Knights and Princesses

Chapter 88 The Knight and the Princess (Only 1 update today, 5000 words)

"Wow...

""

A giant turkey floated overhead, followed by a cheerleading squad in sequined dresses waving huge colorful balloons. Further back were giant balloons featuring iconic characters from around the world, including Snoopy and SpongeBob SquarePants...

Since Macy's pioneered the Thanksgiving Day Parade in the 50s, it has gradually evolved into one of the most exciting events of the year in New York City.

Just as the two were standing at the front of the cordon, a floating stage truck loaded with circus-style decorations slowly drove by, and a group of acrobats on stilts and painted with greasepaint stood in the center of the rotating stage.

One of the parade members, dressed in a red and white striped suit and wearing an extravagant top hat, noticed the handsome man and beautiful woman.

People are naturally drawn to beautiful things, especially when two are presented to him.

The stilt-walking actors stopped precisely in front of them, with a huge inflatable heart hanging from the top of the long poles in their hands, hovering right above Anya and Li Wei's heads.

He leaned down, exaggeratedly winked and made a huge heart shape with his hands in front of his chest, then pointed forcefully at Li Wei, and then at Anya.

The surrounding tourists unconsciously cooperated with the romantic atmosphere of this special holiday.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

It's unclear who started it, but the previously crowded group suddenly erupted into a unified shout.

Festivals, parades, acts of kindness, crowds of attention, onlookers.

This is the scene Anya envisioned, like something out of a movie script.

Anya touched Li Wei's elbow intentionally or unintentionally, turned her head to him, and their eyes met.

Li Wei originally wanted to say something beautiful and sentimental to Anya, but for some reason, his heart was already in his throat (even more nervous than when he first kicked the robber and broke his thigh bone). Before his nerves could numb his consciousness, he involuntarily leaned in and kissed her lips with utmost tenderness.

The Earth's axes are constantly wobbling. This has actually happened.

Anya had thought about this countless times. The occasion of her first kiss had to be perfect. Although the ground was dirty and it was noisy around her, none of that mattered. She couldn't hear or feel anything. Her heart was filled with dizzying joy.

When Li Wei turned around amidst the cheers and applause of the strangers, he found Anya looking at him eagerly.

She gave him a radiant, reckless smile, rubbed her slightly red nose with the back of her hand, then stood on tiptoe, lifted her chin, and kissed him again, this time only lightly touching his lower lip. Then she lowered her head and leaned on Li Wei's shoulder.

"Strawberry and mint flavor," Li Wei thought.

"What are you going to do later?" Anya asked. "Any fun places to go?"

"I need to go find my...um...my uncle's ex-wife later at noon? And then try to rescue my cousin." Li Wei's arm was around her.

"Rescue," Anya repeated, "Can you take me with you?"

Of course.

After noon, the massive black Cadillac Escalade smoothly drove into a neighborhood called Bayside in Queens.

This is a well-known, highly productive residential community in Queens, with lawns manicured like carpets, huge Thanksgiving wreaths hanging in front of every house, and grills and various small playgrounds set up in the lawns and yards of every household for children to play in.

Although it's much worse than Riverdale where Anya lives, it's several levels higher than Bell Ridge where Levi and the others currently live.

"Are you getting off with me?" Li Wei asked. "Or do you want to come with me to ask?"

"I'll go with you," Anya blurted out.

They stopped in front of an exquisite villa. Less than 10 seconds after Li Wei rang the doorbell, the door was opened a crack.

Catherine was dressed in a silk loungewear set, and it seemed that her life hadn't worsened at all because of her divorce from Don Quixote. Although, according to Don Quixote, she was already close to 40, she still had a well-proportioned figure, and the wrinkles on her face were shallow and faint, clearly the type who regularly went for beauty treatments.

"You are..."

""

Catherine opened the door with a frown, but her furrowed brows relaxed slightly when she saw Levi's face and Anya's coat.

The coat Anya was wearing was clearly not a cheap polyester fabric; she had only ever seen that kind of texture and color in the shop windows of Madison Avenue.

