After finishing the sumptuous and somewhat confusing dinner, Lynch and Catherine bid farewell to Ms. Trish and returned to Lynch's residence.
"What do you think of the dinner tonight?"
Nestled on the sofa, Catherine asked while munching on an apple. She wanted to hear Lynch's opinion.
The meal that night was indeed very artistic. It was clearly a simple grilled fish steak, but the chef had arranged it into a whale that was breathing on the surface of the sea.
The fish steak was the body of the whale. They also used the skin of some kind of fish. After a simple frying, it was spread on the top half of the fish steak. It looked like the greenish-black back of the whale.
The soup used to accompany the meal was paired with some vegetable leaves. It looked very artistic, and the fragrance was not bad.
But the taste … Just like what those gourmets said, without considering the taste, it was indeed a good dinner.
Lynch said without hiding anything, "I'm not full. The portion is too small."
The girl also laughed when she heard that, "Yes, the portion is too small. I feel like I can still eat a little."
Perhaps it was to create that kind of image. Every type of food was more important than filling the stomach, but more of it was used to express the image.
Lynch looked at Catherine, "What kind of scone do you want?"
"Onion and beef!"
The girl was a little surprised, "Add more cheese!"
Lynch nodded and asked the sergeant to order a few scones.
The so-called scones were actually pizzas from another world, but in this world, their name wasn't pizza, but "cheese round cake." After simplifying it, it was a scones, a very common food used to fill one's stomach.
When Catherine and Lynch were still living together, being able to order a scone was equivalent to a big meal. After all, for them who could only afford to eat cheap food processed in the supermarket, 4 yuan and 99 cents of a scone was not cheap.
Every once in a while, Catherine would order one to comfort herself and Lynch. People would always intermittently want to eat something.
She leaned on Lynch's shoulder and looked at the dark night outside the window as if reminiscing about something.
Lynch did not disturb her. After a while, her attention retracted from her aimless and scattered thoughts and focused on Lynch.
"Do you really think that one day, women can also walk on the political stage?"
She asked a little abruptly, as if she was full of confusion about her future, "I mean, can we really walk to an important position and not become a vase?"
During this period of her internship in the presidential palace, she felt that this country, especially the high-level government, was still quite discriminated against women.
There were no women in the hundreds of seats in the Congress. There were no women in the high-level government cabinet. There were indeed some women in the presidential palace, but these women were doing the most ordinary jobs that could be replaced at any time.
There was no woman in an important and irreplaceable position, which was very discouraging.
She even found some other things that society did not understand. For example, one of the most successful affirmative action programs in the women's rights movement for so many years, the military, had a huge problem.
In the beginning, someone used the saying "only men can protect the country, so men dominate the society" to attack some of the ideas of the women's rights organization. The women's rights organization fiercely fought back.
If men could be soldiers, then women could be soldiers too!
Therefore, the Federation military had a female soldier class. Yes, a "female soldier" class.
They did similar training to the male soldiers and did not lag too much behind in some projects. At that time, society also gave very positive reports.
But in reality, some of the situations were very bad.
Not long ago, Catherine also came across a report from the Ministry of Defense, which talked about the problem of sexual assault in the military.
Because the military was a relatively closed field and was quite dictatorial, the absolute obedience of subordinates to superiors could easily breed something that should not be bred.
For example, some female soldiers were asked to take a bath with their male partners, live in the same barracks, and even other excessive requirements. These problems were not disclosed.
After reading it, her heart stopped for half a beat. Every word and line of description that was blurred out made people have a fearful imagination.
Women, after all, did not occupy a dominant position in this society. Not to mention being strong, even being weak was an extravagant hope.
Could they really stand up?
Catherine was very doubtful.
As if he could feel some changes in Catherine's inner emotions, Lynch did not immediately give her an answer. He thought seriously for a while and said slowly, "Of course they can!"
His tone was not strong, but it was full of unwavering strength.
"This is a trend that no one can stop. One step ahead is one step ahead of an era!"
Others might not be so sure about these things, but Lynch was, after all, "experienced". Even some "deserts" were conquered in the end, let alone here in the Federation, a country where the air was sweet and free.
