Log -- Lan Zhan || Adora ‣ WHO: Lan Zhan || Adora ‣ WHAT: Making new friends at a stuffy business function ‣ WHEN: August, 28th ‣ WHERE: Offices || Convention Center ‣ RATING | WARNINGS: Low || No warnings applicable ‣ STATUS: Complete || Log
Friendship is a horizon – Which expands whenever we approach it
Lan Zhan & Adora
Business functions were a lot especially if you were new and were still finding your feet which was the case for Lan Zhan. It was not that he was not enjoying himself but there were a lot of people, all unfamiliar to him and at times it was very crowded. His grasp of the English language was good, very good, but there were some things that did not always translate as easily, and he found himself at a disadvantage. It was not a position he enjoyed or favored.
Getting away was an apparent necessity which he had done at what he felt was an appropriate time. Food had been served, eaten, light conversation exchanged and networking complete. His uncle would be proud as would Lan Huan but despite Lan Zhan’s best efforts he did not feel as successful as he probably should. He was an intern at Xanatos Enterprises which in itself was an achievement and not something to scoff at, but he knew he was only doing what was expected of him.
Similarly, as was Lan Huan. Neither of them had been asked or given a choice, but then that was one of the disadvantages he supposed of coming from a highly traditional family with an uncle who had a very set path for his nephews. Still, he should not complain. He should be grateful, not everybody was as fortunate.
He had stepped outside, to get air, to loosen the collar of his white neatly pressed shirt and the sharp charcoal gray tie that offset the dark look he had chosen for this evening. He could have sworn he could smell salt on the air from the ocean but perhaps he was imagining things?
Adora hated these kinds of functions. She hated them even more when she had to attend them alone because as much as she might have liked to have Nebula here, she’d have already committed murder twice and for all her charm, whenever Adora and Sabina hung out, their shared brain cell was always kidnapped by Nebula, so honestly it was a bad idea. It didn’t make her feel any less frustrated or lonely. Maybe, she thought, she should invite Emma to the next one. At the very least the rumours would be fun to deal with.
She’d escaped outside a little while ago, glass of champagne on the balcony as she soaked in the warmth of the evening. Her shoes, seven inch monstrosities, were on the floor beside her as she’d stepped out of them as soon as she could. It meant that the deep green dress she was wearing pooled around her feet a little, but honestly she couldn’t care less.
Movement caught her attention and she turned her head, trying to work out if she needed to slip back into Adora the Actress or if she could just still be herself. She didn’t recognise the man’s face, so she let her shoulders relax a little, guard visibly down.
“Needed a break too, huh?”
Lan Zhan was unaware that he was no longer alone until the woman spoke and when she did he turned his head to rest his gaze on a tall, very attractive blond, in a deep emerald green dress that certainly did draw out the same color in her eyes. He did not know if that was the point, but it happened regardless.
“I was not aware that I was so transparent.” He flexed both of his hands, restlessly, in the small of his back and cleared his throat. “My name is Lan Zhan.” And as was custom in the Western part of the world he lifted his arm and extended his hand in greeting. “May I have the pleasure of your name?”
Adora resisted the urge to comment on his formality, noting the edge of an accent in his words. She bowed a little, and then took his hand, shaking it firmly.
“Wǎnshàng hǎo,” she said with a little smile. “I’m Adora. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lan Zhan.”
She lifted a narrow shoulder. “And you aren’t transparent so much as this is definitely a place someone’s come if they need a breather. It’s stuffy in there and ninety percent of the conversation are boring me to tears.”
“Wǎnshàng hǎo. Tīng dào nǐ shuō wǒ de yǔyán, wǒ gǎndào fēicháng jīngyà.” Lan Zhan followed it with a smile, honestly very surprised that she spoke Mandarin. It was a terrible assumption of him to make but most of the time he did assume that people he encountered did not speak very many languages.
He glanced back in the direction of the function and conceded that the conversations being held would not be everybody’s idea of fun.
“This is my first function since I became an intern at Xanatos Industries and I had underestimated just how… overwhelming it would be as an event.”
