The young man waiting in the gazebo seemed to realise that he was not behaving strangely. Or perhaps, he noticed the cold look that Zhong Feng sent his way. He calmed down immediately and approached them with a professional demeanour."Good afternoon, Mr Zhong." The man spoke in halting Mandarin.
Zhong Feng shook his hand and responded in the same way. He then turned to Hu Lei.
"My name is Furukawa Shun. Forgive my lack of fluency." He spoke with a wide smile.
Hu Lei wanted to roll her eyes, but she did not. If he did not know how to speak, why was he using complicated terms and complex sentence structures? However, she was not here as a critic. So, she smiled politely and bowed lightly while both her hands holding her purse.
"You do not have to worry about that, Mr Furukawa. I am Hu Lei, your interpreter for the day." She responded charmingly in j.a.panese.
"Your j.a.panese is perfect." The energetic man smiled even wider.
She nodded and spoke a modest word of thanks.
With the pleasantries out of the way, the party of three moved to the table, and business began.
Furukawa Shun looked like the playboy types who would be busy partying and drinking every day. However, one cannot really judge a book by its flamboyant cover. Once he began discussing business, his entire demeanour changed. His eyes became sharper, his hands stopped fidgeting and he spoke eloquently.
As the small interpreter, Hu Lei tried to minimise her presence though she had to speak more than the other two parties. Lin Man had said that an efficient interpreter should not become the centre of attention.
The business proposal was quite simple. Mushi Security Solutions was planning to expand their business to other parts of the continent. However, the company did not have their own software or hardware products. Rather, they provided managed information technology services to their clients.
With the continued rise of hacking attempts, more companies in the continent were investing a lot into cyber security. The foolish ones would only install basic solutions like firewalls, antimalware and authentication programs. However, these were not fool proof, and a good hacker would break down defences in a short period.
Mushi was at the frontline in terms of managed services in j.a.pan, and their reputation had provided an opportunity for expansion. Furukawa Shun was in charge of setting up a branch in Supreme City and providing the services to the rest of the country. And he wanted to make use of the products created by Etude Technologies.
If the use of the security software was successful, they would implement it in other branches.
Zhong Feng did not look excited about the deal, but Hu Lei could see a glimmer somewhere deep deep inside through his body language.
According to the reports, the security software products from Etude had the lowest sales in the last few quarter, falling behind general business programs like accounting, project management and helpdesk solutions as well as games.
The meeting continued for some time, causing Hu Lei to feel like she would drop from tiredness. However, she did not show it. She resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably in her chair and fidget. She only moved when sipping with reserve on her gla.s.s of water.
Finally, the meeting ended and the two men stood to shake hands. She also stood up on unsteady feet and smiled professionally at Furukawa Shun who once again became the overly energetic idol-like playboy.
The man then excused himself because he had matters to handle. With another smile, he left quickly with his fingers tapping insistently on his phone.
Hu Lei breathed out.
Her first a.s.signment was over, and it had not gone on poorly.