New York 2006

Chapter 231 Where Dreams Begin
November 2008, 11, Hyatt Regency Chicago.

The last time Luo Ji came here was two years ago.

A "charity dinner" is held here today, and the sponsor is Senator Barack, who won the US presidential election on the 4th of this month.

No, it should be President Barack now.

This banquet is nominally a charity party, but in fact, it is just a cover.Barack's true intention is to express his gratitude to those who contributed to his election.

The huge ballroom at the Hyatt Regency was packed.

Barack's campaign team, some politicians from the Democratic Party, Hollywood actors, singers from the record industry, and of course the most numerous ones are Barack's business sponsors.

This banquet was not open to the public, and everyone present acted very relaxedly.

Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Halle Berry, Will Smith, Morgan Freeman and other black stars sat with their partners A table watching Usher's performance on the stage.

Rihanna smiled and commented: "Usher's singing and dancing are so wonderful!"

Jay-Z looked like a boss and nodded casually: "Indeed, this kid's stage performance is very energetic."

Usher's performance of a few minutes ended quickly. Beyoncé, who was wearing a red evening dress, showed a standard smile on her lips and followed the crowd to applaud gently.

Bang bang bang, the applause was a little sparse.

The applause in the banquet hall was not as intense as the Grammy's, which is understandable.

After all, this is a high-end banquet, and everyone maintains their upper-class appearance and is somewhat reserved.

Oprah then took the microphone and walked onto the stage: "Thank you Usher for your wonderful performance just now. Next up is Logic, who will perform his new song "Counting Stars" for everyone. This song has not been released on any channel yet. It was announced in the media that this was his first time performing in public.”

"Let's welcome Logic."

Bang bang bang, Rihanna immediately noticed something different from before.

Many people in the audience applauded fiercely. Will Smith, who was sitting at the same table as her, put his fingers into his mouth and whistled. His wife Jada Smith was also very excited.

Rihanna asked Jay-Z next to her in a low voice: "Isn't it Logic's appearance? Why are they so excited?"

"do not know."

"I know." Beyoncé, who was sitting next to them, said seriously: "When I went to Los Angeles to shoot the music video some time ago, I heard that Will Smith invested in Logic's private equity fund."

Jay-Z asked in confusion: "What's the yield? Are you so excited?"

Beyoncé whispered: "I heard people say that the return rate exceeded 60% in the first half of the year."

Rihanna and Jay-Z looked surprised and couldn't believe it: "Is the rate of return so high? This is during the financial crisis."

Beyoncé continued: "I heard from people in Hollywood that Logic seemed to be shorting the banking industry during the financial crisis, and it was reported in the media last month."

Jay-Z wondered: "Why didn't I see this news?"

Beyoncé said: "At that time, it was only reported by some second-rate newspapers, and it didn't cause much turmoil."

"Oh."

Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep
Lately I've been tossing and turning and can't sleep

Dreaming 'bout the things that we could be
Thinking about the dreams we once had
Logic's singing sounded on the stage, and Beyoncé said to the two of them: "Stop talking, let's listen to Logic's new song first."

"Ah."

Rihanna looked towards the stage. Logic was standing in front of the band. He was wearing a black suit, playing and singing with a guitar on his back, and his body swayed to the music.

Logic seems to have become more handsome!
This was Rihanna's first feeling. She carefully observed the man on the stage.

Logic seems to have grown taller and more mature than the last time we met, and his overall aura is stronger.When he stands on the stage, everyone's attention will be drawn to him.

Rihanna put her hands on the table and propped up her chin to appreciate it carefully. The image of Logic on the stage slowly overlapped with the powerful vampire image in his movie.

"Logic's new song is unexpectedly good!" Beyoncé exclaimed.

Only then did Rihanna react, put her hands on her legs, sat upright, and listened carefully to Logic's new song.

I see this life like a swinging vine
Life is like a jumping vine
Swing my heart across the line
Go straight in and activate my heart

He is truly a creative genius!

Rihanna recalled the songs written by Logic, his album "16", and the Twilight theme song "Perfect".

There’s also “Bad Romance,” which he wrote for Lady Gaga, and “A Thousand Years,” which he wrote for Swift.

What two lucky women. I wonder if he can compose a song for me?Rihanna thought to herself.

"I'm going backstage to get ready. I'll be on stage soon," Beyoncé said to the two people around her.

"Ok."

…………

The performance of more than 40 minutes ended quickly.

Bang bang bang bang, oh oh oh oh.

President Barack walked onto the stage. The upper-class people present lost their previous reserve, and the banquet hall burst into roars of applause and cheers.

Beyoncé looked at the 47-year-old mixed-race black man on the stage and couldn't help but sigh.

So handsome, with such a strong aura.

He is the pride of all black people. After taking office on January 1 next year, he will control the most powerful empire in the world, and all countries in the world will pay attention to his every move.

His every move will also affect the pattern of the entire world.

"Thank you very much for coming to today's dinner." President Barack clenched his right fist and waved vigorously: "What I want to say is, Yes We can."

Bang bang bang, everyone in the venue applauded.

He's so smart, Beyoncé thought to herself.

He opened with his campaign slogan and expressed his gratitude to everyone in the room.

It was the efforts of everyone present that sent this black man to the most powerful position in the world, and also created history as the first black president of the United States.

President Barack stood in front of the microphone and began his speech with confidence:
"The long lines at schools and churches last week gave us the answer. Never before have so many voters in this country turned out to vote. Many of them were voting for the first time in their lives because they decided this time would be different. Recognizing their voices can make a difference in this election."

"Everyone made the right choice, we made history!"

"Young or old, rich or poor, black or white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay or straight, disabled or able-bodied..."

