Chapter 230 Salon

Chapter 230 Salon

Chapter 230 Salon
A few days later, An Younan gave Wang Zixu an address and ordered him to reach the destination within thirty minutes without any explanation.

Starting from the venue, this "Ancient Xuan Reading Salon" was a little beyond Wang Zixu's imagination.

A private residence or a small manor, with a fire burning in the fireplace, cakes laid out on a long table, and a group of gentlemen sitting or lying down - this was the picture that came to his mind when the word "salon" was mentioned.

This kind of imagination shows that he was deeply influenced by Flaubert, Maupassant and others, and only had the scene of a gathering of Western novelists in his mind. But in fact, the address is Yujiang Huashan Hotel on Wangjiang Road.

This is one of the famous five-star hotels in Donghai. The hotel often hosts domestic and international events, and sometimes also undertakes official receptions, with a strong "Chinese flavor".

There is a large stone tablet like a shadow wall at the entrance, verdant bushes surround the fountain, and three flagpoles in the middle, with the national flag flying at the highest point. The main building has 5 floors, and the glass curtain wall follows the streamlined wall, and the overall shape is like a big hat.

Wang Zixu arrived early and parked his car in the square at the entrance. He took a quick look and saw two Maybachs, three G-Class cars, a Rolls-Royce, and a supercar of an unknown shape but very cool.

He buttoned the first button of his shirt, took out a tie from the car window and wrapped it around his neck.

Before coming, An Younan repeatedly told Wang Zixu to wear the best and most decent clothes he could find, and not to wear something as shabby as the one he wore at the seminar.

Wang Zixu didn't tell her that was what he considered the most dignified approach.

So today he was wearing a casual suit that Ning Chunyan and Ye Lan had picked for him. Knowing his own aesthetic taste, he chose to trust the judgment of women.

However, after a glance at the parking lot, he began to feel that his dress might still be a little incautious.

Taking out his cell phone, Wang Zixu sent a message to An Younan: "I'm here."

There was no reply. He put his phone in his pocket, and a Range Rover drove past him and stopped at the port about 20 meters away.

The door opened. He looked over. Several people got out of the car, one man and one woman dressed gorgeously, like a golden boy and a jade girl, so dazzling that Wang Zixu turned his head away subconsciously.

The man in the passenger seat got out and lit a cigarette. The "golden boy" asked, "Director Lu, will you come in with us?"

This name was a bit irritating, and then a familiar voice floated into Wang Zixu's ears along the wind:

"I won't go this year. You are the key training targets of the Cultural Association this year, so perform well when you go."

It’s a long way to go.

The three of them walked in harmony towards the door.

"I was hoping you could come in and help us host the party. There are many big names in there, and it's our first time attending, so we're a little nervous," said the woman.

Lu Chaoyuan glanced at her and smiled: "Don't be nervous, you will be the focus of the scene."

Jin Tong asked, "What about me?"

Lu Chaoyuan smiled and said, "You won the Lu Prize at such a young age, and your work has been selected and sent abroad. Do you feel insecure?"

Jin Tong smiled and said, "It really makes me feel proud to hear Director Lu praising me."

The girl rolled her eyes at him and said, "Is this how the idiom is used?"

"I'm a wreck."

The "golden boy" was wearing a suit with no wrinkles on it, and the fabric was as smooth as the surface of a lake; the "jade girl" had long hair hanging down to her waist, and she gently lifted the hem of her skirt with both hands, and her red dress swayed like a flame.

Both of them are in their twenties, with neat and meticulous makeup. Compared with Wang Zixu's image, they can be said to be "as dazzling as gods."

The three people passed by Wang Zixu. Wang Zixu was afraid of embarrassment, so he deliberately turned around and faced his back to the three people. He waited until the three people passed by before turning back.

After the beautiful lady passed by, she turned around, glanced at him, and whispered:
"That person seems familiar."

Jin Tong pursed his lips, as if smiling, and whispered: "That person is the one who is very popular on the Internet recently..."

"Yes. He is Wang Zixu." Lu Chaoyuan nodded. "I haven't met him formally, but I saw him when he went to the Literary Association."

"Why is he here?" The girl frowned, "Did he invite him this year?"

Lu Chaoyuan said: "Based on his qualifications, he is not qualified to receive an invitation."

"You're here to look for someone, right?" Jin Tong said, "Want to go say hello?"

"No need, there's nothing to say hello about. I don't want to see him now." Lu Chaoyuan looked calm.

The girl breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good. We don't need to greet him at the venue, right? I'm quite afraid of dealing with him."

Jin Tong wondered, "Why?"

