Sisterhood

"Greenwich Village—this is the birthplace of America's counterculture movement. Bob Dylan sang in the bars here, Robert De Niro performed in the small theaters, the sexual liberation movement started here, and of course, it's also the final stop of the New York Halloween parade every year..." Joel, walking shoulder to shoulder with Ryan down the narrow street, couldn't help but remark.

But in Ryan's eyes, aside from the many stylish shops lining both sides of the road, it didn't seem much different from anywhere else.

Until a man walking his dog came toward them. Calling him a man was based on appearance, but his upper body wore a women's lingerie top, and his lower half was a pair of tight women's shorts.

As they turned a corner, they saw a poster on the wall featuring two muscular men with bondage elements, posing intimately for the camera. The slogan beside it read: "You are kink positive, your healthcare should be too."

It was a reminder to practice safe play when engaging in the alphabet game.

For a straight-laced guy like Ryan, this poster was nothing short of spiritual pollution.

Putting aside those "jump scares," the shops along Greenwich Village's streets were relatively normal, after all, it still attracted plenty of tourists from around the world. There were many cozy restaurants and bars with a bohemian flair, as well as culturally rich stores—coffee bean shops, vintage clothing stores, old record shops. Ryan wasn't particularly interested.

Of course, all the common New York elements were here too: a homeless man lying in the shadow of a building on the corner, a mentally ill person talking to themselves at the intersection, an elderly woman bent over rummaging through a trash can for plastic bottles, and a bike chained to a rack with four locks. This reminded Ryan that he was still in New York, not somewhere else.

Ryan was actually quite familiar with this place. In the nearly year he'd spent in New York, the original owner had come here a few times with three different girlfriends, all small-time models like himself. Besides that, the original owner also had a few model friends here, but Ryan didn't plan to contact them on this trip to New York.

This time, the whole team had plenty of preparation time, so Ryan and Joel took the opportunity to wander around. On the way back, Ryan spotted several neoclassical high-rises with purple flags hanging on the walls reading "NUY," indicating they were part of New York University.

Ryan then recalled those Harlem Shake parody videos in his memory, several of which were clearly filmed on a college campus...

Joel checked the time. Seeing that evening was approaching, the two prepared to head back to the nightclub for tonight's DJ performance.

·

New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, double dorm room.

"Elizabeth, what are you wearing to tonight's event?" Her roommate knocked on the door and asked.

"Didn't we just get back from Punta Cana?" Elizabeth pouted.

"That was Spring Break. Tonight's the Vice President's birthday—you have to come. It's at that 'Lost' club near campus." The roommate reminded her.

"I don't want to go. I'm not feeling well." Elizabeth explained.

"Then don't drink. The social chair managed to contact a bunch of freshmen, and I heard there are some really handsome guys. Don't blame me later if I didn't call you." The roommate warned.

Elizabeth, who had just broken up before Spring Break, shook her head. "I'm not interested."

"Then don't you want to compete for the Activities Director position? There might be a second party later tonight—this is your chance to show off your organizational skills." The roommate pressed on.

"Fine, fine." Elizabeth closed the door, put on some light makeup, threw on a baseball jacket, and headed out.

"You're wearing that? Aren't you afraid the bouncer will turn you away?" The roommate teased, having put on a figure-hugging dress herself.

"I'm on my period, okay? Let's go." Elizabeth urged.

The two met up downstairs with the others attending tonight's Vice President's birthday party. It was all girls—just as women were absolutely forbidden from entering fraternities, sororities also barred men from entering.

Elizabeth's sorority was called Pi Beta Phi (ΠΒΦ), the first national sorority in the United States, with over 300 chapters and alumni organizations across the US and Canada, and more than 20,000 members.

When the bespectacled Vice President appeared, the group marched in a grand procession toward the nightclub.

Elizabeth blended into the crowd of women and smoothly entered the Lost Club. Someone had already reserved a booth on the second floor. Before long, the guys joining the birthday party also arrived. One of them kept trying to hit on her, but she coldly turned him down.

Then, she spotted her ex-boyfriend, whom she'd broken up with just last week, on the dance floor. To make it worse, he was standing next to a stunning black-haired girl Elizabeth recognized.

"I'm so pissed! He said they were just friends—fucking shit!" Elizabeth clenched her fists in anger.

Her roommate quickly tried to comfort her. Furious, Elizabeth wanted to grab a drink and chug it in one go, but considering her condition, she put the glass down.

·

"Not bad." Joel looked at the New Yorkers bobbing their heads on the dance floor, finally relieved.

Since the injuries on his face were unsightly, he could only stand off to the side. Ryan, for the first time, completed the entire live DJ set solo—mixing tracks, hyping up the crowd with his words, handling everything with ease. Then he brought the atmosphere to a climax with a track called Tremor.

This brought a gratified smile to Joel's face as he started recording Ryan's live performance on his phone.

It was Ryan's request. He said he wanted to edit the footage and post it on social media to interact with fans.

Ryan smoothly finished his part of the performance and stepped down amid the cheers of the club crowd. Next up was Deadmau5, who was actually the main act tonight—Ryan was just the warm-up.

The lights in the club dimmed, and the helmet on Deadmau5's head began to glow, signaling the start of a new performance.

By then, Ryan had already reached Joel's side. After reviewing the footage Joel had just shot, he walked over to a club staff member, and the two muttered something to each other.

"Don't wander off. I'll be right back." Ryan said to Joel, then turned and left.

·

The dazzling fireworks stood out vividly in the dark club. Several male waiters stood in front of tables holding signs printed with "Ace of Spades," swaying to the rhythm and catching the eyes of those around them. This was a fixed "performance" at the club—whenever someone ordered a bottle of Ace of Spades (an expensive champagne), staff would line up like this for the opening ceremony, perfectly catering to customers' desire to show off.

If a male customer ordered the bottle, the servers would be several scantily clad women. If a female customer ordered it, it would be like this time.

And this time, the usual opening ceremony had an extra touch: the DJ who had just been performing on stage came over with a tray, placing the bottle on the table.

Having the DJ appear in person naturally carried more prestige than an ordinary waiter.

This made the sorority Vice President, whose birthday it was, even happier. Her smile was so wide she could barely close her mouth as she quickly tipped the DJ.

This was already the fifth table Ryan had approached tonight. By now, he smoothly offered to take a group photo with everyone, then naturally started chatting with these college girls.

"Then I must wish the President a happy birthday."

"Pi Beta Phi sorority? I've heard it's a national sorority—20,000 members? That's impressive."

"You guys have a second party later? I see."

Ryan had already sat down among these college girls at some point. He wasn't after the small tips—he was looking for people, specifically New York University students, preferably those with flexible minds who could form an organization. The Pi Beta Phi sorority sisters in front of him were pretty much his ideal targets.

Seeing the DJ so enthusiastic, others present occasionally asked Ryan questions about electronic music, and of course, some complimented him on his good looks.

Then Ryan casually mentioned that he used to be a model living in East Village Manhattan. Several of the college girls suddenly understood and let out a collective scream.

"No wonder he's so handsome." The roommate, eating fruit while sneaking glances at Ryan nearby, whispered to Elizabeth beside her.

But Elizabeth, still immersed in grief and anger, had no mood to check out a handsome guy. She picked up her phone and prepared to leave.

"Where are you going?" the roommate quickly asked.

"To 'The Base' to set up the party venue." Elizabeth shook her head, wanting only to get this over with quickly and then go back to sleep.