Leo kept silent, no matter what Uncle Alan said, he only divided it into two types: things he understood and things he didn’t. Anyway, he was always right. As for the things he didn’t understand, he just wouldn’t speak up—he absolutely didn’t dare to argue.

“There’s a certain kind of cheap woman you just have to deal with. If you don’t put them in their place, they’ll really think they’re a phoenix.” The always silent, dashing and elegant man finally spoke, his gaze dark. He was clearly not talking about Claire Sutton; women like Emily Thompson and Claire Sutton were excellent, but never enough to make him grit his teeth in anger.

“Sparrow, it’s all in the past.” David Clark’s usually warm face looked a bit dim. He finished his fast food without leaving a single bite, then asked Leo for a cigarette.

“That bitch just happens to be at an art college in Shanghai. Too bad she’s not in the same university town as us, or I’d ruin her face today.” The man nicknamed Sparrow clearly didn’t think it was a settled matter.

“Enough already?!” David Clark shouted angrily.

Leo’s hand shook, and a piece of meat he was handing to Ralph fell to the ground. Ralph immediately lowered his head.

Sparrow kept “biting” his rice, one mouthful at a time, his aura so effeminate it seeped into his bones, making everyone as uncomfortable as if facing a eunuch of the imperial court.

Realizing he’d lost his composure, David Clark lifted his head, cigarette dangling from his lips, and said self-mockingly, “I know you guys mean well, but honestly, this isn’t as serious as you think. So what if I got dumped by a girl? I didn’t cry, make a scene, or threaten to kill myself. You guys are making a big deal out of nothing. Sparrow, Leo, we’re not some pampered young masters, just regular folks. If we make a big fuss over this, we’ll just be a laughingstock. So when we get to Shanghai, Sparrow, you just focus on finding those great, intelligent beauties at Fudan who don’t care about looks or money. Once you have some resources, introduce them to the brothers. As for Leo, just keep muddling along—just don’t get yourself killed or crippled. When you’ve scouted out all the affordable saunas and bathhouses in Shanghai, we can just go in and pick the girls by their numbers, saving us the trouble of checking out the places ourselves. I’m not cut out for the heroic feat of tasting every herb like Shennong!”

Sparrow and Leo exchanged a smile—this was the flamboyant Uncle Alan they knew.

Chapter 3: The Queen of Art Films

A little after 5 a.m., Emily Thompson woke up naturally thanks to her biological clock. After making sure her clothes were perfectly intact, she smiled, silently repeated to herself “I am number one” a few times, and got out of bed. Because of her family background, she had always attended the top schools in Tangshan for kindergarten, elementary, and middle school, where competition was fierce. She had always fought for first place. Even after the college entrance exam, when she got her admission letter from Jiaotong University with a performance matching her usual standards, she still spent the summer previewing university courses out of habit. After getting up early, she would always run two laps in the residential complex, whose green space was so large even the developers found it unbelievable. She turned on the light and found only the soundly sleeping Claire Sutton, her pajamas in disarray, one fair leg draped over the upper bunk’s railing.

Emily Thompson quickly got out of bed to cover her with a blanket, grabbed a few toiletries, and opened the door to see a particularly proud-looking boy sleeping with his arms crossed. The boy she cared more about was “reading” a German magazine that was anything but decent, though he was only mouthing the words, not reading aloud. Emily Thompson only knew a little German, so she wasn’t sure if he was faking it. She politely asked, “Did you just get up, or did you not sleep at all?”

“We’re about to reach the big city. Too excited to sleep.” This time, David Clark didn’t bother to hide the fact that he had a porn magazine. Maybe because they’d be parting ways in two hours, he no longer had the energy to cover it up. After all, with a girl like Emily Thompson, unless you were blind, you wouldn’t fall for David Clark at first sight.

Emily Thompson didn’t seem to know how to get closer, so she went to wash her face and brush her teeth. When she returned to the compartment, Claire Sutton was woken by her movements and, still groggy, asked, “They didn’t do anything to you, did they?”

Emily Thompson sat on the upper bunk, pulled open the curtains, checked the time—it was exactly 5:30—and looked at her best friend in black silk pajamas, smiling, “If they really wanted to do something, you’d be the first target. Next time, please wear less sexy pajamas when you travel.”

“Big sis never hides her beauty on purpose.”

Claire Sutton struck a seductive pose and rolled her eyes. “If that sucker hadn’t lost his mind and bought our tickets without asking, I wouldn’t be taking a train to Shanghai. It’s over ten hours from Tangshan to Shanghai! When I saw the crowds at the station, I really thought I was crazy. Luckily, I had you to suffer with me.”

“Let them come in. At least let them lie down for a while. What trick did you use to make them willingly tough it out outside all night?” Emily Thompson asked curiously.

“A heavenly secret cannot be revealed.”

Claire Sutton replied mysteriously, got dressed, opened the compartment door, and greeted with a bright smile, “Good morning.”

Once Claire Sutton opened the door, Sparrow was the first to come back in, rudely flopping down to sleep. Leo looked disappointedly at the two neatly dressed beauties, squatted down to play with the dog, and David Clark went to wash his face and brush his teeth before finally sitting on the lower bunk and smiling, “Claire Sutton, I’d better give you the money. I have change.”