Chapter 113

The middle class are not the happiest people in the Federation, but they are definitely the most fulfilled.

Because the lives of the wealthy are not as fulfilling as theirs; the wealthy only feel waves of powerless emptiness, but the middle class, they can make their lives very fulfilling.

From the first thing after waking up in the morning to the last thing before going to sleep at night, they can arrange their lives to be full, exquisite, and stylish.

Mrs. Lawrence had just finished a... middle-class community female social gathering.

These middle-class community hostesses, who might or might not have jobs, would gather every other weekend to hold a very interesting social activity.

This place refused the participation of men; it was all women living in the same community, and they were the kind who were relatively familiar and had good relationships.

If anyone was not invited, then this lady, or even her family, would very likely be ostracized by the entire community.

Federation citizens always appear as justice-seekers when talking about bullying, but in reality, from kindergarten to the Presidential Palace, bullying is everywhere.

In schools, workplaces, politics, and even communities, this situation exists.

So much so that people often hear rumors like "a certain family was forced to move out of the community because they couldn't stand being targeted."

Every time, they would set a theme before the gathering started; the theme of the gathering Mrs. Lawrence attended this time was "flower arranging."

Flower arranging is a family social activity that only the middle class would have; they would bring some vases to the social venue, and then someone would provide various fresh flowers, mainly from flower shops outside the community.

Then they would invite a flower arranging teacher, and this teacher would teach them how to make their vases look full and beautiful.

The lower class and the proletariat do not have the time or the money to do such flashy and impractical things.

The wealthy would not do it themselves either, so flower arranging is something only the middle class would truly try and learn.

Although it looks... seemingly very simple, wanting to truly arrange them to look good, aesthetically pleasing, and not abrupt, is actually not a simple matter.

While arranging flowers, they would chat about some private or public matters, things within the community or in society.

Those with the best family conditions and backgrounds are always the core of the gathering.

Class is everywhere; this is the Federation.

Because the Lawrence family has many civil servants and some people working in large enterprises, Mrs. Lawrence is in the first tier of this community.

They chatted about the recent election fraud, criticized current politics, then chatted for a while about next spring's fashion show, and finally talked about some things in bed.

The scale of women's discussions on sex sometimes is something even men cannot compare to.

In short, the two hours made every lady very happy, which achieved the social purpose they wanted.

Completing social interactions, recreation, cultivating artistic sentiment, exchanging intelligence, and drawing closer relationships—this is a damn essential part of middle-class social life.

If you don't have it, it can only be said that you have been isolated, not anything else.

When Mrs. Lawrence returned holding a squat, fat vase, she saw the luxury car parked in the parking space at a glance.

She glanced at the window and deliberately closed the car door hard to give her daughter a reminder.

She did not want to be too light-footed, making everyone feel awkward and embarrassed, and having a scene that couldn't be cleaned up.

She even pretended she couldn't find her keys and stood at the door for ten or twenty seconds, listening to the somewhat panicked footsteps upstairs gradually become less panicked, before she inserted the key into the lock.

"Dear, has someone come?", the moment she pushed the door open, she called out to Patricia.

Lans and Patricia came down from upstairs; her face was flushed, "Yes, Mom, we just returned from cousin Barbara's side."

She went up to meet her, took the vase, and placed it on the coffee table in the living room; Mrs. Lawrence looked at Lans with a half-smile, "Thank you for being able to bring her back; I thought she would stay out overnight."

However, she did not tease Lans excessively; after shaking hands with Lans, she asked, "Her uncles and aunts didn't make you feel embarrassed, did they?"

But soon she thought of something, "Probably not; you drove a good car today; they will only show you smiles."

Regarding the siblings of William's family, Mrs. Lawrence knew them very well; they were typical Federation citizens who prided themselves on being the elite class.

They question everything that is not as good as themselves, but they cannot question a twenty-thousand-dollar car and the person sitting inside it.

Lans nodded, considering it an agreement with her point of view, "Everyone was very enthusiastic."

Mrs. Lawrence smiled and teased, "For the sake of money."

She said, pausing for a while, "You sit for a while, read the newspaper, or listen to the radio; I'll go prepare dinner."

She walked toward the kitchen and said to Patricia on the side, "Dear, come and give me a hand."

The mother and daughter began to prepare dinner, which was very sumptuous.

