1987 My Era

Chapter 594, Expired Residence Permit, Celebrity Suite
As soon as I came out of the airport gate, I encountered a man and a woman who were there to greet Master Wu Yili.

The man was blond and blue-eyed, around 50 years old; the woman had a typical Chinese face and was much younger, probably around 35 or 36. Both were very enthusiastic towards Wu Yili.

The man even took Wu Yili's hand and kissed it openly to show his respect and affection.

After introductions, the man's name was Jack; the woman's name was Xu Yun.

Li Heng asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, "The other person is very familiar with Teacher Wu."

Zhou Shihe glanced at him, as if she had guessed what he was thinking. After thinking for a moment, she said, "The other person is Spanish. He has always been very infatuated with the teacher and pursued her passionately. He is still single because of her."

Li Heng was surprised. He looked the old man up and down carefully and quietly asked, "Is this guy also involved in music?"

He felt that only people in this circle could amplify Wu Yili's strengths and be so passionate about her.

Zhou Shihe nodded slightly, "Also a pianist."

Two cars arrived. Wu Yili and the blond, blue-eyed old man got into the front car and discussed the details of the concert along the way.

Li Heng and Zhou Shihe, with their keen insight, climbed into the back car, which was then driven by Xu Yun.

He had been to Singapore in his previous life, but he had never seen Singapore in 1989. Li Heng was a little curious and observed the buildings, street scenes, and various pedestrians outside the car window the whole way.

As the car approached Marina Bay, seeing that he remained silent, Zhou Shihe suddenly asked gently, "What are you thinking about?"

Li Heng blurted out, "I'm thinking about someone."

Zhou Shihe asked, "People?"

Li Heng hummed in agreement.

Zhou Shihe hesitated for a moment: "Xiao Han? Or Sui Sui?"

Li Heng gave an irrelevant answer: "Yes, and not entirely."

Zhou Shihe tilted her head slightly and looked at him.

Li Heng sighed inwardly: "Being abroad makes it easy to be moved by the scenery."

Zhou Shihe continued to look at him.

Meeting her gaze, Li Heng spoke softly: "Life is always a mix of deep and shallow, light and shadow. Some people are vividly portrayed, some pass by lightly, and some appear repeatedly in life but leave no trace."

But some people, after just one encounter, become deeply ingrained in the brain's circuitry, entering the oldest memories, as if they've arrived uninvited, overstaying their visas….

Hearing this meaningful remark, Zhou Shihe stopped looking at him and turned her head to look out the window.

She was not at peace at that moment, pondering the meaning of his words:
Some people received the most attention, and Xiao Han and Sui Sui were undoubtedly among them.

Some people passed by casually, and Dai Qing and Li Xian can be included in this category.

Some people appear repeatedly in her life but leave a trace. She subconsciously thought of the most beautiful flower at Tongji University, Wu Siyao.

Last time, on the bus heading to Xuhui, based on his brief conversation with Wu Siyao, Zhou Shihe figured out the general process of their chase.

In order to bump into Li Heng, Wu Siyao would take the bus alone almost every weekend, hoping to catch a glimpse of him by chance. It usually took four or five tries to run into him once, but over the course of a year, Wu Siyao encountered Li Heng on the bus no less than 10 times. What perseverance! What an arduous process!
This is also why Zhou Shihe has a deep impression of Wu Siyao.

As for the person who "came uninvited and overstayed his visa," Zhou Shihe subconsciously thought of herself. Was he subtly expressing his feelings to her?
She didn't respond, nor did she look again into his eyes that seemed to hold a story.

After a brief exchange, the car fell silent as both men were lost in their own thoughts and remained silent.

It wasn't until the car stopped in front of a hotel that Li Heng broke the silence: "Raffles City Hotel?"

Zhou Shihe is right.

Li Heng asked, "I heard this hotel is quite old. When did it open?"

Zhou Shihe didn't answer, but Xu Yun, who opened the car door for him, took over the conversation: "Mr. Li, the Raffles Hotel opened in 1887."

Li Heng said, "Wouldn't that be over 100 years?"

Xu Yun replied politely, "This year is exactly 102 years."

Li Heng muttered, "That truly is a century-old brand."

Xu Yun smiled. Her ancestors were all Chinese, and her grandfather came from the Chaoshan region of Guangdong Province, so she naturally knew about the various time-honored restaurants on the mainland.

After getting off the car, Li Heng took a good look around the famous hotel.

Seeing this, Xu Yun temporarily acted as a tour guide, introducing: "The left bank is lined with government agencies and cultural facilities in an orderly manner; the right bank is Chinatown, which has evolved from a racial segregation area into Singapore's oldest and largest Chinese community."

"Is this a Chinese-populated area?" Li Heng wondered, observing for a while. Only after the blond, blue-eyed Spaniard left did the two of them reunite with Wu Yili.

