Chapter 384 - 247: Vacation Arrangements, Setting Out
「Monday morning, New York.」
It was the first day of the Christmas holiday, and all of New York was abuzz with festive cheer, its streets adorned with lights and decorations.
However, the weather refused to cooperate. Since the previous evening, the sky over New York had been an oppressive, lead-gray color. Dark clouds hung heavy, looking as though snow might come crashing down at any second.
The weather service’s blizzard red alert had already been pushed to every mobile device with a signal.
Li Wei and Don Quixote were sitting in front of the TV, playing video games.
On screen, the battle in *Street Fighter* flared with the dazzling light of a super move. Li Wei’s fingers flew across the controller, its buttons clacking loudly as he backed Don Quixote’s character into a corner and unleashed a furious combo.
"Damn it! You can’t do that! This is cheating!"
Don Quixote yelled in protest, frantically mashing his controller.
Just as Li Wei was about to unleash his ultimate move to finish the match, the phone he’d tossed on the coffee table suddenly began to vibrate urgently.
Li Wei glanced at the screen. It was a call from Anya.
He hit the pause button on his controller.
"Hey! Couldn’t you have waited until the round was over?" Don Quixote grumbled, clearly annoyed.
Li Wei ignored him and swiped to answer the call. "What’s up, Anya?"
"I’m almost at your building. Come down right now," Anya said. "I’m just dropping something off for you, then I have to go."
"You’re not coming up for a bit?" Li Wei asked, surprised.
"I can’t. I can only stop for two minutes, tops," Anya said, sounding troubled. "Because of the blizzard warning, I have to head to the airport early."
Resigned, Li Wei stuffed the phone in his pocket and got up to head out.
He took two steps, then stopped abruptly. He turned his head and shot a warning glare at Don Quixote, whose hand was sneakily reaching for the pause button.
"Behave. No funny business!" Li Wei warned.
"Am I the kind of man with no Knightly Spirit?" Don Quixote said, pulling his hand back self-righteously. "I will defeat you fair and square."
Li Wei scoffed. Not bothering to change, he left wearing just a thin pair of pajamas and slippers, pushed the door open, and stepped into the elevator.
Downstairs, a bone-chilling wind laced with fine ice shards rushed to meet him. But for Li Wei, whose constitution was now at 5.3, it was nothing more than a tolerable chill.
Anya’s new, unplated Cullinan was parked at the curb.
When she saw Li Wei emerge from the building, the rear passenger window slowly rolled down.
Anya was about to hand him the velvet box she was holding, but the moment her eyes fell on his thin cotton pajamas, her delicate brow furrowed.
"Are you crazy?" She immediately tossed the box onto the seat and scolded him irritably. "Did you not see the blizzard warning at all? It’s below freezing out here, and you just run down in your pajamas? You couldn’t even throw on a coat!"
As she chided him, she unhesitatingly unwound the cashmere scarf from around her neck, still warm and carrying the scent of her perfume.
She leaned halfway out of the car and wound the pink scarf, loop by loop, around Li Wei’s neck. "I’m going to bundle you up ’til you can’t breathe..." she grumbled, her cheeks puffed out, and gave it a firm tug in front, pulling the fabric up over his chin.
"Here," she said, turning to grab the velvet box. "I saw these yesterday afternoon when I was out shopping. I bought one for each of us."
As she spoke, she showed him the diamond-encrusted watch on her own wrist.
"Weren’t you supposed to leave in another hour?" Li Wei asked, taking the gift. "Is it because of the blizzard warning?"
"Yeah," Anya sighed, pulling her coat tighter as she settled back into the warmth of the car. "The FAA issued a no-fly order for this afternoon. The pilot called and told me that if we don’t take off right away, my Gulfstream will probably be frozen solid on the tarmac. I do *not* want to spend Christmas in a New York blizzard. I already made plans with the girls."
"To Courchevel?" Li Wei asked, fiddling with the box in his hands as he looked at her through the window.
"Yes, but I probably won’t be able to stay long," Anya said, tapping her head in frustration. "This trip is so rushed. I’ll probably have to be back in three to five days."
"You told me," Li Wei said with a smile. "Because the early spring haute couture collections were moved up this year."
"Exactly! It’s so annoying. The next time I see Miu Miu’s design director, I’m definitely giving her a piece of my mind," Anya complained with a pout. "I had to schedule an appointment with the VIP director at Bergdorf Goodman ahead of time. Their personal shopping team is going to come directly to my house for a private showing, bringing along assistants, a tailor, and even a security detail for the couture and jewelry."
"Alright," Li Wei said, reaching out to stroke her hair. "Have a safe trip. Text me when you take off."
"I will!" Anya gave Li Wei a quick kiss on the lips, a trace of reluctance in her eyes. "Merry Christmas, darling. Be good and wait for me in New York. And... stick up for Liz a bit. I only found out the other day how rough she’s had it."
The window slid shut, sealing away the biting cold. The Cullinan pulled away smoothly as the first snowflakes began to fall, and it soon disappeared at the end of the street.
Li Wei touched the scarf around his neck and went back upstairs.
Once inside, he looked at the TV screen and raised an eyebrow.
"Why is my health bar so low?" he asked, looking at Don Quixote. "That’s not right."
"Is it?" Don Quixote said with a straight face. "I didn’t notice. I’m pretty sure I landed a full combo on you before you paused."
Li Wei opened his mouth to call him out. "Don’t give me that. I was the one who—"