…………

The huge banquet hall was brightly lit.

William Daley and the black prosecutor of the South District of Chicago each held a glass of wine and stared at Logic, who was talking to Ms. Clinton not far away.The black prosecutor took a big sip of wine and said with an annoyed look on his face: "Is that guy Logic a little crazy now?"

William Daly asked in confusion: "What's going on?"

The black prosecutor said angrily: "I just talked to him and he ignored me. Don't you know how humble he was in Chicago last year? He changed his face after he became famous. I really want to hit him hard." Kick in the ass."

William Daly smiled and said: "Aha, then go ahead!"

The black prosecutor glared at William Daley: "That's what you're telling me?"

"He now has arrogant capital! Mr. Buffett personally invited him to dinner, Ms. Clinton is his staunch political ally, and many politicians in the Democratic Party have received political donations from him. What else can you do to him?"

"He has a lot of money," the black prosecutor said angrily.

"If he didn't have the arrogance, how could you be so angry?" William Daly continued: "If you hadn't threatened him in the war between him and Universal Music, he wouldn't have ignored you."

The black prosecutor looked surprised: "You didn't acquiesce at the beginning."

"I didn't. Don't say such nonsense."

William Daly continued: "It was my assistant who answered the phone. I didn't receive any message from you at all. It was you who took the initiative to stand with Universal Music."

"you……"

The black prosecutor looked in disbelief.William Daly looked as usual.

The black prosecutor endured it and continued: "Are you ignoring me now that you've hooked up with him? I've heard about you entering his private equity fund. You can take me with you."

William Daly took a sip of his wine: "It's not very convenient. It's my family fund that entered his fund."

"I can also inject capital into your family foundation."

"Uh, that's not very convenient."

"What do you mean?"

William Daley pondered for a moment: "Let me tell you the truth. Although he has reconciled with you and promised me that he will not mess with you. But he still doesn't like you very much. So, do you understand?"

"That guy forbids you from accepting my funds?"

William Daley did not speak directly, but patted him on the shoulder: "Enjoy this dinner and don't think about these troubles."

After he finished speaking, he ignored the black prosecutor, straightened his clothes a little, and walked in the direction of Luo Ji and Ms. Clinton.

…………

In a corner of the banquet hall, Luo Ji took Musk to a gathering place of a group of Asian Democrats and introduced him to Steven Chu. The two of them soon chatted together.

Musk said seriously: "Mr. Zhu, do you have time tomorrow? I would like to invite you to visit the Tesla headquarters in California."

"Okay, I'm very interested in electric cars." Steven Chu said with a smile.

Luo Ji saw that the two of them were talking smoothly, so he said, "You two talk first, I'll go somewhere else."

"Okay." The two nodded.

Luo Ji held a glass of juice in his hand and walked towards Penny Pritzker who was not far away.She was wearing a light blue suit today and was chatting elegantly with the people around her.

An old white man blocked Luo Ji's path: "Hi, Logic."

Luo Ji took a closer look. He was a local wealthy man whom Luo Ji met in Chicago last year.Luo Ji remembered that he asked the other party if he could help him make a fortune together, and received a perfunctory smile.

The old white man smiled and said, "Let's talk?"

The corner of Luo Ji's mouth curled up slightly, and he quickly suppressed his inner emotions and said politely, "I'm really sorry, I'm a little busy here, we'll talk to you later."

The old white man was a little surprised, but he quickly adjusted his attitude and said with a smile on his face: "Okay."

After saying goodbye to him, Luo Ji continued walking in the direction of Penny Pritzker.This Chicago rich woman was the goal that she once wanted to pursue.

…………

The dinner had been going on for a long time, and Luo Ji was a little tired. He went to a quiet place on the second floor, leaned on the railing and observed the banquet hall on the first floor.

Downstairs, Penny Pritzker was holding a glass of wine and standing chatting with Spielberg.

She seemed to adapt well to such an occasion, and she didn't feel tired even after socializing all night.

Luo Ji also chatted with her alone for more than ten minutes a few hours ago.

Before chatting with her, Luo Ji had a feeling of looking up to the person he once pursued.

But after talking to her, she was no different from the other people Luo Ji met today. They all asked about their private equity funds.

The idol filter gradually faded away, and she felt like she was nothing special.

Luo Ji couldn't help but feel a little disappointed and empty inside, as if he had lost his goal.

"Logic, what are you looking at?"

Rihanna walked up to Luo Ji with a glass of wine and followed Luo Ji's example, sticking her head out to look at the banquet hall on the first floor.

"I'll just take a break."

Rihanna smiled and said, "It seems I'm lucky. I've been wanting to chat with you today, but there's an endless stream of people who want to chat with you."

"Haha, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Rihanna raised her glass to greet Luo Ji: "Of course it's music. Your new song today is great."

The two chatted about various topics on the second floor. As they chatted, they started to point and comment on the people in the banquet hall on the first floor.

For example, will Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston fight, Leonardo is disabled, Ms. Clinton is very elegant, etc.

Rihanna said: "Have you and President Barack talked today?"

"No."

"I do not have either."

Rihanna said regretfully: "Everyone in the banquet hall wanted to chat with him, including Mr. Buffett of course. I didn't even find a chance."

Luo Ji searched for the two people in the banquet hall. They were standing in different places, but the same thing was that they were surrounded by people walking back and forth.

Everyone wanted to take advantage of the two of them to finish chatting with the person they were talking to, and go up to chat as soon as possible.

On the other hand, there are a lot fewer people around Penny Pritzker.

Luo Ji looked at President Barack and Mr. Buffett in the banquet hall, and the disappointment in his heart gradually disappeared.

Perhaps it's time to set new goals.

(End of this chapter)