West coast

After getting off work from the data center today, as soon as I left the office, the beautiful sunset in the sky greeted my eyes, the breeze was blowing, and the air was mixed with the smell of the ocean. The early summer in San Diego came really early.

"The weather is so nice, why don't we walk back. It's only 10 minutes away." Matt suggested.

"Okay! I wanted to say that too." Lin Nan replied.

There is a beach just along the road, with palm trees swaying on both sides.The teenagers in Southern California are not afraid of the sun, and their skin is tanned into a healthy wheat color. They wear swimsuits, play beach volleyball not far away, cooperate with each other, high-five, cheer, and laugh constantly.

Lin Nan looked at them enviously, unable to move his eyes away.

"Do you want to go down to the beach?" Lin Nan asked.

"Why not?" Matt replied.

The two of them took off their shoes, carried them with their hands, and walked on the beach with bare feet.The white sandy beach has fine particles, is very smooth, and does not hurt the feet at all. From time to time, waves pass by the insteps, bringing a little bit of coolness.

There is a constant stream of people on the beach, and adults lie on beach towels and sleep, with books covering their faces.The children next to them were building their own sand sculpture castles, and several dogs were running freely in the golden afterglow without a leash.

Instigated by her companions, an American girl in a bikini came over timidly and handed Matt a note with her phone number written on it.Even though she was a little shy, she still had the courage to look back and smile, made a phone call gesture to Matt, and said "Callme!" with her lips, and then quickly pulled her companion and ran away with a smile.

Lin Nan chuckled: "Will you call her?"

Matt smiled with his mouth crooked, and said, "Guess?"

A group of sea lions and seals are also resting on the beach, basking in the sun and sleeping without any scruples.

Facing the sunset, blowing the sea breeze, the sound of the tide rising and falling is very pleasant, which makes people relax immediately.

"It would be great if I could move here after retirement!" Lin Nan couldn't help sighing.

"Haha, how old are you, do you want to retire so early?" Matt was amused by him.

"I... I didn't mean that. Of course, work must come first at this stage!" Lin Nan quickly explained, thinking how could he reveal his desire to retire in front of his boss?Simply dangerous speech.You should really take care of your mouth!

"Hahaha, you don't have to be so cautious when you're with me." Matt comforted him, "Which working social animal doesn't want to retire early and do something he likes? Let me ask you this, if you don't consider salary or livelihood at all , just rely on your own wishes and preferences, what kind of work do you want to do? Don’t tell me that you still want to continue to be a code farmer, which is an official answer.”

"Well... let me think about it..." Lin Nan was asked suddenly, and he didn't have an answer ready, "Yes! I probably want to be a student all my life, quantum mechanics, philosophy, history, sociology, astronomy , Religion... as long as it is a 'useless' subject that can be used to explore the vast universe, I will learn it all!"

"Hahahaha. It seems that you haven't done enough homework." Matt was amused, "What kind of stimulation did you receive? So you learned computer because others said it was 'useful'?"

"You can also put it this way... From childhood to adulthood, my life seems to have been designed. What school to go to, whether to study science or liberal arts, and what major to choose when I go to college, most of these decisions are made by my parents. Okay. Of course, in their eyes, they feel that learning these things is 'useful' and learning them is 'for my own good'." Lin Nan sighed, "Is it in the eyes of you Americans that parents help their children choose majors? Does it sound crazy?" Lin Nan asked.

"Not exactly, it depends on the person." Matt replied, "Most people will follow their own interests to choose a career. But interest is easily dissuaded by difficulties, so many people are also very cautious when choosing a major. I tend to choose easy ones. Like mathematics, actuarial calculations, and computers, it’s not because these subjects are boring in themselves, but because they are too difficult to dissuade many people. Therefore, there are immigrants around me who are engaged in these seemingly “boring” subjects. work."

"What about you? If you don't consider income at all, what would you choose?" Lin Nan asked.

"I'd still choose computers, it's really what interests me."

"Okay..." Lin Nan just wanted to roll his eyes.

"I know it's not understood by most people," Matt explained. "In high school, I wore braces and thick glasses, and I was messing with computer code all day, and I was bullied a lot. "

"You? Being bullied? It's incredible..." Lin Nan asked, "What about after retirement? What do you want to do after retirement?"

"You really want to know? Then you come with me."

After speaking, Matt led Lin Nan to a small market near the beach, and found a vendor doing portraits for tourists.

Matt took out $50 and said, "I'd like to rent your brushes and canvas for a while to paint a portrait of my friend. Just half an hour."

The vendor thought that there was still such a good thing, and he didn't have to do anything if he took the money for nothing, so he immediately agreed and gave up his position.

Matt turned his head and gave instructions to Lin Nan: "Go and sit there, and give me a profile on your left side."

Lin Nan did so.

With a pencil in his hand, Matt sketched the outline back and forth on the canvas, making a rustling sound. From time to time, he carefully observed Lin Nan's face with his deep eyes, measured the proportions, and captured the details.

Soon, the portrait was complete.The vendor was the first to come up to watch, eager to measure the level of this amateur visitor.

The vendor glanced at it and sighed: "Damn it! Dude, you didn't come to steal my job, did you?! This is not okay, I have been here for many years. If you want to support the stall, you'd better stay away from me!" "

Matt laughed out loud after hearing this, and comforted the stall owner, "Don't worry, I'm not here to ruin your business."

Lin Nan took the drawing board and took a look.I saw that the sketch on the canvas was so vivid and lifelike that it captured all the features of his face and was almost comparable to the photograph.The most expressive is the pair of eyes, clear and melancholy, full of warmth, as if they are telling their thoughts, completely infused with the soul.

"Great, you are too talented!" Lin Nan clapped his hands and praised, "Can I keep this painting?"

"Of course." Matt laughed. "Glad you like it."

"Don't wait until you retire, why are you still writing code, you can sell paintings now!" Lin Nan sighed.

"No, I'll probably starve to death just by painting." Matt paused and said, "Because I only paint for people I admire."

Lin Nan let out an "oh", and was embarrassed by what he said.

After accepting the sketch, Lin Nan thought that he should not accept other people's gifts casually, not to mention that this gift is so thoughtful.He also had to give something back, otherwise he would feel bad.

It happened that there was an ice cream van parked near the pier. The whole body was painted in pink and white colors, colorful flashing lights were installed, retro music was played loudly to attract customers, and a group of children surrounded it.Lin Nan's gaze was immediately attracted, and he had an idea in his mind.

Lin Nan asked Matt: "You helped me draw a picture, shall I buy you an ice cream? Just take it as a thank you gift."

Matt smiled softly, without refusing: "Okay. Then I want coffee flavor."

Lin Nan ran over and queued among a group of children for a long time, and finally bought two cones, one for himself and one for Matt.

The two of them walked and ate in the small market.Today's temperature is almost approaching summer, Lin Nan was worried that the ice cream in his hand would melt too quickly, so he quickly licked it.

Matt saw that he was devouring his food, and couldn't help persuading him: "Eat slowly, the corners of your mouth are all stained."

"Where? Where?" Lin Nan was at a loss.

Matt pointed to the corner of his mouth and gave Lin Nan a mirror demonstration.

Lin Nan quickly wiped it with his hands, but still left a drop on the corner of his mouth.

Matt saw that he was in a hurry, so he approached slowly, stretched out his finger and gently stroked the corner of Lin Nan's mouth, and helped him wipe it off.

He tasted it with his finger on the tip of his tongue and said, "So yours is just vanilla."