Chapter 280 Steven
Let’s not talk about the fact that Song Yuanchao contacted the associate professor of Tongji University through Professor Yao to renovate the villa he had just purchased. A few days later, at the Capital Airport, Zhao Minglei and Wang Juan came to the airport exit together, holding a sign with people’s names on it, and stood there looking forward to it.
The Capital Airport was officially opened on New Year's Day last year. The newly built airport is very large, and the 61,580-square-meter Terminal 1 is a rare new-style terminal in this era.
At the exit of the international flight, Zhao Minglei stood on tiptoe and looked inside. Wang Juan beside him was dressed particularly beautifully today. Not only did she have her hair permed, she also put on makeup. With her trendy and bright clothes, she stood out in the crowd like a bright peacock.
"Why hasn't he come out yet?" After waiting for nearly half an hour, Wang Juan asked impatiently.
"It should be soon. I just asked the staff and they are saying that the plane from Hong Kong has landed and is ready to disembark passengers. It's about time now. I guess it's because they need to go through customs and pick up their luggage?" Zhao Minglei replied. In fact, he only had a vague idea about this. Although he was born in a wealthy family, Zhao Minglei had never been on a plane in his life, let alone an international flight.
Everything he told Wang Juan was what he had just learned from the staff, and he was explaining it now in order to show off in front of Wang Juan.
"What a hassle..." Wang Juan pouted, looking a little impatient. They came out early in the morning and it took them a long time to get from the city to the airport. In addition, since it was their first time here, they were afraid of delays, so they came earlier on purpose. Now their feet are a little sore after waiting for so long.
"Be patient, it's worth it no matter how hard it is to wait for the God of Wealth." Zhao Minglei comforted Wang Juan. Seeing that she was still unhappy, he looked around and saw that no one was paying attention. Zhao Minglei leaned close to Wang Juan's ear and whispered something. Wang Juan burst out laughing and then rolled her eyes at Zhao Minglei, but the smile on her lips did not fade.
Since the last time they had a thorough and frank discussion, the relationship between Zhao Minglei and Wang Juan has entered an extremely delicate state. These days, the man and the woman are inseparable, of course, this is private, in front of outsiders they still maintain their original appearance, but sometimes they can't help but show some inadvertent little actions that only the two of them know.
A few minutes later, a group of walking out. Zhao Minglei hurriedly reminded Wang Juan, and at the same time raised the sign in his hand high, looking around the crowd coming out, trying to find the person he was going to pick up today.
Unfortunately, although Zhao Minglei had made many phone calls, he had no idea what the other party looked like. He could only hope that the other party would see the sign he was holding and the content on it when he came out.
A few minutes later, as the crowd gradually thinned out, Zhao Minglei became anxious. Did the other party not notice him? Or did they miss the message on his sign? If they missed it, how could he contact the other party?
Just when Zhao Minglei was secretly anxious, a strange female voice suddenly sounded to his left.
"Hello, Mr. Zhao? Zhao Minglei?"
Turning his head in the direction of the voice, Zhao Minglei saw a beautiful, tall young woman standing on his left. The woman was wearing a women's suit with a barrel skirt of the same color underneath. The color of the clothes was light and the fabric was very exquisite. She had a brooch on her chest. The brooch was in the shape of a rose. The petals of the rose were made of gems, inlaid with gems of several different colors, shining under the light.
The woman's hair was curled into big waves and she wore light makeup. The color of her lipstick was not the blood red that Wang Juan used, as if she had eaten a child, but a light red with a pearly sheen that made her look mouth-watering.
In addition, the woman was wearing a pair of large but beautiful and trendy sunglasses. While speaking, she took off the sunglasses with her slender hands and looked at Zhao Minglei with her unforgettable and expressive eyes.
Compared with this woman who was dressed elegantly and fashionably and exuded an elegance different from that of people in the mainland, the gorgeously dressed Wang Juan next to her was almost overshadowed by an ugly duckling.
He was stunned for a moment, until the woman frowned slightly, as if she was unhappy that Zhao Minglei did not answer her question, Zhao Minglei finally reacted and said hurriedly: "Yes, yes, yes, I am Zhao Minglei, and you are...?"
"Hello, Mr. Zhao, I'm Rose, Mr. Steven's Secretary..."
The other party's answer made Zhao Minglei's brain freeze instantly. Fortunately, he was a college student at Beijing University and knew a little English. After recalling the content, he realized that the woman's name was Ruth, and she was the secretary of Mr. Steven whom he was waiting for.
"Hello, hello, Miss Ruth, has Mr. Steven arrived? Where is he?" Zhao Minglei hurriedly extended his hand to the other party with the intention of shaking hands.
However, Ruth did not respond with the same gesture, but slightly avoided it , which made Zhao Minglei, who extended his hand, feel a little embarrassed. At this time, he remembered what his professor at school had said about foreign etiquette. It is very impolite for a man to extend his hand to shake hands with a lady. Unless the lady on the other hand extends her hand, a man cannot do so. Moreover, even if the lady extends her hand, the man cannot use the usual way of shaking hands. The most he can do is to touch it lightly and then let go to show respect for the lady.
