【21】This trip is not just a journey, it is more like escaping
In the past, when Liang Zhiyao was looking for internships, he often searched for job keywords on LinkedIn's Jobs section. However, gaining exposure in this specialized job search area actually costs money. Small and medium-sized companies might pay to post a position for a full-time employee, but for interns, this budget is often lacking. Consequently, many companies recruit interns by having employees from the relevant team post a LinkedIn update. These posts, unlike those posted on the Jobs section, are difficult for non-friends or second-degree connections to see. However, once they do see them, the competition is much more intense than for paid-for jobs on the Jobs section. Tan Xu discovered just such a post: a computer science graduate from the same school, three years their senior, was looking for an intern in her group. The post had been posted yesterday, making it highly timely. Liang Zhiyao glanced at the job requirements and found nothing she didn't meet. The requirements even overlapped somewhat with her summer internship, making her a suitable candidate. "You have such a wide range of contacts," she exclaimed in amazement. "A CS senior who graduated last year? That's three years older than us." "I met her at the freshman activities, and we're not that familiar with each other," he shrugged. "So unfortunately, my recommendation won't make much difference. You have to rely on yourself." "It's a great help that you could share this update with me. Actually, I've been sending out resumes on and off before, but there haven't been any responses. However, this position looks really promising." She said, "I'll go and revise my resume right now, and then send a private message - hey, I hope the computer has enough battery left." Liang Zhiyao took the lunch box that Tan Xu had washed, and couldn't wait to go home and put it into action, but was stopped by the other party: "Wait, there's one more thing." She turned and walked away in a hurry, and her arm was subconsciously grabbed by him, but this time he let go quickly without crossing the line. Only a very faint fragrance from his body lingered for a moment. "What?" Tan Xu paused for a few seconds, as if considering his words. "This has nothing to do with finding a job—but are you interested in a road trip to see the maple leaves? We'll leave tomorrow." "Huh?" The subject jumped so quickly that Liang Zhiyao was stunned. A few hours' drive from their city to another state was indeed one of the best places in the country for maple viewing. The entire month of October was the peak viewing period. During class chats, she had heard several classmates discussing a road trip to see the maple leaves. But what did this have to do with her? "Originally, it was Cheng Yan who suggested it. I was planning to find...
In the past, when Liang Zhiyao was looking for internships, he often searched for job keywords in LinkedIn's Jobs section. However, gaining exposure in this specialized job search area requires investment. Small and medium-sized companies might pay to post a position for a full-time employee, but they often don't have the budget for an intern.
For this reason, many companies recruit interns by having employees from the relevant teams post a LinkedIn update themselves. These posts, unlike positions posted on job boards, are difficult for non-friends or secondary connections to see. However, once they do see them, the competition is much more intense than for positions advertised through paid listings on job boards.
What Tan Xu discovered was such a dynamic - a senior girl from the computer department of the same school who was three years older than them was recruiting interns in the help group. The posting date was yesterday, which was very timely.
Liang Zhiyao took a look at the job requirements and found nothing that she did not meet the requirements. In fact, what she had to do was somewhat similar to the work content of her summer internship. It was no exaggeration to say that she was indeed a suitable candidate.
"You have such a wide network of contacts," she exclaimed. "The CS senior who graduated last year? That's three years older than us."
"We met at the freshman event, so we're not that close," he shrugged. "So unfortunately, my recommendation won't be of much use. You still have to rely on yourself."
"Sharing this update with me is a huge help. I've been sending out resumes intermittently without any response, but this position looks really promising," she said. "I'll go edit my resume right now and send a private message—I hope my computer still has enough battery."
Liang Zhiyao took the lunch box that Tan Xu had washed and couldn't wait to go home and put it into action, but was stopped by Tan Xu: "Wait, there's something else."
She turned and walked away in a hurry, and his arm was subconsciously grabbed by her, but this time she quickly let go without crossing the line, leaving only the faint scent of his body lingering for a moment.
"What?"
Tan Xu paused for a few seconds, as if considering how to phrase it. "This has nothing to do with finding a job—but are you interested in a road trip to see the maple leaves? We'll leave tomorrow."
"Huh?" The topic jumped too quickly and Liang Zhiyao was stunned.
It takes a few hours to drive from their city to another state, which is indeed one of the best places in the United States to view maple leaves. The whole month of October is the best viewing period. During class breaks, I heard several classmates discussing driving to see the maple leaves.
But what does this have to do with her?
"Originally, it was Cheng Yan who suggested it. He planned to find two more friends to join us. But when he heard that Liu Siyan also wanted to see the maple leaves, he immediately changed sides," said Tan Xu, feeling somewhat helpless. "So it became just the three of us now."
