Picking the Golden Romance

new York
When Nick was lazily leaning on the old leather sofa at home, correcting the student's term paper, Rachel carefully said: "So... what was it like when we stayed at your parents' house? Did we sleep in the same room? ? Or...will they be upset?"

Nick looked up. "Well... I guess we'll be sharing the same room—"

"Guess, or are you sure?"

"Don't worry, when we get there, everything will be taken care of."

"Properly handled".Normally Rachel would have found Nick's British vagueness charming, but in this case it was a little frustrating.

Nick also felt his girlfriend's uneasiness, got up and walked to where she was sitting, and kissed her forehead lightly: "Don't be nervous, my parents are not the kind of people who care about sleeping arrangements."

Rachel tried to bring her mind back to what she was reading on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Southeast Asia Travel Advisory website, but still couldn't help but wonder if Nick was telling the truth.

As she sat quietly, bathed in the blue light of the laptop, Nick couldn't help but admire his girlfriend's beauty, the kind that didn't fade even after a long day at work.How could he be so lucky?Her whole body—from the still moist skin after a morning jog at the beach, to the obsidian-like black hair that grew to her collarbone—created a natural and simple beauty, which was different from those around him who dressed up all day long. The girls on the red carpet are very different.

Rachel caressed her upper lip absently with her index finger, frowning slightly, and Nick knew exactly what this gesture meant.What is she worried about?
Since inviting Rachel to a vacation in Asia the other day, her questions have been popping up one after another: where are they going to live?What gift should she bring to his parents?How did he mention her to them?Nick wished she could stop her bright, analytical mind from imagining what would happen on this trip.

He was beginning to think that perhaps Astrid was right.

Astrid is not only his cousin, but also his closest confidante.He had first mentioned the idea of ​​taking Rachel back to Singapore on the phone with her a week earlier.

"First of all, you know that doing this will bring your relationship to another stage in an instant, right? Are you sure you've thought it through?" Astrid asked bluntly.

"No, oh... maybe! We're just going on summer vacation."

"Come on, Nicky, it's not as simple as 'just going on summer vacation'. Girls don't think that way, you know it very well. You have been dating seriously for almost two years. You are 32 years old this year, but until now, You've never brought a girl home. It's a big deal, and everyone will think you're going to—"

"Please..." Nick warned, "don't say the word that starts with 'ㄐ' (pinyin j)."

"Look! You know exactly what people are thinking. Most importantly, I assure you, Rachel will definitely feel that way."

Nick sighed and thought: Why does everything have to mean something?This happens whenever he tries to see things from a woman's point of view.Maybe he shouldn't call Astrid to discuss it at all. Although she is only six months older than him, she occasionally gets too involved in the role of "big sister". That side of everything.

"I just want Rachel to get acquainted with the world I live in, nothing more," he tried to explain. "Maybe, I also want to see how she reacts."

"You mean our family?" Astrid said.

"Not just our family, but my friends, Singapore and stuff. Can't I just have a nice vacation with my girlfriend and stop making it diplomatic?"

Astrid paused, thinking about the current situation.This is the most serious time her cousin has been in a relationship with a girl. Even if he doesn't want to admit it now, she knows that at least in his subconscious, he has already taken the most critical step - the road to marriage.But this step must be taken with caution.

Is Nicky really ready for a landmine he might detonate?He is likely completely unaware of the complexity of the environment he grew up in - maybe because he was the grandmother's precious grandson, he has been raised under her umbrella; or Nick has lived in a country outside of Asia for too long up.However, in their world, it is not acceptable to bring an unknown girl home without warning.

"You know I think Rachel is great, I mean it. But once you bring her home, your relationship changes, whether you want it or not. I'm not worried about whether your relationship will be tested ——I know it must be fine. I'm worried about other people's reactions, and you know how small Singapore is, and you know how things are going—" Astrid's voice was suddenly covered by the intermittent sound of the siren without.

"What's the noise, where are you now?" Nick asked.

"I'm on my way," Astrid replied.

"Singapore?"

"No, I'm in Paris."

"What? Paris?" Nick wondered.

"Yeah, I'm in Berry Street now, and I just had two police cars drive by."

"I thought you were in Singapore, sorry for calling you so late - thought it was morning over there."

"It's okay, it's only one thirty in the morning, and I'm on my way back to the hotel."

"Is Mike with you?"

"No, he's on a business trip to China."

"What are you doing in Paris?"

"It's my annual spring outing!"

"Oh, yes."

Nick remembered that Astrid went to Paris every April to shop for new clothes.He had met her once before in Paris by chance...

I still remember the day he sat in the Saint Laurent fashion house on the Avenue Marceau for ten hours, drinking Diet Coke to fight jet lag.He watched as three female tailors surrounded Astrid, while she stood in meditation, motionless, as if she was showing an invisible fashion dress.It seemed to Nick both boring and charming.He felt that she was like a baroque
The figure who steps out of the painting - a Spanish princess from the seventeenth century who was forced to undergo an ancient costume ceremony.Astrid later told him that it was a "particularly uninspired season" and that she bought "only" a dozen dresses that spring and spent millions of euros...

Nick couldn't imagine how much money she would squander if no one was around to stop her this time.

"I miss Paris, I haven't been there in ages. Remember that crazy trip we used to have with Eddie?" he asked.

"Ouch, don't remind me! That's the last time I'll share a room with that guy!" Astrid shuddered, thinking she'd never get that Hong Kong cousin and a guy out of her mind. The pictures of strippers with disabilities together, and those chocolate puffs.

"Are you staying in George V's Penthouse this time?"

"same as usual."

"You are really an inertial animal, it is easy to kill you."

"Can you try it?"

"Let me know next time you're in Paris. I might surprise you by flying over with my assassination weapon."

"Would you knock me down, put me in a bathtub, and kill me with sulfuric acid?"

"No, for you, I will choose a more elegant way."

"Come on then, I'll be here until early May. Aren't you going on spring break soon? Why don't you bring Rachel here for the weekend?"

"I thought about it too, but the spring break was last month. Temporary assistant professors like us don't have extra holidays, but Rachel and I have no classes for the whole summer, so I want to take her and me Let's go back together."

Astrid sighed: "You know exactly what happened the moment you brought her to Changi Airport, right? You also know that when Mike and I first appeared in public together, I was very angry with him. How intense was the bashing?—that was five years ago, and he's not used to it yet! Do you really think Rachel is ready for this? How about yourself?"

Nick didn't speak.He listened to everything Astrid said, but he had already made up his mind.He was ready, he had loved Rachel so much that he couldn't help it, and now it was time for the world to know that she existed.

"Nicky, how much does she know?" Astrid asked.

"what do you know?"

"It's about our family."

"Not much, she has only met you, and thinks you have good taste in shoes, and your husband dotes on you very much, that's all."

"You might want to tell her a little more," Astrid said with a smile.

"What do you want to tell her?" Nick asked lightly.

"Listen, Nicky," Astrid's tone became serious, "you can't ask Rachel to come home with you without knowing anything, you have to prepare her, understand? "