When he first reached out his hand, David Carter suddenly heard all sorts of whispering voices by his ear, growing louder and louder. David Carter tried desperately to control his body—the beautiful woman was right beside him, and he had to maintain a cool demeanor... But the more he tried to hide the roaring in his ears, the more out of control the noise became, gradually turning into a thunderous rumble. His heart started racing, his breathing quickened, and he felt short of breath and anxious.

When he finally mustered all his strength to hold up the key card to the reader—the card reader didn’t respond.

David Carter showed an expression of “just as I thought.” At this moment, he vaguely heard Julie’s incessant chatter by his ear, the voice sounding as if it came from another world, distant and hollow: “Tch, it’s just a meal, I don’t even want to eat at the hotel, look how anxious you are, what’s the big deal...”

David Carter didn’t respond. He turned around, raised the “temporary exit pass,” and was about to say something to the security guard when he suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded. His hand unconsciously pressed against the card reader, and instantly he felt as if he had entered a tunnel, running wildly through a pitch-black passage. At the end of the tunnel seemed to be a surveillance room, and, strangely, he saw the large screen in the surveillance room flickering nonstop, the images shaking so much that he could barely make out what was on the screen.

At this moment, a security guard sitting at the control desk was slapping the screen with his hand, complaining in frustration: “This thing that takes kickbacks, look, it’s acting up again...”

Immediately after, another voice chimed in: “Careful what you say, is that something we should be saying? We’re just workers, can we say things like that? If word of this got out, anyone could crush us in an instant.”

David Carter closed his eyes and shook his head, immediately feeling his thoughts ebb away like a tide, retreating from the dark tunnel he had entered. A moment later, everything before his eyes returned to normal, and he heard Julie shouting nearby, seemingly scolding the security guard for not doing his job properly, so that the temporary access card hadn’t even been made... and so on.

No one noticed that, at this moment, the Asian mixed-race man sitting on the sofa had already stood up. He put away his newspaper and, as he walked, sent a text message on his phone: “Thor, I think this really is something you’d be interested in. I may have discovered...”

At this point, urged by Julie, the security guard had no choice but to remake the access card... Julie’s argument with the security guard went unnoticed by David Carter, as all his attention was focused on fighting the ringing in his ears and the auditory hallucinations. Fortunately, the newly made access card passed inspection smoothly, and the fuming Julie didn’t notice how pale David Carter’s face had become. When the two of them walked out of the hotel lobby, David Carter finally returned to normal.

Julie was a phone addict, fiddling with her phone nonstop as they walked, browsing the web and constantly sending text messages. In this state, she naturally had no interest in picking a restaurant, so near the hotel, David Carter casually chose a place that looked clean, and the two of them went in and ordered food.

This meal was a depressing one for David Carter, because Julie was completely absorbed in her own world, endlessly texting and posting on Weibo. Halfway through the meal, David Carter finally found a gap and casually asked, “How many Weibo posts can you make in a day? Just now, in this short while, I saw you post at least twenty.”

Julie’s hand froze in midair. She stared at David Carter for a moment, then tapped her screen twice, sent out that Weibo post, put away her phone, and smiled as she made small talk: “True, this meal is on you, so technically this mealtime belongs to you—it’s ‘your moment’... So, what do you want to talk about? But not work, I’m already tired enough at the office, I don’t want to talk about work after hours. Hmm, do you know anything about designer jewelry, clothes, or cosmetics? I mean, have you ever bought these as gifts for a girlfriend? ...Alright, what sports do you like?”

This question, David Carter could answer: “I like playing video games.”

Julie looked very disappointed: “That’s not a sport... I thought you’d at least say you liked hiking.”

David Carter had just been looked down on, but strangely, he didn’t feel humiliated. He just felt indifferent.

Julie was a very well-mannered girl; she understood social etiquette. Since David Carter was treating, she knew this time should belong to David Carter. Even though this wasn’t a fancy meal, and Julie didn’t nitpick about the price or quality of the food, she still acknowledged that this was David Carter’s time and offered a tactful apology—but that was all.

She deliberately emphasized that “mealtime belongs to David Carter,” which was actually a hint that the two of them were unlikely to get closer; after this meal, they would go their separate ways—this underlying meaning was already sensed by David Carter, who had always been good at reading people.

But Julie’s manners only went so far. When she said she thought David Carter liked hiking, it was actually a mild form of disdain—hiking is just walking, the cheapest form of exercise.

It’s said that there’s a rumor circulating in office buildings: when a female white-collar worker goes on a date, she can quickly gauge her date’s financial status and character by asking just ten questions. Among them, “What sports do you like?” is the second “must-ask” question, and the worst answer is “hiking or road trips,” because these activities usually don’t cost much. If a man gives this answer, it means he has some money, but isn’t wealthy, is naturally frugal, or even stingy...