Zhao Minglei had heard of these etiquettes and remembered them, but he had forgotten them just now. This made Zhao Minglei at a loss as to what to do for a moment.
Fortunately, Ruth didn't pay too much attention to it. She leaned aside to avoid him and pointed in a direction, "Mr. Steven is here."
Looking in the direction of Ruth's finger, Zhao Minglei saw a short, fat, and extraordinary man in his fifties wearing a well-tailored suit and tie. He was talking to a middle-aged man who was also wearing a suit and glasses. Behind Steven stood a big foreigner with blond hair and a high nose bridge. The foreigner was wearing a black suit, a black tie, and black sunglasses. He was completely black.
"Is that older man Mr. Steven?" Zhao Minglei asked Ruth for confirmation.
Ruth nodded: "Mr. Steven and Mr. Huo were chatting about something. They happened to meet at the airport. They are old friends for many years, so please wait for a moment, Mr. Zhao."
"Okay, okay, may I know who this Mr. Huo is..." Zhao Minglei nodded repeatedly and asked curiously.
Ruth looked at Zhao Minglei with a strange look, as if she was surprised that Zhao Minglei didn't know Mr. Huo. However, the highly educated Ruth didn't say much. She just said a name lightly and told Zhao Minglei that this Mr. Huo was the eldest son of the Huo family.
When Zhao Minglei heard this name, his pupils suddenly contracted.
The Hong Kong Huo family is very famous in Hong Kong. Although not many people in the mainland know about them, and they are not as famous as Prince Sihanouk and Princess Monique who are in the news every other day, they are not inferior in some ways.
As a child of a wealthy family, Zhao Minglei had heard of the Huo family. He did not expect that Mr. Steven actually knew Mr. Huo and they looked like old friends. Zhao Minglei was surprised and had more expectations for this meeting with Mr. Steven.
Zhao Minglei and the other three quietly waited for the conversation between the two people not far away, and did not go up to disturb them. At this time, Wang Juan had the opportunity to introduce herself, and Ruth only responded to Wang Juan's introduction with a faint smile, and did not say anything to Wang Juan.
Facing Ruth's extraordinary temperament and superior posture, Wang Juan felt a little indignant. But compared with Ruth, she was far inferior to her in terms of dressing and other aspects. She looked extraordinary just standing there, while Wang Juan, who originally felt good standing next to Ruth, felt like a country girl in front of a rich lady.
"This is Hong Kong people, how can they dress like this? They dress so beautifully and have such a good temperament. This lipstick is so nice, I wonder where I can buy it. And this brooch is so beautiful, I must go to Wangfujing and take a good look around to see if there is anything similar and buy one..."
Although she felt uncomfortable, Wang Juan still secretly looked at the other person's clothes and appearance. As the saying goes, there is no harm . Wang Juan now finally understood the truth of this sentence. At this moment, Wang Juan strengthened her determination to get along well with Ruth and learn from her.
After a while, as Mr. Steven and Mr. Huo finished their conversation, they shook hands and said goodbye. Mr. Huo walked towards the airport boarding gate, while Mr. Steven turned around, looked in Zhao Minglei's direction, and then strode over with a smile.
"Mr. Zhao, I'm sorry. I was delayed by some odd things. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting..." Mr. Steven 's Mandarin had a strong Hong Kong accent, but Zhao Minglei could understand it. After all, he and Mr. Steven had communicated on the phone many times and he was used to the other's speaking habits and tone.
Zhao Minglei walked quickly forward, and before he reached the other person, he took the initiative to stretch out his hands and bent his waist twenty-five degrees towards Mr. Steven.
"It's okay, it's okay. It's lucky to run into someone I know at the airport. Besides, we don't have anything to do, so it's okay to wait a little longer."
After stopping, Mr. Steven smiled and extended his hand to shake hands with Zhao Minglei. The two exchanged a few pleasantries. After that, Mr. Steven looked , who also extended her hand to introduce herself. When he learned that Wang Juan was Zhao Minglei's partner, Mr. Steven was very enthusiastic. He shook Wang Juan's hand and praised her beauty with a smile. He also said that there were not many beautiful girls like Wang Juan in Hong Kong. Wang Juan was more beautiful than the female stars of TVB. If he had the opportunity to go to Hong Kong, he could introduce familiar directors to Wang Juan. Maybe Wang Juan could even make a movie in Hong Kong and become famous.
Steven's enthusiasm made Wang Juan very happy, and Steven's words also made Wang Juan imagine that if she could really go to Hong Kong to make a movie, wouldn't she become a star? I heard that Hong Kong stars can make a lot of money, maybe she can try it in the future.
As they were talking, Wang Juan and Steven, and even Ruth who was standing by as a foil, did not notice that their handshake seemed to last a little longer. Moreover, compared to the handshake between Zhao Minglei and Steven just now, it was Steven who was holding Wang Juan's right hand with both hands, and patting the back of Wang Juan's hand with his left hand while talking, looking very affectionate.
Zhao Minglei was puzzled by this scene. Wasn't it said that the Western handshake custom was not like this? Why did the style suddenly change? What was going on?
