A knock sounded on the door. Chen Qing, who was on the phone, acknowledged it and gestured for the princess to come in and sit on the sofa. She continued her conversation with the person on the other end of the line.
The princess awkwardly moved to the sofa, hesitated for a moment, and then sat down slightly sideways, curious to listen to Chen Qing's conversation. It seemed to be about a joint venture involving a shipyard. Business matters were beyond her understanding, but she was slightly taken aback when she heard the amount involved in the venture.
"Lastly, the boss thinks the name 'Jingjiang Shipyard' is too regional and detrimental to future development. Have them come up with a new name as soon as possible... Alright, that's it for now. I'll hang up."
After putting down the phone, Chen Qing, sitting behind her desk, leaned forward slightly and looked at the princess across from her. "Have you had breakfast?"
The princess nodded. "Yes."
Chen Qing's expression suddenly shifted from sunny to cloudy, and she said with a hint of disdain, "All you do is eat. You eat so much."
The princess immediately felt awkward.
She understood what Chen Qing was referring to—last night. Thinking about it, she felt wronged. How could she have known the man would be so... energetic and last so long? She had tried her best to keep up, but it was almost too much for her. Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, there was another round, and she ended up drinking even more water.
After saying this, Chen Qing wrinkled her nose and lowered her head to flip through a business report on the Westeros System's recent investments in Chinese real estate companies. She made a mental note to prepare better next time, perhaps by fasting beforehand.
The princess waited for a moment, but when Chen Qing didn't say anything else and instead started reading a document, she had to speak up. "Sister Chen, um, has Mr. Westeros left?"
Chen Qing hummed in affirmation.
They were still at the seaside estate in East Hampton. It was already past 10 a.m., and Simon had left after breakfast.
"I... um, what does Mr. Westeros plan to do with me?"
Chen Qing's expression turned cold, as if she had no intention of honoring any previous promises. "Forget about Hollywood. You should focus on developing your career domestically. Of course, if there are suitable opportunities for you here, that's fine too. Additionally, you'll receive a monthly allowance of $20,000, along with two attendants. You won't lack for housing either. You know what this means, right? If you ever decide you don't want it anymore, just let me know, and you'll be free."
The princess, of course, understood what this meant, and she couldn't help but feel disappointed.
This wasn't what she had expected.
However, she had no way to challenge Chen Qing's sudden reversal of her earlier promise to help her break into Hollywood. In fact, she didn't even have the confidence to refuse the treatment she was being offered. Just the $20,000 monthly allowance, converted into RMB, was 160,000 yuan. Back in China, she had been somewhat famous, but she had never earned that much in a year. She wasn't a big star, after all—her earnings from TV dramas were around 1,000 to 2,000 yuan per episode, and movies paid her only tens of thousands.
In reality, Chen Qing had left many things unsaid, which was why the princess was feeling so uncertain.
Being by Simon Westeros's side, the living allowance was just a small perk. The real value lay in the title of "Simon Westeros's woman." This was the most valuable credential, just like Chen Qing herself, or ABCD, or Ren Jingxi, who had been able to take on the role of a TV drama producer as soon as she arrived in China.
The key was to be proactive.
However, Chen Qing had never positioned herself as a good person, so she certainly wouldn't volunteer this information to the princess. Simon wasn't short of women around him, and if the princess left because of this, it wouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
Thinking this, Chen Qing noticed the princess still seemed hesitant and on the verge of saying something. Impatiently, she shooed her away. "Alright, you can go now. I'm busy."
The princess had no choice but to get up and leave.
After the princess left, Chen Qing finished reading the report she had been going through. After some thought, she turned on her computer and opened her email. She began drafting messages to the heads of several real estate companies in China, urging them to speed up their land acquisitions and buy as many plots as possible before the end of the year, following the strategy she had discussed with Simon the previous night.
This was actually a rather risky bet.
The domestic real estate market had been in a slump for several years, and now, with the Southeast Asian financial crisis raging, China was inevitably going to be affected. No one knew what the government's stance on the real estate industry would be in the near future. If policies were tightened further, buying up land now would be like jumping into a fire pit.
Chen Qing understood this.
