With an exceptionally high ceiling and three sides of floor-to-ceiling windows, the top-floor restaurant had excellent lighting effects. Zhou Wang leaned lightly against an inconspicuous corner of the stage, watching Wang Ying and the others busy tuning their instruments.
The piano was placed separately in a triangular area at the front of the stage, where Jiang Mo was seated, also tuning in preparation for the performance.
At this moment, the lighting in the stage area was dim. Aside from some guests nearby, no one yet noticed this woman as cool and ethereal as a fairy.
Whether the restaurant’s future operations would succeed was uncertain, but there was no denying the hardware facilities were impeccable, especially the sound system—
The retro-style CD player was currently playing light music without lyrics, but the tune was familiar. Zhou Wang listened for a while and recognized it as a well-known English hit, "Shape of You."
The lively melody fit the atmosphere, complementing the pleasant scenes of guests in the hall and setting the expected tone for the opening.
Zhou Wang’s gaze swept across the entire room, indeed spotting a few familiar faces—
Li Chen, whom he had met once at a BSK shareholders’ meeting, Lin Dantong from Wuyou Media, Wang Xiaoxiao, and Qi Lingtong, the deputy director of e-commerce operations at Yinjie Tiaodong, with the woman accompanying him likely being a director from Yinjie Tiaodong.
There were also some celebrities Zhou Wang hadn’t met in reality but had seen on TV, such as Ma Fanshu, the beautiful host of the Huaxia TV Station sports channel, who had left a deep impression on Zhou Wang during the World Cup...
Although hosts generally had great looks, those with such top-level beauty were still rare.
"Hey, Momo, is that you?"
Zhou Wang, who was aimlessly scanning his surroundings, heard a probing voice nearby. He couldn’t help but retract his gaze and look toward Jiang Mo.
At this moment, Jiang Mo had just finished tuning the piano. As she stepped off the stage, she ran into two girls dressed flamboyantly and holding champagne. The girl on the left, wearing a camisole and with a free-spirited long-haired look, stopped in her tracks, a surprised expression on her face after glancing at Jiang Mo.
Did Jiang Mo have other friends in Beidou?
Out of curiosity, Zhou Wang moved a little closer without saying a word.
"Sisi?"
Initially lowering her head slightly, Jiang Mo was startled after hearing the girl’s voice and recognized her.
Once she confirmed that the unbelievably beautiful woman before her was indeed Jiang Mo, the flamboyantly dressed girl handed her champagne to her companion and walked over, warmly taking Jiang Mo’s hand.
"Ah, Momo, it really is you! What brings you to Beidou?"
Seeing Jiang Mo’s current appearance, a hint of amazement and disbelief flashed in Sisi’s eyes. The Jiang Mo she remembered was pretty, but when did she possess such an ethereal aura?
Quickly, the girl named Sisi concealed the odd look in her eyes, eagerly asking.
"I came to Beidou to study, I’m currently at Huaxia Music College..."
Jiang Mo softly explained.
"Oh, that makes sense. I remember you played the piano very well. How did you end up at this opening banquet? Were you invited or...?"
"No, I’m here to perform with classmates."
In response to Sisi’s probing, Jiang Mo answered truthfully.
"Oh, I see. I heard from Mr. Liao that there would be some live performances arranged; I didn’t expect you to be among them."
Hearing Jiang Mo say this, Sisi inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing a lot, and playfully introduced the other girl beside them.
"Just right, Momo, let me introduce you. This is Lele, my best friend. Her boyfriend is Mr. Liao... ah, you don’t even know who Mr. Liao is, huh? Mr. Liao is one of the owners of this restaurant. I’m telling you, this building is also owned by Mr. Liao!"
Seeing Jiang Mo’s somewhat confused expression, Sisi had to introduce again, but Jiang Mo’s expression seemed unchanged, as if she couldn’t grasp what was so impressive about Mr. Liao.
"Hello."
Jiang Mo simply nodded slightly at the girl named Lele.
Sisi felt a sense of dullness but couldn’t help a slight resentment.
Your family went bankrupt long ago, right? How do you still live like an untainted fairy? Since you’re here to perform in the restaurant, Lele is practically your half-sponsor; can’t you even smile?
"Sisi, who is she?"
At this moment, the girl next to Sisi, dressed in luxury brands and always maintaining a poised expression, finally asked slowly.
Ever since seeing Jiang Mo, Lele had been frowning. Standing in front of a girl of such presence made her uncomfortable all over, and Jiang Mo’s cold greeting only intensified her feeling of disgust.
"Lele, this is Jiang Mo, a neighbor from my childhood. Well, her family had some issues later, so we..."
As Lele was introducing Jiang Mo to Sisi, Zhou Wang stood by, pondering slightly, and finally pieced together some fragments of memories.
These girls named Lele and Sisi... he’d actually met them both.
The girl called "Sisi" had been seen more than once.
The earliest was on Jiang Mo’s phone, in the opening Chapter of "Angel and Demon," when the desperate Jiang Mo had tried to seek help. She had searched her phone and only contacted a friend named "Sisi."
This girl in front of him was likely the one.
Zhou Wang had seen her once more later, on the day he went to a car show to pick up his Ferrari 812C—
Thinking back now, Zhou Wang could roughly understand why he had such high privileges with a brand like Ferrari.