"You must be Catherine," Levi said politely. "I am Don Quixote's nephew."

"Oh," she said, "I never imagined... that Cervantes had a nephew like you."

“I’m from China, and I’m living with him now,” Li Wei said. “I came to bring Lily to spend Thanksgiving with her father. After all, you know, they haven’t seen each other for a long time.”

"How can you prove your relationship with Cervantes?" Catherine narrowed her eyes, noticing Cadred behind Levi. "After all, you don't look much like him."

Li Wei paused, took out his phone and dialed a number. A few seconds later, Don Quixote's voice came through.

"Feed? I'm at Aunt Catherine's doorstep right now," Levi said. "Want to say a few words?"

"What?! Her house?!" Don Quixote roared in fury. "That's my house! I..."

Li Wei immediately pressed the mute button and gave Catherine a smile.

"See, now that proves my identity, right?" he said. "Uncle Don Quixote hasn't seen Lily in a long time, and even though they're divorced, he still has visitation rights on holidays, right?"

“I didn’t stop him from visiting,” Catherine said calmly, arms crossed. “It’s just that he could easily afford $2000 a month in child support when his income was low. Now that he has a stable job and a better life, I have the right to increase the child support amount according to New York State law.”

Li Wei frowned. $2000 a month? Was this woman speaking English?

Before Don Quixote arrived, he had to live in a basement, work two jobs, sell his blood and scavenge for food to scrape together the $2000. Most people would have given up after a year or two, but he endured it for over ten years, all to see his daughter.

“Ms. Catherine,” Levi sighed, “you may not know how much effort Uncle Don Quixote put into raising those $2000.”

"How did he even come up with $5000 for the training camp?" Catherine raised her voice. "Don't tell me he scraped together $2000 and then easily managed to scrape together $5000?"

"I lent him most of that 5000," Li Wei said, trying to maintain his politeness. "He's had a really tough time, and he finally managed to get out of poverty. He just wanted to see his daughter today..."

"Catherine raised her right eyebrow in her signature way, making a lazy but disdainful expression."

If Don Quixote were here, he would know what kind of wicked idea she was plotting this time.

"Oh," she drawled, "well, I'll call her down, Lily!"

A short while later, a timid and frail little girl came down from the second floor carrying a huge pink unicorn doll.

Li Wei immediately recognized her as the little girl in the photograph Don Quixote had shown him.

"Lily, your father sent someone to pick you up," Catherine said, gripping Lily's arm tightly. "By the way, what's your name again?"

"My name is Levi, Ms. Catherine," Levi replied.

"Very good, Li Wei," Catherine glanced at Anya behind him, then at the Cadillac parked by the roadside, "Since you can afford to spend so much money on Don Quixote and drive such a nice car, you must be a rich second-generation from China, right?"

"In that case, you can pay the $1000 for him," she said, pushing her daughter forward. "If you can afford it, I can add one extra day each month for her to spend with Cervantes, beyond the usual number of visitation days."

"This is your daughter!" Anya couldn't hold back any longer. "How can you treat her like a commodity!"

"Yes, this is my daughter," Catherine nodded, "and I am her guardian now."

"I want to spend Thanksgiving with Daddy..." Lily turned to look at her mother, "Mom..."

'

Li Wei cleared his throat and stepped forward.

“Ms. Catherine,” he said, “are you aware that New York State has a strict review process for child support adjustments… and Uncle Don Quixote’s current legal income does not meet the threshold for an increase.”

He launched a "talkative" session, attempting to distort Catherine's perception.

With a "ding," Catherine's gaze became slightly unfocused.

"Really?" she asked, somewhat puzzled. "Is there such a rule? How come I didn't know..."

“Yes,” Li Wei said patiently, “so your request is very unreasonable. If a lawsuit is filed, the jury will definitely not be on your side.”

"So," he reached out, trying to pull Lily closer, "let them have Thanksgiving first, and we can talk again if needed later."

However, to his surprise, even after he knew that she had been convinced, Catherine still held tightly to Lily's arm.

"But there are other ways," she said. "We can't just let Lily go with you like this."

