Chapter 15 — Language is Wings

"Translation is not a word game. A wrong number in the contract... could be tens of millions. Seriousness is the minimum."

After the meeting, a young girl named Trieu Lam approached.

“Director Lam, do you really know eight languages?”

"Can you teach me? I want to learn French."

"Okay. Every day after work, half an hour."

Her eyes lit up. The next day, the number of people enrolled increased to five. In less than a month, the quality of the entire room improved significantly. Looking at the monthly report, Trinh Hao Nam told Tran Vu Phi:

“Should have let Lam Dao come up early.”

Tran Vu Phi just smiled wryly. Dong Thinh project enters phase three. Co Than Chau called.

“Director Lam, congratulations on your promotion.”

“Thirty-five thousand?”

“I said eighty thousand.”

“Still not considering?”

"Not yet. But thank you... for everything. The business card, the US project, and that day in Berlin."

“You don't need to thank me.” He stopped for a moment.

“That's not helping.”

“So what is it?”

“It's what I want to do.”

I said nothing.

“Are you free this weekend?”

"Dinner. No talk about work."

On weekends, he came to pick me up. A very ordinary gray car. Not like my picture of him.

“Your car… doesn't really suit your identity.”

“Cars are for driving, not for showing off.”

He took me to a very small Japanese restaurant in the west of the city. There are only eight seats.

“The best sashimi here.”

“How do you know?”

“I have eaten at all the Japanese restaurants in this city.”

I laughed. A smile... very light. But enough to know— Some things have changed. Noiseless. I'm not hiding anymore. That night at dinner, we talked a lot. He said he had studied abroad in Japan so he knew Japanese. Learned German while doing MBA in Germany. English is the foundation. As for French... I learned half of it and then gave it up.

"It's so difficult. French grammar is like a maze."

“French is actually the language with the clearest logic.”

“So you teach me?”

“Boss, did you invite me to dinner to learn French?”

"Are not." He put down his chopsticks and looked straight at me.

“I invited you to eat because I wanted to see you.”

I looked at him.

"Lam Dao, I speak quite frankly. Since the day in Berlin… or earlier, since you first spoke German in Dong Thinh… I have—"

“I feel like you are someone… I don't want to miss out.”

The sushi bar is very quiet. There was only the steady sound of a knife cutting fish behind the counter.

"Co Than Chau, you are the general manager of Dong Thinh. I am the head of the translation department of Trung Hoa."

“Your world and mine are not the same.”

“My world… is only you now.”

“You talk like this…”

“Too straight.”

“You don't like it?”

“…It's not that I don't like it.”

The first time I saw him smile...so real. That night he took me home. Downstairs, he said:

“Tomorrow I go on business to Korea.”

“One week.”

“Will you miss me?”

"…A little bit."

He laughed again. Then drive away. I went up to the house and opened the door. Nien Cao sat on the shoe cabinet and looked at me.

“Don't look that way.”

It made a sound. The idea roughly means: it's done, it's stuck. Three months later— Everything seemed to move at once. Dong Thinh project completed phase three, bringing nearly eighty million in revenue to Trung Hoa. The American documentary aired at the beginning of the year, received very good feedback, and even won two industry awards. My name appears in the “Interpretation consultant” section. The translation department under my hands received three more multilingual projects, from ten two people increased to twenty people. As for To Uyen Tinh— After leaving Trung Hoa, she went to a small translation company to work as a director. Three months later, that company had a serious problem— A German contract had a mistranslated tariff clause, costing the customer twenty million. That translation... she did it herself. German Honorific Errors— Finally Revealed, on a Bigger Stage. She was held responsible by the company and then fired. News spread to Trung Hoa, and some people in the chat group laughed. I just say one thing:

“Let's not talk anymore.”

Then turn off the group. Everyone has to pay the price for their choices. She chose to take a shortcut. Choose envy. Choose to harm others instead of lifting yourself up. The result... was written by her. I don't need to comment. Tran Vu Phi also became more secretive after that incident. There was a clear gap between him and Trinh Hao Nam— The hotel renovation was like an unexploded bomb. But all of that… It doesn't matter anymore. The most surprising thing came from another place. After the movie aired, someone called me. An old acquaintance of my father.

"Tieu Dao? You are Chan Quoc's daughter, right?"

“Uncle Truong?”

"I saw you on TV! Translation consultant! Five languages! Your parents... must be very proud!"

I tightened my grip on the phone, my eyes heated up.

“How did you recognize me?”

"You look exactly like your mother when she was young. As for your Arabic accent—my father's Cairo style, you'll immediately know it."

He laughed, then his voice choked.

“Before leaving, your father once said something to me.”

“What question?”

“He said: ‘Tieu Dao will become a better bridge than me.’”

A better bridge.