HLM – Chapter 67 Apple Gift

Kobe high-fived him and laughed, “Who told me I’m his best bro? The world is such a cruel place—someone has to tell this naive guy the truth, right? So it might as well be me, his best friend.”

Wang Bo felt a little bad laughing at Charlie with them. He turned his head and saw Zhuang Ding (the dog) staring out the window. He patted its head and said, “Hey, baby, what are you looking at? Don’t stare outside, Santa Claus isn’t coming to bring you a bone. Look at this chubby brother here—he can bring you meat.”

Zhuang Ding immediately turned his head to stare at Kobe, drool already dripping from the corners of his mouth.

Inside the restaurant, bright red tablecloths gently covered the tables. The lighting gradually dimmed, making the snowflakes on the window glow with a faint bluish-white hue, appearing all the more real.

In the center of the table stood a silver candleholder. Once the candles were lit, their flickering glow illuminated the entire table of delicious food and fine wine.

Michelin two-star restaurants were truly on another level. The dishes were garnished with clean cypress or pine branches. A golden roasted turkey sat in the center, its aroma wafting through the air.

Besides that, the table was filled with roasted ham, salmon slices, Christmas pudding, fruit mince pies, Italian seafood stew, creamy herb shrimp macaroni, and more.

Wang Bo raised his beer and said, “Guys, come on, let’s raise a glass to celebrate this great day—shit, Bowen, can you put your phone down? What are you doing?”

Bowen was taking pictures of the food and said, “Don’t rush, buddy. Wait a sec—let me snap a few pics first. It’s my first time celebrating Christmas in the summer. I’ve got to post it on Twitter to make everyone jealous.”

Wang Bo rolled his eyes. So taking pictures before meals wasn’t a quirk unique to show-offs—people all over the world were the same.

Bowen took photos of every dish, which was understandable. After all, with Kobe being a top-tier chef, even these traditional Christmas dishes had become something extraordinary in his hands.

Wang Bo wasn’t into that. He shook his shoulders, and the Commander on his shoulder spread his wings and squawked, “Ah! Ah! Scared the Commander! Scared the Commander!”

Its sudden movement startled Bowen, who fumbled and dropped his phone—which landed right in the seafood stew.

The cowboy froze. He quickly tried to retrieve his phone, but Wang Bo held him back, pulling out his own phone to take a photo. “Hold on! Wait a sec—I want to take a picture too.”

Charlie was even quicker and managed to capture the whole scene—Bowen’s distressed face included—and immediately uploaded it to Twitter and Facebook.

After that delay, Bowen’s phone was toast. He tried to console himself, saying, “It’s fine, I’ll get it fixed tomorrow. It’ll work again.”

With the phone finally out of the way, it was time to eat. Wang Bo raised his beer again and said, “Hey, you two—thank you for staying here and celebrating Christmas with me! I’m not good with words, so everything I feel is in this glass. Cheers!”

“Cheers, although I only stayed because I had nowhere else to go,” Charlie chuckled.

Bowen added, “Same here. My family’s probably forgotten I exist—especially after I got two little brothers. I bet my parents already act like I’m not even their son.”

Charlie patted his shoulder and said, “Don’t overthink it. I’ve got a little brother too. That’s normal.”

Bowen replied, “My older little brother is three, and the younger one is one and a half. You still think it’s normal?”

Charlie was stunned for a moment, then said, “Actually, that’s not so bad. You can be a surprise for your parents when you go home—like a bonus son. They’ll be thrilled.”

Wang Bo chimed in, “Yeah, for your parents, this deal’s a win no matter how you look at it.”

Bowen: “…”

The dinner was still charged at cost. Since it was just a standard Christmas meal, the ingredients were cheap—it only cost them seventy-five bucks in total.

Wang Bo thought it was totally worth it—Zhuang Ding even ate all the turkey bones. Nothing went to waste.

They stayed again at the Time Photo Studio Inn. The owner still remembered Wang Bo and asked where he’d been lately since he hadn’t shown up. When handing over the key, the owner also gave him a beautifully wrapped little box, saying it was a Christmas gift for him.

Charlie said, “See? That’s how poor your publicity work is. The boss doesn’t even know you’re the mayor of the neighboring town!”

Wang Bo shrugged. Once inside the room, he saw a red stocking hanging by the bed and laughed. “Guys, did you prepare Christmas gifts for me? My stocking is getting impatient.”

“Did you prepare anything?” Bowen casually asked.

“Of course,” Wang Bo said. “It’s a tradition in my hometown on Christmas Eve.”

Bowen asked curiously, “What kind of traditional gift do you guys give?”

Wang Bo mysteriously shook his head, but unfortunately for him, there was a China expert present—Charlie said, “It should be apples, right?”

Bowen lit up with excitement. “Your apple got wet, so now you’re giving me a new one? Awesome! I want the latest model—6S Plus, gold if possible. Matches my style better.”

Wang Bo touched the two apples in his pocket. They were indeed golden, but they were New Zealand golden galas—not American iPhones. Looking at Bowen’s eager expression, he felt a lot of pressure.

It was easy to imagine the look on Bowen’s face when he pulled a big apple out of his red stocking the next morning…

Wang Bo wasn’t stingy. He was about to become a multimillionaire. A thousand-dollar iPhone was still within his means. So he said, “Alright, buddy, if our town’s float and performance at tomorrow’s parade get good results, I’ll get you an Apple. A 64GB one.”

Bowen instantly brightened up and said confidently, “No problem! I’ve already talked to the event organizer. I’ll go grab the promo signs in a bit. You guys wait for me.”

Many cities hold parades on Christmas Day. People dress up in festive clothes and happily walk around. These events are organized by the community, and participation is what matters. As the parade moves, more people join in—like a snowball gathering mass.

For Wang Bo, this was a brand new experience. The only parade he’d seen in his life was back in middle school, when the county police held a criminal parade to scare off lawbreakers. His school even organized students to watch it.

That parade wasn’t fun, but it was effective. For years afterward, no one at his school dared date anyone. Their teachers had warned them that early romance might get them paraded in public too…

People were already gathering along the roads. No need to sign up—the moment the parade passed by, you could just join in. The more people, the merrier.

Bowen came running over with three promo signs—one for each of them. They would walk in front of the parade carrying the signs so that more people would recognize Sunset Town.

Wang Bo took one and looked at it. The sign was about one meter long and half a meter wide, made of foam board. The background showed grassy fields, a lake, and a castle. It was lightweight and beautiful. The cowboy had done a great job.