Falk.

This woman is truly obsessed with money. Li Wei's "Eloquent Talk" skill has only failed once on Travis since its upgrade. Although it didn't fail this time, it was practically useless to Catherine, who values ​​money so much.

Although Li Wei now had some spare money, he would feel uncomfortable giving $1000 to the woman in front of him, and Don Quixote would feel even more uncomfortable.

Perhaps because the woman in front of them was too difficult to deal with, even the system jumped out.

You have received the quest: The Entanglement of the Greedy Fairy.

[This greedy fairy's desire for money even surpasses Leon's; it seems there's no way to get her out of it except through force or stealth.]

[Find a way to take away the hostages it's holding]

[Task Reward: +0.1 Free Attribute Points]

He and Anya got back into the car.

"It seems she's not planning to release them," Anya turned to look at Li Wei. "What are you planning to do?"

"I plan," Li Wei thought for a moment, "I plan to take advantage of her unpreparedness, rush in, jump straight up to the second floor, and take Lily away."

Knowing he was joking, Anya giggled. "What do you think you are?" she said. "Grandma Yaga? Or Spider-Man?"

"You actually found out," Li Wei feigned surprise. "Looks like my Spider-Man identity can't be hidden anymore."

Anya laughed and playfully hit him, then leaned over and kissed him repeatedly.

He was so captivating that she could never get enough of kissing him, and even wanted to crawl into his body and become one with him.

"Honestly," Anya said, "you really don't need my help? $1000 isn't much money to me."

"No need," Li Wei shook his head. "Giving that woman money always makes me feel a little resentful."

"Alright then," Anya said, "I'll do as you say."

They drove back to Riverdale in the Bronx, where the once-prosperous neighborhood where Catherine lived seemed unremarkable once more.

Anya lingered at the elevator entrance for a few more minutes until Li Wei's car disappeared into the corner before going upstairs.

She kicked off her boots in the foyer and threw her coat on a chair for the servant to pick up.

She changed into a long silk robe and sat in front of the mirror to remove her makeup.

After finishing all this, she rubbed her eyes, stretched her arms above her head, and gave a big yawn.

Oh my god, it feels so good, so amazing! Suddenly, she became the kind of boring character she hated most in movies, the happiest person in the world.

Meanwhile, Li Wei drove back to the Bayside community and observed the house where Catherine lived from a distance.

There's no way I'll give you money; there's no way I'll ever give you money in this lifetime.

Moreover, on the way, he carefully reviewed the legal guardianship in New York and discovered that this damned divorce law really does favor the protection of women's rights; it's shameless.

However, on the way, he quickly checked some information and found that legal guardianship in the United States is, on the surface, more inclined to favor the child's will.

In other words, if Lily subjectively expresses her willingness to live with Don Quixote, and if Don Quixote calls Catherine in time, not only can the family court side with Don Quixote and hold Catherine accountable for lax supervision, but it can also legally and reasonably include holiday visitation rights in the divorce clause.

If Lily nods.

He drove to a blind spot out of Catherine's house, put on his newly bought Spider-Man mask, activated Stealth, and climbed into Catherine's backyard. Grabbing the edge of the water pipe, he easily climbed up to the second floor.

In a small room on the second floor, through the window you can see Lily stacking blocks by herself, her eyes red, while Catherine is throwing a tantrum at her.

This is a great opportunity, Li Wei thought.

He secretly took out his phone to record audio and video inside the house as evidence, to ensure that he had not committed any actual illegal entry.

As Lily piled up blocks, tears streamed down her face, but she neither wiped them away nor cried out. She silently expressed her resistance through her tears.

"Lily Cervantes," Catherine said sternly, "don't cry."

However, Lily ignored her completely and continued stacking the blocks in front of her—a gift Don Quixote had given her two years ago.

"Stop crying!" Catherine slammed her hand on the wooden block table, and the carefully stacked plastic blocks instantly scattered all over the floor with a jarring crash.

Lily's shoulders trembled violently with fright, but she just gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, her tears falling silently into the pile of building blocks like beads from a broken string.