Wu Yili said kindly to the two of them, "Come on, let's go into the hotel."

Li Heng and Zhou Shihe exchanged a glance and followed each other toward the main gate.

The Raffles Hotel has an almost pure white exterior, with many tall palm trees swaying gracefully in the sea breeze. Stepping into the lobby, you are immediately enveloped in the rustic charm of Victorian England, with the melody of a harp floating in the air, instantly transporting you back to the 19th century.

Noticing that he frowned slightly, Zhou Shihe asked softly, "You don't like this hotel?"

Li Heng said, "I can't say I like it, nor can I say I hate it, it just feels a bit strange."

Zhou Shihe glanced at his profile and already knew the answer in her heart. After a while, she asked, "How about we change hotels?"

"what?"

Li Heng exclaimed, "Isn't that very troublesome?"

Zhou Shihe said, "This hotel was arranged by the teacher; it's currently the best hotel in Singapore. If you'd like to switch to a more relaxed place, well, that's not really an option..."

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by the hotel manager and others who were walking quickly towards her.

The hotel manager first exchanged pleasantries with Wu Yili, then, unexpectedly, shifted the conversation to Li Heng.

The hotel manager looked at Li Heng with excitement and asked in a respectful tone, "Are you Mr. Li Heng?"

The other person was speaking Chinese.

However, considering that the majority of the population in Singapore is Chinese, it's not surprising.

Faced with the stranger's enthusiasm, Li Heng was a little stunned, but as the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face, so he nodded and said, "Yes."

Fearing he might be confused, the hotel manager quickly said, "Your instrumental album 'Eternity' is amazing! Every song is a classic, and we are your loyal listeners."

Our boss solemnly entrusted me with the task of conveying his highest respect to Mr. Li if I were fortunate enough to meet you. Uh, "Eternity" was the name Li Heng originally chose for his instrumental album, signifying the passage of time and the timelessness of classics.

Well, upon hearing this, Li Heng immediately felt a little smug.

There's a saying that goes something like this: "Though I may not be in the martial world anymore, my legend lives on everywhere."

That's how terrifying it is.

At the same time, the expressions of the hotel manager and others reminded Li Heng of something Teacher Yu had once said: "Your fame abroad is beyond imagination. You'll know when you go abroad in the future."

Sure enough, he received such a warm welcome the moment he stepped out of the country and made his first appearance. Look at their enthusiasm, look at the dozens or even hundreds of eyes slowly gathering in the hotel lobby, he had instantly overshadowed Master Wu Yili.

He smiled somewhat sheepishly at Wu Yili. He'd promised to make a guest appearance, to provide entertainment, and to help Miss Zhou "debut," but...

Wow! In the end, I ended up stealing the spotlight. Most people wouldn't be able to stand that.

Fortunately, Master Wu Yili was no ordinary person. She smiled kindly, patted him on the shoulder, and exclaimed in admiration:

“Not bad, not bad. This is the kind of face and style you should have. If you have the chance to travel to Europe, you'll see an even more welcoming scene.”

However, Wu Yili's words were proven wrong, and she was thoroughly humiliated by the Raffles Hotel!

We were supposed to have booked a deluxe suite, so why did the manager take the three of us to the presidential suite on the top floor?

If it were just a presidential suite, that would be one thing, but the problem is that the door is printed with the name "Li Heng," and the room key card is the same, not only with the name "Li Heng" but also with a special design.

Seeing the confusion on the faces of Li Heng, Zhou Shihe, and Wu Yili, the hotel manager explained, "This is the Celebrity Suite at the Raffles Hotel."

Somerset Maugham, Ernest Hemingway, Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, and Queen Elizabeth II have all stayed at our hotel; they also have their own exclusive celebrity suites.

At this point, the hotel manager spoke to Li Heng apologetically: "We didn't know you were coming to check in before; we only received confirmation this morning."

Due to time constraints and my inability to contact you, I acted without your consent. I apologize for this, Mr. Li. I hope to obtain your permission in the future…

This can be considered a form of marketing by the hotel, and it also shows the utmost respect for these celebrities. Being able to have a celebrity suite specially designated by the hotel represents the person's great achievements and high honor in a certain industry.

Li Heng was just an ordinary person in his previous life and had never experienced anything like this. He looked at Wu Yili calmly, and the latter smiled and nodded.

Well, even Master Wu Yili supports his agreement. In this situation, what else is there to say? Besides, she's providing him with free food and lodging, and will continue to do so in the future.

The presidential suite is very large, with an area of ​​260 square meters. The entire suite is in a Southeast Asian style, with double lattice doors and blinds in the living room and bedroom, adding a touch of mystery.