Now she understood: "So you don't want to be a third wheel, so you drag me in?"
"Not really," he said. "I really wanted to invite you."
Liang Zhiyao didn't buy it: "You really want to invite me, but you ask me the night before you leave?"
"No," Tan Xu shook his head. "We were originally planning to go next weekend, but then there was a sudden power outage. I just talked to them about it, and we decided to change the plan to leave tomorrow so we can all escape together."
“…I see.”
To be honest, Liang Zhiyao was actually a little tempted by this proposal.
Perhaps because of the rumors and the successive blows of unemployment, she suddenly realized that no matter how tight her nerves were, she could not make everything go perfectly according to plan.
Over the past few months, she had clearly tried her best and was exhausted from her studies and various jobs, but she still could not avoid the predicament caused by the unexpected incident. After the blow, she inevitably fell into self-doubt.
The coffee shop's payroll would vanish after two weeks, and the Friday night gambling revenue was also starting to show signs of decline. As more and more people knew about Fortune, fewer and fewer were willing to compete with her. Eventually, this shady income, which she once despised as a side job, would become unsustainable.
When faced with this kind of situation, even the most optimistic person will feel a little hopeless. Since there's still no hope despite all your efforts, why can't you just slack off and take a break?
"I need to think about it," she said. "How many days will you be gone? Tomorrow is Friday. What about classes?"
"I'll be back on Saturday night. All the business school classes tomorrow are canceled, except for one that's been rescheduled for online classes on human-computer interaction. I can listen to it in my Airbnb."
Because of the power outage, Liang Zhiyao's general education class for her teaching assistant tomorrow morning was canceled, which didn't conflict with her schedule. On the contrary, if she stayed home for the weekend, she would have to worry about not only eating and showering, but also charging her phone and computer.
"Then... add me."
Driven by the urge to take a breath and escape reality, she agreed.
Just like that, while she was going upstairs to deliver the meal, she inexplicably learned about an internship opportunity and impulsively agreed to a spontaneous trip. So many things happened that day, and each one was bizarre.
>>
When they set off the next morning, she threw her backpack into the trunk of the Mercedes-Benz, opened the door, and waved the card in her hand at Tan Xu: "I have my driver's license. When you get tired, I can drive."
"Of course I have no problem with that," he said. "How's the internship going?"
"I used the last bit of my computer's battery to submit my revised resume last night," she sighed. "I just realized how competitive even interns are these days—there are so many requirements. Not only do they require technical skills, but they also need to be eloquent and good communicators like you finance majors. Where can I find such versatile people?"
"You are," the man in the driver's seat said calmly, "When you get the offer, remember to treat me to a meal."
"...You're really bold," she laughed. "At least wait until you get an interview invitation."
Interviews for programmers typically involve multiple rounds, and interns are no exception. There's a technical interview that tests coding skills, as well as a behavioral interview that assesses communication skills. If she's lucky enough to make it past the resume round, it'll take at least a dozen days to complete the entire process.
However, for international students like her, the most difficult part of finding an internship is always the resume. Even if she reads the job description and is sure that she is a perfect fit, she may not even get an interview opportunity.
Seeing Liang Zhiyao fall into deep thought as soon as he sat down, and that he was still troubled by the pressure of survival even though he came out to have fun, Tan Xu felt a little helpless.
With a little selfishness, he moved sideways to fasten her seat belt. Their breaths briefly intertwined in the enclosed space. The back of his hand accidentally touched her shoulder, but he quickly withdrew it.
Fortunately, although she was still frightened this time, she did not resist too much and just whispered thank you.
After driving for three or four minutes, they arrived at Cheng Yan's apartment.
Liang Zhiyao originally thought that they had to go to the north to pick up Liu Siyan, but he didn't expect that the two of them would show up together. They probably stayed together last night.
"Let's get out of this damn place!" Liu Siyan put her suitcase in the trunk and quickly got into the back seat. "The power went out yesterday before I even had time to shower. U.S. infrastructure is truly terrible."
This trip wasn't just a journey; it felt like an escape. Their phones and power banks were nearly dead, but thankfully they could charge them in the car. After filling up their tanks nearby, they hit the highway and headed north.
On the first leg of the trip, the three of them chatted in the car and discovered that Liu Siyan and Cheng Yan knew nothing about the rumor-mongering post that had caused a stir a few days earlier and then been quickly deleted. Liang Zhiyao suddenly realized that perhaps his fear had magnified his self-awareness, and that things weren't actually that bad.
While the online post's share, comment, and like count looked impressive, most of them were just casual observers. While this incident was well-known among Chinese students in the computer science department, many students in other majors at the same university had never heard of it. Ultimately, she was a bit scared that day.
