Chapter 47: Golden Pistol (Requesting Votes and Favorites)

"Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Richard, Happy birthday to you."

In the evening, in the living room, a group of people gathered around a two-tier cake, singing the birthday song in unison. Among them were Gisele, Anthony, Angela, Paul, Mike, Robert, and over twenty other young men and women.

Richard stood in the middle, smiling.

"Done singing! Richard, blow out the candles!" Anthony shouted.

Richard blew out the candles, and the room lights came on.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Paul and a few others shook champagne bottles over their heads, spraying the bubbly everywhere. Now that they had money, they loved the thrill of popping champagne.

"Sweetheart, happy birthday!" Gisele kissed his cheek.

"Thank you!"

"This is my gift. Want to open it?" Gisele handed him a box with a smile.

"What’s the gift?"

"Open it and see."

"Alright!"

Richard unwrapped the box to find a G-SHOCK sports watch inside. It looked robust and stylish.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it! I’ve been wanting to get a watch, but it felt awkward buying one for myself. So, thank you, sweetheart!"

Richard put on the watch and kissed her again.

"Richard, happy birthday." Angela walked over and playfully punched his chest.

"Thanks!"

Richard raised his fist, ready to punch her back in the chest.

"Don’t you dare!"

Angela covered her chest and stepped back, handing him a long, rectangular box.

"Here’s your gift."

"What is it?"

"No idea, just something random."

Richard chuckled and opened the box to find a finely crafted LV belt.

"It’s beautiful. Thank you, Angela."

He hugged her, but she pushed him away with a playful scoff.

"Haha, Richard, here’s our gift." Anthony placed a white cardboard box on the table.

"What’s inside?"

"Open it and find out."

Anthony and a few others had mischievous grins, clearly hinting the contents weren’t exactly proper.

Opening the box, Richard found it full of condoms.

"Haha, Richard, are you surprised? Happy?"

"Richard, you won’t need to buy any protection for a whole year."

"Richard, we weren’t sure about your size, so maybe try one on now?"

"HAHAHA~"

The room erupted in laughter.

"Thanks, it’s a great gift, right, sweetheart?" Richard laughed, looking at Gisele.

Gisele rolled her eyes at him. "You’re such a blockhead. What do you need those for?"

"Richard, cut the cake quickly. Then we’re off to the bar to dance. The girls can’t wait." Mike urged.

"Alright, alright!"

Richard picked up the knife and, holding Gisele’s hand, cut the cake.

"Wow~ amazing!" Paul shouted, grabbing Richard’s arm from behind. "Hurry up!"

"Don’t mind if we do."

Anthony, Mike, and the other young people swarmed forward, smearing cake on Richard’s face.

Holding the knife, Richard couldn’t really struggle and just had to let it happen. Soon, his face and body were covered in cream, with even his hair looking a mess.

"Haha, I want a turn too!" Angela grabbed a big piece of cake and slammed it on his face, even spreading it around as if applying lotion.

"Haha, this feels great. Gisele, want to try?"

Angela laughed.

"No, be careful, or Richard will get you back later." Gisele smiled.

"With you here, I’m not afraid!"

Angela continued smearing cake, even pinching his cheeks.

"Had enough yet?"

Richard rolled his eyes. At this point, his face was only black where his eyes were.

"Okay, I’ll count to three, and everyone run. Don’t get caught by Richard."

Paul held Richard and shouted.

"One, two... run!"

Before he reached three, everyone in the room dashed off, leaving Richard, Gisele, Angela, and Susan behind.

"You guys go dance. I’ll wash my face and join you." Richard said.

"Together!" Gisele smiled.

"Haha, alright!"

Richard suddenly smeared cake on both Gisele and Angela’s faces.

"Ah, you jerk, what are you doing!" Angela screamed.

"Gisele said we’d wash our faces together, didn’t she?" Richard laughed.

"Hmph, Gisele, see? You didn’t mess with him, and he still messed with you. He’s no good." Angela complained.

"My bad!" Richard said to Gisele.

Gisele rolled her eyes at him and dragged Angela to wash their faces.

Richard chuckled, about to follow when a car horn honked at the door. A Mercedes pulled up.

The car door opened, and a middle-aged man got out. In his forties, of average height, slightly chubby, wearing a gray pinstripe suit, looking calm and capable.

"Frank? What are you doing here?"

"I just went to the cemetery and saw the flowers you left there. Happy birthday, Richard."

The middle-aged man smiled.

"Thanks. What brings you to New York?"

"I’m here on a business trip and thought I’d drop by. Looks like you had a lively party."

"Yeah, had some friends over!"

Richard smiled.

"Here’s my gift."

The middle-aged man handed over a box.

Richard opened it to find a golden Desert Eagle. "Why give me a gun?"

"I got it as a souvenir while traveling in Saudi Arabia a few years ago. Thought you might like it."

"Is it solid gold?"

"No idea, probably not. Pure gold would be unusable."

The middle-aged man laughed.

"How long are you staying in the country this time?"

Richard fiddled with the gun and asked.

"A while. I got promoted, now an Assistant Director in the Bureau of Criminal Investigations. I’ll be around more often."

"Finally got a high-ranking position after all these years."

"Haha, yeah. Thinking back to when your dad and I... sigh."

The middle-aged man shook his head.

Richard pressed his lips together.

"Richard, ready to go?" Gisele and Angela came out of the bathroom, pausing when they saw the guest.

The middle-aged man looked over and winked at Richard. "Aren’t you going to introduce us?"

"Frank, this is my girlfriend Gisele, and this is Angela. Gisele, Angela, this is my uncle Frank Campbell, a security chief."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Campbell!"

"Haha, nice to meet you!"

Frank laughed heartily, giving Richard a firm pat on the shoulder. "Richard, if your mom could see you now, she’d be so happy."

"Really? That’s great."

Richard smiled, chatted for a bit, then Frank left due to other commitments. He was always busy, so Richard didn’t insist he stay.

"Richard, you have an uncle?"

Gisele asked curiously.

"Yes. When my family had an accident, he was working as a bodyguard overseas and didn’t come back for years. Later, he took me out of the orphanage and became my guardian. But since he’s mostly abroad, we don’t see each other often."

Richard explained.

"What does he do, giving you a golden gun?"

Angela kept flipping the gun, reluctant to let go.

"He works in a security company. It’s for protection."

"Is it solid gold? Can it shoot?"

Gisele asked.

"No idea. Want to go to the shooting range?"

Richard laughed.

"No, it’s getting dark."

"Alright, let’s go dancing."

The three left the house, laughing.