A Fool's Good Fortune

Over 120 square meters? A three-bedroom converted into a two-bedroom?!

That sounded far better than the place he had looked at himself!

He took the phone Susan handed him and glanced at the webpage link, the photos, and the eye-watering rent of $5,800 a month.

Li Wei was incredibly tempted, but after thinking it over for a moment, he regretfully shook his head.

"I'm very tempted, Ms. Susan." Li Wei pointed at himself and Don Quixote. "But I doubt I can afford a place this nice—"

"Don't rush. Hear me out first."

Before he could finish, Susan raised a finger to interrupt him.

"I'm a businesswoman. I don't make losing deals." She smiled. "Actually, I think you have a point. Maybe someone deliberately picked today to target me."

"So?" Li Wei thought she wanted them to act as muscle. "You want us to look into it for you?"

Susan let out a few rich-person chuckles.

"I have a few friends," she said casually. "I can handle this sort of thing myself."

"And if I really do find something," she continued after a pause, "I may need to hire another inspector who knows accounting in a couple of days. Didn't you say Don Quixote used to work at JPMorgan Chase, graduated from the University of Chicago, and speaks Spanish?"

As she spoke, she pointed at Don Quixote, who stood by the roadside trying to duel an abandoned tire.

Li Wei nodded. That part was true enough.

Susan had more than a dozen apartments scattered across various neighborhoods in Brooklyn. It was obviously unrealistic for her to personally collect rent, maintain the properties, and receive tenants herself.

In fact, she had a small five-person company specifically managing those valuable properties. Her employees included not only an accountant, but also an inspector responsible for tenant relations and a Mexican maintenance worker who did not speak English.

"Wait for my call." She stuffed her business card into Li Wei's hand. "If I really need more staff, then that apartment can be the dorm for you and your uncle."

"I never said I'd work for you," Li Wei said. "I still have school."

"It doesn't matter. You're just a bonus." Susan did not care about such trivial details. "Thank you for what you did today."

With that, she started her BMW X6 and slowly drove out of the parking lot beneath the night sky.

"Looks like Uncle's about to get lucky." Watching Don Quixote struggle to pull himself free from the tire, Li Wei muttered to himself, "Is this what they mean by a fool's good fortune?"

Early the next morning, Li Wei made two bowls of milk oatmeal, adding two scoops of the protein powder he had won to one of them.

Don Quixote had been selling blood a little too frequently lately. He needed more protein.

Besides, Ms. Susan had looked rather curvy, while Don Quixote was skinny as a stray dog. With a rather wicked little grin, Li Wei added another scoop of protein powder to the oatmeal.

"...So," Don Quixote said, stirring the milk oatmeal that had nearly turned into thick porridge, "what is this?"

"Milk oatmeal," Li Wei said offhandedly. "With protein powder I won yesterday."

"I knew it. This stuff looks about as thick as what I put out," Don Quixote said, scooping up a spoonful before suddenly realizing something. "Wait, where did you win protein powder?"

"At a gym over in Sunset Park," Li Wei replied casually. "Some Latino guy lost to me, then went streaking."

Don Quixote nearly sprayed oatmeal everywhere. "What?!"

Li Wei sidestepped the attack and said calmly, "Relax. There are so many weirdos in New York. Isn't someone streaking perfectly normal?"

"I saw that video..." Don Quixote wiped his mouth with his short sleeve. "You actually beat him? He looked huge."

"I was born strong," Li Wei said casually. "By the way, can you quit your construction and dishwashing jobs?"

"Why?" Don Quixote asked instinctively. "What would I do if I quit? There aren't many places left that will hire me."

Li Wei briefly organized the wording he had worked out with Susan before saying, "I work at a boutique that serves rich women and wealthy people, and last time I met a rich lady there."

"And then? You agreed?" Don Quixote said excitedly. "Are you going to lead your dear uncle—that is, me—into the good life?"

"Back off! Don't spray spit on me!" Li Wei shoved Don Quixote back onto the couch in annoyance. "Not me. You. You're going to lead me into the good life. That rich lady seems to be planning to hire someone."

Then he told Don Quixote about a wealthy woman named Susan, who had casually mentioned while shopping at a buyer's boutique that she intended to hire a new accountant and inspector. Li Wei had then naturally recommended his uncle, Don Quixote.

"It does sound like a good fit for me." Don Quixote rubbed his hands together, clearly tempted. "But my credit score is so low. She might not trust me."

Thanks to your knight-rescues-witch act yesterday, Li Wei thought silently. She's very interested in you.

Or maybe she had been knocked stupid by that slap of yours.

Li Wei did not say anything else. After finishing his milk oatmeal, he tossed the bowl into the sink and headed out with Don Quixote to their part-time jobs.

On the subway, Li Wei hesitated between Strength and Mental Power, but ultimately decided to raise Strength to 3.0 first.

A Mental Power score of 1.5 was already more than enough to handle his current studies. Even getting a scholarship would be a piece of cake.

But in America—especially in Brooklyn—physical fitness was more important.

[Strength 1.5]--[Strength 1.6]

As the additional 0.1 attribute point was added to Strength, that familiar current of heat spread from Li Wei's spine all the way to his fingertips and toes.

He felt his body swell slightly with the increase in strength, then tighten and become more refined.

Since obtaining the system, his Strength attribute had doubled in just over two weeks, going from 0.8 to 1.6.

The loose T-shirt he used to wear was now stretched tight across his chest and lats. The fabric around the sleeves clung tightly to his upper arms, outlining contours as solid as armor.

Suddenly, the subway car began to sway. A three-hundred-pound Black man lost his balance as the car rocked and slammed heavily into Li Wei.

Bang!

Li Wei stood there without budging. Even the hand gripping the overhead rail did not move. The Black man who had crashed into him, on the other hand, felt as if he had run into a solid load-bearing pillar. The enormous recoil made his face twist in pain, and with a miserable cry, he tumbled into the seat across from him.

"You okay?" Li Wei held out a hand. "I'll pull you up."

Under the incredulous gazes of everyone in the subway car, Li Wei used only one arm to pull the man's three-hundred-pound body straight up from the floor, as easily as if he were lifting a pillow stuffed with cotton.

"Brother..." The man looked at the finger marks left on his wrist and swallowed. "You're really strong."

Li Wei merely smiled faintly without saying a word.

At Dolores's buyer's boutique that day, the owner, Mrs. Dolores, was still absent, and no customers came in.

Another day of mooching off the air conditioning while getting paid.

After roughly reviewing all the high school AP courses, Li Wei got together with Emma, another employee of Russian descent, and learned some distinctive Russian swear words.

In New York, if you did not know swear words in at least five languages, you would be embarrassed to call yourself someone living in the heart of the world.

Just as Emma was correcting Li Wei on how to pronounce "Suka blyat!" more like a genuine Russian, his phone rang.

It was Susan calling.