Chapter 5 Perfect Risk Control
An Asian girl wearing a Dior suit would be stunning enough to turn heads at any party.
She is not merely a pale and delicate oriental doll in Western aesthetics. Her porcelain-white skin, jet-black hair, and eyes, within the clean lines constructed by the classic Dior silhouette, exude a calm, almost arrogant aggression. At the same time, she is also an endearing, naive girl who is only twenty years old and has not yet entered society.
A genuine look of amazement and pride flashed in Eleanor's eyes. As the hostess of the party, it was important that her friends did not lower her taste or style.
Elias van der Berger sat relaxed on a heavy burgundy velvet sofa, his view unobstructed. He could take in the entire flow of the party without even trying. Just as he did when he sat at his desk on Wall Street, examining dozens of screens flashing red and green lights, effortlessly extracting information.
Who is flattering, who is anxious, and who is pretending—it's all crystal clear.
Justin Thorne, a rising star in the tech world, sits in an armchair next to Elias.
“Mr. Van der Berg, thank you very much for your presence.” Justin’s voice carried a deliberately suppressed enthusiasm. “Percival Capital’s returns last quarter were truly astonishing!”
"Capital always flows to where it is most efficient, Mr. Thorne, that's the law of nature."
Elias had his deep blond hair meticulously combed back, and his pure blue eyes revealed his extraordinary lineage. He looked at people with a gentle gaze, but in private, he possessed an astute and sharp assessment.
The Van der Berg family is an ancient European family with a history dating back 500 years. His father, Arthur Van der Berg, was a trustee of an Ivy League university and had a passion for collecting Renaissance art. His mother, Theodora Van der Berg, was born into a European aristocratic family and was the chairperson of a charitable foundation.
However, in this day and age, they are not often referred to as nobles outside of certain circles. Elias is the legal heir to the rank of viscount, but he is not usually addressed as such by outsiders.
Elias graduated from Groton School and went on to Harvard University, majoring in economics and minoring in art history—this was a family requirement, as the ancestors hoped that their descendants would always possess the ability to appreciate art.
"Without taste, there is no life." This famous saying, which may have originated from one of the Van der Berg family ancestors, has been upheld by its descendants to this day.
Elias founded Percival Capital using family trust funds as seed capital. As the founder and CEO of Percival Capital, he disregarded his family's three-century-old estate in Suffolk and instead saw Wall Street as a new era's arena.
Justin Thorne's tech startup is currently seeking investment from Percival Capital. Securing investment from Percival Capital would be tantamount to obtaining a ticket to the top.
However… Mr. Elias is… well, an extremely demanding person.
Justin Thorne prepared for three months just to have a ten-minute private conversation with him. At that moment, his body unconsciously leaned forward, turning what seemed like a social occasion into a business meeting.
“Spark Technology’s current growth curve is very healthy. In our next round of financing, we mainly hope to bring in investors with strategic vision, like Percival.”
“Wynne, I’m relieved to see you here!” Eleanor held Yuan Ning tightly, and casually took two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter’s silver tray.
Eleanor knew that Wynne was born in China and that her family's wealth had accumulated rapidly over the past ten or twenty years, enough to provide Wynne with the means to live a luxurious life in New York City. Among the Asians in New York City, Wynne was definitely one of the most popular.
While whispering with Eleanor, Yuan Ning's gaze swept over the people at the party with lightning speed, almost imperceptibly.
Some were from the finance industry, people she didn't know, mostly guests invited by Eleanor's boyfriend, some were acquaintances from the brand, and some were wealthy ladies from the same brand, VIC, as Eleanor.
“Wynne, look at that lady over there, Mrs. Stern. Last year at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s charity gala, she took pictures of a series of 19th-century Persian paintings.”
Yuan Ning looked over and saw an older woman in a tweed suit not far away: "Yes, I've seen her before, in the pages of V magazine."
Eleanor tugged at Yuan Ning's arm: "I heard that she has a good relationship with the editor-in-chief of V magazine. Haven't you been looking for an internship at the magazine? Why don't you try talking to her?"
Eleanor was unaware that Yuan Ning might receive another internship from Professor Miller, serving in the private household of a nobleman. Yuan Ning feared she wouldn't be selected for that internship, so striking up a conversation with Mrs. Stern today would be ideal.
Yuan Ning cast a sincere, grateful look at Eleanor: "Honey, you understand me! I'm going right now!"
Justin was still passionately explaining the business prospects of Spark technology to Elias, his face flushed with embarrassment, while Elias was admiring a woman's smooth and effortless operation.
With his sharp mind, he realized that this was the second time he had seen her, and it was hard not to look at her because she... was different from everyone else present; she was poor.
Yuan Ning didn't immediately walk towards Mrs. Stern; that would be too deliberate.
She first exchanged a few pleasantries with a familiar brand PR person, thanking them for the runway catalog they had sent her last time.
