Rebirth of Hong Kong Island, leading the technology war

Chapter 588 The Paparazzi's Ghostly Appearances: Boss Hu's Aerospace Expert Identity Questioned

Deng Dapeng and Zhao Haitao were somewhat confused; it seemed they genuinely didn't know anything about these things.

Hu Jiangshan laughed: "I say, you guys aren't the legendary paparazzi, are you?"

Deng Dapeng quickly retorted, "Who? So you're saying we're paparazzi? We're just... we're just Chen Yifei's fans."

Zhao Haitao also said, "Yes, yes, we are Chen Yifei's fans. We are talking to you for no other reason than to ask about her recent situation."

Hu Jiangshan said, "I'm sorry, you've really mistaken me for someone else this time. I have nothing to say to you."

Seeing that Hu Jiangshan's side seemed to be getting nothing out of them, and they couldn't get any information about Chen Yifei, Deng Dapeng and Zhao Haitao realized that continuing the conversation would be pointless, so they slunk back to their seats.

The two of them still refused to leave and ordered two more cups of coffee while sitting in the restaurant.

It seems they intend to stay there long-term and are unwilling to give up easily.

Joining the paparazzi is really not easy; it's not just similar to being a spy, it's practically the same.

Of course, it would be too arbitrary to say that there is absolutely no difference between the two; a spy might be arrested and executed.

The paparazzi won't be in any real danger; at most they'll be kicked out, but their lives won't be in any real risk.

From this perspective, being a paparazzi is a profession with low risk but high potential reward.

If you can get a big news story or a major event that generates enough influence, you can make a lot of money. No wonder so many people become paparazzi, even though it's not exactly a respectable profession.

When there is widespread praise, there will surely be brave men.

Wealth is the most tempting thing to people.

Deng Dapeng glanced at Hu Jiangshan a few more times: "Tell me, is what this kid is saying true or not?"

Zhao Haitao frowned: "How could it be true? He lies without even thinking, he must be a repeat offender. Putting everything else aside, the woman who boarded the ship with him, do you dare say it wasn't Chen Yifei?"

Deng Dapeng nodded: "Indeed, the one with him is Chen Yifei, it couldn't be anyone else. I would recognize Chen Yifei's gait even if she were ashes!"

"So this person is too cunning. We can't let him lead us astray. We have to keep an eye on him."

"That's right. We've finally found a clue, so we absolutely can't let him get away. Let's be patient and follow the trail; we're sure to find something."

Zhao Haitao said in a low voice, "Finding Chen Yifei is secondary now; there are more important things to do."

"what?"

"This person boarded the ship with Chen Yifei and was alone with her. Do you think there's something going on between them?"

Zhao Haitao and Deng Dapeng both looked at Hu Jiangshan again, almost simultaneously.

At this moment, all the items Hu Jiangshan ordered were served.

The restaurant doesn't serve food very quickly, but the food is quite exquisite.

Deng Dapeng said, "You know what, this guy is actually quite good-looking. Maybe Chen Yifei really does like this type."

Zhao Haitao said, "By the way, what do you think he does?"

"Didn't he just say that attending a technical conference, especially one related to aerospace, means he's most likely a professional in that industry?"

"He works in the aerospace industry; he's an aerospace engineer. Do you think it's a good match?"

"Not at all! This guy doesn't look like an engineer or a scientist at all; he looks more like an academic."

Zhao Haitao clearly disagreed: "Don't be ridiculous. So young to be doing academics? What can he possibly produce? He'd be lucky if he could be an assistant to a professor who's actually doing academic work."

"So, he's just a pretentious criminal."

"Of course, look at his fair skin and delicate features, and the clothes he's wearing are all designer brands. He's probably some rich kid from somewhere."

"No, if he were just an ordinary rich kid, would Chen Yifei be interested in him? Isn't it said that Chen Yifei is very strict in choosing boyfriends, and she hasn't found a suitable one yet?"

"Hey! These are all things said publicly, but the reality is not necessarily true! What celebrity is ever a respectable person? It's just that Chen Yifei hasn't been caught red-handed yet. She's cautious and good at hiding her true colors, that's for sure."

"That's right, that's exactly it. We still need to dig deeper. Maybe we'll uncover a shocking secret. Then we can live off it for years even if we don't work."

Just then, Zhao Haitao's eyes lit up, and he waved towards the door.

