New York, Wall Street. 13 hours difference from Jingdu.
Today, the inboxes of CEOs from major financial groups like Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan all received an emergency email.
Claude, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, was enjoying his morning coffee on the 70th floor. As usual, he clicked open his email. The next second, he sprayed his coffee everywhere. Claude stared incredulously at the screen, reading aloud: "This morning, mysterious Chinese capital fully acquired the Hilton Group..."
He immediately turned on the TV. Fox Business News was broadcasting the news of the Hilton acquisition under a [BREAKING NEWS] banner. The camera cut to a live report. The Hilton heiress was being interviewed.
"Miss Hilton, your group is a generational family fortune. Why the sudden sale, and why sell the entire package to a Chinese person?"
The famously frivolous Miss Hilton, in a glamorous deep-V gown and holding a glass of champagne, smiled. "Oh, darling, that was all my daddy's decision. I don't know the details. But I can tell you the Chinese man gave us a price we simply couldn't refuse." With that, she blew a kiss at the camera.
Claude cursed, "F*ck!" and turned off the TV.
He immediately called his assistant. "Go find out which Chinese group acquired our American property! Oh, God, how dare those despicable Chinese people own American assets?"
In an instant, all of Wall Street was shaken. Every major financial group dispatched a team to China to investigate the mysterious buyer of the Hilton Group.
...
China, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, 79th floor.
The woman standing at Jimmy's door quickly recovered her composure and presented a folder with both hands. "Mr. Qin, you have just fully acquired the Hilton Group. These are the acquisition documents. Please review them."
Jimmy took the documents and glanced through them. "Who are you?"
"Excuse me, Mr. Qin, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Xia Ying, and I work at the Hilton Group headquarters. I am your secretary."
"Secretary? I don't need one." Jimmy tossed the documents back. "You keep the files. The group can be managed by professional managers. I won't concern myself with such a small business."
Xia Ying took the documents, her heart racing. The Hilton Group was a Fortune 500 company, a massive multinational with annual revenue close to $10 billion USD. Yet, he called it a "small business" and wouldn't even look at it, leaving it to professional managers.
Seeing Jimmy laughing and chatting with a gorgeous woman, Xia Ying was certain he was a playboy, a super spender. She figured the Hilton Group was just a handout from his parents to their good-for-nothing son. The parents of the super-rich always paved the road for their incapable children. These "trust-fund babies" never had to work for anything.
Xia Ying despised people like this. She had studied hard for over ten years to finally start her journey toward Rome, while he was born there. She turned and walked away, not bothering to give her new boss a second glance.
Jimmy didn't care about Xia Ying's attitude. A mere group secretary wasn't worth his attention. He took Su Xiaoyan to the restaurant on the 99th floor.
The Waldorf Astoria was top-notch, and its rooftop restaurant was the most renowned fine-dining Western restaurant in all of Jingdu, boasting a Michelin Three-Star rating. Patrons were all wealthy and influential, treating a meal there as a sacred event. Men wore suits, and women wore stunning evening gowns.
Su Xiaoyan held onto Jimmy's arm, radiating happiness.
"Excuse me, sir, you cannot enter the restaurant," a waiter blocked Jimmy, saying.
"Why not? Is the restaurant closed today?"
The waiter chuckled contemptuously. "This is a Michelin Three-Star restaurant. Our patrons are all important people. Your attire is too cheap and affects the image of our establishment."
Jimmy glanced inside. Several Caucasians were laughing and drinking wine in T-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops.
"Why can they wear T-shirts and shorts and be allowed in?"
The waiter offered a condescending smile. "They are foreigners. They prefer a free and unrestrained feeling. Their attire is a symbol of freedom, and we must respect their beliefs!"
Su Xiaoyan was about to argue when a phone suddenly appeared. A girl was holding her phone up to the waiter's face, filming.
"Family, this is Little Mei's foodie stream, live from the luxurious Waldorf Astoria restaurant. Right at the entrance, the staff are judging a customer based on his clothing, blocking him from entering because he's wearing a tracksuit!"
"But, as you can see, inside the restaurant, foreigners are allowed to dine wearing T-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops. Yet a Chinese person is being turned away!"
"Family, this is our country! The era of foreign oppression is over! I can't believe a top-tier Western restaurant is practicing this kind of discrimination! This is blatant discrimination against Chinese people!"
The waiter, seeing the commotion, was about to snatch the phone when he realized the person was a well-known food vlogger on TikTok. The streamer, "Little Mei Eats," constantly fueled the atmosphere in her live stream. The Waldorf's discriminatory behavior instantly grabbed the attention of the 2,000+ viewers.
Netizens poured into the comment section, condemning the Waldorf Astoria's actions. They also started spamming the hotel's Weibo and TikTok accounts. Because the stream had high engagement, TikTok's backend immediately boosted its traffic. The viewer count shot from 2,000 to over 5,000.
As the situation escalated, the Waldorf's lobby manager had to rush out to investigate. He looked into the camera and immediately declared that Jimmy's attire was acceptable and he could enter the restaurant. He also apologized for the doorman's behavior.
Jimmy nodded, satisfied with the manager's response. He then turned to Little Mei and thanked her. "Thank you."
Little Mei smiled. "No problem. I just hate people who look down on others."
With the incident resolved, Little Mei's viewer count slowly dropped as the curious switched to other streamers. Little Mei sighed. "Sigh. A week's worth of preparation for this stream can't compare to a simple 'Hello Brother' from a provocative streamer." The stream, which peaked at over 5,000 viewers, now had less than a thousand, many of them just robot accounts.
The Waldorf Astoria was perfect for a date, and the two sat down. The waiter immediately lit a candle, setting the mood.
[CONGRATULATIONS, CHALLENGER!]
[SIDE QUEST COMPLETE: CANDLELIGHT DINNER]
[REWARD: 100,000 TIKTOK 'CARNIVALS']
Jimmy frowned slightly. 100,000 TikTok Carnivals? What use do I have for that?
Moments later, Jimmy's phone balance showed an inventory of 100,000 Carnivals. This was a custom page TikTok created for major spenders, making it easy for "whale users" to give gifts.