###Chapter 360: Birthday Gift

####Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
Instead of rejecting Helheim's offer, Dai Li took the special supercar. But he soon realized that this supercar was definitely a troublesome gift, a joyful annoyance.

First of all, because it was too fast, the car could only run on the road in Switzerland, and in other countries, this FXX could only run on the track. Dai Li found no road to drive on, although he accepted the car.

This supercar applied a gearbox of the F1 racing car. Its 0-100 km/h acceleration could be achieved within 3 seconds. Its speed would be higher than 100 km/h before the driver's foot left the pedal. A ride on a city road in China, with a speed limit of 50 km/h by this car, would give the driver dozens of speeding tickets.

Secondly, maintenance. A top super car's maintenance cost equaled the price of an imported C-class car. And FXX used many F1 racing car technologies, which surely led to more expensive maintenance fees.

If it were in China, my whole year's salary would not be enough for the maintenance of this car. This car is free, but it is going to cost me everything to maintain it... Dai Li sighed.

Helheim's retirement gift, a Ferrari FXX prototype. One can get 4 million or 5 million euros easily, if he takes it to auction. One may not be able to earn so much in his life! Dai Li continued thinking.

He would not sell this FXX prototype. It was a gift from Helheim. Dai Li must show some respect.

Yunan's birthday is around the corner. Let me give this to her as a birthday gift. I have never given her anything valuable before. And her family keeps many luxury cars, which may be given a discount if they maintain cars together.

…

Dai Li visited an international transport company. The company had three Boeing 747 jumbo jets and often undertook luxury car delivery tasks. Many of its clients were from rich countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Those rich customers from the Middle East booked some luxury cars in Europe, and then they would turn to the company to deliver the cars to the Middle East by air.

"Mr. Li, we will offer different delivery options, according to the value of the car," Thomas, the transport company's business manager, holding a color page ad, told Dai Li. "An ordinary sports car only needs an ordinary shipping container. Shipping needs more time, but its price is lower."

"What about a more luxurious supercar? For example, a car of limited edition?" asked Li.

"I suggest you use a customized transport container for a high-value limited edition supercar. We can provide different support brackets according to the style of the car. If necessary, we will also use the anti-scratch film. You know, the paint of high-end supercars is also very expensive. We have common anti-scratch film, BOPP abrasive film, PRT soft-touch film, anti-fingerprint soft-touch film, temperature-sensitive color shift film and so on," Thomas continued.

"Does it just cover the car, like a dress, or stick to the car?" Dai Li continued asking.

"It depends on your needs, and the distance, and the way of transportation," Thomas paused and then asked, "What kind of car would you like to transport, Mr. Li?"

"A Ferrari FXX. I want it to be delivered by air," said Dai Li.

"What? Are you talking about the FXX? One of the only 30 FXX in the world?" Thomas asked in surprise.

Li nodded, and Thomas swallowed a little. "Mr. Li, in this case, I suggest you use the polymer anti-scratch film, as such film can not only prevent scratches, but also can resist a sword cut, and it can stop small-bore bullets shot from far away, too. And we vacuum it to minimize the effect of high-altitude air pressure on the paint to prevent the paint from oxidation," said Thomas.

"So many details?" Dai Li nodded, "The polymer film must cost a lot."

"Coach Li, we can offer you a 20 percent discount if you choose us for the delivery of the FXX," Thomas seemed to be facing a hard situation, then he added, "Coach Li, our market is limited. And we are in a tough competition. Every high-end customer from the Middle East is a treasure that is very hard to get."

"You want me to be your advertisement, don't you?" asked Dai Li with a smile.

Thomas nodded honestly, "Ferrari FXX is the top supercar. Experience in delivering such a car will help us to gain recognition among those Middle East clients much more easily."

"Let it be a 40 percent discount, OK?" Dai Li started his bargain immediately.

"No! That price even cannot cover our cost," Thomas stretched out seven fingers, "Let's make some compromise. Is a 30 percent discount OK for you?"

Dai Li frowned. He was thinking. Thomas didn't want to let this client go. The opportunity is so rare for a company to deliver one of the only 30 FXX in the world. The success of this deal would lead to more business opportunities between the company and the rich from the Middle East. One would be surely willing to get his own luxurious supercar transported by a company that once successfully accomplished the task to deliver an FXX.

"Mr. Li, how about a 30 percent discount and an extra one-million euro shipping insurance for free? That is to say, if your car has an accident during transportation, which causes your losses, you will receive a compensation from our company up to one million euros from the insurance company," Thomas added.

"Only one million euros..." murmured Dai Li.

Thomas made a hard decision. He said, "Two-million extra shipping insurance! That's all we can afford."

"OK. Deal!" Dai Li said and then he added, "Please arrange the transportation for me as soon as possible."

…

In an auction on Hong Kong Island.

"The next is the final item of today, and the most important item in this auction. The jade pendant, 'The Star of Princess'! You all have known a lot about this item. So, I will not waste my time on introductions. The opening bid of 'The Star of Princess' is ten million Hong Kong dollars, and the minimum increment per time is one hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars. The auction has started!"

The auctioneer, holding the hammer in his hand, said excitedly, "Ten million and one hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars. Any more bids? OK, No.3 offers ten million and one hundred thousand. And No.15 offers ten million and one hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars..."

The price kept increasing, and soon it came to 12 million, which was more than 120 percent of the opening bid. The bidding slowed down a lot. Many had quit the competition.

"12.2 million Hong Kong dollars, from No.7, sir..."

"12.8 million from Mr.7 again! 12.8 million!"

"13 million! 13 million from No.7! Any other bid? Any more? OK! We have No.19! No.19 raised his paddle!"

"Mr.7 offers 13.5 million! 13.5 million, calling once! Calling once!" The auctioneer looked at No.19, who was the only competitor to No. 7 at the moment.

Looking at the No.7, No.19 hesitated. The price was then more than 135 percent of the opening bid. It was high enough. And he thought that was not so worthy.

"It seems that Mr. Chai is determined to win 'The Star of Princess'!"

"13.5 million is nothing compared with the wealth of the shipping tycoon Chai family!"

"Although this jade is great, the price is high enough! 13.5 million will be a big surprise to the seller."

"The auction company can also take a lot of commissions."

The crowd discussed and finally, No.19 decided. He clenched his teeth and sighed helplessly, then he made a "please" gesture to Mr. 7. Liang Chai, the No.7, knew that "The Star of Princess" was his. And he put away the paddle of No.7 with satisfaction.

"13.5 million! Last calling! Sold! Congratulations! 13.5 million Hong Kong dollars sold to bidder No.7! He got 'The Star of Princess'!" The auctioneer hammered heavily.

The crowd applauded, and Liang Chai stood up and showed an expression of thanks, especially to No.19.

"The Star of Princess". No gift is more valuable than mine! Liang Chai thought.

…

At the Donggang International Auto Show.

A casually dressed man stood in front of a red Ferrari. It seemed that he did not want to leave.

"LaFerrari with a 6262CC V12 naturally aspirated engine. Truly the top flagship of Ferrari. King of supercars! Unfortunately, it has been reserved for someone before the show started. Who would that be?" The man sighed, regretfully.

"I bought it, of course!" hearing the voice, the casually dressed man looked back to see an acquaintance.

"Liancheng Jia!" The man looked at that newcomer, and added, "Mr. Jia, are you kidding me? You are the buyer? It costs more than 22 million yuan!"

"Why do I need to deceive you on this?" Liancheng Jia continued, "Yang Chen, you know sports cars best. Is this car worthy?"

"A man like you never needs to care about the price. Just buy what you like! Unfortunately, I don't have that much money, otherwise, I would have bought one." Yang Chen stopped and then said, "Mr. Jia, may I borrow this car for a couple of rounds of driving later? I will only drive on the track, not on the ordinary road."

"You are crazy about cars!" Liancheng Jia said, "You could borrow, it if it's a gift I had bought for myself. But it is my gift to someone."

"A gift? It's more than 20 million yuan, and you just bought it as a gift to someone? To whom?" Chen asked.

"Yunan Xiao, of course!" Jia replied.

"You mean for Yunan Xiao's birthday party? You've been invited, too?" Yang Chen asked immediately.

"What do you mean by 'too'? You have been invited. Why couldn't I receive the invitation?" said Liancheng Jia coldly.

"It makes sense. Even I have been invited. It's impossible that Mr. Jia cannot get the invitation." Yang Chen took it for granted and then he added, "It is said that a lot of promising youngsters have got the invitation. Is President Xiao of Dingtian Group choosing his son-in-law there?"

"Something like that. I heard that Yunan Xiao got a boyfriend on her own. He is a poor coach, a nobody. President will never like him." Jia added, "The party is an opportunity to impress President Xiao and Yunan. Maybe I will be the son-in-law of Dingtian."

Chen Yang turned his eyes and said, "You are interested in the power of Dingtian Group, aren't you? With the help of the funds from Dingtian Group, your group's equity carve-out in Hong Kong will be much easier. Even 20 billion is OK, not to mention a car of 20 million yuan, for marrying Yunan."

"So, please don't compete with me!" Jia added, "And I have my father's full support, in both finance and manpower, to catch Yunan Xiao as my girlfriend."

"Others treat me as a rich boy. But I am a loser compared with you. I'll never compete with you! And you are the best among our friends in terms of family background, ability and look!" Yang Chen grinned and then said, "You have to be careful about Liang Chai in Hong Kong. My father told me that Dingtian is to set the partnership with the Chais to enter the energy industry."

"The Chais. Just businessmen in the shipping industry. They would have been nobody, if it were not for us not carrying the policy of opening and reform several decades ago!" said Jia coldly.
***



###Chapter 361: Birthday Party

####Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
In the garden of Dingtian Group's leisure villa, the lawn was redecorated. The table was covered by a white table cloth, and beside the table, fresh flowers were organized into the letters, spelling out "Happy-Birthday" in petals.

Today was Yunan Xiao's birthday, and Dai Li had arrived here early. However, he was currently holding his phone with a bitter face.

"Mr. Li, we have arrived at the highway entrance, and will arrive in half an hour, without a traffic jam." A man was talking through the phone.

Dai Li sighed with helplessness. Yunan Xiao's birthday party was about to begin, but Dai Li's birthday gift for her, a Ferrari fxx, was still on the way. It was not the shipping company's fault. Dai Li had found a European shipping company, which offered nice service, but the car was stuck at Customs.

To enter a country, imported cars must pay tariffs, otherwise, they would be regarded as smuggled cars. The import tariff for an imported car was 25%, value-added tax was 17%, and beyond these, there was an additional excise tax that would be charged, according to car emissions, which could run up to 40%.

But this Ferrari was a retirement gift from the Ferrari company to Helheim, who, himself, hadn't spent a cent on it, let alone have any receipt. Therefore, it was impossible to assess the car, so they did they know much tax should be paid.

Moreover, this Ferrari fxx was a special case. It was not a production car, there were only 30 of this particular model in the world. Dai Li's car was a prototype, which was different from ordinary imported cars. Except in Switzerland, in any other European countries, this fxx would be regarded as a racing car, which was only allowed to be used on the racecourse.

The Customs did have a special entry detection channel for racing cars. But according to domestic rules, a racing car must have a contest invitation to enter the country. Dai Li didn't have any invitation letter, so Customs couldn't refer to racing-car standards to let the car into the country.

Dai Li could do nothing to help, so finally, he found a trade company which specialized in importing and exporting, and together, they spent great efforts to complete the customs formalities. To be honest, if Dai Li turned to Yunan Xiao for help, based on Dingtian Group's power, it wouldn't take much effort to have the car be let the in, but Dai Li wanted to give Yunan Xiao a surprise. Hence, the car took longer to arrive.

Luckily, now the car was about to arrive, and Yunan Xiao's birthday party just started, so everything was working well so far.

 ...

"Who were you talking with?" Yunan Xiao's voice rang behind Dai Li. She walked closer, stretched her arm to Dai Li, and asked: "Where is my birthday gift?"

"On the way, it will arrive soon." Dai Li smiled.

"So what is it?" Yunan Xao was curious about the gift.

"It's a secret. You will know. But I'm pretty sure that it is unique in this world," Dai Li said with confidence.

"You know I don't need anything, you don't have to waste your money on my birthday gift. I would be happy with anything you give me, even if it's just a flower you picked from the roadside." Yunan Xiao said, showing her love.

"I wouldn't do that. Your friends are here, plus those 'young talents', I can't let you lose face!" smiled Dai Li.

Worry flashed across Yunan Xiao's eyes. She wanted to say something, but gave up in the end.

"What's wrong?" Dai Li caught Yunan Xiao's facial expression.

"Nothing." Yunan Xiao shook her head: "Come, let me introduce you to my friends!"

 ...

"Aha, Prince Chai is here."

"Prince Chai? Do you mean Liang Chai?"

"Of course, who else's surname is Chai?"

Under the crowd's focus, Liang Chai showed up in front of Dai Li and Yunan Xiao.

"That man is the second son of the Hong Kong shipping magnate Wang's eldest son. Have you ever heard about the shipping magnate Chai?" Yunan Xiao reminded Dai Li in a low voice.

"Of course, he is one of the four shipping magnates in Hong Kong, became rich in the nineteen fifties, and is now an old, rich man."

Dai Li nodded and said, "Is Liang Chai on your 'young talents' list?"

Yunan Xiao replied to Dai Li with a stare, and said: "Let's go meet him!"

Yunan Xiao walked toward Liang Chai with her arms around Dai Li. Liang Chai saw Yunan Xiao, too, but he also noticed Dai Li, confusion crossing his eyes then.

"Welcome, Mr. Chai!" Yunan Xiao greeted him with a polite smile.

"You invited me, I dare not refuse."Liang Chai spoke in Hong Kong Style Putonghua, as he took a delicate gift box from his assistant.

"Happy birthday!" Liang Chai smiled like a gentleman. He opened the box and said, "This emerald is called 'Star of the Princess', and it fits you the most, my princess."

 ...

"That emerald, 'Star of the Princess', is it famous?"

"Star of the Princess, I know, it used to be exhibited in the Mainland, and later was auctioned in Hong Kong, I heard the final price was thirteen million Hong Kong dollars! So it was bought by Prince Chai."

"How much is it? Thirteen million? This Prince Chai is so generous, a thirteen-million dollar birthday gift, is he serious?"

"Prince Chai's real interest is not in emeralds! It's a pity that Yunan Xiao has already got a boyfriend."

"You mean that poor coach beside her? How could he match Yunan Xiao? You see the gifts she has received today. Million-dollar gifts are gathered in piles, plus this thirteen-million Star of the Princess, and that poor coach can't earn that much ever in his life. I say he is living off a woman."

"Yeah, if I were him, seeing that the others give my girlfriend such expensive gifts, I would already feel ashamed and dig a hole to bury myself in."

"Right? Plus, it's an emerald, huh, the color of forgiveness! What a cuckold!"

"Hey, don't be so mean!"

The crowd discussed all of these things in low voices, and although Liang Chai couldn't hear them clearly, he was quite sure that they were talking about his bounteous gift. All of a sudden, his heart was filled with inexplicable priority.

"Three-million, for the Star of the Princess, I say the others' gifts could be no more valuable than his. I heard that president Xiao is here, too. Today, Liang Chai does show himself in front of President Xiao!" Fen Luo held a glass in his hand, looking at the show with interest.

"I wouldn't say that." Beside him, Yang Chen showed a playful smile.

"Hey Yang Chen, are you hiding a trump card? Give me some clues." Fen Luo lowered his voice.

"Mr. Luo, you thought too highly of me. I would feel pain to even buy a million-yuan gift." Yang Chen shook his head: "But someone else may spend money like water."

As he said this, a truck approached from afar.

 ...

Dai Li also saw the truck.

Finally! Dai Li took a long breath. He smiled with relief. But the next second, Dai Li realized that this truck didn't have a container, but used a trailer to carry a red roadster. A red roadster? It's not my fxx. Dai Li felt bad at once.

The truck came to the gate from a distance. When it finally arrived, it had already attracted everyone's attention. There was a red roadster on the trail, which had a white silk bowknot on the car.

Is this roadster a gift for Yunan Xiao? Many people had the same question.
At this time, Liancheng Jia finally showed up. He also held a delicate box with him, when he walked toward Yunan Xiao, but the box had a running horse sign on its top, which was the logo of Ferrari.

"Yunan, happy birthday!" Liancheng Jia opened the box, revealing that there were three keys in it: one was an electronic key, the others were mechanical keys. On the red key shell, the running horse sign was eye-catching. At this time, workers had already unloaded the red roadster. The crowd was able to see it clearly now.

"It's a Ferrari, I always wanted to have one!"

"If I'm right, this car is worth more than twenty-two million dollars, and just days ago in the Donggang Car show, I saw it on display … it was the climax of the entire Ferrari exhibition."

"One of the best roadsters in the world, I bet there are few in the entire country!"

"Liancheng Jia is indeed generous, if he is willing to give this car as a gift."

"I felt that Prince Chai was handsome enough, in giving a thirteen-million emerald pendant, now it seems that Liancheng Jia is even cooler, as he gives a twenty-two million dollar roadster!"

"As for roadsters, Ferrari is the world's best, isn't it?"

"Yang Chen is here, he knows most about cars, let's ask him later."

 ...

Fen Luo eye-signaled the roadster from afar, then asked: "Is this what you meant when you said, spend money like water?"

Yang Chen nodded: "In the Donggang car show a few days ago, this Ferrari was the most expensive one. To us roadster fans, it is what we have been dreaming of."

"Then it means that Liancheng Jia has been running down leads on this!" Fen Luo gave a long sigh.

"Prince Chai's emerald pendant was immediately defeated. You see his face, now he is not as complacent as before," Yang Chen said in a low tone.

Fen Luo turned around to look at the main buildings in the villa: "President Xiao is there watching everything, I wonder whether Liancheg Jia caught his eye or not!"

 ...

"This is my boyfriend, Dai Li." Yunan Xiao introduced Dai Li to some people in front, her arm linked in Dai Li's.

"So this is Coach Li?" A fashion woman looked at Dai Li with picky eyes, asking in a voice dripping with sarcasm: "Today is Yunan's birthday, dear coach, what do you have for her?"

Anger flashed across Yunan Xiao's eyes, showing that she clearly felt that this fashion woman was up to no good. The other rich second generations around them also looked at Dai Li, waiting to see a drama.

Among these people present, men envied Dai Li, as he was the lucky dog to be Yunan Xiao's boyfriend, while women felt jealous about Yunan Xiao, who was born into a rich family with a beautiful face. Therefore, they were willing to see Dai Li being stupid.

Yunan Xiao linked Dai Li's arm tight, she was worried that those people would bring a terrible blow to Dai Li's self-esteem. To their surprise, Dai Li was still confident, as he looked at Yunan Xiao with love, then replied, as if he was showing off their love: "My gift for Yunan is on the way, it should be here soon."

"Huh, still on the way, then we will take a good look at it after it arrives!" The fashion woman still talked with sarcasm.

At this moment, Dingtian Xiao's assistant Zhicheng Huang came from a distance. "Your father's assistant is coming," Dai Li reminded Yunan Xiao.

As Yunan Xiao turned around, she also saw Zhicheng Huang. "My dad may want to see me, "Yunan Xiao said, walking to Zhicheng Huang herself. But Zhicheng Huang looked at Dai Li instead.

"Coach Li, the President wants to see you," said Zhicheng Huang.

"President Xiao wants to see me?"Dai Li looked at Yunan Xiao, showing her a "don't worry" look, while he said: "Your father wants to see me. I will come back soon."

