Simon Westeros provided ample support for the Guofeng Art Troupe's performances, from top-tier choreography teams to custom-designed luxurious costumes and props, and even securing a world-class venue like the New York Metropolitan Opera House. However, once the shows officially began, the market would be the ultimate judge.
If the girls' performances failed to resonate with the audience and ticket sales fell short, Simon was clear he wouldn't intervene with tactics like mass ticket giveaways funded from his own pocket.
In truth, Simon's attitude towards the Guofeng Art Troupe's public performances was indifferent. For him, it was originally meant to be a private enjoyment, a performance he preferred to keep for himself. Allowing others to see it felt like a loss. As such, tickets were only distributed sparingly to close acquaintances like Joseph Schlapner when they specifically asked for them. Otherwise, all tickets were sold directly by the Metropolitan Opera House.
However, rumors about the Guofeng Art Troupe being Simon Westeros's private dance team had already spread quietly, fueling curiosity. Even after Simon personally set ticket prices significantly higher than other performances, the first show still became an overwhelming hit, with tickets nearly impossible to obtain.
What came next, though, would depend on market feedback.
Even surrounded by a group of dazzling women at a party, Simon didn't stay long. He left after less than half an hour, taking the A-girl who had been with him since the morning.
Meanwhile, Instagram's first-day stock performance remained a hot topic of discussion.
By 4 p.m., as the North American stock market closed, Instagram's stock price settled at a high of $27.61 per share, compared to its IPO price of $11.50. This represented a staggering first-day increase of 141%. The company's market capitalization closed at $17.1 billion, marking a $10 billion rise in value in just one day compared to its $6 billion pre-IPO valuation.
Before going public, Instagram had a total of 530 million shares. Among these, the D-girl owned approximately 240 million shares, representing a 45% stake.
The A-girl, C-girl, Indian girl, Little Jenny, "Waist Fairy," and "Leg Fairy," who had joined the D-girl as initial investors, each held 5% of the shares at the beginning. Over the years, their stakes varied slightly due to stock rewards for management participation and pre-IPO subscriptions, but each still held around 15 million shares.
This IPO issued a total of 90 million shares, raising $1.035 billion, of which 60 million were newly issued shares intended to fund Instagram's future growth. The remaining 30 million shares came from existing shareholders cashing out, with the D-girl alone selling 5 million shares.
At Instagram's first-day closing price of $27.61 per share, even with her reduced stake of 38% post-IPO, the D-girl's net worth soared to $6.5 billion, easily placing her within the top 20 of the USA's 400 wealthiest individuals.
As for the other six girls, their roughly 15 million shares each brought their personal net worths to over $400 million in a single day. This placed them firmly within the ranks of the USA's richest 400 individuals, given Forbes' cutoff for this year's list was $430 million.
Such is the wealth-generating power of the internet.
Fueled by Instagram's impressive debut, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose by 1.32% for the day, climbing further to 5739 points, nearing the 6000-point milestone. The total market value of all Nasdaq-listed companies hit a new high of $6.7 trillion.
Leading the charge was Eaglet Corporation, whose stock rose 1.61% for the day, closing with a market cap of $663.5 billion, maintaining its dominant position.
Cisco, which ranked second, achieved a major milestone as its market cap surpassed $500 billion for the first time. This made it the third U.S. company after Eaglet and Daenerys to reach the $500 billion mark. Cisco's stock rose 2.12% on the day, closing with a market cap of $511.3 billion.
Once again, in just one day, Simon's personal net worth grew by over $30 billion due to the Nasdaq's surge.
Following the U.S. presidential election in early November and Clinton's re-election, market optimism had briefly surged as Washington's policy continuity was ensured. However, fears of another Nasdaq market collapse had subsequently caused volatility, slowing the index's growth. Instagram's IPO and its first-day wealth-creation miracle reignited enthusiasm for tech stocks, paving the way for the final capital operations within the Westeros System for 1996.
Saturday, December 7th.
Although the U.S. stock market was closed for the weekend, North American media were buzzing with coverage of Instagram's soaring IPO debut and the Nasdaq's new highs.
Still, many believed that a crisis was looming closer.
Taking a rare break, Simon spent his morning in Manhattan.
The main purpose was to watch the final dress rehearsal of the Guofeng Art Troupe's performance before the evening's show. Accompanying him was Celia Miller, who had just returned from Washington the previous day.
