(Thank you, I'm the Bad Fish, for supporting this book.)
In midsummer, Long Island ushered in the most bustling period of the year.
An hour's drive away in New York's Manhattan skyscrapers, there were still a lot of dark and cramped corners, crowded crowds, and stuffy air.
Long Island, on the other hand, was surrounded by the sea on three sides. There were all kinds of mansions, trees, and beaches, and people laughing and chatting.
They were either artists, employees of technology companies, or rich bigwigs of various levels. They fully embodied the American dream of "high my ass if you don't have money."
The petite and plump Elena held Luke's arm as they strolled through a luxurious villa.
At that moment, she wasn't wearing the loose clothes that were usually suitable for casual painting. Instead, she was wearing a tight-fitting sapphire dress.
Under the setting sun, the sapphire blue fabric against her snow-white skin gave off the texture of warm marble.
Luke sent away the twelfth stranger who had tried to hit on his girlfriend. He didn't forget to mock his own gender. "Look, this is the bad side of men."
Elena couldn't help but smile, and she appeared to be very happy.
It wasn't because she attracted the attention of so many men; she simply enjoyed the feeling of someone shielding her from everything.
The two of them rarely attended such large-scale parties. Most of the time, they just wandered around the city, the countryside, the mountains, and the rivers, quietly enjoying the picturesque scenery.
And there was more than one reason for attending this party tonight.
One of them was that Lindsay Soderberg, the lady from the Soderberg family, had sent Elena an invitation.
This lady had been in New York state politics for several years, and would no longer personally be the manager of a "new" painter.
But she had made a lot of money by successfully marketing Monroe Peterson (a certain crazy painter). There was naturally no reason for her to give up on this ready-made and safe way to make money.
Also, as a politician who wasn't very likable, it was good for her to put on a bit of art to raise her profile.
Thus, Miss Lindsay's connections in the New York art circle were taken over by a gallery controlled by an offshore company. On the surface, the gallery's shares had nothing to do with her.
As long as she used various charities or trust funds, the gallery's income could be used to pay for some of her expenses.
Similarly, these expenses had nothing to do with her legally, thus avoiding a lot of political risk.
The second reason was the woman who was walking over with Lindsay.
This person was originally chatting with Lindsay and "looking" around from time to time.
It wasn't until she was more than ten meters away that she noticed Elena and Selina. She ran over in surprise and even forgot about Lindsay.
"Helene, didn't you say you would wait for me at the beach?" The woman had the pitiful expression of an abandoned child.
Elena smiled helplessly, feeling a little like she was facing a silly daughter. "Mary, this is the seaside."
Margaret (Haley's sister) looked around in confusion. "Ah, is this the seaside? I always thought it was over there. "She didn't forget to point in the direction she came from.
Elena laughed and patted her forehead. "This is the north of Changdao. How can you find the sea in the south?"
Margaret suddenly understood and rubbed her forehead. "Oh, you're right. Why didn't I think of that?"
That's because you naturally lack a sense of direction! Luke, who was watching from the side, silently mocked this naturally naive, rich, and beautiful girl.
Well, fine, she could be considered his sister-in-law.
However, the concern from a brother-in-law like Joker only made this silly girl tremble in fear. She would hide behind her sister, Haley, and then peek at him as if she were looking at a terrifying devil — the kind of look that she would quickly look away and then take another look. In any case, she wouldn't meet anyone's eyes.
Thankfully, this was only an experience like this once. After that, Haley never mentioned asking Joker to visit her sister again.
Elena and Margret were destined to be together.
They had transferred to Paland College in New Jersey at almost the same time as art students. They were rich, unambitious, simple-minded, and loved art. They were very similar, and there was no inherent conflict.
Elena was a little gentler, while Margaret was more childish. Their personalities complemented each other.
After more than ten years, the two of them had already become best friends.
When Haley was out, Elena was on the list of people that Marguerite was allowed to trust. Marguerite was only allowed to be alone with the people on this list.
Because of this, Elena's life had always been very full.
On average, Luke would come one or two days a week, and Margaret would go two or three days. Elena only had about half the time on her own.
Occasionally, Elena would go camping with Luke, or she would go to the studio with Margaret to complete all kinds of new ideas. Their days were peaceful and interesting.
In fact, most ordinary Americans lacked entertainment.
The so-called party creatures, holiday camping, and so on were mostly to make up for the boredom of most of the time.
This was a country that claimed to be free, and had so-called personal privacy. Good friends could talk about anything, but only if the friend was willing.
When Americans grew up, their parents usually only had to visit them during the holidays.
If parents couldn't control their children's personal freedom, what right did friends have to ask?
Why were fraternities and sororities so popular in school? Many students who had just entered the school were willing to endure all kinds of strange "entrance tests" just to join them.
It was because after joining, participation in these group activities was a little mandatory, and more reliable than so-called bros and girlfriends.
Of course, it was also easy for a group of people to have fun together — at the very least, they could play with each other.
This was also a big reason why the nerds and freaks in American schools always wanted to sneak into these small groups.
In comparison, the rich were much better.
People who coveted their money would come to them, and it wasn't a problem for them to pay people to play with them.
In a sense, tonight's party was an upgraded version of an adult "pay to play" party.
At most, the drinks would change from cheap beer to high-end red wine, whiskey, and champagne, the wholesale supermarket food would become the work of a team of chefs, and the topic of discussion would change from chasing celebrities to playing with them.
While Luke's mind was wandering, Miss Lindsay walked over with a smile and gave him an affectionate half-hug. "Luke, long time no see. It seems you've been doing well?"
Luke casually retorted, "Lindsay, you're even more charming."
"Save that for your Elena." Lindsay chuckled and didn't take his words seriously at all.
What a joke! As a straight man, Luke hadn't even responded to her private invitation once. No matter how charming she was, it had nothing to do with him.
(Note: The "end" in the title is just the "end" of a small plot. Do you want to throw flowers like crazy?! Do you still want to see cars?!
By the way, one more reminder: look at the title and name before you subscribe. If you're not interested, you don't need to subscribe.)
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