Light Fortress
Chapter 184 - 171: Invitation to Dance

Chapter 184: Chapter 171: Invitation to Dance

At Freedom Hall tonight, every young person who had the privilege of receiving an invitation to this dance was no less than the top elite of Da Du.

Although it was strictly forbidden by the council to describe them with this term.

But... "privileged class" truly suited the attendees of tonight’s gathering.

Lu Nanjin stood in a corner of the reception room, and no one paid attention to a person deliberately hiding in the shadows. Everyone was dressed up brightly and elegantly, shining under the spotlight, radiating brilliance off one another.

"Hey... beautiful lady..."

A young blond man with blue eyes, holding a glass as well, slowly approached Lu Nanjin.

He introduced himself with a smile, "My name is Pierre Haitink, the conductor for tonight’s orchestra. May I have your last name?"

Lu Nanjin frowned, looking at the tall, thin man blocking her view.

"Lu," she said with a single word.

"Ms. Lu... You really are beautiful..."

"Excuse me," Nan Jin interrupted the cliche compliment impatiently and said coldly, "I’d like to be alone."

Pierre was not annoyed but quickly stepped aside politely, clearing the view, and without any sign of embarrassment stood beside Lu Nanjin and continued to ask, "You don’t seem like someone from Da Du... Over there, the conversation’s lively, and there’s a dance part. Would you like to join in?"

"..."

Lu Nanjin slightly turned her head.

She looked at Pierre, who still held his glass, a friendly smile on his face.

"Lu, forgive me for being forward... but I would like to invite you to dance. Would that be okay?"

"Tsk tsk..."

From the private channel came the old man’s commentary, relishing the drama, "This Mr. Pi or something... He really came from Central Continent, huh? The guy’s got thick skin."

Zhou Jiren sat in a chair in the main hall of the auditorium, watching the empty stage alone, the curtains still drawn, vacant and chilly, yet with a flavor of its own.

In the private channel, Gu Shen also expressed his sentiments, "Just don’t know which is harder when compared to Song Ci’s fist... Wishing this genius conductor a smooth performance on stage tonight."

When Lu Nanjin’s gaze fell on him, Pierre was somewhat flattered.

He had noticed this beautiful and extraordinary young woman during the entry ceremony earlier, her temperament reserved like ice, yet vaguely emitting a wild beauty, as if both cold and fiery attributes coexisted within her... He guessed there was a passionate heart underneath her icy exterior.

Then came the mingling part in the reception room.

Everyone was busy making friends... only she was the exception, a truly distinctive woman.

This only reinforced Pierre’s determination to "get to know" her.

What he didn’t know was that Lu Nanjin’s glance in his direction was merely coincidental... Right behind Pierre, a figure who had just switched into formal attire was quickly approaching.

"Lu... may I have this dance with you?" Having received no response, Pierre persisted patiently with another invitation.

Lu Nanjin shook her head.

"Does shaking your head mean...?" Pierre’s smile stiffened on his face, but he still held hope. As long as he did not hear a clear refusal from Miss Lu’s mouth, he would not give up.

Just as he was about to speak again, someone patted him lightly on the back.

"You are...?"

Pierre turned around and saw a man with a buzz cut, the aura about him sharp as a blade’s edge. His powerful presence made Pierre involuntarily furrow his brow and use a respectful tone subconsciously.

All who participated in tonight’s soiree were wealthy or noble, but this fellow seemed somewhat familiar...

He had seen him before somewhere... where had it been...

After a three-second pause, Pierre remembered!

This buzz-cut man was previously working at the Freedom Hall entrance, checking the identities of the guests.

"You are... the security from earlier?"

Pierre took another look at Song Ci’s attire, realizing he looked entirely different in a suit, having shed his security outfit, which was somewhat startling to him.

Seeing Song Ci simply watching him calmly.

"I don’t need a drink replacement, thank you." Pierre felt somewhat uncomfortable under the gaze and smiled, raising his glass, indicating he had no such need.

Song Ci smiled and asked, "What’s your surname?"

"Pierre Haitink!" The blond young man straightened, his tone seemingly modest but with a pride that was overbearing, "The principal conductor of the Lucerne Orchestra, in charge of directing tonight’s symphony performance!"

"Pierre something or the other..."

After listening, Song Ci frowned and muttered to himself, the man spoke too fast, and he didn’t catch it. He shook his head, thinking the name didn’t matter as he was not going to remember it anyway.

"Mr. Pi, I have a duty to inform you, since you’ve taken a salary and are responsible for tonight’s performance... you should be at your corresponding post," Song Ci advised earnestly, "This is the reception room, not the concert hall."

Pierre was taken aback.

Throughout his tours across Five Continents, whenever he introduced himself... the looks and attitudes he received were filled with reverence and admiration.

This was the first time he had encountered failure.

"Are you teaching me how to do my job? No matter what you were doing before... now I inform you, you’ve been fired," he said.

The originally subdued smile on Pierre’s face vanished, not yet completely darkened only because there was a beautiful woman beside him, and he did not want to make a scene.

"You, this servant who does not recognize nobility... leave this place immediately, right now!"

What kind of era is this... are there still people who talk like this?

After hearing that, Song Ci genuinely felt amused rather than annoyed, finding the whole situation incredibly funny.

He didn’t move an inch but said lightly, "I have no intention of leaving this place..."

"Besides, I heard the entire conversation earlier. You said you’re from Central Continent? Don’t call women ’madam’ here... It ages them. In a different place, you’d get beaten for it."