"I just feel that he is a bit aggressive. Several seniors have been driven into this state by him."

Jin Tong remembered something and asked, "Director Lu, why didn't the Cultural Association deal with him? His video is still fermenting on the Internet, and it is getting more and more popular. Are they just going to let him do this?"

Lu Chaoyuan shook his head: "That video was not posted by him. It's hard to suppress the heat."

The girl thought thoughtfully: "Is there someone behind him?"

Jin Tong said, "Don't start conspiracy theories. We just haven't found the troublemaker yet. How can someone be more powerful than Director Lu?"

Lu Chaoyuan didn't want to talk about it any more, and said simply: "I'll take you here, the two of you go in. Remember, behave well."

After saying goodbye to the two of them, he turned around and took a deep look at Wang Zixu who was standing on the side of the road.

He stood by the flower bed, his hands in his pockets, his hair ruffled by the wind, silent and no one knew what he was thinking.

Lu Chaoyuan waved his hand, and a Land Rover came up and took him away.

After the golden boy and the jade girl waved goodbye, the jade girl turned around and looked at the golden boy:
"Wang Zixu may have indeed received an invitation."

Jin Tong said, "You're overthinking it, aren't you? How could someone who became famous through online hype receive an invitation?"

"Intuition." The woman didn't explain much and turned to enter the gilded gate.

A white sports car came like a silver arrow, with the intention of knocking Wang Zixu over, and stopped beside him.

The scissor doors were raised high, and half of the slender ankle stretched out from behind the cold metal light. The white high heels inlaid with diamonds made a striking first impression, and the angle of the arch of the foot was like a crescent moon.

An Younan's figure appeared from behind the car door.

She was wearing a silk gown with thin straps hanging gently on her round and smooth shoulders. The black satin made her cold white skin look even more dazzling, making people feel a little palpitated when they looked up.

The two ice-blue earrings on her earlobes flickered with her movements. Looking up, you could see the corners of her mouth raised with confidence, her lips were covered with a matte rose color, and her dark black eyeliner tapered at the end of her eyes.

"Does it look good?" An Younan put his hands behind his back. "I asked a famous makeup artist to help me put on my makeup. I got up at 4 o'clock this morning and started working on it. It took more than three hours to finish it."

Wang Zixu turned his face away and said, "No wonder you arrived so late."

"Oh, I guessed your reaction." An Younan's face fell, but he smiled again in an instant, looked him up and down, nodded, "Not bad, your aesthetic taste is not bad."

Wang Zixu was a little surprised: "You didn't mock me for wearing cheap clothes?"

"How luxurious can you wear with your money?" An Younan said, and then asked, "By the way, what are you doing here? Why don't you go in first?" Wang Zixu pointed to a huge billboard at the door, which had the venue guide of "Ancient Xuan Reading Salon" printed on it, and a line of small words written below:
"Please show your invitation letter to enter."

It took An Younan two seconds to figure out what he wanted to say, and he laughed out loud, saying, "Why don't you just say my name?"

"I didn't know your name was so convenient."

"Then you are a little uninformed."

An Younan stretched out her hand and naturally took his arm. Wang Zixu subconsciously stepped back, but she held him tightly, and his arm crashed into her arms, touching her slender waistline wrapped in a waist-hugging long skirt.

"Hold me, these high heels are too high, I'm not used to them."

Wang Zixu said, "If that's the case, why wear it?"

"I have height anxiety, okay? Today is such an important occasion, I must take it seriously, you know nothing."

As the two walked towards the entrance, a low-key black sedan slowly drove in. After stopping, Chen Qingluo got out from the back seat, followed closely by the man in the driver's seat.

"Qingluo, we're here." The man closed the car door.

"I can see it." Chen Qingluo squinted and looked into the distance.

The man's name is Zhang Ruofei. He is the editor-in-charge of Zhongwang Publishing House and also the editor responsible for Chen Qingluo's works. He was recently promoted to editor-in-chief and is about the same age as Chen Qingluo.

He drove to Chen Qingluo's house early in the morning and waited downstairs, determined to take her there. Chen Qingluo happened to be too lazy to drive, so she came along.

Zhang Ruofei walked up to her and looked at the hotel at the end of their sight with her:

"Oh my god, I am still surprised that I can come to the Guxuan Salon. It feels like a dream."

Chen Qingluo did not answer, but just stared into the distance, her eyes narrowing even more.

"This is all thanks to you." Zhang Ruofei turned to look at her.

Chen Qingluo said: "I didn't invite you here."

"But I am really here thanks to you," Zhang Ruofei said with a smile, "I can get the title of celebrity editor, half of the credit is due to you... no, 80% of the credit is due to you."

