Bob froze for a moment and instinctively started to rise. Li Jie held him down with one hand.
"Boss, get your speech ready. I'll go greet him."
He quietly slipped toward the conference room exit, but this visitor seemed to have no intention of giving anyone time to react or welcome him. As though he were returning to his own living room, he ignored the administrative officer beside him who was trying to show him the way and exchange pleasantries, and strode through the doorway with several attendants into the somewhat cramped, shabby venue.
The group's arrival plunged the room and the area outside into a brief, uncanny silence. The officers might not have recognized every billionaire, but this face appeared so often in the gossip and financial pages that it was impossible to miss. Whispers spread like a tide as the reporters frantically swung their cameras from Oliver Queen to Bruce Wayne, their flashes erupting several times more furiously than before.
Bob stood onstage with his speech in hand and gave their previous benefactor a fawning smile. A professional smile instantly appeared on Li Jie's face, and he hurried forward, extending his hand.
"Mr. Wayne, what an honor. Why didn't you let us know in advance? We could have prepared..."
But Bruce didn't even look at the outstretched hand. With the casual familiarity of a spoiled rich kid, he simply patted Li Jie on the shoulder and walked past him, his gaze locking straight onto Oliver Queen beside the small podium.
"Jay," he said with a smile in his voice that concealed an air of authority and control, "you didn't tell me we had such an interesting guest today."
Without breaking stride, he walked straight toward Oliver, still wearing that signature, devil-may-care smile of a wealthy playboy. "Oliver Queen?