Yunan Xiao looked at Dai Li with worry in her eyes, a sinking feeling raising up in her heart.
***



###Chapter 362: Here Comes the Roadster

####Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
In a room at the top of the resort hotel, Dai Li met Dingtian Xiao again. Dingtian Xiao remained wearing his poker face, looking serious, with authority. But comparing with the last meeting, Dai Li was less nervous, more confident.

"President Xiao, you wanted to see me?" Dai Li looked at Dingtian Xiao.

Although he was not sure about what he was here for, he sensitively felt that it was a Hongmen Banquet.

"Sit down." Dingtian Xiao pointed at the sofa. Dai Li didn't make niceties, but rather, sat down directly.

"You have been downstairs for a long time, how do you feel?" Dingtian Xiao suddenly asked.

"Quite lively." Dai Li answered casually.

"That's it?" Dingtian Xiao stared at Dai Li. He was a little annoyed that Dai Li reacted so slowly, so he reminded Dai Li: "I mean, when you saw Yunan's friends, and their gifts for her, how did you feel?"

Feel? Feel what? Dai Li was dazed. He wasn't sure what was Dingtian Xiao's point, hence, he didn't know what to say. Dintian Xiao looked out the window, and said: "Just now, I had a glimpse of the gifts Yunan received, they look good, jewelries, emerald, luxuries, roadster, all kinds of things, and none of them is cheap. For ordinary people, they may not be able to afford any one of them, even if they devoted all the money they earned through their whole lives."

Dai Li was even more baffled about Dingtian Xiao's words. "What does Dingtian Xiao mean? He is a myraidnaire, his name can't fall out of from among the top 10 on domestic wealthy people's name lists. He doesn't need to covet those gifts. They are indeed worth much money, but if he wanted to buy it, he could have it all immediately." Dai Li complained secretly.

In front of him, Dingtian Xiao suddenly turned around, looking at Dai Li and asking: "Dai Li, do you think you are one of the ordinaries?"

"Me?" Dai Li frowned, his eyebrows furrowed in thought for two seconds. He remembered his magical Coach System, so he shook his head: "I don't think so."

Unsatisfaction flashed across Dingtian Xiao's eyes, as he said: "Indeed, you are an outstanding coach. It's really difficult to make such achievements at your age. So you would think that you are not ordinary."

But the next second, Dingtian Xiao switched the point: "But in my eyes, you are just an ordinary person."

"You have high standards." Dai Li replied casually, but his words contained a sense of disagreement.

Dingtian Xiao shook his head with helplessness: "Everyone lives in a certain circle, a circle of life and sociality. A politician has politicians around him, businessmen make friends with businessmen, pork-sellers meet other pedlars everyday, while breakfast makers deal with philistines. If I say, I make friends with a pork-seller or a breakfast-maker, would anyone believe it?"

"This society has tiers. We have extremely wealthy people on the top, then rich people, then mid-class, wage earners, and the underclass." Dingtian Xiao said this, as he made a gesture of tiers, then said: "People in the same tier will naturally be together, while people from different tiers, simply can't belong. There are unbridgeable gaps between tiers."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not discriminating against the underclass, neither do I look down upon poor people. I just want you to understand the facts. Namely, that you and Yunan are not in the same tier, and that you have gaps in between." Dingtian Xiao looked very serious as he spoke.

"I can't see any gaps between us," said Dai Li.

"Really? It's just you haven't realized it yet. But it doesn't mean you won't realize it in the future." Dingtian Xiao showed a rational look, as he said: "As her father, I don't want my daughter to be with you. But I am not an unreasonable parent, so I won't say 'no' like some parents do, without giving any reasons. I want to convince you by my reasoning. That's why I held today's birthday party for Yunan, to let you meet her friends, so that you will know what kind of circle she lives in."

"You want me to retreat before the impossible?" Dai Li had by now somewhat guessed Dingtian Xiao's plan.

Dingtian Xiao showed a "finally you got it" look, as he continued: "You are right. I hope, through this birthday party, you two will realize the distance between you. You belong to different tiers, even if you stay together, you will have to deal with great distinctions in your future life. You will face difficulties, you will have hard times, all because you are from two dissimilar life circles. I think Yunan has guessed my ideas, but from your reaction, I say she didn't tell you anything."

Dai Li immediately remembered how today Yunan Xiao looked somehow different, especially when people gave her expensive gifts. So she is worrying that those jewelries and roadster things will hurt my feelings. This does make sense, I'm a coach, normally, so how could I afford a ten-million dollar emerald, or a roadster? 'I will like whatever you give me, even it's a flower you pick from roadside' she had said, so she was probably comforting me! Dai Li had figured out everything.

Sitting on his opposite side, Dingtian Xiao took a long sigh, then said: "As a father, I hope my daughter can live a happy life. A few years of joy is not true happiness, and I want her to always be delightful. Therefore, I can't give my daughter to you. I don't know whether you would feel pressure with her, but I can't let her bear the pressure which shouldn't belong to her. Such pressure is exactly from what I just mentioned, social stratum gaps."

"You will find that you have little in common with Yunan's friends. They may neglect you, they even make fun of you. When it comes down to it, you are not the only one who suffers, as my daughter shares your pain, and she suffers, too. I don't want my daughter to live such a miserable life for ever after!"

"I'm not belittling you, neither do I praise myself. But imagine this: A princess marries a commoner, then what will the other princesses and princes think of her? They will laugh at her, taunt her, despise her. Even in fairy tales, at the end, Snow White marries a prince, rather than any of the dwarfs, although they had been the ones protecting her all the time. Suppose Snow White married a dwarf instead, it would not be a happy ending. There must be some readers jeering at Snow White, wondering whether her head was squeezed by the door."

Dai Li never thought that a super rich man like Dingtian Xiao would talk about Grimms fairy tales to him, which was weird. But, in his mind, he had to admit that Dingtian Xiao's words were quite convincing. Dingtian Xiao licked his lips, then leaned on the sofa and crossed his arms at his belly, before he said: "I'm not saying that you can't give my daughter a good life. I, dingtian Xiao, do not lack money, whoever my daughter marries, she doesn't need that guy to feed her. But from today's birthday party, you should see, and you must see, that you and Yunan are from two different worlds. You can't live inside her life, neither can she live in yours. You two should not be together, I hope you see now for yourself."

"You want me to leave Yunan?" asked Dai Li.

Dingtain Xiao nodded: "Yes, I want you to leave her, unconditionally."

Dingtian Xiao paused, then said: "According to what I know about you, I don't think you would ever ask for something from me. If you were a greedy guy, Yunan would not be with you. But, of course, if you do need some financial compensation, I will meet your requirements."

Undoubtedly, Dingtian Xiao was saying basically: tell me how much money you want. Dai Li didn't doubt Dingtian Xiao's economic power. He knew that if he gave a price, even an enormous figure in commoners' eyes, Dingtian Xiao would pay him without hesitation. How could Dai Li treat love as a trade?!

Dai Li shook his head: "Sorry President Xiao, I'm afraid that I can't agree with you."

"Good, then tell me your thoughts, perhaps you would persuade me," said President Xiao.

Dai Li knew that, when facing people like Dingtian Xiao, the best way was to negotiate with reason, as lovers' pledging eternal loyalty was bullshit in Dingtian Xiao's eyes. Those empty words could not persuade him at all, but asked instead for his sarcasm.

Dai Li organized words in his mind, then said: "I know Yunan and I were born in different tiers. I agree with you that there must be gaps between us on outlooks on life. But it won't tear us apart. In your eyes, the current me is just a nobody, and you think that Yunan deserves a better man. But I am trying to make myself better!"

Dai Li spoke in a more excited tone: "If you think that only people from the same tier could live together to form a family, then right now, I'm moving forward to the tier that you belong to, and one day, I will stand in the same tier with you."

"How? By empty talks?" Dingtian Xiao shook his head: "I agree, you are a capable young man, and you are hardworking. But, you are far behind Yunan, and the gap is so wide that you can never cross it!"

"I don't think so. Nobody was born to be a success! President Xiao, didn't you spend only twenty years to reach today's height? When you were my age, weren't you just just starting your career? Did you ever think about owning such a business empire one day in your life?" Dai Li replied with questions.

"Time is different. As the society develops, social tiers are getting more and more fixed." Dingtian Xiao shook his head, "The reason I am what I am today is that I caught many chances. But such chances only occurred in a certain period of time, and are unrepeatable. Even though the same chance may jump out to you, you would not be the one who catches it."

"I can forecast that the future you may become a leader in your career, and be a so-called 'successful professional', but that is about the future. The future is uncertain, and I may not be able to wait until you finally succeed. Therefore, to the current me, as well as to the current Yunan, you start rather low, compared with people outside!"

Dingtian Xiao said this, while pointing out the window: "You have witnessed what happened today. People who are here for celebrating Yunan's birthday, the cheapest gift they brought was worth tens of thousands yuan, gifts worth more than a million are piling up, even million-yuan gifts can be found. Liang Chai, the third generation of Chai's family from Hong Kong, gave Yunan an emerald pendant, which is worth ten million Hong Kong dollars; Liancheng Jia from Donggang, the roadster he brought for Yunan was the climax of Donggang car exhibition, the price was higher than twenty million yuan. Can you do the same thing?How long would it take you to cross this gap?"

"What you saw happened right in front of you, and this is reality!" Dingtian Xiao paused. He put down his arms, then said sincerely: "It's good to have enterprise, but your dream should not dull your senses. You'd better face reality, then make a decision, which is both good for you and Yunan."

Dai Li raised his head, looking at Dingtian Xiao seriously: "They gave Yunan a roadster, I saw it. Yes, this is reality, but to me, it's not that cruel. If you think that a twenty-million roadster can knock my confidence and humiliate me, then you are wrong about me. I don't think I'm subordinate to them."

"A slight error in thought brings you from confidence to conceit. A confident man may not be clever, but a conceited man must be stupid!" DIngtian Xiao snorted.

"I'm not conceited." Dai Li shook his head at once. "If you think the gap between me and Liang Chai, or Liancheng Jia, is an emerald pendant or a roadster, then does it mean that I can bridge the gap with an emerald pendant or a roadster, and you will then accept me?"

Dai Li spoke, also pointing out the window: "You pointed out the window and asked me whether I could buy an emerald pendant or a roadster, I answer your question right now, I can. I can give Yunan a supreme roadster as a birthday gift, and it's a unique one!"

"You can? By what, boasting?" Dingtian Xiao shook his head with scorn.

Right at this moment, an extremely loud beep ended the conversation. Through the window, Dai Li saw a truck stopped at the villa gate. At the back of the truck was a container, with an English logo painted on the wall. It was the shipping company Dai Li had entrusted.

Finally! Dai Li made a long sigh with relief. He turned around to Dingtian Xiao, a satisfying smile emerging on his face.

"President Xiao, I said I could do it. Here comes my roadster for Yunan!"
***



###Chapter 363: Unloading

###Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
Liang Chai sat alone in the chair, looking solitary. His cold face refused everyone that approached him. After spending more than thirteen million Hong Kong dollars on an emerald pendant, the gift was still exceeded by someone's twenty-million dollar roadster. Liang Chai was unpleasant. To him, the ten-million price difference was no big deal, but being exceeded by other people and losing face mattered much.

From afar, Liangcheng Jia's arrogant look kept attacking his confidence, which made Liang Chai felt even worse. What an upstart! Liang Chai snorted. As the third generation of Hong Kong shipping magnate, Liang Chai looked down upon these mainland rich people. His grandfather began his shipping business in the last century, since World War Ⅱ ended, and had become one of the richest people in Hong Kong in the early nineteen seventies. Even the new richest man, who enriched his family through land and property, was very polite in front of Chai, the King of Ships.

On the contrary, most mainland rich people earned their fortunes in the recent ten to twenty years. Although many of them had caught up to Hong Kong rich men, they were not able to exceed the wealth rankings in Hong Kong people's hearts. Priority remained.

However, at this moment, priority was just an excuse to comfort Liang Chai himself. Although Chai's family was wealthy, Jia's family was about the same. Besides, Liancheng Jia was the rich second generation, while Liang Chai was the third generation. The son definitely inherited family property sooner than the grandson.

On the other side, Liancheng Jia was flattered by the crowd, flattery such as "Young master is bounteous", "Mr. Jia is forthright", and so forth, and Liangcheng Jia's vanity had been greatly satisfied. As such, he absolutely put on an arrogant face, enjoying this happy moment.

"Mr. Jia, is your car the grand finale of the latest Donggang International Car Exhibition? I inquired about the car, and they told me that it was already reserved. I have been wondering who is so generous, never expecting it's you! Mr. Jia, is this car vigorous?"

"Haha, Yang Chen is our specialist on roadsters. Hey Yang Chen, would you like to introduce the car to us?" Liangcheng Jia said with a smiling face.

Yang Chen knew that Liancheng Jia wanted him to flatter him in a different way. But Liancheng Jia did say one thing right, the only person who truly knew about cars was him.

Yang Chen cleared his throat, then said: "Mr. Jia's Ferrari is Ferrari's flagship sports car. This car has a hy-kers hybrid power system, 6262cc V12 engine, and can reach speeds up to 200km/h within 7 seconds, accelerate from 0 to 300km/h within 15 seconds, and its fastest speed is 350km/h. This car is exclusive, as there are only 499 of the same model cars, and it is the best roadster in the world. Moreover, based on its speed, this should be the fastest Ferrari roadster."

Yang Chen's introduction made Liancheng Jia feel even better. He couldn't help looking at Liang Chai, who sat alone sulking, satirizing in his heart: You are from Hong Kong Chai's family, so what? Your family has been declining, a few years more, and you are won't even be qualified to clean my shoes.

At this point, a beep rang from afar. A truck with a container appeared, slowly drove in to the resort villa's gate, and parked in front of the crowd.

"Whose gift is this? It's carried by a truck, must be a big one. What do you think?"

"I say it's a 90% probability it is a roadster, too. Other things don't need to be carried by a truck."

"And it's packed by a container. What a mysterious gift."

"You see, the loader is a foreigner!"

Two foreigners got off from the back of the truck. The one with a red beard opened the container door, then took out a remote control and pressed a button. Mechanical gears transmitted, then, gradually, a support stretched from the container. There was indeed a roadster in the container.

However, the roadster was tightly covered by a layer of white plastic film, and although people saw the shape of the car, they couldn't tell its color, let alone its logo.

The red beard foreigner kept pressing the remote control, bringing the support slowly down, and finally landing it on the ground.

"This container should be specialized in shipping roadsters, seems to be first class."

"I feel the same. The whole car is covered by plastic film, looks mysterious, plus two foreign loaders, hey, the level immediately raised."

People involuntarily recalled that, not long ago, when Liancheng Jia's Ferrari was shipped here, the car was also loaded on a truck. But the differences were, that Ferrari was carried by a trailer, and was driven off from the trailer. On the contrary, here, this roadster had a special shipping container with a hydraulic support, so unloading was completed simply a remote control.

Although a remote-control hydraulic support didn't contain much high-tech, it was automatically functioning, which was completely different from manual operation. It was similar to thirty years ago, when people switched TV channels by twisting a button, then later, remote control was invented. But it was the remote control which raised the levels of television. Besides, there were two foreign loaders!

The two foreigners were sent by the European shipping company. They were not only loaders, but also technical advisers for unloading. After all, a polymeric membrane had been protecting the car. This membrane could even block sharp blades, so it definitely needed specialists to uncover it. But in the crowd's eyes, the two foreigners raised several levels up for this gift.

It was like dining out in a restaurant, where one sat in a French restaurant, with a violinist playing beautiful songs, and the waiters were all foreigners, with golden hair, blue eyes, dressed up in suits and ties, speaking French, and the menu was written in French, as well. Even though the guest could not understand the menu, he would feel the restaurant was exotic with high quality.

But, in contrast, if one ate in a noodle house, served by an old man in a sleeveless sweater and flip flops, who spoke dialect, asked about the food you wanted, then made loud noises when stretching noodles. Even if the beef noodle soup tasted way better than the French cuisine, the guest could not feel any romantic sentiment.

Thus, this scene of a professional container, electronic unloading, whole-cover polymeric membrane, plus two foreign loaders, altogether made a gorgeous packaging for the product. The value of a product could be increased by packaging. The same apple, which was worth one yuan in a local market, when put it into a special fruit and vegetable market with a tag, and stored in a fresh-keeping cabinet, the apple could then be sold for four to five yuan. But if it was kept in a delicate box, and was sold at Christmas Eve, the the price could be tens of yuan.

Liancheng Jia looked embarrassed. Although he had no idea whose car it was, the unloading process had already humiliated him. He even began to regret that he didn't buy a container and hire some foreign loaders, too. It wouldn't cost much anyway.

Who's being deliberately mystifying here?! Liancheng Jia snorted. But he could not restrain the others' curiosities. To be honest, even he was eager to know what kind of roadster was under that white protection membrane. Everyone's attentions fell onto the membrane-wrapped roadster. Many people talked in whispers.

"A roadster again, whom does it belong to? And the car is protected under a membrane, what kind of car is this?"

"No idea, it looks pretty high-tech. From its streamline design, it should be another roadster."

"Well, it doesn't really matter what car is it. What car can be better than Mr. Jia's laferrari?"

"Makes sense. How can this car exceed laferrari? But back to the topic, who sent it here? Mr. Jia bought a roadster, he also got one, how can his car be better than Jia's? Isn't he looking for humiliation?"

"Right. People are afraid of outfit clashes, same as sending gifts! The key point is, in this gift clash, his gift is not as good as the other's. What does the proverb say again? "Comparing with other people, the lowest rank will die; comparing with other products, the worst product will be thrown."

Those discussions went into Liangcheng Jia's ears, which made him feel better at once. That's true. No matter how gaudy your car packaging is, how can yours exceed my laferrari?! Mine is the most expensive car in the entire Donggang International Car Exhibition! The best roadster in the world! Liancheng Jia thought confidently.

While Liancheng Jia was comforting himself, suddenly an exclamation rang from the crowd: "Oh my God, this is...this is..."

A figure shot pass the crowd and rushed directly toward the car, peering at the unwrapped roadster. It was Yang Chen! "This is fxx! Am I right? Ferrari's fxx." Yang Chen's voice trembled with surprise.

The others might not know about fxx, but as a senior car fan, how could Yang Chen not recognize fxx?! Even though the car was totally covered by a protection membrane, its shape was very clear. Yang Chen recognized it right away by its shape.

The next second, Yang Chen looked at the two foreigners, and asked in English: "Is this car Ferrari's fxx?"

The foreigner slightly hesitated, then nodded: "Yes, you are right."

"Jesus, fxx, this is a real fxx! I see a real fxx!" Yang Chen almost wanted to dance. His eyes, his facial expression, were as if he was a sincere pilgrim worshiping his God. In fact, to a crazy car fan like Yang Chen, seeing a fxx by himself, the feeling was the same as worshiping God.

Everybody saw Yang Chen's craziness.

"What's wrong with Yang Chen? Is he insane? He looks crazy!"

"Is it because of that car? What did he say? Ferrari? Is this roadster also a Ferrari?"

"I heard him saying fxx, what is it? Is it the name of the car?"

"Fxx? Is it famous?"

"I heard it somewhere before. Right, fxx is also a supreme roadster in Ferrari."

"Is it? Then which one is better, laferrari or fxx?"

Not every rich second generation here knew about roadsters. Wealthy people directly bought the car, but only keyboard men who could not afford a roadster setting roadsters as wallpaper, and talking about roadsters online all day long. As the saying went, people who afford it don't talk, people who talked a lot wouldn't buy. Were there any domestic rich kids boasting about roadsters online all the time?

Real wealthy people, even though their roadster was crashed, would sit down and look through webpages on their phone. They didn't care about millions of money. They changed roadsters just like ordinary people changed clothes, so likewise, was there anyone who kept talking how many buttons, or how many stitches there were on a coat?

