It was already late in the morning when I finally opened my eyes. My body was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with energy after the good rest I had. I quickly checked the clock. It was half past ten! I immediately rolled out of bed and put on a formal-looking s.h.i.+rt, though my most formal-looking s.h.i.+rt was the 400 RMB one that I had bought from Jack & Jones.
He Yi had complained about that s.h.i.+rt more than a few times. She felt that the ace of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls shouldn"t wear such shabby clothes!
I opened the door to discover that all three girls were already in the living room. They were busy preparing for the trip and each of them had packed a travel bag and a small luggage. They were dressed to the nines. In fact, it looked like they were ready to go out and solicit some customers!
I immediately suppressed the impulse to voice out my thoughts. The girls would end my life if I actually dared to utter those words.
“Alright, let"s go and eat!” He Yi said in an authoritative voice. Everyone made sure to take their keys and wallet before we left the house.
We"d taken so much luggage along that we couldn"t squeeze them all into the trunk of one car. This led us to have no choice but to leave in two cars.
Murong Mingyue wanted to drive the X12 because she felt that it was big and stable. And so, my car was taken from me.
I stretched out my hand toward He Yi and said, “Sister Yi, your car key please. I want to drive the Lamborghini…”
He Yi fished out her key from her bag before she smiled and said, “Drive slowly. Don"t wreck my fifteen million dollars…”
“Come on. You don"t need to worry, I"ve already become an experienced rider…”
Murong Mingyue flew over and grabbed my arm, a mischievous smile on her face. “Mr. Experienced Rider, can you ride me please, your little sister is still young…”
I nearly vomited blood when she said those words. I rolled my eyes. “The heck if I care whether you"re young or not, I"m not that kinda guy…”
……
“Pfffft…”
He Yi and Beiming Xue had both been trying to take a sip of water, so they both spat them out when they heard our conversation. Their beautiful eyes widened into saucers as they glared at both Murong Mingyue and I. “d.a.m.n it! Will the two of you die if you don"t crack a dirty joke?”
Murong Mingyue grabbed my arm and laughed so hard that her body nearly sank to the ground. I gently “shoved” her into the X12"s driver"s seat before entering the Lamborghini with He Yi.
We bought boxed lunches at a small restaurant in the city, the fragrant smell of frying cooking oil wafting into our noses. He Yi was sitting in the pa.s.senger seat. She rolled down the car windows and started eating. She looked like she was enjoying her meal until she found a large green worm in her shredded pork and green peppers dish. She grimaced as she quietly threw it out of the window.
The young man who was trying to fix his electric car at the side of the road stared at us with wide eyes when he saw He Yi do that. It looked like this young fellow had seen a Lamborghini before, but he also looked like he had never ever seen a person sitting in a supercar like this ever eat an $8 lunch made with cheap cooking oil. He looked like he was at a complete loss for words.
After we finished eating, we went on a quick shopping trip in the city. All three of the girls from my workshop were loaded. Murong Mingyue and He Yi were upper management in GGS, so their wealth went without saying, but Beiming Xue had also earned several hundred thousand dollars from the game auctions alone. And now, these rich girls were trying to buy something suitable for my father.
In the end, He Yi settled on a down-filled jacket. Since the weather was getting colder, this was a more practical choice. But the price wasn"t practical at all! It was an import from Italy, and it cost over 8000 RMB!
Meanwhile, Murong Mingyue chose to buy my father a watch and, needless to say, its price was even more outrageous!It cost more than 70000 RMB! I definitely had to tell my father to hide this watch later. Treasures should obviously remain hidden.
Thankfully, Beiming Xue chose to listen to me. She bought a set of autumn clothing suitable for a man my father"s age. He would be able to wear it very soon as the season was turning. As for myself, I had ordered a top-grade wheelchair for my father online. This would be the most practical gift I could get him. The design of my father"s current wheelchair was too old, so he had trouble getting around in it.
