"What are you doing?" The mouth corners of the girl are slightly curve up, and making a teasing or mocking expression as she asked, "What do you think?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlr6b9rlw3J
In an office where everyone wore ties or skirts, a bronzed girl with a huge backpack whom wearing a tight tank top and hot pants stood in front of TinJau. No one could quite associate what kind of relationship these two had.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0ko5isYye
But a sharp-eyed female colleague noticed the hickey and bite marks on the girl's neck, and TinJau look like almost exhausted and dispirited. The coworkers immediately understood.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ8STveIgHR
The girl noticed the commotion around her, and TinJau's face turned red as the commotion escalated. She then made a gesture to TinJau which show "Okay, I've had enough fun, I'll let you go now," and waved the envelope file in her hand.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYJIJ8PVUB
Inside was the material for TinJau's meeting that day.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvouTKuZhw
"...I found a business card in the envelope, not sure if it's yours, but I was free and bored, so I decided to come and find out," the girl explained in a coffee shop which far from the office, "Is this document important?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNoQ5dyBpZr
"Of course, it's important! It's related to my salary adjustment at the end of the year!" TinJau thought for a moment, then added, "Actually, it's just a show for making my annual performance appraisal look better. You ask if it's useful? I would say it's not completely useless. But not implementing the entire plan wouldn't cause much loss to the company. It's just a minor administrative reform within the company, as it could considered as the scope of business management, which will look good on the annual performance appraisal."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPQD6SdHrb
"Okay," the girl nodded satisfactorily.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllyWCepcK4
"I'm sorry, I couldn’t stop talking about company matters. It's all so boring," TinJau said.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0IRxOwfy8
"No, it's okay. I had once been a white-collar worker before, so I understand what you're saying," the girl replied.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9v4XHhmyGP
"Really?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡht7SxRaVYh
"Yes. I may look younger than my actual age. By the way, how old are you?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8i5QFkbR75
"Over twenty-five, under thirty."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9MBQDeA2e
"Then I might be able to be your older sister."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0A6ln5JMn
"Really?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZnnTnZJyQ
She chuckled, looking genuinely mature and not joking.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpDwsFrhea
(If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have thought you were a real "youngster.") TinJau thought to himself.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0dOlR7SsI
"I appreciate your honesty just now, it reminds me the 'real you' presented last night. I thought I would hear a bunch of polite empty words," the girl said.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylGVHXDTdy
"When facing friends unrelated to work, you can always speak a few words of truth," TinJau replied.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcXBH2NCu3
"Sure, sure. You can't tell your boss that everyone's job is fricking boring, right?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxsfofMio3O
"Haha," TinJau thought, trying to change the subject quickly, "By the way, did you just come back from a trip?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfUQeNvGJa
"No, I'm still on my travels. You can tell by the way I'm carrying this backpack everywhere."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhK6PnEI91l
"You're not from here?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQik4weOsci
"Yes and no."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMx3Gm3J8rY
"What do you mean?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAe2WX2jqt
"I was born here and have an ID from here. I left last year and traveled a lot, but now I'm back for some mundane affairs, though I won't stay long."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb85aWl7YCY
"You've been traveling for a whole year? Don't you miss home?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqhWvD8VWz
"This is my home!" she said. She is patting the backpack beside her.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGc4LIpdpK4
"What a big backpack!" TinJau remarked.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJ9SScNzvV
"When you imagine fitting everything from home into it, you'll realize it's never being enough," she replied.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfFbMVw3tS
"I see," TinJau sighed. "You seem to live in a world I can't imagine."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLr4mjy3ffa
"Do you envy it?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JgISHq7Ro
"Are you asking if I want to travel with a backpack like you? No," he said. "But I am curious, don't you have to work?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPuKbSMJ5O
"I'm pretty frugal. When I don't have enough money, I'll do odd jobs. But most of the time, I work just for fun, to experience how locals live."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSKUf6cGdc
"That’s not what I meant. I mean don’t you have a full-time job?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmHotRHZFf
"Ever heard of 'Unpaid leave'? That's the excuse I used to run away initially."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeWBeQs38J
"Is that even possible? What kind of company do you work for?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVD28owgDuH
"If you want, you can request it from your company too."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTjPeVgBQt
"No way! That's not possible."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3kB6BSUd5
"Have you tried?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgj2fpl5Dx
"... Never, actually."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWR8mk3br1
"Then why not give it a shot?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiArXxlnIc
"Why would I want to take a'Unpaid leave”? How do my parents make a living? Will my girlfriend forgive me? Will there still got a position for me when I return to the company?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUbjKod1I8
"But bumming around the world with backpack is your wish."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGIEilnCFh
TinJau’s heart is trembles.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nLh8b7cg3
"When did I say bumming around with backpack is my wish! I might look like I'm tired, I've had three cups of coffee since morning, I'm completely awake now! What I said was, I 'don't' envy your lifestyle! I'm different from you! I can't let go of many things!"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhPyGplEUW
"Why are you going off on me?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixtlsFeVAy
"I'm not..." TinJau also wondered, why was he losing his temper?
