America 1982-Chapter 428 - 61: Let Them Kill

"Do you have any hobbies? Besides working for Tommy?" Susy asked, sipping her beer and playfully flipping her hair with a smile.

Susan noticed the earnest look in Susy’s eyes, paused in thought, and slowly said, "Music, drinking, reading, and since I recently participated in a hunting event in New York, I guess I can add hunting?"

"So, the first three hobbies were influenced by that man, meaning only the recently discovered hunting is truly an activity you like from the heart?" Susy sat sideways, her left arm resting on the back of the sofa, her right hand bringing the beer to her mouth:

"Being more of yourself makes you less annoying. Do you think my mother keeps remarrying because men quickly grow tired of a selfless b*tch? Or maybe, do you think Jason only likes a woman with a decent face and body but no thoughts? If he wanted, he could be smothered by a mountain of women with better looks and bodies who could use their chests to crush him. You need to learn to be yourself, Susan."

"I’m learning to be Tommy; I don’t see what good it does to be Susan, lying in a shabby San Jose apartment that only deserves a second-hand sunset and waiting for clients?" Susan replied to Susy with a laugh and then shook the beer can in her hand:

"I’m going to talk to Tommy about work. I’ll say it was really nice chatting with you, very helpful for my pressure."

"Hey~" Susy saw Susan stand up, so she got up from the sofa too and whispered something to Susan, leaving her with a look of astonishment and skepticism. Patting her hot pants lightly with both hands, Susy nodded to Susan and said, "Trust me, and don’t tell Tommy—it’s much less fun that way."

Tommy was flipping through a business magazine and only looked up at the sound of footsteps when he noticed Susan coming over and sitting beside him.

Putting down the magazine, Tommy noticed that even though Susan had sat down, she couldn’t help but turn her head to look at Susy in the distance.

"Did she invite you to her studio to play games? I hear it’s quite effective for stress relief, and many women go to her for it," Tommy said, following Susan’s gaze to Susy, who kissed Jason briefly and then engaged in a sweet conversation.

Susan shifted her gaze back to Tommy and, voicelessly, looked at him, "She didn’t invite me over, but she did tell me about a very interesting method in the end."

"I can’t believe there’s a method more interesting than the usual ways to relax the body and mind, which are nothing but matters of men and women. If you’re not interested in men, try women. I assure you, being a lesbian doesn’t affect our family-like relationship. I’m very open-minded, as long as you don’t date black guys," Tommy said to Susan. "I just can’t bring myself to like them, like I said to Jim, maybe because in a past life an innocent man like me was killed by a black guy with a gun, which is why I instinctively despise them."

"She probably thinks you and I have slept together countless times, and now that you’re tired of me, I’ve started to wallow in my own thoughts. I don’t know how to tell her that nothing has happened between us and that my stress is due to work. But honestly, that very interesting method she told me about in the end, the one she asked me not to tell you, is indeed very interesting," Susan asked Tommy with a smile.

Tommy nonchalantly spread his hands: "I’ve seen the world. You need to know that to this day, the SSD Stanford branch still holds my title as best party manager. No one understands the word ’interesting’ better than I do."

"She suggested that I get a tattoo just underneath where my bikini barely covers, on my lower abdomen," Susan said without challenging Tommy’s self-aggrandizing rant.

Tommy spoke with skepticism and disdain, "I fail to see what’s so interesting about that. I dislike tattoos and women covered in them, so I don’t really understand tattoos. The only one I have is a unique emblem that the guys from high school summer camp and I got on our wrists. So, what kind of tattoo would be interesting? Disney’s Mickey Mouse?"

"A very simple tattoo, just a line of text," Susan continued.

"’I love Tommy? Property of Tommy?’ Is it about seeking an alternative satisfaction for the mind and spirit through hurting your own body and insulting your own dignity?" Tommy said with a mocking tone:

"That girl may have decent hacking skills, but this method doesn’t seem fun at all. The whole world knows you’re my GoodGirl. You’re not an ugly bit*h, and it would be normal for us to actually sleep together, like with Sophia. Even my father-in-law is convinced I must have slept with Sophia because he got involved with his own secretary, so he thinks I’m the same kind of guy as him. Of course, sleeping together is bound to happen sooner or later, but not now. You, Sophia, or other women that might exist don’t seem as charming as I had imagined."

With a slightly amused expression, Susan pursed her lips and said, "Although her approach to treating me veered off course from the beginning, attributing the problem to matters of men and women, I think that line of text could increase my attractiveness to you. Susy indeed has a good understanding of these matters."

