Surprise Luxury Ride, Brothers in Sync

When the plane took off, Eddie inevitably became nervous. He closed his eyes, held his breath, and gripped the armrests tightly to fend off the fear caused by the plane's heavy ascent.

A warm little hand grasped his left hand, and the familiar scent of locust blossoms floated around him:

"Okay, relax, it's going to be fine. Think about swinging in the yard when you were a kid. Fully relax and let your feelings follow your thoughts…"

After the second ascent, Eddie opened his eyes and looked at the smiling Winnie in front of him. He gratefully said, "You helped me again. Honestly, feeling airsick is really unpleasant."

Winnie smiled, "It's definitely unpleasant, but I think if you fly more often, it'll get much better."

Eddie shook his head, "Unless I'm on your flight, otherwise, I won't fly no matter what. By the way, you're the chief flight attendant? No wonder I couldn't find you to thank you last time after you helped me."

"I just became the chief flight attendant recently. I manage the crew on this plane, so I've been quite busy," Winnie explained.

"Then I really have to thank you for taking time out to help me with psychological support," Eddie said.

Winnie blinked, "No, actually, I came over following a colleague's suggestion. She wanted me to see what kind of young talent flies in first class."

She smiled, and Eddie smiled along.

Women gossip the most; Eddie guessed the first-class flight attendants must have speculated about him, which explained her joking tone.

Eddie's new seat was at the very back, just before the pantry. So Winnie stayed there to chat with him without other passengers noticing. They talked for quite a while until someone in business class called for the chief flight attendant, and they had to part ways.

"I think someone's about to get lucky in love," said Kuripa, who was sitting beside him.

Eddie looked at Winnie's graceful back, especially her long, slender legs, and was momentarily mesmerized, too distracted to argue with Kuripa.

Through the conversation, Eddie learned that Winnie was actually one-quarter Chinese. Her grandfather was from Beijing, and she had spent most of her time in Beijing with her grandparents before she was ten, which explained her fluent Mandarin.

After an overnight flight, the Boeing 777 finally landed at the Capital International Airport. Eddie deliberately waited until Winnie led the crew off the plane before leaving.

They exchanged contact information. Unfortunately, Winnie didn't have time to hang out, or Eddie would have loved to show her around Kyoto—of course, with Winnie as the guide.

After getting off the plane, Eddie didn't go straight to see Gao Xueqiang. Instead, he took a taxi to the nearest Chrysler dealership and swiped his card to buy a brand-new Jeep Grand Cherokee before calling Gao.

"Maoyi Xiaowulang, where are you now? Your big brother has already arrived in the capital. Give me the address, and I'll come find you."

"Maoyi Xiaowulang" was Gao Xueqiang's nickname. He was quite a show-off in college. At one point, it was trendy for college couples to give each other handmade gifts.

Gao was good at knitting, so on Qingming Festival, he knitted a sweater and gave it to a popular girl in the history department to confess his feelings. Of course, his passionate gesture only earned him a "Are you crazy?" response.

But Gao persisted, knitting four more sweaters over the next few years, including during the Qixi Festival and the next Qingming Festival. In total, five sweaters—all never delivered.

Still, his antics made him famous in the department. Whenever Eddie walked with him, people would point and whisper, "Look, that's the guy who knits sweaters for his crush, the ultimate loser…"

Because of this, class leader Zhong Dajun nicknamed Gao "Maoyi Xiaowulang," mimicking the character Kogoro Mouri from Detective Conan.

When Eddie called, Gao was still at work. Hearing from his downstairs buddy, he was naturally excited to pick him up. Eddie told him he was already in a taxi, and Gao sent him the address.

Driving the brand-new Grand Cherokee, Eddie took Kuripa onto the great highways of the capital city.

Used to driving a motorboat recklessly on the sea, Eddie found the stop-and-go, congested traffic of Beijing roads quite unbearable. He cursed at the steering wheel more than once.

Why are there so many cars?

He wanted to get there before Gao finished work so he could surprise him with the Jeep. But it seemed he wouldn't make it in time.

Besides rush hour, Beijing traffic was okay, but Eddie didn't know the roads well. What should have been a one-hour drive turned into two and a half hours, ending right in the middle of rush hour.

In the end, Eddie couldn't make it to Gao's workplace at Guomao and had to call him to come pick him up.

On the phone, Gao laughed maliciously, "Should've told me you were coming stealthily! Next time, give me a heads-up before you come back, so I can pick you up. Do you think it's easy to get around Beijing without a local guide? Without a buddy, you're stuck!"

"I bought you a Grand Cherokee. If I'd taken a taxi, I would've been there ages ago…"

"What did you say? A Grand Cherokee? No way you really bought it, right?"

"Check it out yourself. Come take a look and drive it. I wanted to surprise you, but this surprise got suffocated by your traffic!"

Soon after, a little Changan car weaved skillfully through traffic, moving back and forth, dodging in and out with impressive agility. Eddie couldn't help but admire the driver's skills and thought he should be in F1 racing.

The car stopped, and Gao jumped out with a mischievous grin.

"Damn, man, your driving skills have improved a lot," Eddie said, astonished.

Gao gave him a warm hug, saying, "Drive in Beijing for four years, and you'll develop these skills too."

Pushing Eddie away, Gao climbed into the Grand Cherokee. The SUV was still brand new, with the plastic still on the interior, shiny white rims, a domineering look, and dazzling paint—a total charm machine.

"Wow, it really is a Cherokee," Gao said, throwing his arms wide and leaning on the hood.

"Don't worry. It's a brand-new car, man. Haven't you always wanted a Grand Cherokee? Today, your brother fulfilled your wish."

Feeling the cool steel of the car, Gao finally calmed down and shouted, "Damn it, you beast. I know you're rich now, but honestly, buying me a car? What is that, charity?"

Eddie rolled his eyes, "What about when you got someone to help me get into CNOOC? Was that charity? Besides, if you don't want it, no worries—the car's fresh off the lot; I can still return it."

To be honest, Eddie wasn't even thinking about the price of this car right now—600,000 RMB, roughly the cost of a bit over a hundred thousand cod fingerlings.

Eddie had always been grateful for Gao's big favor. When he graduated, he hadn't found a good job and couldn't sleep for two weeks.

Gao, who slept in the bunk below, overheard him and eventually coaxed him into confessing that he wanted to stay in Bailang Island City and work for a state-owned enterprise. Gao used his connections to help Eddie get into CNOOC.

Eddie had always remembered this kindness. Buying the car wasn't just to repay the favor—it was to tell his buddy from the top bunk that Eddie was just like him.