"Hey! Why are you hitting me? I cleaned the syrup for you! You are so unreasonable!"
Qin Guan bounced up and down and ran around the room. Cong Nianwei was chasing after him with a teddy bear.
"You bastard! Clean the syrup from the floor!"
It was a professional conflict between a doctor and a nurse.
The sunshine in the room was replaced by moonlight. The tenants left and closed the door, leaving the empty apartment behind them.
It was noisy out on the streets. That night, Manhattan finally revealed its true nature, like a monster showing its sharp teeth at night.
Thanks to his blue skin, the iron nails on his head and the torch in his hand, Joseph looked like the Frankenstein monster.
The twins had dressed up as vampires, wearing funny wings on their shoulders.
The Mexican zombies had left the building earlier. The owner of the building, who was an old American woman, had hung up a large basket by the entrance.
Trick or treat. The kids were not allowed into the building, but the candy in the basket was a considerate gift for them.
Happy kids were getting out of their parents’ cars. Holding small pumpkin lights, they took some candy from the basket.
"Qin Guan! Here!" A long black Rolls-Royce was parked on the street. Xu was inside the car, dressed very formally.
After a serious analysis of his advantages and shortcomings, he had dressed up as a wolf. His short, thick figure looked stronger that way.
His tail coat looked pretty good on him. He looked like a refined, educated guy.
Between the handmade leather couch, the fridge, the wine cabinet, as well as the Halloween props, there had been little money left over for him.
The boy had invested a lot for the Barnard College girls. His father had sincerely appreciated his determination and lent him his car without hesitation.
The lamps around Columbia University seemed ghostly on that special night.
The parking lot was full. People from all directions had gathered in different halls. Xu wasn’t worried about parking though. He lowered down the glass of the window and waved a bill outside.
"Thanks!" A green hand valet took the bill and a car yielded its place to Xu.
There was no Lei Feng spirit [1] in the US. Everyone wanted to get paid for their effort. A rich man could buy a whole building in New York. A parking space was nothing in comparison.
Everyone got out of the car. Under normal circumstances they would have attracted a lot of attention. On that day though, no one paid attention to them. Everyone was really excited about the parties.
Before heading into the hall, Xu didn't forget to smooth his hair and make himself look more presentable.
Their names were written on the invitations. Xu had given some blank invitations to somebody else as a gift.
"Qin Guan?"
"Yes?"
"I’ll recommended you for chairman of the Chinese Student Union of Columbia next year..."
"Are you kidding? I have no time..."
Qin Guan was surprised. He didn’t look brutal or fierce at all, if one ignored the fake brains on his costume.
Xu pointed to a Chinese student in disdain. The student was giving a hot girl a flattering smile.
"That idiot is our chairman. He always asks voters for support. He is too greedy. I know you are busy, but I could take over. I didn't waste the other two invitations. Look over there..."
Qin Guan looked in that direction and saw two familiar figures. They were both active among Chinese students.
Unlike hard-working Qin Guan, there were some Chinese students that preferred to engage in social activities and college politics. The chairman of the Chinese Student Union of Columbia led a small group of hundreds of people.
Insiders knew something about those groups. They were independent financially, unlike the public supervision of other Columbia unions. There was so much to do with those accounts.
Of course, Chinese merchants acted as sponsors, which was quite different from how things worked in China.
The chairman was able to control the budget, and public relations were also a lure for candidates.
"They are both pretty capable. One was in charge of public relations and the other of internal finances. Both of them were satisfied with that idiot."
"They wanted a chairman that didn’t interfere. You are both good-looking and capable..."
"For many years, there hasn’t been an outstanding Chinese guy among us. We have one now. You just wait and see..."
They were talking about a power-seizing plan, when suddenly a red-haired beauty caught sight of Qin Guan.
Thanks to his doctor's uniform, he was shining like a pearl in the dark night.