The next morning, after Jiang Chen and Ayesha had breakfast in the dining room, they went to the garage. They had a free day today as Jiang Chen wanted to take the girl for a tour around Ber, and then attend the gala at night at the university.
Ayesha had been preparing for this date last night. After waking up, she tried on a few different sets of clothes before finally choosing a black cotton dress and high bottom boots. She also put on light makeup to complete her ensemble.
Because it was personal time, Jiang Chen's style was casual. He put on a grey trench coat outside of his shirt before leaving while holding her hand.
On the way to the garage, they bumped into Carmen in surprise as he was chatting with a man in a brown jacket. The reason why he was surprised because he remembered Carmen didn't live in the manor.
They quickly ended the conversation as the unfamiliar man briskly left. Just before he turned around, he noticed Jiang Chen and Ayesha, but his eyes just stopped on Jiang Chen for a second before he left.Although it was a glance, Jiang Chen felt something that made him feel uncomfortable.
He smelled chaos.
When Carmen saw Jiang Chen, his eyes lit up, and he walked up with a smile.
"Are you planning to leave?"
"Mhmm, we are planning to take a tour around the city since we're departing tomorrow." Jiang Chen smiled.
"Your flight tomorrow is… when?"
"Nine in the morning, is there something wrong?""Of course not. I hope you have fun here." Carmen smiled, paused, and then he added, "Don't come back too late."
Without too many more words, Carmen stated that he still had things to take care, so they parted ways.
"Slavic," Just then, Ayesha abruptly said.
"Mhmm?" Jiang Chen was confused.
"That man just then is a mercenary— Mhmm?"
Ayesha didn't finish speaking yet before Jiang Chen put his hand on her head.
With her face turning red, she looked at Jiang Chen, puzzled.
"Don't overthink today, it's rare for us to go on a tour." Jiang Chen gently rubbed her hair.
Feeling the warmth on her head, Ayesha shyly buried her head.
The Rothschild family was obviously planning something, but it shouldn't be targeted toward him. The more powerful, the warier of their feathers. Disregarding the fact that Jiang Chen reached an agreement with Luke, even if Jiang Chen made up his mind to stand on the opposing side against Vale, BHP, and other metal giants, they wouldn't take any actions in Frankberg.
Since it had nothing to do with him, he didn't need to mind that much.
But Carmen's don't come back too late was worth pondering.
Would something happen at night?
…
Compared to the prosperity days earlier, the streets of Ber were particularly quiet today. It was daytime, but there were only a few pedestrians. While all the stores were open, there was rarely a soul inside. It was not until they approached the city center did the situation change.
Jiang Chen parked the car in the parking lot at the entrance of the pedestrian street and took Ayesha's hand before he smelt something odd. But when he thought that he was going to leave tomorrow, he didn't think too much of it.
The solemnness lingering on the street didn't influence the two's date. Ayesha held Jiang Chen's arm along the way. From the smile on her face, Jiang Chen could see she was happy. They spent the entire morning walking among the malls in Ber while buying bags and bags of clothes.
As to the language barrier, it was nothing to worry about, Jiang Chen's phone was installed with a real-time translation software.
At noon, Jiang Chen took Ayesha to a randomly selected restaurant, sat near the window, and ordered two steaks and drinks. The violin in the restaurant was graceful, perhaps because of the ambiance, Ayesha was particularly timid. The two enjoyed lunch while they chatted about their plans for the afternoon.
Just as they were halfway through their lunch, two men sat down at a table near them. From their appearance, they looked like employees from the nearby office buildings. When Jiang Chen heard their conversation, Jiang Chen finally learned that an anti-refugee protest erupted in front of the Ber Opera.
"The days won't be too peaceful."
"Yes." A man in buzzcut sighed.
"What ended up happening in the protest yesterday?"
"The mayor said that he would pressure the council to pass the bill to restrict the intake of refugees. He said this last month, but what was the result?"
"The damn humanitarianism… Why don't these locusts go to other countries? Fu*k…"
Jiang Chen pressed the phone screen and closed the translation software's flashing words; then he looked worriedly at Ayesha. Seeing that she didn't look too upset, he was more relieved.
"It's okay." Ayesha sensed the care in Jiang Chen's eyes and gently smiled.
"Is it really okay?"
"Mhmm." Ayesha nodded and used the fork in her hand to play with a small tomato.
"Because it's something without a solution."
…
The dusk started to fade and night began to settle. A golden layer gilded the dome of the opera. The protestors with signs marched forward. Yesterday's protest was just a warning and today was the main event. If the current regime continued to use their ambiguity, the Bava citizens would use action to tell the federal council about their dissatisfaction with their decision.
Today was the day of the Frankberg president and Austria president's diplomatic meeting.
Even for the powerful, they still needed to do something to assure the public opinion out of consideration of their political status.
But the protestors clearly wrongfully estimated the situation, not everyone was extreme, or with "foresight." The protestors in front of the opera accounted for less than 1% of the Ber citizens. At least for now, the Social Justice Warriors had the upper advantage as more people felt compassionate toward the refugees than the people that disdained them.
Before the fleet of the two presidents arrived, the fully equipped police force used tear bomb to "peacefully" disperse the protestors, captured the leaders, and the mayhem quickly concluded. To ensure safety, Frankberg even mobilized its military force to maintain order.
Not even a fly could fly inside the opera.
Quickly, ten black cars stopped in front of the opera. A man with a triangular face and a skinny man walked out simultaneously from two of the cars. With the crowd of reporters, they shook hands and walked into the opera while chatting.
Frankberg President Yosim Gunde and Austria President Haingzi. Behind the two was the Frankberg Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Minister of Economy and Energy Evelyn, as well as the Austria Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
Such a high standard of the meeting was the first this year between the two governments. In the afternoon, the two sides have reached a consensus on economic cooperation and the growing refugee problem. And tonight they will watch the opera performances with the audience with the purpose to consolidate the diplomatic results in the afternoon.
At the same time, three streets down in the Empire Hotel, Carmen stood in front of the French window in the presidential suite on the top floor. He gazed at the golden dome of the opera with a glass of wine in hand.
The door behind him opened and Johnson walked up to him.
"The actors are ready."
A curvature appeared on Carmen's lips.
"Perfect.Then… let the performance begin."
He raised the hand with wine and gently toasted the reflection of the opera in the window.
