第40章 男人花期就这么几年(2.7k更新)

"Super pretty?" Li Wei asked with a smile. "Can she be prettier than my sister Emma?"

"Stop with the sweet talk," Emma rolled her eyes at him. "I have no intention of cheating on my boyfriend."

The boutique was quiet, with few customers. Mrs. Dolores had stepped out for an errand, leaving only him and Emma in the shop.

The two sat in the lounge area behind the fitting rooms. It was a blind spot for the store's security cameras and a "gossip sanctuary" Emma had carved out for herself.

"Here, half for each of us," Emma said, bringing over three boxes of macarons and a bottle of champagne from the pantry. "Take this box home when you finish your shift. I'm getting older, so I can't eat too many."

"What does age have to do with it?" Li Wei took a box, pulled out a lemon-yellow macaron, and tossed it into his mouth. "Hiss... so sweet."

"I'm of Russian descent," Emma sighed. "If I don't watch it, I'll really turn into a fat lady after I get married."

"Fine," Li Wei said, pushing his box back toward Emma. "Now, back to that super pretty girl. What are her features?"

"Features..." Emma thought for a moment. "Blonde, tall, blue eyes, very classy, and very lively."

"Right!" The more she thought about it, the more excited she became. She slapped Li Wei on the back hard. "She's coming back tomorrow! She said she might buy a necklace, too!"

After the slap, Emma gasped and rubbed her reddened palm. "Are you wearing a bulletproof vest to work? Why is your body so hard?"

Li Wei realized he had forgotten to deactivate his Knight's Body. He mumbled something vague to brush the topic aside.

"You can talk all you want, but why are you so excited?" he asked casually. "What does that have to do with me?"

At these words, Emma immediately wore an expression of "frustration at his lack of ambition," as if she were pained by a pig of her own refusing to root for the cabbage in someone else's field.

"It's a waste of that face and body of yours," she poked Li Wei's cheek. "You don't want to hook a wealthy, pretty lady, and you're content just rotting here as a shop clerk?"

"Let me tell you a secret," she lowered her voice. "I saw it when she swiped her card this morning. She didn't even blink when she spent 62,058.75 dollars on an Hermès crocodile-skin Kelly bag with diamond hardware."

"Why the exact change?" Li Wei laughed in spite of himself. "Does she count every cent?"

"It includes tax," Emma blinked and continued. "Think about it. Buying an Hermès is like buying groceries to her, and she's so beautiful. If you could start a relationship with her, you might even get to drive her Ferrari or something."

Hearing Emma's words, Li Wei's mind naturally conjured an image of a cruel, shallow, and arrogant rich kid.

He shook his head. "Forget it. I can earn my own way; I don't like relying on others."

For the rest of the shift, Emma ate macarons with a pained expression, lecturing Li Wei on how a man's prime years were short and he needed to seize the opportunity, or else he wouldn't be able to land a "soft meal" once he passed twenty-five.

Then, after she finished nearly two boxes of macarons, she blamed Li Wei for letting her eat so much, complaining that she would have to spend time working out tonight.

Three hours later.

Li Wei had served zero customers, earned 72 dollars in post-tax income, taken home a box of macarons worth 100 dollars, and carried away the remaining half-bottle of champagne. He left the boutique feeling satisfied.

By the time he finished dinner and returned to Bay Ridge, Don Quixote had also returned home from Dyker Heights.

"Try these. I brought them back from the shop," Li Wei pointed to the box on the table. "They cost ten dollars a piece at wholesale."

"Ten dollars? Damn... I hate rich people," Don Quixote opened the box and tossed one into his mouth. "Damn, this is good... can you get some more tomorrow?"

Before Li Wei could answer, he had already popped the second and third ones into his mouth.

"We'll see. A customer bought some stuff and left these behind," Li Wei watched Don Quixote's cheeks bulge. "Can you guys actually handle things this sweet? I really don't understand what's so good about them."

"What's the problem?" Don Quixote wiped his mouth. "Next time I'll take you out for some American snacks, and you'll see."