This Ferrari fxx was a special car, as it was made ten years ago by Ferrari. Back at that time, most of these rich kids hadn't even gotten their driving licenses yet, so how would they care about this fxx?

Even though they wanted to know, there was no way to do so. There were only thirty of the same cars produced, and none of them were found in the country. Even senior roadster fans like Yang Chen only saw its model, rather than the real car.

Finally, someone couldn't help asking: "Yang Chen, what car is this? Could you introduce it to us?"

Yang Chen was pulled back from his excitement. He took a deep breath, then introduced it: "This is Ferrari's fxx! So far, it is the most high-tech car produced by Ferrari. This car contains a lot of racing techniques, so technically speaking, this car is a racing car! To us roadster fans, this car is our God!"

As he said this, Yang Chen's voice sounded more excited: "You know what? Even with the prototype car, there are only thirty of them in the world, in the whole world! And they all belong to top-level roadster collectors, we have none of them is in this country! Wait, no, finally, we now have one!"

Enthusiasm shone through Yang Chen's eyes. His eager look was like a puppy seeing a bone. You feckless! It's just a car. Liancheng Jia snorted in his heart.

Right now, someone stood beside and asked the question that Liancheng Jia was eager to ask, which was also the question most people wanted to ask: "Yang Chen, how much is this car?"

To everyone's surprise, Yang Chen shook his head: "I don't know."

"Are you kidding? Is there any car in the world that you don't know about its price?" someone immediately asked.

"I'm not joking, I really don't know!" Yang Chen shook his head again depressingly: "This car was not open to the public, at that time, so if one wanted it, he must meet certain standards. More precisely speaking, Ferrari chose customs, and only if they chose you, did you get the chance to buy this car."

"How could this happen? Sellers choose buyers, only Ferrari dares to do so."

Somebody sighed.

Liancheng Jia felt his show was stolen, and he involuntarily asked: "I say, Yang Chen, even though this car was not open to the public, it should have had an appraisal, shouldn't it?"

Yang Chen thought for a while, then replied: "At the time that this car came out, some European media assessed its price should be no lower than one and a half million euros."

"One and a half million euros, converted into RMB, is around twelve million, so similar to that Star of the Princess something!" Liangcheng Jia talked out loud deliberately, aiming at telling everyone that, this fxx was way cheaper than his laferrari.

"One and a half million euros TEN YEARS AGO." Yang Chen reminded, ill-timed.

The crowd was enlightened. The exchange rate was different ten years ago. At that time, one and a half million euros was equal to more than fifteen million RMB, plus inflation, fifteen million RMB ten years ago was worth way more than today's twenty million. What fifteen million RMB could do a decade ago, might not be done with thirty million RMB at present.

Apart from anything else, if one bought a fifteen-million house in a first-tier city, conservatively speaking, the price would increase five to six times, and if lucky enough, the price might be ten times higher than the original value. But Yang Chen hadn't finished yet, as he continued: "Ten years ago, media assessed it to be one and a half million euros, but no one would be willing to sell it with this price. In recent years, no trading record about this car was found. It would probably be auctioned. I guess if it was priced at three million euros, it would be sold."

"Three million? Then this car is more expensive than that laferrari, isn't it?" Liang Chai said, chuckling.

Liancheng Jia suddenly turned around, giving Liang Chai a murderous look...
***



###Chapter 364: The Unique Gift

####Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
"Mr. Li, your car has been delivered, please come and sign for it." A voice came through the phone. It was the red bearded foreigner from the European shipping company.

"OK, please wait for a minute, I'm coming right now." Dai Li hung up the phone, and looked at Dingtian Xiao apologetically.

"President Xiao, please excuse me, I have to go downstairs. My gift for Yunan has arrived, I have to sign for it."

Dingtian Xiao waved his hand, poker-faced, seeming to be indifferent.

However, soon after Dai Li left the room, Dingtian Xiao involuntarily moved beside the window, looking at the roadster being unloaded.

This young man did buy a roadster! Is this a coincidence? ​Dingtian Xiao suddenly felt like he was being smacked in the face. This feeling was strange, as he hadn't experienced such a feeling for a long while. Zhicheng Huang knocked on the door, then came in. He looked at Dingtian Xiao, then asked:

"President, would you like me to go watch him, to ensure that he won't mess anything up?"

"OK. You go watch him, that will reassure me." Dingtian Xiao seemed to suddenly remember something, so he said: "Go inquire about Dai Li's car.

What car did he buy for Yunan?"

"Understood." Zhicheng Huang immediately replied, but he looked a little surprised.

President never show any interest in cars, why does he care about this gifted car? ​Zhicheng Huang shook his head, as he walked out the room.

 ...

Liancheng Jia's face was filled with depression, but he was still unwilling to be defeated.

"It's just a jalopy!" Liancheng Jia snorted, and said: "A ten-year-old car. I wonder whether it can run or not. Even so, it must be slower than my new laferrari!"

Liang Chai moved to the front with a smiling face, asking: "Yang Chen, could you tell me how is this fxx's engine? How is its speed?"

This sulking saboteur! Liancheng Jia gave Liang Chai an angry look. He already knew that this guy was here humiliating him. Yang Chen replied honestly: "This car also has a 6262cc v12engine, according to what I know, and has a Formula One gearbox, so even though it doesn't have an advanced hybrid power system, its acceleration is no worse than Ferrari's newest flagship automobile. It speeds up to 100km/h within three seconds, to 200km/h within seven seconds, and to 300km/h within fifteen seconds, none of these would be any problems. Fxx has a top speed of 390km/h."

"If I'm right, did you say that laferrari's top speed is 350km/h? Then this fxx is faster than laferrari!" Liang Chai smiled, glanced at Liancheng Jia, then said:

"I'm really curious about whoever bought such a legendary car as a gift."

Liang Chai's last sentence awakened many people. Before that, they focused on the car, but the key question now was, who had bought this car.

"Who sent this car here? That person indeed invested much!"

"Right, Mr. Jia put more than twenty million in his gift, and still isn't able to win.

Who is this Mr. Mystery?"

"He must have a powerful background, otherwise, how can he buy a Ferrari fxx? If I were him, I wouldn't even know where to buy it!"

As the crowd was busy discussing, Dai Li walked hurriedly towards that red beard.

"Mr. Li, would you like me to uncover the car now?" asked the red beard.

"Yes, please!" Dai Li nodded, signing his name on the receipt.

 ...

"Who is he? Did he send the car?"

"Is he Yunan Xiao's boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend? No wonder he gave her such an amazing gift! But her boyfriend looks strange to me, which family does he come from?"

"Which family? I heard that her boyfriend was just a normal sports coach!"

"It can't be, don't you make fun of me. I can't afford this Ferrari fxx, let alone a sports coach!"

"I'm serious, Yunan Xiao said so herself. Her boyfriend is a coach, and is right in Dingtian Football Club!"

"I still can't believe it. How much can a coach earn? You think he's Hammam, earning millions upon million euros per year?"

"You are right, our domestic coaches, even earning million yuan per year, he should spend no money within thirty years to finally afford this fxx!"

"Do you think that it's a fake one? Like a model?"

The last sentence reminded Liancheng Jia of something. He seemed to catch a live-saving straw, which could reverse the situation.

That makes sense, he is only a coach, how can he afford Ferrari fxx, this must be a fake one! ​Thinking about this, Liancheng Jia shouted at Dai Li in the front: "Hey, pull off the plastic film, let's take a look at this Ferrari fxx!"

As Liancheng Jia shouted, some people followed him. Dai Li nodded at red beard, the latter one immediately picking up his tools and moving close to the car, preparing to peel away the protection membrane. This polymeric membrane could not be lacerated by any knife, only special tools, together with certain methods could peel it.

"Let me help you!" Yang Chen couldn't wait to see the fxx, so he rushed forward.

Red beard held his tools in his hand, and walked to the rear, as he needed to peel the protection membrane on the engine first. Since the engine was the core of a car, he must make sure that the core was alright. The reason why he came to the rear was because Ferrari fxx's engine was located at the rear, like most roadsters' were.

As red beard peeled the protection membrane on the engine, black metal lacquer surface appeared in front of the crowd.

"Black, this car is black!"

"Usually Ferraris are red, why is this one black"

"You see, I search fxx online, and they all look red, none of them is black.

This one is weird!"

Red was the traditional Ferrari color, so many people even thought that only red Ferraris could be called Ferrari. Liancheng Jia's laferrari was also red. As for the other colors, there were some, but not many. Many cars in the street were black and white, but to Ferrari, no matter whether black or white, as long as it was not red, it was non-mainstream.

Seeing this, Liancheng Jia suddenly asked out loud: "Yang Chen, this one is black. Is there any black fxxs?"

"Well, I'm not sure." Yang Chen shook his head: "But my collections are all red."

"Black Ferrari, rarely seen, huh? Is this a real Ferrari, or a fake one? I heard that there are some people specialized in stitching cars, who can make whatever you want" Liancheng Jia said in a loud voice, for fear that someone couldn't hear him.

There were some lawbreakers who specialized in stitching cars. A county collected various kinds of car components, and it was said that there was nothing they could not make. Hundreds of thousand of yuan for a Benz, four to five hundred thousand for a Bentley, seven to eight hundred thousand for a Lamborghini .... it was not a myth there. How couldn't the others tell Liancheng Jia's sourness in his words? It was just that he was not the only one who felt jealous, but rather, a lot of people waited to mock Dai Li.

The previous fashion sarcastic woman snorted in the crowd: "I say, how can a sport coach afford a tens of million roadster? This forgery is so unprofessional. You wanna fool us with a black Ferrari? Everyone knows that Ferrari is red. You are making yourself look fat by slapping your own face!"

In the front, red beard ensured that the engine was alright, then began to peel the membrane on the door. On the black surface, a number "30" showed up. "Uh-huh, a number? 30? What does it mean, odd-and-even license plate rule?

Liancheng Jia jeered.

But Yang Chen, who stood at the front, after noting the number, was taken aback.

"Seriously? No. 30, is it THAT fxx? No, it can't be! It's impossible!" Yang Chen murmured to himself.

Finally, the membrane on the front hood was also peeled off. At the center of the hood, a number "30" came into Yang Chen's eyes. ​30, number 30, black fxx, only that car has such a painting! Is this indeed that car? Really? Yang Chen couldn't help but touch the "30" sign, then he turned to Dai Li, astonished.

"Is this Herr Haim, King of the Car's fxx?" Yang Chen asked seriously.

Dai Li smiled and nodded: "Yes, it was. But now, it's Yunan's!"

"Aw!" Yang Chen suddenly shouted, which gave Dai Li a good scare.

The next second, Yang Chen suddenly bowed down and leaned his upper body on the front hood, and kept kissing that "30" sign. If previously, Yang Chen looked like a sincere pilgrim worshiping, then currently, he was actually like a pilgrim, who was worshipping this black fxx!

"What's wrong with Yang Chen? Is he insane?"

"He must be crazy! Crying, laughing, shouting, he is crazier than before!"

"What is Yang Chen doing? Kissing the car? Isn't it gross?"

The crowd looked at Yang Chen confusingly. But red beard couldn't tolerate it at all. He stepped forward and lifted Yang Chen off the car, shouting: "Hey, move your mouth away from the car, don't smudge it, I haven't completed my delivery yet!"

"Please, I beg you, please let me touch it again! Just one more time!"

Yang Chen seemed to become a child seeing his favorite toy, as he kept begging red beard.

Fen Luo couldn't stand it, and he stopped Yang Chen, saying: "Yang Chen, mind your behavior, you are in public area, don't forget who you are."

Yang Chen then awakened. Seeing that the crowd was looking at him, he was embarrassed, and calmed himself down at once.

"What's wrong with you, Yang Chen, are you insane?" asked Fen Luo.

"No, I was too excited, really!" Yang Chen said: "I never expected to see the legendary fxx ever in my life!"

"The legendary fxx?" Fen Luo was confused. He looked at Yang Chen, then looked at the car, asking: "Are there legendary cars and non-legendary cars?"

"Well, I just mentioned, there are only 30 Ferrari fxxs in this world. In fact, the prototype car is included. The fxx prototype, which is the most unique fxx in the world, its number is 30!" Yang Chen said, pointing at the number "30".

"You mean, this car is its prototype?" Fen Luo was now enlightened, then he asked: "But you don't need to overreact like that, kissing a car?"

"The fxx prototype is different from the other 29 fxxs. It contains the most Formula One technology, in other words, the prototype is the most Formula-One-like roadster! This car can bring the driver a car-racing experience." Yang Chen's face was flushed, as he was in an extremely exciting moment. He continued: "Well, what I said was not the key point. Do you know to whom this fxx prototype belongs to?"

"Who?" Fen Luo asked subconsciously.

"Herr Haim, King of the Car! This is Ferrari's gift for Herr Haim's retirement, it's
***




###Chapter 365: He is Lucky

####Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
Herr Haim, King of the Car, the name was familiar to everyone present.

"Is this indeed the Herr Haim's retirement gift from Ferrari?"

"Yang Chen said so, so then it should be true. He knows roadsters best among us."

"If it is the retirement gift, then it's invaluable. Three million euros should not be enough."

"Stop joking, the car's sentimental value alone is priceless."

"Back to the topic, why is Herr Haim's retirement souvenir here? This car is memorable to Herr Haim, so I think he wouldn't sell it, even if he got paid?"

Liancheng Jia heard those voices, his depressed face suddenly lighting up. He was hyper now. "I say, Yang Chen, did you misread it? How could Herr Haim's retirement souvenir be here?"Liancheng Jia said.

"How would I misread it? Black lacquer coating, plus the figure 30, only Herr Haim's fxx looks like this." Yang Chen was sure.

"Perhaps, the coating is made on purpose!" Liancheng Jia smiled, and said: "Or rather, say, this is just a model! At least I can't believe this, that an ordinary coach owns Herr Haim's retirement souvenir."

Hearing these words, Yang Chen hesitated. He looked at the roadster, then at Dai Li, undecided. There were many people staring at Dai Li, waiting to see him lose face. Apparently, they thought that Dai Li intended to fool them with a fake car. Herr Haim's private car, an exclusive roadster, which could not be bought by money, how would it fall into a poor coach's hands?

Red beard walked to Dai Li, and asked: "Mr. Li, the car looks good from appearances. Would you like to start it, just as a double check? If the engine works well, then our delivery will be completed."

"Sure, let me try." Dai Li opened the door and sat inside. He inserted the key, then pressed start button. Rear lamps went on, followed by that 6262cc V12 neighing-like startup. After that sound, the heavy bass roar shocked everyone at the scene.

As the fxx prototype, it didn't use a series-produced engine. This special engine was made only for fxx, later, it was gradually used in other Ferrari flagship roadsters. Therefore, from the engine's roar, its uniqueness had already been shown.

Not every rich second generation there knew about roadsters, but surely everybody got one, at least. However, none of them had ever heard such a roar from their own roadsters. But from the pleasant neighing heard when the engine just started, and heavy bass-like beastial roaring after it fully started, everyone sensed that it must be a top-level roadster.

Yang Chen stood right next to the car, intoxicated by the engine roaring. To him, it was the most beautiful music in the world. Meanwhile, Dai Li stepped on the accelerator in neutral. A tremendous crash "Hum" immediately shocked the crowd.

Hearing it, Yang Chen shouted, ill-mannered: "This roar is made by a v12 engine, no, only racing-car level engines can produce such a roar. This car is indeed a fxx! This car is Herr Haim's fxx!"

Yang Chen's words slapped Liancheng Jia in his face. Liancheng Jia was questioning that the car was just a model, but Yang Chen's behavior refuted him, and humiliated him greatly.

Liancheng Jia wished to kick Yang Chen down to the ground. Although nobody laughed at him, it didn't mean that people would forget about this. Liancheng Jia predicted that soon he would be the others' after-dinner joke. Today's "gift war" was full of twists and turns. From Liang Chai's pendant, to Liancheng Jia's roadster, but the one laughing till the end was Dai Li, who was the one who had been ignored the whole time.

The crowd looked at Dai Li differently now. Previously, Dai Li was a loser in people's eyes, as to those rich people, a sports coach was nothing. But now, after an exclusive roadster was presented, Dai Li's figure immediately grew bigger. At least, none of those people was able to buy a Ferrari fxx as a gift, let alone Herr Haim's retirement souvenir.

Now, many people began to guess as to what background Dai Li had. Perhaps he was a love child of an executive, otherwise, how could he afford such a unique gift?

 ...

Zhicheng Huang knocked at the door and walked in. "President, I have investigated Dai Li's roadster, and it is indeed a Ferrari fxx," reported Zhicheng Huang.

"Oh, a Ferrari? This Dai Li probably spent all the money he has in order to afford such a Ferrari roadster. Well, he indeed invested much for Yunan." Dingtian Xiao kept reading the document in his hand, and didn't even raise his head, asking: "How much is it?"

"Not sure. I haven't found any information," Zhicheng Huang answered honestly.

"No information?"Dingtian Xiao put down the document, while he looked at Zhizhong Huang in surprise.

He knew Zhicheng Huang's competence. Zhicheng Huang had been following Dingtian Xiao as an assistant for so many years, how would he be now a common individual? But today, hearing "no information" from his assistant, Dingtian Xiao was a little bit confused.

Zhicheng Huang explained: "President, this Ferrari fxx is an exclusive product, as there are only 30 of them in this world, and all are not open for sale. The buyers were selected by Ferrari, according to certain standards, otherwise, there is no way to buy it. Precisely speaking, this car is priceless, without even a market."

"Is Ferrari making hunger marketing? Hmm, not really, if there are only 30 of them, there is no need to do any hunger marketing." Dingtian Xiao slightly shook his head, but kept asking: "You said there are some standards, what are they?"

"Details are not given. I found some rumors, but they are all wrong," replied Zhicheng Huang.

"Do I meet those standards?" Dingtian Xiao asked with interest.

"Definitely not, "Zhicheng Huang replied honestly, like a robot.

"I don't meet the standards, how come Dai Li reached the standards? Am I worse than that boy?!" Dingtian Xiao didn't blame Zhicheng Huang, he just seemed to pour out his unpleasantness, for the thought of that Dai Li being better than him in some aspects.

"I guess Dai Li didn't buy this fxx himself. This car was sold ten years ago, when Dai Li was still at school, so how could he buy this car? Besides, this fxx has a special sentimental value, as it was given to Herr Haim by Ferrari when he retired," said Zhicheng Huang.

"You're sure?" Dingtian Xiao turned around: "Are you sure that it is Herr Haim's car? Not a model for fooling people?"

"I'm quite sure. I think people who bought this car must pursue personalization and uniqueness, since they didn't want to use the same coating as the others. Moreover, Herr Haim's coating is most special, as the one who bought his car didn't need to make the same coating as Herr Haim's," said Zhicheng Huang.

Hearing these details, Dingtian Xiao fell into the sofa, defeat flashing across his face.

"How did Herr Haim's car fall in his hands, then, did he steal it? Then when Herr Haim came to ask for the car, I would have to give it back... This Dai Li is really good at surprising me! I just told him that he couldn't afford a roadster, and he immediately gave me a supreme one. Huh, interesting, I haven't be losing face like this for years!"

Frustration raised involuntarily from within Dingtian Xiao's heart. He hadn't experienced such feelings for years. As Dingtian Xiao spoke, he turned to Zhicheng Huang and asked: "Zhicheng, what do you think of Dai Li?"

Zhicheng Huang thought for a while, then answered seriously: "Stubborn, serious, hot-blooded, pushy, and I think, he is very lucky."

