My absurd experiences in North America over the years

The car drove for about twenty minutes in the night, and the scenery outside the window changed from an empty pasture to neatly trimmed hedges, and then from hedges to low walls.

Occasionally, the pointed roof of a villa would flash past behind the wall, its lights sparse, like a few chess pieces scattered on a chessboard.

The warmth inside the train carriage was just like when they were in Los Angeles.

Lucy nestled on Li Fu's shoulder, and Li Fu gently stroked her long hair.

The only difference is that this noblewoman is no longer as frail as before.

"You used to protect me, now it's my turn to protect you," she said, her tone filled with confidence and certainty based on her own position.

This is their family's territory.

Just as the Clinton family is to Arkansas, the Kennedy family is to Massachusetts.

Often, a powerful senator is enough to elevate a family to prominence in a local area.

The Forrest family now has a Senate Majority Leader, the undisputed number one figure in the Senate, responsible for deciding which bills can be debated and voted on in the Senate, and is the "procedure setter" who leads the general direction of legislation.

In terms of actual power, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the majority leader is the third most powerful person in Congress.

Who can shake their family's fortunes in their Nashville stronghold?

This is where Lucy's confidence comes from.

Even the FBI dares not act rashly when it comes to matters related to the Forrest family.

Before long, the car turned onto a narrower road, where the trees on both sides became increasingly dense.

At the end of the road was an iron gate, next to which was a small guard post. The security personnel in the guard post saw the license plate, immediately stood up, and pressed the button to open the gate.

The iron gate slid open silently, and the car drove into a spacious courtyard.

In the center of the courtyard stands a fountain, its water jets shimmering with a silvery-white light in the night.

Behind the fountain is a six-story building with light gray stone exterior walls, large windows, and uniform dark gray curtains.

There are no neon signs or LED screens saying "Welcome." The bronze plaque at the entrance has only one line of small characters engraved on it, which is not very clear under the streetlights.

The car didn't stop at the main entrance, but instead went around to the side of the building and stopped in front of an inconspicuous staff passage.

"We've arrived," Lucy said, getting up and opening the car door.

This is a resort hotel. The night breeze blows from the direction of the fountain, carrying moisture and the scent of a manicured lawn.

However, it seems to be temporarily closed.

He looked up at the building; the windows on the sixth floor were all dark, and only the corridor on the first floor was lit.

A middle-aged man in a black suit walked out of the staff entrance, gave a slight bow, and said, "Miss Forrest, the room is ready. The entire building has been cleared out; there are no other guests."

Lucy nodded, glancing sideways at Li Fu. "Let's go!"

They walked through the staff entrance and entered an elevator that required a card to activate.

Lucy took a black room key out of her coat pocket, touched it to the sensor, and the "6" on the elevator button lit up.

The elevator doors closed and it slowly ascended.

"It's currently the off-season for tourism at this hotel, so I've had them temporarily close," Lucy's voice echoed in the elevator. "Don't worry, you can stay here without anyone bothering you. Food and supplies will be delivered to your room. If you need anything, just call the front desk."

She has made all the arrangements.

"Why does it feel like she's being kept?" Li Fu said half-jokingly.

"It won't be long, it'll be fine once the storm passes," Lucy scoffed. "You think you can just eat and stay here for free? I won't allow it!"

The elevator reached the sixth floor, the doors opened, and the corridor was covered with thick carpets that made no sound when stepped on.

Both doors were closed, with "Do Not Disturb" signs hanging on the doorknobs. Lucy walked to the end of the corridor and swiped her room card to open the last room.

The room was quite large, a luxury suite in a top-tier hotel, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the surrounding nightscape.

The surroundings were quiet at night, with scattered lights like diamonds scattered on black velvet, and a huge artificial lake in the distance.

With this environment, conditions, and treatment, what more could I ask for?

Li Fu put his backpack on the luggage rack, turned around, and looked at Lucy.

Lucy stood by the door, her coat collar turned up, obscuring half of her chin. The hallway light shone from behind her, casting a silvery glow on her silhouette.

She was also looking at Li Fu, her eyes filled with the dew of a summer evening, deep and infatuated.

However, she acted very restrained.

"You should get some rest; I have to go."

Li Fu nodded slightly; of course he wanted Lucy to stay.

But this is Nashville.

Not Los Angeles.

It's too late now.

