The Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands is in The Hague.
Fortunately, it's not far from Amsterdam, just a 40-minute train ride.
Sean arrived punctually, right on time, and was warmly welcomed by Ambassador Chen.
Sean had originally planned to come with his mother; the invitation stated he could bring one companion, a female companion, and by extension, family.
However, the Chinese Embassy in Belgium also sent an invitation, and Sean, unable to be in two places at once, had to ask his mother to attend on his behalf.
Anna, on the other hand, was quite pleased; her roots were in Belgium after all, so she was naturally more willing to prioritize socializing there.
As an envoy of a major power, Ambassador Chen was very eloquent and not shy about praising people.
Terms like "young and promising" and "light of the Chinese" were heaped upon Sean.
When Sean responded in fluent Mandarin, Ambassador Chen's eyes suddenly widened, and his smile visibly brightened considerably.
At the beginning of the banquet, Ambassador Chen delivered a New Year's address, then took Sean around for more than ten minutes, introducing him to many important figures.
For example, the Minister of Justice of the Netherlands.
There were also some businesspeople, such as the president of the Chinese United Chamber of Commerce.
It wasn't until it was truly time to discuss serious matters that Ambassador Chen reluctantly let go of Sean, allowing him to enjoy himself.
The attendees at this banquet were quite diverse.
There were many foreigners, overseas Chinese, and Chinese.
Except for a few overseas Chinese who held the old-fashioned belief that only scholarly pursuits were noble, both foreigners and Chinese were interested in Sean.
After being freed from Ambassador Chen's protection, Sean became even busier, switching between Chinese, Dutch, and English, his CPU almost burning out, while the eyes of those around him grew brighter.
Sean finally managed to find an opportunity to escape the crowd, holding a glass of iced water and hiding in a corner, taking a small sip.
'Damn, it's too cold!'
Iced water consumes extra vital energy, so Sean didn't want to drink it anymore.
Despite this, being able to leisurely admire the vibrant spring scenery was still worthwhile.
Many beautiful women attended the banquet, most with good figures. Even if their figures weren't perfect, they would use various methods to sculpt themselves into a great shape to fit into their evening gowns.
Coupled with everyone conversing politely, with no one showing off any grand gestures, the scene was naturally pleasing to the eye.
Sean watched, feeling refreshed and content.
"Sean!"
A pleasant shout came.
Sean frowned slightly and turned his head. Who was so oblivious—hmm?
A beautiful Chinese young woman wearing an off-the-shoulder dress.
Among a sea of low-cut dresses, only exposing her shoulders was definitely considered conservative.
It was just that her excellent curves kept her charm undiminished.
If it weren't for the obvious baby fat on her oval face and her excessively slender waist, Sean would have doubted her age.
However,
Why did she look a bit familiar?
Sean racked his brain, staring into the beauty's eyes, and softly asked, "Su Muxue?"
Su Muxue raised a hand to her forehead, "I wore light makeup as usual, and today only my hairstyle is different. You don't recognize me?"
Sean gave an embarrassed smile, opened his arms, and gave her a brief, air hug.
"It's mainly because we're out of school; seeing you here, I almost didn't dare to recognize you."
Yes, this beauty was his former high school classmate, but they weren't actually very close, which was the main reason Sean was a beat slow in reacting.
Sean was always in a hurry at school, spending much less time there than regular students. He was also busy studying and didn't spend his time chasing girls like other athlete students.
Su Muxue was a Chinese international student, whose main focus was studying, preparing to get into university more easily.
Their rhythms were completely different.
Su Muxue was clearly wealthy, while Sean was just an ordinary person.
Su Muxue was Chinese, Sean was Chinese.
Su Muxue was the object of pursuit for most boys.
Sean was only somewhat famous, not even pursued by cheerleaders.
The differences were still very significant.
So, the two only knew each other; they weren't really close.
However,
Sean had a good impression of Su Muxue. In his memory, she was aloof to everyone around her, regardless of their race, unlike many female international students who seemed to lose control when they saw white men.
Moreover,
After all, they were classmates, and meeting outside of school, especially in a place surrounded by strangers, naturally made them a bit closer.
"Congratulations on finally making it into the professional League and achieving success."
"Thank you, but I'm still far from achieving success."
"Haha~ Now you're a bit like your old humble and cautious self. Just now, I saw you chatting eloquently with everyone, and I almost couldn't believe my eyes. Oh, right, what were you looking at just now? I called you, and you reacted so slowly."
"Looking at beautiful women!"
"Huh?!"
"Don't you think there are many beautiful women here?"
"I really didn't expect you to be like this, Sean. You haven't turned into a playboy, have you, planning to pursue one or several of them?"
"Wow~ I also didn't expect you to be like this, Su Muxue. You're not as open as those easy girls, are you?"
"Don't change the subject; you still haven't answered my question!"
"Haha, you're overthinking it. Although there are many beautiful women here, their average age is slightly older. For most of them, this is their most beautiful state right now."
"What do you mean?"
"It means I'm only appreciating them now and don't want to see them after they undress. I don't want to hurt my eyes at all!"
"Ah?" Su Muxue thought for a while before understanding Sean's meaning: that many people's bodies were deformed in various places and could only be shaped by clothes or other gear. "Why is your mouth so venomous?!"
Sean shrugged, "We have to respect the facts. They are still very beautiful right now, aren't they?"
"No, I think most of them genuinely maintain good figures, and it's not like you said."
"Maybe, but I wouldn't bet on it. Just appreciating them like this is enough for now."
"You~" Su Muxue was speechless. The guy was just enjoying the scenery; she couldn't exactly encourage him to go flirt with women, could she?
But to refute her, this guy had spouted such a long fallacy. Although it seemed he had conceded, how did that fallacy get etched into her mind?
"Forget it," Su Muxue waved her hand, "Why am I discussing this with you? I was wrong. I just intended to tease you a bit, but I overdid it and might affect your image."
"Ah?" Now it was Sean's turn to be confused. "No, I think it's great; I feel much more relaxed. How could it affect my image?"
"If these outrageous statements spread, wouldn't they affect your image? They'll affect your income and also those who admire you, especially teenagers." Su Muxue looked at Sean seriously. "It's not easy for a football star like you to emerge among the Chinese; you need to be careful.
You have no idea how sensational your appearance has been in China, let alone among international students."
Sean was noncommittal. Could it affect many people?
Then he really had to pay attention. If he could inspire more people, more men, especially more Chinese men, to prioritize their careers and themselves like him, that would truly be wonderful.
"What are you two talking about?"
Just then, another magnetic female voice drifted over.
"Auntie!"
Su Muxue greeted the newcomer first.
Sean observed her; this woman indeed bore some resemblance to Su Muxue. Su Muxue was clearly somewhat youthful, while this woman was completely mature, her age somewhere between twenty and forty, truly hard to guess.
"Hello, Su Fengfei."
"Hello, Sean Martins."
The two shook hands lightly.
Sean was about to say something when he suddenly saw Ambassador Chen beckoning to him, so he had to excuse himself first.