Li Wei didn't need to guess to know that the "American snacks" would be calorie bombs that could kill you with sweetness—like marshmallows dipped in chocolate sauce even sweeter than Ferrero Rocher, stuffed into one's mouth by the handful.

America had its own national conditions. The only reason Don Quixote had stayed thin before was that he did heavy manual labor every day and occasionally had to sell his blood to make ends meet.

Now, in less than two weeks, his physique had visibly started to fill out.

Li Wei waved his hand to firmly decline Don Quixote's suggestion, returned to his room on the second floor, and continued studying Russian and memorizing the contents of his tactical manual.

Around two in the morning, Li Wei heard rustling sounds coming from downstairs again.

When he dressed and went down, he found that Don Quixote was holding an iron rod.

God knows where he had gotten it.

"Long time no see, my friend!" Don Quixote's tone was very light. "Are you ready to embark on an expedition with me?"

"I am ready, Sir Don Quixote," Li Wei asked curiously. "But may I ask—where did you get that sword in your hand?"

"This is a family heirloom sword I dug out of the castle!" Don Quixote swung it excitedly, nearly shattering a lamp in the room. "How about it? Is it sharp? It's imbued with magic! It can pierce the tough skin of the witch's minions."

"But hasn't the witch already been defeated?" Li Wei sighed and asked. "Has she returned?"

"Indeed, my friend," Don Quixote walked toward the door. "What we defeated last time was not the witch's true form. Her true form is on the other side of the continent, and it will take a long time to reach her."

Fearing that he might accidentally break something or run into an unlucky passerby while sleepwalking, Li Wei hurried out after him.

The wind blew through Bay Ridge at two in the morning, and the streetlights cast lonely, yellowish shadows.

The night air already carried a hint of chill, and the scent of the familiar sea breeze hung in the air.

Don Quixote gripped the iron rod he had scavenged from the basement tightly, walking forward with his head held high, while Li Wei followed at a leisurely pace.

As they walked, the two reached a street corner.

Directly under a streetlight, a red fire hydrant stood silently.

Due to years of neglect, much of the red paint had peeled away, revealing a mottled base that looked somewhat eerie in the dim light.

"Watch out!" Don Quixote lowered his voice. "The border guards have appeared. Red dwarves sent by the witch."

Li Wei followed his gaze; in his eyes, it was nothing more than a peeling fire hydrant.

[You have received a quest: Advance]

[The witch's minions are constantly watching Sir Don Quixote's territory. You cannot advance without defeating it.]

[Quest reward: Free attribute point +0.1]

"Let me handle him!"

Don Quixote let out a low growl and prepared to rush forward, swinging his "sword."

Li Wei was startled. If he actually smashed the fire hydrant, the homeowners' association would be at their door with a sky-high bill the next day.

"Let me do it!" Li Wei stepped forward. "We need to save our strength for what lies ahead. This dwarf looks like an intelligent creature; perhaps we can negotiate!"

"Negotiate?" Don Quixote froze, his iron rod hanging in mid-air.

"That's right. We are knights now, and he is certainly no match for us," Li Wei bluffed, pulling the wrapper of the macaron he had eaten earlier from his pocket and walking toward the hydrant. "Hellish red dwarf, as long as you sign this contract, we will spare you."

Li Wei spoke in an extremely low and intimidating tone, rubbing the lemon-scented wrapper against the hydrant's nozzle as if submitting a contract.

He turned back and gave Don Quixote an "OK" sign.

Don Quixote kept his eyes tightly shut, staring fixedly at the hydrant.

"He knows his place," he said. "Let's go. I hope he adheres to the terms of the contract."

[Quest: Advance completed]

[Reward: 0.1 free attribute point issued]

Li Wei watched Don Quixote's back, picked up the wrapper from the ground, and hurried to catch up.

After wandering the neighborhood for a while longer, Sir Don Quixote's adventure for the day ended, and they returned home.

Li Wei looked at the 0.3 attribute points on his status panel, planning to wait until the barbell and power rack he had ordered arrived before allocating them.

As he went to sleep that night, Li Wei thought of what Emma had said that afternoon.

"To have even the beautiful Emma call her super pretty..." he closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep. "I should go take a look tomorrow morning."