The Gallagher House, first floor.
His phone chimed. Lip, who was holding a beer and had just taken a sip, took it out to look. After a slight hesitation, he replied to the text, "Yeah."
Lip didn't like Mandy and didn't want any emotional entanglement with her, but he did want to fxxk her.
There was no helping it.
Having been locked up in the juvenile detention center for so many days, Lip was painfully pent-up.
Because of this thought, Lip followed up with another text, "How did you know?"
When a man is thinking with his lower half, forget about rationality... So, Lip knew that fxxking Mandy again would probably cause big trouble with Karen, but he still sent this follow-up message.
Inside the Mercedes-Benz.
Seeing the word "Yeah," Mandy instantly felt a wave of disappointment and didn't want to contact him anymore. But then, she received another text... Instantly, it was as if the fire of hope was burning ragingly.
"Mickey told me... Are you okay?" Mandy asked.
"Okay, I guess. Just average," Lip replied.
Mandy bit her lip. "I happen to be near your house. Want to meet?"
Seeing this text, Lip instantly felt a burst of joy in his heart, knowing he was going to get laid. "Sure, where are you?"
"Outside your backyard," Mandy was also a bit happy and replied.
"Coming," thinking with one's lower half is terrifying. Lip replied, got up nimbly, and walked toward the back door.
In no time at all.
Lip, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, arrived beside the Mercedes.
Mandy had already very consciously switched seats, no longer in the driver's seat, but in the back.
Lip opened the door, sat next to Mandy, and smiled at her.
Comrade Mandy, the die-hard romantic, was quite pathetic. With just this smile from Lip, Mandy was instantly elated and hurriedly returned a smile.
The next second.
Lip didn't say a word and kissed her directly.
Everything happened naturally.
Before long, the Mercedes started shaking, creaking rhythmically.
Time passed, and the shaking stopped.
Lip and Mandy each lit a cigarette.
"I miss this," Lip said, exhaling smoke.
"Me too," Mandy smiled, then her smile vanished. Gritting her teeth, she asked, "Did you go see Karen?"
Lip was still smart. He immediately understood what Mandy meant and nodded. "Went right after I got back."
Saying that, Lip took another drag of his cigarette and added, "My situation with Karen is complicated. She's carrying my kid. I can not care about her, but I can't not care about that kid."
"If I don't care about that kid, wouldn't I become just like Frank?"
"That is absolutely unacceptable!"
Becoming just like Frank was probably the biggest nightmare of Lip's life.
From this, one could imagine how profound Comrade Frank's influence on Lip was—it went straight to the bone.
Hearing this.
Mandy silently took a few drags of her cigarette.
What is a die-hard romantic?
As a die-hard romantic, at times like this, Mandy not only understood Lip's distress but also subconsciously started thinking for Lip. She nodded. "Indeed... Frank is too terrifying."
Expressing her understanding, Mandy asked again, "So what do you plan to do?"
"I'm trying to communicate with her," Lip took a drag and said. "I talked to Eddie and Sheila this morning."
"Sheila is a crazy woman, let's not talk about her."
"Eddie can't control Karen either, but he subtly indicated that he hopes I can persuade Karen to get an abortion."
"I thought about it for a long time in juvie, and I also think abortion is the best way. But I can't force her to do it, I can only persuade."
Hearing these words.
As a Milkovich, the thought of forcing Karen immediately popped into Mandy's head.
Thinking quickly, Mandy rolled her eyes and asked tentatively, "If the baby is gone, do you still want to be with her?"
Lip glanced at Mandy. Knowing what Mandy wanted to hear, he shook his head decisively. "She found an idiot boyfriend. I'm not interested anymore."
But in reality...
Lip really loved Karen and indeed wanted to be with her.
It could only be said that the Gallaghers were very skilled at lying.
Hearing this, Mandy smiled happily instantly. "Then try to persuade her properly first. If you need my help, tell me."
Lip smiled and nodded. "I do need your help. Right now, I need your mouth."
Mandy understood instantly. Without wasting time, she immediately threw away her cigarette and obediently got to work.
Unknowingly.
Mandy drove home in a surprisingly good mood, contrary to her usual behavior.
