American Adventure: My Uncle is Don Quixote

The emergency room of New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital was filled with the sound of hurried footsteps and stifled moans.

Chen Haisheng was still in a deep coma when he arrived by ambulance.

However, the on-duty triage nurse simply followed procedure, checking his vital signs and entering an ESI (Emergency Severity Index) Level 2 assessment into the system before pushing his gurney to an observation area in a corner of the ER hallway.

"The initial head CT scan shows no acute epidural or subdural hematoma. It’s a severe concussion with transient loss of consciousness. He’ll need a secondary evaluation from a neurology attending physician."

Facing Lin Daohang’s anxious pleas, the black nurse repeated the standard script of the United States of America’s medical system, her expression flat. "But it’s nighttime, the specialists have already gone home, and the ER is currently at full capacity. Please wait patiently in the observation area for him to be seen."

Although Lin Daohang held considerable sway in Chinese circles and the chamber of commerce, his influence was useless against the rigid procedures of the mainstream medical system in the United States of America.

In the United States of America, unless it was an immediately life-threatening gunshot wound or massive hemorrhage, long waits in the emergency room were the norm.

"Miss, we can pay for everything out of pocket. Just please help us call the specialist back in."

Lin Daohang’s heart ached as he looked at the unconscious Chen Haisheng.

The black nurse looked up at Lin Daohang, her eyes filled with impatience.

"Sir, this is a hospital emergency room, not a hot dog stand where you can haggle."

She berated Lin Daohang, her thick finger tapping on the triage classification chart on the wall.

"The hospital strictly adheres to medical triage protocols. This patient’s vital signs are currently stable, and he is not at immediate risk of death. Here, the only criterion for medical priority is the severity of a patient’s condition, not the size of their bank account. Even if you slapped a million US Dollars on the table right now, you couldn’t cut in line ahead of other patients facing cardiac arrest or massive hemorrhage."

Looking at the unconscious Chen Haisheng, Lin Daohang was like a cat on a hot tin roof, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.

"If it comes to it," a coach next to him said in a low voice, "should we take him back to Chinatown? There are some doctors there..."

Li Wei stood to the side, watching the unconscious Chen Haisheng and the frantic Lin Daohang, who was making calls all over the place. He stepped into a corner, took out his phone, and dialed Director Harrison of the Specialized Surgical Hospital.

As the number one orthopedics and sports rehabilitation hospital in the nation, he believed Harrison had enough connections and influence to resolve this minor issue.

"Director Harrison? It’s me. Sorry to call you so late..." Li Wei quickly explained the situation. "I’m with a friend at the hospital. Mhmm... he’s a boxer. He got KO’d and is now lying in Presbyterian Hospital, and the nurse here is saying..."

Less than twenty minutes after he hung up the phone, the stalemate in the hallway was broken by the sound of rapid footsteps. The night-shift administrative director of Presbyterian Hospital, flanked by two senior head nurses, rushed over, not even having had time to button his white coat.

After checking the situation in the ER, the executive—who was usually condescending toward ordinary patients—walked straight up to Li Wei and immediately put on an extremely humble smile.

He bowed slightly. "Mr. Li, I am so sorry for making your friend wait! This was a mistake on the part of our triage system. Director Harrison just called me personally. I’ve already recalled the associate chief of neurosurgery from his leave and prepared a VIP suite for you."

Under Lin Daohang’s stunned and complex gaze, the ER staff who had previously refused to budge, citing "protocol" and "doctors being off-duty," quickly made way. Chen Haisheng was given the green light all the way to the elevator and taken directly to the special care unit, which had its own private security and a full suite of top-of-the-line monitoring equipment.

「A few hours later, in the VIP suite.」

On the hospital bed, Chen Haisheng’s finger twitched. Then, he slowly opened his left eye, the one not completely covered by gauze.

"You’re awake?" Lin Daohang’s expression flickered. He shot up excitedly, but then his face hardened, and he fell back into his habit of scolding him. "What kind of hero were you trying to be? You almost got yourself killed."

"That black guy fought dirty, cutting that much weight..." Chen Haisheng muttered. "If we were in the same weight class, I might not have lost to him."

"Don’t embarrass yourself," Lin Daohang snorted. "You don’t have the talent for it. Just focus on recovering and forget about the upcoming fights."

"No!" Chen Haisheng gritted his teeth, trying to sit up in bed. "I still have a chance! I can challenge him again next month."

Hearing this, Li Wei actually put down his phone and gave the man a look of newfound respect.

’Putting aside everything else, this Chen Haisheng is one reckless bastard. Not afraid of death at all.’

He looked at the requirements on his mission panel. It seemed the honor Chen Haisheng was chasing was the New York Golden Gloves championship.

’But what can I teach him?’ Li Wei looked at his skill panel, momentarily at a loss.

’[Knight Fighting Art]?’