"You need to understand, Lily," Catherine took a deep breath, calming her slightly ferocious expression caused by anger, and adopted a serious tone, "In this world, everyone looks out for themselves. Especially women, if you don't learn to fight for your own interests, you'll end up like your father, rotting in the mud your whole life."

"Daddy isn't mud," Lily finally retorted softly, her voice weak.

"It's him! What else can he give you now?" Catherine screamed hysterically. "I'm your mother! I could have let you live in the basement with him! I've raised you for so many years, given you the best clothes, let you live in this community, why aren't you close to me? Why do you only care about that good-for-nothing who can't do anything but sell blood and scavenge for garbage?!"

"Because you're spending Daddy's money! And you treat him so badly!" Lily retorted loudly. "What did Daddy do wrong? He only ever wants to make me happy!"

"Shut up! Shut up!"

Catherine jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. The stark truth filled her with a suffocating sense of humiliation.

Looking at Lily's face, which bore a striking resemblance to both herself and Cervantes, she felt a twisted mix of possessiveness and frustration.

"Since you're so eager to go, and since you think he's so wonderful," Catherine sneered, stepping back to the door, "then I'll make sure you don't go. You can stay in your room and reflect on your actions until you learn how to be a grateful daughter!"

"Happy Thanksgiving!" she said sarcastically.

"Bang!"

The door was slammed shut, followed by the crisp sound of the lock turning.

Just then, a very slight, rhythmic tapping sound came from the windowpane.

"Tap, tap tap."

Lily froze for a moment. She looked up and saw a strange face pressed against the glass window—"Spider-Man?" Lily held her breath, rubbed her eyes, and asked, "Am I dreaming?"

"Hey," Levi removed his mask, revealing a face that had just left a deep impression on Lily, "Do you remember me?"

"You'll be found by your mother if you run here," she said softly as she crawled over, glanced back, and added, "You'd better leave now."

"Do you want to see your father?" Li Wei asked. "I need to confirm your willingness before I can."

"Of course!" Lily blurted out.

"Then try to open the door yourself," Li Wei pointed to the door frame through the glass. "It seems your mother locked the door from the inside."

Although Lily didn't know why Li Wei would say that to her, she still ran over and tried the doorknob. The door didn't budge and made a clanging sound.

"I can't open it, Mom locked it from the inside."

"Then check if you have an emergency escape ladder in your house," Li Wei said, "the kind that lets you climb down from the second floor."

"What's that?" Lily shook her head in confusion. "My room is full of dolls."

"Are you safe now?" Levi continued to ask from outside the window. "If you don't want to stay in this locked room and want to come with me to see Dad, you need to nod and tell me."

"I want to see my dad," Lily said. "I don't want to be locked up."

"Very good," Li Wei pressed the save button. "Now open the window and come out. I'll take you away from here."

"So you understand now?"

When the car had driven two blocks away, Li Wei asked, "Why do I need you to confirm this yourself? Because it's very dangerous for your mother to lock you in the house."

"What if there's a fire?" Li Wei looked at Lily through the rearview mirror. "If you're locked on the second floor, you won't be able to escape. In American law, that's called a 'serious safety hazard.'"

"How do you know everything?" Lily looked at Li Wei with admiration. "Brother Li Wei, you're so amazing."

"You'll be just as good when you have a phone and can search online," Li Wei said, holding up one finger. "So this isn't running away, or what you call running away from home. This is called an emergency evacuation. If anyone—even the police or a judge—questions you in the future, you don't need to lie. Just tell them the truth, like how your mom locked you up, you were scared, and then your brother Li Wei helped you out. Got it?"

"I understand!" Lily nodded vigorously, then added worriedly, "Will Mommy be angry?"

"She might be angry, but that's her fault, not yours," Li Wei said with a smile. "Locking a child in a fire-hazardous room is against fire safety regulations. As a reward for your cooperation in the rescue operation," we went to buy the third installment of the "Enchanted Story" series.

How about the frozen hot chocolate?

"Yay!" Lily cheered, instantly forgetting her earlier unpleasantness.

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