"Because this is a charity dinner that requires bringing a female guest."
Luo An put on a men’s watch and then handed the invitation to Mona with a smile:
"If I don’t bring you, who else do you want me to bring?"
What is referred to as an invitation actually looks more like a wooden box with a European style.
Mona gave Luo An a light glance, took the wooden box, opened it, and found a black and gold letter inside. The content of the letter was as Luo An had said, requiring that guests bring a female companion.
Besides the black and gold letter, there were also two light gold masks in the box.
The overall shape of the masks resembled some kind of animal, but it was unclear exactly what kind, one larger and one smaller, one male and one female, just enough to cover the upper half of the wearer’s face.
Picking up the smaller female mask and looking at it, Mona furrowed her brows and asked:
"Are you sure this is a charity dinner? What kind of charity dinner requires masks?"
"The letter mentioned that this is a dinner hosted by the Kennedy family."
Luo An picked up the male mask, his eyes narrowing slightly as he said:
"As for the specific charitable cause of the dinner, we will find out when we get there. Don’t worry, I’m here."
Hearing Luo An’s reassurance, Mona let go of the unease in her heart and no longer questioned him. The two of them quickly got ready, grabbed the wooden box along with the masks, and drove away from the villa.
The venue for the dinner was not in Washington D.C., but in Massachusetts, not far from there.
Luo An drove the Chevrolet along the highway, the number of vehicles on the road getting fewer and the greenery on both sides more abundant.
After turning at several intersections, a very tall iron gate appeared in front of the Chevrolet. Standing on each side of the gate was a white man in a suit and shoes, with a bulging waist, obviously carrying a weapon.
Slowing down, Luo An showed the invitation to the white man who came forward. After a careful check, the man waved to his subordinate not far away to open the gate and then smiled at Luo An:
"Guests can now wear their masks, and during the dinner, unless necessary or under special circumstances, please do not remove the masks."
Mona took out her mask and put it on her face, Luo An stepped on the gas pedal, and the Chevrolet drove through the gate.
Inside the gate was still a spacious road, Luo An drove following the sign directions, turned several bends, and after about eight minutes, finally saw the villa at the end point.
The villa didn’t need much introduction; adhering to the traditional and understated style of the Kennedy family through generations, plain and unremarkable, its appearance brought tears to one’s eyes.
Mona briefly glanced at it... then withdrew her gaze and calculated the road they had driven:
"This area is very large, it must cover more than 200 acres."
"After all, it is the Kennedy family."
Luo An chuckled, parked the car in front of the villa, and a bellboy wearing a gray mask immediately came over.
Luo An threw the car keys to the bellboy, Mona naturally looped her arm through Luo An’s, and the masked duo walked towards the inside of the villa with a slight chuckle.
Walking into the mansion’s main entrance, what stood out was the spacious and bright welcome hall, on one side of the hall, several singers wearing various colored masks sang softly, accompanied by a pianist, also masked, playing gently.
Inside the hall, there were about a dozen round tables set up in the center, decorated with flowers and dwarf trees, with quite bright colors.
No chairs were placed on either side of the round tables, and the aisles were already filled with numerous guests, male and female, all wearing masks, holding wine glasses, gathered together in small groups, laughing and chatting.
Several waiters, also wearing gray masks, were seen weaving through with wine glasses. Seeing Luo An and Mona entering the hall, one of the waiters immediately came over to offer them drinks.
Luo An took two glasses and casually thanked, handed one to Mona and entered further into the hall, casually starting a conversation with a couple of guests.
"On Wall Street, there is currently a very famous financial product."
The white man standing to the left of Luo An, his mask resembling a feline animal, took a sip from his glass and smiled:
"The financial product is called CDS, and its creator believed that federal housing prices would decline in the next few years."
"A very amusing joke."
Standing on Luo An’s right, a white male with a bird-like mask laughed upon hearing this and commented:
"There has never been a drop in federal real estate prices over the years; it seems that the creator of CDS is simply giving away money to investment banks."
"So, those banks are very happy now."
The man in the cat mask shook his head, turned his gaze to Luo An, and asked:
"Sir, what do you think about this?"
"I don’t think federal housing prices can drop either."
Luo An took a sip from his wine glass and confidently stated:
"People in those investment banks on Wall Street are smart; they wouldn’t engage in a losing business, right?"
"That makes perfect sense."
The man in the bird mask nodded repeatedly, fully agreeing with Luo An’s perspective. The three of them exchanged smiles and continued to talk about other matters.
Soon after, the music in the lobby gradually stopped, the singers bowed and left the stage in succession, and the staff moved chairs to the sides of the round tables.
Seeing this, the men in the cat and bird masks greeted each other and left with their female companions to find seats, while Luo An walked to Mona’s side and randomly chose a place to sit.
After entering the lobby, Luo An and Mona split up and each joined different conversation groups of men and women. Sitting on a chair, Luo An adjusted Mona’s skirt and asked with a smile:
"How’s the chat going?"
Mona pursed her lips, took a sip of her drink, and whispered:
"The women here talk about charity, travel, and business, pretending to care for the public, but it’s all about showing off and business deals, so hypocritical; I really can’t get along with them."
Luo An clinked his wine glass with Mona’s and whispered with a smile:
"Welcome to the federal high society."
Mona slightly curved her lips and then asked in a low voice:
"What were you discussing with those two men?"
"About federal real estate and the presidential elections."
Luo An put down his wine glass and whispered in Mona’s ear with a smile:
"Just like your experience, it’s full of lies, very hypocritical."
While talking to those two men, Luo An realized through his "emotional perception" that the men in the cat and bird masks were hardly expressing their true thoughts.
Both verbally asserted their belief that federal housing prices would not fall, but deep down both were convinced they would; they derided CDS and claimed they would never buy it, but in fact, they had bought quite a few.
"Exactly as expected."
A flicker of contempt flashed in Mona’s eyes. She then chuckled at Luo An and whispered:
"Welcome to the federal high society."
As Luo An and Mona chatted, a white-masked, elderly-sounding white man slowly walked onto the stage at the front of the lobby and said:
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to tonight’s charity dinner.
All profits from tonight will be d to the Kennedy family’s charity foundation, which aims to help children affected by domestic violence..."
While the white-masked man was introducing the rules, a grey-masked staff member suddenly approached Luo An, bent down, and said in a low voice:
"Sir, someone wishes to see you."