"I'll see you off," Li Fu said, stepping forward.

Lucy suddenly hugged him, pressed her face against his chest and whispered, "No need to see me off. We can't get caught up in momentary affection and pleasure. We have a long time ahead of us."

What she wants to achieve is not the present.

It's not about the future, but about the much longer future.

Li Fu suddenly realized that Lucy's growth far exceeded his expectations. He gently stroked her cheek without making any firm promises.

However, I finally made up my mind.

He wants to help Lucy become a real big shot, with Nashville at its core.

Hillary Clinton and Harris, step aside.

The room door closed, and the muffled sound of high heels on the carpet echoed in the hallway, fading into the distance until it disappeared.

Li Fu stood alone in the room, staring at the closed door, and remained silent for a moment.

He walked to the window and pulled the curtains open a crack.

In the parking lot downstairs, the black Lincoln was still parked in the same spot, its taillights flashing.

As Lucy bent down to sit in the back seat, the moment the car door closed, she looked up and glanced towards the sixth floor.

After a long separation, they were reunited, but unable to express their true feelings.

This is the convenience that comes with this identity, but also the helplessness it brings.

For the next few days, Li Fu hardly left the hotel; Lucy had arranged everything for him.

He even had someone deliver Chinese food to him.

Outside the hotel, things weren't so peaceful.

Goldstein was no ordinary political broker; he had extensive connections and was also a capitalist.

The other is the Winthrop family's preferred heir.

Their assassination in the same manner has caused a huge uproar. The police are now conducting a full-scale investigation, the FBI is deeply involved, and even the Winslop family's employees have been tracked down to Tennessee.

Many people outside are trying to find him.

Of course, Li Fu wasn't idle either. He kept an eye on the situation. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, there was no substantial progress in the investigation.

Surveillance footage near the Goldstein villa did not capture any suspicious persons, ballistic comparisons did not match any firearms in any known database, and the only physical evidence retrieved from the scene was a deformed bullet.

The forensic examination confirmed the fatal wound was to the forehead, a single shot from a direction 400 meters away.

Winslop's death remains even more mysterious.

There were no surveillance cameras or witnesses at the beach. The assistant could only confirm that there were snipers lying in ambush nearby, but in his panic, he couldn't even say which direction the bullets came from.

By the time the small boat was towed back to the dock, most of the blood on the hull had been washed away by the sea.

Police searched the area near the pier for two days but found nothing.

Two cases, on the same day, using the same modus operandi.

Long-range sniping for precise kills.

The FBI intervened the very next day and even sent a team of experts from the East Coast.

However, Nashville is much quieter.

Li Fu lived as if he were isolated from the world.

He wakes up naturally every day, and the hotel meals are delivered to his door on time. He eats, watches the news, and occasionally practices boxing in his room.

Until one day, Lucy came to pick him up herself.

"The FBI has tracked them down to Nashville, but don't worry, my brother has arranged everything. Now I'll take you to see them."

"FBI?" Li Fu frowned slightly.

He had anticipated this day would come.

However, I didn't expect that I would actually catch up with them in Nashville.

"They just arrived in Nashville yesterday, a man and a woman," Lucy said as she walked into the room and stood next to Li Fu. "I guess they searched all over Los Angeles but didn't find any clues. At most, they found that you had some contact with Winthrop, and then they flew to Nashville on the night of the incident, so they came to try their luck."

This analysis is not without merit, and is even very close to reality.

"Shall we go over there now?" Li Fu put on his coat.

"Don't worry, it's just a formality," Lucy comforted him, holding his hand. "Unless there's irrefutable evidence, no one can take you away."

irrefutable evidence?

Of course, there can't be any irrefutable evidence.

The gun burned to ashes, and the spent cartridges were thrown into the Pacific Ocean.

The vehicles that used to come and go are now mostly just skeletons.

The only connection between him and the murder is Winslop's money transfer records when he hired someone on the dark web, but that money passed through at least three firewalls from the offshore account to the hitman.

Both assassins are dead.

There's no way we can find out.

Besides, even if it is found out, it would be Winslop hiring someone to commit murder.

There was absolutely no evidence that he committed murder.

On the way to the city, the two of them were not worried at all, and snuggled together, just like they had been half a year ago.

