(Thanks to the leader I am a Bad Mermaid for his strong support for this book)
Long Island in midsummer ushers in the busiest period of the year.
An hour's drive away, under the skyscrapers of Manhattan, New York, there are still plenty of dark and cramped corners, crowded crowds, and stuffy air.
Changdao is surrounded by the sea on three sides, with vast sea and vast sky. There are various luxury houses, green trees and beaches, and people are laughing and talking happily.
They are either artists, employees of technology companies, or wealthy tycoons at various levels, fully embodying the American dream of "if you don't have money, you'll be numb."
The petite and plump Elena held Luke's arm and strolled in a luxurious manor villa.
At this moment, she was not wearing the loose clothes suitable for casual painting as usual, but a close-fitting royal blue dress.
In the reflection of the setting sun, the snow-white skin against the royal blue fabric exudes a texture like warm marble.
Luke sent away the twelfth male stranger who came up to chat with his girlfriend, and he did not forget to mock his own gender: "Look, this is the bad nature of men."
Elena couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth, looking very happy.
It's not because she attracts a lot of male attention, she just simply enjoys the feeling of having someone to support her.
The two of them have rarely attended such large-scale evening parties. Most of the time, they just wandered together in cities, villages, mountains, and rivers, quietly enjoying the beautiful scenery that could be put into paintings.
And there is more than one reason to attend this party tonight.
One of them was that Lindsay Soderbergh, the eldest daughter of the Soderbergh family, invited Elena.
This young lady has been in New York State politics for several years now and no longer personally acts as an agent for "emerging" painters.
But she had made huge profits from her previous successful packaging and marketing of Monroe Peterson (a psychopathic painter), so there was no reason to give up this ready-made and safe way to make money.
Moreover, as a politician who is not very likable, it is good for him to use the skin of art to improve his own style and add a little appearance.
Therefore, Miss Lindsay's connections in the New York art circle were taken over by a gallery controlled by an offshore company, and the gallery's equity apparently had nothing to do with her.
By using various charities or trusts, the gallery's income can be used to pay for certain expenses she needs to pay.
Similarly, these expenses have nothing to do with her legally, thus avoiding a lot of political risk.
The second reason is the woman who was walking with Lindsay.
This person was originally chatting with Lindsay, and was looking around from time to time.
When she was more than ten meters away, she found Elena and the other person. She ran over with a look of surprise on her face, even forgetting about Lindsay.
"Elaine, didn't you say you would wait for me at the beach?" The woman had a pitiful expression on her face, like an abandoned child.
Elena smiled helplessly, feeling a bit like she was facing her silly daughter: "Mary (a nickname for Margaret), this is the seaside."
Margaret (doctor Harley's sister) turned her head around in confusion and looked around: "Ah, is this the beach? I always thought it was over there." As she spoke, she did not forget to point in the direction she came from.
Elena slapped her forehead in amusement: "This is the north of Long Island. How can you find the sea in the south?"
Margaret suddenly realized and rubbed her forehead: "Oh, you are right, why didn't I think of it."
That's because you naturally lack a sense of direction! Luke, who was watching from the side, silently complained about this innocent, rich and beautiful girl.
Well, okay, barely speaking, this person can be considered his sister-in-law.
But the concern from a brother-in-law like Joker would only make this naive girl tremble with fear, shrink behind her sister Harley, and then peek at him as if he were a scary devil - the kind that would look once and then quickly look away, then look again, and never look at anyone.
Fortunately, this experience only happened once, and after that, Harley never mentioned asking Joker to go see her sister with her again.
Irina and Margaret have a special bond.
They transferred to Pallant College in New Jersey as art students at about the same time. They were very similar in that they were rich, had no ambitions, were simple-minded, and loved art, so there was no inherent conflict between them.
Elena is gentler, while Margaret is more childish, and their personalities complement each other.
Over the past ten years, the two have become close friends.
When Harry was hanging out, Elena was on the list of people Margaret allowed to trust - only those on this list could Margaret be alone with.
That is why Elena's life has always been fulfilling.
On average, Luke comes one or two days a week, and Margaret goes for two or three days, so she only has about half of her time for solo activities.
Occasionally, Elena would go camping with Luke to collect materials, or go to the painting studio or photography studio with Margaret to complete various new ideas. Her life was peaceful and interesting.
The reality is that most ordinary Americans are extremely short of entertainment options.
So-called party creatures, holiday camping, etc. are more about making up for the boredom of most of the time.
This is a country that claims to be free and has so-called personal privacy. Good friends can talk about anything, but the prerequisite is that the friends are willing.
Just think about it, when Americans become adults, their parents generally only need to visit them during the holidays.
Parents cannot control their children’s personal freedom, so why should friends make demands
Why are those fraternities and sororities so popular in schools? Many freshmen would rather endure all kinds of weird "entry tests" to join them.
It is because after joining, participation in the activities of this kind of group seems a bit compulsory, which is more reliable than the relationship between so-called buddies or besties.
Of course, it's easy to have fun with a group of people - at least they can have fun with each other.
This is also one of the main reasons why nerds and geeks in American schools always want to join these small groups.
In comparison, rich people have it much better.
People who are greedy for their money will come to them on their own initiative. If they can pay to find others to play together, then it’s not a problem.
In a sense, tonight's party is an upgraded adult version of a "pay to play" party.
At most, the drinks have been replaced from cheap beer to more high-end red wine, whiskey and champagne, wholesale food in supermarkets has become the work of a team of chefs, and the topic of discussion has changed from chasing stars to playing with stars.
Luke's mind was wandering, and Miss Lindsay came over with a smile. She walked up to him and half-hugged him intimately: "Luke, long time no see. It seems you are doing well?"
Luke casually replied, "Lindsay, you're even more charming."
"I'd better save this for you, Elena." Lindsay laughed and didn't take his polite words seriously at all.
Are you kidding me? As a straight man, he didn't even respond to her personal invitation once. What does it have to do with him no matter how charming she is
(Note: The "end" in the title of the extra story is just the "end" of a small plot. Do you want to throw flowers like crazy? Do you still want to see the car
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