The first call wasn"t successful. As before, it reached an automated reply.
There wasn"t an automated reply for the second call. It was diverted to Nanfeng.
"Hi, this is Fang Zhao"s a.s.sistant. May I know who…" Nanfeng had already received many calls looking for Fang Zhao during this period and had become well-practiced.
The manager"s face turned dark as he s.n.a.t.c.hed the communications device. "I am the person in charge of Fiery Bird"s year-end customer grat.i.tude ceremony. Put Fang Zhao on right away!"
Nanfeng"s tone became much more serious when he heard that this was Fiery Bird"s personnel. He explained, "I"m really sorry, Fang Zhao is—"
"—I"m not listening to that! Put Fang Zhao through!"
"Sorry, he really has no way…"
Beep——
The call hung up even before Nanfeng finished his sentence.
Nanfeng used his hand to wipe away the sweat on his forehead. He felt slightly worried for Fang Zhao. That was Fiery Bird! If his explanation wasn"t good, who knew if he would his endors.e.m.e.nt deals next year. It might even affect future collaboration with Fiery Bird. However, Fang Zhao"s team really had no way of explaining. He couldn"t divulge anything right now and could only wait for the conference to end. If anything was leaked, Nanfeng could almost guarantee that there would be news of Fang Zhao getting kicked out of the Whale Island Region before the end of the day.
To offend Fiery Bird, or to be kicked out of the Whale Island Region? There was no need to ask Fang Zhao; Nanfeng had already made the choice.
"Sigh, best to let boss complete his a.s.signment before going over to explain. My words carry no weight and people won"t listen."
Nanfeng"s friends were acting pretentious as they ran around to all sorts of events with their own celebrity bosses. Nanfeng"s heart also itched, but he couldn"t flaunt anything!
Elsewhere with the Fiery Bird year-end customer grat.i.tude ceremony planning team, the manager"s face turned rigid for the third time. He was thinking that if the third time was the same as the previous two times, he would advise the higher-ups to change the endorser next year!
Yes, Fang Zhao"s ears were very special. He had also been commended by the official military media outlets and had achieved high level artistic awards. However, that didn"t mean he could behave like that! Was it acceptable to act so self-important before Fiery Bird?
Less than five minutes later, the third call was made. The third call didn"t receive an automated reply. Neither was it diverted to Fang Zhao"s a.s.sistant. Instead, an unfamiliar voice answered the call.
"h.e.l.lo, may I know what you are inquiring about?" A gentle yet unfeeling voice answered in a formal manner.
The manager"s brows twitched. "I"m looking for Fang Zhao. Put Fang Zhao through!"
"Fang Zhao currently has matters to attend to and isn"t free. If you have any urgent matters, I can help you relay the message."
The manager took a deep breath and said furiously, "Tell him, in half an hour… No, he better return the call in ten minutes. Otherwise, don"t even dream about endorsing Fiery Bird next year!!"
Bam! The communications device was thrown onto the conference table and the manager pulled a long face. He was in an extremely bad mood, and the others involved in the planning were slightly fearful.
Ten minutes later, a call had yet to come.
The manager"s fury ascended to another level and he sent a message to the Fiery Bird headquarters for Deputy Director Tang Can. The message explained Fang Zhao"s disappearance and rejection of Fiery Bird"s year-end customer grat.i.tude ceremony. He also recommended kicking Fang Zhao out of next year"s collaboration list.
Tang Can was also very quick to send a reply. "Just handle the year-end customer grat.i.tude ceremony well. Don"t ask me about this matter. Anything else will be discussed at a later time. Alas, for this matter, Fang Zhao has indeed…"
Elsewhere, Tang Can and a few other senior executives of the headquarters had arrived on Whale Island. He didn"t say too much in his hasty reply to the planning team. Right now, his focus was on the Whale Island Conference. He had no time to bother with the year-end customer grat.i.tude ceremony and left it all to the manager of the planning team.
"Alright, I"m busy on my side. I"m afraid that I won"t be able to manage the year-end customer grat.i.tude ceremony. Don"t contact me unless there are especially important matters."
With that, Tang Can ended the voice message and stepped out of the flying transport along with the few other company executives.
As some of Fiery Bird"s product parts were used in military projects, those fortunate would be able to come and gain experience. One could forget about having dreams of continuous career advancement without attending a few of these conferences. This was Tang Can"s second time partic.i.p.ating in the Whale Island Conference. The previous time had been ten years ago when he had managed to get a spot to be an extra. This time around, his status had already risen quite a bit, and Tang Can couldn"t help but feel a little nostalgic as he stood in the Whale Island Airport once more.
"I don"t know if it is just me, but it feels like the security on Whale Island is much stricter compared to ten years ago." Tang Can sighed.
"It isn"t just you. Their security has indeed become more strict. All of you, check your belongings and try to remember if you have brought any prohibited items in your luggage," one of the Fiery Bird senior executives said.
After checking and placing their luggage on the conveyor belt, Tang Can"s party followed the signs and headed to another pa.s.sage.
