The agent couldn’t persuade him and could only warn,
“Alright then, the backcountry ski resort you’re going to has become really popular these past two years. I’ve heard a lot of people from China go there to check in. Especially if a production crew happens to be filming there, you have to be careful not to get into any conflicts. We can’t have our big plans derailed before we even get started abroad.”
Gu Zhaosi waved impatiently.
“Come on, seriously? First of all, I’m not that hot-tempered. And second, what are the odds I’d run into something like that?”
Under the agent’s worried gaze, Gu Zhaosi picked up his luggage and his thesis, and boarded a flight to Los Angeles.
***
Socializing is an art.
Especially when it involves status and mutual interests—it becomes a subtle and precise field of study.
Gu Zhaoping followed the old master Gu to meet a few key players in the global energy sector.
They were of different nationalities but all had heard of old Mr. Gu’s reputation.
Some had even worked with him before.
This meetup was more of a gathering of old friends, so the mood was relaxed and lively.
When they saw the young woman standing beside Mr. Gu, they smiled politely and greeted her, thinking she was either a favored assistant or a beloved junior family member—a decorative presence, essentially.
But to their surprise, the young woman stepped forward confidently, extending her hand to each of them as Mr. Gu introduced her.
Some of them paused, surprised, and finally began to take notice of Gu Zhaoping.
It wasn’t until they made eye contact, shook hands, and exchanged a few words with her that they realized—through her fluent and natural accent, calm demeanor, and composed presence—that she might actually be an heir of the family.
Their attitudes subtly shifted.
The gathering was organized by Mr. Gu himself.
He arranged a tea room, and Gu Zhaoping sat beside him at the host’s position—not relegated to a secondary seat like a junior observer.
What surprised them even more was the tea ceremony.
Normally, a young woman would perform it—either a professional or a trained family member—elegantly showcasing the art as part of hospitality.
But this time was different.
The young woman beside Mr. Gu wasn’t wearing an embroidered qipao or elaborate makeup.
She didn’t perform any traditional rituals.
Instead, she sat calmly, dressed simply in white, while a male tea master performed kung fu tea for them.
The tea master was fair-skinned, delicate in appearance, with clear eyes and elegant hands, dressed in traditional garb.
He wore no fragrance to preserve the purity of the tea.
After years of training, he finally had the chance to serve at such a prestigious event, and he took it seriously.
When he poured tea for everyone, he gave Gu Zhaoping an extra polite smile.
Naturally—what else could he do in front of a room full of 50-year-old men?
Gu Zhaoping didn’t even look at him again.
She calmly lifted her teacup, took a sip, and said plainly,
“Good tea.”
The tea master, encouraged, began his elegant three-language introduction of the tea.
His voice, trained for years, was gentle and clear, steady and well-paced, logical and pleasant.
His skill was impressive, and the tradition behind it was rich.
But the VIP guests still felt something was off.
The usual ritualistic beauty of the tea ceremony was missing.
It felt…hollow.
They realized the only person who had truly been served attentively by the tea master was Gu Zhaoping.
When the tea master finally stepped aside to burn incense, the awkward feeling began to fade.
That was when Gu Zhaoping introduced herself.
“I’m Gu Zhaoping, currently serving as a financial advisor at Yuanqi Tech under the Gu family’s group. I oversee financial strategy and risk control. I also serve at the family trust foundation, focusing on asset allocation and succession planning.”
Mr. Gu added,
“This is my first granddaughter.”
Gu Zhaoping nodded politely, and the others began to respond with subtle acknowledgment.
Power doesn’t need to perform, unless it chooses to.
After hearing her introduction, the guests realized she held real significance in the family.
Strange—they remembered Gu Zhaoye being the one front and center before, didn’t they?
But every powerful family has its internal battles.
No one said anything out loud, just nodded knowingly and shifted the conversation.
Gu Zhaoping, meanwhile, kept noticing something: this so-called “CEO-novel” world she was in was at least ten years behind her original world in terms of development.
There were endless gaps she could take advantage of.
She had learning anxiety and technical anxiety.
Whenever she invested in a new field or technology, she had a compulsion to fully understand it before investing.
She had to grasp the principles and mechanics first.
She didn’t have to be a specialist—but she had to know whether a direction was viable.
Luckily, she had worked in this exact field before.
“This summit focuses on the global energy landscape and breakthroughs in new energy tech. Honestly, this summit should’ve happened years ago. Progress has stalled for a while—people have ideas, but the current technology isn’t mature enough to implement them widely.”
“Yes,” someone chimed in, “battery tech is still a bottleneck. Without strong battery manufacturers, the cost of new energy remains high and production can’t scale.”
Now this was Gu Zhaoping’s territory.
She explained calmly,
“Our company, Yuanqi Tech, is representing the Gu Group at this summit and raising precisely this issue. We’ve been tracking it and are planning development in this area.”
The others were surprised—even Mr. Gu was stunned.
He looked at her, wondering when she’d started preparing for this.
And of course, talking about new energy meant talking about cars.
She had invested in car companies before.
