Empire of Shadows

The middle class are not the happiest people in the Federation, but they are definitely the most fulfilled.

Because even the lives of the wealthy are not as fulfilling as theirs. The wealthy only feel waves of helpless emptiness, but the middle class can make their lives very fulfilling.

From the first thing they do after waking up in the morning to the last thing they do before going to bed at night, they can arrange their lives to be full, exquisite, and stylish.

Mrs. Lawrence had just finished a... middle-class community women's social gathering.

These middle-class community housewives, some with jobs and some without, would gather together every other weekend for a very interesting social event.

Men are not allowed to join. It's all women living in the same community, and they are the kind who are relatively familiar and have good relationships.

If someone is not invited, then this lady, or even her family, will most likely be ostracized by the entire community.

When people in the Federation talk about bullying, they always act like righteous messengers, but in reality, from kindergarten to the presidential palace, bullying is everywhere.

Whether it's at school, in the workplace, in politics, or even in the community, this kind of situation exists.

So much so that people often hear rumors like, "A certain family couldn't stand being targeted in the community and was forced to move away."

Each time, they would set a theme before the gathering started. The theme of the gathering Mrs. Lawrence attended this time was "Flower Arrangement."

Flower arrangement is a kind of family social activity that only the middle class would have. They would bring some vases to the social venue, and then someone would provide all kinds of fresh flowers, mainly from flower shops outside the community.

Then they would invite a flower arrangement teacher, who would teach them how to make their vases full and beautiful.

The lower class and the proletariat don't have the time or money to do such flashy things.

The wealthy would never do it themselves, so only the middle class would really try and learn flower arrangement.

Although it looks... seemingly simple, it's actually not easy to truly arrange flowers beautifully, aesthetically, and unobtrusively.

While arranging flowers, they chatted about some private or public matters, things within the community or in society.

Those with the best family conditions and backgrounds are always the core of the gathering.

Class is everywhere, this is the Federation.

Mrs. Lawrence was in the first tier of this community because the Lawrence family had many civil servants, and some people worked in large companies.

They chatted about the recent election fraud, criticized current affairs, then talked for a while about next year's spring fashion show, and finally even talked about some bedroom matters.

Women sometimes have a greater scale of discussion on sex than men do.

In short, the two hours made every lady very happy, which achieved their desired social purpose.

Completing social interaction, recreation, cultivating artistic sentiment, and exchanging information to deepen feelings is an indispensable part of middle-class social interaction.

If you don't have it, it can only be said that you are isolated, and nothing else.

When Mrs. Lawrence came back with her short, chubby flower vase, she immediately saw the luxury car parked in the parking space.

She glanced at the window and deliberately slammed the car door shut, giving her daughter a reminder.

She didn't want to be too light-handed, making everyone feel embarrassed and unable to handle the situation.

She even pretended that she couldn't find the key, stood at the door for about ten or twenty seconds, listening to the slightly flustered footsteps upstairs gradually becoming less flustered, before she inserted the key into the lock.

"Honey, is someone here?" she called out to Patricia as she pushed the door open.

Lance and Patricia came down from upstairs, her face flushed. "Yes, Mom, we just came back from Cousin Barbara's place."

She went to meet her, took the vase, and put it on the coffee table in the living room. Mrs. Lawrence looked at Lance with a smile that was not quite a smile, "Thank you for bringing her back. I thought she would stay out all night."

However, she didn't tease Lance too much. After shaking hands with Lance, she asked, "Didn't her uncles and aunts make you feel embarrassed?"

But she quickly thought of something, "Probably not. Today you drove a nice car, they will only smile at you."

Mrs. Lawrence knew William's siblings very well, typical Federation people who considered themselves to be the elite.

They questioned everything that was not as good as themselves, but they couldn't question a twenty-thousand-dollar car and the person sitting inside.

Lance nodded, agreeing with her point of view, "Everyone was very enthusiastic."

Mrs. Lawrence joked with a smile, "For the sake of money."

She paused for a moment, "You sit for a while, read the newspaper, or listen to the radio. I'll prepare dinner."

She walked towards the kitchen and said to Patricia, "Honey, come and give me a hand."

The mother and daughter began to prepare dinner, which was very sumptuous.