"Lucky?" Dingtian Xiao suddenly burst out into laughter: "You are right, he is lucky. Sometimes, fortune make people helpless."

Dingtian Xiao took a look at the document again, then casually said: "This time, Yunan has received many gifts. You go prepare some return presents. Besides, keep the present for Hong Kong Chai's family, for next week, when I go, I will bring it with me."

"Understood." Zhicheng Huang continued: "This time, Liang Chai gave a ten million emerald pendant, but was exceeded by the others, so I'm not sure whether he would feel awkward or not."

"Let him be! Even though we can't be future relatives, we still need to continue in our business. Shipping Magnate Chai will understand. Canadian natural gas, it is a large piece of fat meat. We invest, and we will surely gain profits. To do business, there would be no eternal enemy or friends, we either compete with each other, or cooperate together..."Dingtian Xiao said, as he began to read the document again.

 ...

Yunan Xiao leaned close to Dai Li's shoulder, gazing at clouds far away in the sky.

"Where did you get this car?" Yunan Xiao asked.

"Herr Haim gave it to me," said Dai Li.

"Did you beg him for it?" Yunan Xiao curled her lip, making fun of him.

"How would I do that? I refused again and again for thousands of times, and it was Herr Haim who insisted to give the car to me." Dai Li made a helpless look, then switched the topic: "But the car ran fast. Herr Haim took me for a ride in this car, and with a blink of an eye, we sped up to 350km/h. I was petrified."

"I can't go that fast," Yunan Xiao said thoughtlessly.

"This car is not allowed to be on the road, except in Switzerland. If you want to have fun, drive it in the racing field." Dai Li thought for a second, then said: "If we've got time, I can drive you in the racing field, and let you experience Formula One's feeling!"

"Forget about that. Your driving experience is less than mine!" Yunan Xiao shook her head.

Dai Li smiled carelessly. After Herr Haim recovered, Dai Li took Herr Haim into the Athletes Illustrated Handbook. Now that Herr Haim had been retired for years, and was injured, he was no longer at his best status. But the king was always the king, so if he was asked to drive a Formula One racing car, He could still drive it well,and would still be better than many young drivers.

In Dai Li's Athletes Illustrated Handbook, although Herr Haim was not at his peak, he could surely surpass 99% of racing drivers. There were only twenty to thirty Formula One drivers in the world, and if Dai Li copied Herr Haim's ability, even only 70% of it, he would be able to reach European top-level driver's competence, and would be way stronger than domestic drivers.

Dai Li clasped Yunan Xiao in his arms, enjoying this momentary sweetness, before his phone rang, ill-timed.

"A phone call from UK, excuse me," Dai Li said as he picked up the phone.

"Hello, Coach Li. This is Thompson, Duke Gaer's housekeeper." A man spoke with a British accent.

"Hi Mr. Thompson, how are you? Haven't seen you for a while! How is Duke Gaer?" Dai Li said with great enthusiasm.

"I'm good, thank you. Sorry to bother you, but Duke Gaer may need some rehabilitative training. Yesterday, when Duke Gaer was riding a horse, he fell off the horse again. Although he was not seriously injured, he still needs some help to recover." Thompson paused, then said: "I have found some therapists, but he rejected them all. He didn't trust them."

Pausing here, Mr. Thompson sighed helplessly: "So, Coach Li, could you come to the UK again? I think Duke trusts nobody, except you!"
***



###Chapter 366: Ruthless Man

####Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
On the second day, Dai Li flew to Capital City for his UK visa. This time, the visa application was extremely easy, with all green lights along the process. British visa officers saw Duke Gaer's invitation letter, didn't say anything, and directly sealed a "pass".

Among British governmental organizations, hereditary aristocracy enjoyed some special rights. After receiving his visa, Dai Li booked a flight to the UK. Fifteen hours later, he arrived at Edinburgh.

Duke Gaer's injury was not severe, in fact, beyond some abrasions, he had merely wrenched his waist. If he had been a young man, after receiving simple massage and having some good rest, he would be fine. But Duke Gaer was an old man in his sixties. As the saying goes, "When getting old, do not match strength with others". A minor wrench on his waist made Duke Gaer completely bedridden.

However, Duke Gaer didn't trust the other therapists, he only believed in Dai Li. He'd rather lie in bed bearing the waist pain than to receive treatments from other therapists. He had been waiting until Dai Li came.

When aging, people get stubborn. It's like domestic elders, who are fooled into buying health products, no matter what the others said, they were willing to spend hundreds of thousands yuan buying something useless.

In the medieval castle, Duke Gaer was lying in bed, receiving Dai Li's massage.

"My horsemanship is excellent. When I was young, I participated in domestic Olympics selection for British equestrian athletes. But who could predict that I would fall off the horse! Ten years ago, making such a performance on a horse was no big deal to me..." Duke Gaer recalled the old times.

"Your Excellency, you just said it was ten years ago. Please remember, you are in your sixties now, and are no longer a young man. How could you perform difficult technical moves as excellent as before?" Dai Li paused, then said: "Besides, you have sat in a wheelchair for a decade, and during this period of time, your body, like muscles and bones, must have degraded. Therefore, you should pay more attention when exercising. My suggestion is for you to only exercise under professional guidance."

"Just because I have been restrained in the wheelchair for ten years, I couldn't wait to go out for a horse ride. I have already wasted ten years, I don't want to miss any more time." Duke Gaer shook his head.

At this time, Thompson, the housekeeper, walked into the room. He slightly bowed to Duke Gaer, then said: "Your Excellency, guests from Hong Kong have arrived, they are waiting in the lounge."

"Huh, I forgot this." Duke Gaer thought for seconds, then said: "I don't want to meet them. Tell them that I don't feel good, and send them away. I'd like Coach Li to massage me for a longer time."

"Yes, Your Excellency." Thompson bowed again, then left the room.

Duke Gaer turned his head to glimpse at Dai Li, then said: "Coach Li, would you like to have afternoon tea with me? My chef has prepared the most authentic Scottish desserts, and black tea from your country!"

"My pleasure!" Dai Li nodded with a smile.

 ...

Four Chinese men were sitting in the lounge. If Dai Li was here, he would be surprised, for he knew three of them. On the left sofa, sat a man around sixty with a serious look. Next to him was a middle-aged man in his forties. The two were Dingtian Xiao and his assistant Zhicheng Huang.

On the side sofa, there was also a sixty-year-old man, who wore a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, his hair combed sleek. Next to him was a man right above thirty years old. The thirty-year-old was Liang Chai, Hong Kong Chai's family's third generation. The sixty-year-old man next to him was his father, Zhengnan Chai, who was the eldest son of Hong Kong Shipping Magnate Chai.

Shipping Magnate Chai was more that ninety years old. He had retired tens of years ago, and passed on Chai's business to his son, Zhengnan Chai. In other words, Zhennan Chai was actually the man in charge of Chai's business.

The four sat in the lounge, having tea and chatting. But if there were any outsiders here, they would have felt that both sides looked harmonious, but actually deceived each other.

"Duke Gaer had been paralysed in a horse accident, after ten years, and he has finally recovered recently," Zhennan Chai said. "So it's a good timing for us to be here in order to congratulate him on his recovery."

"What I care about more is, whether Duke Gaer is willing to support us on Canadian natural gas or not." Dingtian Xiao squinted his eyes a little bit, then continued: "In my memory, British people are arrogant. This Duke Gaer may ask for an exorbitant repayment."

"Canadian natural gas is a piece of fat meat, a lot of people want it. But current European economics is in a recession, and investors are cautious. I don't think there would be anyone who offers better cooperation terms than we do. Moreover, after gas is extracted, finding a market for it will be a big problem. Except in new markets, European and American countries can not use so much gas." Zhennan Chai tapped his finger.

"Right. Although it's a fat meat, it requires long-term investment." Dingtian Xiao subconsciously lifted his neck, seeming to count gains and losses.

The four waited for a long while, before finally seeing the housekeeper Thompson walk in. Thompson was wearing a pair of clean white gloves, and was holding two delicate paper boxes in his hands.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Thompson slightly bowed, then said: "His Excellency doesn't feel well today, so he can't come meet you. His Excellency wants me to deliver his apologies, and let you know that he really appreciates your coming from afar."

Thompson showed an apologetic look, but the atmosphere among the four guests suddenly deflated a bit.

"To apologize, His Excellency asks me to bring some snacks especially for you. Our dessert chef once worked for Her Majesty and is one of the best dessert chefs in the UK. These two boxes contains freshly made cookies, of authentic Scottish flavor, so please accept it." As he said this, Thompson handed the boxes to the four people.

 ...

Duke Gaer leaned on the chair, his back was supported by a cushion. He pointed at the tiered cake stand, saying: "Coach Li, my dessert chef once served Her Majesty, but she seemed to not like Scottish cookies very much."

"This tastes really good." Dai Li smiled. "To be honest, I don't know much about European desserts. I can't even tell the difference between British and French desserts. But what I do know is, this cookie is great."

"Glad you like it. I will have my housekeeper bring a box of cookies to you when you leave." Duke Gaer started to enter his chatterbox mode, as it was rare to have someone like his afternoon tea. This led Duke Gaer to begin to evaluate afternoon-tea cultures among European countries.

Dai Li listened helplessly. His eyes randomly glimpsed outside the window, just happening to see four people as they left the castle. Those two people, did I meet them somewhere before? They look familiar! Looks like Dingtian Xiao and his assistant Zhicheng Huang! Thinking about this, Dai Li shook his head in self-mockery, "This is the UK, how would I possibly meet them here? I must have 'Father-in Law phobia'!"

 ...

"Alright, we have waited for several hours, only to see a cookie box!" Zhicheng Huang sat in the car, holding the cookie box in this arms, complaining. "This Duke Gaer is really good at putting on airs. I mean, a box of cookies, and we are sent away!"

"Two boxes. Zhennan Chai is also rejected by a box of cookies, isn't he?" Dingtian Xiao remained calm, his eyes shining with self-examination. He continued: "I have some responsibility for today's situation. It seems that I overestimated Chai's relationship in the UK."

"President, after you said so, it's likely to be this way. Previously, the Chais boasted how much power they had, as if they could talk to any British nobility, and it seemed that even the queen had to give them face. But when they actually came here, they couldn't even see a duke." Zhicheng Huang continued in his scorn: "Perhaps even the Chais overestimated their status. As a matter of fact, in the past, the old shipping magnate was indeed influential. He was given the title of Justice of Peace, and was greeted by the queen individually for the investiture. People at his status, even the governor of Hong Kong have to show much respect to him."

Pausing here, Dingtian Xiao sighed: "It sounded like he had stepped into the UK's upper class, and became a part of British nobility. But now, it seems that those British never took him as being truly one of them. It makes sense, since Hong Kong used to be a British colony. You regard British as your lord, try hard to show your loyalty, but they don't even treat you as good as a dog!"

"President, what are we going to do? Duke Gaer is not willing to meet us, and we can't waste time waiting for him, can we? Is there any other plan? Or can we inquire about new relationships?" asked Zhicheng Huang.

"It's too late to find other relationships." Dingtian Xiao curled his lip and said. "Zhennan Chai must not be willing to give up. He will make another appointment tomorrow, so let's wait first."

 ...

"Your Excellency, the men from yesterday, Mr. Chai and Mr. Xiao, they have come back again. Right now they are waiting in the drawing room," Thompson spoke in a standard British housekeeper way, with a deep, rich voice.

"Why come again? Did he make an appointment?" Duke Gaer was impatient.

"It looks like Mr. Chai and Mr. Xiao are assured that they will have Canadian natural gas. They are not willing to give this fat meat up," Thompson smiled and said. "Mr. Chai's father received Her Majesty's investiture, and he has a high status in Hong Kong."

"I'm not going to see anyone without an appointment! Recently, Her Majesty knighted hundreds of people, and if I met every one of them in person, I would be busy until death! Besides, this Mr. Chai is just the son of Knight Chai. Even if his father were here, I wouldn't see him if I didn't want to!" Duke Gaer shook his head indifferently. "As for Canadian gas, I don't lack money, and I have been lying in bed for ten years. I don't want to waste any time on earning more money. Let me enjoy my life. Send them away for me!"

"Yes, Your Excellency." Thompson nodded.

"Uh, has Coach Li arrived?" Duke Gaer asked.

Thompson checked the time on his watch: "An hour ago, our driver went to the hotel to pick Coach Li up. They are about to arrive."

"Then tell chef to prepare more afternoon tea," Duke Gaer said. "Yesterday I had a nice conversation with Coach Li."

Thompson laughed, nodding in reply. He knew well about his duke, and how yesterday afternoon, to say that Duke Gaer was chatting with Dai Li, he would rather say that Duke was giving a lecture, and spouting eloquent speeches!

 ...

"Mr. Chai, Mr. Xiao, I'm sorry. His Excellency has a full schedule today, and will be meeting an important guest soon. Please go back." Thompson gave them a sorry look, sending the four people to the gate himself.

It had been a long time since Dingtian Xiao was denied an entrance, anywhere. At least in the domestic market, no one dared to slam the door in his face. But this was the UK, not Dingtian Xiao's territory, so he had to take duke's cue before taking action. Duke Gaer's status was only subordinate to the royal family, and hence, was at the top among hereditary aristocracies. If he wanted to show his pride, nobody could stop him.

From his property stance, although Duke Gaer might not be as rich as Dingtian Xiao, he still had billions of pounds. Plus, these British nobility's property usually existed in the form of fixed assets, like land, houses, precious metals, artwork, etc. These things had steady appreciation.

On the contrary, entrepreneurs like Dingtian Xiao's properties mainly came from stocks they held in the company. If the company's share price increased, they might become billionaires within one night, but if the price fell, their property would experience several hundred times of shrinkage. Therefore, the two sides didn't need to look at the other's cue, and perhaps Duke Gaer, with less money, had more priority.

Dingtian Xiao could take temporary setbacks. Although he was refused and annoyed, he still looked calm, and it seemed that he was not affected by his failure at all. Thompson walked out to the castle with them, all the way to the parking lot in front. At the same time, a Rolls-Royce came from afar, it was the car the housekeeper had sent to pick up Dai Li.

Seeing this Rolls-Royce, Thompson immediately applied a professional smile.

"Is this the important guest the housekeeper mentioned? Duke Gaer will probably see that individual." Liang Chai whispered.

Zhennan Chai and Dingtian Xiao involuntarily looked at this Rolls-Royce. They were curious about who the important guest was. Finally, the Rolls-Royce parked. Thompson walked forward to open the door himself, greeting with enthusiasm: "Coach Li, finally you are here! His Excellency has been waiting for you!"

"Coach Li?" Zhizhong Huang couldn't help but repeat this appellation, while Dingtian Xiao furrowed his eyebrows. To these two people, "Coach Li" meant something different.

The next second, Dai Li got out of the car. This moment, Zhicheng Huang looked like an owl, dazed in the tree. While Dingtian Xiao, who never let facial expressions reveal his feelings before, didn't know whether to cry or laugh. Only Liang Chai couldn't control himself, as he shouted out surprisingly: "Dai Li! Why are you here?"

Liang Chai's shouting caught Dai Li's attention. The first person he saw was not Liang Chai, but Dingtian Xiao.

Why is Yunan's father here? Did he chase me all the way to the UK, only to separate us? My future father-in-law is too ruthless! Dai Li's mind was a mess.
***



###Chapter 367: A Confusing Conversation

####Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
On their way back, Zhicheng Huang was still thinking about what had happened just now.

"Why had Dai Li become Duke Gaer's honorable guest?" said Zhicheng Huang. "He is just a normal coach, and his parents are simple wage earners. They don't have much money, neither do they have supporting backgrounds. I have investigated all his information."

Zhicheng Huang investigated Dai Li's personal information himself, so he knew well about Dai Li's family background and working experience. No matter how hard he tried, Zhicheng Huang couldn't figure out how Dai Li engaged in a friendship with Duke Gaer. From any standpoint, a domestic young sports coach should not have any connection with a British duke.

"There is always something in this world that happens unexpectedly." Dingtian Xiao acted more calm than did Zhicheng Huang. He lowered his head in concentration for a few seconds, then said: "After we go back, talk to Dai Li, and see whether he could help us meet Duke Gaer."

Zhicheng Huang looked at DIngtian Xiao, surprised, as he never thought that one day Dingtian Xiao would be willing to get off his high horse and ask Dai Li for help.

"Why, you look surprised? Is it losing face to ask Dai Li for help?" Dingtian Xiao smiled, then shook his head. "I understand why you think so. But if I could take this Canadian natural gas program, it would be nothing to lose face!"

Dingtian Xiao said, sighing as he thought back to old times. He then asked, "Zhicheng, have you been working in Dingtian for more than ten years?"

"Plus this year, it's been fifteen years. I have been working with you for ten years already." Zhicheng Huang nodded.

"Right, you didn't went through my starting period. At the time when you came working with me, Dingtian walked on the right trail, and was one of the biggest companies in the province. Hence, you have no idea about what I experienced when I was just starting my business."

Dingtian Xiao shook head again with a bitter smile, then continued: "I remember, at the very beginning, I often humbled myself in order to please people. I'm lucky that I was able to survive. I didn't care about saving face, as it couldn't bring me any fortune, so why did I need to?"

He went on: "As for now, in outsiders' eyes, I'm a successful entrepreneur, owning hundreds of billions of properties. But, actually, I still ask for help very often. The difference is that, many times now, I no longer need to humble myself, but rather do a win-win cooperation instead. It is essentially the same, however, as decades ago, when I paid money to beg others for help! Comparing with that, asking Dai Li for assistance makes me feel better. My daughter is going to be taken by him, so how can't I ask him to do me a favor?" Pausing here, Dingtian Xiao burst out in laughter: "But you were right about this young man. He is indeed very lucky!"

 ...

In another car, Chai's father and son, Zhennan Chai and Liang Chai, were sitting together in the backseat.

"You know that man?" asked Zhennan Chai.

"Yeah. He is Dai Li, YUnan Xiao's boyfriend. I met him in Yunan Xiai's birthday party," answered Liang Chai.

"Yunan Xiao's boyfriend? Then he will probably become Dingtian Xiao's proud son-in-law?" Zhennan Chai said, frowning with his eyebrows. "What is Dingtian Xiao doing? His future son-in-law apparently knows Duke Gaer, so then why does he want us Chais to build a bridge for him? Wait, who is his son-in-law anyway? He is regarded as an honorable guest by Duke Gaer, so then he is not a mainland Chinese, is he? Is he an overseas Chinese?"

"That Dai Li is just an ordinary mainland sports coach!" Liang Chai snorted.

"An ordinary coach? How can an ordinary coach become Duke Gaer's important guest?" Zhennan Chai didn't believe his son at all. But the next second, he took a long sigh, disappointed: "Anyway, I think we should book flight tickets back to Hong Kong soon."

"Why" Liang Chai asked subconsciously, then immediately got his father's point, asking: "Is it because of that Dai Li?"

Zhennan Chai nodded: "Dingtian Xiao came to us, aiming at our relationships in the UK. He hoped for us to build a bridge for him, so he could close a deal with Duke Gaer. That was why he was willing to share profits with us. But, now, he has found some other way. With that Dai Li, DIngtian Xiao could talk to Duke Gaer himself, so do you think he will still share some profits with us?"

"Such a big deal, and finally it comes to nothing? If Dingtian Xiao kicks us out and stands by himself, isn't he burning the bridge after crossing the river?!" Liang Chai said angrily.

"The business world is like a battlefield! If we Chais had sufficient funds, and are able to get this trade done alone, do you think I would cooperate with Dingtian?" Zhennan Chai said seriously, hoping to be teaching his son a lesson. "Now I feel that we should appreciate Dingtian Xiao, for he has taught you a lesson. He taught you how cruel the business world is!"

