Chapter 379 - 244: Especially Satisfying, an Absolute Blast
"Boss..." Jin Heon took a deep breath, her voice barely a whisper. "It’s not that it’s a hassle. It’s... I did the math, and I don’t think I can afford to maintain that car."
She’d finally said it.
Jin Heon felt her face flush. Admitting she couldn’t even afford two thousand USD a month for the car’s upkeep was deeply humiliating, as if the professional image she’d just started to build had come crashing down around her.
"Why worry about something like that?" Li Wei said, shaking his head. "Did you really think I’d make my own employee pay out of pocket to maintain my car for me?"
Jin Heon snapped her head up, her eyes filled with confusion as she looked at Li Wei.
"Don’t worry about it. Just drive," Li Wei said, glancing at her while they waited at a red light. "The car’s insurance, gas, car washes, and the cost of the dedicated parking spot you’ll rent near campus—it’ll all be covered as an additional employee benefit. I’ll have Uncle Don Quixote transfer 2,000 USD from my personal account to your card every month. I imagine that should be enough."
Li Wei had already done the math. At a high-end place like the Fortress City Apartments, a parking spot alone cost more than 2,000 USD a month. Rather than let the car sit there collecting dust, it was better to let Jin Heon drive it and build some employee loyalty at the same time.
If a car just sits there without being driven or maintained, it’s bound to develop all sorts of problems.
Hearing that Li Wei would cover the costs, the mountain weighing on Jin Heon’s heart instantly shattered, replaced by a dizzying sense of bliss.
With a 2,000 USD subsidy, Xiaojin was fully revived.
At two in the afternoon, Jin Heon learned from Chen Haisheng where the 911 was being charged and serviced, and drove the Porsche out of the dealership.
The 6-cylinder boxer engine let out a crisp roar. Gripping the steering wheel, Jin Heon was so excited she nearly screamed.
She cautiously drove the sports car out of the dealership and onto the streets of Manhattan.
At first, she was so nervous her palms were sweating. Her hands were clamped around the steering wheel in a death grip, terrified of accidentally scraping one of the cars beside her.
But after a few blocks, she noticed something strange.
On these congested, aggressive New York streets, where taxi drivers charged about recklessly, the surrounding cars were all, as if by some unspoken agreement, keeping a safe distance from her.
The pickup trucks that normally would have been laying on their horns were now unusually docile. Some cars even pulled aside to let her pass.
An indescribable feeling crept up her spine and tugged at the corners of her mouth.
When she drove to South Washington Square Street and pulled up in front of the New York University dorms, the strange feeling intensified. But she felt something was still missing, like it needed one final touch.
It was an afternoon when classes were out, and students milled about in front of the dorms.
Jin Heon took a deep breath, killed the engine, pushed the door open, and stepped out gracefully in her high heels.
Instead of heading upstairs immediately, she stood by the side of the road, turned, and quietly gazed at the car that was now *hers*.
Fresh from a full detailing and service at the dealership, the Porsche 911 reflected a dazzling metallic sheen under New York’s pale winter sun.
Its iconic frog-eye headlights were crystal clear. The sleek, captivating fastback lines flowed smoothly into the sexy, full-width taillight bar. Even the wide, forged rims were polished spotless. The whole car exuded the captivating allure of money perfectly blended with top-tier industrial design.
As Jin Heon stared, she felt that this perfect scene was still missing something.
She glanced down at her empty hands, and it suddenly dawned on her.
’I’ve only had one cup of coffee today,’ she realized. ’Normally I’d be on my third by now.’
She didn’t head for the Starbucks where she always got the cheapest Americano. Instead, she walked toward a boutique coffee shop on the corner, one with minimalist decor that she would normally never set foot in.
The prices on the wall menu made her jump the moment she walked in, but she quickly composed herself and said,
"I’ll have a pour-over Geisha, thank you."
A coffee that cost 28 USD after tax was certainly not cheap. But when her card went through, she looked at her six-figure bank balance. The solid, unmoving weight of that number, barely dented by the purchase, sent a strange tingle through her fingertips.
She had to fight the urge to hum a smug little tune.
She walked back down the street at a leisurely pace, holding the expensive coffee with its gold-foil logo and alluring, fruity aroma.
As she neared the dorm, Jin Heon stopped. Standing about a dozen yards away, she quietly admired the 911.
By now, the Porsche, parked so conspicuously in front of the NYU dorm with its unfamiliar plates, had become the center of attention on the street.
Passing students—from the typically arrogant frat boys to the everyday sorority girls with their backpacks—all slowed their pace as they walked by the gleaming sports car, stealing a glance or two.
Some looked on with curiosity, others with envy.
A few guys were even gathered nearby, pointing and discussing the car’s options and model.
Jin Heon stood quietly under a bare oak tree, sipping her 28-dollar coffee, and watched it all. She watched everyone crowd around the car *she* had driven here.
An unprecedented wave of pride erupted from the depths of her soul like a tsunami, filling her chest.
’Yes, she was clear-headed about it. She knew her name wasn’t on the car’s title. She knew it belonged to her younger boss.’
’But so what?’
’Right now, the heavy, Porsche-crested key is sitting right there in my pocket.’
’At least for this one moment, a moment where everyone is looking on with envy and admiration, the car belongs to me. To Jin Heon.’
Jin Heon took a delicate sip of the warm coffee. The expensive liquid slid down her throat, spreading a soothing warmth through her stomach.
She lifted her delicate chin slightly, letting the pale, cool December sun wash over her shoulders and hair without reservation.
’It’s so warm.’
She closed her pretty, crescent-shaped eyes in contentment. In the bone-chilling New York winter, she felt warm all over.
If someone were to ask her how she felt at this moment, she would say she felt—
Incredible. Fucking incredible.
’So this is what it feels like to have money. It feels so fucking good.’
’Fuck.’