American Adventure: My Uncle is Don Quixote

From Battery City Park, heading north along the west side highway, it was about a 15 to 20-minute drive to 711 11th Avenue in Manhattan.

This was the Manhattan Automobile Company, New York City’s only official authorized dealership that carried top-tier brands like Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Bugatti, and Porsche all under one roof.

From the outside, the building didn’t look particularly opulent. It lacked the ostentatious feel of a Middle Eastern nouveau riche, instead presenting a minimalist, industrial glass-curtain-wall style.

But to occupy such a massive area in the incredibly expensive Midtown Manhattan was, in itself, a form of flaunting wealth and showing off.

When Li Wei got out of the taxi and pushed the door open to walk inside, he was wearing a simple dark pullover and sweatpants.

In a showroom where the average car price exceeded 200,000 USD, his appearance was somewhat out of place. He wasn’t accompanied by any elders, nor did he have a glamorous girl on his arm. He looked just like a college student.

"Good afternoon, sir," a tall saleswoman in a tight-fitting professional skirt suit approached him. She was a sweet-faced blonde with blue eyes. "My name is Chloe. Just looking around?"

Anyone working as a salesperson here naturally had to be attractive. Though her aura and looks were more than a couple of notches below Anya and Elizabeth, she was still considered pretty among white women.

But while the smile on her face was flawless, her body language betrayed her true attitude—she stood a few feet away from Li Wei with her arms crossed, making no move to ask him to sit or offer him a drink.

She had seen this handsome man get out of a taxi with her own eyes, and there wasn’t a trace of any luxury brands on him. If they were in a bar or a nightclub, she wouldn’t mind buying him a drink and seeing if something might happen. But right now, it was working hours, and she was a salesperson with a strong work ethic.

"I need a vehicle that weighs over 6,000 pounds." Li Wei only glanced at her before turning his attention back to the cars in the showroom, getting straight to the point.

Chloe paused for a moment, her expression turning a little more serious.

In a place like this, there was only one reason someone would make such a request: to take advantage of Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Service tax code for a large, full-price tax deduction.

She cleared her throat, making her voice sound even sweeter as she shifted into work mode. "For a tax write-off? It seems you have a good tax accountant."

She led Li Wei to the lounge area. "Why don’t we sit and chat? I can get you the brochures. We have the Cadillac Escalade-V and the Lincoln Navigator Black Label in stock. The out-the-door price is around 130,000 to 150,000 USD, which perfectly meets the 6,000-pound standard for the tax deduction."

"I already have two Cadillac Escalades," Li Wei said, shaking his head. "And 150,000 USD is too cheap. It’s not enough of a write-off for me. Do you have any other vehicles?"

Chloe paused, subtly sizing up Li Wei.

The young man’s body language was relaxed, and he spoke in a calm, unhurried manner. He was completely different from the young punks who just came in to look at cars.

’Could this really be a whale?’

Her voice immediately softened by an octave. "So you have a higher budget, my apologies. What would you like to drink? Perrier or freshly ground coffee?"

"Perrier will be fine," Li Wei nodded. "Thank you."

"Of course." Seeing this, Chloe was even more certain that Li Wei was a major client. "I’ll be right back."

She stood up, deliberately showing off the fine curves of her body, then CLICK-CLACKED away on her high heels to get a bottle of Perrier for Li Wei.

"The cars are over here." Swaying her hips, she led Li Wei on her high heels to the center of the showroom. "If your budget is in the 200,000 to 300,000 USD range, then we can look at some luxury or ultra-luxury brands."

"I personally recommend this Lamborghini Urus. It’s perfect for someone as young, successful, handsome, and charming as you," she said. "Or the Mercedes G63. Not only are both vehicles over 6,000 pounds, but they also have a high resale value, making them very cost-effective if you decide to trade them in later."

However, Li Wei opened the door of the Lamborghini Urus, took one look inside, and shook his head.

"The interior space is too cramped," he said. "And the back seat of a G63 isn’t exactly comfortable, either. Not good enough."

A flicker of confusion appeared in Chloe’s eyes. After all, for even the wealthier second-generation rich kids, these two cars were already top-of-the-line for daily driving.

’Besides, isn’t the whole point of driving a sports car the feeling of looking cool, showing off, and flexing on people? Why isn’t this young man in front of me satisfied with anything?’

Just as she was about to ask Li Wei for more details about his budget and requirements, the showroom’s main doors were pushed open again, and a young couple walked in.

The man had the typical look of a rich kid from the Celestial Dynasty. He was wearing a head-to-toe Louis Vuitton sweatsuit with large logos, glasses, and looked chubby and plain. The woman was a tall, attractive white girl—above average looking—clinging tightly to the man’s arm. Judging by her figure, she seemed to be a model.

The moment the female model stepped inside, her eyes scanned the showroom and instantly locked onto Li Wei.

Li Wei’s system-honed physique was perfectly toned, complemented by powerful arms that strained against his cuffs and a face that made men jealous and women cross their legs. To a model like her, who navigated the world of fame and fortune, he was fatally attractive.

