Free Web NovelChapter 45: Chapter 44 This is too high-profile!
The next day.
Half past nine in the morning.
At the west entrance of Friendship Plaza’s building in Jiangzhou City center, a long queue had formed early on. They were all Mac computer enthusiasts who had rushed here upon hearing the news, ready to enter the venue one by one to attend the Apple’s product exhibition.
Zhao Yi, dressed in a casual sports outfit bought from a street stall, was happily walking forward. As he passed the narrow queue and tried to get through the VIP lane, he was stopped by the staff.
"Are you here for the exhibition?" The security guard pointed towards the queue stretching out to the plaza, "Go join the queue."
Zhao Yi showed his ID hanging around his neck. It read—
Apple’s New Product Exhibition
Special Guest:
Zhao Yi.
The security guard checked the badge several times, being sure it was not ordinary. He looked Zhao Yi from head to toe in disbelief, and then gestured for Zhao to proceed.
Although there were many people queuing outside, there weren’t many inside.
’Apple enthusiasts’ attending the exhibition have to go through a series of registration, and everyone would receive a badge, so the process could naturally not be rushed.
Upon entering the mall, Zhao Yi noticed the showroom on the left. Next to the showroom was a large Apple store.
He didn’t go over directly but strolled forward.
A sudden surprised voice came from the side, "Zhao ... is that Zhao Zhenxi’s son!?"
Zhao Yi turned his head to see a familiar face. She was wearing a knee-length dress, flat shoes, and her hair fell in glossy black waves.
"Is that...my dad’s boss?"
"Knowing that I’m your dad’s boss, you should be more polite!"
Zhou Qing rolled her eyes and walked over, "I thought you looked familiar when you walked in. I knew I wouldn’t get it wrong. What are you doing here?"
Zhao Yi showed Zhou Qing his badge.
Zhou Qing also had one around her neck, but she didn’t look at Zhao Yi’s closely and just asked curiously, "Why didn’t I see you when I was queuing? I got up early today. I came here to queue at six and wait for three hours."
"You’re really dedicated!"
Zhou Qing declared proudly, "I’m a loyal supporter of Mac!"
Zhao Yi remarked in disbelief, "You’re a loyal supporter, yet you forgot your Apple ID?"
"What does that matter? The Mac looks beautiful, especially today’s model on display, I’ve had my eyes on it!"
The two chatted for a bit before the conversation circled back to Zhao Yi.
It was abnormal for a high school student to skip school and appear in Jiangzhou, which was three hundred kilometers away.
Zhao Yi explained, "Didn’t I ask for a leave of absence? I took a day and a half off. I came to Jiangzhou, of course my parents know!"
"That’s true."
Zhou Qing was still a bit surprised, "I didn’t expect you to like Mac too. To the extent that you took time off to attend the exhibition."
"Hehe."
Zhao Yi laughed along with her.
Zhou Qing was Zhao Zhenxi’s boss and had met Zhao Yi once before. Zhao Yi had fixed her computer, and they were both far from home, in Jiangzhou, she would naturally watch out for him.
Zhao Yi was then pulled around to walk in aimless circles.
Then he became the designated shopping cart.
Popcorn.
Beverages.
Zhou Qing even conveniently chose a small telescope, saying that she might not be able to see clearly from the back, and the telescope would be helpful.
"Are you here to watch a movie or a meteor shower?"
Zhao Yi couldn’t help but tease.
As it neared ten o’clock, Zhou Qing and Zhao Yi went to the showroom together.
The showroom was already packed full of people.
The media who came to cover the event had already set up their equipment. Most of those who managed to get into the showroom were sitting in their respective seats. The hosts and managers who were supposed to appear on stage and explain the products were standing by the stage and were just waiting for time to pass.
Zhou Qing pulled Zhao Yi forward, looking for their seats according to the seat numbers on their badges.
"Zhao Yi, where is your seat?"
"Further ahead!"
"Are we there yet?"
"Go further ahead!"
"I’m here." Zhou Qing stopped at the third row from the back, looked forward, and said, "you go find your seat in the front, take this can of popcorn and the beverage, hold on to them carefully!"
"Thanks!"
Zhao Yi laughed and took the food, then kept walking forward.
Kept walking. freeweɓnøvel.com
And kept going!
After Zhou Qing found her seat, she looked up in surprise to find that Zhao Yi had walked all the way to the front row next to the stage. Could regular viewers sit that close?
...
Zhao Yi’s seat was on the right side of the first row.
On his left was a middle-aged man in a suit, who looked like a computer salesman. It appeared that he had sold a substantial number of units and thus had been upgraded to a ’VIP’.
On his right was a female journalist wearing a shirt and jeans.
She held a pen and a notebook in her hands and kept looking up as if she was taking notes on something. To her right, a male colleague was jostling with a video camera.