While watching the rehearsal, they discussed plans to establish Rivne as a free trade zone. After the turmoil of last month's assassination attempt on Serban, Kyiv authorities, who suspected the Westeros System had greater ambitions, responded surprisingly cooperatively when this proposal was brought up.
This cooperation made things much easier.
Of course, the process would still take months to finalize.
A free trade zone is inherently reciprocal. A country cannot simply designate an area as a free trade zone and start reaping benefits. Trade details must be negotiated with other countries and agreements signed. However, compared to the lengthy WTO negotiations, free trade zones involve unilateral concessions, making the process much less complicated.
"I met with Mickey Kantor yesterday. Washington is very supportive of signing this agreement with Ukraine. However, Mickey raised concerns about including China in the agreement. Since China is in the process of joining the WTO, Washington seems to want China to wait until it officially joins before benefiting from such agreements."
Inside the Metropolitan Opera House auditorium.
Simon and Celia sat in one of the few occupied seats, watching the dress rehearsal. Simon asked, "Is this a firm demand or just a suggestion?"
"Just a suggestion," Celia replied, glancing at the performers on stage and immediately understanding her boss's stance. She continued, "Then we can ignore it. In fact, Rivne's free trade zone heavily depends on importing raw materials from China, and the main market it targets is Western Europe. From that perspective, including the U.S. seems far less necessary."
Simon nodded slightly, pleased with Celia's position. If someone within his circle prioritized U.S. national interests over those of the Westeros System, he would have to consider replacing them.
Loyalty was crucial.
Simon wouldn't force others to align with his interests, but anyone within the Westeros System had to identify as "Westerosian."
As Celia noted, Rivne's free trade zone would primarily target Western European markets, with limited ties to the U.S. Including the U.S. carried symbolic importance as the world's leading superpower but wasn't essential.
On the other hand, due to Eastern Europe's weak light industry base and Western Europe's high costs, China was undoubtedly the best source for raw materials. Southeast Asia was also an option, but the 1997 crisis dealt a devastating blow to the region's economies, effectively removing it from contention.
After exchanging a few more words, Simon shifted the conversation. "Regarding the increased military presence in Africa, how much of the allocation are we getting this time?"
Celia, serving as Simon's personal military aide, quickly organized her thoughts before replying, "In recent years, other forces have quietly formed mercenary groups as well. It looks like we'll only secure a 1,500-strong allocation. Combined with other contracts, the total value of our African operations will be around $100 million annually."
Simon nodded but couldn't help marveling at the extravagance of the U.S. military.
Compared to the U.S.'s current $250 billion defense budget, $100 million was a drop in the bucket. But in contrast to Ukraine's defense budget of under $1 billion annually, which supported a 200,000-strong army, the Westeros System's 1,500 personnel earning $100 million highlighted the sheer disparity. Of course, there were behind-the-scenes complexities involved, but this still underscored the free-flowing nature of U.S. military spending.
It also signified the growing success of Simon's military arrangements.
Simon never intended to profit from the Westeros private military force, avoiding the kind of brazen exploitation seen in the Bush administration, where $60 million mysteriously disappeared under "catering costs." For instance, of the $100 million annual African contracts, a portion went towards consultant fees for those facilitating the deals, ensuring the contracts were approved.
Without such intermediaries, securing these deals would be far more challenging.
Simon's real gains lay beyond money.
The closer the Westeros private military integrated with the U.S. armed forces, the more entangled the web of shared interests became. This made external scrutiny increasingly difficult. Much like the earlier collaboration agreements with the CIA, these arrangements often crossed into national security territory. Any future inquiries could be deflected with the classic catch-all justification: "national security."
Even if someone attempted an investigation, the Westeros System had little exposure. Simon's approach of avoiding direct profits ensured there were no vulnerabilities to exploit. As for others profiting behind the scenes, anyone daring enough to probe would be met with resistance. After all, military scandals rarely faced in-depth scrutiny,
often being swept under the rug.
As Simon and Celia talked, the group dance on stage concluded.
During the next transition, a young woman emerged quietly from backstage—Chen Xingwei. She approached Simon with a nervous and tentative expression and asked, "Simon, how was my performance just now?"
"Excellent," Simon replied, patting his thigh. "Come, sit here."
