Chapter 90: Chapter 76: A Brilliant Little Idea

"A girl," he said warily, repeating himself. "A girl?!"

"A girl," Li Wei nodded. "She asked me out for tomorrow."

"How did you two meet?" Don Quixote felt the hairs on his neck stand up, and alarm bells started blaring in his head. "Does she know you’re good at football?"

Li Wei thought for a moment before saying, "Yeah... I think she knows."

"That’s all the more reason to be careful!" Don Quixote stood up and paced around the room. "Women. Dangerous creatures. The best liars in the world!"

"I don’t think you should paint everyone with the same brush," Li Wei shrugged. "After all, you and Susan seem to work well together."

"We just have a professional, superior-subordinate relationship. It’s different," Don Quixote waved his hand dismissively. "The focus is on you. You have a bright future; you can’t let a woman drag you down."

’Li Wei thought back to his meeting with Anya, her car, and her background. He didn’t think for a second that she would be the one to drag him down.’

"I’m just going to an art gallery opening," he said. "It’s not like I’m signing over my inheritance—it’d be more believable if I were signing over my debts."

"You have to protect yourself, kid," Don Quixote said, placing both hands on his shoulders. "If you ever spend the night with someone, remember to use your own condoms. And clean up afterward. Either flush the used one down the toilet or add something to it to... you know, neutralize it. There are just too many girls out there looking to get pregnant for child support."

Having an elder figure discuss this stuff with him so sternly made Li Wei feel deeply uncomfortable. It made his skin crawl.

"We’re just friends, like you and Aunt Susan," Li Wei said, brushing his hands away. "We’re nowhere near that step—"

Then he suddenly remembered White, the agent who wanted him to sign that slave contract.

"—but I promise you," he said. "I’ll be careful."

Only then did Don Quixote nod, satisfied.

「The next morning」

Li Wei took the R train, transferred to the 6, and headed back to Dolores’s boutique on Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side.

When Emma heard he was coming back to work, she was waiting by the cash register first thing in the morning, flipping through a list. Her eyes lit up when she saw Li Wei, and she put down the Mark pen in her hand.

"Well, look who it is," she teased. "You haven’t been in for a week, right? Where have you been, off getting rich?"

Li Wei didn’t tell her that, besides classes and practice, he’d been exploring the area to see if he could trigger any new missions.

"Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?" Li Wei said, changing into his work uniform. "But I’m only working a half-day today. I have to leave around noon."

"Isn’t your regular season over?" Emma asked. "You still have practice today?"

"How’d you know that?" Li Wei gave her a surprised look. "I didn’t realize you were following me that closely."

"Of course. I’m waiting to see if you make it big," Emma nodded, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I’m counting on you to get into the NFL and introduce me to some rich players."

Li Wei shook his head in resignation.

’Emma was always talking a big game about finding a rich guy, but she always had one excuse or another. It had been two months, and she hadn’t made any progress.’

"Well..." Li Wei said, "I have a date this afternoon, so I won’t be in."

"Ooh!" Emma slapped him on the back excitedly. "Nice! Not bad at all. Who’s the lucky girl?"

"She’s Russian," Li Wei said, scratching his head. "I mean, like, actually Russian. She’s from Moscow, here in New York for school."

"Oof..." Emma sucked in a sharp breath. "That’s gonna be tough."

"?" Li Wei gave her a questioning look. "What’s going to be tough?"

"Russian girls are high-maintenance," Emma said, ticking off points on her fingers. "They expect romance, grand gestures, they’re obsessed with looks, they want a manly man, and—most importantly—even though they’re gorgeous, they will not split the bill."

"Aren’t you Russian, though?" Li Wei looked her up and down. "Aren’t you kind of putting yourself down?"

"I’m of Russian descent. I’ve never even been to Russia," Emma waved her hand dismissively. "So, you’re really going through with this date?"

"She asked me out," Li Wei said. "And besides, I think you’re all being a little dramatic, don’t you think?"

"Just be careful, okay?" Emma sighed, giving him a piece of advice. "If she’s really from Moscow, bring her flowers when you see her. Make sure it’s an odd number of stems, not even. In Russia, even numbers are for funerals."

Li Wei nodded, making a mental note of it. "Also, I was wondering... what should I wear this afternoon? Any recommendations?"

"Just wear what you have on," Emma blurted out. "That suit looks great on you."

"This is my uniform, though," Li Wei said, looking down at his suit. "I’m not supposed to wear it outside of work."

"That’s an easy fix," Emma said nonchalantly. "Come with me."

They went to the stockroom. Emma glanced at the tag number on Li Wei’s collar and wrote off the $13,000 USD Brunello Cucinelli suit as damaged goods.

"There," Emma said, dusting off her imaginary-dust-covered hands. "You can just wear this out this afternoon. I’ll get you a garment bag for it before you leave."

Li Wei watched, completely dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe Emma had that much nerve. ’They were both just humble employees; how was she so damn slick?’