After greeting several people, Mr. Townsend raised his voice and said in fluent English, "My friends, welcome to beautiful Seattle! This morning, we will head to the University of Seattle to attend the Turing Award ceremony and congratulate Mr. Shen of Huaxia on becoming this year's laureate."
As he spoke, Mr. Townsend turned to Shen Bing with a beaming smile, his expression full of congratulations.
Shen Bing returned a faint smile.
We're all acting anyway. Let's see who's better at it.
"To help everyone get to know Seattle better, several other company executives and I will personally introduce the sights along the way," Mr. Townsend said with a smile. "I hope you'll come to like this city even more after hearing what we have to share."
A round of applause broke out.
Suddenly, Mr. Townsend looked at Shen Bing and said with a smile, "I hear you brought a car with you, Mr. Shen. If you don't like squeezing in with everyone else, you're welcome to take your own car. Just follow our convoy."
Shen Bing sneered inwardly. The bastard's really putting me on the spot.
Could he say he disliked squeezing in with everyone? That would damn well offend people. Shen Bing wasn't afraid of offending anyone, but he couldn't give these foreigners something to laugh at while he was abroad, could he?
"It's fine! I'll travel with everyone else," Shen Bing said.
"You certainly are a good sport, Mr. Shen!" Townsend said with a smile.
Good sport, my ass! I just want to see what you're up to.
Townsend then led everyone outside, where seven custom Toyota Coasters stood in a row.
The first was a limited-edition Coaster. Although its exterior looked little different from an ordinary minibus, its interior was downright luxurious, and its price was equally