Cloudtop Garden Bar

Holland walked along with his head bowed over his phone, flanked by two girls.

One of them was white, while the other appeared to be Black. However, compared with most Black people, her skin wasn’t quite as dark, though it wasn’t exactly light either—somewhere in between, perhaps tanned from too much sunbathing.

The white girl was about as tall as Holland. Her long blond hair fell over her shoulders, and she was very attractive, with looks that rated around an eight out of ten. She wore a champagne-colored, off-the-shoulder bodycon dress that hugged her curves.

The other girl’s skin wasn’t particularly fair, but her features were even more striking than the white girl’s, earning her around an 8.5. She was also wearing a tight-fitting dress, though hers was white.

What surprised Su Yang was that neither of the two girls was Zendaya.

Damn, this guy’s got some nerve. Isn’t he worried about the paparazzi catching him?

With that thought, he turned to Emma. “Your idol’s here.”

“Where?” Emma looked around, then spotted Holland at once. “Wow! I’m actually seeing him in person!”

The three of them hurried toward the café area. Su Yang raised a hand and called out, “Holland!”

Hearing his name, Holland looked up, meeting Su Yang’s eyes.

He immediately smiled and nodded. “Su! How come you got here first?”

“I had nothing else to do, so I came over for a coffee while waiting for you.”

As they spoke, Holland brought the two girls over to Su Yang’s table.

“Come on, sit down.” Su Yang gestured for Emma to sit beside him. Holland nodded with a smile and sat down with the two beautiful women.

“Is this your friend?” Holland asked with a smile, looking at Emma.

Su Yang nodded. “Yeah. Her name’s Emma, and she’s from Paris.”

“Oh, wow, she’s beautiful. Hi, Emma. I’m Holland.” Holland politely extended his hand.

A little flustered, Emma stood up and shook it. “Hi, Holland. I’m a huge fan of yours. I absolutely love you as Spider-Man.”

“Really? Haha, you don’t have to be nervous. Sit down. You’re Su’s friend, which makes you my friend too. No need to be so formal among friends.”

“Okay.” Emma happily nodded and sat back down.

“And who are these two?” Su Yang asked with a smile, looking at the girls beside Holland.

“Oh, let me introduce you. This is my cousin, Karina.” Holland turned and pointed to the white girl.

So she was his cousin after all.

“Hi, Karina. I’m Su Yang.”

“Hi, Su. It’s nice to meet you.” Karina smiled and extended her hand.

Su Yang shook it. Holland continued with the introductions. “And this is my good friend, Madeline.”

“Hi, Madeline. Nice to meet you.”

Madeline looked at Su Yang with a faintly flirtatious gaze as she extended her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Su.”

The two nodded at each other, then Madeline and Emma exchanged brief introductions as well.

While they were chatting, Neil brought over the coffee. When he saw Su Yang sitting with Holland, laughing and talking, he was stunned all over again.

“What are you spacing out for?” Su Yang asked with a laugh.

“Oh my God, is that Holland, the Spider-Man?”

“Hello, yes, that’s me,” Holland said with a smile before Su Yang could respond.

“Wow, I finally get to meet you! Um, could I get a photo with you?”

“Of course. Come on.”

Holland was already used to this. Wherever he went, fans would recognize him and ask to take pictures.

After taking the photo, Neil finally turned around and walked away with a broad smile.

“What would you three like to drink?” Su Yang asked Holland.

“No, no, it’s fine. We’ll just have drinks upstairs later.”

“All right, then.”

They sat and chatted for a while before Su Yang asked again, “Holland, where’s your girlfriend?”

“She’s in the room trying on clothes. She’s attending Fashion Week tomorrow, so she didn’t have time to come down.”

“Got it. Are any other friends coming?”

“We’re still waiting on one more guy, but we don’t need to wait here. Why don’t we head upstairs first? I’ve already reserved a table.”

“Sure. Let’s go.”

The five of them got up and walked toward the elevators.

Soon, they took the elevator to the Cloud Top Garden Bar on the top floor of the Peninsula Hotel.

The bar was one of the Peninsula’s biggest attractions. Many tourists stayed at the hotel specifically because they wanted to visit it.

It wasn’t that the drinks were especially unusual. The main draws were the bar’s atmosphere and service—and above all, its romance.

Irises and violets grew everywhere, and every table was surrounded by beautiful flowers.

In the center of the bar, violinists and pianists performed continuously. Combined with the lighting and the nighttime view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance, sitting there with a few drinks was undeniably romantic.

A staff member led them to a table large enough for eight to ten people.

Holland gave a slight nod, and the staff member turned and left to fetch the drinks.

“So, what do you think of the atmosphere?” Holland asked Su Yang.

“Very nice.”

“Haha, I’m glad you like it. Whenever I come to Paris, I usually stay at this hotel. When I have some free time, I like inviting two or three friends here to sit and have a couple of drinks.”

“Don’t fans ever come here and run into you?”

“Of course. It happens all the time.”

“What about paparazzi?”

“Not many, but even if there are, I don’t really care. Actors are people too—we need private lives, right? They can take pictures if they want.”

“You’ve got a great attitude. A lot of celebrities like wearing masks and sunglasses whenever they go out because they’re afraid of being recognized.”

“Isn’t that just making things unnecessarily complicated? I don’t care about that stuff. I just do whatever makes me comfortable.”

Su Yang gave him a thumbs-up. “That’s the way to do it.”

Before long, two waiters wearing white gloves arrived carrying four bottles of alcohol: two bottles of Romanée-Conti Grand Cru, which cost nearly two hundred thousand yuan each—an incredibly extravagant choice.

Holland was always generous when treating people. He had ordered two bottles right from the start. The other two bottles were equally expensive whiskies.

One of the waiters skillfully opened the red wine and poured it into a decanter, while the other opened the whisky and poured five glasses.

“Thank you. You can get back to work. We’ll call you if we need anything.” Holland looked at the two waiters standing nearby.

“Of course, Mr. Holland.”

The two turned and left.

Holland picked up his glass and smiled at everyone. “All right, everyone, make yourselves comfortable. Let’s start with a toast.”

“Cheers.”

They raised their glasses, clinked them together, and drained them.

At that moment, the violin began playing again in the center of the bar. The melodious music drifted into the ears of the guests as they drank and chatted.

Ding! The system detected that the host is in an exceptionally pleasant mood and thoroughly enjoying himself. Reward: 3 million yuan.

This kind of bar was all about luxury, romance, and relaxation. Anyone who started shouting, playing drinking games, or making a scene would be carried out by security.

Besides, anyone who came here for a drink had already spent at least twenty to thirty thousand yuan on a hotel room. This wasn’t the sort of place that was open to just anyone.

Although Emma, Holland's cousin, and his friends weren't staying at the hotel, they had come with Holland, so the hotel naturally had no objections.

After all, wherever you go, social courtesies and personal connections still matter.