She glanced discreetly at her boyfriend, and for a moment, even the money in his credit cards didn’t seem so appealing anymore.

"Honey, let’s go look at the SUVs over there," the model said, expressionlessly pulling the rich kid straight toward Li Wei and Chloe. "You’re going to be here for a few more years, you can’t get by without a car."

Her rich-kid boyfriend, however, was a little confused, because they had originally come to look at coupes.

But when he followed his girlfriend’s gaze, he immediately understood why. A strong sense of insecurity and jealousy instantly washed over him.

In the food chain of North American international student circles, his natural predator was this type of physically strong, handsome, and highly aggressive alpha male of the same ethnicity. He keenly sensed that not only was his own girlfriend staring, but even the foreign saleswoman, who was better-looking and had a better figure than his girlfriend, was unconsciously leaning toward the other man.

Chloe turned to look at the couple—focusing mainly on the man—and her professional radar immediately went wild.

’This is a big one.’ She expertly put on an enthusiastic smile, without the slightest intention of passing them off to her colleague who was secretly smoking weed outside. Instead, she pulled them into the conversation. "You two have excellent taste. This gentleman and I were just looking at this Lamborghini Urus Performante. It’s in stock, with the full carbon fiber package. There’s also a fully loaded G63 right next to it."

The young man walked over slowly and commented in heavily accented and clearly unpracticed English, "I already have a G63 in the Celestial Dynasty. The suspension is a bit stiff, not very comfortable. I mainly wanted to look at other cars today."

After speaking, he threw a subtle glance at Li Wei, trying to spot a trace of inferiority or surprise on his face in order to reclaim some of his own pride and win the attention of those around him.

But Li Wei didn’t even spare him a glance.

He circled the Lamborghini Urus, having to admit that Lamborghini really knew how to build a car. It was undeniably cool, no question about it. But just like when he’d ridden in Sebastian’s Aventador, it was simply uncomfortable for his 6’2" frame and broad shoulders.

Lamborghinis are all designed with a fastback roofline; if he sat inside, he’d have to drive with his head bowed.

"This car isn’t for me," he said, shaking his head. "It’s still too small."

Seeing that Li Wei was even dissatisfied with the Lamborghini, Chloe felt a pang of regret, sensing that she probably wouldn’t be able to close the deal with him today.

However, the chubby guy at his side, as if deliberately trying to contradict Li Wei, suddenly turned to his girlfriend, who was blatantly staring at Li Wei’s pecs and ass, and said:

"I think this car is pretty good. What do you think, Emily? It’s a Lamborghini, after all."

Emily, the chubby guy’s girlfriend, reluctantly dragged her gaze away from Li Wei’s crotch and looked lovingly at the rich kid. "Of course... I mean, it’s a Lamborghini."

Chloe was a sharp salesperson.

She saw right through it. The slightly chubby guy had been triggered into a pissing contest by Li Wei. Seeing his girlfriend’s eyes practically glued to Li Wei, he was deliberately contradicting him to show off.

But it didn’t matter. She was more focused on how to sell this 350,000 USD car that they had in stock.

"You’re absolutely right," she said, seizing the opportunity. A brilliant smile bloomed on her face as she began to fan the flames. "This Urus Performante is the only one currently available in all of Manhattan. With your distinguished air, and this beautiful lady in the passenger seat, you’ll be the center of attention in all of New York."

Hearing this, Emily hugged the chubby guy’s arm without a word, just giving him meaningful looks.

As the chubby guy’s senior and girlfriend, she knew all too well that families from the Celestial Dynasty who could afford to send their kids to study in New York were either rich or powerful.

She had once asked a girl from the Celestial Dynasty studying art at New York University how much she spent in New York in a year. The girl had casually replied that she didn’t know, but estimated it was around 2 million yuan.

At the time, Emily, who had just started college and was already stressed about her student loans of over a hundred thousand USD, had heard this and cursed the fact that she was born in the United States of America instead of the Celestial Dynasty.

She had met the chubby guy in front of her at the coffee shop where she worked. If his family’s level of wealth were in the United States of America, a common redneck girl from Texas like her probably wouldn’t even be able to get close to his neighborhood.

She’d probably be driven away by the community police as soon as she got near. If she didn’t leave, she might suffer from acute, massive lead poisoning.

In truth, she didn’t even like the chubby guy, but she had still taken a day off to go car shopping with him, largely because she wanted to figure out the extent of his family’s wealth and see if he was worth betting big on.

If he could really buy this car, and if he really did have a G63 back home like he claimed... A glint flashed in her eyes. She wouldn’t mind getting pregnant next year, during college, and then following him back to his country to leapfrog social classes.

After all, she was saddled with over a hundred thousand USD in student loans. If she could go with him to the Celestial Dynasty, they would be wiped clean, and she’d get to live a good life on top of it. It didn’t sound too bad.