The psychological defenses of the same person can vary greatly depending on who they are dealing with.
For instance, the six fairies in the manor at this moment. If it were someone else, even someone as handsome as Simon Westeros but merely an ordinary salaried worker, it might take ten days to half a month of effort just to hold hands with these fairies.
However, Simon's wealth and influence allow him to complete the entire process in a single day.
And he can do it with multiple people at once.
Similarly, if the person sitting across the table were not Simon but a rookie fresh out of Wall Street, telling George Soros that his peak had passed, he would only be met with disdain.
But Simon's words could make this financial titan, currently at the height of his glory, lose his appetite for breakfast.
After a long silence, Soros finally spoke, "Simon, I need to think this over carefully."
"Of course," Simon nodded. He didn't expect Soros to completely change his stance based on a few words from him. However, he continued, "George, people like us, who have climbed up from the bottom, have to take a few bold risks in life to achieve our initial accumulation. But once you reach a certain height, the higher you climb, the more severe the consequences of a fall."
Soros quickly adjusted his emotions, which had been unsettled by the young man across the table, and said, "Simon, the problem is, I enjoy the thrill of taking risks."
"I understand. It's like adventurers who constantly push their limits. But I believe they wouldn't jump off a cliff just for the sake of it. There's a difference between taking risks and committing suicide."
Soros countered, "Simon, I think the situation in Russia and Asia is still within the realm of risk-taking, far from being suicidal."
"Regarding Russia, George, it's just a suggestion. After all, those investments don't concern me. If you insist on your stance, the losses will be someone else's. But in Asia, if I believe you're about to jump off a cliff, I'll withdraw my funds. Of course, it will be a discreet withdrawal, and you can continue your experiment."
The logic remains the same. Quantum Fund is just an umbrella term for the hundreds of billions of dollars in capital Soros manages. It includes numerous sub-funds targeting different sectors. When raising funds, Quantum Fund specifies to investors which fund is for equity investments, which for bonds, and which for high-risk capital hedging, and so on.
The $3 billion from the Westeros system allocated to Soros is specifically for financial operations in Asia.
If Soros's stubbornness leads to massive losses in Russia, it won't affect Simon's investments.
As for Asia, the $3 billion invested by the Westeros system in Quantum Fund has a lock-in period of only one year, which will expire by the end of the year. At that point, Simon can freely choose to withdraw his funds.
This is also the fundamental reason why Soros is essentially just an employee.
If investors are dissatisfied and withdraw their funds, it's equivalent to losing your job.
Quantum Fund, of course, has more investors than just the Westeros system. However, if Simon chooses to withdraw, the news could trigger a domino effect, given the influence of the Westeros system.
Therefore, even though Simon said he would withdraw discreetly, can anything truly remain secret?
It was a frustrating breakfast.
After leaving Simon's seaside manor in Glen Cove, Soros immediately called an assistant: "Peter, it's me. I need you to compile all the investment project materials related to Russia. I want to review them this morning. Also, notify the team in Russia to halt all transactions and wait for my instructions. Additionally, inform everyone, including the team in Asia, that I'll be holding a conference call once I return to Manhattan."
After giving these concise instructions, Soros hung up and leaned back in his car seat, closing his eyes to think.
Due to the rapid increase in cash holdings recently, Soros had been pouring money into Russia—buying stocks, bonds, and industrial assets—right up until this breakfast.
If the young man's judgment was correct, every additional dollar invested now would mean a dollar lost later.
Moreover, Soros was already 80% convinced by Simon's assessment.
Soros wasn't one to dwell on regrets, but as Simon had said, if there was indeed a cliff ahead, he wouldn't jump. Now, he needed to consider how to minimize the damage.
Simon hadn't offered much advice on this front.
Soros believed the young man must have a strategy, but their relationship was merely professional, not close enough for Simon to share too much.
As Simon had half-jokingly, half-seriously remarked during breakfast, his advice was worth at least $2 billion.
Expensive.
But it was true.
If Simon's judgment proved correct, whether in Asia or Eastern Europe, regardless of whether Soros attempted to recover his losses, Simon would have repaid the favor of sparing Hong Kong.
However, thinking about the high price of Simon's advice, Soros suddenly recalled a remark the young man had made at a gathering last year, suggesting that many of his strategies were out in the open and that others could follow suit.
Out in the open!
If one thoroughly studied Simon Westeros's public business strategies, it might indeed be worth many multiples of $2 billion.
Given Quantum Fund's current scale, continuing to focus solely on capital hedging was unrealistic. Soros had already begun diversifying, such as with his investments in Russia. In the future, more capital would shift toward traditional investment sectors.
