As they entered the banquet hall, a melancholic piano melody reached Lu Chen's ears. He looked up and saw a tan-skinned older sister sitting at the piano with her back to him, her fingers dancing skillfully.
"South Dakota. She's recently become obsessed with the piano, and her talent is surprisingly high," St. Louis introduced.
Lu Chen looked around. There were about twenty guests here, including lolis, girls, and Older sisters types. They varied in appearance and figure, the only common ground being their top-tier facial features and body curves. A few even had pets. Hmm? Why are two people wearing suits? Are they other men?
"Cleveland, Biloxi. One is an idol under my management, and the other is her sister. Their dress style is certainly a bit strange, but don't worry, deep down they are both sensitive and lovely girls," St. Louis said, as if she could read Lu Chen's mind. "There are no other males here besides you."
"I can see that," Lu Chen didn't know what to say. The Older sister named Biloxi noticed the activity at the hall entrance and turned to face Lu Chen, allowing him to see her entirely.
What kind of style was it to wear a suit, unbutton the chest to expose black lace lingerie? Her figure was also top-notch. Sure enough, flatness must be the anomaly in this world.
Not only her, but everyone present seemed to sense something simultaneously, turning their gaze toward Lu Chen the moment he entered. Even South Dakota, who was playing the piano, stopped and nodded in greeting.
In this instant, Lu Chen found another commonality among them besides their beauty: very little fabric. Almost everyone exposed large areas of pale, smooth skin. Hiss. Was this the style of all evening gowns? He thought St. Louis might have a peculiar fetish. No, even though everyone was scantily clad, none could compare to St. Louis beside him. She was the main event.
St. Louis chuckled softly. "Oh dear, I didn't expect Lu Chen and I would be the last ones to arrive. We must have wasted too much time on the road. I'm truly sorry."
As she spoke, she leaned her full weight onto Lu Chen, making it look as if something had just transpired between them, leaving her completely drained.
However, the attendees weren't fools, nor did they feel jealous of St. Louis's proximity to Lu Chen. They were focused on how to replace St. Louis.
"Haha, Lu Chen, you're finally here! Albacore has been waiting for you for ages!" Albacore, dressed in a low-cut black dress with black stockings and a garter belt, squeezed out of the crowd, cheerfully tugging at Lu Chen's hand. "Let's go, let's go play! I have a really interesting plan."
Lu Chen turned his gaze to St. Louis for guidance. Since he had no memories of this, he should be attending this kind of event for the first time, and he was completely clueless about what to do.
St. Louis paused for a moment, then laughed. "Lu Chen, if you want to go play with her, go ahead. You don't need to ask our permission. I told you this is a casual gathering; having fun is what matters most."
Lu Chen thought for a moment. He had only met Albacore once, and she was now a member of his idol group. She seemed like a good entry point. "Sure, let's go play together."
"Hehe, I knew you'd agree to me." Albacore looked around and asked, "Where's Taihou? Why didn't I see her come over?"
"Why would Taihou be here? She's not Eagle Union," Lu Chen was confused. This little girl had a strange fixation on Taihou, but Taihou was clearly very averse to her.
Albacore scratched her head. "What? Big Sister St. Louis clearly told me her idol group included Taihou. I wanted to hear Taihou sing~"
"Taihou is an idol under St. Louis's management?" Lu Chen was full of question marks. "How did I not know that?"
"That's my third group, 'Verheerender.' It was originally a duo with Taihou and Roon, and later a girl named Le Malin joined," St. Louis explained. "Taihou is now your girlfriend, so it wouldn't be appropriate to give their group to you as a gift. So I made a last-minute change to the gift. You can still play with them anytime."
Lu Chen nodded speechlessly. There was a strange feeling like they were discussing human trafficking. Moreover, with everyone in the banquet hall staring at him, Lu Chen felt immense pressure, especially from the flat-chested girl in the suit. She looked like a girl bursting with a sense of justice, and he felt like she'd punch him if she knew about this.
Wait, she's one of the first-generation Polaris idols, on the list of those who accepted the casting couch scenario. In that case, never mind. The power of a rich woman was truly terrifying, bending even a justice-filled girl to her will.
Seeing that Taihou wasn't available to tease, Albacore shook her head in disappointment. She had prepared many mysterious tools to liven things up, and Taihou's jumpy reactions were the most interesting to her. Too bad she wasn't here.
"Well, if she's not here, she's not here," Albacore said regretfully. "It's enough if Lu Chen accompanies me. Let's go."
Albacore dragged Lu Chen to a corner of the banquet hall. Seeing that the Commander didn't want attention, everyone gradually returned to their previous demeanor, though secretly observing Lu Chen was inevitable.
"Lu Chen, listen to me, I have an interesting plan." Albacore reached her hands under her skirt. There were modified pockets on the inside of the skirt. She pulled out several party poppers, stuffed them into Lu Chen's hands, and giggled, "It would be so fun to use these poppers to startle everyone. Wanna try?"
Lu Chen didn't know the construction of Albacore's skirt. He was wondering where she kept those poppers. Don't get the wrong idea, he thought Albacore might have garter straps around her legs; he had noticed them when St. Louis introduced the idols.
"Where are you looking? Oh~ Lu Chen, your thoughts are terrible," Albacore's expression instantly became playful. "If I set off a party popper right here, everyone would look over instantly, right? Hehe~"
Crap. She's the most difficult type of bratty girl personality.
"Can I say that was an accident?" Lu Chen tried to explain. In his mind, there were only two outcomes when entangled with an bratty girl: one, have your reputation ruined and be manipulated by her; or two, utterly dominate her. He decided to observe Albacore's reaction first before considering the corresponding measures.
Albacore smiled maliciously. "You want me to forgive you, right? Lean your ear closer. I have a secret to tell you!"
Lu Chen's heart sank. Albacore was executing Outcome One. Then don't blame me for executing Outcome Two.
"Closer! Um, actually..." Albacore stood on her tiptoes, hugged Lu Chen's neck, and launched a surprise attack on his ear. "Mwah~ Hehe, I tricked you~ It's fine if you want to use the casting couch on Albacore, but only somewhere private. If we get caught, we'll be thrown into the slammer."
Lu Chen looked complexly. I'm sorry, I'm guilty. You're not an bratty girl; you're a little angel.