Shadow Empire

Chapter 88 Movies and Family Dinner
Lance leaned against the car, smoking a cigarette and looking at the people passing by.

The middle-class community has a stricter access control system. The security guard looked at Lance with vigilance, always feeling that this guy didn't seem like a good person.

It’s not that he has any telepathy or mind-reading ability, it’s just that he thinks everyone who is not an owner is not a good person, not to mention that Lance is more handsome than him.

Lance's business has been picking up recently. He also got to know some people and heard about Patricia's father.

Patricia's father, Mr. William Lawrence, is a civil servant in the city hall, working for the mayor. He is a person who is neither better nor worse than the average.

There are three major parties in the federation: the Liberal Party, the Socialist Party, and the Federalist Party. Mr. Lawrence is a Federalist.

In fact, there were only two major parties here, the Liberal Party and the Federal Party.

The Liberal Party was more in line with the interests of the middle and lower classes of the federation, until many years ago when the first major disagreement arose within the Liberal Party, leading to the final split, and the "Socialist Party" split from within the party.

The Socialists believe that excessive freedom will bring disaster to society and the country, and that emphasis should be placed on industrial and economic development, which is completely different from the Liberal Party's policy agenda.

The Liberal Party advocates "liberalism" but is criticized by the Socialist Party as "liberalism", believing that excessive freedom of the people has no practical significance for the country's development and economic construction.

The core conflict between the two parties is over who comes first, "individual or country," and it is irreconcilable.

So a group of people who emphasized that "personal freedom should not override national interests" split away and formed the current Socialist Party.

Some of the Socialist Party's ideas have won strong support from capitalists, so it has developed very rapidly, often becoming the ruling party and holding a majority of seats in Congress.

Relatively speaking, the Liberal Party and the Federal Party are at a disadvantage.

This may be the reason why Mr. Lawrence is already forty years old, but is still just a city hall civil servant who is neither better nor worse than the average - the camp behind him cannot give him much help.

In this era where even ideals must bow to capital, ideals alone are meaningless.

Two young girls on the roadside looked at Lance and waved at him. Lance also greeted them with a smile.

The summer wind always touches people's hearts inadvertently. It may not want to do anything, but just blows the wind, and it seems that the brief moment is enough for satisfaction.

"Lance!" Patricia walked out of the community like an elf from a painting into reality. Lance threw away his cigarette and walked over to her, hugged her, and praised her without hesitation, "You are so beautiful."

It is always a pleasure to be praised by someone you like. Patricia smiled sincerely, "I think so too!"

She said as she naturally took Lance's arm, "There's something I want to tell you."

Lance opened the car door for her, "What is it?"

Patricia was a little embarrassed. "William and the others want to invite you to go back with me tonight. They have prepared dinner for you."

Lance returned to the driver's seat and started the car. "Good news."

"Don't you feel embarrassed?" the girl asked.

Lance shook his head and said, "If it's difficult to meet the people closest to you, then you should think about whether I really love you when we are together, or if I just want to sleep with you."

"This is something I have to go through. Either I convince them, or they convince me!"

"I'll be a warrior!"

He smiled such a bright smile that Patricia felt her heart melt.

The two went to the movies in the afternoon, which was a rare, cheap and universal entertainment in this era.

They went to a fancy movie theater, one that cost twenty-five cents a ticket, a place that was cleaner and smelled a little better.

In the summer, in those ten-cent or fifteen-cent movie theaters, you never knew what the last occupant of the seat where you sat had done.

The 25-minute cinema will have someone dedicated to cleaning and removing the garbage, and the people who can come here are of slightly higher quality.

Love in Troubled Times is a movie about war and love. People like to impose war elements into love movies, as if only some hardships and tragedies can make love unforgettable.

Patricia was watching very seriously, but Lance was absent-minded.

She was obviously looking at it very seriously, but for some reason her face became redder the more she looked.

At the end of the film, after a long wait, the heroine finally received the hero's urn. She stroked the little life growing in her belly and greeted the new life with a strong smile on her face.

It can be seen that they have begun to pursue political correctness since this period, and it has indeed moved many people.

There was some light applause at first, like the sound of a sixty-year-old man unbuckling his belt in the bathroom, some of it involuntarily.

Then there was more thunderous applause, as people were moved by the girl's persistence in love, her loyalty to her family, and her protection of her husband.

Patricia was clapping, too, and so was Lance, but less vigorously.