The other party asked her, "Ms. Wynne, I've reserved a pair of shoes for you that would fit you perfectly. When would you like to come to the store to pick them up?"
"Really? Honey, that's so sweet. But my walk-in closet is being reorganized right now, so I need to wait until it's finished before buying new clothes."
Yuan Ning gave a sweet yet helpless look. In the instant she turned around, she gracefully blended into another small circle and chatted with a buyer who had just returned from Paris about the new season's footwear trends.
“Jimmy Choo’s gradient color designs this season are truly stunning,” she said, tilting her head slightly to reveal her slender neck. “However, I feel that compared to the runway presentation, the styling options for actual wear are actually more limited.”
The other person suddenly opened their mouth wide in surprise: "You know what, Wynne, your comments are exactly the same as the evaluation in V magazine. I'm serious, fashion magazines should hire you to write articles."
At the same time, Mrs. Stern happened to be right next to Yuan Ning.
The two exchanged a glance, and Yuan Ning greeted them first: "Good evening, Mrs. Stern."
"Mr. Thorne, you just mentioned needing twenty million dollars. Tell me, specifically, where will this money be used?"
Elias turned part of his gaze back to Justin. He wasn't in a hurry to hear the answer, but instead slowly took out an elegant cigar box from his suit pocket, selected a dark brown Cohiba, and precisely cut it open with a silver cigar cutter. The whole process was elegant and quiet.
“It will be mainly used for market expansion and team building, we plan to…” Justin tried to repeat his prepared statement.
A crisp metallic scraping sound interrupted him. Elias cupped his hands, lit a long wooden match, and instead of immediately lighting his cigar, let the flame burn steadily.
He slowly rotated the cigar, allowing it to heat evenly over the flame, his movements focused and meticulous.
A faint tobacco aroma began to fill the air.
"Market expansion." He finally spoke, his tone flat, before bringing the cigar to his lips, lighting it, and taking a deep drag.
He didn't exhale the smoke immediately. He leaned back slightly, sinking into the red velvet sofa, his gaze returning to the girl. The spicy and mellow smoke swirled fully in his mouth, and after a moment, he calmly exhaled a grayish-white column of smoke. Through the rising smoke, he looked back at Justin.
Elias suddenly laughed, and Justin was taken aback.
“I saw a woman expanding her ‘market’ at zero cost, with no budget, no team, and wearing her only Dior suit.”
Elias paused, leaving Justin even more confused. He turned to look at the center of the party, where there were many women dressed in Dior, and he didn't know which one Elias was referring to.
“Mr. Van der Berg, you’re joking. On an occasion like today, who would be so poor that they only have a Dior piece of clothing left?”
“Really?” Elias lightly dusted off his cigar box with an elegant gesture. “Mr. Thorne, you can’t judge a book by its cover. I heard you deposited two hundred thousand dollars in a Chanel store for your girlfriend?”
Justin was somewhat surprised: "How...how did you know about this?"
Elias looked past Justin and began to scrutinize the girl with the eye of a connoisseur.
The outfit she was wearing was a design from Galliano's heyday, at least three or four years ago. It wasn't in perfect condition, indicating that its owner hadn't taken great care of it in the past. But today, it was perfectly straight without a single wrinkle, showing that its owner had taken good care of it before attending this occasion.
This means that the girl used to have plenty of this Dior outfit, but now she desperately needs it.
Elias's gaze fell on Yuan Ning's wrists, neck, and earlobes, but there were no genuine jewelry pieces there.
She has excellent taste, but she's not relaxed enough, and her whole appearance isn't flawless, but it's enough for this occasion.
“Oh, I heard it in Balthazar.” Elias casually brushed aside the topic, elegantly resting his cigar between two fingers. “You know, that restaurant is popular with young girls.”
Just then, a burst of cheerful laughter came from the other end of the party. Mrs. Stern was affectionately linking arms with Yuan Ning, taking a business card from her handbag and handing it to her.
“Perfect risk control,” Elias commented softly, “It’s about getting the maximum return with the minimum input. Mr. Thorne, I’m sorry I can’t accept your report. Please go back and revise it.”
Yuan Ning put the business card she received into her handbag. Mrs. Stern promised to recommend her to the editor-in-chief of V magazine.
Incidentally, Mrs. Stern complimented her taste: "This Dior dress suits you very well. I heard you're studying fashion management at Parsons? What a talented girl."
Thank you for your compliment.
The girl named Wynne was very bold and a shrewd speculator. She was using her last remaining chips to turn things around. Elias took a puff of his cigar and couldn't help but exclaim, "Look at this, what a wonderful scene!"
Elias is an investor, and investors sometimes get itchy fingers, especially when they see projects with extremely high returns, and can't help but want to place bets.
However, Mr. Justin Thorne's proposal did not catch his eye.
But Elias didn't come away empty-handed today.
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