HLM -Chapter 1435 Chinatown

After the formalwear viewing ended, Collin asked Wang Bo and Eva for their opinions. Both of them were very satisfied with the designs, so they nodded and said there were no issues.

Next came the fitting. Top-tier tailors from Pronovias attended to them on all sides, remeasuring every part of their bodies to ensure a perfect match between garment and form.

By the time everything was finished, two hours had already passed. Since Wang Bo and Eva were satisfied with the designs, they came out relatively early; the others were still discussing details of their outfits with the designers.

Wang Bo asked Sophia, “How much longer before my buddies come out?”

Sophia stepped away and returned a while later with a smile. “Those gentlemen clearly have their own unique insights into wedding attire. They’re still chatting with the designers—I’m afraid it’ll take at least another two hours.”

Wang Bo sucked in a breath of cold air. Were these guys insane? Four hours staring at wedding dresses? They had unique insights? What unique insights could they possibly have about wedding dresses?!

Seeing the smile on Sophia’s face, Eva suddenly realized something and said in a low voice, “It’s probably not Bowen and those guys who have opinions—it’s their fiancées.”

Hearing that, Wang Bo understood. So it was the women discussing things with the designers.

He asked Eva in surprise, “Don’t you have any thoughts about your wedding dress?”

Eva shrugged and chuckled softly. “Before the New Year, at your home—wearing that phoenix coronet and red ceremonial robe—already satisfied all my expectations.”

It wasn’t a line meant to be romantic, but to Wang Bo’s ears, it sounded sweeter than any love talk.

They didn’t want to wait around, so Sophia suggested, “Perhaps you could go take a look at Chinatown. The architectural style there is wonderful. My design team and I sometimes go there to look for inspiration, and it never disappoints.”

Sydney is the city with the largest concentration of overseas Chinese and ethnic Chinese in Australia. In terms of sheer numbers, it’s also the city with the most Chinese residents in the entire Southern Hemisphere, and it has a very old Chinatown.

Taking Sophia’s suggestion, Wang Bo and Eva saw that it was still early and decided to go have a look.

Eva said, “Maybe you’ll get some inspiration there too. Building a Chinatown in Sunset Town could be a good project.”

There were quite a few Chinese people in Sunset Town, and a Chinese community might eventually form, but Wang Bo didn’t want to build a Chinatown.

He felt that Chinatowns had become too clichéd—wherever there were Chinese people, there seemed to have to be a Chinatown. Yet the Chinese weren’t particularly united or mutually supportive, nor did such streets really foster much cohesion.

Still, he needed relevant experience. Liancheng Group was about to complete a resort full of Chinese cultural elements, which would include Chinatown-style architecture, and he would need to give advice on that later.

Sophia arranged for a Mercedes to take them to Chinatown and also provided bodyguards—two large white men who stayed close to them at all times.

Wang Bo smiled at them and said, “Relax, guys. My wife and I aren’t really celebrities. Not many people here will recognize us. And we’re not the type to cause trouble, so there won’t be any danger.”

One of the bodyguards—a big white guy who looked a bit like Governor Schwarzenegger—said, “Mayor, you actually are a celebrity.”

As he spoke, he handed them two pairs of sunglasses.

Wang Bo smiled, put on the sunglasses, and walked inside.

Sydney’s Chinatown wasn’t just a single street. Of course, you entered the complex through one main road, where Chinese-style teahouses and restaurants lined both sides. Mandarin, Cantonese, and Hainanese could be heard everywhere.

However, Wang Bo noticed that these Chinese voices were all coming from the storefronts on either side. Some shops had Chinese staff standing outside, calling customers in their dialects; others simply set up loudspeakers or sound systems blasting recordings.

Seeing this, Wang Bo couldn’t help but shake his head. “All gimmicks—no sincerity at all.”

Just then, a young Black man bumped into him from behind. Wang Bo reacted quickly, sidestepping and stepping back, while saying with concern, “Hey, buddy, careful—”

One of the white bodyguards immediately grabbed the Black man and twisted his arm, pulling him out.

The Black man struggled hard and shouted, “Shit! You bastard, what are you doing? Damn it, let go of my hand!”

The bodyguard yanked his hand free, and Wang Bo and Eva saw a sharp razor blade hidden between his fingers.

Several Black onlookers nearby scattered at once. The young man stopped struggling and said, “I like playing with blades. So what?”

The white bodyguard pinched the blade between his fingers, a vicious expression appearing on his face. “Shut up, idiot. You’re lucky you moved too slow. Otherwise, I’d stuff this thing into your mouth right now and then slap you ten times, so you’d have to eat through a straw for the rest of your life!”

The Black man shivered. The words were terrifying, and while he wasn’t easily scared—any street punk had heard tough talk before—the bodyguard’s expression and tone frightened him.

He lived on the streets and knew exactly which people were capable of doing what they said.

When the bodyguard released him, he fled in panic.

Wang Bo looked at the passersby in the distance who were pointing and whispering, and shook his head. “Sydney’s public security really is terrible.”

They continued strolling along the street. After making a round, Wang Bo bought some snacks for Eva. It turned out Eva liked dried sweet potatoes and candied hawthorns; she only tasted the other items briefly.

Many of the snacks were pastries. Coincidentally, Eva was good at baking pastries herself, and her taste was quite picky.

Chinatown was a cluster of buildings. Walking forward less than half a kilometer, they reached a Chinese-style garden.

The garden was called the “Garden of Friendship.” It was one of the projects built by the Chinese side to commemorate Australia’s bicentennial. It covered an area of 10,000 square meters, with 1,500 square meters of buildings; the rest consisted of rockeries, water features, and landscaped greenery.

They entered the Garden of Friendship. It wasn’t very large inside. Ten thousand square meters sounded big, but in reality, it was just a square about one hundred meters on each side, and they finished walking through it quickly.

“This courtyard is too small,” Wang Bo said, shaking his head.

Eva ate her candied hawthorn and said, “I’ve heard that Chinese gardens are famous for being small yet exquisite. Maybe we came at the wrong time—when spring arrives and flowers bloom, it should be very beautiful.”

Wang Bo looked at the structures, which were full of Chinese style yet clearly crudely made, his face full of doubt.

Fortunately, there were quite a few pseudo-ancient buildings in Chinatown. He took some photos and visited several shops with good online reviews, picking up quite a bit of experience.

By the time they finished exploring the area, the two hours were up. Hani called him to ask what his plans were next.

Under normal circumstances, Wang Bo would have been happy to take his trusted aides on a tour of Sydney. Unfortunately, this time he couldn’t—they had to head back and prepare for the remaining wedding arrangements.