Like a magician, Shane produced a ten-dollar bill between his fingers and held it out.
"Here, this ten bucks is yours."
Carl's eyes instantly lit up, and he snatched the money.
"And," Shane pointed to the pile of wet clothes by the washing machine, tempting him further, "you hang those clothes up, completely and properly—remember, hang them, don't burn them."
"When you finish all of that, there's another ten bucks waiting for you. Can you do it?"
Carl's gaze was locked on the other crisp green bill in Shane's hand. His eyes practically shot beams of light.
He puffed out his little chest, imitating a soldier on TV, and shouted:
"Yes, Sir!"
Before the words even landed, he launched himself like a little cannonball at the pile of clothes. He started hanging them on the indoor line, clumsy but incredibly serious.
Shane nodded in satisfaction, turned around, and headed upstairs to enjoy his couple's shower.
Money power. In any world, especially the South Side, it was always simple and effective.
In the shower, warm water cascaded over their young bodies.
Karen stared at Shane's defined eight-pack abs and his proportionate, powerful physique. Her eyes sparkled, and she couldn't help reaching out to touch him carefully.
"Whoa... when did you secretly build all these muscles? I remember you weren't this... impressive before."
Shane enjoyed the water and her touch, saying with a hint of smugness:
"Of course. Who do you think I am?"
He knew that besides the good foundation the original Shane Gallagher had built from consistent exercise, his fusion had brought some kind of bonus. He felt his physical fitness—strength, endurance, recovery speed—was about double that of an average adult male.
In the repeated battles just now, he had been in total control. If he weren't worried Karen couldn't handle it, he could have gone a few more rounds easily.
However, nothing more happened in the shower.
Mainly because Karen was truly exhausted. This was her first time, not the experienced "White Moonlight" from the original show. She was raw and sensitive, and she had reached her limit.
They washed up, dried off, got dressed, and went downstairs.
Carl had mostly finished hanging the clothes. They were crooked, but they were up.
Like magic, Shane pulled out another ten dollars.
Carl's eyes lit up like searchlights. He pounced.
"Come on! Money! Money!"
Shane handed him the ten but warned him sternly:
"Carl, listen. You are not allowed to use this twenty bucks to buy any weird, dangerous stuff. If I catch you, next time I have an easy job like this, I'm giving it straight to Ian. Understand?"
Carl's face fell instantly. No need to guess; he had definitely been planning to use this "fortune" to upgrade his "shock device" or buy new "torture instruments."
"OK... I'll see what else I can buy..."
Carl mumbled dejectedly, took the money, collapsed back onto the sofa, and resumed his communion with the TV.
Only then did Shane pick up Karen's backpack and start fulfilling his promise to "tutor" her.
Although Karen's grades weren't bad, compared to top students like Shane and Lip, there was a gap.
Karen buried her head in her homework, while Shane continued to study his [Nutrition for Muscle Gain & Fat Loss] beside her.
After a while, Karen got tired of writing. Seeing Shane reading, she leaned her little head over curiously. Looking at the dense Chinese characters on the page, she was totally lost.
"What is this? So many square characters... I can't read it."
Shane smiled mysteriously, closed the book, and tapped the cover.
"This is the 'secret treasure' that will let me buy you a car."
"Whoa? Reading this will get me a car? What is it?"
Karen was even more curious. Although she couldn't read the Chinese title, she flipped to the title page and managed to translate some English terms. She looked at Shane.
"Nutrition... Fitness? You're studying this? Do you want to be a fitness expert at a university later?"
She looked up at Shane in surprise.
In her impression, Shane's attitude toward college had always been like Lip's in the show—a mix of longing and hesitation due to the crushing reality of tuition and family responsibilities.
This was the first time she'd seen Shane clearly express interest in a specific career path.
Shane shook his head and explained:
"No, not that. I want to teach myself. Later... maybe I can open my own boot camp. That way, we'll have a more stable income."
He looked at Karen, his eyes full of confidence for the future. "By then, buying you a car will be a piece of cake."
Seeing Shane so spirited, Karen found him even more charming.
She leaned in and planted a kiss of appreciation and encouragement on his lips.
"OK," she smiled sweetly, eyes full of trust. "I'll wait for that day."
A while later, homework was done.
Current Shane had money in his pocket and a pretty girlfriend by his side. He didn't want to waste his whole Saturday at home.
He planned to take Karen out. partly to trigger more memories of the city and integrate better, and partly because he needed a reasonable excuse to "get" more money.
First on the list was that dancing tractor in the living room. Every time he washed clothes, he had to endure the noise in the basement.
But washing machines in 2010 America weren't cheap. Usually $400-$500, better ones $600-$700. For the Gallaghers, that was a huge sum.
In the show, when Jimmy bought a washing machine, Fiona felt it was too expensive a gift.
He could buy a cheap, high-quality washer-dryer combo from Temu, but if Frank the old bastard stole it and sold it for booze money, that would be a huge loss and attract trouble.
Better to get some "legitimate" income and buy a local one. Safer.
Also the water heater that only worked sometimes, and the toaster they always had to borrow from V... all needed replacing.
"Karen, let's go out for a walk? Staying home is boring," Shane suggested.
"Sure!" Karen happily took his arm. She was always enthusiastic about dates with Shane.
However, Shane didn't want to wander around the South Side.
A good-looking couple like them stood out too much on the South Side streets. Easy targets for thugs looking for trouble.
He led Karen straight to the train station heading downtown.
The train rattled along, taking them away from the dilapidated South Side to a commercial district in Chicago that wasn't top-tier luxury, but compared to their neighborhood, was bustling, clean, and safe.
Walking on the busy streets, looking at the bright shop windows, Karen seemed both excited and a little reserved.