American Adventure: My Uncle is Don Quixote

When he walked out of the shop carrying the limited-edition cigars in their exquisite bag, Anya still hadn’t come out.

However, Li Wei did see a few women in their early twenties. They had hot bodies and were dressed like influencers, posing for pictures next to the Cullinan he had just picked up.

Li Wei walked over, box in hand, and pressed the key fob. The flash of the car’s lights startled them, and they instinctively took a few steps back.

But when they saw Li Wei, their eyes lit up, and they all crowded around him.

"Is this your car?" the white girl in the lead asked boldly. "Or are you the driver?"

"It’s my car," Li Wei said, opening the door. "Now, if you don’t mind, please step aside. Don’t stand in front of the car."

"Are you a trust fund kid?" another one asked. "Maybe we could have some fun together?"

"Yeah," the last girl said. "With the three of us? You look really strong."

But Li Wei had little to no interest in women who had probably slept with over a hundred men. Now, if it were Anya and Elizabeth together, perhaps he would—

’Dangerous thought. Stop!’

Li Wei paused. After politely declining their enthusiastic invitation, he waited for Anya, and together they headed for the Upper West Side.

On the way, Anya chattered excitedly, showing Li Wei just how adorable the baby clothes from the store were.

"Oh, my God," she said, her hands clasped tightly, her expression one of intense, almost pained delight. "Oh my gosh, they were just so, so, so, so, so, so cute, you know? I wanted to buy out the entire store!"

"It can’t be that serious," Li Wei said with a laugh as he drove. "If they were so cute, why are you making that face?"

"It’s because they’re too cute," Anya said, clutching the tiny baby clothes in her hands. "So cute I can’t stop myself from wanting to just... smush them."

"That is a little twisted," Li Wei said with a nod. "In psychology, it’s called ’cute aggression.’ It means you really do find those clothes cute to an extreme degree."

"It makes me really want to have a baby," Anya said wistfully. "But I don’t want to get pregnant right now. I’d get ugly and fat..."

"Hey, how about this," she said, suddenly turning to look at Li Wei with a very serious expression. "Why don’t you have a baby with someone else for me to play with?"

Li Wei paused, thinking he must have misheard. "What?" he asked.

"Look how scared you are," Anya said, bursting into laughter and sitting up straight again. "I was just kidding."

’Was I really just kidding?’ she suddenly asked herself. On the way to see Sarah, she found herself thinking about the cult she and Sarah had encountered back in Utah.

’Should a wife fulfill her duty by just silently supporting him from the background?’ She recalled her discussion with Sarah after their yoga class (from Chapter 148). After all, she knew her own father, Sergey, had many women in his life, though he never married any of them.

...

Compared to the traditional wealthy enclave of the Upper East Side, New York’s Upper West Side is the preferred residence for many high-earning lawyers, professors, and corporate executives.

Besides the environment and its rich history, living closer to the truly wealthy was something the upper-middle class aspired to.

"78th Street. Turn left at the next intersection," Anya said, looking at the navigation on her phone.

Li Wei turned the steering wheel, and the Cullinan swung onto a quiet, tree-lined road.

Many of the buildings here were constructed before World War II, featuring characteristic high stoops and ornate, cast-iron railings.

Li Wei pulled into a relatively spacious parallel parking spot. Suddenly, he noticed the license plate on the Cadillac Escalade in front of them looked familiar—it seemed Don Quixote had already arrived.

The two of them got out of the car. Anya carried the baby bag while Li Wei held the cigars, and they walked up to a townhouse.

"Looks like Mark’s family is doing pretty well," Li Wei said, sizing up the townhouse. "This place must be worth at least 3 million USD."

"Well, he is a partner with a multi-million-dollar annual salary," Anya said as she pressed the brass doorbell. "It’s not surprising he could buy this house."

Mark answered the door in a soft, light gray sweatsuit, a tired but brilliant smile on his face.

"Mr. Li Wei! Miss Anna! Oh my gosh, I’m so happy to see you both! Come in, come in!" He enthusiastically stepped aside and gave Li Wei a hug. "I watched your match. It was incredible, truly incredible. A great match."

"Thanks," Li Wei said as he and Anya handed him their gifts. "Congratulations on becoming a senior partner at Merrill Lynch. And congratulations on Sarah’s clean bill of health from her checkup. When’s the due date?"

"Next week," Mark said with a smile, accepting the gifts. Then his eyes widened. "Oh my God—Davidoff Platinum cigars! I’ve had these on backorder for ages!"

Don Quixote also came out to greet Li Wei and Anya.

"I’m going to go see Sarah," Anya said, using it as an excuse to head upstairs with the baby clothes she’d bought earlier. "You guys talk."

The three men sat down on the sofa in the middle of the living room, and Mark brought water for Li Wei and the others.

Li Wei also saw Chen Haisheng, who was sitting awkwardly in a corner, staring intently at an old-looking bronze mantle clock on the fireplace as if it concealed some hidden mechanism.

"Sorry, no smoking in here anymore," Mark said apologetically. "Sarah can’t stand the smell of smoke right now. Right, where were we?"

"Understood," Don Quixote said with a smile. "We were just talking about Julian."