Chapter 426 - A Dramatic Dinner (1/2)
As night approaches, the streets are illuminated with energy-saving light. Without flickering and colorful light, there is only one color left on the street of the Dongting City in the new era—white. It looks neat and elegant, serious and regular.
When the Federation was just established, the older generation would miss the colorful nightlife before the new era and metropolis full of neon lamps even at night. However, as time lapses, older generations pa.s.s away. The federal people born and raised in the new era of the Earth Federation don’t even know that kind of city. They have no objection to the strict management of the Federation and this color of streetlight without any romantic sense.
For Ma Shuangshuang who grows up in the era with suspended bus and the MRT, it’s the first time for her to be in a government limousine. She is staring at the street view running backward. The streetlight reflects on the window, making her nervous and uneasy.
Ma Yiming sits up straight. Although he is a private guy, after all, he is just a 19-year-old boy. At this moment, he still reveals some traces of his age.
Only “living fossil” Lin Luoran who lives from the old to the present era is very relaxed. She leans on the soft leather chair and almost falls asleep.
The banquet is held on the 17th floor of the City Hall which is the most prominent building only second to the Dongting City Library in the Dongting City. It locates in Yueyang District. From the Mas’ Villa, they have to pa.s.s through the whole city. Lin Luoran and others are a little late. It is a celebrity-studded gathering night. There are a lot of reporters from TV stations and electronic newspapers. The camera is developing and now pressing the shutter has a kind of beauty.
It is no different from the evening party with red carpet more than three hundred years ago.
Lin Luoran looks outside the car window. She sees handsome men and beautiful women in old-styled dresses. She once has a delusion that she is going to attend an ordinary c.o.c.ktail party of large scale 300 years ago.
Seeing Ma Shuangshuang is “torturing ” her dress, Lin Luoran asks the driver to take them to the side door.
Ma Shuangshuang smiles at her gratefully and Ma Yiming’s stiff body is also a little relaxed.
Lin Luoran doesn’t care about exposing herself. However, she just doesn’t want to steal celebrities’ thunder who rely on news to show themselves—Besides, if her believers see the picture of “Mortal Heart Fairy” on the Dongting Entertainment Express like a celebrity, it may feel like a slap on their belief.
The place where they get off the car is a quiet underground parking lot. It turns out that the three of Lin Luoran are not the only people who choose this side door. At least, she sees another black car also coming in.
It’s not a government car. Interesting!
She glances at the car casually and sees a girl with a top hat and a black mask covering most of her face. The girl comes out of the car with many people cl.u.s.tering around her. Her bodyguards’ strength looks much better than that of several weak men of Proud Dragon Business.
The girl reveals a sense of coldness. Her chin outline under the hat looks gentle and beautiful. She is also in a beautiful dress. As for temperament, Ma Shuangshuang is thin, but she is still more adorable than this girl.
“It’s really a pity…” Lin Luoran withdraws her spiritual mind and whispers. Neither of the two siblings walking beside her hears what she is talking about.
They arrive on the 17th floor soon. Lin Luoran sees that Ma Shuangshuang is very nervous, so she signals her to hold Ma Yiming, which is still polite in the new era.
Unexpectedly, when they just step into the magnificent banquet hall, strong and bright light falls directly on them.
They can’t help squinting because of the dazzling light. Under such a beam of light, people’s subtle details will all be maximized. Fortunately, the Ma family’s siblings are wearing beautiful clothes with gorgeous jewelry. They don’t lose face as some villains wish. On the contrary, they strike an impressive pose on the stage.
Ma Yiming is very tall but a little thin. With the delicate tuxedo, he looks like a high-cla.s.s and elegant male model in Europe before the new era.
Ma Shuangshuang is just a young girl, but the green retro dress completely conceals the shortage of her figure. A silver emerald bracelet adds a different gentle feeling to her slightly pale skin. Her hair is scattered, and the ends of the hair are naturally curly. She ties her hair with an exquisite jade crown on it. It makes her as delicate as beautiful poems. She looks like an elf in the mountain described by European literati before the new era.
