My absurd experiences in North America over the years

On Thanksgiving evening, Nashville experienced a light snowfall.

When Li Fu returned from his office, the lawn in the yard was covered with a layer of fine white snowflakes.

Lucy had been waiting for him there. When she saw him come back, she came out of the house with a thick coat in her hand and put it on him. "Do you really think you're still the young man you were a few years ago? You can't withstand the cold as much as you do now."

"No, I'm only 27," Li Fu immediately retorted. "How can 27 not be a young man?"

Didn't people on the internet say that men are boys until they die?

"You said yourself that men's physical functions decline significantly after the age of 25," Lucy said, helping him button up his shirt.

Li Fu did say that, but at the time he was referring to himself working in the internet industry, not to his current body.

If you don't exercise regularly, 25 is indeed a watershed age for a man's body. After working for two or three years, you'll be out of breath after playing a game of ball. In his thirties, before his heart attack, he would be slightly out of breath climbing the stairs to the fifth floor.

However, if it were this body, wouldn't it be as imposing as a dragon...?

"Wait...we're about to go inside, why are you buttoning your shirt?" Li Fu wanted to argue a bit, but he had to ask his question.

"It's Thanksgiving today, and we're going to the manor for dinner tonight," Lucy said, straightening his collar.

"Oh," Li Fu finally realized.

He had never visited Forrest Manor for Thanksgiving in previous years.

"My mom is back from the countryside," Lucy told Li Fu in the car, revealing some important news.

"Your mother?" Li Fu had never met Lucy's mother before, mainly because he hadn't actually been to Forrest Manor many times.

Another reason is that Lucy's mother was often not at the manor.

"My mother isn't in good health and doesn't like staying in the city, so she spends most of the year recuperating in the small town," Lucy explained. "This winter it was colder in the countryside, so my mother came back earlier than usual."

"I see," Li Fu nodded slightly.

"My mother hasn't met you yet," Lucy said, reaching out to smooth a stray strand of hair from Li Fu's head, "but she knows who you are and has praised you to me."

"Really? Now that you say that, I'm getting nervous," Li Fu said half-jokingly.

"Why are you so nervous? Mom has a very easygoing personality, unlike Dad who is so serious," Lucy said with a smile. "You'll see when you meet her."

The car drove through several streets and then for another ten minutes or so in the suburbs before slowing down in front of the iron gates of Forrest Manor.

The security guard opened the iron gate, and the car headlights swept across the layer of snow accumulated on the gateposts, drawing a brief arc of light across the night sky before landing in front of him.

The lights in the main building shone through the snow, making it look warmer than usual.

The snow in the manor had been cleared, but some remnants remained at the edges that were not completely cleaned, and they were scattered by the strong wind.

Lucy pushed open the main building door, and the warmth immediately rushed out. The fire in the fireplace was burning brightly, and the wood made a continuous sound in the flames. There was a smell in the air that was a mixture of roasting turkey and burning wood.

Beside the sofa in the living room, a slender middle-aged woman sat in a chair by the fireplace, holding a book with the cover facing down on her lap. She must have heard the sound at the door and looked up from her reading.

She didn't stand up, but merely glanced slightly in Li Fu's direction, a faint smile appearing on her face.

She is Lucy's mother, Adelina.

Adelina wore a light gray turtleneck sweater. She was slender and her complexion was paler than average, the kind of tone one gets from spending a long time indoors without much sun exposure.

But her eyes were very gentle, and this gentleness was not something she deliberately created, but rather a genuine and approachable quality.

Lucy walked over, bent down, and gently touched her cheek. "Mom, this is the Lee I always talk about."

She introduced Li Fu to Adelina.

"I recognized him at a glance," Adelina patted Lucy's hand, then looked at Li Fu, "Just like your father said, young, promising, and handsome."

Li Fu stepped forward at the opportune moment, bowed slightly, and said, "Hello, I haven't had the chance to visit you before."

Adelina looked at him, her gaze lingering longer than that of someone meeting him for the first time. She was very satisfied with Li Fu, but it was a pity that he could not become the son-in-law of the Forrest family.

“Lucy often talks about you, and her father often praises you,” Adelina pointed to a chair not far away. “Come on, sit down and talk, don’t stand.”

She added two more pieces of firewood to the fireplace, moving very slowly, as if her body were carrying an extra weight as she moved.

When Thomas came out of the study, Adelina had already sat back down in her chair. She glanced at Thomas and said, "Cole should be back soon, right? Why don't you give him a call and urge him to come back?"

The state government had already given everyone a holiday, and Cole went to visit friends in the afternoon, but thankfully he returned before dinner.

Tonight is a rare family dinner where the Forrest family gathers together, and Li Fu's presence adds an even more wonderful atmosphere.

Adelina asked Li Fu if he was settling in well in Nashville, and what the differences were between Nashville's winters and those in New York. Perhaps she forgot that Li Fu had spent more time in Nashville than in New York.

Li Fu didn't specifically mention this point, but echoed Adelina's answer, indicating that he still preferred Nashville's winter.

The atmosphere during dinner was relaxed. Cole would occasionally chime in, saying that Lucy had grown a lot in the past two years and that her mother shouldn't worry, adding that she might become the youngest mayor in the country in a few years.

After the roast turkey was served, Adelina drank some soup, then put the bowl down and leaned back in her chair, as if she had used up all her energy.

She gazed at the fire in the fireplace, lost in thought for a while, then, as if remembering something, turned her head and abruptly asked, "Is there anything else going on after the holidays?"

She didn't mention anyone's name in that sentence.

Thomas knew what his wife wanted to ask. He put down his glass and said, "The FBI might send someone to investigate after the holiday."

He didn't say much, and it seemed there was no need to say more.

Who else can the FBI investigate?

The only person sitting here is Li Fu.

"You can handle this, right?" Adelina turned to look at her husband. She, too, had come from a noble family in her youth and was no stranger to power struggles.

Thomas glanced at Li Fu. He had spoken with Li Fu before, and they had agreed that if Li Fu only had mercenary experience in South America, then there would be no problem. "Don't worry! There are no problems on his end."

Even if there are problems, he can solve them as long as they are not core issues.

The core issue is not whether he killed anyone during his time as a mercenary, or whether he had any conflicts with border troops, but whether he had a military background from a major Eastern power.