Chapter 40: Catwoman
"So this is the Natural History Museum, it's truly magnificent!" Ling Xiao couldn't help but exclaim in awe, looking at the grand and vast museum before him.
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, located at 900 Exposition Boulevard, adjacent to the south side of USC and the north side of Exposition Park, is a famous tourist attraction in Los Angeles. Even on regular days, there are quite a few visitors.
They arrived very early this morning, but even so, there were already over a dozen large vans parked around the museum, and a few reporters were scattered around, filming something.
"Yes! This is one of the top ten museums in the United States. Only three Natural History Museums are among the top ten in the entire United States: Washington, New York, and Los Angeles." Mikayla Baines smiled and nodded, introducing to Ling Xiao, "The Natural History Museum in New York just filmed a movie called 'Night at the Museum' last year, which will be released this Christmas. By then, you'll realize that most Natural History Museums in America are arranged similarly. Once you've visited one, there's no need to go to others."
"Is that so?" Although Ling Xiao had been in this world for over twenty years, his memory for the first decade or so was in a hazy slumber. In the three years since he awakened, he had been busy with his cultivation and had never left Los Angeles to go anywhere else. He hadn't even visited nearby San Francisco, San Diego, and Las Vegas.
"Let's go, let's go in. We might run into some unpleasant bitches later." Mikayla Baines glanced at the vans parked around, and her expression quickly turned cold.
She beckoned and immediately led her agent, assistant, makeup artist, and Ling Xiao, walking together towards the side hall on the east side of the museum.
Today was a joint jewelry exhibition hosted by several famous Los Angeles jewelry companies, showcasing hundreds of pieces of jewelry. That's why so many models and female celebrities were invited to participate in the runway show. Naturally, the outstanding performers would gain favor with the jewelry companies and sign lucrative endorsement contracts.
Mikayla Baines wore a baseball cap and oversized sunglasses, covering most of her face. She was here to make a splash and naturally wouldn't reveal her trump card before the crucial moment arrived.
Ling Xiao was nominally Mikayla Baines's makeup artist's assistant. He didn't know what Mikayla Baines's assistant and agent thought, but at least they didn't say a word in front of Ling Xiao.
In Hollywood, top models often transition into acting or singing at appropriate times. After all, compared to the latter two, the former's career lifespan is simply too short.
Mikayla Baines also started as a top model, and with the box office success of her film last year, she became very popular. She also has two or three movie contracts, and once filming begins, it will bring in several million US dollars. Therefore, among these people, Mikayla Baines has a very high Rank.
The main exhibits in this "Diamonds: Rare Radiance" exhibition were four jewelry pieces featuring rare colored diamonds, and a highly mysterious exhibit would appear at the end of the exhibition.
Mikayla Baines and three other top models or celebrities showcased the four colored diamond jewelry pieces. No one knew yet who would wear the final mysterious jewelry.
Mikayla Baines was to display a Rainbow colored diamond necklace provided by 77 Diamonds, Europe's largest diamond retailer. This necklace was set with over 100 colored diamonds, totaling approximately 36 carats.
The colored diamonds covered shades of blue-gray, yellow-green, orange-pink, purple-pink, brown-orange, and more. Each diamond was square-cut and set to form a lattice-like structure, with small colorless diamonds interspersed among the colored ones.
The beautiful diamonds, coupled with Mikayla Baines's exposed fair skin, immediately captured the gaze of all the men in the audience upon her appearance. Even women couldn't help but feel envy, jealousy, and hatred towards Mikayla Baines.
Ling Xiao stood in the crowd, watching Mikayla Baines confidently display her beautiful figure on the runway. Ling Xiao's youth preservation efforts were very effective; at the very least, Mikayla could see all the men in the audience looking at her with eyes that seemed to want to strip her bare.
Of course, not everyone's gaze was on Mikayla herself. Not far from Ling Xiao stood a young female reporter with a camera. After taking a few photos, she put down her camera, which was in stark contrast to the other reporters around her who were continuously snapping pictures.
Ling Xiao was momentarily interested in this woman. However, just as his gaze fell on the female reporter, she already noticed his stare. After giving Ling Xiao a scrutinizing smile, she picked up her camera and began taking photos again.
Ling Xiao didn't pay too much attention. His gaze was on the second piece of jewelry on display. Although the Rainbow necklace Mikayla Baines wore earlier was nice, Ling Xiao wasn't very interested in it.
That necklace clearly won by quantity and wasn't very attractive to the god and demon list. However, the second diamond did spark some interest in Ling Xiao.
This was a purple diamond ring called Orien, provided by the New York jeweler Rio Diamond. The main stone of this ring was a 1.64-carat cushion-cut purple diamond with an extremely high color grade and an SI2 clarity. The purple diamond was surrounded by cushion-cut colorless diamonds, forming layered petals that highlighted the rare natural color of the main stone.
Although this purple diamond was not as colorful as the previous colored diamond, the pure, transparent purple diamond was extremely eye-catching. Even Ling Xiao himself couldn't help but feel a little excited. With such color and clarity, Ling Xiao could almost immediately determine that the god and demon list would definitely love this diamond.
Soon, the third diamond was also presented. Just as the model was about to step forward, Ling Xiao suddenly frowned and immediately turned his head.
The female reporter Ling Xiao had seen earlier had, at some point, come to his side. Her gaze was fixed on the model on the runway, but she whispered to Ling Xiao, "This is a purple diamond ring called Argyle. It, and another pink diamond necklace called Julia, are both provided by Scott West, a diamond merchant from New York. The color and clarity of these two diamonds are extremely high, and their weight also surpasses every previous gem."
Ling Xiao wasn't sure of Scott West's background, but he could clearly see the two diamonds. Coupled with the introduction from the staff nearby, Ling Xiao gained a clear understanding of these two diamonds.
The Argyle is a 2.83-carat oval-cut purple diamond, with color and clarity one Rank higher than the previous purple diamond. And according to the staff, this is the largest purple diamond ever produced by the Argyle diamond mine.
And Julia is a 30.03-carat oval-cut pink diamond, with the rough stone weighing as much as 90 carats. The color grade and clarity of this diamond are the same as the previous purple diamond. The female model wearing this pink diamond necklace was almost the most dazzling presence tonight.
Mikayla Baines actually most wanted to wear this diamond necklace, but this diamond came from a private dealer in New York. Although the endorsement fee it could provide was also substantial, its influence in the industry was far less than that of 77 Diamonds, Europe's largest diamond retailer.
"Hello, my name is Holly Robinson, and I'm a magazine reporter." After the four diamond exhibits were displayed, the female reporter standing next to Ling Xiao began to introduce herself.