We also bought quite a bit of high-quality tobacco and alcohol for him and we put everything that we bought into the trunk of the X12. After that, I sped off in the Lamborghini, and Murong Mingyue soon caught up as well. Both cars sped down the highway, quick as lightning, and it looked like we would be able to reach our destination in about two hours. It would be two in the afternoon by then, which was good, because we could tidy up the house and the rooms without troubling my old man.
……
As predicted, we arrived in Yong"an Town at 1:50 pm. People bustled in and out of my little town so many of them froze in their tracks and stared as our vehicles drove past them. This was especially true for the limited edition Lamborghini I was driving. Its appearance was exceptionally eye-catching and anyone could tell that this was a supercar with a single glance. My X12 was far too inferior to He Yi"s Lamborghini in that aspect, but even then, it had definitely been a long time since the people in my town had even seen a car like the X12.
Yong"an Town had several small factories and its residents were simple and honest folk. There weren"t any big bosses in a place like this and people who even drove a car were already considered to be pretty awesome.
“Hey, Lu Chen, what"s that?” He Yi rolled down the windows and pointed at a stall outside.
I glanced over at the stall she was pointing to, a bit speechless. “It"s a stall selling chicken!”
He Yi said, “When I saw those chickens in their cages, I actually thought they were the wild pheasants that we can find in the game…”
“What the…”
At this moment, Murong Mingyue parked the car and went to buy some fruits with Beiming Xue. She asked for outrageous discounts from the townsfolk and didn"t hesitate to use her feminine wiles to get them. Her short skirt swished outrageously in the air and she ended up returning in triumph after having bought nearly ten kilograms worth of grapes.
I said blandly, “Sister Mingyue came to Yong"an Town like a j.a.panese soldier from the Second World War, trying to rob them blind…”
He Yi couldn"t help but giggle when she heard those words. She smiled and said, “Hahaha, it"s not that bad. Mingyue came from Shanghai, so she"s always lived in a big city. She"s never had the chance to experience what rural life is. Being a little curious is more than normal.”
I pressed my car horn a few times before I started to slowly move forward. This was to get Murong Mingyue to hurry up. She was slowly sauntering over to the X12 and her miniskirt was struggling to cover up those long and smooth snowy thighs. All the little hooligans in my town were staring at them so hard that they had practically burned a hole through her legs.
……
As we slowly trundled along, we reached Fengle Village before we even noticed it. My house wasn"t too far away and by the time I arrived in front of it, a fair number of people had already gathered at my door. My father was already sitting in his wheelchair. I had called him an hour ago, and just as expected, he was already waiting for us at the gate.
The Lamborghini"s engine let out a low roar as it slowly came to a stop in front of my house. I got out of the car and grinned at the people that were waiting for us, “Third uncle, third aunt, second granduncle, all of you are here…”
These people all had a good relations.h.i.+p with my family. This was especially true for my third uncle. He"d taken care of my dad"s meals and lodging for quite a few years, and he would always invite my father over for a meal and drinks whenever he slaughtered a chicken or a pig. They had been as close as brothers for a few decades and as far as I could remember, I"d never once seen them get drunk. I heard that they had entered and left the army together. Their bond was as strong as iron.
My father attempted to get out of his wheelchair and I hurriedly strode over to support him. I smiled at him and said, “Dad, how"s your body feeling these days?”
My father nodded his head. “Same old, same old…”
……
It was at this moment that He Yi got out of the car. She straightened her attire and stood there as pretty as a picture. She smiled at my father and said, “Good afternoon, uncle!”
My father nodded his head.
Third aunt"s jaw dropped open and she nearly dropped the bunch of leeks that she was holding in her hands. “Aiyah, where did this pretty little lady come from? She"s so beautiful. I"ve lived for more than fifty years but I"ve never seen a girl this beautiful in Yangzhou before…”
Murong Mingyue and Beiming Xue soon got out of the X12 as well. My third aunt grew even more fl.u.s.tered as she started singing their praises, “These little ladies are so pretty! I have nothing left to say!”
