"I'm going to a charity dinner tonight, so Aunt Oliver doesn't need to prepare my share."
"Alright."
After telling Cynthia, William saw Aunt Lisa and Tiffany walk out from behind the racks, each holding an evening dress, and immediately felt a headache coming on.
They had been picking clothes for over an hour, visiting four or five suit shops, and still hadn't found something they were completely happy with.
"If I'd known, I would have ordered something custom two days ago," Tiffany complained, motioning for William to take the clothes into the fitting room.
If you asked William, he couldn't see much difference between these evening suits—just small changes in the cuffs, collars, and hems, and you wouldn't even notice unless you looked closely.
That said, this body of his really did suit an evening suit perfectly. Plus, since he had been spending all his time at home or the office lately, his skin had gotten noticeably lighter.
"Not bad, not bad." Tiffany nodded with satisfaction. "Now go try the one your Aunt Lisa picked."
The one Aunt Lisa chose didn't have the same artistic flair as the tailcoat Tiffany had picked, but it still looked good.
"This one's nice too."
"Then let's take both."
William was fine with that. More importantly, if they didn't decide soon, it would be dark.
"Alright, then go change out of them. I'll go pay," Tiffany said.
"No need, I can pay for them myself."
"This is a gift from your big sister," Tiffany said with a teasing tone.
For a moment, William didn't know how to respond, so he just obediently went back in to change. Wearing a suit outside in this weather wasn't exactly comfortable—he could change again when they got there.
Coffee shop.
William, Aunt Lisa, and Tiffany sat together in a corner.
"Can you tell me what kind of banquet this is?"
A charity banquet—William had only ever seen that on TV. Was there going to be an auction too?
"It's more like a gathering for musicians," Tiffany said, stirring her coffee with a stick. "Pretty much all the well-known people in the country will be there."
On Blue Star, anyone called a musician was truly top-tier—at the very least, they had done a world tour.
In this age where cultural circles rarely interacted, only music had managed to break through and spread into other cultural circles.
Of course, before long, this list would also include games.
"You're not planning to make me perform in front of them, are you?" William felt uneasy. Sure, he had master-level piano skills, but so did everyone there. These people practically slept with their pianos, while he was more like an outsider among masters.
"I believe in you," Tiffany said seriously.
William sighed. "Is this banquet very important to you?"
"Yeah."
Aunt Lisa added, "Some of Tiffany's older relatives will also be attending."
From what Tiffany just said, anyone who could attend wasn't an ordinary person. He hadn't expected she came from a family of musicians.
"So what does this have to do with me?"
Tiffany glanced at Aunt Lisa, who sighed and said, "This banquet is Tiffany's final deadline."
"Deadline? For what?" William was confused.
"Marriage."
"I still don't get it."
"You'll understand once you go to the banquet," Aunt Lisa said, dropping the topic.
William had already guessed most of it, but looking at Tiffany chatting casually with Aunt Lisa about new songs, he couldn't help but ask, "If it's so important, why do you look like you're not worried at all?"
Tiffany shrugged. "I ran away once six years ago. If I need to, I can just run again."
Can't I just have a quiet meal? William thought to himself.
"But," Tiffany's tone changed, "if I don't have to run again, I think I'd feel more at ease."
"I get it. I'll do my best."
After all, she was Aunt Lisa's close friend—and he had fallen for her the moment they met.
A banquet full of musicians, huh?
William thought about it. A successful game needed unforgettable music. If he could meet one or two top figures and bring them in to make the soundtrack, it would be great for both quality and promotion.
Mountain Dragon Manor.
In a city like Riverdale where every bit of land was precious, building a manor in the city center was a pipe dream. Even the owner of Mountain Dragon Manor, who could gather the top musicians in the country, had to set up his place at the foot of a mountain outside the fourth ring road.
"Take a deep breath, no need to be nervous." Tiffany adjusted the edges of William's clothes.
His breathing had grown a bit heavier. He'd seen plenty of events like this on TV, but experiencing it himself made him feel a little intimidated.
"Welcome, Miss Tiffany."
Tiffany handed the invitation to the guard at the entrance. These guards were specially assigned from the military to make sure nothing went wrong at this banquet full of musicians.
Each guest could only bring one companion, so Aunt Lisa had gone home to make dinner.
Once inside the manor, they saw a rather interesting sight.
Most people here were wearing clothes with traditional Chinese elements like Hanfu or Zhongshan suits. Only a few wore Western formal wear. William even spotted two men with bare chests—despite today's lowest temperature being only 8 degrees.
Tiffany led William to an elderly man with white hair but a youthful face. His fingers were long, and they looked strong and steady.
"This is Mr. Dallas, one of the most well-known guzheng masters in our circle, and also my grand-uncle."
"Well, Tiffany's here," Dallas said with a smile, then noticed William beside her. "And this friend is?"
"William." William reached out his hand.
Dallas didn't leave him hanging. He shook William's hand twice with a friendly smile, then turned his gaze back to Tiffany and pointed into the distance. "Your uncle is over there."
"Alright, thank you, grand-uncle."
Dollas looked almost identical to Dallas—clearly father and son.
"Uncle," Tiffany greeted.
Dollas He gave a stern nod. The corner of his eye swept over William before he ignored him and said, "Come, let me introduce you. This is Warren, grandson of the respected old artist Jerry."
"Hello."
Warren was tall and broad-shouldered, a whole head taller than William. He looked simple and friendly—or maybe a bit slow.
Tiffany nodded without shaking his hand, then introduced William. "This is William, the pianist."
"Piano?" Dollas raised his eyebrows. "Our Chinese culture has thousands of years of history with so many traditional instruments passed down, and you chose to learn a foreign import?"
"Uncle!"
Tiffany's expression changed. What Dollas said was basically accusing William of betraying his roots.
"It's fine," William said.
William tugged Tiffany's sleeve, then looked at Dollas. "Anything else you want to say?"
Dollas just gave a short laugh.
"Alright, I'll take that as you're done."
When Dollas stayed silent, William took Tiffany's hand and turned to leave.
"Stop!"
Dollas called after them, walked over to William, and said, "I don't know where you came from, and I've never heard your name before. But I can tell you one thing—some matters aren't for young people like you to decide. I don't care what's going on between you two, but you'd better leave now before things get ugly."
"Oh, you're finished?"
William couldn't be bothered to argue with someone like him. He was hungry, and having another bite of food sounded far better than hearing another word from him.