"Old Cao! Old Cao! Over here!"

Three people entered through the door, each wearing an identification badge that read "Interview Permit".

The three of them were the real journalists, from the online media department of a major local newspaper, there to conduct media interviews for this aerospace technology exchange meeting.

The leader was called Lao Cao, whose real name was Cao Bing. He was nearly 40 years old, which would make him a relatively senior reporter.

In fact, Cao Bing is indeed very experienced; otherwise, he wouldn't have been chosen to lead the interview team.

It's important to understand that although this event is just a technical exchange meeting, it's still of a very high standard, at the vice-ministerial level. Ordinary journalists aren't qualified to cover such events.

Zhao Haitao and Cao Bing were very close, and they would often have a few drinks together or get their feet washed.

It seems that paparazzi have a lot of connections and extensive networks, especially in the media industry, where they have many acquaintances; otherwise, they wouldn't have chosen this path.

You can't be a paparazzi without sufficient media resources.

To put it more bluntly, there are barriers to entry in the paparazzi industry.

Cao Bing came over with two colleagues and sat down opposite him.

Cao Bing asked, "So? Did you two find the real target?"

"Hey, we all saw it. We even spotted Chen Yifei's assistant. We followed her for a while, but she still managed to get away."

Cao Bing chuckled: "Ha, in your line of work, you really can't do without some counter-surveillance skills, you still need to practice!"

Zhao Haitao said, "Old Cao, we've already done a great job, but someone just rescued Chen Yifei."

"Huh? She's been rescued? Interesting, this is like something out of a movie! Who was it? Who could possibly save her?"

Zhao Haitao lowered his voice and said, "Do you believe that person is sitting in the restaurant?"

Cao Bing's expression changed: "What? Right here? No way? You're kidding me?"

"Old Cao, what's the point of me joking about something like this?"

At this moment, Deng Dapeng pointed to Hu Jiangshan's side: "That's the guy. That guy rescued Chen Yifei. The two of them even went on the boat alone and stayed on the boat for more than an hour. I don't know what they were doing."

Cao Bing laughed: "You two are talking like it's the truth. Are you also going to say that the boat was rocking really hard?... What was it called again?"

Another reporter said, "It's called ship shaking."

"Yes, yes, yes, 'ship shaking,' that's a good term, very fitting!" Everyone couldn't help but laugh.

"You guys really have no nice things to say. You always have to eat meat when you get together, don't you?"

"What's the big deal? There are no outsiders here, we can just have some fun."

"Exactly, besides, we didn't say anything. Only people with evil thoughts would think that way."

The reason Deng Dapeng and Zhao Haitao were able to stay so comfortably in this hotel was actually thanks to Cao Bing's connections. Cao Bing had acquaintances at the hotel, which allowed them to freely enter and exit the restaurant, conference rooms, and even take the elevator to their rooms.

This is extremely convenient for paparazzi.

However, one thing that is inconvenient for them is that the hotel refuses to let them view the surveillance footage unless they have relevant professional certifications, such as the identity of Uncle Hat.

At this moment, Deng Dapeng said, "By the way, Brother Tao, are you guys interviewing an event at the hotel this time?"

Cao Bing nodded: "That's right, it's a two-day event. We've only had one day of fun today, and there's only one more day left until it ends tomorrow."

"What kind of event is it? It's not some kind of aerospace technology forum, is it?"

"It was an aerospace technology exchange meeting. Anyway, it was pretty boring. It was attended by a bunch of tech experts, and we couldn't understand what they were saying. We could only record it and slowly transcribe it. Generally speaking, it wasn't very interesting."

Deng Dapeng said, "It's that person, that young man. He said he came to attend this aerospace technology exchange meeting."

The three reporters, including Cao Bing, looked astonished.

"What? He attended the aerospace technology exchange conference?"

Cao Bing said, "That's impossible. Was he even at the exchange meeting?"

Cao Bing glanced at his two other colleagues.

Cao Bing, a veteran reporter, is a seasoned veteran. He often doesn't go to the scene when he's on a field assignment, just trying to slack off. At most, he'll show his face briefly at the scene and then leave, leaving the work to younger colleagues.

Especially for such a boring and tedious event, it's better to go to a hotel room and sleep than to stay in the venue.

One of the reporters said, "Now that you mention it, it does seem a bit like that. He must have gone up to the podium and said something."

"No way, that's incredible?"