"Well, it looks like I guessed wrong? What text?" Upon hearing this, Tommy immediately perked up, asking with curiosity.

Susan held back her laughter for a few seconds before answering the curious Tommy, "Tommy’s Dick Downfall Terminator. Though it sounds indeed insulting, it clearly wasn’t intended to insult myself."

"Wow..." Tommy opened his mouth, then cursed, and finally said to Susan, "Isn’t that phrase a bit too insulting? No man could stand it, could they?"

"Wait until you find me charming enough, and I’ll get that tattoo. I guess it would at least ensure some bonuses to the frequency and duration when you and I are in bed," Susan said with a smile.

"Indeed, once a man sees that line, he’s left with only one thought—to not be terminated, to not be mocked in front of a woman." Tommy admitted defeat, saying, "Susy... That girl sure has a way of teasing men. A hottie who also has a smart and fun brain, no wonder Jason feels he can’t live without her."

Susan asked Tommy gossipily, "Is everything she said true? I always feel like those things she says sound very familiar, somewhat like you, unable to distinguish lies from truth. The main purpose seems to be to shock and awe."

"Most of it is true, like the famous hacker Kevin Dominick, nicknamed Eagle, and Roscoe, the network administrator from USC, both admitting that this woman’s hacking skills surpass theirs. They once competed in system infiltration; both got caught, and Susy walked away clean. Then Roscoe thought he wouldn’t have to pay for sleeping with her, but Susy always insisted on being paid. In a rage, Roscoe reported her. That’s all true and can be verified," Tommy said, looking over at Susy explaining to Jason about reimbursing for Susan’s phone expenses, smiling as he spoke.

Susan nodded slightly, "So that means there are some falsehoods?"

"I don’t know which are false, and I don’t care. That’s Jason’s business. Jason is no fool; when he determines to date a woman, he’ll naturally investigate her thoroughly. Her childhood experiences are probably all true; the files can be checked, and so can the lie detector. What’s uncertain is whether she really slept with all the members of The Beatles Band or other rock stars; after all, The Beatles Band had disbanded the year she came to Los Angeles. Other uncertainties include her stepfather’s disappearance and her mother remarrying, trivial matters like that. Of course, everyone should have secrets, and the right to lie."

With a mix of amusement and resignation, Susan said, "According to you, after Jason and Susy got together, he would also have to pay every time they sleep together?"

"No, she’s no longer short on money. Jason treats her well, not minding her past, or, let’s say, if he really did pay every time, it would just be a little kink between lovers," Tommy said, looking off into the distance at Jason and Susy.

"As for her ex-boyfriend, who is now her sworn enemy, paying each time isn’t a kink; it’s a nightmare because he’s just a university administrator with no teaching title. The quarterly dividends Jason gets from just about any software company are enough for him to afford this little game with Susy until he turns eighty, if his stick can still rise by then," Tommy looked at the distance between Jason and Susy.

Susan said in an indifferent tone, "The same thing is a nightmare for the poor and a kink for the rich."

Tommy walked over to the stereo in Susan’s living room, which was black with walnut wood grain, covered with various knobs and buttons, and next to it was a rack holding many old records.

"While you were chatting with Susy, I was already exploring this thing; it’s really complicated, too many buttons and knobs. Can’t they make it simpler, like the OSS software from Actor Corporation?" Tommy fiddled with the knobs and started talking.

Susan sat on the couch with a smile, watching Tommy ineffectively kneeling a few steps in front of her, "What you’re trying to say is that my mind right now is like that machine in front of you, pondering too many unnecessary questions."

"That’s still pretty smart and sharp, my dear Susan." Tommy stood up and sat back down next to Susan, "Don’t overthink it. You’ve just been working too long, accustomed to more comprehensive thinking. When you try to adopt my approach and can’t figure out how I’d solve problems, that’s when the unnecessary stress kicks in."

Susan sighed, "The main thing is the influence of the Jewish people in this business. I don’t see any opportunities, Tommy. They’re not the two book-nerds at Lotus. They can do whatever they want in Hollywood, showing no mercy to their enemies. I don’t want to interfere or persuade you; as a friend, or teacher, or as a potential lover who’s not charming enough, I worry about you."

"That’s exactly what we’re hoping for, Susan." Tommy picked a record to play on the stereo and turned back to Susan, "Let them kill."