Chen Xingwei hesitated briefly, glanced at Celia, but didn't refuse. She sat sideways on Simon's lap, feeling his arm wrap around her waist. As she leaned closer, she added, "I'm so nervous. I'm worried we might mess up tonight."
"There's nothing to worry about," Simon reassured her, looking toward the stage. "Just perform as usual."
Chen Xingwei couldn't help but voice her concerns. "But this is the Metropolitan Opera House. What if the audience doesn't like it?"
Simon kissed her lightly on the neck and replied, "If they don't like it, that's their loss. As long as I like it, that's enough."
Although Simon's kiss was gentle, it made Chen Xingwei feel warm. Mustering courage, she returned the gesture with a kiss of her own before asking, "Simon, it's almost New Year in China. Can we go back for the Chinese New Year?"
"Of course. When is Chinese New Year this year?"
"February 6th."
"Then there's no problem. You'll have nine performances in total, wrapping up by the end of January. If the audience doesn't enjoy it, you might only perform five or six shows before we call it off. Either way, you'll have time to return home for the New Year."
Hearing Simon mention "calling it off," Chen Xingwei couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety.
Earlier, upon learning that tickets for tonight's performance had sold out, the girls of the Guofeng Art Troupe were brimming with confidence. They were even envisioning global tours, as Simon had previously mentioned. Chen Xingwei's question about returning to China was born out of concern that a global tour might clash with the New Year, leaving them with no time to return home.
Of course, many of the girls didn't mind too much whether they returned to China. Their current lives were so good that the thought of leaving them behind felt unnecessary.
Simon's casual mention of "calling it off," however, poured some cold water on Chen Xingwei's excitement. She began to wonder if Simon's words might come true.
Even though Simon repeatedly emphasized that failure wouldn't matter, all the girls in the Guofeng Art Troupe took the performance very seriously. Over the past six months, they had put their all into preparing, convinced that they were creating something extraordinary. After all, their lives were idyllic, almost heavenly. They couldn't help but believe that some effort was needed to justify their blessings: no pain, no gain.
This belief extended to their relationship with Simon as well. The girls saw Simon's attention and affection as something they needed to earn, making them eager to please him. It felt like a natural exchange.
The upcoming performance felt like another way to prove their worth.
Chen Xingwei also couldn't help but feel envious of Li Youhu, who was still in China filming Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. That girl seemed to have luck on her side. She had just entered their circle but had already managed to step outside of it, with the promise of becoming a big star in no time. Meanwhile, the rest of them, despite being content with their current lives, occasionally worried about what the future might hold.
After all, the man they surrounded themselves with wasn't going to take care of them forever. There might come a day when he lost interest, or simply grew bored and decided to replace them with a new group of women. What would they do then?
Inevitably, they would lose everything they had now.
It seemed only fair.
Their current lives were so good, so disproportionate to their actual contributions, that it was impossible to imagine such fortune lasting forever.
Simon was unaware of the thoughts running through the woman's mind. Having finished discussing sensitive topics with Celia, he focused more on the performances unfolding on stage.
Soon, other girls noticed that Chen Xingwei had managed to occupy Simon's lap. Wei Chenci and several others, who had been part of the group Simon had taken an interest in during his last visit, also came over. Even though Simon's lap was taken, they positioned themselves around him, sitting nearby.
Wei Chenci secured a spot to Simon's left. Playfully, she grabbed the arm Simon had wrapped around Chen Xingwei's waist and held his hand as if to read his palm. "Simon, do you remember Cai Fan? Um, well, she can't use that name anymore, but you know who I mean, right?"
Simon nodded.
She was the girl who had left the Guofeng Art Troupe after starting a relationship.
In truth, Simon didn't care much about the matter.
He didn't deny his possessive tendencies, but he never forced anyone to stay. While the girls believed Cai Fan had been "driven out," Simon simply felt that her relationship made her unsuitable to remain in the troupe, nothing more.
Wei Chenci, however, cautiously observed Simon's expression. Dressed in a snug dance outfit for quick costume changes, her slender figure leaned slightly closer to him. She continued, "We recently heard that she was dumped by her boyfriend. He even took all her savings."
Simon merely hummed in acknowledgment, showing no emotional reaction. He lifted his arm, still held by Wei Chenci, and playfully pinched her delicate chin. "Let's not talk about that."
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