Las Vegas, a certain room on a high floor of a well-known hotel.
Hearing that Winslow's tone was a bit off, Luo An frowned slightly:
"It's not very clear over the phone."
Winslow hesitated for a few seconds, his voice low:
Thinking of Winslow saying earlier that he planned to see his son, Luo An's expression changed slightly, and he got up to change clothes, asking:
"I'm in a club in Southern Las Vegas."
Winslow gave an address, and Luo An hung up the phone. Beside him, Mona swallowed the food in her mouth, and asked with confusion:
"What happened? What are you going to do?"
While changing clothes, Luo An replied:
"Winslow might be in trouble."
Mona's expression changed slightly, and she put down her utensils:
"Do you need me to come with you?"
Quickly changed, Luo An walked over to Mona, bent down to kiss her face, and laughed:
"Not for now, I'll call you if anything's wrong."
Mona looked up and kissed Luo An a few times, then patted Luo An's thigh, leaning back in a tempting pose, and laughed:
"I have a surprise prepared for you when you come back."
"I'll look forward to it."
Luo An chuckled, and quickly turned to leave the room.
Taking the elevator down to find his sports car, Luo An sat in and pressed the start button. He drove toward the place Winslow mentioned, while calling Reesi, Chenier, and Michelle to inquire about Winslow's situation.
Reesi, Chenier, and Michelle were also surprised by Luo An's call, but did not know what had happened, and all asked whether to go to the club together.
Luo An temporarily refused the three women's ideas. As the traffic light flickered, just as Luo An was about to drive on, Winslow called him again, saying seriously:
"Luo An, we need to change locations."
Hearing this, looking at the nearby club, Luo An narrowed his eyes as he thought of something, and asked:
"A certain bar in Las Vegas."
The new location provided by Winslow was not too far from here, Luo An nodded and agreed, then hung up again.
He started the car and continued to drive towards the destination, but this time Luo An's speed was much slower, much reduced from when he just left the hotel.
Ten minutes later, Luo An arrived at the bar Winslow mentioned, parked his car, and walked in.
The bar wasn't crowded, Winslow was sitting by the bar drinking sullenly. Seeing Luo An's figure, he waved his hand indicating:
"I'll have some ice water."
Walking into the bar, opening the "Emotional Perception", Luo An's expression changed slightly, and then his eyebrows slightly lifted.
Sitting down next to Winslow, signalling the bartender that he wouldn't drink alcohol, then looking at Winslow, he asked:
Winslow put down his glass, his voice low:
"I've encountered a problem."
Taking the ice water, Luo An thanked the bartender, then said:
Winslow didn't play coy, and said:
"I tricked one of my good friends, and I'm quite worried he might beat me up afterwards."
Luo An slightly smiled:
"So, what did you trick him with?"
"I told him we were going for a drive, ending up at this bar."
The solemn expression suddenly vanished from his face, Winslow grinned broadly, suddenly hugged Luo An's shoulder, shouting loudly:
"Happy Birthday! Luo An!"
As Winslow's words finished, the originally dim area behind the bar suddenly lit up, several familiar female voices entered Luo An's ears:
"Happy Birthday! Luo An!"
The first thing in sight, a cart with a large cake, Mona, Chenier, Reesi, and Michelle, all appeared smiling as they pushed it out.
Luo An's face showed a trace of surprise, then he clenched his fist and punched Winslow in the arm, laughing:
"You were right, Winslow, you're definitely getting beaten up tonight, I promise."
Everyone at the scene burst into laughter. Winslow took the drink passed by the bartender, handed a bottle to Luo An, and shouted again:
"Let's take it easy later, for the sake of the drinks!"
After clinking bottles with Winslow, Luo An took a sip, then went forward and hugged Chenier, Michelle, and Reesi, saying with a smile:
"Happy Birthday, Luo An."
Chenier and Michelle hugged Luo An with a laugh. When Reesi hugged Luo An, she asked teasingly:
"Luo An, why do I feel like your reaction just now was a bit fake? Did Mona secretly tell you?"
Mona waved her hands repeatedly at the side:
"Don't blame me; I didn't tell him.
If it weren't for Winslow sending him out for a walk, how could I have managed to get here so quickly? Fearing I wouldn't make it on time, I didn't even dare to wear high heels."
"Mona didn't tell me. It just happened so suddenly that I was a bit slow to react."
Luo An chuckled. In fact, as soon as he entered the bar, his "emotional perception" had detected several familiar emotional fluctuations, guessing that Mona, Chenier, Reesi, and Michelle were hiding behind.
But Luo An really didn't expect the birthday party; he had almost forgotten about it.
In the end, Luo An hugged Mona, kissed her lightly on the corner of the lips, and laughed:
"Happy Birthday, my dear."
Mona patted Luo An's back with a laugh, and after they teased each other a bit, Luo An's eyes suddenly lit up and he asked:
"The gifts! What gifts have you all prepared for me?"
Reesi put down the bottle and laughed:
"Are you really asking for gifts?"
Luo An spread his hands and laughed:
"Usually, it's me who pays your salaries; finally, I get a chance to take something back from you."
"Don't you eat the snacks on my table every day?"
Reesi retorted casually, and Michelle laughed, then first took out her gift and handed it to Luo An.
The box wasn't big. Luo An received it with a smile and asked:
Michelle nodded and even passed him a pair of scissors. Luo An cut the ribbon on the box, opened it, and found a game cartridge inside.
Seeing the name on the game cartridge, Luo An was surprised:
"The Legend of Zelda?!"
"It's the original 'The Legend of Zelda' from 1986, priced at 49.99 US dollars."
Michelle smiled sheepishly and said:
"Apart from books, the only gift I could think of was a game."
After packing up the gift, Luo An hugged Michelle again and said with a laugh:
"Thank you so much; I really like it."
Next, he opened Chenier's gift, which was a tin of Black Tea Number 9, a premium black tea very popular with the Queen of the Commonwealth.
Winslow's gift was a bottle of red wine from the world-renowned Château Cheval Blanc, incredibly precious.
"Now it's my turn, my turn."
After thanking Chenier and Winslow, Reesi quickly took out her prepared gift.
Luo An slowly opened the box and took out a beautifully packaged vinyl record.
Luo An was a bit puzzled:
"It's a rare collector's vinyl of the Beatles."
Reesi stood with her hands on her hips, incredibly proud:
"I went to great lengths to get my hands on this."
Hearing this, Chenier and Winslow's eyes widened instantly and Michelle exclaimed in disbelief:
In the western world, the Beatles' fame is striking, as one of the most influential and legendary music groups of the 20th century, with their music compositions and performances leaving a profound impact in the western music industry and a bold mark in popular culture.
"Thank you very much."
Carefully storing the record away, Luo An gave Reesi a big hug, patting her back vigorously, laughing:
"The gift is precious, I really like it."
Feeling like she was almost patted to the point of spitting blood, Reesi rolled her eyes and quickly pushed Luo An away. The two of them laughed and joked for a moment, then Reesi turned her gaze towards Mona, smilingly asking:
"Mona, you're the last one left. What gift have you prepared?"