“Masquerade?”
“Well, it’s a tradition of the hotel. It’s held every six months with a different theme. Last time it was a masquerade, and the one before that was a Halloween horror house. This time the theme is more conventional and everyone is more accepting of it, so there should be a lot of people tonight.”
As Christmas approaches, Christmas trees can be seen everywhere in the hotel and colorful lights are hung up, creating a strong festive atmosphere.
Joanna: “I just came in from outside and found that all the waiters were wearing masks. It must be very interesting!”
She chose a fox for Myrna and a lion for herself – the queen of the forest, in one word: “cool”!
Myrna: “Why don’t you pick yourself a tiger?”
“Why did you pick Tiger?”
“Isn’t a tigress more handsome?”
Joanna: “… Do you want a beating?!”
Myrna grabbed the mask and ran away, putting it on as she ran: “Hurry up, we’re going to be late!”
“Hey – stop right there! Who are you calling a tigress? You are the one!”
…
Banquet Hall on the 23rd floor.
As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, Myrna could feel eyes cast at her from all directions.
She actually doesn’t like crowded places, but when she thinks about the mask on her face, she instantly accepts it.
Joanna pulled her through the crowd and to the bar.
“A martini, Myrna, what are you drinking?”
Myrna: “A glass of lemonade.”
Joanna’s mouth twitched: “Do you dare to say it again?”
“… I want lemon…”
Joanna interrupted and said to the bartender: “Give her a Bloody Mary!”
The bartender smiled and said, “Okay.”
Myrna: “…” I couldn’t laugh.
Little did she know that at this moment, a pair of eyes in the dark were staring at her back, unwilling to move away…
Ansel stood at the entrance of the banquet hall, leaning against the wall, glancing at his watch from time to time.
He wore the mask of the King of Songs of Yunalia. The cracked black and gold stitching and the irregular musical notes made him look cold and elegant.
Especially since he was wearing a white shirt, which was slightly open below his Adam’s apple, it gave him an ascetic beauty that made people passing by look back frequently.
After waiting for five minutes, Ansel was getting impatient and was about to leave when Susie suddenly patted him on the shoulder from behind: “Baby, I’m here!”
Ansel turned around and saw that the girl had chosen a white rabbit mask with fluffy pointed ears and a bunny eye makeup, which was in line with her pure and clean temperament.
“I went to the wrong place just now, so I’m two minutes late. I’m sorry.”
She took his hand and shook it gently: “I heard that today’s lucky audience can win a mysterious grand prize. I’m so lucky, I will definitely win it.”
Ansel originally felt a little resentful, but when he saw her cute appearance, all of that resentment instantly disappeared.
“Let’s go, aren’t we going to draw a lottery?”
…
Over there, Joanna had just put down her wine glass when she saw a handsome young man whose figure and face met her aesthetic standards walking past her.
Myrna didn’t wait for her to speak, and took the initiative to say: “Go ahead, take it easy, don’t get carried away.”
Joanna blew her a kiss: “Then I’ll go first.”
Myrna reluctantly withdrew her gaze and looked around. There were indeed quite a few people coming, and most of them were dressed up, giving the ball a full sense of ceremony.
In the romantic atmosphere and with the exotic music, the crowd began to get excited and started dancing to the beat.
Myrna walked to the dessert table to get some pastries, then found a place with few people and sat down. While eating, she took out the iPad she carried with her and started flipping through her papers.
Suddenly, a bony hand appeared in front of me, accompanied by a man’s low and elegant voice: “This beautiful lady, can I ask you to dance with me?”
The man was wearing a black suit with eye-catching royal blue cufflinks. The light-colored Patek Philippe had a unique sense of age, but was inexplicably suitable for his theme mask today – The Phantom of the Opera.
Myrna met his smiling eyes and instantly recognized who he was.
Clyde Effie!
“I’m sorry, I can’t dance.”
Clyde said confidently: “I’ve seen you dancing on tiptoes backstage at school.”
After her lie was exposed, Myrna was speechless for two seconds.
She remembered that he was probably talking about the solo dance she didn’t have the chance to perform at the graduation party during her senior year.
After practicing for two months, I was unable to go on stage due to a calf injury.
Even she herself almost forgot it, but she didn’t expect that he knew it.
At this moment, the host on the stage said something and the spotlight swept over everyone’s heads.
The screams at the scene were getting louder and louder.
The white light fell on the two of them unexpectedly, enveloping them in a circle.
Clyde curled his lips and said, “The rules of the ball are that men and women who are illuminated by the spotlight must dance together. Even God couldn’t bear to see me being rejected. Do you have the heart to disappoint everyone?”
While speaking, he bowed forty-five degrees, stretched out his hand, and made a gesture of inviting someone to dance.
The people around started to make a noise, “Promise him-promise him-”
“Dance a little–dance a little–”
Myrna gritted her teeth and had no choice but to put her hand into his palm.
Clyde immediately slid her into the middle of the dance floor.
Moving forward and backward, spinning and hugging, the tall and handsome Phantom of the Opera caught a cunning and naive little fox.
The man’s suit pants and the woman’s skirt were intertwined, their eyes met, and Clyde smiled with pleasure and satisfaction.
Not only can Myrna jump, she’s also very good at it.
This is thanks to her mother’s training when she was a child. She felt that her daughter should, like every other girl, try dancing, painting, and learn music and etiquette.
She taught Myrna to be sensible, polite and versatile, but she did not expect that she was even more talented in studying.
Physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science, she signed up for competitions in all subjects that year, from the preliminary exam to the provincial competition, and then to the national competition. She was then selected for summer camp and winter camp training, and finally stood on the podium of the International Olympiad.
That year, the entire school and even the entire country were amazed by Myrna.
Countless top universities offered her olive branches, offering admission without examination or promise of government-funded study abroad, but Myrna declined them all and insisted on taking the exams on her own. She eventually won first place in the city in science and was admitted to University B based on her score.
“What are you thinking about?”
Clyde’s voice was in her ear.
Myrna came back to her senses: “Something from the past.”
“College days?” His eyes darkened. This memory included the person he least wanted to mention at the moment.
“No.” Myrna shook her head.
The man suddenly laughed, a deep resonant sound emanating from his chest. He turned his feet, gave a push with his hands, and spun quickly in a circle with Myrna.
There was another round of screaming all around.
Although Myrna was forced to cooperate with him, the man’s steps were not big and his movements were not exaggerated, as if he was intentionally taking care of her.
The hand on her waist was very gentlemanly, just a slight push, without showing any aggression or dominance.
“You look beautiful today. The fox mask suits you very well.” There was a hint of smile in his voice.
Myrna raised her eyebrows: “What a coincidence, you are here for vacation too?”