Chapter 28

"Father, I invited a neighbor over for the evening, is that okay?"

Demi was helping her father carry the barbecue grill and asked him about inviting Jin Hyun-tae, her neighbor, to the evening barbecue.

"Oh, that's great! The more, the merrier. I was going to invite a lot of neighbors anyway, so no problem at all."

Demi's father was a typical middle-aged white man, with dark brown hair, large black-rimmed glasses, and a well-maintained physique, with no beer belly or excess fat, indicating that he was someone who paid attention to his fitness.

In the United States, there is a strange phenomenon: fat people are generally poor, while white-collar workers and the wealthy are rarely fat and maintain good figures.

This is somewhat opposite to the situation in the East, where fat people are mostly rich, and thin people are poor.

The reason is simple: the rich can afford to spend money on fitness to maintain their figures, while the poor, of course, cannot afford to do so.

Moreover, the rich can buy expensive organic food, while the poor can only afford cheap inorganic food or junk food, so they cannot compare with the rich or even the white-collar class.

Demi's father was wearing beach shorts and a black T-shirt, a standard casual outfit for most American men when they are at home.

Demi's mother was also dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, with nothing too outlandish.

When it comes to the dressing style of most Americans, it is generally very casual and relaxed, and even the wealthy can be seen dressed this way in public.

Therefore, Americans are often mocked by Europeans for dressing like country bumpkins.

However, Americans do not take this to heart; they dress for their own comfort and do not care about others' opinions.

Of course, this is during their leisure time. When they go to work or attend important dinners or parties, Americans dress formally.

In general, people dress very casually at home.

"Father, the neighbor I invited is only 16 years old and is already a father," Demi, still a young girl, could not hold back and told her father about it.

"Hmm!? Is he a bad boy?"

Clearly, Demi's father had the wrong idea and thought Jin Hyun-tae was a bad boy.

Demi quickly shook her head and explained, "Not at all, Father! There are complicated reasons. He's a good boy, and you'll understand when you meet him."

Hmph!

Demi's father was not convinced by her explanation.

Being 16 and already a father, what else could he be but a bad boy!

In any case, before meeting Jin Hyun-tae, Demi's father had already formed a negative impression of him.

At that moment, Jin Hyun-tae arrived at Demi's backyard.

Since they were neighbors, it was just a short walk away.

Standing outside the white-painted wooden fence, Jin Hyun-tae, holding his daughter in one arm and a beer in the other, waved and greeted Demi and her father.

Demi, seeing Jin Hyun-tae, immediately left her father and led Jin Hyun-tae to her father.

"Hello, sir. I'm William Jin. You can call me Jin. I live next door, so we are neighbors."

Jin Hyun-tae put down the beer, and Demi took it to the side. Jin Hyun-tae then extended his hand to Demi's father and introduced himself.

Although he wanted to give Jin Hyun-tae a cold shoulder, out of politeness, Demi's father responded.

"I'm Demi's father, Nathalen. You can call me Mr. Nath. That's my wife, Anna, and my eldest son, Jack."

Nath had two children: his eldest son, Jack, who was in college, and his daughter, Demi, who was in the ninth grade.

His wife, Anna, was a full-time housewife.

Following Nath's introduction, Jin Hyun-tae greeted Anna and Jack.

"Come on, kid, help me carry this barbecue grill over there," Nath said without any formality, which was typical of Americans, so Jin Hyun-tae was not uncomfortable, having lived in the United States for almost a year.

Holding his daughter with one hand, Jin Hyun-tae placed the other on the handle of the grill, and together with Nath, they moved the grill to the edge of the garden.

"I heard you're already a father, and you're only 16?"

After setting down the grill, Nath had nothing much to do, as the rest would be handled by the children or his wife. So, he started chatting with Jin Hyun-tae.

Based on the fabricated life experiences provided by the alien elementary school student, Jin Hyun-tae answered Nath. After hearing Jin Hyun-tae's response, Nath finally understood the whole 'situation' and had a better impression of Jin Hyun-tae.

Nath realized that there were more complex factors involved, not just what he had imagined.

"That must have been tough, raising a child on your own."

Nath's tone became much softer and friendlier as he began to see Jin Hyun-tae in a different light.

"It was tough. I was still a student, and balancing school and taking care of a child was challenging," Jin Hyun-tae continued, based on the fabricated experiences.

