In early February, the frigid winds of Manhattan still bit sharply.

Li Wei would occasionally see homeless people on the streets. It struck him as odd that their numbers never seemed to change. It was as if they were roadside NPCs that could respawn at any moment. But realistically, few of them should have been able to survive the winter. After all, this wasn’t sunny California; this was New York.

He had no intention of playing the savior and rescuing everyone.

After about half a year in New York, he had come to understand that this place was a top-down Darwinian society cloaked in a veneer of civilization. It was impossible for him to change the status quo on his own. Only by reaching the very top could he avoid being devoured by others.

Fortunately, he was now climbing his way to the top.

After he blew out the candles on his 18th birthday cake, his rookie contract officially took effect.

The day after Don Quixote passed his agent’s exam, on a Monday morning, Li Wei was eating breakfast when he received a call from the Giants’ Chief Financial Officer herself.

"Mr. Li Wei, your signing bonus has been approved by the NFL. Although the Internal Revenue Service took a huge chunk of it, what’s left is still a considerable sum," she said. "The Giants and JPMorgan Chase are official partners and sponsors. JPMorgan Chase’s back-office compliance department has completed your background check (KYC). You can bring a copy of your contract to the JPMorgan Chase Private Bank headquarters on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. You can open a private banking account there and receive your JPMorgan Palladium Card."

’JPMorgan Chase again?’ Li Wei muttered as he hung up the phone.

"What’s wrong?" Don Quixote asked without looking up, trying to get Lily to drink another sip of milk. "What does it have to do with JPMorgan Chase?"

"Time to go home," Li Wei said, waving his phone. "Back to your old stomping grounds to pick up a JPMorgan Palladium Card."

"Looks like the Giants have high hopes for you!" Don Quixote said in surprise, forgetting all about making Lily drink her milk. "They’re giving you a Palladium Card right off the bat?"

"Uh-huh," Li Wei said. "Is this card a big deal?"

"A very big deal," Don Quixote, as a former industry insider, knew all about it. "Have you heard of the Amex Centurion Black Card?"

"The one that can supposedly fulfill any request, as long as you can afford it?" Li Wei said with a smile. "Is it even better than that one?"

"Better than that one." Seeing that Lily was done, Don Quixote handed her a napkin. "This card isn’t something you apply for. It’s invitation-only, specifically for high-net-worth clients with over 10 million USD in liquid assets."

"But my contract is only worth a little over 2.3 million after taxes," Li Wei said. "So what’s this? Is this them vouching for me?"

"You could say that," Don Quixote said. "Wait for me. We’ll go together."

Lily poured a tiny bit of her leftover milk for her calico Ragdoll cat, Bubu. She restrained herself and only poured a little to avoid upsetting its stomach.

"Why?" Li Wei joked. "You want to witness the moment I become a millionaire?"

"Of course. And then I’ll recommend some mutual funds with exorbitant management fees," Don Quixote said. "Too bad I already quit. Otherwise, I could fleece you for 5 million USD in management fees every year and still have you happily buying all sorts of financial garbage."

"Weren’t you an executive director in investment banking?" Li Wei shrugged. "You handled that stuff too?"

"Of course not. We handled corporate mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs—billion-dollar deals," Don Quixote scoffed. "Private banking is for salespeople who specialize in sweet-talking rich people. If I’m not there to watch your back, they’ll definitely try to aggressively sell you a pile of structured bullshit with ridiculously high management fees, fatally long lock-up periods, and a final return that can’t even beat inflation."

"Anything else?" Li Wei asked. "You’re not hoping to go rub it in Julian’s face?"

Li Wei hadn’t forgotten the last time, when Don Quixote had scraped together over 800 USD by selling his blood to buy a Montblanc fountain pen, only to have to take Li Wei and beg his former subordinate, Julian, for a letter of recommendation.

Don Quixote paused, then laughed. "You’re goddamn right. Let’s go kick his ass!"

"Bubu, drink up," Lily mimicked. "Drink up, goddammit!"

"Lily Cervantes! Watch your language!"

The memory of bumper-to-bumper traffic from their last trip to Midtown Manhattan Park was still fresh in their minds. Li Wei and Don Quixote opted not to take the Cadillac Escalade. Instead, they set off in Li Wei’s Porsche 911, heading straight for the JPMorgan Chase building in Midtown.

The last time they came in a beat-up Toyota, pedestrians had steered clear of them.

Now that he was driving a Porsche, people on the street were constantly turning to look, which greatly satisfied Li Wei’s desire for some low-key flexing.

He deliberately drove a little slower, making a point of strictly obeying all traffic laws.

An hour later, guided by the building’s security guard, he parked next to an Aston Martin.

"How things have changed," Don Quixote sighed. "Last time we were here, they almost didn’t even let us park."

