Chapter 1: Birthdays
The sun is gradually sinking over the mountain, and the orange-gold afterglow sets off the clouds on the horizon like egg tarts that have just been baked to a critical point, and the birds are constantly rotating around the tall buildings, as if in this way to vent the last shred of vitality of the day...... From time to time, the leaves on the street trees in the urban area and the creepers on the walls of the houses changed color, and under the caress of this gust of wind and dust, they swirled and fell one after another, like a red and yellow butterfly dancing one by one.
Tong Shino ushered in another night for her.
Before you know it, it's late autumn, and the street lights are lit up in the busy streets, reflecting the anxious and peaceful faces of the people - at the end of the day's work, they will return to their own place of residence and prepare a better dinner for their families or themselves.
Because today is Friday.
"Miss?" The maid Xia Ji knocked on the bedroom door of the person she served, and found that it was already a mess inside; The wooden wardrobe, which is rarely used by the owner, is open, and the bed is filled with all kinds of dresses and pants that have been thrown away after trying them out...... This bizarre situation made her a little stunned.
The girl is only wearing underwear and stockings at the moment, because there is a heating store, even if she is half-naked, she will not feel so cold. She gestured in front of the mirror with a dark brown coat of good material and style, but judging by her tangled brow, it didn't please the trialist.
"What's the matter, Xia Ji." Li Bai didn't look back, the long-term relationship made her unwary of this personal maid, after unbuttoning it, she sighed and threw the coat in her hand on the bed, and glanced at her increasingly plump chest with a little annoyance.
I didn't eat any related food, why is it growing so fast here......
It's only been half a year's work, and some of the clothes in the wardrobe that are just the right size for half and half Luo have gone on strike, which makes her feel extremely entangled.
"I'm still trying on clothes so late, is Miss planning to go out?" Xia Ji cautiously asked, and at the same time came to the bedside and began to clean up the pile of clothes nested together for the girl.
"yes, I have something very important to do tonight......"
In the blink of an eye, Li Bai had already taken out a slightly wide white gauze shirt, the clothes of this material were very comfortable to the touch, even if they were worn in this season, it would be cold.
Putting on a white gauze shirt and a medium-length leather skirt, she retrieved another dark brown mid-length trench coat that she had just thrown off from Xia Ji's hand, and pulled out a dark red wool scarf from the closet and wrapped it around, ready to go out.
"That's right...... Almost forgot the most important thing. As soon as she took two steps, Li Bai turned around again, picked up the small top hat that had been prepared in the morning, and while putting it on, she also packed up her signature snow-white slightly curly long hair and stuffed it in.
"Ha, so that not many people can recognize me~" Pulling the brim of his hat slightly, Li Bai looked at the handsome girl in the mirror and nodded with satisfaction.
"However, if it is discovered by the young master...... Xia Ji secretly swallowed his saliva...... is not only for the beauty of the person in front of him, but also contains the helplessness of his habitual messing.
"When are you going to come back?"
"Before midnight, around twelve." Li Bai contracted his palms twice to say goodbye to Xia Ji, "You don't need to prepare for supper...... I think my stomach must have been stuffed with something else. ”
"What about Miss Blause, did you wake her up at that time?"
"Definitely, I managed to drain her energy and add that cup of hot chocolate...... It should be enough for her to sleep until 3 a.m. ”
Opening the door under the watchful eye of the man, Li Bai tied the scarf in his hand to cover his face from the bottom of his nose, rubbed his hands again, inserted them into the pocket of his coat, and began to move towards his goal.
Stopping a taxi, Li Bai's gaze stayed on the windshield for two or three more seconds - there was a photo posted there: a girl with white hair and red eyes carried a strange instrument in her left hand, and her raised right hand clutched a card shining with colorful light.
"Hugo Tower." Pulling the brim of her hat lower, the girl clearly announced her destination.
The taxi driver, a curly-haired man in his mid-middle years, immediately turned down the volume of the stereo in the car and whistled loudly as soon as he saw the customer in the rearview mirror.
"Hugo Building...... It's one of the most romantic places in the city, and you were invited? ”
"Nope." Li Bai's eyebrows under the brim of his hat raised, and she felt that the driver seemed to be a little wider.
"I'm the host."
"Oh~ That's a lucky guy!" Regardless of what was in mind, the driver looked excited...... But he soon lost his temper.
Just now, when he once again figured out Guò's beautiful legs in the rearview mirror, he saw a cold bright red eye.
The car quickly stopped in front of a building with at least 70 floors, and colorful neon lights flashed wildly beside the two streets that marked it, making it easy for those who are new to the city to tell at a glance that it is a prosperous place.
The girl didn't go in right away after settling the bill, and she still didn't shake off her tail...... It took 15 taxi rides in a row (interspersed with seven subways, three buses, and one black car) before she returned to the building.
In order to be sure, it took an extra 1 hour for her insurance, and when she took out her phone and looked at the time, the girl breathed a sigh of relief - there were still 5 minutes before the deadline, which should be considered just right.
"I'm sorry...... Ma'am, tonight's revolving restaurant is completely under wrap and we can't let you in. ”
Before the elevator door to the seventieth floor opened, Li Bai heard a noise outside, and when she actually stepped on the ground on the top floor, she couldn't help but feel stunned by the number of heads that greeted her.
Although they have been mentally prepared for this, there are at least twenty couples...... Is it because of the weekend? Or is it some special day today?
"Can't you be accommodating?" Standing in front of what appeared to be a manager-like man was a petite short-haired girl, who was snuggling up to her boyfriend's side with a slightly dissatisfied expression.
The vast majority of people who have similar feelings are on the scene, and they are all planning to bring their lovers together to celebrate that special day, and after hearing that they can't do it, their cheeks are naturally full of expressions of disappointment and complaint.
