Chapter 15
This is sexual harassment, you need to pay extra.
"No, brother," Michael looked at Levi with heartache, "tell me in secret, did you use performance-enhancing drugs?"
The next morning, Li Wei arrived at the gym early, eager to test his strength.
He had heard that bench pressing 100 kilograms was a significant hurdle for most fitness enthusiasts, and he wanted to see if he could break through that barrier in one go today.
To his surprise, Michael, a Black classmate he had met at the gym, also arrived so early today.
After asking, Li Wei learned that he also had a part-time job to do that afternoon, so he could only come to practice before going to school this morning.
As Michael practiced, he sensed something was wrong.
Dude, I was able to push 80 kg in one go the day before yesterday, how come today pushing 80 kg is like pushing air?!
Suspicious, he subconsciously assumed that Li Wei might have secretly taken drugs in order to accelerate his progress.
"Don't think about those things," Li Wei patted his shoulder, "I didn't use any drugs."
"Were you kidding me the day before yesterday?" Michael simply couldn't believe Levi's progress was so rapid. "Are you Superman? Getting stronger just by sunbathing every day, absorbing solar radiation?"
Li Wei was also curious about the limits of this system, and whether he could one day truly become a superman.
However, at this moment he was just a frail 17-year-old boy who had only had the system for about a week, and he couldn't think about not eating beef yet.
"Stop talking nonsense," Li Wei laughed, "Help me install the film."
"How much?" Michael asked. "I'm feeling good today, want to try 90 kilograms?"
Li Wei shook his head. "Let's go straight to 100 kilograms," he said. "I'll give it a try."
"You can really push 100 kilograms, that's awesome, bro," Michael bumped fists with him and increased the weight to 100 kilograms. "Come on, I'll support you from behind."
...
"No, you can't just say 100 and call it 100!"
When Michael watched as Levi steadily lifted 100 kilograms, and even 110 kilograms later on, he finally couldn't hold back anymore.
"I give up," he said, tugging at Li Wei's clothes. "What kind of drugs did you use? Can you take me with you? I'm begging you, please stop training, please stop training."
Li Wei knew that Michael was just joking around, so after exchanging a few jokes with him, he went to the squat rack to test his squat limit.
The increase in squat strength was also quite impressive, rising from 95 kg to 140 kg.
From this moment on, Li Wei felt that his physical fitness seemed to have reached the standard for entering the high school rugby team.
He was looking forward to starting school in just over three weeks and seeing how his physical condition would improve to an incredible degree.
Around 9 p.m., Michael and Levi left the gym together and went their separate ways.
Li Wei needed to go home to change his clothes before going to his part-time job on the Upper East Side, while Michael had to rush to school.
The changes in his physique and strength were not only noticed by him, but also by Mrs. Dolores.
"This suit seems a little small," she said, looking at Li Wei. "Have you gained weight? What are you wearing underneath?"
"I've been working out lately," Li Wei explained, "which might be why my clothes look smaller."
"Not so fast," said Mrs. Dolores. "Stay where you are."
She walked up to Li Wei, circled him a few times, and groped his chest and waist for a while.
A few seconds later, Li Wei realized that the Slavic woman seemed to have already discovered him and was just taking advantage of him.
"That's sexual harassment," Li Wei took a step back, paused, "You'll have to pay extra."
"This physique is fine. You're not allowed to work out anymore," Mrs. Dolores said calmly. "Your part-time job is now $30 an hour. I'm very pleased that you still have enough self-control after earning money. That's a rare quality among the poor."
Okay, if it means an extra $30 in pre-tax income every day, then Levi might as well allow his boss to touch him occasionally.
Her expression and tone remained calm. Even when Li Wei exposed her, she didn't blush or feel embarrassed at all. It was as if the sky falling wouldn't even make her furrow her brow.
"Go find Emma," she said, looking Levi up and down. "Have her take you to change your clothes, um... change into that EU54 size Brunello Cucinelli suit, and then have her get you a pair of non-prescription gold-rimmed glasses."
"Isn't this a bit too expensive?" Levi asked, somewhat surprised. "If I remember correctly, that Brunello Cucinelli outfit costs around $13000, right?"
"So you'd better dress carefully and not let your figure go out of shape," Mrs. Dolores said calmly. "No smoking and no body odor."
It has to be said that the woman who owns a fashion boutique on Fifth Avenue in New York has impeccable taste and vision.
Li Wei emerged wearing a Neapolitan suit with the shoulder pads removed and gold-rimmed glasses without prescription lenses. Combined with his mixed-race features, he looked like a very well-mannered young aristocrat who had just returned from a top-tier fashion show.
Not long after, Li Wei closed another deal. Although he suspected that the other party was only interested in him because of his looks, it didn't matter.
With a daily commission of $500 plus a $500 tip, he doesn't mind being treated like a pretty vase. If a few more generous rich women like him come along, he might be able to buy a house in Brooklyn next week.
However, of his $1090 pre-tax income, $218 was deducted as tax when it arrived in his hands, making his eyelids twitch.
"You can't resist anymore?" another saleswoman, Emma, teased. "You haven't even gotten your residency status yet. Once you have your residency status and your own house, the good days are yet to come."
"Federal Social Security FICA, withholding tax, state tax, city tax, mandatory insurance, property tax..." She sighed as she counted on her fingers, "I'm lucky if I can get half of my pre-tax income, the rest has to cover living expenses."
"Isn't it said that you can avoid taxes?" Li Wei couldn't help but say, "The richer you are, the less tax you pay."
“Yes,” Emma laughed at Levi, “but you should probably wait until you have assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars before considering this. If you want to avoid taxes, you’ll need to hire at least two full-time accountants to be with you.”
Li Wei could only watch helplessly as $218 slipped through his fingers, and boarded the Brooklyn subway with a heavy heart.
As usual, he took the subway to Eighth Avenue station, picked through some affordable and high-energy foods in the shopping mall, and returned to the basement.
"Oh, what a rare guest!" Li Wei exclaimed in surprise to see Don Quixote in the house. "Shouldn't you be at the construction site at this hour?"
"Good heavens," he coughed, making sure the door was open so the air could circulate, "how many cigarettes have you smoked?"
Don Quixote was lounging on the sofa, looking rather dejected, with a half-empty bottle of cheap liquor beside him.
Cigarette butts had already spilled out of the ashtray on the coffee table in front of him.
"Not much," said Don Quixote. "I have a question for you: do you really want to get into an Ivy League school with your current background?"