"Ahh, that feels amazing!" Jiang Hai stretched lazily and slowly sat up from his white jade bed.
At first, sleeping on this bed had been a real pain.
Jiang Hai had been used to soft mattresses since childhood, so suddenly switching to something this firm was difficult. But after so many days, he had grown accustomed to it—and now, it actually felt great. Not only did it improve the efficiency of his spiritual energy absorption, but more importantly, the hardness of the bed left no stiffness in his neck or lower back. It was unexpectedly comfortable.
Tossing the towel from his body aside, Jiang Hai wandered into the bathroom in just his shorts. He turned on the faucet and glanced in the mirror—his beard had grown again without him even noticing.
He washed his face, brushed his teeth, worked up a bit of foam in his mouth, then carefully shaved with a razor. Ten minutes later, he looked neat and refreshed. As for facial cleansers? Jiang Hai had never bothered with those.
Flashing himself a bright smile in the mirror, he welcomed the start of a new day.
He threw on a familiar loose tank top and a pair of shorts—his usual manor attire—and strolled out of the villa in a relaxed, swaying gait.
Just as he reached the door, he saw Bernice returning from her morning workout.
She wore a black athletic crop top—something like what women in fitness scenes wore in movies. Really, it was just a slightly longer sports bra. When Jiang Hai called it a "tank top," you could guess the style: sleeveless, slightly revealing, exposing her toned midsection, which now glistened with beads of sweat.
Her shorts were tight, not much longer than hotpants. Jiang Hai didn't see any legendary markings, but her long, slender legs were on full display. Her hair was tied neatly behind her head, and as she wiped sweat from her brow and removed her earbuds, she looked up and froze for a second upon seeing Jiang Hai.
"Living too comfortably, aren't we? No work today, and not even going for a run?" she teased after a brief pause.
Ignoring him after that jab, she walked past into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and pulled out a bottle of fresh milk. The milk came from a neighboring farm. Although Jiang Hai's own farm had plenty of Angus calves, he wasn't interested in their milk—just the meat. So he hadn't bothered with dairy production.
He had considered raising a few dairy cows for personal use but wasn't planning anything on a large scale. In fact, he had arranged with Robbins Garcia to jointly purchase this year's cows soon. He'd just pick out a few for himself then.
Bernice, sipping slowly, managed to drink nearly half the bottle in no time before finally setting it down.
"Running? If I feel like it, I run. If not, I don't," Jiang Hai said nonchalantly, scratching his belly before slouching onto the living room sofa. He turned on the TV and started channel surfing.
It was still early—nothing but morning news and reruns.
Lately, Jiang Hai had grown fond of American TV shows. He had watched some back in China, but honestly, he hadn't been a big fan. The protagonists often felt too weak.
Take Prison Break, for example—intense at first, but it started to lose the plot by the third season.
Or The Walking Dead, often hailed as the ultimate doomsday survival guide—Jiang Hai couldn't handle how bleak it was. The main character was killed in the first episode, and later he supposedly lost a hand. Jiang Hai didn't like shows where the protagonist wasn't invincible.
Before coming to the States, the hottest American show in China had been Game of Thrones.
It was impressive—high production value, great visuals, with budgets that could rival entire Chinese films. The plot was bold and unpredictable—any character might die at any time.
And of course, there were some... ahem... not-so-family-friendly scenes. Like that infamous first-episode moment between the queen and her brother in a tower. It caught every otaku's attention instantly.
But after a few episodes, Jiang Hai lost interest. He couldn't figure out who the main character was—was it the bastard son or his father? It was too confusing, and he gave up.
Now that he was in America, he had access to tons of shows and would occasionally watch when he had free time. Lately, he'd been following Arrow from DC, as well as The Strain and Falling Skies.
Falling Skies happened to be airing now—it was another post-apocalyptic show, but this time the world was invaded by aliens rather than zombies. The action scenes were far more exciting than the budget effects back in China.
"What's so interesting about that stuff? You busy tonight? If not, come to the movies with me," Bernice said as she strolled over with her milk, glancing at the TV.
"The movies? What's playing?" Jiang Hai blinked. It had been a long time since he last went to a theater. The last time might've been The Founding of a Republic, and that was with his buddies back when his parents were still alive.
After they passed, he hadn't felt like watching anything for a long time. Now, when Bernice mentioned it, he was briefly taken aback—but interested.
"No idea. We'll see when we get there," Bernice replied with a roll of her eyes.
Jiang Hai shrugged. He had no problem going—he just wasn't sure what time she had in mind.
After watching TV for a while, Jiang Hai got up to make breakfast. When it was ready, Darlene, Marian, Xiaoya, and even Bernice—who had gone back to nap—got up to eat. During breakfast, Jiang Hai brought up Bernice's movie idea.
Unfortunately, Xiaoya had no interest in such "unwholesome" places. Darlene and Marian said none of the current movies appealed to them, so they passed. In the end, only Jiang Hai and Bernice were on board. He shrugged—so be it.
After breakfast, Jiang Hai and his friends headed to the winery. While there was no more grape picking or stomping to do, they still wanted to see if they could help.
Upon arrival, they did a few small tasks under Dulles Gerald's direction.
Jiang Hai also informed Aphra about the movie plan with Bernice that evening. She didn't say much—he just hoped she understood what he meant.
After lunch at the winery, they returned to the manor. Jiang Hai suggested going to the movies in the afternoon, but Bernice said she had an article to revise, so they agreed on the evening instead.
Before long, night fell. Around five, Bernice emerged from her room. After dinner with the others, Jiang Hai drove his prized vehicle and took her to the cinema in Winthrop.
In the U.S., movie theaters had been privately run for a long time. If a town had people, someone would open a cinema. Compared to watching movies at home, Americans much preferred the theater experience. It was a difference in consumer habits.
Nowadays, young people in China also liked going to the cinema, but you wouldn't see many over-fifties there.
People Jiang Hai's parents' age rarely bothered with the theater—why pay for something you could just watch at home?
But here in the States, from toddlers to ninety-nine-year-olds, everyone enjoyed going to the movies.
Winthrop wasn't big, but it had a couple of theaters. One was small and cheap, the other larger and more expensive. The bigger one showed all the major new releases from North America, while the smaller one targeted younger audiences with couple-friendly seating—and films that were definitely not for the elderly or under-18s.
Both theaters had their audiences and were doing well. In fact, the recent tourist influx had caught the attention of other businesses. Mayor Wallis had even mentioned talks with a major cinema chain about opening in Winthrop. Jiang Hai wasn't sure if it would happen, but if it did—hey, more rent income for him.
That evening, Jiang Hai and Bernice headed to the larger theater.
They might be a man and a woman, but since they weren't actually in that kind of relationship, there was no reason to choose the small, intimate cinema.
Upon arrival, they found the place bustling—not just locals, but plenty of tourists, including quite a few from China.
After all, many Hollywood films couldn't be imported into China due to strict quotas. Movies like World War Z never made it past the censors—but here, Jiang Hai could watch whatever he wanted.