Liang Chai nodded in silence. After all, he was more than thirty years old, and was the third generation of successors in Hong Kong Chai's family, who had been leaning to do business by trial and error for years. After a brief time of excitement, he calmed down.

Although Chai's family was one of the original Hong Kong riches, no matter what were their total assets or liquid funds, the family was not as strong as Dingtian Group. Dingtian Group concentrated on real estate, since recently, housing prices had zoomed up. Thus, Dingtian immediately accumulated a large amount of properties. As long as it didn't go grab premium land on a large scale, Dingtian's financial chain would stay quite strong.

On the contrary, Chai's family made their fortune by shipping. Their main properties were hundreds of ocean-going freighters, wharf stock, and properties in Hong Kong. These things were worth as much as properties, but none of them could be liquidated within a short time. Therefore, the liquid funds that Chais could use were considered of far less worth to most than Dingtian's.

 ...

Dai Li received Zhicheng Huang's text: President Xiao invites me for dinner!

Dai Li stared at his phone diffidently: Will it be another Hongmen Banquet?

Hesitating for seconds, Dai Li finally texted back in agreement. To Dingtian Xiao, escape could not solve any problems at all. As his future father-in-law, he had to face him one day. At dusk, Dai Li arrived at the restaurant on time, which was located in the hotel Dingtian Xiao lived in.

"Today's appetizer is West Seashore halibut filet with lobster mousse. Entrees are Balmoral grilled venison, served with Madeira soft cake, truffle, red cabbage stew, roast potatoes, roast walnut, pumpkin and celery. In addition, there will be mango and lemon dark chocolate, and fruit, as desserts. I have told them to now begin service," introduced Zhicheng Huang.

Dai Li didn't know much about this. However, he felt that, since it was Dingtian Xiao's treat, it would not be low-grade fare. He guessed that these dishes could only appear in top-level banquets in the UK.

Sitting opposite him, Dingtian Xiao didn't say anything, but gave Dai Li an intense gaze, which made Dai Li a little anxious, and he dared not say anything. The two major characters sat in silence, the atmosphere suddenly becoming embarrassing around the table.

Saying nothing for about a minute, Dingtian Xiao finally broke the ice first: "I want to meet Duke Gaer for a big trade, and I want you to recommend me to him."

"OK, I will talk to him tomorrow." Dai Li answered without thinking, subconsciously agreeing.

"Good. Then let's have dinner." Dingtian Xiao remained wearing his indifferent look, no happiness, no sorrow, as if he hadn't talked to Dai Li just now.

That's it? Zhicheng Huang stared at the two. He was expecting a complicated conversation, perhaps one not as long as making three calls at the thatched cottage, but he figured it would at least take around half an hour to explain everything clearly, or to put off for a while. While in fact, the whole conversation only contained two sentences, and that was it.

Maybe president is unwilling to put off his pride. He said yes, but meant no. Zhicheng Huang considered this thought, feeling that it would be better to offer further details.

Hence, he said: "In the last few years, Dingtian Group has been transforming from a real estate developer into a diversified manager. Recently, president is planning to enter into the energy field, and natural gas is our preferred investment. Compared with petroleum, natural gas looks like a cleaner energy. Since the public is concentrating on environmental protection, president thinks highly of gas' potential."

Dai Li nodded. He learned from newspapers that the price of natural gas had been increasing, especially in winter, and that the high demand of heating caused gas shortages in many places.

Zhicheng Huang continued: "Natural gas which we have now is mainly imported from Russia and Qatar. Beyond these two countries, North America also has quite a few natural gas resources. In America, due to demands for industrial production, the majority of gas is used by locals. But Canadian gas is almost solely used for export."

He continued: "Canada is the third biggest natural gas producer, right after America and Russia. Meanwhile, Canada is also the world's second natural gas exporter. In fact, if they put more money into natural gas production, Canada will probably exceed Russia to become the world's largest gas producer."

"We Dingtian Group value Canadian natural gas resource, and wish to invest on this project. However, whenever referring to such a kind of investment, resistance is quite strong. They don't want us to invest in any energy programs in their countries. Therefore, to gain some profits in Canada's gas project, having enough money is simply not enough, we also need help from a third party, like, Duke Gaer."

"Duke Gaer's family entered into Canada at the beginning of the very first colony, and Duke Gaer's great grandfather used to be a governor in Canada. At that time, Duke Gaer's family bought a large scale of land there, which used to be barren fields. Duke Gaer didn't spend much on it."

Still talking: "Later, natural gas was found underground there. Although Canada was independent, and was no longer a British colony, the country didn't own legislative or constitutional rights, at least until in 1982, when the UK passed the Constitution Act. Hence, British traditional nobility kept their rights in Canada till today. Because of this, Duke Gaer owns much discourse power, as a large amount of Canadian natural gas is explored from their lands."

Dai Li took a long breath, processing all this information: "No wonder I saw you guys outside Duke Gaer's castle!"

"Do you think, we are so boring, that we come here just to make trouble?" Zhicheng Huang laughed.

Yes, I did. Dai Li talked to himself in his heart, but he dared not say so aloud. Instead he asked, "Did you meet Duke Gaer today?"

Zhicheng Huang shook his head. "This Duke Gaer really treats himself as nobility, never getting off his high horse. We went there yesterday, but he refused us, giving a box of cookies instead in apology."

"Were they blueberry flavored?"Dai Li casually replied, as he had the same cookies yesterday, too. At this moment, Dai L finally recalled that, who he saw through the window yesterday, were exactly DIngtian Xiao and Zhicheng Huang.

"So, how did you know Duke Gaer?" asked Zhicheng Huang.

"Well, it's a long story. Duke Gaer had an accident ten years ago..." Dai Li generally explained how he helped Duke Gaer recover.

As Dai Li ended the story, a waiter pushed a food trolley in, then put the appetizer halibut and lobster mousse on the table. Dai Li didn't bother, as he ate directly. The food looked pretty, but was served in a rather small amount, so it was finished within two to three bites.

Next came their entrees, Dai Li also gulped these down without thought.
Sitting at his opposite, Dingtian Xiao put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth, then seemed to ask casually: "Dai Li, are you interested in working for Dingtian?"
Dai Li was dazed a little bit. He put down his knife and fork, and looked at Dingtian Xiao, confused.

"If you are willing to come, I can arrange a proper place for you, and I will also offer you some chances to prove your abilities. If you are indeed capable, in the future, you will have a chance to sit at my place," Dingtian Xiao said calmly.

As his words came out, everyone, including Dai Li and Zhicheng Huang, was shocked. Dingtian Xiao's place was none other than the president of Dingtian Group!

"Thank you for your kindness, but I'm just a coach, I don't know anything about running a business," Dai Li said, but he looked at Dingtian Xiao cautiously as he spoke, wondering what Dingtian Xiao truly meant.

"Learn to do so. Nobody is born to be an entrepreneur." Dingtian Xiao sounded serious.

Does he really mean it? thought Dai Li.

"Why, is this so unbelievable?" Dingtian Xiao looked at Dai Li, speaking in an oppressive way. "You like Yunan, but I say you are not fit. That's why I told you before, I don't want you to be together. You are not the right son-in-law in my eyes."

He continued: "But now I think that maybe I can give you a chance. I want to cultivate you, to see whether you will reach my standards or not. If you satisfy me, I will agree to you two being together. In the future, after I retire, I can pass Dingtian Group to you with trust, and you can take it as Yunan's dowry."

Dai Li was astonished upon hearing this, eyes widely opened, still trying to assimilate what Dingtian Xiao had just now told him.

Did I hear that right? To pass Dingtian to me? To give me an empire with hundreds of billions in market value? Dai Li only felt his mind must be deranged.
***



###Chapter 368: Go to America

####Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
Dai Li's mind was messed up for a while, then he finally came to himself. Dai Li knew exactly how competent he was, or wasn't. He had no experience in running a business, and he couldn't even take good care of a small supermarket, let alone a huge Group Company worth hundreds of billions of RMB.

As for Dingtian Xiao's "Learn it, if you don't know" mentality, it was encouraging to some degree, but it also brought more pressure than inspiration. Dai Li was no longer an ignorant boy, who concentrated only on study, nor was he an enthusiastic newbie, who had just started his job. He had already become a successful coach. Now, he was told to enter into a completely unknown field, and start from the very beginning, so understandably, he was confused and anxious.

But such confusion and anxiety were outshone by the lust of wealth. Being possible to receive a company with hundreds of billions in market value, such an allure was like a stray that suddenly found a GPS navigation, offering such amazement, which was strong enough to destroy any confusion or anxiety. If Dai Li hadn't had the System with him, he would definitely have agreed without a slight hesitation.

Sitting on his opposite, Dingtian Xiao continued: "You may ask me, why don't I give Dingtian Group to Yunan. I know, she has been trying really hard on everything, and that she hopes to take my place, but I don't want her to sit on my seat and walk down my old path. Being a businessman is exhausting!"

Dingtian Xiao spoke, took a long sigh, then continued: "In outsiders' eyes, I, DIngtian Xiao, live a wonderful life, owning hundreds of billions worth in properties, being one of the richest people in the country, calling the wind and commanding the rain. But, in fact, it's sad to look back on those old days, when I just began my career. Even at present, when Dingtian has such a big scale, I still wake up at five a.m., work for sixteen to seventeen hours a day, and can't go to bed until twelve. Meetings, reports, activities, social parties, I fly around the country everyday dealing with various kinds of people...Day in and Day out, the same things repeat again and again, and I can't see its end!"

He went on: "This is a hard life. At the beginning, I felt my life was fulfilled and passionate, but now, I think it's more about fulfilling responsibilities." Dingtain Xiao was now looking at Dai Li seriously: "Since I have experienced the life a businessman is likely to have, I don't want to see Yunan go though the same hard life. I hope her life could be easy and simple, not being forced to shoulder so many responsibilities."

Dingtian Xiao paused, sipped on his wine, then told Dai Li: "My requirement to my future son-in-law is simple: to be able to take my turn, and be strong enough to support the whole Dingtian Group, so that Yunan can have a rather relaxing life, and won't worry about Dingtian anymore."

He continued: "You may think that my behavior is selfish, to force my son-in-law to shoulder more responsibilities in order to make my daughter's life more comfortable. Sometimes I also think this is like finding an uxorilocal son-in-law in ancient times. In the past, an uxorilocal man married into, and lived with, his bride's family, and he also needed to do the bride's farm work. Isn't it like my requirements?" Dingtian Xiao paused here, laughed at himself, then continued:

"You are not too old to start learning to do business. Many successful entrepreneurs didn't start their business until their forties or fifties, but you haven't yet reached your thirties. So, I think I can offer you a chance, and assess whether you have talent in management or not. As for you, there is no need to reply right now. You can take time and consider thoroughly."

 ...

The hotel's bed was soft and comfortable, and lying in bed was like falling into a snow pile. But Dai Li was not in the mood for enjoying this. He lay in the bed, pondering Dingtian Xiao's words.

Dingtian Xiao indeed offered Dai Li a great chance, a chance which could help Dai Li reach the sky in one step. And Dai Li's desire was indeed aroused. Like many commoners, he had a dream of being rich, or even lucky enough to be the richest person in the country. Now, he was very likely to attain his dream.

But I'm a professional coach!
With hundreds of billions money, why do I do this shit?
My dream is to become the best coach in the world!
Comparing that with hundreds of millions in money, how much does it cost for a dream?

Two voices kept ringing in Dai Li's mind, arguing back and forth, making Dai Li incomparably conflicted in his heart. Dai Li tossed and turned restlessly, unable to fall asleep at all. He never knew that a night could be so long.

 ...

One day later.

Dai Li walked out form Duke Gaer's castle, enjoying the warm sunshine. Dai Li had already introduced Dingtian Xiao to Duke Gaer, who met Dingtian Xiao after afternoon tea. As for what they discussed in the meeting, Dai Li didn't care. But as for Dingtian Xiao's suggestion, Dai Li had made up his mind. He took out his phone, typed Yunan Xiao's number.

"Yunan, I met your father in London," Dai Li said calmly.

"My father? He seems to be there for some natural gas program. Why, did he embarrass you?" Yunan sounded very nervous.

"President Xiao wanted me to join in Dingtian," said Dai Li.

"Join in Dingtian? But aren't you the coach in our club?"Yunan Xiao asked, confused.

"Not the club, but Dingtian Group. He wanted to cultivate me as the successor of Dingtian, to take his turn in the future." Dai Li told Yunan Xiao about Dingtian Xiao's general idea.

Yunan Xiao remained silent for a while, before she asked: "Then, what's your plan? Did you agree?"

"Today, on my way to Duke Gaer's, I have refused him." Dai Li's voice was calm: "I have thought carefully, and it might be a right choice to join in Dingtian, but it's not what I want."

"Don't you want to try?" Yunan Xiao sounded causal, but Dai Li could feel that she was controlling her emotions.

Dai Li didn't reply directly, but said, "I remember that you once mentioned wanting to prove to your father that you have sufficient ability to take charge of Dingtian, so inheriting Dingtian Group is your dream. But for me, I want to be the best coach in the world! I don't want to be some successful entrepreneur at all. So, I have made a decision."

"What decision?" Yunan Xiao immediately asked.

"I want to achieve my dream, to be the best coach in the world. Then I will retire and go to Dingtian to help you. I can be a garbage man, or fetch lattes for you!" Dai Li said seriously.

"Hum..." On the other side of the phone, Yunan Xiao suddenly snickered.

"Hey, don't laugh, I'm serious." Dai Li continued, "And I'm planning to go to America!"

"You wanna go to America?" Yunan Xiao stopped laughing now.

"In this country, If I want to be a good coach, I have to rely on the governmental system, which is unreasonable to me. So I want to go to America in order to open a private training center, and to offer commercial physical training." Dai Li paused, then said: "Actually a few years ago, when I was in America for a study tour, I had this idea of running my own training institute! But at that time, I had neither sufficient funds nor good timing. Now, I think I'm ready!"
***



###Chapter 369: Training Gym

####Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
Walking out of Los Angeles airport, Dai Li took a taxi to the reserved hotel.
Downtown LA remained unchanged, appearing exactly as it had several years ago, which brought Dai Li a feeling of familiarity.

American cities were like this, their city scales extended block by block, but the downtowns themselves remaining unchanged. The pull down-rebuild model was rarely used in America. Thus, cities like New York and Chicago, buildings around fifty to sixty years old, or even more than hundreds of years old, were everywhere. Central Station in New York looked the same as it had a hundred years ago. Hence, many people felt that American metropolises' infrastructures were old and outdated. Downtown LA was in a similar situation, although it looked prosperous, it didn't change much every year.

After settling down in the hotel, Dai Li went to the bank to cash a check worth one and a half million dollars. This check was given to him by Yunan Xiao, and was her case-dough, for when she studies in America. Besides, Dai Li had an eight hundred thousand dollar initial fund, which was earned from Duke Gaer and the others' rehabilitations in Europe.

Dai Li planned to open a training gym in Los Angeles. America had developed a thriving sport industry, and Americans love sports. There were plenty of training centers in America, like specialized fitness centers, or places focusing on a specific activity, such as boxing halls, gym halls, natatoriums, etc. Some of them were nonprofit organizations, while some were for profit institutions.

Dai Li was not here for charity work, as he was going to open a for profit training center, which was equivalent to running small business. Hence, application procedures were not complicated. If he asked a professional lawyer to help, things would be more easier. Dai Li didn't mind to pay a lawyer's fee, after all, under a professional's guidance, fewer worries would be raised.

But to declare enterprise, one must have an operation premises first. Therefore, before declaration, Dai Li must find a suitable place for his training center.

Dai Li only had around two million dollars, which was not enough to buy a suitable training center. What's more, Dai Li needed to keep a part of the fund as working capital, hence, he had to rent a place instead.

Los Angeles' property market had always been bustling, which had fed a large group of real-estate brokers. Dai Li found several brokers, at which he had left his email address, then went back to the hotel with ease. He knew that, soon, these agents would send information to him.

As expected, in the next three days, Dai Li gradually began to receive dozens of emails, which were all about housing information, sent from those agents.

This used to be training center, but the price is too high. If I rented it, I would not have much circulating capital left.

This one is too small, it's OK for a gym, but definitely not large enough for a training center. Oh, the introduction says that, actually, it is a gym.

This gym is big enough, pity that the location is not ideal. It's too far from the city, plus it is surrounded by Mexicans. People say that there might be many illegal immigrants, so then the security might not be very good.

This has a good location and a proper price, but it used to be a hardware store. I would need to rebuild it, which will cost too much. Then buying fitness equipment will cost another large amount of money. No, it's not worth it to do so.

This is a swimming center, including a ten-meter diving platform. I'm in the beginning stages, so a swimming center seems to be useless.

Well, this looks nice. Wait, the landlord wants me to sign a five-year lease. Let's forget about this one. Five years is such a long time, maybe I will move to a better place within five years.

Dai Li looked through all the emails, carefully filtering those with new information.Finally, one email caught Dai Li's attention:

This looks good, nice location, no slums around, most of the neighbors are middle-class. And there is a university not far from here. This center used to be a medium-sized gymnastic hall, a large space inside, plus a fitness room with much equipment available for me to use. As for its price...No price? What does it mean?

Dai Li slightly frowned, creasing his eyebrows. These American brokers were professional, as they had introduced lease requirements in detail, such as prices, the minimum leasing time, deposit, whether the building was allowed to be rebuilt or not, all those items were listed clearly. It was the first time Dai Li met an introduction without a price.

I checked this agent's certificate, so he should be a professional one. But why is there no price? Dai Li hesitated, then called the agent.

After Dai Li explained his calling's purpose, the agent immediately explained.

"Well, Mr. Li, the building you prefer is a special case. It doesn't belong to any individuals, but rather, to the bank. It used to be a gymnastic hall, but not long ago, American Gymnastics had a scandal, and the gymnastic hall owner was accused of crimes. He went bankrupt, and faced a court battle. So during the insolvency liquidation, this gym was taken back by the bank."
"I see." Dai Li nodded. He heard about the scandal recently in American Gymnastics.

At the very beginning, a gymnast from the American national team revealed on a social media platform that she was molested by her team doctor. Later, the American media began to investigate, realizing that it was not a single event. Rather, hundreds of gymnasts had been molested or sexually offended by their coaches, gym owners, or the other staff in the gym. The key point was that those gymnasts were all juveniles.

This totally stirred up a hornet's nest, and became the biggest scandal in American Gymnastic history. It was a moral crime. More than three thousand gym halls in America were under the administration of the American Gymnastic Association, even the president of AGA was forced to resign.

The broker continued: "This gym hall's previous owner planned to sell the building to pay his debt, but nobody bought it. Later the gym was taken by the bank, and priced to sell at auction for three times the amount, but all remained unsold."

"Why? Was the price too high?" asked Dai Li.

"Well, in my eyes, the price was high. The previous owner owed too much, and he would be prosecuted and sent to jail for years. Even assessing the assets after a reorganization after bankruptcy, it was impossible to settle with creditors within a short time. To retrieve the loss as much as possible, the bank set a rather high price."

"Then why didn't they decrease the price?"asked Dai Li.

"Recently, California has attracted many immigrants, many of whom are rich. They raised general housing prices in California. Plus, this gym hall has a nice location, so it probably attracts foreign investors' attentions. Hence, the bank is not willing to decrease the price."

"When it's cheap, the bank is not willing to sell, but when it's expensive, no one is willing to buy it. So that's why the bank tries to lease it out instead. What about the price? If the bank does want to let it out to somebody, why doesn't it offer a price?"asked Dai Li.