Airports at other places would always be noisy and clamorous. However, a solemn atmosphere permeated every corner of this place. Returning conference partic.i.p.ants were subconsciously more prudent in their words and actions.
Tang Can"s back was drenched in sweat from layer after layer of security checks. The others weren"t much better.
"Rest for a bit first. We"ll go over and collect the luggage in a bit," the person at the head said.
Tang Can got up to the refreshments booth to get some cups of water. He handed them out before keeping the last cup for himself. As he drank, he observed the surroundings. There were other people that had arrived around the same time as their party. He was familiar with these people. They had collaborated before so he exchanged muted greetings.
There were also some familiar looking faces that he couldn"t put a name to. Tang Can tried to search for the information in his mind as he continued to look around. However, when his gaze fell on a certain spot, Tang Can froze.
The exit they had just headed out from was flanked by two men, each with a leashed dog. Those were people from Whale Island Region"s inspection team. Tang Can and the others simply hadn"t noticed them when they came out!
Fang Zhao was scanning the conference partic.i.p.ants that had just stepped out from the airport to look for anyone suspicious. Sensing Tang Can"s gaze on him, Fang Zhao paused and nodded slightly at Tang Can before continuing to watch the arrivals. His gaze was sharp and incisive like an eagle watching its prey. It caused Tang Can to s.h.i.+ver slightly.
"Ack! Cough… Cough cough…"
Tang Can choked on his water, and his face turned red.
"What"s wrong?" The others in his party were concerned.
"N-Nothing, I just feel that the atmosphere is too tense and choked on my water since I wasn"t paying attention," Tang Can replied.
"You haven"t attended this sort of conference in far too long. Feeling this way is absolutely normal. Relax, as long as you haven"t done anything wrong and abide by the rules, you don"t have to worry about the inspection team. The police won"t haul you off for interrogation," another aged man comforted him with a chuckle.
Tang Can thought to himself, Don"t say anymore. I am feeling guilty right now!
He glanced over in Fang Zhao"s direction. Indeed, he hadn"t seen wrongly. Tang Can sent a voice message to the year-end customer grat.i.tude ceremony"s manager.
"Don"t bother about the matter with Fang Zhao first!!!"
The manager busy preparing for the year-end customer grat.i.tude ceremony was momentarily stunned when he received the message. His mind went to work quickly.
Where was Tang Can?
Whale Island!
Why hadn"t Tang Can said all this before? How come he only sent this now when had when he had just arrived at Whale Island? His tone sounded shocked!
Could it be that…
Tang Can had seen Fang Zhao at Whale Island?
But, was Fang Zhao qualified to be at Whale Island?
Perhaps he is there to perform?
In just a moment, the manager had already came up with a whole host of possibilities.
No matter what sort of possibility it was, at the very least, he could deduce that the possibility of Tang Can running into Fang Zhao on Whale Island was at least seventy percent! If it was related to the Whale Island Conference, Tang Can wouldn"t be able to say anything, let alone explain the circ.u.mstances there clearly.
Right, if Fang Zhao was on Whale Island and couldn"t answer calls freely, then who had answered the third call? Who had he flipped out on?
The color on his face fluctuated from green to red to white. The others from the planning team had no idea what he was mulling over when they saw this.
Afterwards, the planning team members all said their piece, and all matters were settled in succession. The manager summed up the meeting, fixed the list of invited endorsers from the various continents and finally said, "As for Fang Zhao…"
The other members of the planning team were waiting for the manager to flip out. They had made guesses as to whether their team leader had already reported the matter up about wanting to remove Fang Zhao"s endors.e.m.e.nt deals next year. Little did they know…
The manager had a warm expression without the slightest trace of anger. He even had a wide smile. "Perhaps Fang Zhao is really somewhat inconvenienced. Let"s listen to his explanation when he is able to spare the time in future. We mustn"t be so demanding of our partner celebrities. People ought to be given a chance to explain themselves, right?"
Other members in the planning team: "…" Who is demanding?
Boss, this wasn"t what you said before!
As expected of the planning team leader! He changes his tune even quicker then one can blink.
Huangzhou, Whale Island Region
Fang Zhao had just returned to his dormitory after his s.h.i.+ft at the airport and received the message relayed by the switchboard operator.
He had no way of explaining to Fiery Bird"s customer grat.i.tude ceremony planning team at the moment and could only wait for the conference to conclude. However, thinking back to seeing that deputy director of Fiery Bird at the airport today, he thought that perhaps their side would know the reason without Fang Zhao even needing to explain to them.
A short while after returning to the dormitory, Fang Zhao was called over by Captain Zhao Chao.
"Are you able to get used to the workload?"
"No problems," Fang Zhao responded.
"Very good. The workload will increase as it gets closer to the start of the conference. You must be prepared. If you have any needs, feel free to raise them—even issues with the accommodations or food. Don"t let other small issues affect your work," Zhao Chao said.
"Captain, I wish to request for more dog food!"
"… Let"s talk about something else."
Fang Zhao"s previous request had been turned down by the canine specialist veterinarian. This time, the request was turned down as well.