Filed to story: Disdained Son-in-Law, Destined Riches >>
Meanwhile, as Joe was driving the BMW 760, he slapped his forehead in agitation over his impulsive action. He wasn’t frustrated because of the money spent but because of the car’s price tag. It was way over his initial budget, how would he explain it to Claire? Could he say that the 2.6 million dollars dropped from the sky? It sounded ridiculous, didn’t it?
He thought about what he could do until an amazing idea suddenly struck his mind! He drove to the nearby car repair workshop, then spent twenty bucks to replace the BMW 760 logo with a 520. The main differences between these models were their engines and interior layouts.
The exterior of a BMW 5 series looked very similar to the 7 Series that it was quite difficult to distinguish between them other than through the rear tail label. The 520 was the lowest spec model in the 5 Series-with an average engine and average technology, it was an all- round average car. On the other hand, the 760 was the highest spec model in the 7 Series with a top-notch engine, awesome maneuver control. It was a very powerful car. Joe grinned triumphantly as he drove the 760 with the 520 logo at its back.
Claire didn’t know much about cars and wasn’t enthusiastic about them. She would buy it without a doubt if he told her this was a BMW 520.
The owner of the workshop smacked his lips in amusement as he watched the BMW leave his shop. He didn’t expect the young man to be so mischievous despite his honest look. He must have a cunning plan playing in his mind that he deliberately changed the 760 logo to a 520!
***
After car shopping, Joe remembered his second mission-to buy a gift for the opening of Douglas’s restaurant at noon today.
As Douglas was the one and only classmate who was nice to him during college, he wanted to give a generous gift to him. He drove to a large consignment shop gallery and spent two hundred thousand dollars for an early painting by Rachel Ruysch, the painter from the Dutch Golden Age. Rachel Ruysch’s fame was lost to much of the art history world nowadays, so most people wouldn’t recognize her paintings. He selected an ancient painting as his gift to Douglas for two reasons-he wanted to give Douglas a meaningful and expensive gift but he didn’t want the others to know how much the painting was worth. If someone were to ask about it, he would simply say that it had only cost a few thousand dollars.
After shopping, it was almost noon. He called Claire and told her that he would pick her and Loreen up from the Emgrand Group headquarters. Claire gaped in surprise when Joe drove a BMW 5 series! She stared at him, dumbfounded, and asked in shock, “Where did the car come from?”
Joe said with a warm smile, “I bought it for you!”
“You bought it?” Claire was even more surprised. “Where did you get the money?”
“Private savings, of course,’” Joe said with an indifferent shrug. “Look,I didn’t spend a penny when we got married, and all these years, all my expenses have been covered by you and your family. What’s so weird about saving some pocket money?”
“It’s your savings, you should use it on yourself. Why did you spend on such an expensive car? It must have cost four hundred thousand dollars, right?”
Joe chuckled. “You’re my wife, what’s wrong with me spending my pocket money on you? Do you want me to spend it on my mistress? Besides, you are a director now and people might tease you for not having a car.”
Loreen quickly interjected, “Claire, you do need a car for your daily commute. This car is quite suitable for you, by the way.
Joe loves you so much, you should be happy!”
Claire nodded and said gratefully, “Thank you, Joe!”
Joe grabbed her hand gently and said, “You’re welcome, my dear.” Then, he urged the ladies, “Let’s go to Douglas’s restaurant now!”
Claire hurriedly asked as if a thought suddenly struck her, “Did you buy him a gift?”
“I did,” Joe answered, “I bought him a painting.”
“A painting?” Claire asked curiously, “What kind of painting?”
“An ancient painting I saw on Antique Street. It’s a painting of a pomegranate, which symbolizes righteousness. It looked pretty good, so I bought it.”
“How much did you buy for?” “Several thousand dollars.’”
Claire nodded and chuckled, “I think you might have been scammed! You can’t buy an authentic painting for that price.”
Joe smiled casually. “Never mind, it’s the token of our heart that is the most important.”
Claire nodded in agreement. “You’re right, it’s our courtesy that is the most important. Let’s go!”
Douglas’s restaurant was located at a new redevelopment zone of Aurous Hill. It was quite a distance from the city and was sparsely populated. Joe felt a little peculiar as to why Douglas chose to open a restaurant here.
Claire told him that several large manufacturing companies would set up their companies and factories in the redevelopment zone including multinational companies like Foxconn, so the area would prosper and flourish in no time.
In other words, it was quite a wise and clever choice for Douglas to open a restaurant here now.
Douglas’s restaurant, named The Charm, was at the corner of a wide new street. From the exterior, it looked quite big, occupying two floors. The name of the restaurant suggested an artistic conception.
When Joe drove the car to the door of the restaurant, there was already a row of cars parked near the entrance and several people were standing in front of a golden BMW, smoking and chatting.
Joe recognized them. They were his classmates from college, but they weren’t close.
Joe still remembered the guy who seemed to be the head of the group. His name was Clinton Tucker and was a famous rich kid back in college. He had feelings for Claire but she never acknowledged his feelings.
At the moment, Clinton was leaning against the golden BMW and accepting the compliments his friends had been showering him. The guys exclaimed in awe as they admired his car, “Clinton, you are such a champ! How long has it been since we’ve graduated? You’re already able to afford a BMW! I think this is 540, right? The top-spec of the 5 Series?”
Clinton laughed pompously and said, “Haha, this 540 is just, what, seven or eight hundred thousand dollars! I use it for my daily commute, it’s not a big deal.”
“Damn it! 540? This is the most expensive imported car of the 5 Series!”
“Sigh, I can’t even afford the down payment for a BMW 1 Series. Clinton, you are so awesome!”
“Clinton, your ride must be very powerful, right?”
Clinton pasted a smug grin on his face and said, “Nah, it’s just nice, the thrust and acceleration is pretty strong, I can’t find a car that can go as fast as mine on the street so far.”
“It’s so cool! If only I could afford a BMW. My girlfriend always looks down on me, criticizing that I can’t afford a good car. She’s so annoying!”
Suddenly, someone noticed another BMW was coming their way and gasped in surprise. “Wow, another BMW, is this one of our classmates too?”
“Oh, my fucking god! Is that Joe the loser?!”
“I think the girl who’s sitting in the co-driver’s seat is Claire! What the fuck, the loser drives a fucking BMW! It must be Claire’s car, not his. Damn loser!”