Chapter 403 Vivid Imagination
'No skills? Just winging it?' Joshua thought Luann was pulling his leg. But after mulling it over, he decided not to change his investment plans. 'Whatever. Luann's got some kind of magic touch, maybe her gut feeling's on point.'
"Joshua," Luann called him over and handed him a document.
Joshua skimmed through it and said, "What the heck is this?"
Luann just shrugged, "Take your time to figure it out."
The document wasn't super thick, maybe a hundred pages, but it was packed with tech jargon and formulas.
Joshua tucked it away. Before the workday wrapped up, he snuck out of the office, skipped the parking lot, and flagged down a cab. Just as he was about to hop in, a grimy hand grabbed him. "Heading home?"
Joshua froze, turning to see Hill, who always seemed to find him no matter where he was.
"No, got some business to handle, meeting to attend," Joshua said through gritted teeth.
Hill smirked. "You sure you're not lying to me?"
"Why would I lie? If I was going home, I'd drive my own car, right?" Joshua's logic was solid.
The cabbie chimed in, "You getting in or what?"
"Yeah," Joshua said, moving to get in.
But then Hill said, "Alright, I'll wait for you at your place."
Joshua looked frustrated. "I borrowed some money from you once, do you have to be so clingy about it?"
"I'm not holding a grudge; I just think you're cool and wanna be friends."
"But I don't wanna be friends with you," Joshua snapped. "Look at you, always dirty and messy. How can I hang out with someone like that?" He slammed the car door shut.
Hill didn't follow. She hung her head, her hair hiding her face.
Joshua couldn't help but glance back a few times, thinking, 'No way. Did I just go too far and hurt his feelings? Nah, he can't be that sensitive.'
Ten minutes later, Joshua said, "Turn the car around."
When he got back, Hill was sitting in her makeshift throne, a nest of ragged clothes. She was drawing circles in the dirt with a stick.
"Guess I nailed the beggar look, even Joshua thinks I'm a poor person," Hill muttered, snapping the stick and sending dust into her eyes. Tears welled up and fell to the ground.
Seeing this from a distance, Joshua frowned. "Damn, I really did go too far."
"I actually made a guy cry, must've hit him where it hurts," Joshua sighed, realizing he needed to dial back his sharp tongue.
"Hey." A pair of shiny, polished shoes appeared in front of Hill. She didn't expect Joshua to come back.
Joshua grabbed her arm and pulled her up. Her eyes were still red, looking all kinds of pitiful. "Why are you crying? I didn't mean to diss you earlier. I get it, you must be begging 'cause things are rough at home. No place to stay, not enough to eat, always relying on others. Life must be tough, huh?"
Hill stared at him blankly. "Huh?"
"Alright, stop pretending, I saw it all!" Seeing Hill's innocent expression, Joshua thought she was too proud to admit she was crying.
Hill slowly realized Joshua had totally misunderstood.
"Come on, let's go back. I'll take care of your meals." Joshua dragged Hill to the parking lot.
Although Hill didn't know exactly where things went sideways, as long as the result was what she wanted, it was cool.
On the way back, Hill sat in the passenger seat, surprisingly quiet.
Joshua felt a pang of guilt, thinking, 'Usually chatty Hill is now silent, must be feeling down.'
As soon as they got home, Joshua ordered a bunch of takeout and told Hill to clean up.
When Hill came out after a shower, wearing oversized clothes and slippers, the takeout had already arrived. She sniffed and hurried over, her short, wet hair still dripping.
Joshua said, "Hey, didn't you dry your hair?"
Hill replied, "The weather's not cold, it'll dry soon."
Joshua frowned. "Do you never dry your hair after washing it?"
As soon as he asked, Joshua realized he had asked the wrong question. This poor girl didn't even have a place to stay, let alone afford a hairdryer.
"Yeah." Hill answered naturally. Back home, the servants always dried her hair, so she never needed to do it herself.
With mixed feelings, Joshua started opening the takeout boxes one by one, eating absentmindedly.
"This looks good, let me try." As soon as Hill said that, she took a bite of the pie Joshua had barely touched.
Joshua's eyes widened, pushing her away. "What are you doing? Man, isn't this gross?"
If it were a sweet and naive girl eating his food, Joshua would naturally be more than happy.
Hill rubbed her head, looking pitiful. She had figured out that Joshua was a soft-hearted guy with a vivid imagination. "I knew it, you say you don't mind, but deep down you look down on my poor background. What's wrong with sharing food? Don't good buddies do this too? I can tell from your reaction that you think I'm still dirty after the shower, not worthy of touching your food. Forget it, thanks for taking care of me all this time. I should go."
