Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After the rugby ball was thrown, Westin chased after it with his cheeks puffed, running with all his might. Before the ball touched the ground, a lithe silhouette leaped in the air and tackled the ball. The cat opened its mouth wide and bit into the skin of the ball, trotting over to hand it over to Elena, who had been standing by the side.
Elena exclaimed in glee, “Wow, I got the ball!”
A boy rushed over and snatched the ball from her. Victoria chased after him and shouted, “Kent, you’re going to get in trouble!”
The boy turned to pass the ball to Westin and shouted as he did so, “Don’t even think of snatching the ball from me — oh, my god!”
Again, Ah Meow leaped up and intercepted the ball while it was still in the air. It tackled the ball down and carried it with its mouth to hand over to another girl. Westin sped towards Ah Meow to snatch the ball, running with all his might. “Out of the way, I’ll do this myself!”
After charging a short distance, a wolf the size of a calf appeared before him. It stared Westin down and bared its teeth at him. Westin was terrified. “D-don’t bite me, I’ll hand the ball over!”
A boy called out from behind him, “Westin, you coward, that’s Ah Ow. I know her, my mom loves her. She doesn’t bite, she’s a really nice wolfhound!”
Westin hollered back, “I’m the coward? I swear, Bacrot, you’re dead. I’ll give you a taste of the Westin Iron Fist right now!”
“If you’re not a coward, why are you scared of a wolfhound that doesn’t bite?”
“Let’s see if you say the same thing when you’re the one it’s staring down. It’s too scary!”
Li Du chuckled at the sight of the kids playing with Ah Meow, Ah Ow, and the bunch of the other little animals. He turned to Brother Wolf and said, “I have an idea, pal. I know how to surprise Victoria.”
Brother Wolf asked, “How?”
Li Du winked at him. “I won’t tell you just yet. Oh, right. Where are the pumpkins Sophie bought? I’m going to carve some.”
The pumpkins were in the ranch house, so he headed there with his carving knife to look for some long ones. He gauged the weight of the pumpkin and carried some over to start carving.
Brother Wolf offered, “Is there anything I can help with?”
Li Du heaved a sigh. “What can you help with? This is a promise I made, so I have to be the one to deal with it. Oh, right, could you call President Cole and ask him when he is free next month? I want to talk to him about business.”
Li Du spent the entire morning carving pumpkins. He thought about it for a while, then threaded some ropes through the pumpkins, hung a few lights, and installed the batteries. He turned the lights and the pumpkins were glowing in all sorts of colors. It looked pretty nice.
Lunchtime rolled around. Sophie had prepared a feast to entertain the children with. This was a very effective way of making friends, Li Du realized. Victoria and Elena had instantly become more popular in their little circle of classmates. The kids were young but clever — they already knew how important it was to befriend Elena and Victoria.
Of course, they were not far-sighted enough to realize the amount of help the two girls could provide throughout their career and life in the future. What they were thinking about was not that complicated — they were thinking of huge fields where they could run, big houses they could play in, new and novel toys they could amuse themselves with, and an endless supply of delicacies they could feast on. The teachers, too, treated the girls differently after realizing what their family background was like. It was only natural.
Sophie had prepared Halloween gifts for both the teachers and the children. She had both the time and the money, so whatever it was that she had prepared for them would definitely make them happy.
Some of the kids from families who were doing slightly better liked to exercise, so she played to that and sent them signed sneakers and sportswear from athletes like Kobe. Some of the kids liked television and movies, so she sent them posters and group photos signed by Hollywood celebrities like Brad Pitt. For the kids who came from families that were not as well-to-do, she prepared shopping vouchers. These would help their families spend a comfortable Christmas, which was just around the corner.
The majority of the gifts were costly, but neither the teachers nor the children had any qualms about accepting them. They knew full well that a family who lived in such a huge house had more than enough money; the presents, therefore, were not a significant expense for Li Du and Sophie.
They were preparing for the official celebration of Halloween in the evening, so the children went home to start dressing up. They would then head to the school for the party in the evening. After sending the children off, Sophie heaved a sigh of relief. She said, “Hey, do you think we did the right thing? Inviting the kids over when our family is like this?”
Li Du asked, “What do you mean?”
Sophie replied, “From an adult’s point of view, don’t you find this a little sad? The kids are aware of class differences at such a young age. They learn so early that their own lives are different from the lives other people lead, and the world holds no equality.”
Li Du shook his head. “I don’t think it’s sad at all. I think they’re much happier than I am, actually. When I was about their age, I thought I was no different from the kids who were around me. I thought there were no differences at all, from the lives we led to the background we came from, so I just played mindlessly without giving much thought, and look what happened.”
Lu Guan listened to his words and chimed in from the side, “You became really rich, that’s what. Even in a land of abundance and wonder like Los Angeles, you’re a legend in your own right.”
“That’s right, boss. We’re the ones who are sad, okay?” Young Markelov piped up. “You built your empire from scratch with your own hands. You’re the Chinese superstar, right? But what about us?”
The sadness was evident on Big Markelov’s face. “F*ck, if not for the fact that we met you by chance, we’d probably still be poaching in the forests and mountains. We’d probably just be waiting for the next time we fell gravely ill and tried to go to the hospital for treatment, but we wouldn’t make it, so we’d just end up dying in the wild.”
Brother Wolf said, “You’re going to make me cry with that sad story.”
“Isn’t Halloween all about crying anyway? Whether you cry because you’re scared or sad, it’s all the same.”
Li Du chuckled bitterly but did not say anything. He had gotten lucky and happened to have found the little bug, that was all. If not for the help of the little bug, he did not dare to imagine what his life today would be like.
Diploma Mill was forced to close down, and all the money he had spent on school fees and day-to-day living was washed down the drain instantly. He then resorted to unreported employment, but his student visa expired and he had to be deported back. Without the help of his studying credentials, he had as good as wasted two years abroad. He was in a plight worse than the university graduates who had opted to stay in the country to work right out of university!
A bunch of grown people here was lamenting about how difficult life was, while children like Victoria and Elena were over the moon. The two of them skipped over and asked, “Where’s the surprise?”
The two girls were each dressed up as a vampire and a witch respectively. Li Du brought them over to a ranch house that had been sealed off. He whispered to them, “There’s no surprise, but I do have something scary prepared. Climb up to the windows and tell me what you see.”
The sun had set, so only a dim light remained. The inside of the ranch house was pitch-black. The girls carefully climbed up to the window and peered in. they saw a few jack-o’-lanterns swinging freely in the dark!
The two girls were still surprised at the sight when a jack-o’-lantern leaped from somewhere and on to the windowsill to stare directly into their eyes. The girls were so scared they promptly burst into tears. “The jack-o’-lantern is alive!””They’ve turned into demons!”