The three people talked and laughed, and the meal ended in no time. Mrs. Lawrence politely suggested that Lance could stay here overnight—he could sleep in Patricia's room, and Patricia could sleep with her, but this was just a formality.

It's like when you're playing at a friend's house until 11:30 PM, and your friend's wife appears in front of you with a pillow and says, "Why don't you just stay over tonight?"

Lance took the initiative to say goodbye and left.

Patricia told everything that had happened at Barbara's place in great detail. It was obvious that she was very happy.

Mrs. Lawrence stroked her soft hair and asked a question that made her choke on her own saliva, "Did you guys do it while I was away?"

"Mom!" Her face turned red all of a sudden.

Mrs. Lawrence seemed very calm, "As a mother, I just hope you can protect yourself, that's all."

Seeing Patricia shaking her head, she breathed a slight sigh of relief, "When you're sure you really love him, and not because of youthful impulsiveness, then consider this matter, and try not to get pregnant."

"But before that, you'd better make a cautious decision."

After coming out of Patricia's place, Lance drove to Alberto's place. Although it was comfortable to drive a luxury car, and the walnut wood and calfskin interior felt like touching a young girl's skin, it was not his own after all.

Coincidentally, when Lance arrived, Alberto was just about to leave. He told Lance not to get out of the car and got directly into the car with Fordyce.

"Anything going on tonight?" he asked.

Lance shook his head. He gave Lance an address, "Go here."

Lance glanced at it. The address in the Bay Area. As he drove the car out of the alley, he asked curiously, "Did you buy a new house?"

He had heard people say before that Alberto's house was in the Sumerly District, where their people lived.

Alberto looked to be in a good mood, "Not a new house, a new bar. Just opened. You know, your liquor..."

Lance honked the horn, and the horn sound interrupted Alberto's words. He also woke up, "Yes, yes, it has nothing to do with you. It's my liquor."

"Recently, almost all the bars have been booming. The boss is planning to open one himself to try it out. If it works well, he might open more bars."

"Making money is the truth. Everything else is fake!"

Lance nodded in agreement as he watched the road, "You're right."

A dozen minutes later, the car stopped outside a bar that didn't look like a bar at all—

This was a red brick house, looking like a warehouse or... something else. This style was not common in the Bay Area, and it was indeed not on the busiest street in the Bay Area, but it was not too far away either.

The entire square red brick house had no windows. If the streetlights weren't so bright, perhaps people wouldn't even walk by. But in the open space behind it, Lance saw many nice cars when he parked.

The kind that cost thousands of dollars.

After the car was parked, the three walked to a small door. Fordyce took two steps forward and knocked hard on the door.

With a click, a small crack for observation appeared on the door. A pair of wary eyes looked out, and a light on the door suddenly turned on.

The moment the light came on, it also illuminated the surroundings. The person inside saw that it was Alberto, and his expression became much softer.

"Damn it, Fordyce, next time you knock on the door, be quieter. I thought someone was coming to inspect!" After the sound of two door bolts being pulled back, the door opened.

A guy wearing a white shirt and a brown vest, but with his sleeves rolled up, walked out. He hugged Fordyce, then walked to Alberto, "There are a lot of people tonight, there might not be a seat for you."

Alberto was a little curious, "What kind of inspection are you talking about?"

The doorman shrugged, "You can ask Leonard." He glanced at Lance, and finally his eyes returned to Alberto's face.

"This is Lance. The boss knows him too."

The doorman stared at Lance's face for a while, then extended his hand, "Larry, welcome, my friend. I hope you have a pleasant evening tonight."

After the three entered the door, the doorman slammed the door shut and sat down on the chair next to him, picking up a book.

Lance looked at it curiously. Fordyce explained, "He said he wants to go to college."

"Shut up, Fordyce!" Larry glared at him.

Fordyce laughed and raised his hands, "I shouldn't laugh at college students!"

After saying that, he ran away laughing. Larry, who had just stood up, sat back down cursing.

Alberto put his arm around Lance's shoulders and continued walking, "Ignore them. They were always bickering back in Sumeri."

Behind the iron railing along the corridor, a girl, almost naked and heavily made-up, seemed to be chewing on something as she asked, "Alberto, want some spare change?"