“I’ve led evaluations of several EV production lines. The main problems are low energy density in batteries, limited driving range, immature management systems, thermal runaway risks, and major gaps in infrastructure and smart systems…”
She didn’t notice how Mr. Gu was staring at her, stunned.
“We at Yuanqi Tech and Aurora Green Energy have identified this technological gap and plan to develop solutions—”
At first, the other guests were only half-listening.
It all sounded like recycled topics.
But the more she spoke, the more focused they became.
The details she provided were too concrete—like an executable blueprint.
It felt like, under her guidance, this grand vision could actually be realized.
But left to their own devices, they wouldn’t even know where to start.
Mr. Gu, already surprised, opened his eyes wider and wider the more she spoke.
He was dumbfounded, staring at his own granddaughter, wondering for a second whether she’d been possessed—by some powerful deity, no less!
How had she become so capable, so strategic, and so composed?
She appeared to point out a direction, while carefully avoiding any real specifics.
Her words were inspiring, but gave away no secrets.
“…We anticipate forming collaborations with multiple enterprises at this summit,” she concluded.
Then added, almost casually: “We will prioritize partners with clear intent, technical foundation, and a willingness to share risks and co-develop.”
“If you’re interested, feel free to contact me anytime after the panel discussion.”
Watching this group of high-level executives so deeply engaged and clearly interested—some even wearing expressions as stunned as his own—
Old Master Gu couldn’t help but think to himself: This isn’t normal.
Gu Zhaoping’s transformation was like she had taken some miracle elixir with 20 years’ worth of cultivation power, instantly ascending to some perfect, transcendent realm.
Even he found himself unable to articulate some of the things she had just explained.
This gathering was originally just meant for everyone to get acquainted, without expecting any deep exchanges.
But the brief outline that Gu Zhaoping delivered had already captured the full attention of many.
Watching them all come over to speak with her, continuing the conversation sparked by her earlier points, Old Master Gu felt dazed.
He even began to wonder if he’d been wasting the past few years playing chess and swatting mosquitoes in a retirement villa while stepping back from business.
And yet Gu Zhaoping—like the sun around nine or ten in the morning—was warm, bright, dazzling, full of vitality, yet not reckless.
Her speech was calm and unhurried, but it carried a guiding force.
Without any forceful language, she still made people instinctively agree with her.
Anyone wanting to question or challenge her had to think things over very carefully first.
“Zhaoping,”
Old Master Gu finally asked once the others had left,
“Did you prepare all of this just recently?”
“Not just recently, Grandpa,”
Gu Zhaoping replied.
“I’ve been preparing for a long time.”
Old Master Gu was a bit stunned.
So while Gu Zhaoye had been entangled with celebrities and caught up in scandals, his eldest granddaughter had quietly been planning for this very conference?
In truth, even with all her past preparations, she couldn’t be sure she’d get the chance to speak this time.
But opportunity always favors the prepared.
Old Master Gu was deeply moved.
Whatever Zhaoping had done recently, she hadn’t let the opportunity slip away.
As the two of them left by car, the young tea master in traditional attire finally withdrew his gaze.
He had served at many such receptions lately.
When the Gu family entertained foreign guests, they often selected him to accompany the event—he was the most skilled, the most disciplined, and the most low-profile tea artist, perfectly suited for such occasions.
And yet, he couldn’t help but be impressed.
Today, he had met a truly capable female CEO.
He had instinctively smiled at her, though it seemed she hadn’t even noticed him.
Still, he couldn’t help it.
Perhaps it was simply a human instinct—an unconscious reverence and awe in the presence of great power.
He hoped to see her again someday.
He hoped.
Meanwhile, back at the manor hotel, Gu Zhaoping returned to find messages from Liang Zhiwei and Chu Yanze waiting for her.
[Zhaoping-jie, we’ve departed!]
[By the way, Gu Zhaoye seems to be joining us for the long haul. At least for this episode, he’s confirmed.]
[We’re headed to North America—to a very famous backcountry ski resort. I think this episode’s theme is skiing?]
Liang Zhiwei sounded a bit worried: [I can’t ski… I’ve been practicing these past couple of days, but I still can’t stand steadily. I’ll try my best and hope I don’t drag the team down!]
On the other side, Chu Yanze had sent a message along with a photo of a ski instructor certification.
[Don’t worry, Zhaoping-jie.]
Just one short sentence—but it already spoke volumes.
It was the quiet confidence he always carried.
And yet, staring at the chat screen, he still felt it might seem too aloof.
After three whole minutes, he sent a sparkly emoji—a chibi anime character thumping its chest proudly, glowing all around.
A little dramatic, even a bit cute, which didn’t quite match his usual image.
But he still sent it.
He waited nervously, hoping Zhaoping-jie would notice.
Because he didn’t want to come across as indifferent.
When Gu Zhaoping finally had a moment to glance at her phone, she replied: [It’s fine. Don’t be nervous. Winning or losing doesn’t matter—I’ve got your back.]
It was truly a coincidence—now, all of them had gathered near the same city.