The bedside lamp has a ceramic base with Peranakan-style patterns, and the all-white bathroom retains a retro bathtub.

The most unexpected thing was that the room had an old record player, and there were many classic vinyl records displayed next to it. Here, every detail seemed to reveal meticulousness and care.

Ever since witnessing the devastating power of the "celebrity suite," Zhou Shihe has never mentioned changing hotels to him again.

Clearly, the Raffles Hotel's high regard and respect for Li Heng pleased her.

After the hotel manager left, the three of them could finally relax and catch their breath. Wu Yili stood by the window and joked:
"I wanted to book the presidential suite for Shihe before the Lunar New Year, but the hotel told me that it was all booked in advance."

"I never expected things to turn out this way. Life is truly unpredictable! Li Heng, this old woman is really benefiting from your help this time."

Isn't it because of him?
Just now, the blonde, blue-eyed Spanish woman told her: I heard that the famous Li Heng is going to be a guest performer, and many people are going crazy. Many big shots are trying to get tickets through various channels.

This is Li Heng's first public appearance on the international stage. Previously, people had only heard of him but never seen him. Now that he is going to perform on stage, the bigwigs from all walks of life who were originally not very interested in Wu Yili's concert have suddenly become very interested and have used all their connections to get tickets.

The stark contrast in treatment she received greatly affected Wu Yili, causing her considerable emotional distress. Fortunately, she was an open-minded person, and fortunately, Li Heng was Shihe's classmate, friend, and collaborator. After a period of sadness, she accepted reality.

We can't deny reality. Even though Wu Yili is internationally renowned, we have to consider who she's being compared to.

Every single song on this instrumental album is a world-class masterpiece. Any one of them could easily earn a master's title, let alone ten of them.

Let's put it this way: bringing 10 songs together is equivalent to Li Heng intercepting half a century's worth of good fortune. Anyone who comes will be dumbfounded, anyone who encounters him will be an idiot. The two sides are not even on the same level, how can they possibly win?
Of course, the reason why Wu Yili's process of going from distress to complete enlightenment was relatively short was because she had repeatedly listened to the instrumental album and fully affirmed and praised Li Heng's talent. She admitted that she was inferior to him.

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the entire city of Singapore, for a fleeting moment, Wu Yili had a thought: to bring Shihe and Li Heng together in marriage.

Once this thought took hold, it took root in her mind, sprouted, and grew wildly.

While others may not know Li Heng's potential and terrifying nature, Wu Yili, with her profound understanding of music, is naturally very clear about it.

Moreover, she could also tell that her beloved student did not reject Li Heng.

That said, why did Wu Yili want to book a presidential suite for Zhou Shihe? It's because she has always treated Zhou Shihe like her own daughter, and since it was her first time debuting, she wanted to give her the best.

Upon hearing this, Li Heng humbly replied, "Teacher, you flatter me. Without your invitation to go abroad and broaden my horizons, I would still be staying in my hometown."

Wu Yili turned to look at him, then shook her head with a smile and said, "You guys chat for a while, I'll go arrange for the hotel to send the food over. Also, I have some things to take care of, so I'll come back to see you later."

As the hostess of this concert, she naturally had many things to do, so she only chatted with the two of them for a short while before leaving.

Soon after, the hotel food arrived, including red wine steak, Chinese cuisine, French cuisine, and seafood with a Southeast Asian flair.

"Mr. Li, Ms. Zhou, please have a meal." The person who came was very polite and attentive.

Li Heng smiled and expressed his gratitude.

As soon as the delivery person left, Li Heng became dazed by the table full of fine wine and delicacies.

Zhou Shihe asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Li Heng pointed to the red wine and said, "I've had Romanée-Conti and Petrus at Teacher Yu's house before, but this is my first time seeing Pingus. I'm thinking, since I'm in the mood, should I have a little?"

Zhou Shihe said, "This wine comes from Spain. It is said to be made entirely by hand, ensuring that the grapes are not damaged, and it is fermented naturally. In the market, the retail price of Pingus is higher than that of the five first-growth Bordeaux estates. Since you have come across it, you can try its taste."

Li Heng turned his head: "How do you know so much about red wine? Is this what you call 'knowledge and expertise'?"

Zhou Shihe smiled gently and did not respond.

His gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds, then Li Heng looked at the red wine, smacked his lips, and said, "Drinking alone is no fun, want to drink together?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shihe walked straight to the dining table, uncorked the wine, and then poured two glasses under his gaze.

She handed him a glass: "We've almost finished rehearsing 'The Street Where the Wind Dwells.' The teacher's concert isn't until tomorrow afternoon, so there's still a long gap. Drinking some wine now shouldn't interfere with anything."

"Okay, sure." Li Heng gladly accepted the wine glass.

P.S.: Here's a short chapter for now.

(besides)
(End of this chapter)