Mickey hadn't slept yet. Hearing the commotion, he was honestly a bit curious about the result of Mandy's trip, so he got out of bed and walked out of his room.
Walking out, seeing Mandy's appearance and the happiness on her face at a glance, Mickey knew Mandy must have fxxked Lip. He couldn't help shaking his head with a bit of disdain.
Mandy noticed. "What the fuck are you looking at?"
"You'll die at the hands of that idiot Lip sooner or later!" Mickey truly couldn't be bothered with Mandy's crap anymore. He threw down this sentence unceremoniously and turned back to his room.
"Fuck off!" Mandy didn't like hearing that and cursed.
Mickey ignored her.
The night grew deeper.
Mandy slept soundly, having a sweet dream featuring Lip.
---
A new day.
August 1st.
Dexter's shooting range opened today. The concert would be held at 7:00 PM, but the busy work would start early in the morning.
Therefore, Dex Restaurant was not open today.
8:00 AM.
After breakfast, Dexter took Daijiu and drove Bianca to work at the hospital as usual.
Arriving at the hospital parking lot, he said, "Try not to work overtime today. I'll pick you up at six."
Bianca nodded repeatedly. "Mm, I promise not to work overtime. If anyone makes me work overtime, I'll scold them!"
"Haha, Ms. Greene is indeed formidable," Dexter said with a laugh.
The two joked for a few sentences. Bianca walked briskly into the hospital building, while Dexter floored the gas and drove toward the shooting range to start today's busy life.
The Milkovich House.
Although it was a hot day, as the unofficial person in charge of the shooting range, Mickey still found a suit from his closet and put it on, specifically grooming his face and hair.
Everything was done.
Mickey walked to the mirror and looked.
Really, looking like this, Mickey was genuinely a handsome, spirited young man.
Mickey was very satisfied with this image. He grinned at himself in the mirror, then prepared to leave, calling out to Mandy, "Mandy, are you coming with me?"
Mandy had also dressed up, wearing a rather expensive black long dress she had bought but never worn out. Hearing Mickey, she shook her head without a shred of hesitation. "I'll go by myself later."
Mickey wasn't stupid. Guessing Mandy was going to find Lip, he couldn't be bothered to care.
"Suit yourself," dropping this sentence, Mickey lifted his feet, walked with his swaggering gait, went out, got in the car, and drove toward the Gallagher house.
The Gallagher House.
Carl had also dressed up specially. His entire outfit, from top to bottom, including shoes, was new, looking very sharp.
"Are you guys going tonight? If you go, call me. I'll take you in. Otherwise, you might not be able to squeeze in. There will be a lot of people tonight," Carl said to Ian and Lip.
Ian had no issue with Dexter and smiled. "Okay, I should be going."
In fact, Ian had already agreed with Kash to go together tonight as a date.
Lip hated Dexter, so naturally, he wouldn't go. "I'm not going. I have things to do."
Carl didn't care either...
At this age, Carl cared about very, very few things.
Just then, a car horn sounded outside. Hearing it, Carl knew Mickey had arrived and immediately got up to leave. "I'm going."
Getting in the car.
The practically brand-new Mickey and Carl moved toward the shooting range.
...
2113 North Wallace Street.
Kevin and Veronica had also gotten ready. They didn't dress up too specially, but they put on nicer clothes and shoes, looking much more formal than usual.
As for Ethel...
Ethel was still just like that; no helping it.
Shortly after.
Kevin's family of four went out and got in the car.
...
The Jackson House.
Karen, who had just been fxxked by sex addict Jody, got out of bed and went into the bathroom to shower.
After rinsing off, Karen returned to the room and changed into an LV long dress she bought a few days ago, very satisfied.
Ten minutes later.
"Let's go," Karen called out to Jody, like calling a very stupid pet.
The two went out, got into Karen's car, and drove toward the shooting range.
...
In a rented house.
By now, although not exactly rich, she was definitely not poor. With over sixty thousand dollars in savings, Svetlana changed into an expensive dress she wouldn't have dared to dream of before meeting Dexter. She sat in front of the vanity mirror and concentrated on applying makeup.
Makeup done.
Svetlana lit a cigarette, walked out briskly, got into the van she often used to haul fruit, and headed for the shooting range.
...
This morning.