However, since Simon was certain that the real estate industry would see a loosening of restrictions next year, and not just a loosening but active stimulation, now was the best time to stockpile land. The Westeros System had already prepared $500 million for the several invested real estate enterprises in China, equivalent to over 4 billion RMB, with the requirement that it all be spent by the end of the year.
Unfortunately, companies like Evergrande and Country Garden were being somewhat hesitant, even worrying that this might be a strategy by the Westeros System to swallow them up.
It seemed they needed to set up more shell companies.
Chen Qing pondered this as she finished her emails. She then sent another email to her team in China, recalling a company she had come across in her research—Vanke. Unlike Evergrande and Country Garden, Vanke, which had entered the real estate industry in the 1980s, was a typical domestic real estate giant and therefore not so easy to get involved with.
But it wasn't impossible.
Chen Qing also knew that Vanke had been trying to break away from its largest shareholder, as that shareholder had repeatedly blocked Vanke's financing and expansion plans over the years to prevent its own stake from being diluted. Otherwise, Vanke's scale might have been much larger by now.
The Westeros System's strategy in China was primarily investment-oriented, not focused on absolute control, as that would be impossible to achieve. Therefore, Vanke was a good target.
With this in mind, Chen Qing picked up the phone and, without needing to consult her address book, dialed a number from memory. After some small talk, she asked the person on the other end to help arrange a meeting with Vanke's head the next time she returned to China.
After handling some other work, it was nearly noon, and Chen Qing turned her attention to some trivial matters.
The topic from last night.
She had brought along some profiles of the girls from Super Girl, but Simon hadn't been interested. He had only casually mentioned that he preferred those with larger chests.
This, of course, had to be accommodated.
But she was curious—why had Simon suddenly developed this preference? And how large was "large"?
In Boston
While Chen Qing was busy in East Hampton, Simon was in Boston.
He had arranged to have lunch with Maria and her family.
Mainly because Maria's daughter, Anita Bezruk, had recently arrived in North America and would be starting her graduate studies at MIT after the summer.
Maria had mentioned this during their last conversation, and Simon had offered to have a meal together when he had the chance.
At a manor in the wealthy Weston suburb west of Boston, they all sat around the dining table. Compared to her three younger brothers, Anita was still struggling to adjust to the fact that her mother was now with this man. Even now, she found the whole situation somewhat absurd.
Simon Westeros. Her mother.
The age difference was so large.
This guy should be... well, around her own age.
And then there were the two little ones who had already been settled here.
Anita had been spending time with her two brothers, who were nearly 22 years younger than her. Well, her mother hadn't hidden the fact that one of them was from another woman, but they were still her brothers now. A 22-year age difference.
It was enough to drive her crazy.
Although, Anita wasn't ungrateful. Since this man had entered their lives, her family's circumstances had completely transformed. Even her father had been appointed as the head of a large thermal power plant project in Rovno. Moreover, her father had found another wife, who wasn't much older than Anita herself, and by the end of the year, there would be another half-sibling.
Again, a 22-year age difference.
Everything just felt so surreal.
Simon chatted with the three boys about their recent summer activities, then turned to Anita, who seemed distracted. Remembering something, he said, "By the way, there will be a group of Ukrainian exchange students coming to the U.S. soon. We're sponsoring them. Anita, if you're willing, you could organize a Ukrainian students' association."
Anita, hearing Simon's familiar tone, didn't dare to be dismissive, but she instinctively replied, "I... I don't know how to do that."
Simon smiled. "It's simple. You just organize various activities, get everyone together regularly, build connections, and help each other out in the future. Also, if it's just Ukrainian students at MIT, there probably won't be many. The West Coast is too far, so you could just focus on organizing the East Coast group. It would be good experience for your future."
Anita looked at her mother.
Maria also nodded gently. "You should give it a try. It's a good thing."
Anita wasn't so sure it was a good thing. Unlike her mother, who always tried to see the best in people, Anita's instincts told her that this was some kind of trap set by this guy.
As for what kind of trap, given Anita's limited experience, she couldn't quite figure it out.
But since her mother had said so, she nodded in agreement.
Simon added, "Also, the association's activities will need funding. Try setting up a small foundation. I'll contribute some money."
Before Anita could respond, Maria interjected, "Simon, that's not necessary."
"Hmm?"
"I mean, I'm worried Anita might spend it recklessly."
"Mom, I wouldn't!"