"We'll go see Cole first. He's handling this personally, so there's no chance of anything going wrong," Lucy said, nestled in his arms, enjoying a rare moment of tenderness.

Upon hearing this, Li Fu couldn't help but recall the scene when he first met Cole at the beach hotel.

This rising political star didn't stop him from meeting Lucy; in fact, he even helped him quell the FBI's investigation.

This surprised him quite a bit.

"Cole..." Li Fu wanted to know what Cole's attitude towards him was at this moment.

But he stopped himself as soon as he said it.

He couldn't ask Lucy that question directly; it would put Lucy in a difficult position if she were caught in the middle.

Some things should be said clearly and explicitly, just like a man would.

"What's wrong with Cole?" Lucy looked up at him.

"It's nothing. I just wanted to say that I haven't seen him in a while," Li Fu said, rubbing her long hair.

The car stopped in front of a gray granite building, which was only about five or six stories high. There was no sign above the main entrance, but two uniformed security guards were standing at the door.

This is not an ordinary office building.

Instead, some of the Tennessee state government's administrative agencies are located here.

Cole Forrest works here.

Lucy did not accompany Li Fu upstairs.

She stopped in the lobby downstairs, took a key card out of her coat pocket, and handed it to him.

"Cole is on the fourth floor, the third room on the right."

"Aren't you going up?" Li Fu took the access card.

Lucy shook her head. "Cole's presence is more useful than mine. I don't hold any official position, and if I were to appear at the scene, the FBI agents would think it's pressure from my family. His presence is more in line with official status."

Li Fu nodded and took the elevator to the fourth floor.

Cole's office was small, but tastefully decorated.

One wall is a bookshelf filled with legal texts and state government reports.

On the other wall hung a map of Tennessee.

The desk was made of dark walnut wood, and the surface was neat, containing only a laptop, a pen holder, and a small state flag.

Behind the desk is a window, through which you can see the Nashville skyline.

Cole Forrest sat behind his desk, wearing a dark blue suit, a white shirt, and no tie.

He held a pen in his hand, wrote a few lines on the folder in front of him, and then looked up.

"Please sit wherever you like."

He seemed very easygoing this time.

Li Fu sat down opposite him, and although he had prepared himself mentally, he was still slightly nervous.

Cole put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and still wore those gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes behind the lenses revealing no emotion.

"The FBI agents will arrive in twenty minutes. They will ask you some questions, such as what interactions you had with Winthrop during your time in Los Angeles, whether you had any conflicts with him, and whether you know who he offended. Just answer truthfully."

The phrase "answer truthfully" should obviously be in quotation marks.

It's not about telling the truth, but about saying what needs to be said.

Li Fu, of course, understood the meaning behind it and nodded decisively.

"I've added some information to your identity," Cole said, taking a manila envelope from a drawer and pushing it in front of Li Fu. "You're a partner in the Forrest family's Los Angeles wine company, and you've been handling the company's West Coast distribution business for the past few months. Inside are your pay stubs and tax records."

He did everything flawlessly.

Li Fu opened the envelope; the documents inside were quite thick.

He flipped through it; every page was stamped, and every signature looked quite professional.

"If something you did in Los Angeles gets uncovered, these documents can help you establish an alibi," Cole continued slowly. "If nothing you did in Los Angeles gets uncovered, these documents will be your shield."

The subtext of the first half of the sentence is quite clear: he can find someone at any time to provide an alibi under the pretext of company business.

The second half of the sentence means that you are now a member of the Forrest family, and someone wants to harm you, so you should think twice.

"Why help me?" Li Fu said he felt nothing, but that would definitely be a lie.

Cole glanced at him, then took off his glasses and slowly wiped the lenses with a cloth.

He moved slowly, as if he was thinking about how to answer the question, or whether to answer it at all.

“Lucy is my only sister. She’s hardly ever asked me for anything growing up…” He put his glasses back on, his eyes looking at Li Fu through the lenses. “I couldn’t agree to her request when we were in Los Angeles, but now that we’re in Nashville, I don’t want to upset her.”

His answer was undeniably sincere.

This was based on his appreciation for Li Fu.

He had already approved of Li Fu's character several months ago.

Now, in order to avenge Lucy, he risked his life to kill the demon who once tried to push his sister into the abyss.

This convinced him that Li Fu was a true man who possessed both courage and wisdom.

If he doesn't step in, what kind of older brother would he be?