Chapter 98: Reconciliation Before the Trip
Having decided on the cross-country road trip, Chris and the others left the party and headed to the car dealership in Quahog.
As the three walked toward the auto sales district, Brian said nervously, "Hey, isn't it kind of rude for us to just leave the party like this? After all, it's Joe's promotion celebration."
Hearing this hypocritical remark, Stewie immediately responded with biting sarcasm, "Oh, please, you pathetic mutt. Do you honestly think Joe and the others care whether you're there? It makes absolutely no difference.
On the contrary, if Chris wasn't present, Joe might show some concern, but they definitely wouldn't give a damn about your departure."
These words instantly hit Brian's sore spot. Ever since Chris's transformation, his status in the Griffin household had plummeted, and he was indeed no longer given as much attention as before.
But faced with Stewie's brutal honesty, Brian's mouth opened and closed, yet he couldn't manage a single word of rebuttal.
He stopped walking and said dejectedly, "You guys go on your trip. It's all the same whether I'm there or not."
With that, Brian turned and walked away, looking utterly defeated. His lonely figure and unstable emotional state made Chris worry he might do something stupid.
"I've really had enough, Stewie. Can't you just be straightforward with Brian? Is it necessary to be so cutting?"
Chris, who had noticed the tension between these two from the beginning, helplessly pulled Brian back, then looked directly at Stewie's defiant expression.
He finally understood that if he didn't help these two sort things out, he'd be the one suffering in the end.
This was because he still needed Stewie's help with many projects, but Stewie clearly had unresolved issues with Brian that were affecting his performance.
"Tell me, brother. What exactly happened between you and Brian?"
At this moment, Brian also reacted. He stared at Stewie, trying to discern the answer from his expression.
Cornered by Chris's direct question, Stewie sighed and muttered, "Brian changed. He started avoiding me and wouldn't spend time with me anymore."
"What?!" Brian was shocked and his jaw dropped when he heard this. He immediately retorted:
"What do you mean I changed? And when did I ever avoid you? Weren't you the one who started ignoring me? Ever since Chris got better, you haven't really bothered with me at all. You spend all your free time with Chris now."
Facing Brian's rebuttal, Stewie had his own grievances: "But when Chris was at school, I tried to hang out with you, and you always found an excuse to leave. Are you seriously going to deny that you were sick of me?"
"Oh my God!" Brian covered his face with his paw and said weakly, "I had to go to work! Did you forget? You were the one who arranged my job in the first place."
Chris looked at Stewie. The situation was crystal clear now—Stewie was just being paranoid and overthinking everything.
But the little guy still stubbornly insisted, "I arranged that job to help you earn some extra money. I never expected you to actually stick with it."
Brian's expression shifted, because he used to be exactly like that—slacking off at every job and getting fired for causing problems—but this time it really was different.
"Come on. You arranged that job for me, and you even have shares in the factory. How could I be irresponsible like I used to be?"
Hearing Brian's sincere statement, Stewie squirmed awkwardly, completely at a loss for words.
After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Stewie suddenly glared fiercely at Chris and angrily declared, "This is all your fault! If you hadn't wasted so much time in other dimensions, I wouldn't have had this friendship crisis!"
"..."
Chris looked down, met Stewie's gaze, and silently walked toward the car dealership.
He really didn't want to explain himself to his psychologically troubled younger brother.
Damn it, to be able to twist the blame onto him like that—his genius brain certainly wasn't going to waste!
Looking at Chris's determined back, Brian sighed and patted Stewie's shoulder, saying, "Let's go, Stewie. Let's look at cars first. Water under the bridge, right?"
So the kid's psychological issues were caused by the time dilation between dimensions. No wonder he'd seemed off lately.
Through Stewie's few words just now and his unique interaction with Chris, Brian had already guessed their little secret.
After all, when Chris was still mentally impaired, Stewie had often taken Brian on trips through time and across alternate timelines.
He was more than familiar with that whole process.
The two humans and one dog walked into the dealership, and a salesman immediately approached them.
"Hello, sir. How can I help you today?"
Chris turned to look at Brian and Stewie. Seeing that neither of them spoke up, he decided to see what the salesman would recommend.
"Given my build, what kind of vehicle would you suggest?"
"Well..."
The salesman looked at Chris's imposing stature and, after a moment of consideration, asked, "Sir, what's the primary purpose for the vehicle?"
"Road trip. It needs to handle various terrain types."
"Ah, I see. Then how about this Hummer?"
After hearing Chris's requirements, the salesman nodded and led Chris to another showroom.
There, a rugged and aggressive off-road vehicle with sharp, angular lines sat on the display platform, its presence perfectly matching Chris's aura.
The moment Brian saw the vehicle, he blurted out, "Wow! Chris, this truck is perfect for you!"
"I know," Chris replied simply, then said to the salesman, "I'll take it."
He pulled out his debit card. Ever since the dragon's blood supplement became popular throughout Rhode Island, Chris had been earning thirty million dollars daily.
However, due to company expansion and various expenses, the liquid funds Chris could actually access amounted to barely around one hundred million dollars.
Fortunately, he didn't spend much. This Hummer was only a little over twenty thousand dollars, which was pocket change for him.
After swiping his card and completing the purchase, Brian excitedly climbed into the driver's seat and started the vehicle under the salesman's astonished gaze.
Chris, carrying Stewie, naturally got into the passenger seat and, looking at the surprised salesman, smiled. "I'm still a minor and don't have a license yet."
"Woohoo! This feels incredible!"
A real man should drive something like this!
From the moment he sat in this truck, Brian knew he could never go back.
All the vehicles he'd previously considered could no longer satisfy him. There was no going back.
Feeling the rumble of the engine, Brian shed tears of joy.
He completely forgot about his old beat-up Prius and began to adjust to the raw power of this beast.
This feeling of commanding such force was simply intoxicating.
Fortunately, he at least had temporary use of this beast. Otherwise, Brian truly didn't know how unbearable it would be to go back to those small, cramped economy cars.
Watching Brian still lost in the Hummer's growl, Chris said impatiently, "Alright, buddy. Let's get moving!"
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