It took Adora a couple of moments to work out what Lan Zhan had said and then smiled shyly, pushing her hair back behind her ear. “My Mandarin is limited,” she admitted, clearly relieved that he didn’t speak Cantonese because that would have been really embarrassing. “I can get by. I’ve done a few adverts in China and I like to try and do my own voice overs, if I can.”
She glanced back as Lan Zhan did and laughed. “Oh yeah these events are really busy. It’d be better if they had more alcohol and less fussy people trying to hold meetings, but that’s what networking events are for. I’m only here as a favour to a friend,” she admitted. “Otherwise unless it’s a charity one I end to avoid these functions.”
Sipping at her champagne, Adora tipped the glass in the guy’s direction. “These things go a lot better if you have a drink or two. Industry secret.”
In that case he would keep his use of Mandarin to an absolute minimum and when she mentioned that she had done some adverts in China he realized why her face was familiar to him. “Ah, now I know why your face is so familiar to me. I think you did one advert, for a toothpaste. Am I correct?”
“I am not a drinker,” he admitted with the smallest inclination of his head. “Perhaps it would be as you say a lot better if I was.”
He lifted his eyes and rested them on Adora. “Any other tips?”
Adora flushed, surprised that she’d been recognised. She was a movie star, she was recognised all the time, but it was always strange to her, always made her feel a little strange. “One of them, yeah,” she said with a nod of her head.
She wrinkled her nose and took a sip of her drink. “It would be a hundred percent better if you drank. It makes everything feel a little less stressful. But if you aren’t a drinker, getting outside for fresh air as much as possible is a good idea.”
Offering Lan Zhan a smile, Adora added, “I would say that you should avoid getting your ass grabbed by some of the seedier older folks but I’m not sure that’s a problem you’ll have. If you spot anything, though, you can get their names. I’ve got a friend who handles people who can’t keep their hands to themselves.” Her eyebrow quirked. “Otherwise, find some people you like and make sure to check in with them. You can always come find me, if you want?”
“I have not had any such issue,” Lan Zhan remarked with a slightly bemused shake of his head. “But it is good to know that should the need arise there is somebody I can speak to.” Though he might be more likely to break a wrist himself.
He glanced in the direction of the gathering and clasped his hands behind his back, his wrist encircled by the long fingers of the other hand. “I am alone here, my brother is interning somewhere else and my other friends are not in the same world of business. That is why networking is important, to form connections and as you say find people that you like and can spend time with.”
“It’s not as easy for me as it is for others.”
Adora smiled a little. “Yeah, I get that. Being somewhere new and strange is hard enough, without throwing everything else into the mix.” She struggled to think about what she would do if she wasn’t Adora, the actress and model and brand ambassador. She’d been famous for so long it was one of her defining personality traits, she thought. She wondered if not being famous would be as lonely as being famous was.
She tilted her head, took another sip of her champagne. “Incorrect,” she told him, gesturing at him with the glass. “You’re not alone. You have me. Whether you like me or not is still up in the air, I imagine but you can totally talk to me. I can introduce you to people too. If you’re interested in business, I’ve got a few really good contacts that might be helpful, as well? Mostly for business, work and stuff. But I’ll be your friend, Lan Zhan.”
He was taken aback by Adora’s admission. He had not expected such an offer, but it was a welcome one. Even if he didn’t think he needed people it did not mean he didn’t want to have people around. Also, it would be rude for him to reject the offer.
Lan Zhan bowed ever so slightly from the waist and offered the smallest of smiles. “Thank you, Adora. I am appreciative.”
It would not hurt to make new friends especially if that friend was also willing to help you out at big social events and introduce you to people. Hopefully he might be able to give her something back or the friendship would be very one-sided and that was not how Lan Zhan liked to conduct himself.
“I suppose we should return.”
Adora let out a very undignified whining sound at the suggestion that they should return, even though she had smiled warmly at the thanks. She supposed at some point they should swap numbers, and she’d let Nebula know that he was on the okay-to-contact-whenever list, alongside Sabina and Emma. But he was right.
“Yeah,” she agreed, wondering if she could get away with bringing her sword to events like this in the future and manufacturing an excuse so she could just transform and leap out the window without getting hurt. “You’re right.”
Downing the last of her champagne, she rested the flute on the balcony and lifted the hem of her dress, sliding her shoes back on with a grimace and then holding her arm out for Lan Zhan to take.