The next day.
A restaurant inside a five-star hotel.
Lunch time.
The tables and chairs covered in pristine white cloths looked like clouds floating over a carpet of lava. Tall stalks of yellow calla lilies were simply yet artfully arranged in transparent glass vases at the centre of the tables. Golden chandeliers casted soft light throughout the restaurant, complementing the gold and red walls.
Jiong Jun sat at a table by the windows, sipping a glass of dry martini. He looked at his watch. Two minutes before the agreed time. He felt a little impatient.
The girl better not be late. He, a famous and award-winning music producer, was giving the time and effort to meet her personally. She should be grateful and arrive on time.
One minute left.
He once again looked at the entrance. He saw the maître d' greet an elegant young woman.
The two spoke for a few seconds. The maître d' glanced at Jiong Jun, and began leading the young woman to his direction.
Jiong Jun subconsciously straightened, sitting tall and puffing his chest out while he observed the woman walking closer to his table.
She was wearing a black, long-sleeved wrap dress with bright pink lotus flowers print. The V-neck provided just a tiny glimpse of full cleavage. A waist tie accentuated her tiny waist, with the rest of the dress hugging her hips and flowing below her knees.
A simple yet elegant black high heels added to her height. Her long, straight, silky black hair framed a small face. Big, mirrored aviator sunglasses covered her eyes but could not cover her beauty.
Jiong Jun gasped inwardly and narrowed his eyes, as the maître d' led the beautiful woman to his table. The woman stopped in front of him.
"Mr. JJ. I hope you didn't wait long." It was the same lovely voice as the one he talked to on the phone yesterday.
"Miss Iris Long?" He frowned, a bit taken aback.
The woman nodded and held out a hand.
He blinked, looking at her pale white hand. No rings. No colourful nail polish. Just a simple clear French manicure.
After a few seconds, he finally regained sense and stood up to shake her offered hand. "Miss Long. Wow. Please excuse me. I failed to recognize you."
She just smiled at him, her expression half-covered by her big sunglasses.
Jiong Jun, or more known as JJ in the music industry, watched the beautiful young woman sitting across him as she blew over her cup and sipped tea. Her actions were delicate and elegant, looking natural and not contrived at all.
He was shocked. The young woman sitting in front of him was not the one that he was expecting to meet today. He found it difficult to match this young woman to the image of Iris Long in his head.
"Be honest. Are you Iris Long's twin sister?"
A sweet, light chuckle. "Of course not, Mr. JJ. I am Iris Long and I don't have a twin sister."
"No way." He leaned back, shaking his head.
She just smiled, continuing to sip her tea.
Their food arrived and they began eating while chatting about the weather and other harmless topics. Finally, the atmosphere turned serious after they finished their meals.
"Alright. Let's talk business." JJ leaned back on his seat.
Iris nodded.
Her eyes narrowed a little, an almost imperceptible sharp look glinting on them, hidden behind her sunglasses. Only her lips pressing together into a straight line showed her reaction.