“I don’t know what we did wrong.”
“Do you think he knows what he’s doing?”
“That’s what I’m saying. It’s the right thing to do.”
Their move seemed to have been a waste of time, since there were four pairs of eyes now peering through the door of the study. It was impossible for Lance to have not noticed, but since he didn’t say anything, Cheung didn’t dare to either.
The best Cheung could do was remain focused on Lance’s onslaught of questions.
“503 divided by twelve?”
“Forty-one. The remainder is eleven.”
“That’s correct. Then, 889 times forty-nine?”
“43,561.”
“…312 times 447?”
“Uh; 139,464.”
Sometimes, Cheung had to calculate the answers while using a mental abacus on the desk. He was happy that he had gotten them all right, but he was beginning to feel a bit fatigued after solving almost thirty problems in a row.
After he became a member of society, Cheung only did flash arithmetic to kill time and had lost a lot of his original skill at it.
Even so.
“That’s enough, isn’t it?” The delinquent boy in the doorway said exactly what Cheung was feeling. It was impossible for Cheung to know these questions before had, so his mathematical skills were proven. They had to admit at this point that Cheung was the best fit for the bookkeeping position, especially since several of them had done it before.
Nevertheless, Lance continued to spit out math problems as if he was forbidden from saying, “you’re hired”, and every time that Cheung answered correctly, he became more and more depressed. It was almost as if hiring Cheung would mean the end of the world.
Cheung knew he wasn’t particularly liked, but he didn’t think he was so hated that he would be refused to the position at this point. It said it’s essential to bond with someone in order to build a good rapport with them, however what was Cheung supposed to do when he had already fumbled it this badly?
Cheung felt dizzy.
“Are you tired?”
Cheung’s consciousness suddenly became aware of something other than formulas, words. Although Lance sounded considerate, his dour expression remained unchanged.
“No… Yes, I’m tired.” For a moment, Cheung thought it might be better to lie than admit the truth, so he wouldn’t be considered weak.
Lance ran his hand through his bangs expressionlessly. For some reason, he looked more confused than Cheung was feeling.
Cheung became even more bewildered. If he didn’t like it, all he had to do was reject him outright. He just couldn’t understand.
“This is the last question. If you get it right, you’re hired.”
“Yes!” The cheers that burst out were, unexpectedly, not from Cheung. When Lance glared behind Cheung in surprise, Ken hurriedly shut his mouth.
Lance took a thin book from a nearby shelf and opened the first page.
“Answer in five seconds.” Lance pulled out a watch with a silver chain from his chest, clicked open the silver cover, and placed it on the desk before him.
“What’s seven plus seven, minus seven, times seven, minus seven, divided by seven, plus one, plus seven, times seven, minus seven, times two, plus one, minus fifty, plus seven, plus seven, plus seven, plus seven, times seven, times seven, divided by seven, plus one, plus seven, tunes seven, times seven, times two, plus one, and minus fifty?”(1)