Chapter 115: Chapter 88: The Knight and the Princess

"Wow..."

A gigantic turkey float drifted by, followed by a squad of cheerleaders in sequined, colorful skirts, waving huge pompoms. Further behind them were massive balloons of the world’s most popular IPs: Snoopy, SpongeBob SquarePants...

Since Macy’s started the Thanksgiving Day Parade in the 1950s, it has gradually become one of New York’s liveliest events of the year.

Just as the two of them were standing at the very front of the police line, a float decorated in a circus theme slowly drove past. In the center of its rotating stage stood a group of acrobats on stilts, their faces painted.

One of the performers, dressed in a red-and-white striped suit and an exaggerated top hat, noticed the handsome couple.

People are always drawn to beautiful things, and right now, there were two in front of him.

The stilt-walking performer stopped precisely in front of them. From the top of the long pole in his hand, a giant, inflatable heart dangled, hovering right over Anya and Li Wei’s heads.

He bent down, winking and mugging exaggeratedly. He formed a large heart shape with his hands over his chest, then pointed emphatically at Li Wei, and then at Anya.

The surrounding tourists, at that moment, all showed an unconscious desire to play along with the special holiday romance.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

It was impossible to tell who started it, but the surrounding crowd, once just a packed mass of people, suddenly erupted into a unified, teasing chant.

The festival, the parade, the heart, the crowd’s attention, the onlooking audience.

This was a scene straight out of a movie script, just as Anya had always imagined.

Anya casually brushed against Li Wei’s elbow, turning her head to meet his gaze.

Li Wei had wanted to say something beautiful and sentimental to Anya. But for some reason, his heart was in his throat—he was even more nervous than the time he’d kicked and broken a mugger’s femur. Before his nerves could paralyze his thoughts, he leaned in instinctively and kissed her lips, ever so gently.

The Earth’s axis was wobbling. This was really happening. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Anya had imagined this moment countless times. Her first kiss had to be in a perfect setting. But even though the ground was dirty and the surroundings were noisy, none of that mattered. She couldn’t hear or feel anything. Her heart was just filled with a dizzying joy.

When Li Wei pulled back amidst the cheers and applause of the strangers, he found Anya looking at him ardently.

She gave him a radiant and reckless smile. She wiped her slightly red, frozen nose with the back of her hand, then stood on her tiptoes, tilted her chin up, and kissed him again. This time, it was just a light touch on his lower lip. Then she lowered her head and rested it on Li Wei’s shoulder.

’Strawberry mint,’ Li Wei thought.

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

"Later this afternoon, I have to go find my, um..." Li Wei’s arm was around her. "Um... my uncle’s ex-wife? And then figure out a way to rescue my cousin."

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

Of course he could.

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

This was one of the well-known affluent residential communities in Queens. The lawns were trimmed as flat as carpets, and every home had a huge Thanksgiving wreath on its front door. In the yards, grills were set up, along with all sorts of small playgrounds for the children.

Although it was a far cry from Riverdale where Anya lived, it was still several notches above Bei Ling Ridge, where Li Wei was currently staying.

"Are you getting out with me?" Li Wei asked. "Or... do you want to come to the door with me too?"

"I’m coming with you," Anya blurted out.

They stopped in front of an exquisite villa. Less than ten seconds after Li Wei rang the doorbell, the main door was pulled open a crack.

Catherine was wearing a set of silk loungewear. It didn’t look like her life had worsened one bit from her divorce with Don Quixote. Although Don Quixote had said she was nearly forty, her figure was still well-proportioned, and the wrinkles on her face were faint and shallow—the kind of look that clearly came from regular beauty treatments.

"You are...?"

Catherine opened the door with a frown, but when she saw Li Wei’s face and the coat Anya was wearing, her tight frown relaxed slightly.

At a glance, the material of Anya’s coat was clearly not some cheap polyester. Catherine had only ever seen that kind of texture and luster in the windows on Madison Avenue.

"You must be Ms. Catherine," Li Wei said politely. "I’m Don Quixote’s nephew."

"Oh," she said. "I didn’t expect... Cervantes to have a nephew like you."

"I’m from the Celestial Dynasty and I’m living with him now," Li Wei said. "I came to bring Lily over to spend Thanksgiving with her father. After all, as you know, the two of them haven’t seen each other in a long time."

"How can you prove your relationship with Cervantes?" Catherine narrowed her eyes, her gaze flicking to the Cadillac Escalade behind Li Wei. "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.

"Hello? I’m at Aunt Catherine’s door right now," Li Wei said. "Do you want to say a few words?"