Chapter 1 First Time in San Francisco

It was his first time traveling to San Francisco on a private jet.

For safety reasons, the captain suggested a slight delay to fly to Alaska first for refueling before heading to San Francisco.

Looking at the map, it seemed that flying straight would be the shortest route, but the conventional route from Hong Kong to San Francisco was through Japanese airspace.

Su Yehao listened to the captain's arrangement and started watching a movie as soon as he boarded the plane. It was *Con Air*, released last year.

Last time he went to Silicon Valley, he took Yin Liuli with him, which made it inconvenient to go to many places, and he didn't dare to chat up any white girls.

Learning from his previous experience, Su Yehao had already started planning to broaden his horizons, such as visiting adult clubs, which had always intrigued him.

Yes, the kind where they twist and turn around a pole, with less and less clothing...

Linda Yun, who came to work as his personal secretary, grew up in San Francisco. She could not only act as a translator but also as a tour guide.

Getting a chance to return to her hometown at public expense, and on a comfortable private plane, Linda Yun was clearly in a good mood. She was wearing a woman's formal suit, a white shirt, a black suit, a skirt, and high heels. While watching the movie, she asked:

"Your itinerary hasn't been arranged yet. Are you planning to stay in San Francisco for one night first, or go directly to a hotel near Stanford University in Silicon Valley? The information has already been collected through American Express. Once you decide, I'll call to reserve a room after we get off the plane."

"Well, no rush. I've been to San Francisco before. Let's go straight to Silicon Valley."

Next, apart from the refueling stop, they would spend more than ten hours on the plane. To avoid being tormented by jet lag again, Su Yehao had decided to adjust in advance and sleep at a suitable time.

He thought of something and asked Linda Yun, "Are housing prices in Silicon Valley expensive? If TVT takes off, I should be going there often in the future. I think it would be nice to buy a house directly, even if it's a five-star hotel, it's not as reassuring."

Linda Yun looked at Su Yehao and said with a smile:

"You bought enough land to build several villas to use as a yard. Even luxury homes in Manhattan, New York, or the San Francisco Highlands wouldn't be anything to you, so it shouldn't be too expensive. I'll need to ask others for specifics."

"Then take advantage of this trip to Silicon Valley and buy a place near the R&D center. It doesn't need to be too big, just three or five rooms, with a garden and a comfortable environment."

Changing the subject, Su Yehao continued, "I heard that American girls are bold and outgoing. You grew up in San Francisco, but you don't seem to be influenced by that trend. If I go to a bar and chat someone up... should I be more direct?"

"...Not everyone is like that. For example, Catholic girls, some people are very conservative. Don't be influenced by Hollywood movies. I grew up in Chinatown at first, but later my parents thought the治安 (zhì ān, public security) was terrible, so they moved me to a Chinese community. I rarely went out to parties. My family is quite strict."

Linda Yun vaguely sensed his little scheme. After hesitating, she chose to remind him, "According to your age, you can't even buy alcohol in California. Besides, Nangong Tian specifically told me to keep an eye on you when we go out."

"That sounds like something she would do. I'm just asking. Chatting can also be a way to meet new friends."

Su Yehao didn't guard against Linda Yun. She had already met Nong Qingying and Yin Liuli during this period. With Nangong Tian's little tricks, she probably just asked her to help out. There's no need to make a fuss.

With Linda Yun's personality, she wouldn't do anything to stab someone in the back. After all, she was being paid by Su Yehao, and she signed a confidentiality agreement when she joined the company.

Linda Yun, who didn't believe that Su Yehao just wanted to meet some "new friends," continued to remind him in a low voice:

"Some white girls are playful, bold, and full of personality, and they are indeed easy to fall for, but you are already very lucky. You might not find a white girl prettier than them after walking several blocks."

Gu Ting had been teaching for too long, and her relationship with Su Yehao was unusual. Linda Yun liked to give him lessons when she had nothing to do, obviously treating him like a young punk.

Su Yehao was slightly speechless, nodding in agreement and saying, "I understand. If our values are different, it's hard to get along. I never thought about changing girlfriends."

…

Even though it was a private jet, staying in a small space for a long time was still uncomfortable.

Taking advantage of the landing at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska, Su Yehao got off the plane to walk around. In May, the air was slightly cool. The gift shop in the terminal sold various handicrafts. He used cash to buy a bronze Kodiak bear sculpture.

The price of more than three thousand US dollars had kept it from selling in the store, and it was covered in dust.

He felt it was pleasing to the eye and suitable for the study, so he paid without saying a word.

Taking advantage of the signal, he sent text messages to the girls to report that he was safe, and also called John Zhou to arrange three cars to pick him up at the airport.

More than an hour later, he boarded the plane again and continued to fly to San Francisco. Looking down from an altitude of more than 10,000 meters, he only felt that the land was vast and full of greenery.

They also passed several cities in Canada along the way.

The entire country of Canada, with a land area of 9.98 million square kilometers, has a population of only over 30 million. The resources are distributed to each person, so of course, they seem very abundant.

When chatting, Linda Yun mentioned Canada, saying that she once wanted to go to Toronto to work and live. Su Yehao thought about the problem from a rather strange angle, only saying that it would definitely be difficult to make big money developing real estate here. The number of potential buyers limited the market size.

The same goes for Australia.

He inexplicably thought of his classmate Huang Zewen, who went to study in Australia. Strictly speaking, this guy was considered Su Yehao and Yin Liuli's "matchmaker." He wondered how he was doing now.

He started sleeping after entering American airspace. When he woke up, feeling the turbulence, the plane had already stopped at San Francisco International Airport.

Three rented Mercedes-Benz G500s were slowly driving towards the private plane. At a little after ten in the morning, local time, John Zhou got out of the car and immediately walked quickly to Su Yehao's side, asking after his well-being.

Yawning.

Su Yehao put on his sunglasses and said, "Go directly to the company. I'll continue to catch up on sleep in the car. Any news from iCQ?"

"No, after the last contact, I said I'd consider it, and then there was no movement. But a new buyer came to the door, a bigger company. Can you guess which one?"

John Zhou took the initiative to transfer to the Silicon Valley branch and continue to serve as the chief operating officer. As for the selection of the chief executive officer, the headhunting company had scouted a few, but Su Yehao was not satisfied, so it was temporarily put on hold. Anyway, the business hadn't officially started yet, so there was no need to rush.

Seeing him being mysterious, Su Yehao casually said, "iCQ is currently valued at 800 million US dollars. Bigger than that, could it be America Online? Microsoft?"

John Zhou shook his head and smiled, "Neither. It's a venture capital subsidiary of Apple..."