Americans are accustomed to driving at the speed limit as the lowest tolerable speed. Tan Xu kept pace with most other cars on the road, and his speed wasn't slow. But he drove very steadily. In many states, drivers can get a driver's license at 16, so Liang Zhiyao guessed that he probably had quite a bit of driving experience.
The two people in the back seat were night owls, unused to waking up so early, and they both fell asleep within half an hour of hitting the road. She gazed out the window, lost in thought, when Tan Xu suddenly asked, "Aren't you going to catch up on some sleep? It was hard to sleep yesterday knowing you'd lose your job."
This is true. She was a little excited after submitting her resume, but she was also anxious about losing her job. She felt complicated and kept lying with her eyes open until it was almost time for bed.
But Liang Zhiyao still shook his head: "Let's not sleep anymore. I will be even more tired after taking a nap during the day, and I still have to drive later."
He nodded, and suddenly asked, "If you don't want to sleep, can you give me some water? I'm a little thirsty."
"Oh, wait a minute then."
She picked up a bottle of water from between the seats, unscrewed the cap and handed it to him. Tan Xu looked ahead at the road, half-groping for it with one hand, but his hand overlapped with hers on the bottle.
His hands were large and warm, with a hint of sweat from gripping the steering wheel for so long. The moment they touched, Liang Zhiyao pulled his hand back as if burned, and the bottle of water instantly tilted, spilling a puddle onto his thigh.
"...I'm sorry." She apologized hurriedly.
The position where the water was spilled was too awkward, and she couldn't wipe it for him. She could only quickly grab a few tissues and hand them over. But then she realized that the other person was holding the water and had no hands to take it, which made her even more embarrassed.
Tan Xu chuckled nonchalantly: "It's okay, there are still a few hours left, it should be dry."
Liang Zhiyao didn't know what to say, so he could only turn his head and continue looking out the window, pretending nothing had happened.
After a morning of driving on the highway, with Liu Siyan not behind the wheel, the three of them each drove for over an hour, arriving earlier than expected. After a quick bite at a fast food restaurant, they headed straight for the first viewpoint.
Before the car even stopped, Liu Siyan excitedly exclaimed, "This is so beautiful!"
I was really shocked the moment I got off the car: this place is not so much a tourist attraction as it is an ordinary road covered with maple trees. However, the more common roads like this are, the more amazing they become when paired with less ordinary natural scenery.
The scene in front of my eyes was like a high-saturation filter in a photo editing software, reflecting a series of brilliant colors.
Cheng Yan soon began to face the most common challenge for boyfriends: taking photos of his girlfriend while traveling. Fortunately, with Liu Siyan's beauty, it was difficult to take a bad photo. They took photos as they walked, stopping occasionally for Liu Siyan to check on their progress. It was a harmonious atmosphere.
Liang Zhiyao also took out a camera from her bag. She bought her Canon when she joined the photography club in high school. She had planned to upgrade it in the next two years, but now it seemed that a new camera was a long way off. She didn't know how much a second-hand Canon was worth. If she couldn't find a job next month, could she sell it to pay the rent?
She was lost in thought when she heard a snapping sound nearby.
She turned around and found that it was Tan Xu taking pictures of her.
"I'm sorry, I took the photo without asking," he said with a faint smile, "but I think it's pretty good. Do you want to see it?"
He was holding a Fujifilm, and his image as a stylish finance guy was very stable. Liang Zhiyao didn't get angry about being photographed without permission, but rather leaned over to take a look out of curiosity.
The photo shows her in profile, with a large aperture and shallow depth of field, resulting in a perfect blur. A field of colorful maple trees stretches out from near to far behind the portrait, shining brightly.
"Just a bit of melancholy expression," he commented. "Like... a poet?"
She suddenly found it a little funny: it turns out that worrying about livelihood would be interpreted by people with abundant material resources as literary and artistic melancholy, which is a bit like the saying "Why not eat meat porridge?"
However, Liang Zhiyao soon stopped thinking about these things.
Tan Xu was holding a camera in his hand. She leaned in to look at the photo, and only after seeing it did she realize that this posture looked like being embraced by the other person's hand.
They were so close that their arms touched and then separated. The delicate woody perfume he wore drifted over again. Perhaps after a few times of sniffing it, my brain had already passively accepted it and it didn't seem strange at all.
Not too annoying, but a bit disorienting.
“…Yeah, it’s a good shot.”
She took a step aside unnoticeably, bringing the two of them back to a safe social distance.
Author's Note
Reversible light path
author
07-17
The heroine needs to take a breath -w- and then slowly open up
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
