The information quickly spread among the delegates: that Iris Long was a student of both Madame Kalisha Schwarz (world-renowned translator and interpreter) and Hisakawa Akio-sensei (celebrated author and polyglot).
Of course, it also reached to where Long Tengfei's group was chatting with delegates from other companies. When they heard about it, they were more shocked than when they first saw Iris on the stage at the beginning of the opening ceremony.
They craned their necks to see all the way to the front. Indeed, they saw Iris speaking familiarly with the two distinguished figures.
"CEO Long, this business conference just started but your daughter already managed to impress me so many times today," a Chinese delegate told Long Tengfei.
"Exactly! I thought that Iris Long is just a musician but it turns out that she's also a skilled interpreter with world-class teachers," another commented.
"Your daughter must be very brilliant to be accepted as a student to both Madame Schwarz and Hisakawa-sensei," an executive from another company said. "They're known to have extremely high standards when it comes to accepting personal students. And it looks like they're watching over her closely, seeing that they even came today to accompany her."
Long Tengfei smiled and nodded at them. He replied to their words of praises with modesty, but he was actually preening inside on hearing about his own child's achievements. It was such a wonderful feeling!
Hearing all of the praises for his sister and the proud expression of their father, Long Jian's jealousy only intensified. He still didn't want to admit that he was jealous of Iris, though.
Long Jian still looked down on Iris, considering Long Hui as his biggest rival among his half-siblings. However, he was beginning to feel that Iris was becoming a bigger threat.
'Relax. She's only skilled in languages, not in business. Her language skills aren't enough for her to succeed as next head of Long Industries. I'm more capable than her,' Long Jian told himself.
Before they left, Iris made eye contact with Jin Liwei and Grandpa Lu. The two were chatting with several top executives from other multi-national companies. Grandpa Lu gave her a big smile and a wave, while Jin Liwei's lips moved imperceptibly.
Iris returned Grandpa Lu's smile and wave, and then read Jin Liwei's lips.
'I'll see you later,' he silently told her.
She smiled more widely and nodded at him in response. Her smile was so beautiful that several of the delegates stopped talking to stare at her. However, she quickly disappeared with Professor Schwarz and Professor Hisakawa.
Jin Liwei's cold and indifferent expression cracked a bit when he saw the others going in a daze because of his baby girl. He didn't know exactly what to feel.
On one hand, he felt smug that they had such a reaction at her beauty. After all, that was his baby girl! His woman! His (future) wife!
On the other hand, he wanted to gouge out their eyes, both men and women alike, for looking that way at his baby girl. She was his, not theirs!
"Calm down, boy!" Grandpa Lu told him knowing what Jin Liwei must be thinking. Then he thumped Jin Liwei's back hard three times.
Jin Liwei only blinked his eyes, not showing much reaction. But actually it felt like he was going to vomit all of his internal organs from the force.
They had no idea why Grandpa Lu was telling Jin Liwei to calm down, but they dismissed it as one of the old man's eccentricities. After all, Grandpa Lu was a known genius.
There were many who noticed the exchange of smiles and waves between Iris and Grandpa Lu earlier. Some were surprised while the others weren't. Many of the Chinese delegates were also members of high society. They had heard that Iris was engaged to Grandpa Lu's grandson. They informed the ones who didn't know about the matter.
After learning about such a connection between Iris and Grandpa Lu, it wasn't surprising anymore that they smiled and waved at each other. The foreign delegates were becoming more and more interested in her. She looked so young, yet she had such impressive connections.
Nobody thought that her breathtaking smile before she left was actually not for Grandpa Lu but for Jin Liwei instead.
There was a two-hour lunch break after the opening ceremony before the first batch of individual conferences would commence in the afternoon.
After eating, those who didn't have any conference in the afternoon and were done for the day returned to their hotels. Some even went on tours in the city. The ones who had conferences in the afternoon gathered in their own respective groups.
Jin Corporation's group continued to chat with the groups from the top multi-national companies. This time, however, another group joined these top dogs.
Grandpa Lu invited Long Industries to join them. Of course, Long Tengfei immediately accepted the invitation. This was an important opportunity to directly speak with the top executives in the world.
The other Chinese delegates looked on at Long Industries in envy, knowing that Grandpa Lu and Long Tengfei were future in-laws.
Finally, lunch time was over.
Iris and the two professors headed to the conference she was assigned to as its sole interpreter. It was a conference between the Chinese and French delegates.
Jin Corporation and Long Industries were among the attendees. Both the Chinese and the French delegates were surprised to see Iris in this conference. Was she interpreting again? Did she know French too? They thought she could only interpret in English and Mandarin.
She smiled warmly at Jin Liwei and Grandpa Lu from Jin Corporation's group and at Long Tengfei from Long Industries' group.
When everyone was seated, the host officially began the China-France business conference. And of course, Iris Long was introduced once again.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Iris Long and I'll be your interpreter for this conference," she said in both Mandarin and French.
The delegates' eyes widened in surprise hearing her speaking in perfect Parisian French.
Just like during the opening ceremony in the morning, Iris interpreted for all of the speakers in this conference. The Chinese and French delegates took turns in giving presentations. So far, Iris was able to interpret for them smoothly.
Her skills were put to the test during the questions and answers portion. The discussion had a quicker tempo and the exchanges between the delegates were rapid-fire.
Professor Schwarz sat beside Professor Hisakawa at a nondescript corner of the conference hall. She was taking notes while observing Iris' performance.
The China-France business conference finally ended in the late afternoon. Because of Iris' quick tempo of interpreting, this conference was actually the first to finish ahead of the other conferences happening at the same time.
Many of the delegates crowded around Iris to greet her personally.
"Miss Long, thank you very much for the hard work. You're amazing," a Chinese executive told her.
"You speak French like a native," a French delegate commented.
"Miss Iris Long, I'm actually a Black Star. May I ask for your autograph and maybe take a photo with you as well?" a relatively younger delegate asked her.
"Thank you for the support, sir. And yes you may," Iris replied with a warm smile. She would always have a soft spot for loyal Black Stars.
After signing an autograph and taking a picture with him, other Chinese delegates followed suit. Soon, it suddenly became an autograph and photo session with Iris.
"What's going on?" a confused French delegate asked in English.
"What? Really? That's amazing! Wait, I'll ask for an autograph and a photo too."
With that, some of the French delegates joined in the impromptu autograph and photo session with Iris.
Seeing all of the flies buzzing around his baby girl, someone was drowning in an ocean of vinegar.