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRF0k0qHJbQ
"Why are you going off on me? Answer me."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcIA8bEK2z
"... Yes. I admit I envy your life, your freedom," he shook his head and said with a bitter smile. "What kind of woman are you? Why every word you said seems to pierce my heart?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuiJM7SvqIA
"Isn't it simple? You just need to get the other person drunk the night before."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOyJGbbNNpw
"Is that what I told you after I got drunk last night?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmEqJey3IM
"Didn't I just tell you? You were snuggled against my chest and burst into tears last night, saying you didn't want to force yourself to work anymore. When would you not have to work for money anymore?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkQSxb5RyCG
"That was all just talk in a bad mood, I-"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQyNONy3pRE
"Let me finish. After that, I asked you, what would you do with your time if you didn't have to work? Could you guess how you answered?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rQ8wn4kBO
"... I said I want to bum around with a backpack?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4OeyOuFrd
"You told me that it was the thing you wanted to do the most since junior high. But when you graduated from high school, you were in a passionate relationship with a girl who still in her second year of high school, so you couldn’t make it in that summer. In the following years, you were either busy with part-time jobs, or spent money to go to Tokyo Disneyland with your girl. You always thought you could hit the road immediately whenever you wanted in the future. However, after entering the workforce, you suddenly realized that the opportunity already gone forever."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfUhA79meZ
"... What else did I told you?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiUDZyPzgWx
"You told me that you weren't trying to be cynical or antisocial person. You knew very well that in this society, everyone is struggling just like you. But your effort will eventually pay off. Not to mention the outcome will beneficial to society or anything like that. At least as an adult, having a place in society and using the money you earn to provide a better life for your family, that's what we called a normal life. You completely agree that all this hard work is worth it, you just feel unwilling."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgRd7RGgJV
"Unwilling?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzwjmnPYKH
"You were unwilling to let yourself bury your desire deep in your heart and spent your whole life to hiding it like this. You said you don’t want to travel with a cane after retirement. How could you wander around with a urine bag stuck in your body?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aAgnKcmFD
TinJau couldn't help but laugh. "Did I really say that?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwi5bp6Xk8
"Yes. When you said that, we burst out laughing at the same time and sprayed the wine in our mouth on the bartender."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8eu5jAGFbe
"Really?" TinJau laughed heartily for a while. "Oh, I'm sorry, you... you..."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbLfEIKxTi
"You can call me SiuPui."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbMC9lbumL
"I'm TinJau."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5EIHzKawdr
"I know. Actually, we already introduced ourselves last night."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmr8gVX5Ssv
"Thank you, SiuPui." TinJau snatched the bill and stood up. "You relieved my stress. Just chatting with you make me feel like I've traveled around the world. I have now fulfilled my wishes and I can focus on work again later."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFM4Ham0dQR
"Are you trying to deceiving yourself again?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfIWcyCMJP
"What do you want from me? So what if I feel unwilling? It's not like I'm the only one who is feeling unwilling in this world. I daresay that everyone has some regrets from their youth in their heart, but that's reality! The reality is that I just can't leave everything behind and go bumming around with a backpack. Now I have to rush back to the company to sort out the materials for the meeting, then I can present a report at the meeting two hours later. So that I can strive for a five percent salary raise next year!"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5O1UWllCrc
"What time does the meeting start?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaO6FQYy9SG
"In two hours."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHD0Xz474T
"If you take a taxi back and forth, you should still be able to make it in time."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYIywpvc49
"What on earth are you planning? Are you trying to sell me some new religion? Or are you going to have ‘second round’ with me?”
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPgvZSjwiW
"TinJau, if I say I have the ability to help you achieve your wish, are you willing to sacrifice these two hours you going to spend on preparing for the meeting?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3pNzYzl8L
"Are you kidding me? Are you the daughter of my boss?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoiFw5us87
"Technically speaking, pretty close."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAvb4WzAjl
"...I don't understand."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4CrDyM0mFC
"Listen, TinJau," SiuPui speaking seriously, "I'm now testing how eager you are to fulfill your wish. Let me put it this way, 'I have the ability to help you fulfill your wish of backpacking around without any worries or constraints.' Are you willing to gamble for my word and go with me now?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifWR6sBsD8
"Now? We set off now?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrhKilumym
"Of course not," SiuPui said, "We'll go to the branch of 'LV' first to transfer the membership."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYFG79YCRd
After saying that, SiuPui left the coffee shop without looking back, waved for a taxi. As she expected, TinJau opened the car door of the other side and got in the taxi. (“Spending two hours to buy an impossible dream is actually the same as going to see a movie, instead of buying a movie tickets and popcorn, I paying for a round-trip taxi fare. I still could afford put in such level of effort.”) TinJau try to rationalize his behavior in his mind. ("Besides, the materials required for the report were completed three days ago. Further editing would only go as far as checking for typos and the like. Scratch that.")
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ubaoOqPWM
"Oh, by the way, SiuPui. When you mentioned 'LV' earlier, it can’t be that “LV”, right?"
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbRxFUcZwJ
“Which “LV” are you referring to?” SiuPui asked back.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsP109EJUsj
“Louis Vuitton!” TinJau seems realized and said , "You're not... asking me to buy you something from LV , as a... as..."
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPNsSYEFVN
"As what?" SiuPui asked angrily. TinJau originally wanted to say "as the price for last night," but he instantly realized, if he say it, wouldn’t he treat SiuPui like a prostitute? Once TinJau was glared angrily by SiuPui, he stop talking immediately.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDyZYHbmjO
"What is your understanding of 'Louis Vuitton' then?" SiuPui asked.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkF74ZIBiIy
"...One of the most luxurious brands in the world? Buying a bag would cost me a whole month's salary... something like that?" TinJau replied.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡteOrLCREfV
"After all, that is still something money can buy." SiuPui said.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgDIeIZ28m
"Then what did you mean by 'LV' earlier?" TinJau asked.
114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9aHLcQIcA
" The ‘LV’ I mean is 'Long Vacation'. Don't you think that, for urbanites, giving themselves a long vacation to fulfill all the wishes that they had always wanted to achieve is the most luxurious thing in the world?" SiuPui said.
ns18.117.157.126da2