Dexter had been operating in the South Side of Chicago for over a year. The friends he had made were basically all moving toward [Dex Shooting Range].
---
Dex Shooting Range.
Although it was still early for the evening concert, people were already arriving one after another from all over, and then, signing up for membership cards.
There were two types of membership cards: a monthly card for $200 and an annual card for $2,000.
Reasonably enough, people from the South Side almost all bought monthly cards, while those coming from other districts basically bought annual cards.
Then.
Everyone who got a card smiled very happily.
Why?
The reason was simple. Dex Restaurant was closed today. Dexter had set up a temporary kitchen in the shooting range, serving lunch and dinner, plus barbecue and fruit platters.
Whether monthly or annual cardholders, they could enjoy unlimited free food, but no take-out.
As for those who didn't buy a card...
Dexter didn't lack that bit of money. He transferred the staff from Dex Western Restaurant and provided free burgers, fries, sandwiches, fried chicken, and the like.
At this moment, Dexter was already busy.
Interestingly, the assistants of the singers were all waiting anxiously. Behind these assistants, the line of people was getting longer and longer.
...
Membership Desk.
Mickey, in his suit and with a cigarette in his mouth, stared a bit blankly.
There was no helping it.
People signing up for cards were coming in an endless stream, and more and more money was being pulled out.
Son of a bitch.
Has it been half an hour? In the box next to him, stacks upon stacks of banknotes already amounted to over a hundred thousand dollars...
What the fuck, isn't money money?
Is making money this easy?
Mickey really couldn't handle it, feeling severely impacted.
If Mickey was like this, Carl was naturally no exception...
One must know, the Gallagher family had always been poor. Carl had never seen so much cash...
Honestly, no one could describe the extent to which Carl was shocked, not even Carl himself.
But this was a good thing.
Because this was seeing the world.
For Carl at this age, this kind of exposure, this indescribable impact—if one wasn't careful, it would affect Carl's entire life!
After all, having witnessed with his own eyes large amounts of cash pouring in like this, would Carl still do stupid things for a tiny bit of money in the future?
Just like that.
Mickey and Carl, the big one and the small one, both stared blankly at the scene before them. Until the money box was almost full, Mickey snapped back to reality.
Having received nearly a million dollars in cash and checks, as the unofficial person in charge of Dex Shooting Range, Mickey had to communicate with the person responsible for collecting money, sign off, and transfer the money and checks to the bank immediately.
In fact, the people responsible for collecting money and issuing cards were all staff sent by the bank.
Dexter was a major client of this bank. In America, for a client like Dexter, the bank's service was super attentive.
Soon.
Mickey finished signing.
Four armed escort personnel sent by the bank nimbly transported the money and checks to the armored truck nearby. Then, the armored truck headed straight for the bank.
Mickey watched the departing armored truck, lost in thought again.
Carl was the same.
What is a successful person? Dexter was the fucking successful person that people like Mickey and Carl from the South Side could come into close contact with in real life.
At this moment, Carl desperately yearned to become a successful person like Dexter!
Mickey was no exception.
...
In front of the temporary kitchen.
Tony walked up to Dexter, smiled at him, and greeted, "Mr. Ding."
Dexter returned a brilliant smile. "Tony, you guys have to work hard today."
The party at Dex Shooting Range today was too big. Tony and many other police officers were dispatched to maintain order.
This was work. To be honest, working all day under the sun in the middle of summer was indeed hard. However, there was a perk: even without a card, they could enjoy the food Dexter made to their heart's content.
"What would you like to eat?" Dexter asked with a smile.
"Barbecue, thanks," Tony was still polite and thanked him courteously.
"You're welcome," Dexter replied, turning to greet Kevin who was helping nearby. "Kevin, get some more barbecue for Tony."
Kevin was flying busy in front of the grill. "Coming right up."
Shortly after.
Kevin packed a large bag with over a hundred skewers of barbecue and handed it to Tony. "Tony, grab the beer yourself. Too busy to serve you."
Tony nodded with a smile. "Still on duty, soda is fine. You guys keep busy."
Tony left.
Dexter watched him for a couple of seconds with a smile and sighed softly.
Comrade Tony was actually pretty decent, but influenced by Fiona, he eventually turned gay...
Sigh, bitches cause deep harm.