American Adventure: My Uncle is Don Quixote

"But they can’t just leech off you so blatantly," Jin Heon said, looking at the screen. The person seemed a little familiar. "Should I hire some people to warn her off?"

"Hire people for what?"

Anya’s voice came from the entryway. She had just walked in.

"A bunch of people are leeching off my fame, making up scandalous rumors about me," Li Wei said with a smile. "Want to come take a look?"

"Sure... First, help me with my things," Anya said, walking in with two large shopping bags. "I went shopping on Fifth Avenue today. I’m so, so, so tired."

With that, she casually dropped the bags on the floor, kicked off her high heels, and plopped down right next to Li Wei.

"What was that about online trolls?" she asked. "Is someone messing with you again?"

She had secretly helped Li Wei handle PR issues before. But later, as Li Wei’s fanbase grew and the voices of support became louder, and with Jin Heon joining as his publicist, she had gradually eased up and hadn’t done anything like that since (Chapter 136).

Jin Heon handed her phone to Anya.

Anya took the phone and started scrolling through the female influencers’ posts one by one.

"Tsk," she said after a moment, handing the phone back to Jin Heon. "What a bunch of ugly freaks."

’I actually think that fitness influencer is pretty cute,’ Jin Heon thought silently, not daring to say it out loud.

Anya pretended to be unbothered, fiddling with her own phone for a moment for show, before suddenly putting it down again.

"Nope," she said. "I can’t let this go."

"Hm?" Li Wei looked at her. "What are you going to do?"

"Make them delete their posts and apologize, of course!" Anya said, full of righteous indignation. "What’s the meaning of this? People like them think they can just glom onto you? As if they’re worthy?"

"Especially that last one," she said, covering her eyes with one hand but not stopping her tirade. "If I look at it for one more second, my brain will explode. My god, is that even human?"

"That’s a transgender black person," Jin Heon clarified. "Biologically male, but identifies as female."

"He’s a chimpanzee that likes to wear a bra," Anya concluded without looking up. "Hey, Aunt Tatyana (Chapter 136), it’s me again... Yes, help me look into these people. I want them to delete their posts. If they won’t, then send them—no, *them*—a letter from my lawyer."

After hanging up, her anger still hadn’t faded.

"What are you smiling at?" she asked, looking at Li Wei.

"I don’t think it’s a big deal," Li Wei said with a shrug. "It’s all fake anyway."

"I don’t care if it’s fake! UGH, AHHH!" Anya suddenly shuddered. "The thought of people lumping me in with them to discuss your taste in women just makes my skin crawl."

"I need a shower to wash off this filth." With that, she stood up and padded off in her slippers toward Li Wei’s master bathroom.

...

Less than two days later, Tatyana called Anya back.

"Miss Anya," she said, her voice tinged with difficulty, "I’ve contacted a few of the accounts with smaller followings, and they’re willing to delete their posts. But the bloggers with larger fanbases are proving more difficult to handle."

"Why?" Anya frowned.

"They’re signed with MCN companies," Tatyana explained. "The decision to delete posts isn’t in their hands. These MCNs operate by capitalizing on this kind of borderline controversy. If we use strong-arm tactics to pressure them, they might just spin it against us for more publicity."

Anya tapped her forehead, feeling a slight headache coming on.

’If this were in Central Asia, the Middle East, or the CIS region, it would be so much easier to handle.’

’Unfortunately, her reach didn’t extend that far in the United States of America. Suppressing some run-of-the-mill trolls or haters was one thing, but she couldn’t act rashly when dealing with influential social media companies.’

’This wasn’t something money alone could solve, especially with all the talk about so-called ’freedom of speech’ these days. If she was found out, the backlash could easily spread to Li Wei, and that would be bad.’

"Let’s think of another way," Anya said sullenly. "Keep me updated on any progress."

With that, she hung up the phone.

"What’s wrong?" asked Elizabeth, who was sitting across from her. "Something on your mind?"

「Serendipity 3, 3:00 PM」

This ice cream parlor was an old haunt for Anya and Li Wei; the two of them came here often in high school (Chapter 139). It was also Lily’s favorite ice cream shop.

Anya and Elizabeth were sitting across from each other in a booth by the window, two servings of ice cream on the table.

The two women’s bodyguards sat a short distance away.

In front of Anya was a huge pistachio sundae piled high with whipped cream and crushed nuts, a third of which she had already devoured.

Elizabeth had two scoops of vanilla ice cream in front of her. She took a small spoonful and shivered slightly.

"Those annoying, clout-chasing influencers," Anya muttered.

Elizabeth nodded. "I have a question," she said, putting down her spoon and pulling her cashmere cardigan tighter around herself. "It’s only eight degrees outside. Why are we eating ice cream in March?"

"Because it’s delicious," Anya said without looking up. "Is there a law in the United States of America against eating ice cream in March? I eat it in Moscow when it’s twenty below zero."

"Do you Russians have anything other than alcohol and antifreeze running through your veins?" Elizabeth asked, shaking her head.

"Pretty much."

Anya got a big nut in her spoonful and hummed a little tune, her eyes crinkling in satisfaction.

"No wonder Lily likes you so much," Elizabeth said with a smile, charmed by Anya’s cheerful demeanor. "The last time I was at Li Wei’s house, I noticed his freezer was stuffed with ice cream."