Chapter 24: On the ball

As William and I expected, the landlord kicked us out of the apartment we shared. Technically, he wasn't allowed to do that, but he had a point when he explained that we were causing trouble to the other tenants and putting their lives in danger.

We paid for the repairs, but fortunately most of it was covered by insurance so we didn't have to shell out too much. The landlord, because he was trying to illegally evict us, decided to compensate by asking us to cover only a small fraction of the total repair costs.

And with that, William and I had to find out own houses. William already had one in mind and he was able to move into it by the next day or so. As for me, I was able to find another place to buy – a small house in the suburbs, somewhere near the military base camp we worked. It was a single-story house without much stuff. It had a garage, though, which was good news for me. But other than that, it didn't have anything else. Considering that I didn't need much space because I would now be living alone, I was fine with it.

Both William and I didn't have much belongings, anyway, so there wasn't much for us to move except clothing, necessities and laptops. I had to buy my own furniture, but I only needed a new bed and desk since those were blown up by the assassins.

Speaking of which, we left the captured assassin to the military for interrogation, but from what I knew, they weren't able to pry any new information from him. These guys were consummate professionals. They could withstand torture or whatever tricks the military interrogators employed. And I didn't want to think too much about what they would use.

Before I knew it, the weekend came. Right after I woke up, I received a text message from Lily Ling.

"Sorry about this. I know you're busy after all that happened over the past week, but I hope you'll still be able to make it for the ball today."

I replied that I would be able to. It would be a nice change of pace, anyway. I had no intention of moping at home, hiding in my room and watching out for assassins.

I was going to let them dictate my life and stop me from doing what I wanted to do. Honestly, I couldn't care less about socializing, but come on…free food at Riverview Hotel's premier restaurant. I wasn't going to pass up the chance to eat.

Having lived on borderline poverty for the past year before I finally patented my energy shield generator and began selling copies of it to the military, I was going to grab whatever chance I had to eat free food and buffets.

As promised, I moved out in my trusty Toyota before evening. Earlier, I had made sure to dress up as best as I could, putting on my only blazer over a formal shirt. I sucked at doing a tie, but I did my best anyway. Once I had the proper attire on, I then began to drive my Toyota out of the garage and all the way to the Ling estate.

Since I wasn't very familiar with driving around, I had to activate the global positioning system installed in my car. A holographic map was beamed into the windshield, with a blue line projected in front of me to direct me along the right route. It was foolproof. As long as I had it on, I wouldn't get lost.

Unsurprisingly, Lily was waiting for me when I arrived. She had instructed the guards at the front gate beforehand, so they let me into the estate the moment they identified my car and saw that I was the one driving. I zoomed across the courtyard, taking five minutes to travel between the front gate and the main manor by car.

Rich people were really extravagant. To think they needed such massive estates. Well, it was none of my business. Unlike them, I wasn't rich and probably wouldn't live in such luxurious places my whole life.

Personally, I considered it a waste of space and highly impractical. Wasting time to drive up and down your courtyard…and if your car broke down you needed like twenty to thirty minutes to travel from one end to the other on foot. Yeah…a complete waste of time.

"You're finally here."

Lily was waiting in front of her house when I pulled up in the huge driveway. I bowed my head apologetically.

"Yeah, sorry for taking so long."

"Not at all. You're right on time." Lily slid into the passenger seat. I couldn't help but stare at her. She was looking very beautiful, in an elegant white and blue evening gown and a scarf-like cloth draped over her shoulders. Flowery designs were embroidered in light blue lines across the white fabric, giving a cool contrast.

"You look really good," I quickly said when I saw Lily giving me a quizzical look when she caught me gawking at her. "That dress really suits you."

"So you know how to compliment others." Lily giggled. "I always pegged you for a dense, socially awkward beta male protagonist from a Japanese light novel who doesn't know how to talk to girls. Good job."

"How the hell did you even get to that conclusion?" I felt like grabbing my head and groaning in exasperation, but unfortunately I had to keep both hands on the wheel because I was driving. Lily chuckled again.

"Just look in the mirror. You look like a nerd. A glasses wearing otaku. What else can you be other than a beta male protagonist from a Japanese light novel?"

"Aren't you being extremely rude? And didn't anyone tell you that you shouldn't judge people by their appearances?"

"If you think people don't judge by appearances, you'll be in for a rude shock later."

She turned out to be right. When I arrived in Riverview Hotel, I had to queue up behind a line of luxurious cars that ranged from Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, Jaguars and other branded cars. Mine was the only Toyota there. As we neared the entrance of the hotel, the drivers and passengers would alight from the car and hand the keys over to a valet, who would park the car for the guests.

When I handed my keys and Toyota over to a valet, I could hear scornful laughter and sneers. All the other rich guests were giving me condescending stares.

"Look at that poor loser! Just look at his car! He can't afford a luxury car! How pathetic!"

"What a loser. Driving a cheap car like that…I can't believe he has the face to show up."

"If I were him, I would be looking for a hole to hide myself in."

"Do you guys have something against Toyota cars?" I asked, irritated. Even though I didn't spend an exorbitant amount of money on my Toyota, it was still a brand new car, with nice features and a great look. I didn't know why they were making fun of my beloved Toyota.

"Ha ha ha! Did you hear him? A Toyota? He bought a Toyota?!"

"Don't blame him. He obviously can't afford a better brand."

"What a country bumpkin. He doesn't know anything about car brands and keeping up appearances, does he?"

What the fuck was wrong with these people? How stupid could they be? Why were they so obsessed with brands? Who cared if my car was a Toyota? What did they have against Toyota? It was a reliable and recognized brand, producing family cars, having amazing features, comfortable seats, a spacious interior, excellent fuel efficiency, decent power and extremely versatile. But apparently these fools didn't care about reliability, they only cared if the car was expensive or not.

I was a practical person. I wasn't a materialistic idiot who bought vehicles just for the brand. I valued reliability, versatility, efficiency, comfort and utility over cost and brand value. Why the fuck would I waste a few million yuan on a Lamborghini or whatever when I could buy a Toyota that would do the job more effectively and ferry around passengers for a hundredth of its price?

Noting my mood, Lily quickly placed a hand on my arm as if to restrain me.

"Ignore them," she told me sternly. "They have no idea what they are talking about."

She then smiled.

"I like your car. It's comfortable."

"Thanks."

"Ms. Ling." One of the guys who showed up for the ball in Riverview Hotel, dressed in a tuxedo, approached. He leered at me and tried to shove me, but I dodged him easily enough. Trying to cover up his embarrassment, he bowed deeply. "You shouldn't waste your time with a poor loser who can't afford a proper car. If you're all right with it, I'll keep you company for tonight instead."

Was there something wrong with this guy?

"No thank you." Lily smiled, but her eyes were cold as she glared at the guy. He quivered, but she didn't show any mercy. "Mr. Shen is my partner for tonight, and I wouldn't trade him for anyone else. As for his car, I actually quite like it. It shows that he is very practical and thrifty, unlike so many people who waste their parents' hard-earned cash on branded luxurious cars, only to crash them while racing or showing off."

"I…didn't…"

The guy flushed, but it was clear that Lily's words had struck a nerve. Ah. Lily must have recognized him from somewhere, probably as someone who got into the news for crashing his expensive car. I recalled that there were a few second generation rich dudes who were being displayed about in the media for such nonsense.

"You…you'll regret this!" the guy finally spluttered. Then he turned on me, jabbing a finger at me. "You had best leave Ms. Ling if you know what's good for you! You don't deserve to be by her side!"

"And you do?" I asked dryly.

"How dare you?!"

Roaring, he lunged forward to punch me.