He was not afraid of the young man talking nonsense, but he was afraid that the young man would not come. Moreover, John's accent was very pure and he could not tell that he was a foreigner at all. If you did not look at his face, he could definitely fool everyone!

"Sir/Madam, are you here for today's cocktail party?"

“Yes, this is our invitation.” John said, handing over the invitation his mother had given him.

Having confirmed John's identity, the doorman said cheerfully, "Mr. John, have a great time tonight!" and gestured for him to enter.

"Thank you!" John smiled and nodded, then walked into the consulate general with Naoko.

"This...is his name John? If it weren't for his accent, it would be hard to imagine he's a foreigner. It's a pity he's only here in place of his parents!" The gatekeeper sighed softly as he watched John slowly walk in.

“How can you say that? Even if you’re coming on behalf of your parents, it’s still a rare opportunity. It’s normal for them to have some thoughts about the country’s situation, since they don’t understand it!” “Mr. John, hello! I’m Wang Fei, an officer from the Consulate General in San Francisco. Welcome to our office.”

John was surprised when he heard someone call his name; he was surprised that someone here knew him!
Wang Fei looked at the somewhat surprised young man before him, and was equally surprised. Although this guy was very young, his demeanor was extraordinary, and he was a genuine billionaire. Wang Fei was just a little surprised that John would be at today's party!

Fortunately, John reacted quickly. After a brief moment of surprise, he immediately understood: "Oh, it's Mr. Wang. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry, I was a little flustered when I suddenly heard someone call my name!"

Wang Fei suddenly realized why the other party had suddenly shown a surprised expression. It was indeed unexpected to have one's identity suddenly exposed here!
Upon entering the venue, perhaps because John and Naoko were so young, everyone assumed they were representing their elders and subconsciously assigned them identities, so they ignored them. In fact, no one could even discern John's true identity, and for a long time, no one approached him to chat.

John wasn't angry about the situation; on the contrary, he was quite amused. He simply didn't have anything in common with these arrogant men in their forties and fifties who thought they were so great. Sitting in the corner, John and Naoko were even less noticeable, making it easy to ignore them.

"Doesn't it feel a bit deserted and unbelievable?" John said with a calm smile, looking at Naoko's surprised expression.

Naoko nodded slightly and said, "It is indeed somewhat unbelievable that so many people do not seem to want to communicate with us. It's truly hard to believe!"

"Hahaha! That's normal. In their eyes, we're just juniors, juniors who came in place of our parents. We don't have anything in common with them, and talking to us is a waste of time for them. We offer them no benefit whatsoever, so naturally they'll selectively ignore us!"

"No way, didn't anyone recognize you?" Naoko was quite surprised. Although she didn't know much about John's strength, the reaction of the Japanese conglomerates and Sony's attitude showed just how powerful John was. If John were just a gaming tycoon, it would be normal for these people not to recognize him; they weren't in the same industry, so there was naturally no opportunity for them to know. But as a media mogul, it was impossible for no one to recognize John. Why didn't these people react at all?

"Don't be surprised, this is normal. In their minds, young people like us are just here to go through the motions and are not worth paying attention to, so it's only natural that they ignore our existence and don't recognize me!" John didn't care about these people; he wasn't here today because of them!
Just as John and Naoko were whispering to each other, a liaison officer approached John and whispered to him that the Consul General wanted to visit them.

The Consul General was coming to visit him? This made John feel a little embarrassed. After all, he was a junior, how could he allow an elder to visit him!
"Mr. John, and this lady, I'm sorry to bother you!" The Consul General was very enthusiastic, which surprised John. He was a junior and did not deserve such a grand gesture!
John immediately stood up to return the greeting. At this moment, the Consul General carefully took a pot of tea from the staff behind him and said, "Mr. John, this is a Da Hong Pao tea specially approved by the Chief for our consulate to entertain distinguished guests. Please try it and see how it tastes!"

"Da Hong Pao? From the five mother trees?" John's eyes lit up when he heard the name. Looking at the Consul General's cautious expression, his gaze became even brighter. This pot of tea was no ordinary tea; it wasn't something you could just drink because you had money!

"Mr. John also knows about the five Da Hong Pao mother trees?" The Consul General was also very pleased. Gifts should always be given to those who appreciate their value, otherwise it would be like casting pearls before swine. Since John knows about the five Da Hong Pao mother trees, he naturally knows how precious Da Hong Pao is and has a deep understanding of Chinese culture, which can be seen from his accent.

Among the younger generation of Chinese and overseas Chinese, not many speak Mandarin as fluently as John. It would be difficult to speak Mandarin so fluently without a deep understanding of Chinese culture, let alone know about the existence of the Da Hong Pao mother tree!
Although it's just a pot of tea, different people can have different feelings. Some people can see many things from the conversation over this pot of tea, and also understand how much John identifies with China!
While John may be young, the Consul General would not underestimate him in the slightest. A billionaire so young is definitely not as simple as he appears. Not to mention, John is also a media mogul, controlling the incredibly important media force that is NBC!
(End of this chapter)