HLM – Chapter 797 Battle of the Luxury Cars

Because everyone had slept most of the day and their biological clocks hadn’t yet adjusted, no one was remotely sleepy that night.

Wang Bo wasn’t tired either — seeing his old classmates again had him feeling exhilarated. He went around chatting with everyone, reminiscing about their college days, their lives after graduation, and all the times they’d spent together and apart.

Dinner was mainly barbecue, which filled everyone up quickly. Afterward, Na Qingyang brought out a whole beer keg, and everyone gathered around it, drinking, warming themselves by the fire, and chatting.

“Fate is really something,” said Fan Dong with a grin. “Before coming here, who could’ve guessed you’d be doing so well in New Zealand? You’re practically the winner of life now.”

Wang Bo sat with Eva nestled beside him, Little Wang lying lazily behind them after eating and drinking his fill. Smiling, he said, “Yeah, I didn’t expect it myself.”

“What are you talking about? This guy’s just too low-key. If I were Old Wang, I’d be bragging all over the place the moment I became town mayor,” said Hou Haibo.

Wang Bo protested, “I did brag! You guys just didn’t believe me!”

“You only said it with your mouth — who’d believe that?”

“Yeah, you should’ve posted more photos of your town on your Moments or your feed. After a while, everyone would’ve believed you.”

“Actually, I did believe you were a town mayor,” said one classmate. “When I saw the news about the earthquake over here, I figured you were probably involved somehow. But I thought you were living a rough life, working hard for the locals. I never imagined you’d be living like an immortal here!”

“That’s on me, Brother A. Here, I’ll drink this bottle to apologize to everyone.” Wang Bo opened a beer and handed it to Na Qingyang.

Na Qingyang, who was whispering with Song Jiashu, looked up and shouted, “Why should I drink when you’re the one apologizing?”

“Because you’re my underling!” Wang Bo laughed triumphantly.

Na Qingyang shot back, “Off the clock, I’m your Brother A! Keep dreaming — you drink it yourself, right everyone?”

“Why don’t you both drink together?” someone jeered.

Wang Bo cheerfully downed an entire bottle. “One bottle? Easy stuff, no big deal!”

Eva nudged him gently and whispered, “You’re drunk.”

Wang Bo shook his head with absolute conviction. “Nope, not drunk! I’m happy today, can’t kill the mood!”

Eva sighed helplessly. “Then at least take your hand out of my clothes. Do you really plan to do something with your classmates all watching?”

Wang Bo was stunned. “Damn—how’d my hand get in there?”

The little parrot that had been dozing on his shoulder suddenly perked up, squawking loudly, “Ah, damn! Ah, damn idiot!”

Everyone around burst into laughter, nearly falling over.

“This parrot’s got quite the mouth!”

“Bro, that bird’s Mandarin is better than yours!”

Wang Bo glared at the parrot commander and shouted, “No swearing!”

The parrot blinked innocently and replied, “Ah, commander love you. Ah, commander copy you!”

Eva knew that the classmates’ reunion wouldn’t end anytime soon, so she took the kids and left first.

Dale pouted. “But I’m not sleepy yet, big sister.”

“If you don’t sleep now, you won’t get up for school tomorrow,” Song Jiashu warned her.

Dale’s eyes lit up. “Really, Uncle? If I don’t sleep, I don’t have to go to school tomorrow?”

“Don’t even think about it!” Eva said, laughing.

The girl drooped instantly, disappointed.

The group stayed up chatting until nearly two in the morning. The moon was growing hazy by the time they finally stumbled back to their rooms.

After all that drinking, Zhang Rui got particularly talkative, staggering as he walked. “Ah, it’s true what they say — good wine, good friends, a thousand cups aren’t enough! At work, cough, I drink, cough, and after two bottles I’m spinning…”

“You’re already spinning,” Zhao Xiaohui said, holding him up.

Zhang Rui waved her off. “No, no, I’m fine! Totally fine!”

He said this as he started collapsing to the ground, and Wang Bo rushed to catch him — only to realize Zhang Rui had been talking with his eyes closed the whole time.

The “Heart of the Castle” effect was indeed miraculous. Despite being drunk the night before, everyone was up by eight the next morning, feeling surprisingly refreshed.

After washing up, Fan Dong exclaimed, “Is it the environment or the beer? I drank a lot last night, but no headache!”

“It’s not the environment or the beer — you just didn’t drink enough,” Wang Bo teased.

Fan Dong shook his head. “Bullshit, it’s weird though. I only slept six hours after drinking so much, yet I feel amazing.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to believe what Xiaohui said,” sighed Song Jiashu. “Living here probably adds a few years to your life.”

Breakfast was prepared personally by Wang Bo — simple but delicious. The main dishes were egg pancakes and millet porridge, with salted duck eggs, bacon, chili sauce, and pickled vegetables on the side.

When they cracked open the duck eggs, red oil oozed out. Seeing that, Zhang Rui hesitated. “Old Wang, that color doesn’t look right. You didn’t secretly add Sudan Red or something, did you?”

Wang Bo broke one open and scooped it with his chopsticks, smiling. “Relax, they’re red-yolk eggs — totally safe.”

“Red-yolk eggs? Guess traveling really teaches more than books. Never heard of these before.” Song Jiashu clicked his tongue in amazement, snapping pictures for his Moments feed.

After breakfast, he checked his phone and laughed. “My friends are hopeless — none of them have heard of red-yolk eggs. They’re all asking me what Sudan Red tastes like!”

Wang Bo shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know either.”

These duck eggs were just ordinary ones — there was no such thing as “red-yolk eggs.”

For today’s schedule, Wang Bo planned a casual tour of the town — fishing, visiting a Māori village, and then dining at Kobe’s restaurant.

But Fan Dong shook his head. “No way, no way. Didn’t you say you’ve got a collection of luxury cars? We want to see those!”

Wang Bo had mentioned that offhand yesterday — he hadn’t expected his classmates to remember.

“Old Wang was just bragging. You really took it seriously?”

“Yeah, even if he’s got the money, he’s too down-to-earth to waste it on luxury cars.”

“Let’s just tour the town. I saw a crazy-looking vehicle there yesterday — looked like an armored truck. That’s good enough.”

As everyone talked over each other, Wang Bo chuckled. “You guys don’t have to try to provoke me. There are cars outside — today I’ll take you to play a luxury car battle!”

The Predator roared to life, followed by two SUVs and Wang Bo’s classic car. The convoy set off grandly toward the training field.

As they got closer, the group saw numerous luxury cars scattered around the area.

“Luxury Car Battle” was actually a tourist attraction now — Wang Bo had commercialized the training ground. They could play real-life CS matches there too, though the price was steep — 150 New Zealand dollars per person, per hour.

To entertain his old classmates, Wang Bo had canceled the CS sessions for the day. That game was quite popular — the realistic training grounds and replica weapons made it one of the most exciting attractions in town.