Seeing that Chen Qingluo didn't say anything, Zhang Ruofei continued, "Thanks to your talent, every book you write becomes a hit. When those writers heard that I was your editor, they all rushed to ask me to take responsibility. If it's not you, whose credit is it?"

He kept chattering in Chen Qingluo's ear, but Chen Qingluo didn't hear a word he said.

She noticed the man and woman at the hotel entrance from afar. No matter how she looked at the man, his back looked a bit like Wang Zixu.

Although Chen Qingluo was not wearing glasses, she actually had mild myopia of 100 degrees and her vision was less than 1.0. She squinted her eyes and looked for a long time, but was still not sure, and felt a little annoyed.

"That person..." She started to say this, pointing at the two people in the distance. Suddenly, she remembered that Zhang Ruofei didn't know Wang Zixu, so she had to give up and put down her arms. "Forget it, it's nothing."

Zhang Ruofei took a look and said, "What's wrong? Oh, there are actually couples here. It is said that you can't bring companions, right?

"So, that couple is eligible to be invited to the salon? I'm really curious about who they are."

After a pause, he smiled and said, "How about we hold hands and pretend to be a couple and walk in?"

Chen Qingluo turned her head and just stared at him with her dark eyes, expressionless and silent.

Zhang Ruofei shuddered and said awkwardly, "I was just kidding."

Chen Qingluo walked towards the hotel.

……

An Younan adapted quickly. He didn't hold Wang Zixu's hand for long. After entering the hotel, he walked briskly to a well-known person in the industry to greet him. After saying hello, he came back and said to Wang Zixu:
"Go around and show yourself off."

Wang Zixu asked: "Is that it?"

"That's it." An Younan said, "Don't worry, you are now an Internet celebrity - or an Internet troll - there will definitely be a lot of people targeting you."

"Oh." Wang Zixu was a little depressed.

"I've seen several publishers just now. They will observe you. What you need to do is to use your actions to make everyone who sees you remember you." An Younan took a deep breath and whispered in his ear, "Remember, you are a literary knight."

Okay, I'm a literary knight.

Wang Zixu looked at her: "What about you?"

"Me? I have my own things to do," An Younan said as a matter of course, "Don't worry, I will always pay attention to you."

"You don't have to pay attention to me."

After he finished speaking, An Younan turned and left.

The only one left was Wang Zixu, who felt a little aimless for a moment.

The salon was held in the lobby of the hotel's main building. A crystal chandelier in the shape of chimes hung from the ten-meter-high dome, casting scattered golden light. The white marble mosaic floor tiles underfoot were glittering and people were silhouetted.

On the main wall of the lobby is a painting of rivers and mountains, in dark green and ink with wonderful colors. Below it was originally a service desk, but now it has become a salon service center. Brochures and advertising billboards are placed on the surrounding tables.

The salon hadn't officially started yet, but Wang Zixu wasn't early, and there were already some people walking and chatting in groups of three or four. A waiter in a moon-white cheongsam was walking through the crowd, carrying a silver tray.

Walking in, screens divide the venue into several areas. In the outer area, eight sandalwood tables are arranged in the shape of the Eight Diagrams, with a transparent umbrella in the middle, with wicker branches hanging down. When you get closer, you can see that they are all printed with poems and QR codes.

An old man in a suit and leather shoes sat like an isolated island not far from the umbrella. The two golden boys and beautiful girls that Wang Zixu had just met were surrounding him and asking about his well-being. After a closer look, Wang Zixu realized that the old man was a famous figure in the literary world. He rarely showed up in public, but his appearance was printed in textbooks.

Wang Zixu didn't want to meet the two new stars introduced by the Literature Association, so he changed direction and walked away. However, he felt a light tap on his shoulder, and a female voice rang in his ear:

"Hey!"

Wang Zixu turned around and saw that it was Xiao Mengyin.

Xiao Mengyin did not wear her exaggerated Lolita dress, but she did not completely give up the 18th century Gothic style. She wore a dignified French black long dress with every button buttoned tightly. The waist design made her look taller than before.

She and An Younan both chose to wear black as the main color. Wang Zixu agreed with their choice in his heart - they usually have a more lively personality, and black can make them look more mysterious.

"Are you here to attend the salon?" Wang Zixu tried to make small talk.

"Oh, what are you asking?" Xiao Mengyin raised her head, "I'm a regular customer, this isn't my first time attending."

"So how many times have you been here?"

"the second time."

After Xiao Mengyin finished speaking, before Wang Zixu could complain, she came over and said in a low voice:

"What's your personality?"

(End of this chapter)