Song Ci laughed, looking towards Lu Nanjin, "What do you think, Miss Lu?"

Pierre attempted to engage in a standoff with Song Ci, but he could only maintain eye contact for a second before crumbling under the overwhelming pressure emanating from the man across from him.

So, he shifted his gaze to Lu Nanjin, attempting to cover up the embarrassment.

Then he realized a heartbreaking fact... the latter’s gaze was actually never on his face, but always on that unremarkable security attendant.

Upon hearing Song Ci’s question, a smile, unprecedentedly, appeared on Nan Jin’s icy countenance.

Pierre Haitink felt somewhat dazed.

Yet, this smile was not for himself, but for that rude and disrespectful security attendant.

"You..."

Unable to endure it any longer, Pierre clenched his fist, ready to defend his dignity.

Song Ci observed this scene with satisfaction.

He waited contentedly for the other party to throw a punch and then become a laughingstock.

This episode attracted quite a bit of attention, and just when things were about to escalate, a figure appeared in the salon, very inopportunely.

"Oh dear, oh dear, it’s all a misunderstanding..."

A familiar face emerged, recalled by Gu Shen, who oversaw the entire scene from Deep Sea; he had just seen this person... one of the three delegates sent recently by the South Bay Faction to run for the reserve member of the council.

Being pushed forward by Chen San to block Lu Nanzhi’s candidacy, he was clearly a person of considerable stature within the South Bay Faction.

Immediately, Deep Sea pulled up the file—

This man’s name was Chen Qi, the father of Chen Jingtan.

And Chen Jingtan was the one who had been beaten half to death by Crow...

Chen Qi, however, bore no air of arrogance and was all smiles as he played the peacemaker, seemingly oblivious to his previous issue with Song Ci, "Cool down, cool down... Why not just apologize and settle it?"

Song Ci wore an expressionless face.

Taking a deep breath to suppress his anger, Pierre said, "Chen, tell me how I can not be angry about this... It’s not a problem that can be solved with just an apology!"

As he spoke, he sensed something amiss.

After stepping out, Chen Qi had not spared him a second glance and seemed to treat him as if he were air...

And upon reflection, that call to calm down seemed... not to be directed at himself?

"Mr. Song, today is not an auspicious day for violence," Chen Qi said, seeing Song Ci’s clenched fist and advising earnestly and softly, "If you throw that punch, it won’t just be the walls of Freedom Hall that get smashed, but Mr. Xiao Pi’s face too; you should consider the lady’s feelings..."

Pierre’s complexion changed dramatically.

Indeed, he didn’t understand much about Da Du... but he had heard a few names.

The most famous person in Da Du, aside from those two council members, was none other than the thunderingly renowned "lady"!

And what did Chen Qi just say... that a punch would smash the walls of Freedom Hall?

"What do you suggest we do to resolve this?"

Song Ci spoke indifferently.

"How about... just offering an apology?" Chen Qi carefully put forth the same suggestion again, smiling, "We’re at a ball and everyone’s here; it’s an excellent opportunity for everyone to witness the lady’s magnanimity."

Song Ci, looking at Chen Qi who was all amiable towards him, felt the world was all too real.

After Chen Jingtan was beaten, Chen San turned thunderously furious, wanting to skin him alive.

Not to mention his biological father, who, upon meeting him, should have been an enemy on equal terms.

But... now with the bill in question, if the lady were willing to maintain her opposition, then the South Bay Faction would win this struggle. Facing the larger situation, they all chose to keep the peace and "forgive" him.

The past was like clouds and smoke, to be erased with one stroke, even the old scores of his son seemed inconsequential now.

Chen Qi gave Pierre a meaningful look, and the young prodigy conductor was quick to catch on, hurriedly chiming in.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Song..."

He gritted his teeth and said, "Please forgive my earlier offense."

"It doesn’t matter, among the many snobs who look down on others, you are the most straightforward and honest," Song Ci replied coolly, "Besides... the one that should be saying sorry is me."

"Ah?" Pierre was taken aback.

The next moment.

Song Ci, who was close at hand, made his move.

A snap of his fingers resonated with a sound burst, and Pierre’s forehead was hit hard. With a "bang", he winced in pain as tears nearly sprang from his eyes, and he fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Here’s a brain buster for you," Song Ci said with a smile, "I can’t accept your apology. I’m sure the lady would not like to hear her young and beautiful sister being called ’Ms.’ It’s a punishment for your rudeness."

Chen Qi appeared somewhat helpless, noticing from the corner of the room on the second-floor balcony scrutinizing gazes being cast in their direction... it was Chen San and the lady.

He said nothing more and silently made his exit.

This was already a fairly good outcome.

The sole "victim", Pierre Haitink, sat on the floor holding his forehead, feeling a massive bump swelling on it.

Good heavens... and he was still to perform on stage next!

"You should be grateful... I only snapped my fingers. If I had thrown a punch, you would be spending the next month in a Da Du hospital bed. At that time, the Lucerne Orchestra would probably consider finding a new conductor," Song Ci said without looking at Pierre again.

He approached Lu Nanjin amidst everyone’s gaze, reaching out with courage and a hint of nervousness in his voice, "Miss Lu, would you honor me with a dance?"

Zhou Jiren’s laughter came through the private channel.

"I think it’s doable."

Gu Shen added his agreement, "I think so too."

Lu Nanjin smiled helplessly.

She set her glass down and slowly extended her hand, taking hold of Song Ci’s.