American Adventure: My Uncle is Don Quixote

Li Wei steered with one hand, bringing the Koenigsegg to a steady stop at a red light.

He turned and saw Jin Heon’s guarded expression and tense posture, immediately understanding what was going through her mind.

"Don’t overthink it," he said lightly. "I asked the butler this morning, and he said all the parking spots in the apartment’s garage are rented out. I couldn’t renew my lease. So besides the Cadillac Escalade, should I have taken the Cullinan or this car out?"

He patted the Koenigsegg’s steering wheel.

"This thing costs three million USD," he paused, "starting."

The number was so large that three million USD didn’t feel real to Jin Heon, but it did make her tense nerves relax a little.

"Besides, the 911 was a gift from Uncle Don Quixote," Li Wei added after a pause. "I don’t want to just sell it off."

Jin Heon accepted his reasoning. After all, the way he looked at her was different from other men.

Any other man, when she had proactively asked him for a job, wouldn’t have said, "Job interviews for the barbecue restaurant are on the second floor."

But thinking of this, she felt a slight twinge of dissatisfaction.

’Aigoo, what’s with him? Am I not pretty?’

With this complex mix of relief and slight resentment, Jin Heon silently stuffed the car key, with its Porsche crest, into her coat pocket.

The key felt heavy against her fingertips, an utterly surreal sensation.

The Koenigsegg weaved smoothly through the streets of Manhattan, quickly approaching Lupa, an Italian bistro in Greenwich Village.

Jin Heon still hadn’t realized just how eye-catching the car was.

As the Koenigsegg slowed, pedestrians and the people at Lupa’s outdoor tables—students and workers leisurely sipping hot cocoa and eating cold cuts—all instinctively turned to stare. They recognized the hypercar from the end of *Fast & Furious 5*, where it appears after the team splits their money, and they couldn’t help but gawk.

The car came to a steady stop in the valet parking area.

Jin Heon took a deep breath and stepped out of the car in her high heels.

She had been here a few times with her classmates from New York University, but back then, she was just an ordinary, pretty college student who was careful with her money, so she hadn’t caused much of a stir.

But today, as she stepped out of the car, the surrounding gazes—unabashedly full of amazement, curiosity, and even awe—hit her like a spotlight.

’Oh my god... this is so over-the-top.’

She felt a flush creep up her cheeks and lowered her head, a little embarrassed.

But deep down, it felt like fizzy soda was bubbling up inside her—the vanity of being the center of attention was actually quite exhilarating.

She followed closely behind Li Wei’s tall figure, quickly pulling out her phone as she walked. She opened the front-facing camera and used the screen’s faint light to quickly check her face.

’Xiaojin, oh, Xiaojin,’ she grumbled to herself in frustration, ’why did you have to be so lazy today? If I’d known the boss was going to pick me up in a car of this caliber, I wouldn’t have just put on a thin layer of foundation! I should have at least worn my most expensive Tom Ford lipstick!’

Using the front-facing camera, she quickly neatened her long, pink-streaked hair, which had been messed up by the wind.

Entering the restaurant, the waiters’ eyes lit up at the sight of the handsome man and beautiful woman. Then, they stared at Li Wei’s face and blinked hard.

Li Wei, wearing a baseball cap, raised an index finger to his lips.

"You can have a photo and an autograph," he said in a low voice, "but could you find us a quiet table first?"

The waiter felt like he was about to faint.

’Oh my god! It’s Li Wei! I’m actually lucky enough to be serving Li Wei! The Giants’ Quarterback! The god of the NFL! The hero of New York!’

He pressed the menu against his chest to contain his wildly beating heart and, feeling light-headed, led Li Wei and Jin Heon to a four-person booth in a corner, partially hidden by a pillar.

Li Wei glanced at the menu before handing it to Jin Heon. "I’ve never been here. You can order."

Jin Heon flipped through the menu and, with practiced ease, ordered Lupa’s signature potato gnocchi, a prosciutto platter, and two orders of the chef’s recommended risotto from the waiter, whose hands were trembling with excitement.

The total was just over 80 USD. The restaurant was known for being one of the more affordable and tasty spots in the area.

After ordering, she cupped a hot coffee with both hands and sat directly across from Li Wei, her gaze secretly drifting over to study her boss.

Today, Li Wei wasn’t in his on-field armor or a suit. He was just wearing a high-quality gray cashmere sweater and a baseball cap.

’Aish... how can he be so handsome?’

Feeling it was a bit inappropriate to keep staring at Li Wei, Jin Heon thought for a moment and started a conversation.

"Boss, besides playing games, what have you been busy with lately?"

"Lately?" Li Wei took a sip of the lemonade on the table. "I’m preparing for final exams. It’s finals week, you know."

"Final exams?" Jin Heon blinked her big, pretty eyes, finally processing a fact she had subconsciously ignored: this big boss in front of her—who spent money like water, was a tyrant on the NFL field, and had over 10 million fans online—was actually a current student at Yale University! And he wasn’t even 19 yet!

And she, Jin Heon, was already 22!

In the strict hierarchical culture of South Korea, where age determines seniority, she was technically the "older sister" to this powerful man.

Jin Heon’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. This extreme contrast between his status and their ages sent an indescribable, secret thrill through her, as if she had flipped some kind of forbidden switch.

Jin Heon suddenly broke into a silly grin, which she quickly noticed and covered with her hand.

Fortunately, Li Wei hadn’t seen her embarrassing expression. He was currently looking past her, out the window.

Jin Heon followed Li Wei’s gaze and saw an equally ostentatious SUV carefully parking next to the Koenigsegg—it was the only spot with enough room in front and behind it for another vehicle.

The door opened, and a chubby young man jumped out of the driver’s seat, followed by a tall, strikingly dressed blonde girl from the passenger side.

The moment they got out of the car, their attention was completely captivated by the Koenigsegg next to them.

The chubby guy was so excited the flesh on his face was practically trembling. He pulled the blonde girl over and had her take several pictures of him with the car.

Li Wei watched the comical figure outside, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes beneath his baseball cap.

"Boss, do you know them?" Jin Heon asked softly, having keenly caught the change in Li Wei’s expression.

"An international student from the Celestial Dynasty I met before. His name is Gao Ping," Li Wei answered casually. "The day I met you, I was having barbecue with them in K-Town."

He’d met this chubby guy a few times before—first when he was buying his Rolls-Royce, and then they’d gone for a mountain drive once. That was also the day he met Jin Heon.

He glanced around. It was the peak of the lunch rush, and the Lupa bistro was completely full, with a line even starting to form outside.

Li Wei raised his hand, beckoning over the excited waiter who was hovering nearby. He pointed to Gao Ping and his girlfriend, Emily, who were walking in from outside. "If there are no seats left, bring them over to our table. I know them."

The waiter immediately complied, ignoring a call from another table and hurrying toward the entrance.

Seeing this, Jin Heon, showing great professionalism and perception, vacated her seat. She stood up, shifted over, and moved from her spot across from Li Wei to the seat right beside him.

Because the four-person booth was designed to be compact, as Jin Heon moved, her thigh, clad in slim-fit jeans, inevitably brushed lightly against Li Wei’s leg in his casual pants.

The moment they touched, Jin Heon felt a warmth transfer through the fabric. In the early December chill of New York, Li Wei’s body was like a personal furnace, endlessly radiating an incredibly reassuring warmth.

This close proximity, the scent of male pheromones, and the difference in their body temperatures made Jin Heon’s recently calmed heart begin to race again uncontrollably.