Since the opening of Shanghai as a port, commerce has gradually developed, and this city has been nicknamed the "city that never sleeps". There is no difference between night and day. No matter how deep the night is, the bustling area in the city center is still full of pedestrians and brightly lit.

Restaurants, cafes, hotels, and pubs are all open all night long—the main business hours are at night.

The sun has just gone below the horizon, and countless neon lights, signboards, street lights, and car lights have all turned on. Today there is fog on the riverside, and the tall buildings towering in the sky are disappearing and appearing. From a distance, they seem to be floating in mid-air.

mirage in.

In the public concession, Licha Hotel.

This Baroque-style building was expanded in the 33rd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu. It is located on the north bank of the Suzhou River. It is slightly more remote than the area on Nanjing Road, but it is the first modern luxury hotel in Shanghai. The interior is luxuriously and elegantly decorated.

There will always be social dances on weekends, with feasting and entertainment, and a high level of style. It has always been the darling of upper-class gatherings.

The host of today's banquet, Sir Henry Sassoon, is standing in the foyer, chatting with the guests attending today's banquet. He is about fifty years old, not too tall, with deep eye sockets, thick and slightly curly hair, and is dressed in a fashionable and elegant style.

Wearing a comfortable suit, his shirt collar is open, he is holding a beautiful cane in his hand, and he looks energetic.

In fact, his identity is far from being as approachable as he seems. This shrewd businessman from Judaism is now the largest real estate developer in Shanghai. The real estate owned by his Sassoon Group in Shanghai has a large area of ​​land, housing area and high-rise buildings.

It ranks first among Shanghai real estate developers in many aspects and can be called the king of real estate in Shanghai.

During the conversation, Sir Henry Sassoon saw a pure black car parked at the door of the hotel from the corner of his eye. He excused himself to several guests and walked out the door.

The person who got out of the car was Fu Shaoze. He walked around to the other side and opened the door in a gentlemanly manner. He covered the upper edge of the door with his hand and helped Bai Qianyu get out of the car with one hand.

Even though she was wearing five-inch high heels, Bai Qianyu's steps were still steady. When she first got out of the car, there was no expression on her face, but the moment she raised her head, she already showed the right smile.

Sir Henry Sassoon came forward and said, "Hello, Mr. Fu, it's been a long time." (Hello, Mr. Fu, it's been a long time.)

Fu Shaoze smiled and shook hands with him, and responded in fluent English. At this time, he looked so elegant that the female guests passing by were dazzled. After taking a few steps, their eyes were still staring at him.

After the brief greetings, Henry Sassoon looked at Bai Qianyu beside him and nodded politely, "miss, you look very glamorou a good time!" (Miss, you look very glamorous tonight, I hope you can have a good time)

The East End accent, well, it sounds a bit nostalgic.

But at this time, Bai Qianyu could only pretend not to understand, nod and smile.

"This young lady just came to Shanghai..." Fu Shaoze immediately took up the topic, and then glanced at Bai Qianyu beside him - perhaps because he was raised according to the standard of "every lady" since childhood, his fiancée was quite calm.

At least he won't be like the country bumpkin who sees a foreigner with red eyebrows and green eyes and yells at him to collapse.

"Oh, that's it." Sir Sassoon didn't care. He snapped his fingers and ordered the waiter in a suit and vest to lead them to the banquet hall.

The inside of the Richa Hotel is quite spacious. Through the cloister-style atrium of the Victorian era, there is the "Peacock Hall" that can accommodate 500 people for dancing. It has large and complex arc-shaped arch windows and rows of Ionic columns.

The lights were bright and the figures were longing. The symphony orchestra played "Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G minor". In the dim and gentle light on the dance floor, gentlemen embraced the jeweled woman and sang and danced happily, and the fragrance filled the air.

When there was no one around, Fu Shaoze whispered to Bai Qianyu, "Stop talking, do whatever I ask you to do, and don't look around, making people feel like you have never seen the world."

Bai Qian Yuxin said that she really belongs to you. Why are you so afraid of embarrassment that you bothered Miss Yu to come here?

As soon as Fu Shaoze walked into the banquet hall, he immediately attracted the attention of many people. Immediately, several young men came forward to greet him warmly.

"Master Fu is here..."

"Master Fu, long time no see."

"Young Master Fu, do you still remember me? I met you last time..."

Bai Qianyu walked beside him, and naturally many eyes were on her. But she has been used to being the center of attention since she was a child - her parents put her in a princess dress and ran around at a cocktail party when she was just able to walk. It was not appropriate at this time.

I didn't feel nervous at all, so I just looked at this old-time banquet and everyone here with curiosity.

Fu Shaoze comes from a distinguished family and has just returned from studying abroad. He is a top-notch talent in terms of appearance and academic qualifications. He is currently the most popular man in Shanghai. He is known as one of the "Three Young Masters of Shanghai" by busy people and several other young men.

And when a man of influence happens to be very handsome, he will become the coveted object of women in the entire upper class society.

In the past, when he attended such occasions, he would bring various female companions with him, including courtesans, popular movie stars, and daughters of high-ranking officials. Every single one of them was a familiar figure in the circle, but today's female companions are...

The companion was very unfamiliar, and everyone searched through the memory bank but could not find the right character.

"I heard that Mr. Fu has an old-school fiancée..." Someone immediately thought of that rumor, and then became suspicious again, "It doesn't look like it..."

Those who can enter and exit such an occasion are all people with a sharp eye. Although this young girl has not spoken since entering the venue, there is no expression of excitement or surprise on her face at all. She is just curious about such an occasion. She is obviously interested in such an occasion.

Very skilled.

Everyone's eyes turned around, but they couldn't tell what the background of Master Fu's new female companion was.

