59: Chapter 59 Disparity in Status
Fearing he might be exposed, Chen Hao turned and spoke to the boss who had come to his rescue.
"Thank you, but my friends are here. We'll head in together, so I won't trouble you any further."
The boss said with a chuckle.
"It was nothing, President Chen. You're far too polite."
Chen Hao then said to Sun Nana,
"You guys go on in first. I'm going to go meet a few local friends."
"Mm."
Sun Nana also saw the three great beauties—one was stunning, one had long legs, and one was well-endowed. Sure enough, Chen Hao was surrounded by a cloud of beauties.
In contrast, the most jealous person present turned out to be Lin Xiaomeng. Seeing Chen Hao walk toward the three goddesses, her jealousy almost became palpable.
"Scumbag! We just broke up, and he's already hooked up with three vixens!"
Wang Liguo was also feeling stifled. Seeing Chen Hao chatting and laughing with three top-tier beauties, he grew angrier the more he watched. He had intended to disgust Chen Hao, but he hadn't expected to end up disgusting himself.
"What are you looking at? Get inside already! Let's go!"
Wang Liguo gave the order, and everyone from the company, including Sun Nana, had no choice but to enter the venue first.
Outside the flow of people entering the venue,
Chen Hao met up with the three women. Qian Zhaodi said with a laugh,
"President Chen, I've brought your girlfriend here safe and sound."
Chen Hao smiled and looked back. Fortunately, Sun Nana had already entered the venue's main doors, so his cover wouldn't be blown just yet.
"Those people are former colleagues from my company. We have business to coordinate today, so I might need to trouble you, Factory Director Qian, to continue looking after her."
"No problem. I heard about it from Menglu as well."
Zhang Menglu stepped forward and took Chen Hao's arm, asking cautiously,
"They didn't make things difficult for you, did they?"
"It's fine. I'm being paid to do a job; it doesn't matter even if they make things difficult."
Qian Zhaodi said with her hands on her hips,
"Now that you're on my turf, I won't let you be bullied. Just wait!"
With that, she took out her phone and called Zhuang Hua.
"Hey gorgeous, we're here to support you. Unfortunately, I don't have an invitation, so why don't you come out and pick me up?"
Before long, Zhuang Hua came running out. She headed straight for Chen Hao, her face beaming with a radiant smile.
"President Chen, you've come too! Your presence truly brings honor to our conference."
After some pleasantries, Zhuang Hua personally led the way, guiding Chen Hao and the three women into the venue.
The hall was packed with people. A giant LED screen was playing a promotional video, and copies of the conference agenda were on the surrounding tables.
Zhuang Hua personally handed a copy of the agenda to Chen Hao and the others.
"Zhao Di, the speeches start at ten, so I won't be able to look after you. President Chen, would you do me the honor of coming with me? I'd like to introduce you to a few people."
"Lead the way."
And so, Chen Hao and Zhuang Hua left alone and entered the staff lounge area of the venue.
The room was full of people—some were muttering to themselves, reciting speeches; some were adjusting PPTs; others were coordinating the agenda. Everyone was making final preparations for the start of the conference.
*Clap, clap, clap.*
Zhuang Hua clapped her hands first.
"Quiet down, everyone. Let me introduce you. This is Professor Chen's grandson, Chen Hao."
Everyone there had heard of Chen Hao's name. As the star pupil of a famous teacher and a descendant of a prestigious family, he naturally drew everyone's attention.
A man wearing glasses approached them. He had a serious look, wearing a suit and tie, and the gaze behind his lenses revealed a sense of shrewdness and competence.
"Hello. I've heard a lot about you."
As he shook hands with Chen Hao, Zhuang Hua explained,
"This is my boyfriend, Liu Jiannan. He was my university classmate."
"Hello, hello."
While shaking hands with Liu Jiannan, Chen Hao was grumbling inwardly.
Zhuang Hua already has a boyfriend, so why was she able to be bound? The system wouldn't want me to steal someone's girl, would it?
Then again, after binding with the system, the requirement was to exchange goddess tokens for points. It didn't necessarily mean he had to steal her away. However, having to increase her favorability and the fact that Zhuang Hua's token was her underwear forced Chen Hao to overthink things.
"Jiannan, help me get a VIP pass."
Liu Jiannan grabbed a lanyard and handed it to Chen Hao with a serious expression.
"We couldn't ask for more than to have President Chen as our consultant. With this VIP pass, you'll have unimpeded access throughout the venue. Furthermore, your seat is in the front row, where you'll be sitting alongside the big shots."
"Thank you."
Chen Hao politely accepted the lanyard and, after putting it around his neck, asked Zhuang Hua,
"Are there any economics professors attending the conference today? I'd like to get to know them."
"There are many. I'll take you to the hall and introduce you."
Zhuang Hua personally led the way through the staff passage and entered via a side door, taking Chen Hao into the main conference hall.
It had to be said that the conference hall was very grand. A massive LED screen stood right at the front, and the venue had over a thousand seats. The solemn atmosphere gave one the impression of attending a national-level conference.
Attendees were also entering one after another. Except for the central VIP area, they were taking their seats in the surrounding sections.
Although Jiangcheng Startup Company was a listed company, it didn't amount to much in this venue. Their seating area was quite far back, a long distance from the front row.
After everyone was seated, they whispered in small groups, discussing how grand, formal, and solemn the conference was.
The two HR staff sat together, and a colleague whispered to Lin Xiaomeng,
"I heard the company's compensation to Chen Hao totaled 1.68 million."
Lin Xiaomeng said irritably,
"I processed the transfer myself, so of course I know."
"I don't think there was any need for you and Chen Hao to break up."
Lin Xiaomeng retorted,
"You don't understand. Right after we broke up, Chen Hao took back all the luxury goods he'd bought me, not leaving a single item behind. I don't regret breaking up with such a stingy man one bit."
"Hey, look, is that person Chen Hao?"
Looking where she pointed, she saw Chen Hao in the front row of the venue. A similarly beautiful woman was leading him as he chatted and laughed among a group of white-haired old men.
"It seems Chen Hao has quite a good relationship with those old men."
Lin Xiaomeng said sarcastically and irritably,
"That's the only skill he has—brown-nosing."
She said that, but in reality, she was quite jealous. After all, having the chance to get close to big shots was an opportunity ordinary people wouldn't have, even if it meant brown-nosing.
President Ma and Vice President Wang also saw Chen Hao chatting and laughing in the front row. Wang Liguo said sarcastically,
"Look at his smug, 'petty man in power' look. People who don't know better would think he's some kind of big shot."
Ma Botao didn't say anything. He stood up and walked toward the front row, hoping to use his past relationship with Chen Hao to cozy up to those old economics professors.
If he could get some guidance from these people, his business would surely grow larger and larger.
But while Ma Botao's plan was good, as soon as he approached the VIP area, he was blocked by the staff.
"Excuse me, sir, you cannot approach the VIP area. Please take a seat in another section."
Confused, Ma Botao pointed at Chen Hao and asked,
"Why can he sit in the VIP area?"
The staff member looked back and explained,
"Because he is a VIP. Didn't you see the VIP pass around his neck?"
"Who?!"
Chen Hao is a VIP!
Ma Botao was stunned. Chen Hao could actually become a VIP at a conference like this? Even he didn't have such treatment. On what basis could a common employee like Chen Hao become a VIP?