"That's exactly what I'm going to explain. In fact, the bank offers two prices, one is for direct renting, which, I think, is quite expensive and less cost-effective, and the other price is relatively low, but it has an additional condition. Because of this, I didn't attach detailed prices in my email," said the agent.

"Additional condition? Is it harsh?"Dai Li frowned.

"I'm not sure how to judge it." The agent paused, then said, "The bank says, if the new runner continues to use this hall as a physical training center, to enjoy a discount, that person should train 10 or 15 disabled athletes free of charge. Otherwise, the new runner must pay the total amount of the original rent."

"That's weird. Why should the new runner undertake disabled athletes' training?" Dai Li was confused.

"Well, details couldn't be disclosed right now, so sorry about that. Actually, the reason I took this order is that I have been doing business with this bank for a while. If Mr. Li is interested in this building, I can make an appointment with the responsible person for you. You can discuss this face to face," said the agent.

 ...

The next day at nightfall, around the time of the work day's end, Dai Li came to a nearby cafe.

"Mr. Li, this is City Councilor Mr. Anthony," the agent introduced.

"City Councilor?" Dai Li looked at the housing agent with confusion. He was here to meet a bank clerk, but the agent brought him a Los Angeles City Councilor.

Sitting next to him, the agent explained, "Well, Mr. Anthony is the bank's responsible person in Los Angeles, and he succeeded in last year's Los Angeles City Councilor election."

After a brief introduction, the agent didn't stay long, as he found an excuse and left, leaving Mr. Anthony and Dai Li in the cafe.

"Mr. Li, you must be curious, why I offer such a weird tenant condition?" Anthony asked straightforwardly.

"Yes, that's what I'm here for," Dai Li nodded, said. "To be honest, I'm planning to use this gym as a fitness training center, and I'm able to meet your additional requirement. But may I know why?"

"Actually, the reason is quite simple. It's just not so good to declare." Anthony looked around, then lowered his voice, continuing, "Last year when I was campaigning for City Councilor, I promised the voters that I would strengthen humanitarian concern for the disabled. Then I won, so I should keep my promise."

"Not long ago, several amateur disabled athletes came to me and told me that they wished to receive professional training, and that, while coaches from the Protection Centre for the Disabled are usually low-level volunteers, they couldn't meet those athletes' training requirements, and high-level professional training centers offer rather high prices, which they are not able to afford. Therefore, I came up with this additional leasing condition."

"But this is not good to tell the public, after all, as this is the bank's property. Although I'm the responsible person of the bank, and I have the right to determine the final rent, if I lowered the rent without authorization, I would damage the bank's interests to some degree. It would be using my right to complete my commitment."

Pausing here, Anthony grinned wickedly, showed a "You know why" look.

Sitting opposite, Dai Li nodded with a smile, indicating that he understood what Anthony meant. He was not like some so-called public intellectuals, advocating how clean-handed European and American countries were.
Actually, foreign politicians using their powers or resources to seek benefits was nothing new, such action was even accepted widely. It was just that the so-called interest didn't have to be money. Using powers and resources to help oneself get re-elected, to support one's sponsors, or to defeat political opponents, although the politician didn't gain any benefit, meant he was still actually gaining interest.

Just like the American TV series 'House of Cards', there were many people who were good at "using power", and their exchanges of interests were not noble at all. Those methods could even be described as "sordid". In fact, this was a hidden rule in European and American countries, that every politician gained interest more or less for themselves, and would trade-off with others.

Frankly speaking, this was politics, which had a similar pattern around the world. People, who were as innocent as the Virgin Mary, would never be politicians, just like sheep could never sneak into wolves' dens unnoticed or blend in. Anthony was doing the same thing, but compared with the tactics used in the "House of Cards", his behavior was nothing.

Dai Li didn't care whether Anthony was using his power to gain interest, nor did he care about how much the bank was going to lose. Rather, he was only focused on the training hall's rent, which was closely related to his own benefit. Therefore, Dai Li asked: "Mr. Anthony, how much discount would you offer, if I accept this additional condition?"

"This." Anthony took out a pen, then wrote a number on the napkin in front of him. He showed Dai Li the number. Seeing this figure, Dai Li's interest was aroused. It was a price with a high performance-price ratio, and nowhere else in Los Angeles could offer such a suitable place with this price. But Dai Li didn't agree immediately. He deliberately frowned, seeming to be unsatisfied.

"Mr. Anthony, training disabled athletes is different from training ordinary people, as it requires a high level of professional skills. If a disabled athlete trains here four hours per week, and according to your condition, at least ten people would come here, then I need to have 40 hours extra working time per week, which is the legal weekly working time. I would have to hire an extra coach for this." Dai Li spoke logically, with ease and composure.

Dai Li apparently brought the set point, what cost most in America was human resource! In America, energy price was low, land price was low, and while tax might not be low in some states, it didn't charge extra ridiculous fees. Hence, human capital input became the biggest expenditure. Americans had high wages, about fifty-six thousands dollars in average, which was definitely ranked among the world's top percentage.

America had a well-developed labor security system, and when hiring a formal worker, the company paid not only wages, but also various kinds of insurances for that worker. Besides, if that individual's working time exceeded legal working time, overtime pay must then be offered. Add to all this other legal welfares, and hiring employees actually meant a rather high input.

Therefore, to American small companies, hiring an extra worker was blood-sucking, for they could not afford such a high cost. Moreover, unlike labor workers, being a fitness coach required special skills. In America, any individual with special skills could be called specialists in a certain area, and thus, would not accept a salary that was lower than average.

Anthony knew that Dai Li said these things in hopes of striking a deal to cut down the rent. He hesitated for a second, wrote a new figure on the napkin, then showed it to Dai Li.

"This is the lowest price I can offer. After all, this training hall is the bank's property, and I can't justify myself to the bank if the rent is too low,." Anthony said with a serious look.

Dai Li didn't believe Anthony's bullshit, and he guessed that this figure was not Anthony's minimum price at all. But he didn't continue his bargaining, because he was quite satisfied with this price, and because Anthony was Los Angeles's City Councilor, so Dai Li dared not waves, as he hoped that one day, they might gain some common interest in the future.

"Deal!" Dai Li held out his right hand, agreeing.
***




###Chapter 370: Coach Lee Physical Training Center

####Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
Dai Li named his training center "Coach Lee Physical Training Center". To make it easier to be accepted by Americans, he didn't use the Chinese Pinyin "Li", but used "Lee" in English, instead.

Now that he had a building, the rest was easy. Dai Li spent some funds on lawyer's fee, in order to get the training hall registration settled. After that, Dai Li made some simple alterations to the training hall. It was a small gym, and soon, the equipment and facilities were all ready. Dai Li also spent a little money to buy some new, modern equipment.

Dai Li hadn't hired any other workers yet, so currently he only had one task, which was to train disabled athletes for free, which he took as doing charity. No profitable business was coming to him yet, so Dai Li felt that he could handle the training all by himself for now. After all, the most expensive thing in America was human resources, so to hire less people meant to save more money for future use.

Dai Li even did the cleaning by himself. The training center just opened, few guests came to visit, and since there was nothing to do, he had sufficient time to mop the floor, or to wipe equipment. Once the training center got going and on the right track, he planned to find a cleaning company to take charge of this job.

Dai Li knew nothing about finance, so he directly gave those issues to the accounting firm. American small enterprises could afford professional accountants, hence, they usually gave corporate finance tasks to an accounting firm, letting the firm be in charge of all special financial and tax reporting.

It was also different from domestic situations. Domestic accounting firms' main clients were big enterprises and companies, and the firms usually offered large scale accounting and audit services. Small companies and individual businesses didn't have many things to ask accounting firms to help with. But in America, the main clients of accounting firms were small companies and individuals, as for big enterprises, hiring private accountants would be more economical.

Unlike a domestic situation, where individual income tax was deducted directly from wages, in America, tax returns should be done by citizens themselves. Moreover, American tax programs and tax relief projects were very complicated, so ordinary people could hardly figure them out. If, unfortunately, someone missed a program carelessly, that individual would be charged with tax fraud. Therefore, they needed professional accountants for help.

Many Americans, especially low-income groups, since they received a tax reduction or subsidy, might not need to pay for tax. But they must have still gone through the tax return process to confirm this. Therefore, when in tax season, it was common to hear that poor people didn't need to pay even a cent for taxes, but that they had to give their accountants hundreds of dollars for going through the tax-returning process, still.

Dai Li had a clear plan for his training center. In the beginning level, he would not hire any other workers, so he could save as much labor costs as possible. Of course, he would not be stingy, and when there was some money he must spend, like a lawyer's fee or accountant's fee, well, those he would consider as unavoidable costs. If he tried to make money-saving moves on those aspects, in the future, he might get himself into big trouble, which could then not be solved by thousands, or even tens of thousands, of dollars!

 ...

Coach Lee Physical Training Center opened, unknown to the public, no opening ceremony, no ribbon-cutting, no colorful flags or banners. Perhaps, only when neighbors walked by, did they notice that the previous gym had now turned into a physical training center.

The first day, there were no customers at all. Professional physical training centers like this, unlike gyms, were aimed at athletes rather than ordinary fitness enthusiasts, and thus, they charged higher fees than gyms. It was similar to cheap mass-marketed products, which had a large amount of buyers but gained little profit, while luxuries might be displayed for a long time before they were sold, but they brought high profits in return.

Dai Li didn't expect people to flood in. Physical training valued public praise most, while praises, he knew, were collected over time. But Dai Li didn't have much time to kill. In the afternoon, a social worker from the Los Angeles Association for the Disabled came to the Coach Lee Physical Training Center.

"Coach Lee, this is the name list of your disabled athletes, twelve people in total." The social worker handed a list to Dai Li.

Training ten to fifteen disabled athletes was what Dai Li had promised. Mr. Anthony didn't profit at Dai Li's expense, as he had selected twelve people, neither more nor less, but just the right amount, as agreed upon.

Dai Li received the list and took a careful look at it, then asked, "This is just a list with names on it, but I need more detailed information about my trainees, like age, height, weight, detailed impairments, causes of disabilities, etc."

The social worker frowned. "These facts are private, Coach Lee, America pays attention to the protection of personal privacy."

"I understand, and I know how to protect my customers' privacies. But to organize high-level physical training, I must know this information, before I make training plans." Dai Li stretched his arms. "Let me give you a quick example: If a normal individual's standard weight is 150 pounds, then, as a disabled person who lacks an arm or a leg, the same weight would be overweight for him, and thus, my training plans must then include weight loss."

"Alright, I will bring their detailed information to you." The social worker compromised. He paused, then told Dai Li, "Coach Lee, in observing your physical training center, I suggest you add some barrierless facilities."

How come I forgot?! Adding barrierless facilities also costs money, so even basing only on this point, I could ask for a higher discount from Anthony. Dai Li suddenly regretted not doing so earlier.

But Dai Li maintained a smile, saying, "Sorry, I didn't think about that. This place used to be a gymnastic hall, hence, while most gymnasts don't have mobility impairments, there were no barrierless facilities."

"A polite suggestion, Mr. Lee, that building barrierless facilities can bring you tax incentives." The social worker smiled and said, "American barrierless facilities are widespread, and are also benefit from the Tax Reform Act of 1986. This act stipulates that companies that build barrierless facilities can enjoy tax preferences. Hence, enterprises are enthusiastic about building barrierless facilities voluntarily. Except in public areas, barrierless facilities are built by enterprise owners."

Dai Li showed a "This is a good lesson" look in reply. In the country, public intellectuals told people that the reasons enterprise owners voluntarily built barrierless facilities were that they had high political quality and good virtue, and that they sincerely considered disabled people. Until now, Dai Li had not realized that by doing so, he could pay less tax.

But Dai Li still praised, "America is very kind to vulnerable groups like disabled people. Even in my country, we know that, in America, as long as you are disabled, you can receive 800 dollars per month from the government."

"Who told you this? I never thought that the Far Eastern World had such a misunderstanding of America." The social worker stared at Dai Li with surprise, then said, "Our welfare for the disabled varies from state to state, let alone having a so-called fixed amount. So the person who told you that disabled Americans receive a certain amount of subsidy every month must be a liar! Once, there were scammers doing similar things in America."

"Then what about common disabled people, how much can they get from the government?" asked Dai Li.

"The disabled receive benefits mainly through two programs, the first one is the Social Safety Disability Insurance. Every individual with a job should pay a social safety tax, a part of which is then turned into a fund of Social Safety Disability Insurance, and the taxpayer is the insured. If the insured became disabled, they could receive money from this insurance. The actual amount of money that person could have depends on their age and income, hence, it is not a fixed number. If the insured is dead, the insured's minor children and spouse, who hasn't reached retirement age, could also receive money from the insurance," explained the social worker.

"Ah, is that so!" Dai Li nodded. He now understood that the so-called Social Safety Disability Insurance was equal to domestic employment injury insurance 2.0. The two insurances were mandatory, and only people with jobs could buy the insurances. The difference was that employment injury insurance only compensated injuries on-the-job, while American Social Safety Disability Insurance compensated the insured, as long as the insured was disabled.

The social worker standing in front of Dai Li continued his explanation: "The second one is Federal Supplemental Security Income, which is the so-called SSI. Disabled people, who are above age 18 and without working ability, can apply for it. If the individual is not disabled, but over 65, that person can also apply, as well as can blind people. The government then investigates applicants' economic and asset conditions. If the application is successful, the applicant will receive a living subsidy every month, depending on specific conditions. In California, people who receive SSI will be automatically included into a medicaid program."

"Is the medicaid program the free-medical-care white card?" Dai Li immediately asked. He knew this white card with so-called free medical service was something that domestic public intellectuals boosted most, and probably because of this, people propagated that seeing a doctor in America cost nothing.

"Free? Well, if you think so." The social worker showed a sarcastic smile, then said, "The California medicaid program has been lavish. Currently in California, at least thirteen million out of forty million people have received low-income, free medical care, which means that one out of three Californians owns the white card you mentioned. At present, many doctors are beginning to refuse patients with white cards."

"There will always be some doctors who are willing to take care of them, right? After all, the government pays the fee, so doctors won't lose anything." Dai Li showed an indifferent look.

"The government is willing to pay only ten dollars, which, to doctors, is like doing charity. At least, doctors with fame do not want to have these ten-dollar patients. Therefore, white-card owners have no choice but to go to public hospitals, waiting for one or two months to finally see a doctor." The social worker explained.

Dai Li was suddenly enlightened. He recalled that American doctors only gave diagnoses, then sent patients to buy medicine in pharmacies. Doctors offered inspections, while patients made appointments in hospitals. Doctors only earned the amount of fees that belonged to them. Of course, surgeons performed operations that would charge extra fees.

American doctors set their own "prices". Doctors with high abilities charged quite high fees, some of which, depending on specific market conditions, could be two to three hundred dollars, four to five hundred dollars, or seven to eight hundred dollars. There would never be a specialist offering five-dollar treatment.

With white-card patients, no matter how much the doctor's fee was, the government only paid ten dollars. If charging only ten dollars per person, American doctors had already applied for bankruptcy. Doctors who usually charged hundreds of dollars, were not willing to see ten-dollar patients. Hence, only doctors in public hospitals offered ten-dollar outpatient services, for they had governmental support that covered some costs.

However, American doctors were not "super-doctors" who could see two hundred patients per day. They saw twenty new patients at most, plus revisiting patients. As more and more white-card owners crowded public hospitals, waiting time would be longer and longer. In this case, waiting for two months to see a doctor was not uncommon in America.

Thinking about this, Dai Li inquired, "But this is free, after all. I know that medical services are quite expensive here, so I think many people are willing to wait for one to two months for the sake of saving money."

"You may have some misunderstandings on 'free'. It doesn't mean that patients don't need to pay for the medical fees at all with the white card, but rather, that those fees will be recorded. Patients pay the bill once they are able to pay. What I mean is that, being able to pay includes paying the bill, even after they die," introduced the social worker.

How can they pay when they are dead? Is it also a custom here for a son to pay his father's bill? Dai Li was astonished.

The social worker stretched his hand out. "Here is an example. An individual under the free-medicaid program spent three-hundred thousand dollars in the hospital. After he died, he left a five-hundred thousand house property. If his inheritor wants to have this house, he must pay for the three-hundred thousand debt first, otherwise, the court will sell the house by auction, then use the money to pay the government first, only then releasing the rest to be inherited by the successor."

"So there is a back-up plan. Then, in this case, only proletarians could gain benefits from this program, as they have neither money nor property, so even when they die, there is nothing left for auction." Dai Li said subconsciously.

"Free-medicaid program is a charitable rescue social welfare. Why would people who can afford medical insurance choose this medical aid?"

The social worker paused, then said, "People who are rescued are poor, they live in the lowest social tier, no job, maybe not even having the ability to work. They depend on food stamps to live. They have no alternative, but are compelled to live life like humble ants. They live for mere living itself."
Stopping here, the social worker showed a serious look, while talking slowly in a poetic manner. "If there was a better option, who would be willing to fight in the bottom of society, living with no dignity?!"

 ...

Looking at the social worker walking away, Dai Li had an inexplicable emotion. He felt his heart was empty, while his mind was filled.

He was right, if one can live a better life, who is willing to struggle at the lowest class, without dignity?!

Dai Li involuntarily recalled, when he was at home hearing people discussing about how good American social welfare was, like, the government gave out free food, citizens enjoyed free medical service, etc. A few years ago, when Dai Li heard these, he felt jealous about such a kind of life. But now he had a new thought. Just like the social worker mentioned, these were charitable rescues, aimed at guaranteeing underclass life, to help poor people live, even with humble means.

But no one was willing to live humbly!

From the program user's point of view, the poorer a person was, the more beneficial the free medicaid would be. No car, no house, nothing would be left after the user's death, which, on the other hand, meant that person received totally free medical service, and the government paid for everything. But if there was a better life, who was willing to live with poverty and blankness?

When a person began to envy American vulnerable groups' free medical services, he had put himself in the disadvantaged group. Only poor people felt jealous about other poor people who lived better than themselves. It was like two beggars, one envied the other's better begging location, for that place brought the other beggar more money. However, basically, the two were both just beggars!

Thinking about beggars, Dai Li subconsciously recalled a domestic news report, saying that a beggar earned more than ten-thousand yuan per month. Many people envied such income, but to be honest, how many of those people with jealousy were willing to be beggars? The beggar's ten-thousand yuan income was exchanged with dignity. Who was willing to easily throw dignity on the ground and let others trample on it?

Now, thinking back, my previous jealousy on American welfare was indeed underclass thought! Well, if considered carefully, only people living at the bottom of the society envy American underclass' free food and medicaid. Domestic middle-class people are living comfortable lives, so who will envy American poor people? They may probably envy American middle-class, living in houses, having vacations frequently. As for rich people, their lives are alike, no matter where they go.

Dai Li let out a long sigh. He believed that everyone who left their homeland and travelled far to America had their own dreams for better lives. Everyone fought for their future. None of them came here to be in the underclass, then live on nothing. While in America, those poor people who received "free" services didn't feel satisfied about their current life, nor did they think they had gained extra advantages from society, for their "free" services exactly reflected their life full of failures.

This "salvation" is made for disadvantaged groups in need, which is not worthy of envying. My goal in life is to create a better future by myself, rather than waiting for others' almsgiving. Dai Li was awakened from his misconception with sanity.

For a bright future, let's fight! Dai Li sighed with disappointment, but his heart was filled with high morale.
***




###Chapter 371: Reception

####Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
Dai Li, whose morale soared after filling himself with a big bowl of chicken soup for the soul, grabbed a towel and began cleaning the equipment inside his training center. No one was around anyway, so for Dai Li, working temporarily as a cleaner was the only thing he could do.

