Chapter 278 - 174: The Biggest Reward Ever
The moment she spoke in perfect, fluent Chinese, not only was Gao Ping startled, but even Li Wei couldn’t help but look up.
"Oh! Oh my goodness," Gao Ping stammered, his face flushing bright red. "H-h-hello... I’m Gao Ping. Your Chinese is incredible."
"I learned it just for him," Anya said, glancing at Li Wei before turning to Chloe. "Do you have any water? Could you get me two bottles?"
In just a few sentences, she had effortlessly become the center of attention.
Chloe was also very generous with a major client, immediately having someone place a full case of champagne and Perrier in the trunk of Li Wei’s car as a thank you.
Li Wei drove the Cullinan, pulling smoothly out of the Manhattan Automobile Company. He merged into the traffic on the wide street before turning onto bustling Fifth Avenue.
"What about your Bentley?" Li Wei asked, watching the other car disappear. "Did Kaja take it?"
"Yes, she came with me," Anya said, giving him directions. "Turn right in two blocks."
It was afternoon, and the New York sun filtered through the dense forest of skyscrapers, casting sharp patterns of light and shadow across the street.
The road was lined with flagship stores for the world’s top luxury brands, their street-front windows displaying the season’s most expensive items.
But even in Manhattan, a place teeming with billionaires and luxury cars, a full-sized Rolls-Royce Cullinan with temporary plates and a mirror-like finish still had an unparalleled, commanding presence.
The driver of a Ford pickup in the next lane deliberately steered away, creating a gap of half a car’s length, terrified of the slightest scrape.
While waiting at a red light, pedestrians in the crosswalk turned to stare. Many tourists with backpacks stopped in their tracks, raising their phones to take pictures of the Cullinan.
Anya glanced at Li Wei.
Without a word, Li Wei got the hint and slowed the car to a crawl, ensuring they soaked up as much attention as possible from the tourists and pedestrians.
’Isn’t this the whole point of buying a luxury car?’
Anya, looking satisfied, skillfully connected her phone via Bluetooth and put on a bass-heavy EA7 track.
This was the most advanced feature of the Rolls-Royce’s infotainment system—it could connect to Bluetooth.
"Just ahead at that intersection. Pull over on the right."
Anya pointed to a nearby high-end French children’s boutique called "Bonpoint."
The shop was situated in a prime location on Fifth Avenue. Its understated, cream-colored, vintage facade exuded a sense of luxury, and the window displayed a few articles of baby clothing that looked shockingly expensive.
Li Wei pulled the car over to the curb and turned on the hazard lights.
"I’m just picking something up. I’ll be quick." Anya unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the door, and walked into the boutique.
She had previously ordered a fully hand-embroidered cashmere infant set and a pure vicuña wool baby blanket. This wool, which comes from an animal related to what netizens in the Celestial Dynasty call the "grass mud horse," is known as the "fiber of the gods." A single baby blanket costs upwards of several thousand USD.
Li Wei sat in the car and lowered the window slightly, allowing the warm breeze and the aroma of coffee from the street to drift inside.
In New York, as long as you could afford the ticket or had a sufficiently imposing presence, a traffic cop usually wouldn’t rush over to make you move a temporarily parked Rolls-Royce.
If it had been a Chevrolet, a cop would have likely shown up in under five minutes.
He casually glanced around.
Just then, the effect of the [Ring of All Things Smooth] mysteriously activated. A subtle intuition flashed through Li Wei’s mind. His gaze drifted across the sidewalk and landed on an inconspicuous shop diagonally opposite, its storefront decorated with dark oak and vintage brass.
It was a high-end traditional cigar club and retail shop. Through the dark glass, he could vaguely make out the humidors inside.
’Mark seems to really like cigars...’ Li Wei suddenly recalled their time at the Fan Yan Resort in Utah (Chapter 147). Mark had been smoking one cigar after another.
At that moment, he had a sudden feeling that walking into this shop would very likely solve his predicament of not having a gift prepared.
He opened the car door, crossed the street, and pushed open the heavy glass door of the shop.
He was greeted by a rich, mellow aroma—a mixture of cedar, leather, and high-quality fermented tobacco. The lighting inside was dim, and an older white man in a vest was organizing paperwork behind the counter.
"Good afternoon, young man. What can I do for you?" the manager asked, looking up.
"I need a gift for a friend who enjoys cigars," Li Wei said, getting straight to the point. "Preferably something on the rarer side, with some collectible value."
The manager paused for a moment, then a surprised smile spread across his face. "Sir, your timing is almost enviably perfect. Just fifteen minutes ago, a Wall Street hedge fund manager canceled his order for a premium item. I was just about to return it to our private catalog."
With that, the manager put on a pair of gloves, turned, and retrieved a precious ebony cigar box from the humidor behind him, placing it on a velvet cushion.
"The Davidoff Platinum Series. Fermented from the finest 2002 Dominican tobacco leaf, hand-rolled by the master roller Eladio Diaz himself after a blind tasting. This is a complete, limited-edition box of ten," the manager said, opening the box with pride and care. "Its original owner waited a full eight months for it. But right now, you can take it with you for just 5,500 USD."
Li Wei didn’t understand a word of what the man was saying, but he trusted the effect of his ring. Without a second thought, he paid with his card and left.