My Manor

"Dear passengers, we would like to kindly remind you that we are about to arrive at New York's Kennedy Airport. Please stow your trays, open the sunshades, and return your seatbacks to their upright position."

The flight attendant's announcement woke Ai Xiaoxi from her shallow sleep. Confused at first, she glanced around before stretching and checking her watch. It was already past two o'clock in the morning, Beijing time. She'd been on the plane for over ten hours, and her back and waist were sore from the long flight. This was her first time taking such a lengthy journey.

She turned to look at Feng Yunchen, who was still fast asleep with her eye mask on. Ai Xiaoxi hesitated for a moment before gently nudging her.

"Sister Chen, wake up!"

Perhaps due to hearing Ai Xiaoxi's voice, Feng Yunchen stirred, sitting up straight. She stretched her arms, took off the eye mask, and looked around groggily, yawning.

"This flight is exhausting," she muttered, stretching again.

"Yeah," Ai Xiaoxi agreed, rubbing her back. It had indeed been a tiring journey.

"It's all your boss's fault. What kind of person is he? He said I could come but only bought two economy class tickets. I don't need him to book economy for me. I can't do it myself. My back!" Feng Yunchen stretched again, her voice tinged with annoyance.

Airfares from Beijing to New York weren't that expensive, with a direct flight costing around two or three thousand yuan. Although Feng Yunchen didn't earn as much as a celebrity, no one really cared about a couple thousand yuan these days.

Though the Boeing 777 was a large aircraft, the economy class seats weren't much different from those in any other passenger plane—half-lying at best. Only business class seats could recline to 160 degrees. To fully recline, you'd have to sit in first class. Jiang Hai, however, had booked the best first-class tickets, not just with seats, but with beds. Naturally, it was quite expensive.

Discounted economy class tickets were usually around two to three thousand yuan. Business class tickets could cost five times that, pushing the price to fourteen or fifteen thousand yuan, and it might go even higher during peak times. First-class tickets? They could easily cost ten times more, starting at thirty thousand yuan. Jiang Hai's usual seat went for fifty thousand yuan—a price that could buy half a decent car in China.

No wonder Feng Yunchen's boss was stingy. Even with business class, two people would already run up a thirty-thousand-yuan ticket. Add in the costs for equipment, marketing, and posters, and the total could easily reach one hundred thousand yuan. It's enough to make anyone wince.

After all, not everyone had Jiang Hai's wealth.

"Sister Chen, it's just a long time sitting. I'll massage your back once we're off the plane," Ai Xiaoxi said, sympathetically rubbing her waist. Feng Yunchen appreciated the gesture.

"By the way, Sister Chen, can you tell me more about the person we're meeting later?" Ai Xiaoxi asked quietly, sensing Feng Yunchen's good mood.

"Oh, sure." With her mood lifted, Feng Yunchen didn't hesitate to give Ai Xiaoxi a straightforward answer.

"The man we'll meet is Jiang Hai. He's an old classmate of mine, about my age. You can just call him Brother Jiang. He's from Boston, though he says he raises cattle. I'm not sure what exactly he does," Feng Yunchen replied, mixing truth with a bit of exaggeration.

If she truly didn't know what Jiang Hai did, she'd be crazy to spend time with him.

"Oh, I see," Ai Xiaoxi nodded. Naturally, she didn't completely believe everything Feng Yunchen said. But based on the description, she imagined a tall, dark-skinned, and rugged cowboy figure—one that stuck in her mind and was hard to shake off.

As she pondered how to handle this meeting over the next few days, the plane slowly descended into Kennedy Airport.

New York has three major airports: Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark. Kennedy is the busiest, handling more than 30% of U.S. air traffic. LaGuardia is smaller, catering mostly to Chinese passengers flying to and from China. Newark, while technically in New Jersey, is also often considered part of the New York area.

This time, Feng Yunchen and Ai Xiaoxi had flown into LaGuardia. Luckily, Jiang Hai had checked their flight beforehand. Otherwise, he would have driven to Kennedy. By the time they disembarked, it was already past one in the afternoon local time.

Feng Yunchen immediately called Jiang Hai, and after confirming he was waiting in the parking lot, they made their way over.

Ai Xiaoxi was nervous as she entered the parking lot, her curiosity piqued. She wondered which man would match the description she had in her mind. As they approached, she saw several men but none seemed to fit the bill—until Feng Yunchen, walking ahead, suddenly brightened up. She waved eagerly at a figure in the distance, and Ai Xiaoxi quickly followed her gaze.

She blinked, surprised to find a tall man standing there, waving at them. He looked nothing like the cowboy in her imagination.

He was taller than everyone around him, his height towering over even the white and black men nearby. Dressed in a short-sleeved T-shirt, an outdoor shirt, and cargo pants, his muscular frame was partly visible beneath his shirt, hinting at a strong build. His face, not particularly handsome, was obscured by a pair of sunglasses.

What caught Ai Xiaoxi's attention even more was the car parked next to him—was that a Rolls-Royce? Not just any ordinary one, but a high-end model. It wasn't common in the capital, and Ai Xiaoxi wondered, Could cattle ranching in the U.S. really be that profitable?

"Hi, you're here," Jiang Hai greeted them with a warm smile. Feng Yunchen wasted no time, rushing over to him, throwing her arms around him, and squeezing him tightly, her face full of excitement. This left Ai Xiaoxi feeling a little confused—what was going on?

"Hey, there are outsiders," Jiang Hai chuckled, a little overwhelmed by Feng Yunchen's embrace. He patted her back and stepped back.

"Oh, right. This is Ai Xiaoxi, my colleague. You can call her Brother Jiang," Feng Yunchen quickly introduced, still clinging to Jiang Hai's arm.

Ai Xiaoxi stood up straighter, offering her hand to Jiang Hai. He shook it lightly, letting go almost immediately.

"Don't be nervous. I'm here for you," Jiang Hai smiled, trying to reassure Ai Xiaoxi. "Have you eaten? Let me take you out to eat first, or we can go around New York before heading back. What would you prefer?"

Ai Xiaoxi, still a bit nervous, nodded. "We've eaten on the plane, so we're not hungry right now. Besides, we have a photo shoot soon. Let's go straight back. Didn't you say it takes three hours to drive?"

"Alright. There's not much to see in New York anyway. We're just here for fun. After we drop off your things, we can go see the sights," Jiang Hai agreed, smiling as he loaded their luggage into the trunk. But when he saw how heavy the suitcases were, he couldn't help but feel surprised. How had the two of them managed to carry all this?

Jiang Hai had underestimated the lengths some Chinese men would go to in order to please beautiful women.

The heavy suitcases were almost never touched by the two women, except when they were pushed on a trolley.