"That’s because we’re driving a Porsche now, or the Escalade," Li Wei said casually, watching the tourists and street-style bloggers taking pictures in their direction. "You drive a Toyota, no wonder you get stuck in traffic."

"What does that have to do with traffic?"

"Nothing... Come on, we have an appointment this time."

They entered the headquarters’ lobby. A different receptionist was at the desk this time. After checking the appointment list, her smile immediately became ten times sweeter than before.

"Mr. Li Wei, Mr. Raymond is in the private banking VIP lounge on the second floor," she said with a smile, handing him a temporary pass. Then she looked at Don Quixote. "And is this your agent, Mr. Don Quixote Cervantes?"

"Yes," Don Quixote said. "But I’d like to make a stop on the 48th floor first. Please inform Julian Wagner, a partner in the IBD department, that I’m here."

"Uhm... Mr. Julian Wagner might be busy," the receptionist hesitated. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but I’m confident he’ll see me," Don Quixote said.

The receptionist froze for a moment, then picked up the phone and dialed the extension for the 48th floor. "Please connect me to Mr. Julian Wagner. He has a visitor..."

A few seconds later, she hung up and handed over an elevator key card with both hands. "Mr. Wagner said to please go up."

"According to the usual procedure, you’ll need to open a bunch of accounts, have your contract reviewed, confirm your eligibility, and so on," Don Quixote said. "I’m going to go find Julian first. I’ll come down and find you soon."

Li Wei just smiled and shook his head, then turned and walked towards the exclusive entryway for the second-floor private banking department. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The moment he stepped onto the second floor, a faint, pleasant scent filled his nostrils. The feeling underfoot was no longer cold marble, but a thick carpet that swallowed all sound of footsteps.

A security guard at the elevator entrance was even holding a cloth. Seeing a water stain on the side of Li Wei’s shoe, the guard prepared to kneel and wipe it for him. This startled Li Wei, who immediately waved his hands to refuse.

He asked a staff member and learned that Raymond was apparently still processing a few last-minute documents. An assistant brought Li Wei a bottle of Evian water and then excused herself.

With nothing to do, Li Wei decided to listen to some music.

Just then, another young man in a sharp suit, carrying a briefcase, also stepped out of the elevator.

"Shine my shoes," he said to the security guard in a French accent. As the guard knelt, the young man pulled a 50 USD bill from his wallet and tucked it into the guard’s suit pocket as a tip.

He was also there to see Raymond. After receiving the same reply from the assistant, he sat down on the sofa next to Li Wei.

He glanced at Li Wei, frowning slightly, then suddenly leaned in and said, "Hey buddy, are you here for an interview too?"

Li Wei was taken aback. "Huh?"

"Don’t play dumb. Isn’t this the week for JPMorgan Chase’s summer internship interviews?" The young man looked Li Wei up and down. "Where’s your family from? Dressed in a casual suit? You from Silicon Valley?"

"My family..." Li Wei paused. "My family’s in Brooklyn."

The young man’s face screamed, ’Are you fucking kidding me?’

"I’m Sebastian," he said, extending a hand. "I’m from France, studying here in New York."

"Li Wei," Li Wei said simply. "I just got an offer from Yale University."

"Yale?" Sebastian exclaimed excitedly. "Then I’m your senior! I’m a rising junior."

’Is it such a small world?’ Li Wei thought, stunned, unsure of what to say.

’Isn’t Yale supposed to be a big deal? Why does it feel like Yale students in New York are as common as stray dogs on the street?’

The Julian that Don Quixote had gone upstairs to find was also a Yale graduate.

"You’re this young and already interning here?" Sebastian looked Li Wei up and down again. "Shouldn’t you be out enjoying life? The year I graduated high school, I went to Ibiza Island in Spain by myself. Phew~ That was an absolutely insane week."

He spoke with wild, expressive hand gestures, looking less like he was from France and more like one of the Italians.

Just as Li Wei was about to speak, a middle-aged white man in a suit with a distinctively large nose strode out of an office.

"Mr. Li Wei," he said, flashing the same standard-issue elite smile as Julian. "My sincerest apologies for the wait. I’m Raymond Styles. I have all the necessary materials ready for you. Please, come with me."

’Shit,’ Sebastian thought. ’How does this guy seem like a bigger deal than me? This Raymond guy isn’t paying me any attention at all.’

Seeing Sebastian sitting alone on the sofa, the assistant poured him another Evian.

About ten minutes later, a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties with a slightly unhinged look also came up and walked straight into Raymond’s office. This made Sebastian even more anxious.

He couldn’t resist pulling out his phone to make a cross-time-zone call to his father, the general manager of BlackRock’s Europe division. Although he was once again assured that he would definitely get the internship, Sebastian still felt a little unconvinced.

’These Americans are the worst. Going back on their word is just standard practice for them.’

’My internship is definitely a lost cause.’ As a rich kid who had been left hanging for so long, Sebastian decided he would put on a good show for Raymond in a little while.

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