The girl did not continue speaking. She just sat quietly.
This was not a job she liked, but she realized that if she did not want to fall behind, she had to do this.
Sometimes, some things had to be decided.
"Do you like your current life?"
The girl asked after a while.
Lynch did not answer immediately. Instead, he thought seriously for a while. "I don't hate my current life. This is enough for us."
"If you want to see the scenery at the top of the mountain, you have to bear the fatigue of climbing. If there is a reward, there must be a sacrifice."
"No matter what you choose, I will support and respect your decision. This is not forced, but I think it should be the best choice."
"The best choice may be the one we dislike the most!"
The girl was silent for a while and did not talk about this topic. She talked about some of the recent changes.
"Do you know, my former classmates always tried to contact me. They actually wrote me letters and sent them to the presidential palace!"
Perhaps she had already made a decision in her heart, or she did not want Lynch to worry about her, the topic she chose was more or less interesting.
Of course, she also sighed. "Some of them are people I don't know. I can't even match their names with their faces, but they were very kind in their letters."
"Life is always so unexpected. And my brother, if you haven't forgotten him …"
Back then, it was Catherine's brother who came to take her away. He was not her biological brother, but her uncle's son. He could be considered her cousin, but the people of the Federation did not care about this. If it was not an elder brother, then it was a younger brother. There was no such complicated address.
Lynch nodded. "I remember him. He's a little annoying."
Catherine laughed out loud. "Yes, it's him. He also called me and wanted to find a job here. Everyone thinks that I'm an omnipotent little witch. With a wave of my magic wand …" She raised her hand and made a waving motion. "… everything is solved."
Ever since Catherine went on TV and people found out that she had been interning at the presidential palace, she had become a "big shot" in the eyes of the people around her.
To be able to meet the president every day, what was she if not a big shot?
Therefore, some people wanted to build a relationship with her. If she could put in a good word for herself in front of the president, what could she not get?
These changes also made Catherine confused for a moment, but she soon found a direction from the confusion. These people wanted to be affectionate not because of her, but because of her job.
People lived a very realistic life. Those who had never spoken to her tried their best to show off in order to have a little bit of power. This was probably why people were so passionate about power, right?
Everyone held her in high regard. That kind of feeling was actually not bad.
Not long after, the sergeant came back with the scones. There were several of them, and he and the other bodyguards also had a share.
Lynch was not a mean boss. Everyone ran over to thank Mr. Lynch for his generosity, then took a piece and returned to their posts.
It wasn't that they couldn't afford the scones. Catherine knew very well that everyone's salary was enough for them to eat the scones until they were full. It was just that this kind of "boss treat" scones were not so easy to eat. It was not just scones, it also contained the kindness of the boss.
It was just like … The president's scones. It was an honor to be able to eat them.
The two people who had achieved the freedom of cheese only ate the heart of the scones and the top of the scones, throwing the edges back into the carton.
They watched TV and discussed some plots. Most of the time, Catherine was talking, and Lynch was listening. He didn't watch TV much.
Inexplicably, this scene seemed to overlap with a moment in the past in their memories. Just like that, they lived in that small room, ate cheap junk food, and argued about some TV plots until their faces turned red.
Now, they ate better food and lived in a better environment, but there was no noise.
The night was silent.
The next day, Lynch went to the financial center after sending Catherine to work. They hadn't seen each other for more than two months, and Lyme had become much more docile.
He didn't believe that Lynch had caused him to suffer a huge loss. He threw all the money he had earned since he started working for Lynch.
This also made him realize that his experience might be useful to the bottom of the financial industry, but for the big players, it was still too naive.
In order to avoid risks, they would break up a company and then file for bankruptcy. Whether the other party sued or not, they would start the legal process first and drag the bankrupt company into the lawsuit.
A company worth tens of millions or hundreds of millions was gone just like that. It was like a bubble that could be popped.
Lyme, who had always been at the bottom, had never seen this kind of play. He not only lost, but lost miserably. This tuition fee ruined all his hard work for the past two years.
Fortunately, he was able to actively recognize his mistakes and get close to Lynch again. That way, he still had a place in Bob's.