Li Wei looked at his passive skill. It seemed to be the only one even remotely related to boxing.

"By the way, Hai Sheng," Lin Daohang said, "you should thank Mr. Li. If it weren’t for him, you’d still be waiting in the hallway."

Chen Haisheng looked at Li Wei, who appeared much younger than him. With an awkward expression, he lowered his head and said, "Thank you, Mr. Li Wei."

"Don’t mention it," Li Wei nodded, then added, "When you’ve recovered, I can spar with you a bit."

Chen Haisheng was taken aback. Of course, he knew the young man before him was a colossal star in the NFL, a rising sun in his field.

But different professions are worlds apart. He didn’t think Li Wei could offer him any professional advice in a specialized field like boxing.

However, he glanced at the overjoyed Lin Daohang and tactfully kept his thoughts to himself, merely hoping Li Wei’s offer was just a polite courtesy.

Li Wei checked the time and saw that Anya’s private jet was due to land in about an hour. She had just sent him a message specifically requesting he pick her up.

So, Li Wei said his goodbyes to Lin Daohang and Chen Haisheng, told the latter to rest well and get discharged soon, and then left Brooklyn Presbyterian Hospital.

「The next afternoon, in New Heaven City, near New York.」

The late August sun baked the small Ivy League city like an oven.

Yale University’s move-in day was like an American version of the great animal migration. Traffic around the old campus was at a complete standstill, the streets clogged with rented U-Haul trucks and family minivans.

Move-in day was a tradition at Yale University before the official convocation. First-year students would move into their respective residential colleges, complete the necessary enrollment paperwork, and then, after two days of campus exploration and icebreakers, the opening ceremony would officially begin.

At this moment, the Yale University campus was a sea of anxious parents, piles of discounted Walmart storage bins, and freshmen in "Yale" T-shirts, drenched in sweat but buzzing with excitement.

Jenny was one of them. She had graduated as valedictorian of her public high school, earning a full scholarship to the Yale School of Art.

Right now, she was struggling to drag a huge woven bag, stuffed with IKEA bedsheets and second-hand professional textbooks, up to the third floor of Davenport College’s narrow, echoing sandstone staircase, which had no elevator.

’I wonder what my roommate will be like?’ she thought, daydreaming about her future suitemate.

’Maybe she’ll be a kindred spirit I can discuss avant-garde art with late into the night? Or maybe someone from Europe, and we can exchange ideas?’

She painstakingly dragged the bag to an oak door on the third floor, only to be stopped.

"Um... hello?" she said, looking at the two big, burly, stone-faced bodyguards in front of her. "Could you let me pass?"

One of the bodyguards looked her up and down, then nodded and pulled the door open for her.

Pushing the door open, she stared, stunned by the scene before her.

It was a typical student suite—two single dorm rooms sharing a small common room and a bathroom.

However, a young man was currently inside her roommate’s room.

He was tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist—even from behind, he was clearly a handsome, well-built guy.

He was trying to shove a thick mattress into the room, along with all sorts of home furnishings packed in large and small bags, including Louis Vuitton trunks.

By the window, a stunningly beautiful, black-haired girl in the latest Chanel haute couture suit was casually flipping through an art book.

Hearing the door open, she looked up and glanced at the nervous and awkward Jenny.

"Y-you... Hello, I’m Jenny. I live in Suite A," Jenny stammered, swallowing hard, intimidated by the girl’s aura. "Also, the school has rules... you’re not allowed to renovate the dorms."

"Oh," the girl in front of her said dismissively, tossing the art book onto the sofa and standing up.

"Hello. You can just call me Anna," she said, nodding at Jenny. "I probably won’t be living in the dorm much."

As she spoke, she picked up a large white bag from the coffee table, emblazoned with the Apple logo.

"You can have the bathroom to yourself. If the RA comes by for room inspection, just say I’m at the library," she said. "This is a little welcome gift."

Jenny subconsciously took the bag and opened it. Inside was a complete "family bundle" of Apple products: a laptop, a phone, headphones, a tablet, a mouse—everything. And judging by the model numbers, they were all the top-of-the-line versions.

’She’s planning to openly violate school rules?’ Jenny thought. ’After all, the rules state that all first-year students are required to live on campus.’

"This..." Jenny gulped again, unconsciously. "No problem."

The girl nodded, then said something to the young man making her bed in a language Jenny didn’t understand. The two of them left together, leaving Jenny to stare blankly at the Louis Vuitton trunks in the mysterious rich girl’s room and the "little welcome gift" in her hands, worth tens of thousands of USD.

"You were pretty intimidating just now," Li Wei said quietly. "I think you scared your roommate."

"What!" Anya said, surprised. "I thought I was being very friendly! We Russians are just expressionless when we meet strangers."

"You’ve spent too much time in Moscow. You’ve been assimilated."

"Suka—Fack! Is it that obvious?"