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Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Putting You in Your Place in Public
The woman approaching head-on, with her neatly trimmed short hair, dignified makeup, and an unhurried and calm demeanor, appeared to be in her thirties and had well-maintained skin. She was wearing a light gray tailored suit that looked sophisticated, competent, and commanded a strong presence.
Unexpectedly, Meng Lin, the founder of the Bailin Group, also came to participate in the Shengjing school anniversary event?!
Neither the surrounding fans nor the journalists had anticipated Meng Lin’s arrival, and they all couldn’t help but express their surprise.
The journalists immediately turned their cameras towards her.
Firstly, it was Meng Lin’s stature that mattered here.
When it came to Chinese businesswomen or career-driven powerhouses, Fu Siya really didn’t amount to much. Her reputation and achievements were more about flattery from insiders and the blind admiration of young girls online.
Meng Lin was indeed the leading female role model, someone in the industry whom everyone would refer to respectfully as President Meng.
Fu Siya had been born into wealth, starting her career by managing her family’s empire, with her abilities only proven through the decent operations of the Fu Group after taking it over.
In contrast, Meng Lin, who came from humble beginnings, was a true self-made figure.
Seven years ago, with an initial funding of five million from some mysterious tycoon, she launched China’s first B2B e-commerce platform within just three years. In the seven years following, she completely revolutionized the shopping habits of the Chinese people.
It allowed the Bailin Group to leap into becoming one of China’s iconic enterprises and even break into the list of top 100 companies worldwide. Now, Bailin’s market value is soaring, firmly positioned at the hundred-billion level.
This is what you call a mogul, a true titan.
Unlike Fu Siya, who’s always online talking about breaking societal prejudices against women, Meng Lin rarely spoke out and wasn’t often seen in public.
However, her mere existence and the position she had reached were proof enough that women can also become leading figures in their respective industries.
When Fu Siya saw Meng Lin’s unexpected presence, her expression became noticeably shaken.
"Ah, President Meng, are you also here for the Shengjing school celebration?"
Fu Siya immediately shed her earlier sarcastic attitude towards Lu Sheng, now approaching Meng Lin with enthusiastic politeness and a flattering smile on her face.
The Fu Group had recent dealings with Bailin, with talks of a nearly $30 million deal.
So, seeing Meng Lin, Fu Siya naturally lowered her previously haughty stance, and even appeared somewhat sycophantic.
But Meng Lin merely gave her a cool glance and went straight to Lu Sheng, who was standing still.
The moment Meng Lin’s eyes met Lu Sheng’s, her expression visibly softened.
"Shengsheng, is your store ready? Once it is, I’ll have my people start moving the stuff in."
"It’s ready, Lin," nodded Lu Sheng, "my friends are waiting for me in the shop. I’ll go in with you in a bit."
—Shengsheng?
—Lin?
Meng Lin’s initiative to come over and chat with the young girl, and their apparently quite intimate way of addressing each other, made everyone around them widen their eyes in shock.
What’s the situation here??
The country girl, an illegitimate child, actually knew Meng Lin? And even seemed quite familiar with her??
Seeing this scene unfold before her, Fu Siya’s eyes blinked in a moment of stupefaction, while Lu Qianrou was downright bewildered.
Hearing Lu Sheng’s response, Meng Lin turned her head to look at Fu Siya with a cool expression once again.
Her voice faintly conveyed a hint of displeasure: "Miss Fu, I heard everything you just said."
At this, Fu Siya was startled, her mind going blank for a few seconds.
...What she just said? What had she said that might have displeased Meng Lin?
Meng Lin quickly cleared up her confusion, looking at her coldly: "Miss Fu seems to have a very low opinion of Shengsheng."
"Saying she comes from the countryside, not on the same level as Miss Qianrou, I’m afraid she wouldn’t even know how to write a proposal to attract sponsors, let alone actually secure any."
"But unfortunately, it was Shengsheng’s proposal that caught my attention at the board of directors meeting, and I am one of the individuals who took the initiative to sponsor their event."
"And before I did, President Li of the Li Group had already sponsored their team’s store with $10 million."
"So when I offered to sponsor, Shengsheng actually refused me, saying the funds they had were already way beyond what was needed, prompting me to switch my financial sponsorship to in-kind support instead."
Hiss——
As soon as Meng Lin finished speaking, the people around all inhaled sharply.
Holy shit, what, what??
Does that mean this Lu Sheng not only can write a proposal but also managed to attract a sponsorship from Meng Lin with it? 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
And she even refused Meng Lin’s sponsorship??
What’s more outrageous is that before Meng Lin, the Li Group had already provided sponsorship, and they started with $10 million??
Everyone’s eyes widened, completely astounded.
Who exactly is this President Li of the Li Group!
Though he has never made a public appearance, his net worth is in the hundred billions for sure.
Young as he is at the helm of a business empire, he is unquestionably a titan among titans.
One second ago, Fu Siya was mocking Lu Sheng, saying having spent so many years in the countryside, she couldn’t have had any contact with company CEOs.
It turns out, she may not have had much interaction with CEOs, but her initial contacts are two super trump cards.
One is Li Muchen, and the other is Meng Lin; how many in China have more social status and financial power than these two?
So the way people looked at Lu Sheng changed in an instant.
A mixture of shock and envy.
Knowing the Li Group is a badass multinational corporation, but isn’t this President Li a bit too lavish?
This is just a high school anniversary event, a direct sponsorship of $10 million is just too exaggerated, isn’t it!!
And when the girl was being heavily mocked by Fu Siya just now, she didn’t say a word.
That’s way too low-key, way too composed.
It must be because she’s confident that she didn’t panic, or she simply disdained to argue with them.
Initially, people thought that Fu Siya sponsoring Lu Qianrou’s team with a million was already quite generous.
But now, comparing one million to ten million, it suddenly seems paltry.
Looking back now, when Lu Qianrou was pulling the girl along, saying "did you not get any sponsorship" and "why didn’t you tell me earlier, I could have also booked a set of clothes for you" and such, seems like a joke.
It’s not that they didn’t secure sponsorship; their sponsorship was so abundant they couldn’t even use it all up, even rejecting the cash support Meng Lin wanted to provide.
And with $10 million in hand, could they not afford a decent set of clothes? It’s clear now that they just haven’t changed clothes yet.
So what exactly were Lu Qianrou and Fu Siya feeling superior about earlier?
The crowd instantly became noisy again.
This time, everyone cast their gazes towards Lu Qianrou and Fu Siya with looks of second-hand embarrassment for them.
Fu Siya was choked up on the spot. Lu Qianrou’s face flushed and paled by turns, clutching the hem of her skirt tightly, as if being slapped in the face publicly.
