"Good evening, Lord Demiliore, Lady Venessa." A tall handsome man with long pin-straight hair greeted them as soon as they entered the lounge of their Private Stand at the Melbourne Stadium.
"Lord Hermes." He smiled and shook hands with the man before engaging him in small talk.
Keith and Venessa were greeted by several people from the Underworld, and a few minutes before the Opening Ceremony, Nyx arrived in the lounge with her entourage, including Poseidon.
No one approached her or even dared to look at her face, but everyone politely bowed to her from wherever they stood. And then under her lead, they all walked out to the private stand and took their seats.
Keith was sitting between Nyx and Venessa and flashed a bright smile at the camera when it locked on them. His bright smile certainly melted millions of hearts, but the beauty of the two ladies by his side had undoubtedly crushed the hearts of those ladies with envy.
"Whom are your supporting tonight?" Nyx asked after the cameras moved away, and he turned to look at her, meeting her eyes, and almost got hooked by her perfection.
"No one." He answered her.
"And who is going to win?" She smiled at him.
"Persia." He smiled back at her.
She kept looking into his eyes and smiled some more.
"Your little sheep has fallen in your trap, just as you intended."
He knew what she was talking about, and he was not worried about being overheard by those around them.
"Well, it would not have been so easy without the help of your channels." Keith politely said.
The reason why Ye Tian had managed to locate the whereabouts of Hummingbird and Viper so fast was that he had used his Mercenary World channels. And Keith had arranged for him to find some key hints through them.
Both their eyes suddenly turned to look at the girl who was being cheered by the stadium housing 70,000 people.
Since the last time he had met her, she had changed a lot, and she had grown into an enviably beautiful lady.
And as soon as her hauntingly beautiful voice sounded out, everyone was respectfully silent, hypnotised by the melody that excited and relaxed them at the same time.
Alana Storm; The girl of the dreams of millions of men around the world. The one who had achieved everything possible in the industry in just four years since her debut.
She was probably the most famous of all the celebrities on the planet right now, and her influence on the masses was alarmingly potent.
Thankfully, she was one of the role models for the future generation. She was modest, unbearably modest even when surrounded by all the glitter and gold of the Showbiz industry. And she never compromised her integrity and dignity for money or fame.
The only scandal she had ever been part of was the one concerning Keith, where people believed that she was his secret lover, which was why he was so supportive and protective of her and why those powerful people refrained from laying their hands on her.
"She's an interesting girl." Leilah lightly smiled. "I wonder if you consider her dangerous."
"Should I?" He smiled at her words.
"It will be interesting to see her by your side in the future. She's precious." She glanced at the girl and then back at him, smiling meaningfully.
Keith looked into her eyes but only found himself getting lost in them. He knew it was impossible to read through her, but he still wanted to know what was running through her mind.
Leilah had not explicitly said it, but her words were asking him to keep this girl by his side. It was as if she could see that he would have to make a certain choice one day, and she was pointing him to the most beneficial one.
"We shall see." He looked away and focused on Alana performing her second song of the night.
The opening ceremony ended, much to the disappointment of the audience, who seemed to have forgotten that they were attending a Football Final and not a concert.
But after the kick-off, the supporters of the two teams were cheering for them with all their hopes and prayers, and chants.
It was quite a tense match, and at the end of the first half of the match, the score was 0-0. The score stayed even after the full-time, thanks to the heroic defensive display by both the teams and their keepers. However, only one of them was meant to taste glory tonight.
The match went down to penalties after the end of extra time. And Persia won the World Cup 2044 by 3-2 on Penalties.
"Congratulations!" He playfully said to Leilah after Persia's win, which made her smile.
After the closing Ceremony, they returned to the lounge where the people from the Underworld engaged in their business discussions with each other.
Keith did not stay long there and excused himself away, leaving with his mother.
Someone was waiting for them outside the lounge, who politely bowed to them before leading them to the private booth with Alana was staying.
"Keith!" The young lady happily called out his name when he entered the room, and ignoring the eyes of the other celebrities around her, she excitedly brisked up to him but restrained her urge to hug him. "Aunty." She greeted Venessa, who accepted her with a hug.
"You were brilliant tonight."
"Thank you!" Alana blushed a little and nodded her head before looking at him in his eyes.
She smiled when he drew his hand forward, which she unhesitatingly planted her hand in. She blushed a little when he courteously kissed her knuckles.
"Your performance was brilliant, but I must say that I am more enthralled by your beauty, Miss Parker." He smiled at her, making her blush some more, but then both of them burst out in a laugh and he patted her on her head. "You deserve all the success you have achieved and much more." He praised her, which made her eyes misty with the warmth in her heart. "Join us for dinner." He said to her, and she obediently nodded her head.
None of the other celebrities in the room had dared to come forward and greet them since neither Keith nor Venessa even glanced at them.
But they were surely going to gossip about the girl whom they envied with all their heart. They had never seen her so cheerful when greeting anybody in their circle, and they had not missed the blush on her cheeks when Keith had kissed her knuckles.
Venessa knew the city of Melbourne much better than him, and so she picked up a fancy restaurant for them to dine in for the night.
"You did not bring Yexuan to watch the match?"
"He's not interested in Football." Alana pouted. "I asked him to come and that I will show him around the city of Melbourne, but he refused, saying that he wants to go out on a trip with his class."
"Oh." Keith chuckled and then shrugged. "Well, he's a teenager now. Pretty sure he's doing it because he fancies some girl in his batch."
Alana giggled at his words.
"Did you do it too for someone in your school days?"
"Never." He honestly replied. "But there were always girls chasing after me." He playfully said, which amused her a lot.
They casually chatted for the rest of their dinner, and it was not until the end that Alana remembered what had happened in the last two weeks.
"I hope they catch that terrorist as soon as possible." She expressed her worries, recalling that the man named Ye Tian was still on a run.
Alana had been in touch with Kiara and Rebecca, and she knew that everyone was safe. But she still advised Keith to take all the precautions he could.
"Don't worry about him." He stopped her from thinking too much about the depressing things and then engaged her in a conversation over Music.
"I will be coming to Sameran on the 14th!" She informed him as they left the restaurant.
"It's good that you are taking some time off to see us." He playfully said, knowing well why she was coming to Sameran.
"Qingyue has offered me a new deal with Celine's Dream..." She sheepishly told him.
"So, you are not coming over to see us. Well, I hope she's paying you well."
"I will come over and stay for a few days!" She hurriedly said before sighing. "And she's paying a little too much. I don't need that much money."
"Don't worry about it. We don't lack money." He simply shrugged and then smiled at her. "And I am sorry but I won't be in Sameran to receive you when you come."
"Oh." She was visibly quite deflated after hearing his words.
"I have something important to attend to. And I will be out of the country for a month."
"I understand." She nodded her head and stepped forward to hug him, and then hurriedly hugged Venessa before rushing into the car that was waiting for her.
"Be safe!" She wished him with a smile, trying to hide her blush, and he could not help but chuckle at her antics.
"She has a crush on you." Venessa smiled as they walked to their car.
"I know." He nodded to her and then looked at his watch which suddenly vibrated.
"Go." She said to him when their eyes met, and he apologetically smiled at her before excusing himself with Yingying and catching a Taxi to the Airport.
Ye Tian was rushing to his final destination right now, and he wanted to be there to receive him when he arrives. After all, he did not want to miss the look on his face when he sees the presents he had prepared for him.