Simon said, "If you're worried, you can supervise it yourself."
Maria hesitated but eventually nodded in agreement.
Anita couldn't help but pout.
As for the exchange students, Anita's intuition was actually spot on.
The new batch of students arriving after the summer, aside from the inevitable few who were there through connections, were mostly the top talents from Ukraine.
Of course, there were also students from other countries.
The Westeros System's targeted sponsorship was naturally aimed at having these individuals work for the Westeros System after they completed their studies, or even become true 'Westerosians.'
This was the key to how the U.S. had maintained such a firm grip on Ukraine in the past.
The upper echelons of Ukraine's pyramid had been thoroughly co-opted by the U.S., forming a shared interest community through various benefits. This was why Ukraine's leadership often made decisions that were clearly detrimental to the country's economy and people's livelihoods, without any regard for public interest.
Why?
Because those individuals' interests were no longer tied to the Ukrainian public. They only needed to stay close to the U.S. to protect their own interests. As for the resulting loss of territory, civil war, or economic decline, it didn't matter—those in power would still prosper.
That was all.
Simon's frequent moves in Ukraine over the past few years were ultimately aimed at this.
Moreover, the forces he was cultivating weren't just pro-U.S.; more accurately, they were pro-Westeros System. By continuing to penetrate Ukraine's political and economic layers, within a decade or two, Simon would be able to easily control the country.
When a beggar is kind to someone, they are often met with disdain.
When someone in a position of power is kind, it naturally has a much greater effect in winning people over.
After this lunch, thanks to Simon's consistently patient demeanor, Anita Bezruk found herself gradually less resistant to him and even began to feel a sense of closeness. She started to think that it might not be so bad for her mother to be with this man.
After all, they already had children together. There was no separating them now, was there?
After lunch, Maria went to take care of the children, while Anita took her three younger brothers out for a walk. Simon went to a study in the villa to discuss some recent work with Celia Miller, who had also come from New York to accommodate Simon's schedule.
Much of it happened to be related to Ukraine.
The past few months had been quite eventful in Ukraine as well.
Mainly due to the turmoil in the Kyiv government.
After Simon's last trip to Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma had officially begun the process of ousting Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko.
Lazarenko was quite the character. When he realized his close associates were being dismissed one by one and his financial backer, Yulia Tymoshenko, was being pressured, he resorted to playing dirty.
He feigned illness.
According to Ukrainian labor laws, employees couldn't be fired while they were sick.
Unfortunately, this tactic didn't buy him any reprieve. On July 2 of the previous month, Pavlo Lazarenko was officially removed from his position as Prime Minister of Ukraine. At the same time, the Kyiv government announced an investigation into Lazarenko.
Thus began the first major internal conflict in Ukraine since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
According to the original timeline, this conflict would drag on for decades, continuing even over twenty years later.
In Simon's view, this was largely due to Kuchma's lack of decisiveness. Kuchma was a man who liked to weigh his options, as evidenced by his policy of trying to play both sides between the U.S. and Russia after coming to power. However, while politics sometimes required balance, there were times when swift and decisive action was needed.
Take Yulia Tymoshenko, for example.
Although Kuchma had regained control of Ukraine's natural gas industry from Tymoshenko, he hadn't pursued her too aggressively, which planted the seeds for his own forced resignation in 2005.
Lazarenko was an even bigger liability.
With so many vulnerabilities, Kuchma had allowed him to continue causing trouble in the country for years, even allowing him to win a parliamentary seat in the 1998 elections before eventually fleeing Ukraine.
Perhaps Kuchma had been hesitant due to the backing behind Lazarenko, but later facts proved that even the U.S. had abandoned Lazarenko. As soon as he fled to the U.S., he was detained and treated like a pig to be slaughtered, squeezed for all he was worth. This showed that if Kuchma had acted decisively from the start, there wouldn't have been much backlash.
Unfortunately, he hadn't done so.
Of course, this was all from Kuchma's perspective.
From Simon's own standpoint, the more indecisive Kuchma was, the more beneficial it was for the Westeros System's expansion in Ukraine.
If you didn't kill the snake, it would surely strike back. The Lazarenko faction would undoubtedly retaliate, causing all sorts of trouble, and the Kyiv government would be too distracted to pay attention to the Westeros System's ongoing plans in the Rovno region.
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