At this time, the band changed the song, and then a singer came up in the center of the stage. Wearing a pearl mesh hat and long silk satin gloves, he stood in front of a standing microphone and began to sing: "The south wind blows cool, then

The moonlight sings softly, and all the flowers under the moon are asleep, and only the night scent is fragrant..."

"Tuberose, I sing for you..."

"Tuberose, I'm thinking about you..."

The men and women on the dance floor danced gracefully, and under the interlacing lights, someone occasionally caught sight of someone hugging each other, meandering to the music. Bai Qianyu had heard this song, and couldn’t remember when she heard it, but it probably came from the sense of loss of reality.

Played from the old-fashioned radio, the sound was covered with a layer of dust of time. Now this layer of dust has been brushed away, and every detail comes to life.

After several rounds of greetings, Fu Shaoze was soon surrounded by a group of Chinese businessmen. He picked up a glass of champagne and showed the bright and flashing watch on his wrist. He had a somewhat alienated smile on his face, but whenever he spoke, everyone

Stop talking and listen quietly. Everything reveals that he is at the top of the pyramid of this circle, and he is used to it.

"Long time no see. Mr. Fu has been doing well lately..."

"How is Mr. Xu's business with the Americans..."

"The Japanese are ready to move. I don't know when a war will begin. Then this trade route will be difficult to move..."

"International public opinion is still in favor of us, and this war cannot be fought..."

"That's right, the Japanese cabinet is also very noisy..."

"Who can see clearly the situation when people's hearts are not enough? Isolationism is rampant in the United States now, and Britain and France are beyond their reach in the Far East. I don't know how long this good situation in Shanghai can last..."

"I think it's better not to talk about those important matters of family and country, so as not to spoil your mood."

"Yes, yes, we only talk about romance, we only talk about romance."

The topic turned in a circle and then came back to the present, "The female companion Mr. Fu brought is really beautiful. Why don't you introduce her to her?"

Fu Shaoze glanced at Bai Qianyu. He didn't want to ask her to say anything today. This boudoir girl taught by her grandmother probably still has those old dogmas in her mind.

"It was inevitable that someone would make a joke, so he answered for her, "This is Miss Yu Mengwan, she just arrived in Shanghai yesterday."

He just gave such a brief introduction without mentioning his relationship with him at all, which only caused more speculation.

Bai Qianyu nodded in agreement and smiled.

"Miss Yu's waist-length hair is really black and shiny. Nowadays, the ones on the streets in Shanghai are either short or wavy. There are very few girls with such black hair." Someone joked.

The people next to me also laughed and said, "It must be that the family is strict and she is young and doesn't let her get a perm. Otherwise, what young girl wouldn't follow the fashion?"

Bai Qianyu glanced at Fu Shaoze and replied, "Yes, I have wanted to cut it for a long time."

Fu Shaoze was very satisfied when he saw that she answered appropriately, "You can go and have something to eat next to me, so as not to be bored here with me." It means that your role has been played and you don't need to stay here to be an eyesore. In fact, he was still there.

She was prepared to find someone to keep an eye on her at all times to avoid making a fool of herself, but it didn't seem necessary to look at her behavior.

Bai Qianyu nodded, and before leaving, she smiled slightly and said "Excuse me" to the others. Her elegant demeanor made people secretly guess whose daughter she was. It was probably her first time socializing in Shanghai, and she was very sharp.

…

The Peacock Hall was already very lively at this time, with crystal chandeliers shining brightly and gentlemen in suits and ties holding red wine and talking in low voices.

Bai Qianyu passed through the crowd, and the colorful laser lights shone on her, like a tunnel traveling through time and space. Various tones and words in various languages ​​​​were intertwined in her ears, sometimes far and sometimes near, as if they were ringing in her ears.

, and drift away like the wind.

This distant country in the Far East makes all boundaries extremely blurred. The Germans with tall noses and deep eyes are talking loudly with the Britons holding walking sticks. The tall White Russian women on the dance floor are leaning on the Japanese businessmen and talking and laughing. They have drunk too much.

The American officer embraced the dancer and danced a waltz, revealing a graceful calf under his spinning cheongsam.

Some people say that the Republic of China was the worst era, with wars raging, mountains and rivers stained with blood, guns and cannons blasting open the dusty gates, and the iron hoofs of the great powers crushing five thousand years of civilization; others say that this is the best era, with traditions and

There is an unprecedented collision of new trends of thought, and the situation creates heroes. In the eyes of many people, it is even a "big change unseen in three thousand years."

For Bai Qianyu, these things are far away.

It's like the Republic of China movie shown in the TV series. People in it are still singing "The love is deep, the rain is heavy, the rain is strong, the rain is deep, the rain is strong, the rain is strong, the rain is strong, the rain is deep, the love is deep, the rain is strong, the rain is strong, the rain is strong, the rain is deep, the love is deep, the rain is deep, the rain is strong, the rain is strong, the rain is strong, the rain is deep, the love is deep, the rain is deep, the rain is deep, the rain is raining, the rain is blowing, the rain is burning, the rain is deep, the love is deep, the rain is deep, the rain is raining, the rain is blowing, the rain is blowing, the rain is blowing, the rain is deep, the rain is deep, the rain is deep, the rain is raining, the rain is blowing, and the cow is changing.

The stupidity of the falcon is so stupid that it is so stupid that it is easy to drive away the couple in a hurry.

The experience is very unfriendly.

She left the dance floor through the crowd and sat down in front of the bar. Soon, the bartender in a suit and vest came over and greeted: "Ma'am, what would you like to drink?"

Bai Qianyu said habitually, "A cup of gin and tonic, thank you."

The bartender was startled and then said, "Okay, ma'am... please wait a moment."
Chapter completed!