Chapter 411 An Unwelcome Disruption

Greg had heard about White getting into a fight before. The issue had been resolved, so he hadn’t asked questions or given it much thought.

What he didn’t know–what no one had expected–was that White had picked a fight with one of the most elite figures in their circle.

Johnathan’s full background wasn’t public knowledge, but being the CEO of Lightning Tech alone made him an industry heavyweight. And the fact that even someone like Maddox–known for his arrogance–treated him as an equal? That spoke volumes.

If it had been a normal person, Greg could’ve helped smooth things over. But these were not people you could simply pacify. And to make matters worse… White wasn’t someone he could afford to offend either.

Greg regretted coming over. If he’d known things would go this way, he would’ve stayed far away.

As he wrestled with how to de-escalate the situation, Mateo exploded again. “Who the hell are you calling a lunatic?”

“You, of course,” White snapped, completely unfazed.

Back home, White was someone constantly surrounded by flattery and privilege. He didn’t see Mateo as worthy of his attention at all.

“You burst in, issued threats, made no sense, and when you couldn’t win, you called for backup.”

The more he spoke, the more obvious the disdain in his expression became–so much so that Mateo’s fists clenched tightly.

This guy really was asking to be punched.

Sierra hadn’t expected things to unfold this way. Seeing Mateo’s growing anger, she quickly intervened. “The symposium’s starting. Let’s just head in.”

She shot Johnathan a look, silently urging him to pull Mateo away.

Johnathan’s expression was still grim, but he obeyed and wheeled Mateo off.

Sierra took a deep breath and turned to go to her seat–only for White to speak again. “Are they your friends? They’re so rude. You shouldn’t be around people like that.”

Greg immediately tried to do damage control. “Please. Just stop talking.”

White had always been like this–blunt to a fault. The only reason he hadn’t been punched more often was because his family was powerful enough that people didn’t dare.

And of course, Mateo heard every word.

Grinding his molars, he muttered, “If that guy makes it out of the country in one piece, I’ll consider it my personal failure.”

He was itching to teach White a lesson.

Johnathan’s face finally relaxed slightly. White was so tactless it actually made him less suspicious–as if he really didn’t know how to hide anything.

Still, that didn’t mean he liked him.

After all, Johnathan wasn’t used to being the one looked down on. Usually, he was the one doing the looking down.

Meanwhile, back inside, Sierra turned toward White, her expression serious. “Sir, since you’ve chosen a local name, you should also respect our etiquette.”

“Those two? One is my close friend, and the other is my boyfriend. If you insult them in front of me, I don’t appreciate it. And for the record–I know them better than you do. I don’t need you to tell me what kind of people they are.”

White looked utterly dumbfounded. “Boyfriend? You mean the guy in the wheelchair? Oh my God, Sierra–what were you thinking? Why would you go for a cripple?”

Johnathan, who heard that loud and clear: “…”

At that moment, he completely agreed with Mateo–if this guy left China unscathed, it would be a travesty.

Sierra was fuming. And now she understood–this wasn’t just a case of being straightforward. White had no filter, no tact, and clearly no common sense.

Not “direct”–just stupid.

All wasted on a handsome face.

She didn’t bother replying. She turned and walked off to her seat. White tried to follow her, but Greg stopped him.

“Please. Just stop.”

He was beyond exasperated. At this rate, White was going to offend everyone at the event.

“This isn’t your turf,” Greg said quietly. “And those people? They’re not to be underestimated.”

White looked unconvinced, but Greg didn’t give him the chance to keep talking. “The conference is starting. Let’s just go sit down.”

Finally, White shut up.

Mateo, still tuned into the feed, rolled his eyes. At this point, bickering with someone like that felt beneath him.

The symposium was scheduled for three days. Today’s focus was on the latest technologies, breakthroughs, and emerging research directions.

Sierra paid close attention. Many of the topics were entirely new to her.

In the end, aside from encountering White–the walking disaster–the first day went smoothly.