"What do you think of Cindy's suggestion?"
"What?"
On the way back after they finished shopping, Gwen sat in the passenger seat, turning her head to look at Locke. "We only need one room."
Their tickets weren't ordinary entry passes. They were the kind that came with a private suite—completely different from the cheap $50,000 tickets for people crammed into small cabins. After all, no matter how rich someone is, if $250,000 only bought a ticket with no added value, no sucker would buy it.
Locke's mouth fell open.
His heart pounded. What exactly did Gwen mean? Was she saying they could stay in the same room and sleep in the same bed on the ship?
This... isn't this a bit improper? It's moving a bit fast, isn't it? I'm not prepared yet!
In that single second, Locke's thoughts raced. He suddenly thought of an ancient topic used to cross-examine men.
A beast? Or worse than a beast?
It was a multiple-choice question—a single-choice one at that. Even the man with the fewest bottom lines couldn't select both. It was a mandatory choice.
How should he answer? If he said "sounds good," it might seem too abrupt. If he said "not good," and implied 'I know you're just after my body, don't even think about it', Gwen might get out of the car and turn this departure into a permanent farewell.
Gwen blinked, looking at the silent Locke. "I mean, we can return one ticket to Mr. Chester. Since we're boyfriend and girlfriend, we don't need two. Plus, these tickets are quite expensive."
Locke snapped back to reality, looked at Gwen, and smiled. "I'll do whatever you want."
A beautiful answer. By remaining flexible, he didn't appear overly eager, nor did he seem completely oblivious to the romantic atmosphere. He successfully passed the "beast vs. worse than beast" choice back to Gwen.
Locke perfectly dodged the mandatory choice attack.
'I really am a genius!' Locke silently gave himself a thumbs-up in his heart.
Looking at the smiling Locke, Gwen didn't think much of it and nodded. "Then it's settled. You, me, one room. It'll be a pleasant holiday. Don't you think, Locke?"
Locke kept his smile steady. "Of course."
It was a vacation. Locke didn't actually mind Cindy and Kahn coming along. They were going for fun, not pretending to have fun while actually being on a mission. Having two more familiar faces on board would likely make things more enjoyable.
It was a pity, though. He wouldn't be able to grind any missions while on the ship.
Forget it. Just treat it as giving himself a break, Locke thought.
Just then:
*Ding!*
[The player's thoughts are the source of mission generation!]
[Mission generating!]
*Ding!*
[Mission: "An Unforgettable Voyage at Sea"]
[Mission Reward: Base reward "Achievement Points 500", "Potential Points 500", "Random Treasure Refresh Coupon * 1"]
[Mission Multiplier Mode: "Leisure"]
[Mission Description: A twenty-day sea voyage is about to begin. During these twenty days, the higher the mood value, the larger the reward multiplier.]
[Mission Remark: "Who says there are no missions? In a player's dictionary, there are no holidays. You are either doing a mission or on the way to one. If the game has no missions, the player will have no motivation. And I am here to provide that motivation!"]
[System Message: "Dear, only I truly understand you in this world!"]
{T/N:- 🤣 wtf System is secretly in love with him?}
"What the hell?"
"...What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Locke snapped back and smiled at Gwen, looking at a small dog darting across the street. "That dog wasn't looking where it was going, I almost hit it."
Gwen blinked at the Dalmatian that had already crossed the street and was ten meters away.
Locke got back to driving.
Good grief. A mission actually popped up? A leisure mission? This was a first. How did the multiplier coefficient work? Locke raised an eyebrow, but as usual, the system offered no response.
Soon, Gwen arrived home.
As she got out and closed the door, she told Locke inside the car, "Remember to return your ticket to Mr. Chester."
Locke smiled and nodded. "Okay."
Return it? Yeah, right. The few bottles of Thunder Bourbon he'd left with Chester were worth nearly half a million dollars combined.
Besides, Locke could already see the scene if he tried to return a ticket. Chester Old guy would definitely rip it to shreds right in front of him. Chester was like Locke—once they gave something away, they never took it back.
However, after returning to the Star Tower, Locke found his ticket and, after thinking for a moment, called Chester.
Sure enough, as soon as Chester heard Locke wanted to return a ticket, his face turned beet red. He immediately asked if Locke wasn't planning on taking care of him in his old age and hung up the phone in a huff.
'I knew it.' Locke laughed and shook his head at the disconnected line.
Sell it himself? Heh. Locke wasn't short on money. And if Chester found out he sold a gift, he'd be even more furious.