The applause at this time was like that of a seven or eight-year-old child. As soon as he took off his pants, the applause stopped.

"You cried."

"So touching!" Patricia held Lance's hand. "Don't you think the heroine is great?" Lance shook his head. "In fact, she should be more selfish. In this way, her husband would not die, and the father of her child would not die either."

"Pat, from the perspective of film stories, or art, war, love, death, and the birth of new life form an artistic cycle."

"But from a normal person's perspective, if we get married and a war breaks out, I will take you away."

"I can't choose between loyalty to my country and loyalty to my love, but if I have to choose, I choose you!"

Patricia, who was already deeply moved, suddenly burst into tears and couldn't help but give him a passionate kiss.

After they hugged and kissed for a while, she became embarrassed and a little shy again.

The management of the church girls' school is very strict, and the old nuns all have mental illnesses. They will use public corporal punishment to destroy a person both physically and mentally.

There have been more than one incident of student suicide in some girls' schools, but these have been suppressed by the church and the federal government.

Patricia is a good kid who dares not make any mistakes.

Lance knew that the girl was shy, so he pulled her out of the cinema. At this time, the sky outside had darkened a lot and the sun was not as scorching.

The two ate some snacks on the roadside. The taste was ordinary, but Patricia ate with gusto. "I seldom eat food on the roadside. My father said that the hygiene of the food on the roadside is worrying."

Lance didn't deny or refute, "It is true."

She suddenly stopped eating a hot dog and looked at Lance, who helped her wipe off some oil stains on her face. "But if you give up experiencing things you've never experienced before just because it's unhealthy, you'll regret it when you get old!"

"A little bit of unhealthiness can bring a lot of happiness. I think the small sacrifice is worth it!"

"You're right, Lance!"

Lance took her to eat a lot of street food, and by the time it was completely dark, she was full.

She looked at Lance with some embarrassment, "We still have to go back to eat later, they will definitely find out."

"Then tell them."

This was something that should have made Lance feel uneasy, but it made Patricia feel uneasy. She liked Lance very much because he respected her and she could feel it.

It was a... very special feeling. She didn't know how to describe it, but she just knew that in Lance's eyes, she was not a certain thing, nor was she just a body.

The car arrived at Pat's neighborhood. The security guard lowered his head and saw Patricia through the car window. "Miss Patricia, this handsome man is..."

"My boyfriend, please open the door."

The security guard nodded, opened the door, then looked at the back of the vehicle and sighed. This might be the most painful thing for every security guard.

"Are you nervous?" she couldn't help but ask as Lance parked the car and arrived outside her house.

Actually, it was she who was nervous, not Lance.

Lance shook the brandy in his hand and said, "If Mr. Lawrence didn't hate brandy, I wouldn't be nervous."

Patricia took a deep breath, took Lance's arm, and knocked on the door.

In fact, when they parked the car, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence had been secretly observing behind the window. Mrs. Lawrence liked the young man Lance very much, but Mr. Lawrence still needed to observe him for a while.

The door opened, and Mrs. Lawrence had changed into a collarless light pink dress and wore a pearl necklace. She looked radiant, and it was unclear whether it was because she always looked so good or for some other reason.

But it's definitely not waxed.

"Welcome, Lance." She took the brandy from Lance and handed it to her husband. "Thank you for the gift. It's very thoughtful of you."

Mr. Laurence glanced at the brandy in his hand and then at his daughter, knowing that it was his daughter's choice.

She knew what kind of wine she liked, but she also secretly praised Lance for being willing to spend.

The best cognac on the market currently costs more than 20 yuan a bottle. Even he would not drink it as his daily drink. He would only drink two glasses when good things happened.

"It's a very valuable gift. We can try it tonight." He handed the wine to Mrs. Lawrence again and said, "Open it."

Then, Mr. Lawrence, as the host of the family, invited Lance to sit in the living room for a while.

"What would you like to drink, tea, coffee, or juice?"

"water."

Mr. Lawrence was stunned for a moment, then he laughed, "Aren't you nervous?"

Mrs. Lawrence and Patricia were not far away, and they were both eavesdropping on the conversation between the two men, which was obviously much more interesting than them clearing the table!
At the same time, they are also looking forward to how Lance will deal with Mr. Lawrence's first round of attack, a fight that seems ordinary but is actually full of murderous intent!

(End of this chapter)