After she said that, the third aunt shot me a mischievous look and continued, “Lu Chen, you rascal! It looks like life is treating you well. You"ve gone out to see the world for only a few years but you"ve gotten to know such beautiful girls! Tell me! Which one of them is your girlfriend?”
He Yi instantly grew red as she froze in place. Beiming Xue was holding a bottle of mineral water when she heard those words, and a red blush soon crept up her cheeks. None of them knew how to answer that question.
But Murong Mingyue wasn"t fazed by my aunt"s question at all. A small, mischievous grin crept up her face before she floored everyone with her reply. “All of us are…”
Thud...
The leeks fell from the third aunt"s arms. She had been utterly stunned by that answer.
A long period of awkward silence stretched out until Murong Mingyue finally gave up. She couldn"t keep a straight face any longer. Silvery laughter pealed in the air and it was only then that my father and third uncle knew that these girls were just cracking a joke.
“Hurry, hurry, come in!” my father said anxiously.
He started to scold me as well, “Lu Chen! Ah, you! Really! You came here with a few of your colleagues and you didn"t even let me know in advance. See? I didn"t even have time to clean up the place…”
I laughed and said, “There"s no need for you to trouble yourself with that, dad. We"ll clean up our own rooms.”
My father hollered after the third uncle, “Old Three, come and help me open up the gates! Let"s get their cars inside! It"s simply far too dirty outside…”
“Alright!”
Third uncle sprang into action while the third aunt continued to look the three beautiful girls up and down. Her heart was filled with delight and she asked Beiming Xue, “Little lady, how old are you this year?”
Beiming Xue replied, “I"m nineteen this year, aunty…”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Not right now…”
“Aiyah, I happen to have a nephew who is working in Wuxi"s railroad office! He earns more than ten thousand RMB every month and he even gets an annual bonus at the end of the year. That child has an upright character and he"s quite sensible too. How about I introduce him to you?”
I could practically see the black lines that were forming on Beiming Xue"s forehead. However, her mask didn"t slip and she soon broke out into a sweet smile. “Thank you for your good intentions, aunty. But I don"t want to meet anyone from the railway administration…”
Third aunt: “...”
……
After we drove the cars into the courtyard, the girls hurriedly took out the presents that they had bought for my father and gave them to him. My dad was overcome with delight and his smile was so wide that it stretched to his ears. The afternoon sun was s.h.i.+ning down on us, causing the mottled shadows of tree leaves to appear on his face. A warm feeling welled up inside me at the sight of his smile. Seeing him smile was something that truly gladdened my heart.
“Have you all had lunch?” he asked.
“We"ve already eaten, uncle. You don"t need to bother yourself with us…” He Yi replied with a smile.
My father hurriedly said, “Ah, Old Three! Help me go to town and buy some nice dishes and wine! Lu Chen"s come back home, so let"s all have a meal together.”
Third uncle nodded his head and replied, “Okay!”
I said, “Dad, don"t bother third uncle. Sister Yi, Sister Mingyue and I will go buy the food. They haven"t really seen Yong"an Town"s market, so this will be a good opportunity for them to broaden their horizons!”
My father chuckled. “Okay then… We"ll go with your plan! Old Three, just go and buy some wine then!”
Murong Mingyue hurriedly stopped him. “Actually, there"s no need for you to do that. We"ve also brought wine…”
I had already moved to take a few bottles of wine out from the trunk of the X12 when Murong Mingyue spoke up. This was rather high-cla.s.s wine and my third uncle"s eyes widened into saucers the moment he saw them. “I"ve seen this wine before! It"s the kind of wine the governor drinks when they christen a new road…”
I was left rather speechless at that. “If they do, then they"re a lot more corrupt than I thought…”
He Yi let out a soft laugh. “Uncle, drink this wine tonight. I heard it"s quite delicious!”
“Mn, okay…”
My father and third uncle broke out into laughter after they exchanged a glance. These two old men had lived more than a hundred years between them but they were grinning like little kids right now.