The sound of a phone ringing could be heard. As Dai Li set aside the mop that was in his hand, he wiped away the sweat from his forehead and reached into his pocket to pull out his phone.

A message appeared on the screen of his phone, "Li, send me the address of your training center. Our next game is against the Los Angeles Clippers. I'll arrive earlier in Los Angeles."

"It's Allen Hampton! It's been years since I last saw him," Dai Li thought, as he sent the address of the training center to Hampton.

Hampton got into Georgetown University with the help of Dai Li back in the day, and as a person who focused all his efforts in basketball, it did not take long for him to make a name for himself in the NCAA, attracting the attention of national scouts across the U.S. In his second year, he was chosen by the Philadelphia 76ers as the first overall pick in the NBA draft.

Being the first overall pick naturally meant that he had a promising future ahead of him, and he did not disappoint, as he scored 30 points in his NBA debut match. He even managed to score 50 points in a single game in his first season.

After the entire season, although the Philadelphia 76ers recorded another miserable season, Hampton managed the feat of averaging 23.5 points per game, 7.5 assists per game, and 2.1 interceptions per game, acquiring statistics that could be considered All-star level.

After his rookie season, Hampton's stats continued rising, and up till then, Hampton had already become a starter in the All-star team. He was also a strong contender for the NBA Scoring Leader, with his average points per game reaching 28 points.

Looking at his growth and performances, it was only a matter of time before he became a superstar. In fact, even the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and the NBA Championship title were practically waving their hands at him.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Hampton was one of the most wanted sports stars in the U.S. Large businesses were more than willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on him via sponsorship and endorsement deals, so his entire family was already living richly.

Dai Li's heart filled with excitement as he learned that Hampton was coming to visit. He didn't know that many people in the U.S. in the first place, so when someone he knew was finally coming to visit, Dai Li felt as though he was going to meet his family and loved ones.

More importantly, Hampton was a superstar.

"I better get Hampton to cooperate and take more photos, so that I can develop them and hang them on the walls. That way, this visit is also a type of advertisement opportunity!" Dai Li thought, as he scanned through the interior of his training center, attempting to identify the best place to hang the photographs.

...

The training of American athletes depends mainly on private organizations. As such, a great variety of sports clubs are scattered throughout the cities, streets, and towns of the the nation, forming the most basic sports training system in the U.S.

For example, the gym that Dai Li rented was initially a gymnasium. The operator of the gymnasium also established a gymnastics club, so that children interested in gymnastics could learn by paying a small membership fee to join the club.

After joining, they could then learn from the gymnastics coaches stationed at the club, or simply purchase an individual gymnastics course. Hence, collecting membership fees and selling courses are the main ways basic training sports clubs in the U.S. generate income.

The same model may not work as well in China, as parents in China prioritized their children's studies over all else, even when it came to cultivating a hobby. Thus, they would be more inclined to have their children learn painting, music, and other specialties, whereas for sports, it was always ranked last.

Parents in the U.S. were different, as they were much more willing to spend money for their children to learn sports, whether it was a popular sport like basketball or baseball, or something less popular, like gymnastics or archery.

Also, in the U.S., even regular athletes had to depend on private organizations, such as sports clubs, for their training, so when it came to disabled people, there were even less professional training institutions available. In China, the China Disabled Persons' Federation handled disabled sports. The country would allocate funds to the federation to support para-athletes, which made it possible for different levels of the organization to establish dedicated sports teams, to hire professional coaches, and to have specialized training equipment and training locations.

These things were nowhere to be found in the U.S., so for a para-athlete, even finding a newly opened and unknown training center, like Dai Li's, was a rare opportunity. Several para-athletes paid a visit directly on the second day of opening, and there were even some who called and made appointments with Dai Li.

Although Dai Li had no experience in disabled sports training, even if a person had never eaten pork, he would have at least have seen a pig run [1]. Plus, Dai Li had the motion detectors, so he would be able to instantaneously pinpoint an athlete's weaknesses, leaving only the simple task of arranging targeted training programs, which made things much more manageable.

...

He glanced at his watch, the time was already a quarter past four in the afternoon.

Dai Li furrowed his brow slightly, as he had an appointment with a para-athlete named Barron Phillip at four o'clock in the afternoon. Fifteen minutes had passed, and this Barron Phillip was still nowhere to be seen.

Americans have a good sense of time. It could even be said that they value time as much as gold. In the U.S., excluding human lives, the most valuable thing is time. In fact, when human resources cost a lot, this is often caused by, or relating to, time.

Americans, out of everyone in the world, are probably the best in understanding the concept of charging by the hour. That is why Americans are used to making exact appointments for just about anything.

Americans are also exceptionally punctual, and the punctuality mentioned is not the kind where a person arrives in advance. Instead, it is the kind where a person arrives at the exact time of an appointment, generally no more than five minutes before or after the appointed time. Of course, if one was attending a dinner party, it would be acceptable to be ten to fifteen minutes late, as arriving early would actually be seen as impolite, since the guest might then be seen as pressuring the host.

However, when it comes to an appointment with a doctor, lawyer, or even a business meeting, arriving 15 minutes late would result in people canceling the appointment directly, no longer wishing to continue with the meeting. Obviously, making an appointment with a fitness coach was not the same as attending a dinner party, so this Barron Phillip, who was fifteen minutes late, was already being very rude.

Dai Li hesitated, wondering if he should call to check and see if Phillip was coming. However, as Dai Li lifted his head, he saw a man striding towards him at an incredible pace.

The man was most likely of mixed-race, as his appearance had the features of a white Caucasian, while his complexion was dark, but not dark like a black person, as his skin was slightly darker than a Mexican, but fairer than a typical black person. The U.S. was originally a nation of immigrants, so interracial marriage was common, and the number of people who were biracial was high. As such, Dai Li had grown used to seeing people similar to this man in appearance.

"The information from the social worker said that Barron Phillip had no legs, and that everything below his ankle joint had been amputated. Hence, this person, who is walking with such dexterity, that ordinary people might not even be faster than him, definitely cannot be Barron Phillip. Looks like there's new business for me!" Dai Li thought gleefully, as he moved forward to welcome the incoming guest with a big smile on his face.

The person trotted towards him, and finally stopped in front of Dai Li.

"Hello sir, how may I help you today?" Dai Li said, as he brandished his brightest "receptionist" smile at the incoming gentleman.

"I'm so sorry I'm late! There was an accident at work, and I was delayed," the person said apologetically. Immediately after his apology, he introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Barron Phillip, I made an appointment earlier."

"You're Barron Phillip?" Dai Li exclaimed, as his face filled with surprise. He was careful to look the man in the eye, as he knew that looking at the part of a disabled person that was his disability was considered to be extremely rude. However, he could not help but to take a quick glance at the person's feet. What he saw was a pair of Nike sports shoes, the check mark logo appearing particularly distinct.

"What's going on? Didn't they say that Barron Phillip had no feet? Not only does this person in front of me have both of his feet, but he also walks ridiculously well. Could this Barron Phillip be faking his disability, so that he can receive relief funds?" Dai Li thought in silence.

Notes

[1] The main idea of the phrase is to express that there are some things, while a person may not have experienced it directly or personally, that he or she might have at least heard or know about it, thus understanding it.
***




###Chapter 372: An Immediate Correction

####Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
Dai Li stared blankly at the man in front of him, the one who called himself Barron Phillip.

Relief funds, such as the Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which the social worker told him about, were established to provide aid towards senior citizens aged 65 and above, as well as to the blind, and other people with disabilities. They receive several hundreds of dollars each month from the government.

For a lot of people with "lazy man's thinking," they would regard the few hundred dollars as a handout from the government, and when someone's handing out free lunches, why not take one? If someone told Dai Li that there were people who would use tricks and lies to con their ways into receiving these relief funds, he would certainly believe them.

As he reached this conclusion, he put on a puzzled look and said, "Mr. Phillip, from the information I received, everything below your ankle joint had been amputated." Dai Li glanced again at both of Phillip' feet as he said that.

Paying no mind to Dai Li's comments, Phillip smiled and said, "I use prosthetics." He then pulled up his trousers, exposing the prosthetic limbs beneath.

"They really are!" Dai Li thought. As he recalled Phillip's pace when he was walking towards him earlier, Dai Li couldn't help but sigh, and said, "I'm really sorry, I really didn't notice. The way you were walking just now, it was the same as everyone else!"

"I'm not a wheelchair athlete, so if you group para-athletes according to their disability sports classifications, my classification would be T43," Phillip stated.

In the disability sports classifications, the alphabet represents the sports type, for example, "S" is for swimming, "AR" for archery, "WB" for wheelchair basketball, "TT" for table tennis, "SH" for shooting, etc. For the number that follows, the digit in the tens regards the disability type.

For instance, the digit one is used for vision impairments. Two is for intellectual impairments, and three is for cerebral palsy, or those who have suffered brain damage. Four is for amputees, or those with short stature, and five is for spinal cord injuries, as well as some wheelchair groups.

The digit in the ones signifies the severity of an athlete's disability. The lower the number, the more severe the disability. For example, in the vision impairment disability type, a classification of "11" means that the person is fully blind, or almost fully blind, meaning that the person can no longer see anything. However, a "13" classification is for those who meet only the minimum standards of being regarded as visually impaired. As such, these people can generally still see something.

Barron Phillip was in the T43 class, so the alphabet "T" stood for track. The number four meant that it was the amputee or short stature disability type, and the final number three implied that the amputation was below both knees, but above, or through, the ankle joint. It could also mean that the amputation was above the knee on one leg, while on the other leg, the amputation was below the knee and above the ankle.

For normal people, losing both their legs usually meant that there was an 80 to 90 percent chance that they would end up in a wheelchair. Even if one were to utilize a prosthetic, they would most likely require the additional support of a crutch, as there was no way they could walk like an ordinary person.

However, for a class T43 para-athlete, it meant that he was a professional track and field athlete, or to put it in simpler terms, he practiced running. How could a runner not know how to walk? They might even walk better than healthy people!

Dai Li stared at Phillip's prosthetic and had a look of realization, as he said, "Oh so that's why. No wonder! You walk just like everyone else."

Phillip smiled and said, "If I had difficulty moving around, I wouldn't even be able to work anymore."

"Work? I should think it would be quite tough to work, considering your circumstances. Why not apply for financial subsidies for disabled persons?" Dai Li asked.

"It's not all that hard, once you get used to wearing the prosthesis. Besides, I didn't apply for the SSI. I'm not qualified," Phillip continued.

"I previously heard from a social worker that people with disabilities, the blind, and those who are over 65 years old can apply," Dai Li said.

"He might have missed some details, as those are just the groups of people who can apply for the SSI. There are other economic limitations. One of them is that the personal financial income of the applicant is capped at 2,000 USD, and I don't meet this requirement," Phillip said, pausing for a short moment before continuing, "I can work and live on my own, so I don't need that. Of course, I'm still poor, so I do apply for other financial subsidies. I have to work at least 20 hours a week to be eligible to receive the financial subsidy that I apply for, which means that I have to work at least four hours a week."

"Oh, I'm not that well-versed in these topics, I just came to the U.S. not that long ago," Dai Li answered with an awkward smile.

"I can see that, because if you were an American Born Chinese, you wouldn't have asked me those questions," Phillip said in a friendly manner. "In the U.S., for most financial subsidy programs, you are required to submit three to six months' worth of tax bills when receiving funds. Those are needed in order to prove that you were indeed from the low-income group. At the same time, it would also prove that you are a working individual, not just an idler getting by through these relief funds."

"I understand. Simply put, the government doesn't want to raise lazy people," Dai Li said as he chuckled.

Phillip shrugged his shoulders and continued in a talkative manner, "You've just come to the U.S. A lot of you new immigrants think that America is a heaven, filled with welfares and guarantees, free medical treatments, free food, free accommodation… But the truth isn't like that, the welfare is only used to help the poor, not the lazy. As far as I know, some European countries are the same. After losing both my feet, I've read a book that was titled "A Second Wind." It was the memoir of a paralyzed French aristocrat and his black immigrant care-worker. The reason the black immigrant became a care-worker was simply because he needed a job, so that he could receive relief funds."

"I'll try to find this book if I have the chance," Dai Li politely replied. He now knew that Phillip considered him as being a new immigrant.

Regarding this matter, Dai Li was neither surprised, nor was he interested in justifying himself to anyone anymore. The U.S. was originally a nation of immigrants, and it was also the country that received the highest number of immigrants in the world.

Several cities located in the west coast were popular immigration destinations for the Chinese, and as such, a Chinese like Dai Li, who knew little about the various systems in the U.S., would easily be regarded as a new immigrant.

Phillip glanced at his watch and spoke, "Although I am late, I really did encounter an accident. Can you take me to Coach Lee? I'll explain it to him myself."

"You're looking for Coach Li? I am Coach Li!" Dai Li said with an innocent look on his face.

"You are Coach Lee? You're the one in charge of this place?" Phillip exclaimed, as a look of distrust formed on his face.

Americans generally stereotyped Chinese people as being bookworms, short, not good at sports, antisocial, etc. As such, it was rare to see a Chinese person within the sports industry, which was why Phillip didn't even consider the possibility that Dai Li was the fitness coach, and why he even assumed that Dai Li was just a part-time worker.

"Hi, my name is Dai Li, and I'm the owner, as well as the coach of this training center," Dai Li said as he formally introduced himself.

"Sorry, you used the word "L""E""E", so I didn't give it much thought," Phillip stated.

"Lee" is also a common surname used in the west, and the number of Americans with this surname isn't exactly low. That was why Phillip's impression of "Coach Lee" was that he must be a tall and burly white Caucasian male.

However, Phillip knew from the bottom of his heart that he didn't trust Dai Li. After all, sports was never a thing the Chinese excelled at. Moreover, in his eyes, Dai Li was but a mere "new immigrant," so Phillip would never believe that Dai Li was a certified fitness coach. In fact, he even felt that Dai Li was probably less qualified than the volunteers working in charities.

"I should've known. There is just no way a good coach would ever provide free training. An a Chinese, as if that isn't enough, a new immigrant! I bet he isn't even qualified to train elementary school students. There is no way he's training me."

Phillip was set on switching to another coach, so he asked, "Coach Li, may I know in total, how many coaches do you have employed here? And what kind of programs do you provide?"

"For now, I'm the only coach. I just opened not long ago, and I haven't got the means to employ other coaches at the moment. As for programs, I will develop customized individual training programs based on each person's traits and needs," Dai Li answered without a shred of hesitation.

Many other para-athletes had asked him similar questions before, and at first, Dai Li felt awkward and uneasy. However, when you're covered in lice, you don't itch anymore, so after repeatedly facing the same question, Dai Li had already grown numb to being affected by it. Thus, he graciously admitted that he could not afford to hire coaches.

Upon hearing Dai Li's answer, Phillip was extremely dissatisfied. Although Dai Li provided free training programs, Phillip still had an urge to call it quits.

Consumers in the U.S. are used to paying for services. For example, there's medical insurance. Only those living at the bottom of society would choose free health care in dire situations. As long as they could afford it, they would pay the insurance companies for commercial insurance, so that they could enjoy better healthcare services.

That was why Philip was reluctant to stay, even when the training programs that Dai Li provided were free. He felt that if he could not achieve the desired training effect, it would be a complete waste of time.

"Coach Li, I think that your training center might not be suitable for me…" before he finished his sentence, a black man could be seen walking towards them.

"Hey Li, I've been all over the place before I finally found your place!" The man was extremely loud, so his voice could be heard from afar.

"This person looks a bit like Allen Hampton!" Phillip widened his eyes, as he stared at the black man walking towards them.

"Allen! I thought you would arrive in Los Angeles tomorrow!" Dai Li smiled as he replied.

Hampton, however, merely moved forward and gave Dai Li a hug.

"Li, even if you didn't come to the U.S., if I happened to be in Asia, I would have definitely gone to find you!" said Hampton enthusiastically.

On the side, Phillip was staring blankly at them both. By then, he was confident that the black man in front of him was indeed Allen Hampton.

"Allen Hampton, it's really Allen Hampton! I can't believe I'm actually meeting Allen Hampton. Is he here in Los Angeles for a game?" Phillip thought as he pulled out his phone, wanting to take a photo with him.

Phillip approached apologetically and asked, "Are you Allen Hampton? Can I get a photo with you?"

"Of course," Hampton was already used to having his photo taken with his fans, he posed and asked, "Are you here to train with Coach Li? If you are, then you've got the right man, as Li is the greatest fitness coach I've met!"

"The greatest fitness coach?" Phillip never would have imagined hearing such high praise from Hampton.

"Definitely the best!" Hampton nodded. "If it wasn't for Li's training, I might have not even made it to university! Li was the one who made me who I am now."

Phillip subconsciously looked at Dai Li. He never would have thought this new Asian immigrant standing in front of him had actually trained the famous Allen Hampton!

It was then that Dai Li spoke, "Mr. Phillip, what did you say was not suitable? I didn't quite catch that..."

"Not suitable? No, I did not say not suitable, I was just asking, when can we start?!" Phillip immediately corrected himself. He was certain that the skills and level of a coach who trained Allen Hampton couldn't be too bad.
***



###Chapter 373: Chancing Upon a Gem

####Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
Phillip's tone became much humbler, like a transfer student who had just joined a new school. He opened his mouth and began to introduce himself, "My main sport is the 100m sprint, though I occasionally practice the 200m sprint as well. Right now, my time for the 100m sprint is 13.35 seconds, and I hope that through training, it can be improved to within 13 seconds".

"Based on your T43 classification, if you can improve your time to within 13 seconds, you would have the chance to participate in international competitions," Dai Li stated.

Finishing 100 meters in 13 seconds was a result that wouldn't even make a person a grade three national athlete in China. Even middle school students could run faster than that. However, for a para-athlete, who had had both his feet amputated, finishing a 100m sprint within 13 seconds was enough to participate in para-athletics competitions at the international level. After all, the world record for the 100m sprint in the T43 class was only 12.20 seconds.

"First, I'll have to see how talented he is," Dai Li thought, as he started his examination on Phillip.

"100m, talent potential is A-, 200m, talent potential is A, 400m, talent potential is A+!" Dai Li drew in a breath of cold air in surprise, because the result was far greater than his expectation.

"Grade A talent potential, the talent required to become a world champion! A para-athlete with grade A talent potential, this is too unfortunate. He has so much potential in sprinting, yet he has no legs!" Dai Li thought sympathetically.

Most of the para-athletes, who had visited earlier, only had grade D talent potential, not even one had a grade C- talent potential. The way athletes were selected and trained was different in the U.S. than in China. In China, athletes were chosen from large groups of people, such as sports schools, city teams, provincial teams, and different levels of national team training.

After layers upon layers of selection, the ones who were ultimately chosen, were the best of the bunch and, more often than not, had excellent talent potential. The ones who were left out, would alter their plans and change their career paths as soon as possible, to not waste time. That was why most athletes in China had to have at least a decent amount of talent in sports.

In the U.S., however, athletes were required to pay for their own training. Coaches wouldn't care if you had talent or not. As long as they were paid, they would provide training services. That was why the U.S. lacked people with incredible talent, despite having so many people working in the sports industry. The actual number of people who were truly suited to work as athletes was amazingly small.

Meeting an athlete with Grade A sprint talent in the U.S. was something one could only wish for, and the man called Phillip, who was standing in front of him, was one with such talent. However, he had lost both of his feet.

Dai Li's gaze was filled with disappointment and sympathy. He was sure that, if Phillip was a normal, healthy individual, he could turn him into a world champion! Phillip, however, did not pay much heed to Dai Li's expression. He pulled out a pair of semi-curved black blades from his backpack.

"Is this a prosthesis for sport?" Dai Li asked, since he had recognized the item.