Zhao Yi glanced around indifferently, finding it boring, so he started to eat.
Popcorn!
Orange juice!
The loud crunching noises from his mouth drew glances from people on both sides.
Zhao Yi looked around awkwardly and put down his popcorn. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
This sort of thing was more suited for the back row!
The man in the suit gave Zhao Yi a glance and lost interest. However, the female journalist on his right gave him multiple glances.
The journalist’s name was Ding Lei.
Being a reporter requires excellent perceptive abilities. From a person’s attire, mannerism, and expressions, one could generally gauge who they are based on the occasion.
Ding Lei had always been confident in her ability to read people. But now, she came across someone she couldn’t figure out.
Not more than twenty years old.
Wearing sportswear that looked like it was bought from a roadside stall for a few dozen dollars, perhaps the total cost of his clothes was less than a hundred dollars.
He had juice and popcorn in his hands.
Combining these three points, the young man could either be a regular student or a dropout who worked odd jobs. He certainly didn’t seem to belong to the ’elite’ group.
However...
He was sitting in the VIP section!
"Could he be a relative of some powerful official? Or is he representing someone?" Ding Lei pondered carefully.
After mulling over it without getting any clues, she decided to hand him her business card and reached out her hand for an introduction, "Hello, I’m Ding Lei, a reporter from the Nanjiang Television Station."
Zhao Yi received the business card and shook Ding Lei’s hand, "Hello, I’m Zhao Yi, a student."
"..."
Ding Lei simply laughed at his response, her confusion deepening, "Is he really just a regular student? Why is he seated here?"
The exhibition started.
The host took the stage, and the two stopped talking.
The Apple Company’s new product showcase in Jiangzhou City was essentially a promotional event in Nanjiang Province.
Similar showcases had already been held twice. Sounds strange, but it was the norm.
This wasn’t the internet-rich era of a decade later; the shipping industry was just taking off. Most people still relied on physical stores, particularly for expensive items like cell phones and computers.
If Apple wanted to sell more products, they needed to not only deliver them to stores but also host showcases across different regions to build their brand. High-tech products would be worthless if no one knew about them.
The newly revealed MacBookAir exuded a futuristic vibe. Its sleek, slim design instantly attracted attention.
The representative on stage mainly showcased the laptop’s exterior, merely glossing over its specifications.
The final reveal was the price - 15,299 yuan.
The price was indeed high, but it didn’t surprise many people, as the U.S. retail price was $1,799, which equates to around 14,450 yuan.
After the Manager finished presenting the product, they selected some ’Apple fans’ for a trial use before giving the ’tech department’ their time in the spotlight.
This was all part of the plan.
Apple planned to use the ’Reward a Genius’ headline to run a massive ad campaign in Nanjiang Province and across China.
Cavaleiro took the stage.
On the highly-publicized stage, Cavaleiro’s appearance and temperament might not be amiable. He didn’t have the kind of generosity and composure; he was a typical ’tech guy’.
While people complained about letting a ’nerd’ take the stage at the showcase, his speech attracted everyone’s attention. "For the past month, Apple’s tech department has been very busy! Guess what we’ve been up to?"
"It wasn’t developing new products or improving our software; it was fixing system vulnerabilities!"
"Oh my god, as the vice president of the tech department, I had no idea our operating system had so many flaws. Just one high school student from China managed to submit seven!"
"Whoosh..."
The audience was in an uproar.
When the venue eventually quieted down, Cavaleiro said with a trace of fear, "Thank goodness it was only him. If every high school student in China started submitting bugs, even if we increased our staff by a million times, we wouldn’t be able to keep up."
"Later, I met him and confirmed that he’s a computer genius. It’s not an exaggeration to describe him as ’super’. He’s only eighteen years old!"
"I wanted to recruit him for Apple right away; he might become our first line of defense for security in the future!"
"But that’s not feasible, he’s still a high school student."
"So, I thought that if he could go to the University of California, he could help us during his studies and stay at Apple after graduation. Sadly, he refused..."
"It’s truly a pity!"
"Mr. Steve Jobs and I discussed this matter. His words resonated with me, ’Just because he can’t join Apple doesn’t mean we ignore his contributions to Apple’s security’."
"He conscientiously submitted seven vulnerabilities, making our system safer. In honor of his contribution, we have decided to give him..."
"A bonus of one million yuan!"
"Let’s welcome him!"
"From Zhengyang City, China, studying at Zhengyang Thirteenth Middle School, the computer super genius--"
"Zhao Yi!"
Cavaleiro clapped frantically, his actions bordering on hysteria. His gaze focused on Zhao’s direction, guiding others to follow suit.
Under everyone’s attention, Zhao Yi stood up confused.
He was truly baffled.
Although he was prepared for some recognition, this entrance... it was too flashy!