"I'm really sorry......" The manager was a little anxious about the current situation, his original identity did not need to receive these guests, but there were too many people - the identity of customers who could enter this building above the 60th floor was extraordinary, more than 20? He can't afford to be guilty.
Do you want to keep them waiting......
In another 2 minutes, the contract time limit for the revolving restaurant will pass, and according to the terms of the treaty, they will have the right to continue to open the place, and the mysterious patron will not do anything to them, after all, he himself will miss the appointment, and neither justice nor private reason will take any advantage.
Just when the manager was very entangled, another mobile phone that he put in the inner pocket of his suit suddenly began to vibrate, he looked stunned, and immediately handed over the persuasion work to the real service staff, and quickly walked into another corridor on the side, and at the same time took out his mobile phone and began to listen to the orders from there.
“…… Yes, yes, no problem. ”
"Yes...... I see, just do as you say. ”
Swiping his ID card in front of the hallway door, the manager climbed up three steps - few people knew that there were more than two elevators on the road to the 71st floor.
"It's our pleasure to have you here, miss." Seeing the figure stepping out of the elevator, he hurriedly stepped forward to take the candy key from the other party.
"I don't want to get people's attention, so I have to ask you to help." Li Bai said lightly.
There are a little more people below...... And it seems that many of them are duelists, so in order not to reveal their identities, she had to go back to the elevator and use the highest authority to make it go up directly...... Yes, the highest authority, because the entire Hugo Mansion is considered the property of the Seahorse family.
The seventy-first floor is completely different from the one below, with a woolen carpet where the two of them stand, a large gate in front of the small space, carved with various cartoon castles and pastries, and elves looming in the spires...... The chocolate-like design makes this door a perfect fit for these décor, full of fairy tale colors.
"Is it a special day?" Seeing that the manager opened the door with the key, Li Bai asked a question for no reason.
Because of the unique design concept, the revolving restaurant on the top floor of the building has long become a famous attraction in the city, but there are not many places here, and it can only accommodate 30 people at the same time, plus the status restrictions...... She wondered if it would be a holiday today.
After all, it was the first time she had seen so many people wanting to spend a weekend night here.
"You don't remember?" The manager turned the doorknob and his head was full of surprise.
"Today is the one-year anniversary of your defeat of Mr. Bekas." Opening the two doors left and right, he began to guide the maiden into the dining room, "Many of those below are dueling lovers, and they consider your victory to be a milestone in the history of the duel, and regard it as an important festival for the change of dynasty. ”
"They...... It's a celebration for you. ”
There was emotion in his tone.
For the girl in front of her, there are few insiders of the group who do not admire her.
People from the outside world only see her most shining side, but they don't know what she has secretly paid.
"yes, I really forgot about it." Li Bai smiled unnaturally, took off his hat and hung it on the hanger on the side.
She could understand the other person's incredible...... The festival started by her own hands, unless there is something more important that happened on the same day that requires her attention, it is almost impossible to forget jì.
"Keep my whereabouts secret - until I get out of here." Before the manager left, she said, "Don't worry...... It won't stay long, it's almost eight o'clock now, I'll leave around twelve, and in less than four hours, you won't have any difficulty explaining. ”
After sending the other party away, the girl was finally left alone on the entire seventy-first floor, and she was able to enjoy this dream restaurant that she had only heard of before.
The floor was paved with the purest ancient wood, with a dull dark color and a faint fragrance, and there were many circular marks in the center of the circle where she had just entered, and they were about three paces away from each other—if she had looked at it in 3D, it would have looked like an enlarged version of a dartboard.
The ceiling was transformed into a tropical rainforest style, the hanging rattans and fruit branches were all real objects, and each position was a two-seater facing each other, arranged in a circle of wooden planks at equal intervals, Li Bai found a place to put the gifts and sat down, and then pressed the switch under the table.
The scene begins to change.
A slight start-up friction sound sounded, and the circle she was in slowly rotated, and the surrounding qiē began to change...... The clear blue water replaced the empty restaurant scene, and bubbles drifted to the ceiling with her breath - there were no more plants there, the reflection of the moon refracted into the bottom of the sea was scattered by the waves, the silver light shimmered, floating around like a broken mirror, and a few beautiful little fish frolicked around her, as if curious about the uninvited guest.
Li Bai stretched out his hand curiously, intending to touch one of them, but before he could touch them, he scattered them.
"Virtual illusion technology...... How can it be done so intelligently. She smiled softly as the fish swam back when they saw that she was no longer doing anything like that.
Turn the switch and the scene will change again.
The sea recedes, deepens, darkens; The stars lit up one after another...... In the blink of an eye, she was already sitting on the outermost part of Saturn's rings, and from time to time pieces of rubble floated by her...... In the distance, the blue planet is clearly visible, and the slow rotation and slight weightlessness of the floor beneath her feet deepens the realism of the scene, making her feel as if she is truly in the universe.
"It's really beautiful...... It's also romantic. ”
"If it weren't for the fact that today is so special, I wouldn't have shared it with them."
Retracting his somewhat trance-like gaze, Li Bai turned his gaze back to the table.
A three-tiered fruitcake was placed there, each layer covered with a light-path monster carved from cream, and the Dragon of Judgment stood proudly on the top, its eyes still red in a pocket-sized version, and the two strands of whiskers on its mouth raised high; Behind it, the dragon wings spread out and roared in the form of the Chaos Emperor Dragon, this originally hideous and terrifying monster was now portrayed vividly with cream and fruit slices, because of the shrinking size, it actually revealed a pocket-sized and cute atmosphere.
"Happy birthday."
Looking at the white-haired girl who appeared in the seat opposite at some point, exactly like herself, she said softly.
"Flame."