Ethan decided to stay for a few days to accompany his grandparents.
Since childhood, as long as it was winter and summer breaks, Robert had basically sent him back to his hometown to be cared for by his grandparents. It could be said that Ethan and the old couple had a very deep relationship.
The afterglow of the sunset shone in the small farmhouse courtyard, pulling the shadows of grandfather and grandson long.
Ethan looked at his grandfather sitting on the wicker chair smoking a pipe, and the smoke was particularly obvious in the sunset.
Ethan suddenly reached out and snatched the pipe, took out a pack of premium cigarettes from his pocket as if performing a magic trick, and said:
"Grandpa, don't smoke that thing! Try these."
The old man squinted his eyes and smiled kindly:
"Grandpa can't get used to those fancy things... Keep them for yourself! I like my pipe!"
Two nights ago, Linda had said they were going back to their hometown yesterday, so Ethan had gone to buy more than a dozen packs in advance.
Before the words fell, there was only a "thud" as the pipe that had been with the old man for more than ten years was thrown into the trash can in the corner of the courtyard by Ethan.
"You little brat!"
The old man stood up, his gray beard bristling with anger. "That's what I bought at the market for fifteen dollars!"
Ethan had already been prepared and rushed to the grape arbor with lightning speed, not forgetting to look back with a mischievous smile:
"Grandpa, if you smoke the good stuff from now on, you should've thrown away that broken pipe anyway!"
"You brat, I haven't spanked you in years—you're really getting out of hand! Today I have to let you know what 'respect your elders' means!"
The old man picked up a broom and chased after him.
An old man and a young man chased and fought in the yard, causing the chickens in the yard to flap their wings and run around.
Grandma came out of the kitchen with a basket and was both angry and amused when she saw this scene:
"These two are almost a hundred years old together, and they're still acting like children!"
In the end, the old man's legs weren't as nimble as his grandson's, and he held his knees gasping.
Seeing this, Ethan rushed over and obediently patted his grandfather on the back:
"Come on, grandpa! I'll go to the store tomorrow to buy you a new pipe..."
"Get lost!"
The old man slapped him on the back of his head, but the force was as light as a tap. "You just know how to make me angry!"
As he spoke, he secretly glanced at the pack of cigarettes on the table, and the corners of his mouth raised unconsciously.
.....
The three days spent with his grandparents in his hometown flew by.
Before leaving, Ethan neatly stacked more than a dozen packs of premium cigarettes on his grandfather's bedside table and secretly stuffed a stack of bills into his grandmother's sewing box.
After returning to the city, the driving test went exceptionally smoothly.
During the parallel parking exam, Ethan smoothly completed the reversing and side parking projects, and even the examiner couldn't help but take a few more glances at this experienced "novice."
The next day was even better, with the road test and final theory test all passed in one go.
However, Jack wasn't so lucky.
During the road test, another vehicle deliberately cut him off while he was waiting for a red light, causing him to stall in a panic.
When the cold electronic voice in the car announced his failure, he was so angry he almost pulled the steering wheel off.
Ashley and Sarah only took the parallel parking test, and neither of them signed up for the road test yet. They both wanted to practice driving for a few more days before taking the exam.
After hearing that Jack failed the road test, Ethan put his arm on Jack's shoulder and smiled mischievously:
"Jack, isn't this perfect timing to take the exam with Sarah and Ashley! It's good, it's good!"
"Screw you!"
Jack shook off his hand, and his whole face turned red. "Ethan, you're talking big! Believe it or not, I'll use Yasuo to school you from 0-10!"
Jack stared at the brand new driver's license in Ethan's hand and said with envy:
"Ethan, you're too fast!"
Ethan raised his eyebrows and said with a smirk:
"How can a man say he's fast? Apologize quickly."
"Kiss my ass!"
Jack was angry, but his stomach "grumbled" inappropriately.
Ethan shook the car keys:
"After apologizing, I'll treat you to McDonald's."
"Really?"
Jack's eyes lit up instantly, and he stepped forward and put his arms around Ethan's shoulders. "Boss! My mouth was talking trash just now! You're the bigger man here!"
"Look at your low standards!" Ethan pushed him away in disgust but couldn't help laughing out loud.
Ethan rode the electric scooter and took him to McDonald's!
Entering McDonald's, Ethan ordered a value meal.
As soon as the two sat down with their trays, Jack suddenly froze in place as if he'd been struck by lightning.
There was a huge floor-to-ceiling mirror hanging on the wall directly opposite them, and under the bright lights of McDonald's, the contrast in the mirror was particularly sharp—Ethan's skin was still white and glowing, while Jack's face was as dark as charcoal.
"Dude! Ethan!"
Jack slammed the table and almost knocked over the Coke. "I found a serious problem!"
Ethan slowly sipped his iced cola. "Hm? What problem?"
Jack pointed to his face in the mirror, as if he'd seen a ghost:
"Why am I so dark? Did I come from Africa?"
Ethan almost choked on his Coke:
"Bro, aren't you stating the obvious? Can you not be dark when you're in the sun every day at driving school this month?"
Jack looked at him again with a puzzled face:
"No! Don't you practice driving every day too? Why are you still like a peeled egg?"
He leaned in for a closer look. "Did you secretly apply sunscreen?"
Ethan looked down at his arm and suddenly froze.
But now, he really wasn't dark at all.
For more than a month, he'd ridden the electric scooter and practiced driving under the scorching sun every day, and his skin didn't even show any signs of tanning—it was still dazzlingly white.
What's even weirder was there was no roughness from being exposed to wind and sun.
This... Could this also be a perk of being reborn?
That must be it!
Thinking of this, Ethan nodded nonchalantly:
"Seems like I really didn't tan!"
"Damn! Ethan, that's so unfair!"
Jack took out his phone and was about to call. "No way, I need to ask Sarah and Ashley if they got tanned!"
Ethan took a bite of his burger slowly:
"Don't bother. They definitely didn't tan. Of the four of us, you should be the only one who got tanned!"
"???"
Jack's face was full of question marks. "Why?"
Ethan looked at him with pitying eyes:
"Have you seen how those two dressed when they practiced? Sun protection clothing, sun hats, arm sleeves, sunglasses, masks... Wrapped like mummies—they almost held umbrellas. Do you think they'd still get tanned?"
Jack was struck by lightning, and the chicken nugget in his hand fell onto the tray.
He slowly looked down at his dark arm, then looked up at Ethan's white and glowing face, and suddenly sadness welled up:
"Are you kidding me! So... I'm the only one who foolishly got tanned black?"
Ethan held back his laughter and pushed Coke in front of him:
"Come on, drink something sweet so your heart won't be bitter."
....
When they walked out of McDonald's, night had fallen.
The two of them were still unsatisfied, so they headed to their regular gaming cafe.
With the sound of keyboard tapping and teammates shouting, hours flew by.
When he got home, Ethan took a cold shower, and water droplets dripped down his shoulders along the tips of his hair. He wiped his hair carelessly, dove into the soft quilt, and fell asleep almost instantly.
The morning sun poured in through the curtains, and the sound of his phone vibrating broke the silence.
Ethan squinted and grabbed his phone. A message from Diana was displayed on the screen: [Red Bean Capital has completed business registration, and all relevant documents have been processed.]
Ethan woke up instantly and sat up straight.
He stared at the phone screen, the corners of his mouth raising unconsciously—the first step in his business empire had finally been taken steadily.
Now he just had to wait for the Brazil World Cup to end before heading to Beijing to secure ByteDance...
There are 50 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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