“Huh, who are these two people…”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen them before.”
“Is that a silk dress? How luxurious it is! And is that a set of jade jewelry? …”
There are some people discussing at the corner of the reception. People are always gossiping. Ma Yiming takes his sister to wait for the light to go to the next guest. Those eyes of curiosity and inquiry almost make the boy feel a little regret for a moment—maybe it doesn’t take such a fake reception to show the glory of his family? They are really standing out. However, except for the gorgeous clothes and precious jewelry, who knows who they are. Is this whole thing meaningful?
Lin Luoran suddenly appears beside him and Ma Yiming is startled, “Aunt Lin, where did you go just now?”
When the light came down, Lin Luoran disappeared unnoticeably in the bright light. She now suddenly appears in the corner and Ma Yiming is almost scared to death.
Lin Luoran changes the subject and asks, “How do you like the party?”
How do you like the party?
The arched hall has thousands of square meters. It is filled with luxurious flowers. The crystal chandelier is large and gorgeous. On the small stage, there are several women dressed in white playing the violin instruments which are extremely popular in the new era. They can’t tell if the music is beautiful or not, but it sounds good.
The scent of high-rank mutant monsters’ meat smells amazing. It is placed on a long table together with luxurious milk and pastries. People can fetch it as much as they want. There are also some waiters walking around with trays. Under the crystal light, the wine looks more fascinating in the gla.s.s.
Everything seems to be arranged according to the style of dinner before the new era. Everything is correct and Ma Yiming also feels it perfect. However, at the same time, he has an idea: is that all?
Ma Shuangshuang is straightforward, “It’s not that different from the old movie.”
Lin Luoran calls a waiter and takes two gla.s.ses of wine. She hands a gla.s.s to Ma Yiming, ignoring the curiosity and longingness in Ma Shuangshuang’s eyes. She takes a sip and smiles.
“It’s still different. Before the New Era, we had to tip to show that we were very satisfied with the service of the waiter. However, now we can’t keep the guests and the waiters so close, exchanging their accounts and then transferring crystal coins as tips…
As she says, a scene is formed in the minds of Ma Yiming and his sister. They think of a powerful celebrity whispering to a waiter for tipping. Ma Shuangshuang can’t help but laughs.
“Miss Lin is really humorous.”
A middle-aged man who has been listening stealthily in the shadow for a long time can’t help but makes a comment. Moving a step, his face shows up from the shadow.
He looks ordinary but somewhat charming as a mature man. He is too familiar to residents of the Dongting city. Ma Yiming whispers, “You are Mr. Pang.”
Mr. Pang smiles and nods his acquiescence. As always, he is kind to people.
His name is definitely not “Mr. Pang”. In fact, he is most likely to enter the Senate and becomes the youngest member of the Federation. Mr. Pang is in charge of the Dongting City which is the most important city in the beginning of the new era of the Earth Federation. His political philosophy is extremely modest. However, because of a speech he made at the beginning of his tenure, the citizens of Dongting City began to call him Mr. Pang instead of Mayor Pang which sounds formal but estranged.
He takes the initiative to say h.e.l.lo. Ma Shuangshuang doesn’t understand the meaning of it, but Ma Yiming feels totally flattered.
As for Lin Luoran, she only makes a toast and then nods to him as response. To some extent, she looks kind of arrogant. At least, two ladies who are fans of Mr. Pang in the distance are quite unhappy with Lin Luoran, regarding her as a “little girl” who doesn’t know anything at all.
Pang Xianzhong looks closely at Lin Luoran. Her skin is transparent without any flaws. He is not sure if she is the person he is looking for. After three hundred years, a person can still look like in her early twenties. Even with the technology of the Alpha Alliance, it is still not an easy task.
For almost three hundred years, there has been no trace of cultivators. If there is no video data, he may also suspect if Huaxia cultivators really exist.