What Do You Take Me For? (Please Vote!)

What Do You Take Me For? (Please Vote!)

Night fell.

Gretchen's home.

It was a true villa. From the entrance to the fountain plaza by the front door, it took a while even by car. Tall gate pillars towered overhead, and marble paved the ground, displaying luxury everywhere.

Amid the brilliant lights, uniformed staff bustled about in an orderly fashion. They were employees of a professional party company, responsible for preparing and organizing this birthday celebration.

As the hosts and guests, all they needed to do was dress handsome and beautiful.

"Damn!"

Emmett, who had only managed to get in by following Adam, could not help letting out a sigh at the sight.

"Sir, your invitation?"

The waiter in charge of greeting guests politely stopped the three of them.

Emmett curled his lip, but when the corner of his eye caught the uniformed security guards, his body trembled. He swallowed the complaint that had reached his lips.

He could not help it. He was scared!

Just like Rajesh from the future The Big Bang Theory Seven.

Rajesh's family was known as India's version of the Iron Man Family, absurdly wealthy. Yet whenever United States officials came to his door—even when they were not looking for him—he nearly wet himself, shouting, "I love the United States!" while frantically trashing his homeland, making a complete fool of himself.

Of course, that was an exaggerated depiction for television. But art came from life, and there were naturally real reasons why immigrants like Rajesh were afraid.

In that kind of social atmosphere, it was no joke that Emmett, who had always been timid, felt his heart tremble at the sight of security guards.

It was funny when your compatriots carried the coffin. Not so funny when you were the one inside it.

"This way, please."

The waiter took Adam's invitation and looked it over. His gaze lingered on Emmett for a moment longer before he smiled and led the three inside.

"Mr. Duncan, Miss Venus would like you to come upstairs."

Another waiter came over with the message. Seeing Emmett following along, he hurriedly added, "Alone."

"You two go get ready first. I'll be there in a bit."

Adam smiled and nodded at Juno and Emmett, then followed the newly arrived waiter upstairs.

As the star of the birthday party, Gretchen Venus would naturally make her entrance last. She was still upstairs getting made up. In preparation for her stunning appearance later, the process had begun that afternoon.

"Adam, you're here~"

Inside the luxurious bedroom, Gretchen, who was being styled by a professional in front of a full-length mirror, looked over joyfully. The gown specially tailored by a famous designer perfectly displayed her devilish figure.

Her fragrant shoulders were slightly exposed, and her eyes were seductive.

Of course, there were no spare tires or second strings or anything of the sort.

Adam looked at her with admiration—and respect.

A long while later.

The party finally began.

Adam went downstairs to meet up with Juno and Emmett and performed "Don't Cry," once again causing a sensation.

But he knew that was all it would be. Before long, the song would spread through the entire rock scene, and plenty of professional rock bands would be performing it nonstop.

Fruit Hard Candy Band was merely an amateur hobby band. They certainly could not match the performance quality of professional bands. Besides, no matter how good a song was, it became ordinary after being heard too many times.

Right now was absolutely Fruit Hard Candy Band's moment in the spotlight.

They got paid and had fun. That was enough!

They were still high school students, after all, and all had curfews set by their parents. Adam and Juno dragged the reluctant Emmett away.

Emmett was a year older than Adam and had already gotten his driver's license, so he was the one driving this time.

In the car.

Emmett could no longer restrain his curiosity. "Adam, what did you do upstairs for so long?"

"Nothing."

Adam answered lazily.

For some reason, he suddenly felt a little tired tonight. Maybe the recent pressure had been too much.

Fame was a double-edged sword. Along with glory came heavy pressure.

"Hehe."

Juno smiled beside him. "How much did Venus pay?"

"Guess."

Adam perked up and grinned.

"One hundred?"

Emmett got excited too. Now that he had his license, he desperately needed gas money. Otherwise, having a car would be pointless if he could not drive it.

"Or one hundred each?"

"Guess again!"

"Two hundred per person?"

When Adam merely smiled without answering, Emmett slammed on the brakes and cried excitedly, "How much was it?"

"Three thousand!"

Adam pulled a stack of Franklins from his pocket.

"Holy shit!"

Emmett's eyes went round. He shrieked and reached for the money. Once he had it, he examined it from side to side, muttering, "This isn't counterfeit, is it? Three thousand dollars! Even if it is fake, I'll take it. I can always spend some of it... No, no, I can't do that. If the cops catch me, I'll suffocate..."

Even Juno was somewhat surprised, blurting out, "Looks like Gretchen really is satisfied with you!"

At this time, the average monthly income in the United States was only around three thousand dollars. For high school students, three thousand dollars was absolutely a huge sum. They had only sung a few songs.

"What do you take me for?"

Adam frowned. "She hired our Fruit Hard Candy Band. The money is for Fruit Hard Candy, not for me alone. And do you really think three thousand dollars is a lot to her? Our 'Don't Cry' only debuted last night. Isn't it worth that much?"

"It is, it is, of course it is!"

Emmett happily counted the money and repeatedly agreed.

"Don't get worked up."

Juno rolled her eyes at Adam.

Adam also realized that he had overreacted and awkwardly added, "I-I'm really not that kind of person. We're innocent."

"Mm, I believe you."

Juno nodded solemnly. "But why?"

"Why what?"

Adam was speechless.

"Isn't Gretchen hot?"

"Hot."

"Wasn't Gretchen forward?"

"...Forward."

"Are you Adam Duncan?"

"..."

Adam fell silent.

That logic was fucking flawless!

He really was not the old Adam Duncan.

What could he say?

It was not that he feared anything...

It was that his values had changed. He did not want to date, not even in name only.

Because this was the ridiculously melodramatic United States, where people in the same friend circle casually entered into every possible permutation and combination of relationships.

For example, Penny, the female lead of The Big Bang Theory. Every time she broke up, she would "find a handsome guy for a thirty-six-hour Penny-style recovery session." Leonard was her boyfriend, yet Leonard's best buddies, Howard and Rajesh, often loudly argued right in front of him about taking over, even endlessly fighting over who would be the first to do so.

Rajesh often fantasized about his best buddy Howard's wife. He wrote an extremely filthy poem about her, and he even had something going on with Penny while she was recovering...

Another example was Rachel from Friends. First Ross, then Joey, and finally Ross again.

Robin from How I Met Your Mother was first with Ted, then Barney, and finally Ted again.

Those people hung out together every day. They were the closest of friends.

Adam could not stand that kind of chaos, not even in name only.

Lü Barney Joey Xiaobu had once said: when dating girls, the first priority was to make sure you had more boats under your feet than she did. Otherwise, it was too much of a loss.

Adam deeply agreed.

In the unfathomable United States, there were plenty of girls like Penny, casually sleeping with a hundred people, then two hundred. To be safe, Adam decided it was best never to date.

At the very least, he would not date while he was young.

In this world, besides love, there were many other kinds of simple, affectionate bonds, such as friendship...

P.S. The new book has no recommendations. Friends with book lists, please add it.