So, what were Simon Westeros's public strategies?
After a moment's thought, Soros quickly identified the first key focus: China.
Perhaps abandoning the attack on Hong Kong wasn't such a bad idea. After all, if Quantum Fund had targeted Hong Kong, it would have faced significant obstacles in following Simon's lead to invest in China in the future.
But these were matters for later. For now, he had to address the immediate issue.
Upon returning to Manhattan, the heads of Quantum Fund's headquarters and the Asia team were already online. Soros didn't waste time, briefly summarizing Simon's assessment of the Asian situation before diving into the meeting. The discussion revolved around whether the "donkeys" would continue to follow the rules and fall into the trap, and if not, what new strategies should be adopted.
Meanwhile, after seeing Soros off, Simon also prepared to leave.
Since he was heading to the airport, Jane Xin, Tao Yuelei, and Zhu Momo decided to hitch a ride. Simon was flying back to Los Angeles, while the three women were headed to London.
Three black Mercedes sedans left the seaside manor, with Zhu Momo once again securing the seat next to Simon.
As the car started, the girl snuggled up to Simon and chattered away, eventually steering the conversation to the three women still at the manor: Qin Buzui and the others. "Simon, do you not like them very much?"
With one arm around the soft figure beside him and the other holding a script he had picked up before getting in the car, Simon casually replied, "Actually, I don't like you guys very much either."
Hearing such a blunt response, Zhu Momo pretended to be upset and playfully nipped at Simon's ear.
Of course, she didn't bite hard.
After this little act, Zhu Momo sat back and glanced at the script on Simon's lap. She had seen the title earlier: My Best Friend's Wedding, clearly a romantic film. However, Zhu Momo, who usually found Chinese books a headache, gave up after just a minute of staring at the dense English text.
Seeing Simon's focused expression, she hesitated but decided not to disturb him further. Instead, she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
Last night had been exhausting.
Truth be told, Zhu Momo wanted to ask if Simon preferred them over Qin Buzui.
She already had a guess.
As for the answer, it was both yes and no.
Simon did treat the women around him differently.
This distinction hadn't formed overnight but was the result of years of life experience.
For example, Robert Iger had once mentioned the "Mouse Utopia" experiment during a party. The group had been casually discussing what would happen to human society if controlled nuclear fusion were achieved, leading to an era of material abundance with no wealth gap or class distinctions.
The Mouse Utopia experiment provided some answers. In an environment with unlimited food and freedom, the mouse population initially boomed but eventually collapsed into chaos and extinction.
Simon had later looked up the details and, combined with his own life experiences, concluded that class distinctions were necessary.
Evidence could be found throughout nature.
From lion prides to ant colonies, any social species that has survived on this planet for millions of years has some form of hierarchy.
Many might not want to admit it, but humans are no different.
A little observation reveals that the pyramid-like class structure is akin to a triangle—the most stable geometric shape.
Among the many women around Simon, while he didn't deliberately enforce it, there was a clear hierarchy, as Zhu Momo had sensed.
For instance, the two Jennies at the Dume Point manor were naturally at the top of the pyramid.
Jenny would occasionally take Simon's "trophies" and discipline them, sometimes even making a few disappear. Simon never objected because he recognized Jenny's position at the top of the hierarchy among his women and believed it was beneficial for the Westeros family.
Moreover, although life at Dume Point was relatively mundane, Simon still spent more than half his time there compared to his other residences. Aside from his deep-rooted traditional family values, this was also to maintain the status of the two Jennies.
After the two Jennies came the women who had borne his children.
And even among them, there were distinctions.
As for the rest of the women, their standing largely depended on Simon's preferences and moods.
Simon had recently been reading Han Feizi and particularly liked the chapter "Signs of Demise," which he had revisited multiple times. One passage had clarified his previously vague thoughts: "When the second wife is treated as inferior while the concubines are favored, when the crown prince is humbled while the illegitimate sons are exalted, when the prime minister is disregarded while the petty officials are empowered, then the internal and external order is disrupted, and such a state is doomed to perish."
Here, the word "disrupted" doesn't mean "well-behaved" but rather "reversed" or "contradictory."
Written over two thousand years ago, the 1,500-word essay "Signs of Demise" offers warnings for self-cultivation, family management, state governance, and world peace. Even today, it provides profound insights into various aspects of work and life.
Back at the seaside manor in Glen Cove.
After Simon left with Zhu Momo and the others, the manor quickly grew quiet.