The three of them chatted and laughed, and the meal time ended; Mrs. Lawrence politely suggested that Lans could stay overnight—he could sleep in Patricia's room, and Patricia could sleep with her, but this was only out of etiquette.

Just like when you play at a friend's house until 11:30 at night, and your friend's wife appears in front of you holding a pillow and says, "Why don't you stay the night?"

Lans took the initiative to say goodbye and left.

Patricia told everything that happened at Barbara's side in great detail; it could be seen that she was very happy.

Mrs. Lawrence stroked her smooth hair and asked a question that made her choke on her own saliva, "When I came back, did you do it?"

"Mom!", her face turned red all of a sudden.

Mrs. Lawrence appeared very calm, "As a mother, I just hope you can protect yourself; that's all."

Watching Patricia shake her head, she breathed a slight sigh of relief, "When you are sure you really love him, and not because of the impulse of youth, then consider this matter, and try your best not to get pregnant."

"But before that, you had better make a decision cautiously."

After leaving Patricia's side, Lans drove to Alberto's side; although the luxury car was comfortable to drive, and the walnut wood and calfskin interior felt like touching a young girl's skin, it was ultimately not his own.

Coincidentally, when Lans came over, Alberto was just about to leave; he told Lans not to get out and sat directly in the car, along with Fordis.

"Do you have anything to do tonight?", he asked.

Lans shook his head; he gave Lans an address, "Go here."

Lans glanced at it; it was an address in the Bay Area; while driving the car out of the alley, he asked curiously, "Did you buy a new house?"

He had heard people say before that Alberto's house was in the Sumuli district, where their people lived.

Alberto looked to be in a good mood, "Not a new house, it's a new bar, just opened; you know, those wines of yours..."

Lans pressed the horn, and the sound of the whistle interrupted Alberto's words; he also realized, "Yes, yes, it has nothing to do with you; it's my wine."

"Recently, almost all the bars have been booming; the boss intends to open one himself to try it out; if the effect is good, he might open more bars."

"Making money is the truth; everything else is fake!"

Lans looked at the road while nodding in agreement, "You are absolutely right."

Ten minutes later, the car stopped outside a bar that didn't look like a bar—

This was a red-brick building that looked like a warehouse or... something else; this style was rarely seen in the Bay Area, and this place was indeed not on the busiest street in the Bay Area, but it wasn't too far either.

The entire square red-brick house had no windows; if the streetlights hadn't been relatively bright, perhaps people wouldn't have walked over, but in the open space behind it, when Lans was parking, he saw many good cars.

The kind worth thousands of dollars.

The car was parked, and the three of them walked to a small door; Fordis stepped forward two steps and slapped the door hard.

With a click, a small observation slit appeared on the door, and a pair of eyes full of vigilance looked out, and there was a light on the door that suddenly turned on.

The moment the light turned on, it also illuminated the surroundings; when the person inside saw it was Alberto, the look in their eyes softened quite a bit.

"Damn it, Fordis, slap the door quieter next time; I thought someone came to inspect!", after the sound of two door bolts being pulled, the door opened.

A guy wearing a white shirt and a brown vest, but with his sleeves rolled up, walked out; he hugged Fordis and then walked to Alberto, "There are many people tonight; there might not be a seat for you."

Alberto was a bit curious, "What's the situation with the inspection you mentioned?"

The gatekeeper shrugged, "Go ask Leonard.", he glanced at Lans, and finally his gaze returned to Alberto's face.

"This is Lans; the boss also knows him."

The gatekeeper stared at Lans's face for a while longer, then reached out his hand, "Larry, welcome, my friend; I hope you have a pleasant night tonight."

After the three of them entered the door, the gatekeeper slammed the door shut, then sat on a chair nearby and picked up a book.

Lans looked at it curiously, and Fordis explained, "He said he wants to take the university entrance exam."

"Shut up, Fordis!", Larry widened his eyes and looked at him.

Fordis smiled and raised both hands, "I shouldn't mock college students!"

After saying that, he laughed out loud and ran away; Larry, who had just stood up, sat back down while cursing.

Alberto put his arm around Lans's shoulder and continued to walk inside, "Don't mind them; when they were in Sumuli, they often bickered."

Behind the iron fence by the corridor, a girl who was almost topless and wearing heavy makeup seemed to be chewing something, and at the same time asked, "Alberto, want some change?"