"The Flex-Foot Cheetah. It's the world's most advanced sports prosthesis available. It weighs around 8 pounds, the thickest area has 80 layers of carbon fiber, and the bottom of the prosthesis is equipped with the sole of a running shoe. I specifically went to a company specialized in creating prosthesis and mobility solutions in Iceland to have it custom-made. It cost me 250,000 Dollars. Half of what I got from the insurance company was spent on this prosthesis," Phillip said.

"So what caused you to lose both your feet?" Dai Li paused briefly, before continuing, "Please don't misunderstand, I don't mean to intrude on your privacy. I just need to assess your situation in detail, so that I can develop specific training programs later."

Phillip nodded and began describing his experience, "I've liked all types of sports since I was a kid. For example, football, basketball, tennis, boxing, and golf. I was even interested in motorbike racing. I wanted to a professional football player back then. I was a main player in the school football team, but after graduating high school, none of the colleges gave me a scholarship, and my family wasn't able to afford the school tuition, since it was just too expensive. So I didn't go to college, but went and joined the military instead. That was because I could apply for tuition subsidies after joining the military. With the subsidy, I would have enough to get into college after I retired."

"However, a year after joining the military, I was sent to Iraq. You know, in Iraq, we weren't welcomed by the locals. Even if we were in a supposed 'green area,' we'd still have to worry about getting hit by an incoming missile, and for me, it was bad luck. I stepped on a landmine during an operation. Fortunately though, it was a homemade landmine, not a professionally made anti-personnel landmine. If it was the latter, I'd have lost more than just both my legs, I'd probably have lost my life".

"After that, I returned to the U.S. and received the disability insurance from the insurance company. The government also gives me a monthly allowance for disabled military servicemen. I used the money I got from the disability insurance to purchase a set of normal prostheses, and began training to walk. I was naive back then, and I really thought that, if I could walk like a normal person, I would be able to live a normal life."

"But when I could walk like normal again, I still couldn't find any formal work. I didn't go to college, and a person who hasn't gone to college could only do physical labor. And as a person with a disability, I cannot engage in heavy physical labor. Even if I wanted to, employers wouldn't hire me. They are afraid that the labor unions and organizations that protect the rights of people with disabilities would accuse them of mistreating people with disabilities. They don't want trouble, which is why I can only do part-time jobs".

"I joined the army so that I could lead a better life, because I didn't want to end up at the bottom of society. But after losing both my legs and leaving the army, I found out that, in the end, I had still ended up at the bottom of society. I have no job, and I'm only getting by using the money I earn from part-time jobs and the money I receive from relief funds. I had thought that I would be living like that for the rest of my life, just getting by every day. That was until I met Jonny".

"Jonny was an army sergeant, who was my superior back when I had just arrived in Iraq. He suffered heavy burns from napalm, and the doctors used morphine on him during his treatment, which later made him addicted to drugs. Jonny also resorted to alcoholism. So when I met him, he had already become a homeless person, he was living in the streets, and he was using the allowance for disabled military servicemen that he'd received from the government to purchase liquor. He was living from the food given to him by charities every day. It was tough to imagine, the courageous warrior that once stood upon the battlefield had now become a drug addict and drunkard!"

"When I saw Jonny, it was like seeing my future. I started to become afraid. I was worried that I would become like Jonny, turning into a homeless drunkard. I felt that, no matter what, I should never lose my sense of self, and I knew that I had to do something meaningful. I decided to become an amateur athlete, so I traveled specifically to Iceland to have this Flex-Foot Cheetah prosthesis made."

"At first, I wanted to play football, I even joined a football club. However, the physical confrontation involved in the sport wasn't suited for people like me, who had lost both feet. My prosthesis was extremely durable, making it an accessory that caused injury easily, including injuring myself. During a match, I was hurt. I had twisted my knee, and when I was running during my rehabilitation, a coach at the club felt that I had talent in sprinting, so he suggested I try out track and field training. After that, I started attempting sprinting practice".

Dai Li nodded his head in silence, feeling sympathetic to Phillip's life encounters. If it wasn't for the war, perhaps Phillips could have completed his military service safely, received the tuition subsidy he mentioned, went on to college before graduating, and ultimately, have gotten a decent job.

After adjusting his riled up emotions, Dai Li said, "The difference between you and ordinary athletes is that both your legs and ankles are amputated, which means that you have no feet. The foot is the most important organ in the body, needed to bear burdens and provide support. Apart from that, the feet are also used to adjust the balance of the human body. In any case, I don't think that your prosthesis can truly replace your feet."

"And for a sprinter, you are missing another important organ, and that would be the Achilles tendon! For a sprinter, the explosive force arising from the stomping of the ground comes from the Achilles tendon, so without the Achilles tendon, your explosiveness would suffer a lot. If my guess is correct, you are slow off the mark. I'm not sure if this Flex-Foot Cheetah prosthesis of yours can provide you with an extra spring, but ultimately, it still isn't a part of your body. So, I am certain that, after you get off the mark, you would need to spend at least 20 to 30 meters to find your running rhythm."

"Next, let's talk about some other aspects. First of all, the calf. When you're walking, the force distribution of your calf is also different…"

"Then there's your thigh when you make a stride…"

"Your arm swing should be your primary balance mechanism, but…"

As Dai Li analyzed Phillip's shortcomings one by one, the expression on Phillip's face shifted gradually, first becoming serious, then surprised, and finally, impressed.

"Everything is as Coach Li said. He was able to deduce so many things from just seeing my prosthesis! It's no wonder that even Allen Hampton came to him for training."

At that point, Phillip no longer held any disdain towards Dai Li, and he no longer cared about all the presumed weaknesses the Chinese had in sports. He couldn't wait to get started in his training.

　...

Phillips began his training, and soon discovered that Dai Li's training wasn't just about physical fitness. There were also techniques in sprinting, and the sprinting technique practices Dai Li used were no worse than a professional track and field coach's.

"My disciple was the champion of the 100m and 200m sprint in the Asian Games," Dai Li said in a slightly teasing tone.

Among the many world sports games held in various continents across the world, the track and field of the Asian Games should be of the lowest level. Compared to Europe and Africa, the value of the sprint champion of the Asian Games was obviously the lowest.

However, in a place like the U.S. where a person who had a skill could easily find a job, the more talented a person was, the more valuable he was. A coach with several achievements would have athletes flocking to them, and being the coach of an Asian Games sprint champion was certainly enough for a person to tout himself as a high-level coach.

"Coach Li is actually the coach of an Asian Games champion,so it looks like I've really hit the jackpot!" As this thought surfaced in Phillip's mind, he asked tentatively, "Coach Li, can you be my coach? What I mean is, not just physical fitness training, but also in sprinting."

"Sure, the only drawback is that I don't have a long enough track here," Dai Li thought for a moment before saying, "If you don't mind, there's an empty space outside the gym, where I could draw and create a temporary track."

"That would be great!" a look of excitement filled Phillip's face, but only for a moment, as in the next second, he suddenly remembered something.

"Coach Li, there's another problem, I'm currently still receiving relief funds, so I haven't got the money to pay you," Phillip said awkwardly.

"I am not planning to charge you anything!" Dai Li said with a smile.

Phillip however, shook his head and said, "Coach Li, how about I owe you first, and when I get a sponsor, I will definitely return the amount, and more, to you!"

　　...

After all, Phillip was one blessed with grade A sprinting talent potential, though he had lost both his feet, and as soon as the training began, his performance started to improve rapidly.

Two weeks later.

On the temporary track outside the gym, Dai Li stared blankly at the electronic timer he held in his hand.

"11.99 seconds, he has broken through the 12 seconds mark, did I remember wrongly?!" Dai Li mumbled to himself.

However, Dai Li knew that in Phillip's T43 classification, the world record for the 100m sprint was only 12.20 seconds, which meant that, after just two weeks of training, Phillip already had the ability to break the world record for the para-athletics' T43 classification.

"I had felt that I was making a loss when I provided free training to para-athletes, now it seems I've found myself a gem!" Dai Li thought happily.
***




###Chapter 374: The Big Debut

####Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
***
Max frowned after seeing the words on the signboard, "Coach Lee's Physical Fitness Training Center" as he drove past the gym.

Someone actually rented that gymnasium! When and where did such a rich person come from? What kind of person is actually willing to accept such high rent? Max thought, feeling slightly annoyed.

Max and Dai Li were in the same line of work; he had also opened a physical fitness training center, and his "Ironman" training center had a bit of fame in the northern parts of Los Angeles. Many athletes and affluent individuals would visit him to have a customized physical fitness training course made.

Apart from the physical fitness center, Max also owned two gyms and a swimming complex. He operated a bodybuilding club and a swimming club as well.

Max had always intended to expand his business, and he had been keeping an eye on that gymnasium. It had a great location and sufficient space. It was just that it wasn't cost effective because of the high rent, which deterred Max from making a move. However, Max had not given up on it because he hoped that no one would move into the gym due to the high rent, which meant that a price reduction was only a matter of time.

So when Max saw the signboard with the words, "Coach Lee's Physical Fitness Training Center," he felt as though something precious had been taken away from him.

Max dialed the number of his real estate agent.

"I happened to pass by the gymnasium today and saw that it has already been rented out. Do you know who's renting it?" Max asked.

"It was a Chinese man, who could also be a new immigrant," the real estate agent answered.

"There's a Chinese guy working in the physical fitness training industry? What about the price? Did he really accept such high rent?" Max continued inquiring.

"No. As far as I know, he accepted the second proposal, the one you wouldn't accept," the real estate agent replied honestly.

"He's willing to provide free training to para-athletes? What an arduous and fruitless job." Max curled his lips in disdain.

"Mr. Max, to be honest with you, I don't think that this condition is harsh. After all, you get a reduction in the rent. If you had been willing to accept this back then, the gymnasium would have long ago become a training base for the Ironman Training Center," the agent said. It was natural for the agent to want to tie up a business deal quickly since he would be able to earn an intermediary fee from it.

"I open physical fitness training centers, not physical fitness training charities!" Max exclaimed. "Besides, when you train a para-athlete, even if you do a great job in training them, what's there to be achieved? Among those who are disabled, half of them support themselves through relief funds. They wouldn't be able to afford the course fee! If you ask me, the training center of this Chinese man won't last more than a year!"



　　　　...

At the exact moment in Seattle, a para-athletic game was underway.

Despite Seattle's location on the west coast, this para-athletic game had managed to attract many para-athletes from the east.

Thanks to low-cost airlines spread throughout the US, traveling thousands of kilometers had become extremely easy and convenient. Moreover, considering the income of an average American, the aircraft of a low-cost airline was the equivalent of a traditional "green train" in China. Because airfares were very affordable, even low-income groups could afford to buy a ticket from low-cost airlines.

What's more, the para-athletes who arrived to participate in the competition were mostly burly men with tattoos on their body, their bodies burned or scarred.

"They are like me; they're also soldiers who retired due to injury. I think that most of them probably spent some time in Iraq!" Philip said.

Apart from a one-time insurance compensation, soldiers who retired due to injury also received a decommissioning allowance for disabled military servicemen from the government each month. That was why their economic conditions were slightly better than normal unemployed individuals.

The US encouraged disabled soldiers to participate in para-athletic games. After all, the earliest para-athletic games in the US originated from the United States Armed Forces. During the second world war, the wheelchair basketball teams formed by disabled soldiers were quite popular for a time. A wheelchair basketball association was even specially established after the second world war, and it organized tournaments throughout the US. It could be said that the history and heritage of the US National Wheelchair Basketball League wasn't that much inferior to the NBA.

For decades, the US waged war all over the world, and a large number of disabled soldiers appeared after each war. Many of the disabled soldiers soon became para-athletes, and in the next two upcoming Paralympic Games, the performance of the US team would be exceptional. When the US stopped waging war for a couple of years, the performance of the US team in the Paralympic Games would also drop.

Take the Iraq War for example. Although it had been more than a decade since the war ended, US military operations in Iraq were still ongoing, and the number of injured and disabled soldiers kept increasing. After numerous troops withdrawal, the number of soldiers stationed in Iraq still exceeded 5000, and the war had created a large number of para-athletes in the US.

Compared to the other para-athletes, Philip was a rookie. He had played football before, and it hadn't been that long since he started training in track and field.

Philip, who was standing on the track, looked extremely nervous since he kept glancing left and right. It was, after all, his first time taking part in a competition.

"Hey kid, you look awfully nervous. You should take it easy, just treat this as a practice!" said a big bearded caucasian man beside him.

"That's right, the important thing is to just to participate. Don't worry about winning or losing," said a brown-haired man on Philip's other side as he patted Philip on the shoulder. He then continued and said, "To be honest, I think that grouping both the T43 and T44 class together in a competition is rather unfair. But since we're here, the objective is not to beat the other competitors, it is to overcome yourself".

The two men who spoke were both in the T44 para-athletics classification. In a para-athletic game, the T43 and T44 class actually competed together, and occasionally even the T42 class would be included. Compared to the T43 class, the disabilities of the T44 class were less severe. The T43 is an amputation performed on both legs, below the knees but above the ankle or through the ankle joint; however, the T44 is an amputation performed on one leg, below the knee and above the ankle or through the ankle joint. To put it in simpler terms, one is a disability on both legs while the other is a disability on one leg.

Theoretically speaking, a person with a one-leg disability should run faster than a person with a two-leg disability. Among the contestants, Philip was the only one from the T43 class, so his nervousness was instead interpreted by others as a pessimistic view on the outcome of the race, which had led to the advice and encouragement from the other contestants.

People tend to sympathize with the weak. In a group of people with disabilities, the one in the worst situation would get the most sympathy. The others had only lost a leg while Philip had lost both his legs, so Philip, who had lost both legs, had suddenly become the target for sympathy.

　　...

"The Men's 100m sprint of the T43/T44 class is about to begin. The athletes are all ready. As you can see, there is an athlete who is from the T43 class".

As the commentator spoke enthusiastically into the microphone, he took a quick glance at the information he held in his hand before speaking again. "The T43 class athlete is called Barron Philip. According to the information on my report, he only started sprint training a month ago, and today is his first official sprint race. Let's wish him good luck and hope he performs well!"

The excited tone of the commentator brought a wave of applause from the crowd. In truth, everyone present felt that Philip, who had lost both his legs, was the weakest among the contestants. Everyone believed that he would only be left behind by the other contestants and finish the entire race amidst encouraging applause. He would show the indomitable spirit of disabled people.

On the stands, a young father pointed towards Philip and spoke to his son, "Jimmy, do you see that man? He has lost both his legs, but he didn't choose to stay in a wheelchair; he chose to wear a prosthesis and walk and run like an ordinary person. He can even take part in track and field competitions."

"Then can he run very fast?" the child asked innocently.

"He has one leg less than the others, so he'll be the slowest among all the contestants, but he will cross the finish line like everyone else, and he will complete his goals," the father answered with confidence.

At that moment, the race started at the sound of the starting pistol. The contestants began running.

A person with no legs has no Achilles tendon, so the explosive force generated from stomping the ground during the start of the race was reduced. Athletes in the T44 class had at least one leg, so at the beginning of the race, they could generate the explosive force of a leg by stomping the ground using their remaining leg. Philip, who had lost both his legs, could not produce any extra explosive force at the start of the race.

His acceleration at the start was slower, so in the first 30 meters of the race, as expected, Philip lagged behind.

Last place and lagging behind everyone, it suited everyone's perception of Philip. After all, how could a person without both legs run faster!

The father turned his head and continued speaking earnestly, "Jimmy, he's currently lagging behind, but he still has his indomitable spirit, which we should all learn. When faced with a problem, do not compromise. You have to learn to face it head on and overcome it. For him, it doesn't matter if he can win. Just by being out there in the race, he has already won."

That father had begun instilling inspirational chicken soup ideas in his son. Similar situations were happening simultaneously throughout the stands.

Americans were always good at practical education. A good example would be when teaching the Chinese concept of Zi Qiang Bu Xi. The standard practice in China would be for children to read an article from a textbook, followed by writing a review. Alternatively, students would answer questions with standardized answers, the belief being that children would understand the concept just by getting the correct answer. Americans, on the other hand, would prefer to let their children learn through personal experiences, and the para-athletic race was a good example. To the parents, allowing their child to observe the determination and spirit of the para-athletes battling on the racetrack was an excellent opportunity for education.

However, the boy named Jimmy shook his head. He pointed towards the racetrack and said, "Daddy, you're wrong. He's not the last one, he's now the third, second, oh, no, he's in the first place!"

His father looked where his son pointed.

The race had reached the 60 meter mark, and Philip had made it to first place.

"What happened? How did he get into first place!"

　　　　　　...

The crowd went wild. The only athlete who had no legs had somehow made it to the front!

People loved it when the weak rose. Philip coming up from behind, going from last to first place, awoke people's sympathy for the weak. Philip successfully ignited the passion of the audience.

"Come on! Charge forward!"

"Charge, charge through the finish line!"

At that moment, without a doubt, Philip was the focus of the entire stadium.

　　...

On the racetrack, the brown-haired man who consoled Philip earlier had been left far behind. He could only see Philip's back.

That rookie sure runs fast! The brown-haired man sighed lightly in his heart, but he immediately realized in the next second that Philip was a T43 class athlete, each of his legs equipped with a prosthesis.

How is that possible! He doesn't have any legs, and I've only lost one. How is he running faster than me, and by so much!

As he thought about that, he couldn't help but look down. He wanted to make sure that Philip did indeed lose both his legs.

Although the black colored cheetah-style prosthesis was made of carbon fiber, under the sunlight, it emanated a metallic glow, as if it was a pair of sharp blades.

Blades! The word flashed through the mind of the brown-haired man.

　　...

"Oh my God, Philip is coming from behind! He is surpassing the other contestants, he's leading! He's getting faster, and his lead is getting wider and wider! He has crossed the finish line! Philip! Philip won, he has achieved victory!"

The roaring voice of the commentator livened up the atmosphere in the stadium, where many like him had begun to shout.

"I did not expect that. The winner is actually Barron Philip! You have to know that among all the contestants, he was the only one in the T43 class! He was the only one without both legs, but he has somehow managed to beat everyone, and he completely dominated the other contestants! When he was making his final dash, the other contestants were already far behind him!"

"Let's take a look at Philip's performance, 12.16 seconds, it's been confirmed, it's 12.16 seconds! According to the information in my hand, the world record for the 100m sprint in the T43/44 classification is 12.20 seconds. That means, just now, right in front of us, Barron Philip set a new world record!"

The tone and voice of the commentator kept rising, and as he said the phrase, "set a new world record," his voice reached its highest decibel.

The atmosphere also climaxed, and the cheers and screams were all woven together in the stadium. At that moment, even if a person were to scream at the top of his lungs, he would still not be able to hear his own voice.

"A world record, I couldn't have misheard that, the commentator said a world record just now!"

"Who is that guy with no legs? I've never seen him before. Did he just break the world record?"

"Barron Philip, I remember they introduced his name before, he's called Barron Philip!"

"Barron Philip?" A journalist quickly wrote the name down on her tablet.

　　　...

The world record for the men's 100m sprint for the T43/44 class had been broken, and although most people hadn't the slightest clue what the T43/44 class was like, everyone knew that the man who set the new record had lost both his legs.

A 12.16 second result was not even enough to be considered a grade two national athlete in China, and in a nation that excelled in track and field, the number of people who were faster than that couldn't even be counted. Some might even find it embarrassing to announce that their time was 12.16 seconds. However, because this was the result of a person who had lost both his legs, the situation was completely different.

Before the race, Barron Philip was a nobody.

During the race, he appeared out of nowhere and stood above the rest.

After that day, more and more people would come to know and remember his name.
***