Take My Breath Away

They piled into Wesley's off-road vehicle, and he drove Blair and her grandpa to the vegetable field, which was at the edge of the village.

The road was unpaved, so they needed a vehicle like this. Although the road was not a very good one, they were lucky it was wide enough for Wesley's car.

When they arrived, Wesley asked Blair to stay in the car. He and Greenwood would go to work in the field.

Blair wanted to go with them, and stuck up for herself. Wesley pointed to the muddy field and said, "Your shoes will get dirty."

"It's no big deal. I can wash them after we go back home."

"No. Stay here. Why don't you check WeChat if you get bored?" Wesley suggested while locking the car doors. He opened the sunroof to let some air in. Then he left with Greenwood.

Blair fished her phone out of her pocket with her lips pouted. 'Check WeChat if you get bored, ' she mocked. 'Jerk!'

She put her phone back and looked around, feeling bored. When she looked up and saw the sunroof, she suddenly had an idea.

'Think you can lock me in the car? Not gonna happen!'

Blair took off her shoes, stood on the seat, and plopped her shoes onto the roof of the car. Then she eased herself through the narrow opening. She paused to take a look around.

'This isn't that high. I can get out this way, ' she thought happily.

While harvesting the vegetables, Wesley looked back from time to time to check on Blair. Just as she exited the car, she heard him shouting, "Hey! What are you doing?"

He planted the shovel in the dirt and ran to his car.

His sudden voice startled Blair, who was about to put on her shoes. She paused and turned to look at him. "What?" she asked.

Wesley reached his car, opened the door, stuck his head inside the car and pulled her down through the sunroof.

"Aargh!" Caught off-guard, Blair fell into the car, screaming at the top of her lungs. She thought she might hit her head, but she didn't. Wesley caught her just in time.

Left with no choice, Wesley agreed that Blair could stay outside. He asked Greenwood to keep her company, while he worked in the field alone.

Greenwood sat on a wooden bench and trimmed the vegetables they picked. Blair, however, had nothing to do because Wesley wouldn't allow her to lift a finger.

Near noon, Wesley was almost done. Blair didn't expect him to work so efficiently. After all, he was born in a rich family. He was no farmer.

Greenwood now had a few baskets of vegetables, standing beside the car. "Wesley, open the trunk," he called out.

Wesley strolled over and opened the trunk. Blair watched as Greenwood was about to put the vegetables in the trunk. There was still mud on the vegetables, and the baskets were dirty, too.

She stopped him and said, "Wait, Grandpa!"

'This Hummer costs at least a quarter mil! And Grandpa wants to use it to carry vegetables?' she thought to herself in disbelief.

"Something wrong, Blair?" Greenwood looked at her in confusion. Wesley was looking at her too, stroking his chin.

Blair looked back and forth between the new car and the mud-stained vegetables. "Grandpa, you have a tricycle, huh? Why not carry the vegetables with it?" It was true; Greenwood did have a motorized trike, with a hydraulic bed that would be perfect for transporting and offloading vegetables.

"Grandpa, don't listen to her," said Wesley.

He took the baskets from Greenwood and loaded all of them into the trunk of his car.

"But your Hummer! You don't care if it gets messed up?" she asked. 'I've known guys who treat their cars better than their wives. And most guys wouldn't let anyone else drive their cars, ' she thought.

Wesley cast a casual glance at her and asked, "Why would I care?"

"Because it wouldn't look as nice."

Wesley didn't get her point, but he needed to let her know something. "Babe, our car isn't a Hummer. It's an Emperor H3 manufactured by the ZL Group," he said seriously.

"Huh?" Blair was shocked to hear his words. It looked like a Hummer, but apparently she was mistaken. It turned out that it was a high-end vehicle manufactured by ZL Group. Not only that, but it was adapted for off-road use, outfitted with an independent front suspension and coil springs for a smoother, quieter ride.

"They stopped producing Hummers in 2010. I don't want a used car," Wesley said. He bought this car so he and Blair could ride in it. Although it was a little bit wasteful driving an off-road vehicle around town, he liked this kind of car.

"I didn't know..." 'Shows how much I know, ' she thought.

The trunk was now full of vegetables, and Wesley even put the rest in the back seat. Blair couldn't hold back any longer. "So how much did it run you?"

Wesley raised four fingers.

"Four million?" Blair mouthed.

Seeing the four fingers, Greenwood asked, "What? Four hundred? No wonder it has crappy trunk space."

Greenwood's words amused Wesley and Blair.

Blair wanted to let the old man know how much that thing really cost, but after some deliberation, she decided against it. He might balk at the 4-million-dollar price tag.

When they returned, Marie was cooking in the kitchen. Wesley asked Blair to help her grandma, while he himself began to unload the vegetables by the armful.

Some neighbors were eating outside and noticed Wesley. All their eyes were drawn to the newcomer. "Hey, Greenwood. That's a handsome lad you have there. Your kid?" someone asked.

Greenwood puffed out his chest and said proudly, "My grandson-in-law. He's a city slicker. Military, too. Some high muck-a-muck."

"Really? A high muck-a-muck helped you pick veggies? You're pulling my leg."

Greenwood stared at the man angrily. "You think I'm a liar? He's a soldier. Just ask him."

The neighbors weren't going to continue arguing about something so trivial. "Wow, your granddaughter's a lucky girl to nab a guy like him!"

"Yeah!" Greenwood grinned from ear to ear.

Wesley took a carton of cigarettes from his car and handed out a pack to everyone there. "Uncles, my wife's grandparents are living alone, and we worry about them all the time. Come by and check on them when you get a chance."

The neighbors all nodded vigorously and gave him wide grins. "Don't worry. Will do."

"We've been neighbors for ages. We already do that."

Most of them never saw the cigarettes that Wesley gave them. A young man said excitedly, "Wow, Sobranie Black Russians? A carton tops a couple hundred bucks."

"Really? That expensive?"

Upon hearing that, Greenwood was shocked and was about to take the cigarettes back. "Oh, there's no need for everyone to get a pack. That's way too expensive! They should be fine with just one cigarette each!"

Before Wesley could turn him down, his neighbors burst out laughing. "Greenwood, you old fart! Look at the car he drives. You think he cares about a measly two hundred bucks? Money like his probably buys a lot of cigarettes."

Greenwood shook his head. "His car only cost four hundred bucks. It is less practical than my trike."

"Four hundred bucks?" The young man who recognized the cigarettes shook his head. "You gotta be kidding me, Greenwood. Who told you that?" After saying that, he began to study the car.

Greenwood coughed and pointed at Wesley, who was putting the rest of the cigarettes back into his car. "He told me."

"How's that possible? The car at least cost a few hundred G. Am I right, Wesley?" the young man asked.

Wesley smiled, "It's not that expensive. I'll get the rest of the vegetables."

"Hear that? It's not expensive. I gotta get to work too," Greenwood said and helped Wesley with the vegetables.