Wheel of Destiny (Please Vote!)

Wheel of Destiny (Please Vote!)

New York.

West Side.

"Excuse me, do you know where Central Perk is?"

"Central Perk?"

"Yes, yes, you know it?"

"Never heard of it!"

"..."

Adam's mouth twitched.

He had arrived during the day, and his interview at Columbia University had gone very smoothly.

As night fell, in high spirits, he began wandering through the heart of this American TV multiverse. Thinking of Central Perk, where the Friends protagonists often hung out, he decided to look for it.

New York had five boroughs, and Manhattan was the most prosperous of them. Columbia University was located here, which showed just how lavish Columbia was.

New York's East Side was the commercial center, packed with towering buildings and bustling traffic. The West Side leaned more toward being a cultural center, with rows of low-rise buildings and a rich blend of cultures. It was a favorite among young people.

If Adam remembered correctly, the Friends protagonists operated around New York's West Side—more specifically, Greenwich Village, right next to Central Park.

But after asking many people, Adam found that no one had heard of Central Perk. He did not know whether Central Perk simply was not famous, whether this world did not have the Friends group at all, or whether the six of them had not yet come together.

"Ah, what a pity."

After wandering for a while longer, Adam still found no trace of it and could not help sighing in disappointment.

"I'll check out MacLaren's Pub."

Adam pulled himself together and shifted his attention to the bar where the protagonists of How I Met Your Mother often hung out. After asking several passersby and learning that there really was a MacLaren's Pub a few blocks away, Adam happily set off.

What he did not know was that as soon as he turned around, a group of people emerged from around the corner.

Three women and two men, all in their twenties.

A man and a woman walked in front. They were a married couple.

The two women and one man following behind were friends.

"Hey, Ross, look!"

The girl walking in front nudged her husband and excitedly pointed at a beautiful woman approaching from across the street.

"Whoa."

The girl's husband, Ross, glanced over and found that she was indeed smoking hot. He smugly turned to the three friends behind him. "See? This is my wonderful wife. Who could compare to her?"

"Carol is so cool."

The girl walking behind them was Ross's younger sister. She could not help giving Carol a thumbs-up.

"Yeah, this should have been a trap."

The other girl behind them smiled. "Chandler, regretting it now? If you'd chased Carol back in college, you'd be the one being dragged around by your wife to admire beautiful women."

"Isn't Chandler gay?"

Carol whispered into her husband Ross's ear.

"Shh."

Ross raised a finger in a gesture for silence.

Carol immediately pursed her lips, afraid Chandler might overhear and have his self-esteem hurt.

Ross's grin nearly reached his ears. He and Chandler had been college classmates, and they had both liked Carol. But he had secretly told Carol that Chandler was gay, and that Chandler's boyfriend was another classmate who liked Carol. With one move, he had secretly eliminated two rivals and successfully married Carol. It was the proudest achievement of his life.

"Haha."

Chandler laughed exaggeratedly.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing that something was off with him, everyone asked with concern.

"It's Chip."

Chandler frowned. "He's getting ready to move out. I may never find another roommate I click with as well as him."

As he said this, he wore an expression of sorrow as though he were about to cry.

"Oh~"

The girl on his left, Ross's sister Monica, immediately put an arm around him and comforted him. "Don't be sad. You'll definitely find a better roommate, just like Phoebe and me."

Phoebe, the girl on Chandler's right, rolled her eyes at that.

Laughing and chatting, the group pushed open the door and entered a bar.

Elsewhere, Adam entered MacLaren's Pub and looked around. Seeing no familiar faces, he went to the bar and asked the bartender, "Excuse me, do you know Barney Stinson?"

"No."

"What about Ted Mosby?"

"No."

"Lily and Marshall?"

"No. Sir, are you even old enough?"

Adam left MacLaren's Pub dejectedly. Though he was already an adult, he was not yet twenty-two—the drinking age for bars. Besides, none of the How I Met Your Mother protagonists were here, so there was no point in staying. He simply left.

Given how flamboyant Barney Stinson and Ted Mosby were, if they had ever appeared here, the bartender would definitely know them. In this situation, either they did not exist in this world, or they had not appeared here yet.

Either way, Adam could only return disappointed.

As he strolled down the street, someone suddenly shoved a flyer into Adam's hand. Two huge words were printed on it: "Suit Up!"

"Heh."

Adam could not help laughing.

He had a feeling that those people did exist in this world. It was just that it was only 1992, and they had not yet grown into the people he remembered. Naturally, they would not be waiting for him in the places they frequented in the future.

See you later.

Having figured that out, Adam felt completely enlightened. He no longer had any desire to keep wandering, so he returned to the hotel, planning to get a good rest and look for a way tomorrow to solve the problem of his Wisdom Points being stuck at 140.

At the same time.

A blond young man with a small ponytail, a full beard, and a huge bundle on his back staggered down the street with a despairing expression. He, too, received one of those flyers.

He had originally planned to go to Nicaragua as a volunteer with Shannon, the love of his life. But to his surprise, Shannon had betrayed him and gotten together with a man in a suit. That man was the very guy who had flirtatiously tried to high-five him at the coffee shop where they worked a few days ago.

At the time, he had even pitied the man, thinking that he did not understand the beauty of true love. But reality had slapped him hard in the face. True love could not compete with the suit guy's Franklins.

Even after he recorded a video begging Shannon to return to his side, the man in the suit and Shannon had appeared before him and mercilessly mocked and humiliated him.

He was utterly hopeless—until he saw the two words on the flyer: "Suit Up!"

What was the difference between him and the man in the suit?

The answer he came up with was the suit!

So, flyer in hand, he resolutely walked into a suit shop.

The drums of war sounded.

He cut off his ponytail, shaved off his beard, buttoned his vest, tightened his belt, put on a watch, tied his tie, laced up his dress shoes, slipped on his suit jacket, and adjusted his shirt cuffs. When he stood up again, the message in his eyes was completely different.

"For thirty years, the east bank of the river thrives; for thirty years, the west bank does. Never look down on a poor young man!"

At that moment, the Wheel of Destiny began to turn slowly. The youth who slew the dragon would eventually become a dragon himself!

PS: Thanks to snow51, Joney., and Plane Traveler Looks Good for the donations!