Chapter 137: Chapter 97: There’s No Sadness a Ferrari Can’t Cure

’Well, if that’s what his daughter wanted, he would let her be.’

"Well, in that case," he looked at Anya again, "should we discuss how you’re going to get into Yale?"

"I’ll work hard on it." Anya seemed reluctant to discuss the topic further. "I’ll keep trying during the regular application period in the spring."

"It doesn’t have to be so much trouble, my little bear," Sergey said. "I can have my assistant donate 20 million USD directly to Yale’s board of trustees to build a new library named after Volkov. That way you can just get in directly—"

"Don’t say it, Dad," Anya jerked her head up. "My classmates will laugh at me if you do that."

"Why?" Mr. Sergey asked, a little confused. "If this were in Moscow, people would respect you for being able to donate a whole building."

"I need to use the restroom," Anya sighed. "I’m sorry, please excuse me."

She pushed her plate aside and stood up. Her lips pressed into a tight line as she walked away from the table.

’She’d been so nervous tonight, and now her stomach was churning again.’

"Did I say something wrong?" Mr. Sergey looked at Kaja, then at Li Wei, bewildered. "Should I not have mentioned the donation?"

"Mr. Li Wei earned a full scholarship on his own," Kaja whispered in Sergey’s ear. "But Miss Anna’s application was deferred. She might already feel insecure about it, so your bringing it up probably made her feel completely worthless and invalidated."

Li Wei’s extraordinary physique allowed him to hear Kaja’s words as well.

"Sorry," he stood up. "I need to use the restroom too."

Inside the restroom, Anya walked out of a stall after throwing up the foie gras she had just eaten.

She rinsed her mouth, fixed her hair, and reapplied her lip gloss.

Looking at her flawless reflection in the mirror, Anya felt as if she had just been punched hard in the stomach.

’This definitely wasn’t in the script.’

As she stared at her reflection in confusion and dread, Anya suddenly realized how hopeless her life was, how tragedy had completely surrounded her.

’Of course, she could never say that out loud. After all, her allowance was over two million USD a quarter, and her father, a man on the global Forbes list, had just gifted her a Ferrari. But she felt empty.’

’Compared to Li Wei, who said he had prepared for 14 AP courses and was a national football champion, she felt like she couldn’t hold her head up high. Even though she had a father worth tens of billions of USD, she still felt inferior when she was with Li Wei.’

’Before Sergey’s suggestion, she hadn’t even realized something—it seemed she had never accomplished anything on her own that made others, or even herself, proud.’ 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

After staring blankly in the mirror for a moment, Anya suddenly remembered that three people were waiting for her outside. She hurriedly exited the women’s restroom.

As soon as she stepped out, she ran into Li Wei waiting by the door.

"In a bad mood?" he said.

"No," Anya said stubbornly. "I’m not in a bad mood at all."

"Your stomach hurts whenever you get nervous and anxious," Li Wei said, pulling her into a hug. "Talk to me?"

"...Alright." Anya’s fingers unconsciously gripped Li Wei’s shirt. "Look at you. You’re so good at both academics and sports. You must wake up before dawn every morning to train and study late into the night. Now you’ve not only earned a full scholarship, but you’re also the number one high school athlete in the United States of America."

’?’

’When did I ever wake up before dawn to train?’

’And wasn’t studying late at night just because I had too much stamina to fall asleep? I even went out to be a vigilante.’

However, Li Wei didn’t say anything. After all, his life had been one of walking on thin ice, achieved entirely through his own hard work! ’System, add some points!’

"And what about me? Not only did I work my butt off for half a year just to have my early application deferred—though I guess I deserved that," Anya said self-deprecatingly. "And if I really do donate that building, I can just imagine what my classmates will say about me behind my back."

"I think you’re putting too much pressure on yourself," Li Wei said after a moment of thought. "If you feel like it’s too hard, do you want me to help you?"

"No," Anya took a deep breath and shook her head. "I don’t need anyone’s help. I’m going to prepare the materials and complete the regular application in March by myself."

"Do you have any leads then?" Li Wei asked, taking her hand as they walked back. "I’ve heard that Yale places a lot of importance on a student’s insight into social issues. Maybe you could do some charity work or a survey on current social conditions, something like that."

"Like what?" Anya asked. "If I ask my college counselor, he’ll just suggest I organize some charity or art exhibition again. But you know I’m not interested in that."

"Hmm... like subway improvements, welfare benefits, human rights, that sort of thing," Li Wei suggested. "You don’t have to personally make any real changes, but I think just having some insights and suggestions would be a bonus, creating a positive contrast given your background."

"You have a point. I’ll go back and ask my college counselor about it again," Anya said, then quickly pecked Li Wei on the cheek. "I feel much better. Let’s go back inside."

"You should talk to Mr. Sergey tonight when you get back, too," Li Wei said. "He’s blaming himself, worried he said the wrong thing."

"And if you decide to do a social survey," he added, "remember to include me."

’Going out with Anya might lead me to some different places. Maybe I can unlock some new locations.’

That evening, when Li Wei got home, Anya excitedly shared the results of the heart-to-heart talk she’d had with her father. She brought one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.

The good news was that she had told Mr. Sergey all about her confusion and what was upsetting her, and he, in turn, had decided to give her another huge sum of money (but that’s not important!). The father and daughter’s relationship reached its highest point of the year.

The bad news was that she hadn’t spent more than a few days with her father in half a year. She planned to take advantage of the Christmas holiday to accompany Mr. Sergey to Moscow for a few days and visit some friends, which meant she couldn’t spend Christmas with Li Wei.

"But I’ll be back after New Year’s," she said. "I’ll give you your Christmas present early tomorrow."

Her Christmas gift was a cream-colored, V-neck cashmere sweater. As she always did, Anya had sewn a small, heart-shaped gold charm inside the sleeve, hoping Li Wei would wear it and stay warm all winter.

Li Wei’s gift in return was a photo album filled with printed pictures from their dates. On the back of each photo, he had written the location where it was taken and his feelings at the time.

...

"I’ve completed my 20 hours for this semester," Li Wei said, walking up to the supervisor at the Mellon Art Gallery with his timesheet. "Could you please stamp this for me?"

"You’re the first one to complete the 20-hour requirement, Li Wei," the scholarship program supervisor said, readily stamping his sheet. "Just come back after February to complete the next 20 hours."

"Alright," Li Wei took the sheet. "By the way, is Miss Elizabeth Mellon in today?"

"She is." The supervisor, who had seen Elizabeth call Li Wei away privately before, added, "I’ll go and ask for you."

A moment later, he returned and gave Li Wei a clear answer.

Li Wei met Elizabeth Mellon in her small office.

"Merry Christmas," Li Wei said. "I’ll probably be leaving for San Antonio for a competition right after the holidays, so I came to give you a heads-up."

Christmas was in a few days, and right after the holiday, he would be leaving for the All-American Bowl.

"Merry Christmas, and I wish you a resounding victory," Elizabeth Mellon smiled. "This is your first Christmas in the United States of America, isn’t it? How are you planning to spend it?"

"I’ll probably be spending it with my uncle and sister," Li Wei said with a smile. "By the way, I’m curious—how do you in high society celebrate Christmas?"