The plane landed, and Richard and Steve finally arrived in New York. Standing outside the terminal hall and looking at this land, he felt the aura of countless disasters.
Safe and sound New York City—it was the darling of Hollywood then and would be the favorite of horror blockbusters in the future. Whether it was supernatural phenomena or alien invasions, it seemed anyone could easily trample on this city.
Richard was now stepping onto this land as well. He prayed the next few days would give him some peace of mind; he was out to relax on vacation and didn't want to observe any more weirdness from another dimension. He also hoped that while he was away from the small town, no blind fool would try to break into his haunted house filled with ambushes. He didn't want to have to clean up the corpses of strangers when he returned.
Steve's family was already waiting outside the designated airport exit at the agreed time. A lean middle-aged man sat in the driver's seat of a black Jeep, while a graceful woman wearing mink sat in the passenger seat. They both called out to the two of them through the rolled-down passenger window.
They were Steve's parents, and this was the first time Richard had met them.
"Come on in, my boys." Steve's mother waved to them. Her smile was warm and cheerful, making it easy to like her.
Steve hopped into the car with Richard, grinning. However, upon seeing his father's flat expression after getting in, he immediately reined in his usual cynical attitude, coughed a few times, and sat down obediently alongside Richard.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Harrington, Mrs. Harrington." Richard's gaze swept over the couple in the front row as he smiled.
"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Li. Thank you for being willing to be friends with my good-for-nothing son." Mr. Harrington nodded to Richard, immediately starting off with a sarcastic remark about his own son.
Steve lowered his head, speechless. He was already used to his biological father's PUA tactics.
"Hey, the kids finally have a vacation to get together with us, what are you saying right off the bat?" Mrs. Harrington expressed her dissatisfaction with her husband. Mr. Harrington gave a non-committal laugh. Seeing she couldn't do much about him, she could only glare and pout before turning back to Richard with a smile. "Chade, welcome to New York. We will definitely show you a good time."
"Thank you, I'm looking forward to it," Richard replied with a composed smile.
As Mr. Harrington drove, he didn't miss a chance to be sarcastic toward his son. Mrs. Harrington initially helped her son by snapping back at her husband, but eventually, seeing she couldn't stop him, she simply ignored her son and showered Richard with warm inquiries.
Richard wanted to laugh seeing Steve's look of utter despair, and in the end, he couldn't hold it back.
On this trip, it seemed Steve was the only one getting hurt.
After a drive of about an hour and a half, Richard and Steve finally arrived at their destination: the harrington family's villa in a wealthy district of New York.
From the scale of the residence, which resembled a medieval manor, Richard realized he had still underestimated the harrington family's wealth and their title as the "Richest in Hawkins." His perspective had simply been too narrow.
"Sorry Chade, the servants in the villa were all sent away by the old man on the pretext of the holiday. Now the whole big house has to be managed by us, the old man's children. If there's anything lacking in our hospitality, please don't mind," Mrs. Harrington said to Richard with a slight apology just as he got out of the car with his luggage.
Richard smiled slightly. "Not at all. I should be the one thanking you for putting me up and letting me eat and drink for free these next few days."
"Let's go, Chade. I'll take you around the villa to get your bearings and introduce you to my cousins." Steve, finally free after getting out of the car, felt liberated. He immediately pulled Richard away, giving neither his mother nor his good friend a chance to chatter further.
"Be careful!" Seeing this, Mrs. Harrington didn't forget to caution her impulsive son.
"Got it!" Steve called back loudly. He slung an arm over Richard's shoulder as they walked into the villa, excitedly pointing out the way.
"The house is huge and the structures are similar, but if you look closely at the paintings and decorations on the walls, you'll know which path you're on."
"This is the first-floor study..."
"This is the pantry..."
"This is the first-floor living room, over there is the kitchen, and that's the dining room..."
It was clear Steve was genuinely happy. Ever since they entered, his mouth hadn't stopped moving as he introduced this and that to Richard. Richard's eyes constantly scanned the winding corridors of the deep red mansion; it was a pleasing and refreshing sight.
They stopped by the fireplace in the living room, where they met more of Steve's relatives: his paternal uncle's and paternal aunt's families, as well as his grandfather and grandmother, with whom Steve was exceptionally close.
After Richard briefly greeted everyone, Steve led him upstairs to drop off his luggage and took him to the room where he would be staying for the next few days.
"Hey man, I live right next door. If you feel bored or uncomfortable staying here, just come find me anytime. We don't have to stay here; we can stay outside, which might be more relaxing. Anyway, we have money now." Steve felt his back was straight when he spoke; having money he earned himself certainly made him talk with more confidence.
Richard nodded with a light smile. He could tell Steve was speaking from the heart. From the brief meeting with the harrington family in the living room just now, he sensed that Steve's immediate family didn't carry particularly high weight within the clan. Except for Steve's parents and a few cousins he was close to, almost no one else took Richard, the outsider, seriously. The keen-minded Richard could even capture a bit of contempt from Steve's paternal uncle and his wife; it was a kind of arrogance that came from the skin.
"Don't worry, I think I'll get along fine with your family." Richard grinned. He didn't actually care about those trivial matters; as long as no one actively provoked him, he wouldn't strike back.
After all, he came from a land of etiquette, where one always repays kindness with kindness and an eye for an eye... *Knock, knock, knock.*
While Richard and Steve were discussing their plans for the coming days in the room, there was a knock on the door. Steve stopped helping Richard unpack and went to open it.
Two siblings with red curly hair just like Steve's poked their heads into the room, waving and smiling at the two inside.
"Hi, handsome guys." The girl had a well-proportioned figure, skin as white as snow, bright eyes, and white teeth. Her smile had a sweet quality to it.
"Oh, Grace, Kyle, it's great that you came by personally. Come, Grace, let me formally introduce you to my good friend again. He..." Seeing his paternal aunt's children had arrived, Steve immediately called his dear sister over with enthusiasm to introduce Richard, but as he spoke, he found himself stuck.
At this moment, Steve's mind was full of Richard's heroic figure slaying monsters and fighting in The Upside Down. However, due to the non-disclosure agreement with The Lab, he couldn't mention those things. He could only say dryly, "He... look how handsome he is! He's a great cook, he can write scripts, and... and he's good at business."
"Hehe, sounds like a very interesting friend. Nice to meet you, I'm Grace." Hearing her cousin's clumsy introduction, Grace didn't mind and instead proactively reached out her hand to get acquainted.
"Steve was bragging about how beautiful his sister was all the way here. Seeing you today, it was definitely worth the trip. Nice to meet you, Miss Grace. I'm Richard." Richard shook her hand.
"I'm Kyle." The man standing next to Grace with a gentlemanly smile followed up with his own introduction.
And so, Richard officially met two friends of his own generation on this land of New York.