Locke stood up, took a bottle of Thunder Bourbon from his study, grabbed his car keys, and planned to head out to see Chester.
Meanwhile, Gwen had returned home and told Helen about the plan. Gwen felt that as boyfriend and girlfriend, staying in one room was fine and there was no need to waste a whole suite.
Helen thought for a moment and nodded. "It should be that way. But how did Locke get tickets worth half a million? Was it someone from his family trust? What did you say this Chester's name was?"
Helen had originally thought Locke bought the tickets himself. But she hadn't expected...
Oops!
Gwen blinked, having almost forgotten about that detail. She smiled. "It's Locke's former mentor from Texas, the teacher who taught him cowboy skills."
"He came to New York too?"
"Yes."
"So, does this Chester count as Locke's guardian?"
"Uh..." Gwen recalled the few times Locke had met with Clint Chester and shook her head. "I don't think so, but Locke respects him a lot."
Although Locke was polite to everyone, Gwen could clearly feel that Locke's respect for the thick-bearded, stereotypical Texas cowboy, Clint Chester, came from the bottom of his heart.
Helen nodded and didn't say anything more.
Just then, the phone rang. It was Locke.
"Hello?" Gwen took the phone, a smile appearing on her face. "Locke, what is it?"
After a moment, Gwen looked up at Helen. "Mom, Locke wants to know if you and Dad have already made restaurant plans for Christmas."
Helen looked at Gwen suspiciously. "Why?"
Gwen said, "Locke is at Chester's Valentine Restaurant right now. He said a reservation for Christmas night was canceled. Do you want to go with Dad?"
Helen was stunned. "Chester's Valentine Restaurant?"
Wasn't that the restaurant George had been trying to book for ages but could never get a seat at? How did Locke know?
Gwen smiled. "Mr. Chester—Clint Chester—is the owner of that restaurant."
Helen: "..."
Even though Gwen had been to the restaurant several times with Locke, she had never mentioned to him that George and Helen had wanted to go there for a long time. She had thought about mentioning it to Chester to see when they were free, but Chester was Locke's mentor. Gwen felt that if she asked, Chester might agree out of respect for Locke, but what was the difference between that and asking Locke directly?
Locke using his own connections to take her to dinner was fine with her, but using Locke's connections to deal with Chester for her own family's sake didn't feel right. Once they were married, it wouldn't matter, but for now, it was a no-go.
So, Gwen had never mentioned it to Locke, nor to Helen and George.
Helen recovered from her shock. "Yes, of course we do."
Gwen nodded, spoke to Locke on the phone, and then hung up.
Helen suddenly realized something and looked at the pretty Gwen. "So, all those times you said you were going out to eat before, you were actually going to Chester's Valentine Restaurant?"
Gwen: "..."
...
At Chester's restaurant.
Locke hung up and looked at Chester, who was acting like a total Texas old rogue. "They want it. Remember to save a spot for Christmas: George Stacy and Helen Stacy."
Chester blew out a cloud of cigar smoke and narrowed his eyes. "Don't worry. That's your father-in-law, and I'm your godfather. Rest easy, I'll handle it."
Locke's brow twitched. He decided not to bother correcting Chester's word choices. He stood up. "Alright, I'm off. Need to pack and get ready for the sea vacation. I'll see you when I get back."
Chester waved him off. "Get going. Let me remind you, take it easy on that boat. Have fun, and don't let the Peerless Assassin out. After working so hard to wash that off..."
Locke opened the door and walked out. "Enough, I'm going."
Indeed, the older people got, the more they tended to nag. He was going on a trip to relax and enjoy himself. Was there any need for the Peerless Assassin to come out?
...
Three days passed in a flash.
On the day of departure, Locke drove straight to George's house. Just like when they went to Augusta, he picked up Gwen, made a "man-to-man" promise to George, and then drove straight to Cindy's house. They had agreed that the four of them would head to the pier together.
...
Stark Industries Tower.
*Ding!*
Pepper Potts, dressed in a business secretary suit, stepped out of the elevator. She looked at the genius weapons designer and the world's richest man, Tony Stark, who was sitting there wearing sunglasses and a mustache, with an expression that screamed "I'm better than you."
"Boss, the car is ready."
Tony stood up. "I'm not particularly interested in an activity that involves staying inside a tin can for twenty days."
Pepper remained expressionless. "This is a gift from Obadiah Stane. Stark Entertainment holds a stake in the Poseidon, and this is her maiden voyage."
Tony flipped through a calendar on the desk, stopping on the December cover girl.
A December trip paired with a December girl—it couldn't be more perfect.
***
Read 30 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666