"So, I had to drop out of school and work two jobs to support myself and my child. I also had to leave the orphanage."

As Jin Hyun-tae spoke, Nath seemed to empathize and patted him on the shoulder.

"Everything for the sake of your child. If I were in your shoes, I might have made the same choice, or even worse."

Nath felt sympathetic towards Jin Hyun-tae's situation.

"It's okay, Mr. Nath. My financial situation has improved a lot. I wouldn't be able to afford to live in this community if it hadn't," Jin Hyun-tae smiled at Nath.

"Oh? What happened?"

Nath looked at Jin Hyun-tae curiously.

Jin Hyun-tae smiled and said, "Nothing much. A novel I wrote in my spare time was picked up by a California publishing house and published. The royalties from the book have helped me get out of financial trouble."

Wow, I didn't know this young man was a writer!

This made Nath look at Jin Hyun-tae with newfound respect.

"Really, you're quite hardworking."

Nath said sincerely.

Jin Hyun-tae sighed and said, "There's no choice. People are pushed to their limits. I have to work hard to improve my life. Besides, I have a daughter, and I have to work hard for her. Overall, I've been lucky. The novel was picked up, or I would have struggled for much longer."

"The novel being picked up is because you wrote well, not because of luck. You're being modest," Nath interjected.

While the two men chatted, Demi and her mother and brother had prepared the barbecue meat and other items, so Demi came over to interrupt their conversation.

"Father, Jin, everything is ready. You can start grilling and chat while you eat."

Hearing this, Mr. Nath looked at Jin Hyun-tae, "Come on, boy, let's go over and eat and chat."

"Come on! I can take care of the baby. I'm good with kids," Demi volunteered to hold Coco.

Seeing his daughter offering to take care of Jin Hyun-tae's daughter, Mr. Nath laughed and said to Jin Hyun-tae, "Leave the baby with Demi. It's fine. My daughter often helps people in the community with childcare to earn pocket money, so she's very good with kids."

Since Mr. Nath had said so, Jin Hyun-tae had no reason to refuse, so he handed the little one to Demi.

The little one, once in Demi's arms, started giggling and began to touch Demi's well-developed chest.

"Ha ha, kids are like that. Demi used to do the same to her mom when she was little," Mr. Nath, having raised two children, smiled with a nostalgic look and revealed a bit of his daughter's past, making Demi blush.

Fortunately, Demi was experienced in taking care of children, so she knew that most kids of Coco's age would do this and did not get angry.

Smiling apologetically at Demi, Jin Hyun-tae followed Nath to the dining table.

Nath introduced Jin Hyun-tae to his family and mentioned that Jin Hyun-tae was a young novelist, which surprised his wife, Anna, and son, Jack, and even Demi.

Nath's wife, Anna, was very热情, constantly inviting Jin Hyun-tae to eat, while his eldest son, Jack, was a seemingly shy young man who did not talk much.

Demi, being responsible for taking care of Coco, focused her attention and energy on the little one.

On the other hand, Jin Hyun-tae and Mr. Nath chatted enthusiastically.

As the barbecue gathering began, Mr. Nath started inviting the neighbors, and they happily brought their families to the Nath's backyard.

According to Mr. Nath, the more people, the more fun, and he loved it!

Thus, more and more people arrived.

Mr. Nath also introduced Jin Hyun-tae to the neighbors, letting everyone know they had a young novelist, a single father, and a 16-year-old boy as a new neighbor.

The rest of the evening was simple: everyone ate barbecue and drank beer, and a group of middle-aged men, including Jin Hyun-tae, started to let loose.

However, Jin Hyun-tae had been accepted by these middle-aged men. According to Nath, since he was already a father, he could not be treated like a boy.

This idea was agreed upon by all the middle-aged men, who were influenced by the alcohol.

Therefore, Jin Hyun-tae became part of the middle-aged men's revelry.

The wives of the guests gathered to chat about gossip, such as who in the community had an affair or whose husband had a mistress. These topics were typical among the housewives in the predominantly white community, though they found them somewhat boring, they enjoyed it.

The children played and frolicked around, having fun.

It was a joyful evening, and Jin Hyun-tae began to understand and gradually integrate into American community life.

Even after drinking too much, Mr. Nath took Jin Hyun-tae and a few close neighbors to a strip club near the community after the party, leading to many amusing incidents...