However, Qin Buzui, Jiang Mi, and Shen Gui were not idle. As usual, the housekeeper personally explained the various rules they would need to follow. Then came the tasks of choosing houses, cars, and maids—a long list of details to sort out.
This continued until noon.
Among the three girls, 23-year-old Jiang Mi was the proud and aloof one, while 19-year-old Shen Gui tended to go with the flow. In contrast, 18-year-old Qin Buzui was the most outgoing, unafraid of embarrassment, asking questions whenever she didn't understand something and openly expressing her desires.
Throughout the morning, Jiang Mi and Shen Gui remained mostly silent, while Qin Buzui did most of the talking.
In an office within the villa, after finalizing the details and signing a lifelong confidentiality agreement, Qin Buzui handed the contract to the housekeeper, Angie Davis, and immediately asked, "Ms. Davis, aside from the townhouse on the Upper East Side, can we come stay here often?"
The housekeeper maintained her usual patience and professionalism, showing no signs of impatience despite Qin Buzui's numerous questions throughout the morning. She replied in fluent Chinese, which she had quietly mastered over the years, "That would require the boss's approval. However, as per usual practice, you don't need to leave immediately and can stay here for a few days."
Qin Buzui pressed further, "So, we can stay for a few days, but once we leave, we'd need Simon's permission to return?"
Angie nodded, "Yes."
Qin Buzui then asked, "But we don't have Simon's contact information. Ms. Davis, could you give it to us?"
The housekeeper shook her head, "I'm sorry, Miss Qin. If you have any matters, you'll need to contact me. Only if it's something important will I relay it to the boss."
Qin Buzui let out a disappointed "oh" but was about to say more when a maid at the door reminded them in English. The housekeeper acknowledged and switched back to Chinese, telling the three girls, "The attendants you've chosen have arrived. Let's meet them first."
With that, three women in standard black OL suits entered the room.
Each girl would have only one attendant instead of the usual two, a change resulting from Simon's reading of Han Feizi the previous day.
This was part of the differentiation.
Not only were the number of attendants halved, but the girls' monthly allowance was also reduced from the usual $20,000 to $10,000.
To Simon, $20,000 or $10,000 was as insignificant as 20 cents or 10 cents, so it was purely a matter of mood. The housekeeper, having received a note from Simon before he left, carried out the instructions without question and even subtly adjusted other aspects of their treatment to align with her understanding of Simon's intentions.
The three girls, of course, were unaware of this. To them, $10,000 a month was a fortune, and they had no complaints.
As the three attendants entered, everyone stood up and exchanged introductions.
The three women included two of Western descent and one of Asian descent.
Michelle Silverstone, 23, 172 cm tall, a former track and field athlete, now a Westeros family guard.
Catherine Sate, 22, 171 cm tall, a Cornell University graduate, now a Westeros family maid.
Shen Lin, 30, 167 cm tall, English name Linda, from China, holds a Ph.D. in political economy from the University of Oklahoma, now a Westeros family maid.
This configuration was suggested by the housekeeper.
Since the three girls had only been in the U.S. for a few months and their English was limited to basic daily communication, it was best to have someone fluent in both Chinese and English as a translator, much like Zhao Annie, who had assisted Zhu Momo and the others.
That said, the housekeeper had provided a list of many candidates, and the three girls had surprisingly chosen the oldest, Shen Lin.
At 30, Shen Lin was at the upper age limit for Westeros family maids and guards. If she didn't find a suitable position within the next year or two, she would lose her status as a Westeros family maid and be assigned an ordinary job within the Westeros system.
However, the housekeeper, with her wealth of experience, quickly understood.
It was precisely because Shen Lin was the oldest that she had been chosen, likely at the suggestion of the seemingly clever Qin Buzui.
The reason? Westeros family maids and guards, regardless of nationality or ethnicity, were all exceptionally beautiful.
For women, beauty equated to threat. Qin Buzui probably believed that compared to younger candidates, the older Shen Lin posed less of a threat to the three young girls and had convinced the other two of this.
Under normal circumstances, this logic would hold. Unfortunately, the boss's preferences weren't exactly normal.
The housekeeper, of course, didn't say anything, merely finding the situation somewhat amusing.
And she was curious and even somewhat eager to see how things would unfold.
Based on her long-term observations, the boss not only preferred more mature women but also had a particular fondness for intelligent ones. Now, three seemingly not-so-bright young girls had chosen a beautiful 30-year-old Ph.D. to be by their side.
As the Chinese saying goes, would their choice turn out to be an example of "overcomplicating things and achieving the opposite"?
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