Cao Bing glanced at Hu Jiangshan a few times, then clicked his tongue: "That's not right. There are so many tech experts and foreign experts here, how could it be his turn to speak? Is there some mistake?"

The young reporter seemed confused as well, or perhaps a little face-blind, and shook his head: "I don't remember either, but it looks somewhat similar."

At this moment, Zhao Haitao ordered a few cups of coffee, intending to chat while drinking.

Cao Bing waved his hand: "No, no, this kid looks so young, he doesn't seem like a tech guy, he looks more like a rich kid. Even if he attended this kind of exchange meeting, he wouldn't be able to speak. It's not even his turn. Even if we put it another way, he doesn't have the ability to speak. He'd just spout some empty talk, and those tech experts and big shots would laugh their heads off. Unless he's an idiot, he definitely wouldn't do that."

Deng Dapeng and Zhao Haitao looked at each other in bewilderment.

"So, that guy might be talking nonsense."

Cao Bing smiled faintly: "Of course it's nonsense. If he were a rich second-generation, nine out of ten things he said would be lies, just to show off. I've seen too many people like that."

Zhao Haitao said, "Old Cao, you're right. If he weren't good with words, he wouldn't have been able to fool Chen Yifei."

Cao Bing said, "Are you sure the person who got on the ship with him is really Chen Yifei? Maybe it's someone else. You might have seen wrong."

The other reporters nodded in agreement and began to chatter amongst themselves.

"Yeah, why did Chen Yifei suddenly come to Hangzhou? Isn't she just bored? She doesn't have a job here, does she want to eat West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce? That's impossible."

“We didn’t receive any news at all. If Chen Yifei had come to Hangzhou, we would definitely have been notified through internal channels.”

As mentioned earlier, media reporters usually have some clandestine channels to obtain sensitive and important information.

For example, updates on certain public events, breaking news, and of course, the activities of celebrities.

Even if they don't work in the entertainment industry, as long as they are public figures, they will pay more or less attention to them.

Chen Yifei is no ordinary woman; she is very influential, and it could even be said that she has broken out of her niche.

Chen Yifei has influence within the entertainment industry, and she also has considerable influence outside of it.

Zhao Haitao and Deng Dapeng exchanged a glance and smiled simultaneously.

"Hehe, this is where you real reporters fall short of us paparazzi."

“I told you long ago, we are sometimes better informed than you are, and we have more channels.”

Cao Bing said, "Alright, I know you guys have a lot of crooked tricks up your sleeves, but sometimes you make mistakes too."

"Old Cao, don't worry, there's absolutely no mistake. This guy is definitely with Chen Yifei. We've been traveling all over the country for so many years, we're very experienced, we can't make a mistake in judging people, otherwise we wouldn't be in this business!"

Cao Bing said, "Okay. Have you asked him what the situation is?"

"I asked him, but he wouldn't tell me."

Zhao Haitao then recounted the conversation between the two of them and Hu Jiangshan.

Cao Bing raised an eyebrow: "Wow, this kid's pretty tough, managing to send you all back like that!"

Zhao Haitao said with a tearful face, "That's right, Lao Cao. We don't have any evidence. He insists it's not Chen Yifei, and we can't refute him. We can't just tie him up, can we? We might end up working on a sewing machine."

Deng Dapeng said, "Old Cao, you're more capable. Why don't you go and help us sound him out? You're experienced, maybe you can break his defenses."

Cao Bing waved his hand: "Don't flatter me like that. On the other hand, I am somewhat interested in Chen Yifei. I'll go ask her."

Deng Dapeng and Zhao Haitao are of one mind.

Cao Bing, a seasoned veteran in the media industry, has a variety of methods, some of which are quite unscrupulous but very effective.

When Lao Cao takes action, he's definitely worth two people; he's far superior to these unemployed paparazzi.

Hu Jiangshan never expected that he would be watched by so many people and discussed so much.

Cao Bing walked over and asked, "Hey buddy, wanna chat for a bit?"

Hu Jiangshan said calmly, "Can I say no?"

"Of course you can say that, but I'm a reporter. I heard you attended a space technology exchange meeting?"

Hu Jiangshan looked up at Cao Bing's press pass and said, "If you're here to cover this technical exchange meeting, you should have seen me before, right?"

"I've never seen you before, so I find it strange. In what capacity are you attending this technical exchange meeting?"

(End of this chapter)