2148 Side Story: Artist and Baker's Party Experience 1

Long Island welcomed the busiest period of the year at the height of summer.

An hour away, under the tall buildings in Manhattan, New York, there were still many dark and cramped corners congested with people, and the air was sweltering.

On Long Island, which was surrounded by the sea on three sides, the sky was high and the sea was wide. There were all kinds of mansions, green trees, and beaches with people chatting and laughing together.

There were artists as well as employees of tech companies. There were also rich bigshots of various levels who fully reflected the American notion of 'no money, no high.'

Petite and curvy Elena held Luke's arm as they strolled through what could be considered a luxurious mansion villa.

She wasn't wearing her loose clothes suitable for casual sketching at the moment, but a close-fitting blue dress.

Under the setting sun, her fair skin looked like warm marble.

After sending away the twelfth stranger who had come to talk to his girlfriend, Luke didn't forget to mock his gender. "Look, this is a bad habit men have."

Elena couldn't help but smile happily.

It wasn't because of the fact that she was attracting the attention of many men; she simply enjoyed the feeling of a certain someone blocking their way.

All this time, the two of them rarely attended such large-scale parties. Most of the time, they simply roamed the city, the countryside, the mountains and the rivers together, quietly experiencing the beautiful scenery.

There was more than one reason why they were here tonight.

One of them was that the Soderberg family's young miss, Lindsay Soderberg, had sent Elena an invitation.

This young lady had been in New York politics for years, and was already no longer the personal manager of some 'innovative' new artist.

Still, she had reaped huge profits from successfully packaging Monroe Peterson (a certain lunatic artist), so there was naturally no reason for her to abandon this ready-made and safe revenue source.

Also, as a politician who wasn't overly charismatic, using some art as part of her cover to boost her profile slightly was a good thing.

Thus, Miss Lindsay's connections in the art circle in New York were taken over by an art gallery controlled by an offshore company. On the surface, the shares in the art gallery had nothing to do with her.

As long as she used various charity or trust funds, the gallery's revenue could be used to cover some of her expenses.

Similarly, these expenses were legally unrelated to her, and thus bypassed a lot of political risks.

The second reason was the woman who had come with Lindsay.

This person had been chatting with Lindsay and looking around every now and then.

She finally saw Elena and Luke when they were ten meters away. Delighted, she ran over to them, even forgetting about Lindsay.

"Elena, didn't you say that you would wait for me by the sea?" The woman had the pitiful expression of an abandoned child.

Elena smiled helplessly, and felt like she was facing a silly daughter. "Mary (Margaret's nickname), this is the seaside."

Margaret (Haley's sister) looked around in confusion. "Ah, is this the seaside? I thought it was over there." She didn't forget to point in the direction she had come from.

Amused, Elena patted her forehead. "This is the north side of Long Island. How can the ocean be in the south?"

Margaret rubbed her forehead. "You're right. Why didn't I think of that?"

That's because you lack a sense of direction! Luke, who was watching from the side, silently mocked this simple-minded, rich beauty.

Hm, fine, this person could just barely be considered his sister-in-law.

However, the Joker's care and concern just made this silly girl shiver in fear. She had hidden behind her sister, Haley, and peeked at him now and then like he was a terrifying fiend, before quickly looking away; she never looked him in the eye.

Thankfully, that had just been the one time. After that, Haley never again mentioned letting the Joker go with her to see her sister.

Elena and Margaret clicked very well.

They had transferred to Paland Academy in New Jersey at about the same time to become art students. They were very similar in terms of wealth, lack of ambition, innocence, and their love of art.

Elena was gentler, while Margaret was childish, but they somehow balanced each other out.

After more than ten years, they had become bosom friends.

While Haley wandered around the world, Elena was on the list of people whom Margaret could trust — these were the only people whom Margaret could be alone with.

That was why Elena's life had always been full.

Luke would come by once or twice a week on average, while Elena would spend two or three days with Margaret. Only half her time was spent on her own.

Occasionally, Elena would go camping with Luke to enjoy nature, or go to an art or photo studio with Margaret to try out all sorts of new ideas. Her days were peaceful and interesting.

Actually, most regular citizens had very little entertainment.

Party animals, holiday camps and whatnot were mostly to fill the boredom.

This was a country known for its freedom and privacy. Good friends could tell each other everything, provided that they were happy to do so.

When Americans became adults, their parents usually only needed them to visit during the holidays.

If parents couldn't control their children's personal freedom, what right did friends have to demand things of each other?

Why were fraternities and sororities so popular? Many new students were willing to endure all sorts of strange 'entry tests' to join them.

It was because after becoming part of a group, participation in these activities became more of a given, and was more reliable than depending on so-called best friends.

Of course, it was easy to have fun in a group of people.

That was also one of the reasons why school outcasts wanted to sneak into these small groups.

Rich people had it better.

Those who coveted their money would take the initiative to stick close to them. It took no effort to find people to play with, as long as they forked out the money.

In a sense, tonight's party was an upgraded adult version of such spending.

The drinks just switched from cheap beer to higher-end wine, whiskey and champagne, the wholesale supermarket food turned into the handiwork of a team of chefs, and the topic of conversation changed from chasing celebrities to playing with celebrities.

As Luke's thoughts wandered, Miss Lindsay walked over with a smile and gave him a half-hug. "Luke, long time no see. It seems you're doing well?"

Luke said casually, "Lindsay, you're even more captivating now."

"Save that for your Elena." Lindsay chuckled and didn't take his words seriously at all.

What a joke! As a straight man, he hadn't once responded to her personal invitations. However captivating she was didn't matter to him at all.