《拉薩情書》

第二十章、湯懷民的進修和見習工作

01
美語中心教學大樓裡，匯集來自各國的留學生，中心按照母國語言別編班，湯懷民的教室在「中一A」。每個班級配置兩位授課老師，其中一位是母語老師。
這班的學生分別來自中國、台灣和東南亞，其中不乏混血兒。湯懷民的外型，也被同學當成混血兒。
同樣來自南台灣屏東的陳志龍，兩人以南台灣腔的普通話交談。
「老哥，你們鄒族的戰祭，我去過喔！那回在特富野。」
「你的墾丁白沙灣音樂季，我還去表演過呢！」
陳志龍問：「真的假的？」
「當然真的啊！我們鄒族青年男女一向能歌善舞。」
「那你哪個學校科系？」
「師大美術系啊！」
「我清華資管系的，以後想在矽谷發展。」
兩個大男孩，很快就熟稔了。

02
湯懷民的房車駛進柏本克市，來到狄士尼總部。湯懷民出示員工識別證，在警衛引導下，駛進動畫部員工停車區停放。
湯懷民西裝筆挺，提著公事包，走向辦公大樓。懷民跟著員工搭電梯，到五樓走出電梯，進到動畫部。強森主任看見懷民，主動跟他招手：「湯，你過來這裡。」
湯懷民走到強森面前，強森說：「我來介紹你的團隊夥伴。」強森領著湯懷民走向一個隔間辦公室：「這裡是角色人物配畫部門。」
一個蓄著馬尾，五官清秀、身材俏麗的華人大女孩走過來，主動跟懷民握手：「很高興遇見你，我叫蘇莉敏。」
強森介紹說：「蘇是角色人物配畫室的主管，她會安排你的主考官和你往後的培訓課程。蘇，我把湯交給妳囉！湯是老霍爾親自發掘的人才，他的人物畫相當快速精準。」
蘇莉敏聽強森主任特地強調，對湯懷民這個見習生立馬感到好奇。
「沒問題！湯交給我。」蘇莉敏說：「湯，請跟我來。」
湯懷民跟著蘇莉敏來到「外型塑造區」，蘇莉敏指著一個空座位說：「你就坐這裡，打開電腦桌面，填寫你的員工資料檔案，然後按一下傳送。接著我會找人來帶著你，開始往後的見習。」
「謝謝妳，蘇主任。」
蘇莉敏問：「你看起來不怎麼像華人？」
「我是藏族和台灣原住民族混血。」
「喔？你哪一族原住民？」蘇莉敏立馬親切起來。
「阿里山鄒族。」
蘇莉敏心想：「怎麼會那麼巧？阿里山鄒族，又剛好姓湯…，會不會是夢影妹妹電子信裡曾經提到，那個她青梅竹馬的未婚夫男友？」
蘇莉敏決定不動聲色，先看過湯的基本資料，在電子信跟夢影裡求證。蘇莉敏改用台灣腔普通話說：「我是台南人，很早就移民來到矽谷，我在台南讀了三年小學。你會講台語嗎？」
湯懷民搔頭傻笑說：「一些些，不太輪轉。」
蘇莉敏微笑說：「好吧！以後我們還是講台灣國語。」

03
湯懷民的房車回到家門前，安妮聽見車聲，從書房出來，走到門口，接過懷民的公事包。
「晚餐都涼了，你先休息，我端去熱一下。」安妮把公事包擱在茶几上，端了兩道菜進廚房。
「以後我晚回來，妳就先吃，不用等我。」懷民解開領帶、脫下西裝、皮鞋，坐在茶几旁沙發上，倒了一杯愛玉檸檬汁解渴。
「當然要等你回來，一起開飯啊！」安妮把蒸魚放進微波爐，滷牛肉放到瓦斯爐上加熱。
「今天去上工，學到很多東西，不過，感覺在那裡工作，真的很操！」
「很快你就會習慣，重要的是你能夠學到東西。」安妮又進來客廳，端起一鍋湯：「加炒一道青菜，就可以開飯了。」安妮轉身進廚房。
懷民有感而發說：「美國能在影劇事業上獨占鰲頭，關鍵就在這些有創意又高效率的企業。」
「美式企業就是這樣囉！員工各憑本事，不講情面的。」安妮從冰箱取出保鮮袋，抓起一把菠菜，放進水槽沖洗。
湯懷民按開電視頻道，看新聞，喃喃自語說：「怎麼每天都有槍擊事件？槍枝太氾濫了！」懷民轉到狄士尼頻道，觀賞「功夫貓熊2」。
約莫十分鐘，安妮喊「開飯囉！」
湯懷民按掉螢幕，走到餐桌旁，拉開椅子坐下來。

04
次日上午，辦公室裡，蘇莉敏點開視窗上湯懷民的員工基本資料表，看見婚姻欄裡註記妻子叫倉央‧安妮和結婚註冊日期。
蘇莉敏一面推敲，一面喃喃自語說：「湯剛結婚啊？倉央‧安妮？倉央？這姓氏該不會是西藏族吧？我知道有個達賴五世倉央‧嘉措。」
蘇莉敏立馬用搜索引擎，找到幾筆倉央‧嘉措的資料：「沒錯，倉央是西藏人的姓名，湯的妻子肯定是個西藏族。」
蘇莉敏立馬寫了一封電子信，把湯懷民的資料修改檔案名稱後，偷偷挾帶在信裡轉給唐夢影。
不一會兒，蘇莉敏就收到夢影回信：
莉敏姐：
接到妳的來信，我心都碎了！
那人的確是跟我青梅竹馬的未婚夫，先前他只告訴我，去年他去西藏認識了新女友，沒想到兩人交往半年多，就瞞著我偷偷去註冊結婚。在他寫來的前一封信，竟然不敢讓我知道他的去向，我寫信給他，要他在我生日前，回來台灣面對我，此刻我還在等他回音。
謝謝妳特地告訴我這個消息，雖然此刻我的心情降到冰點，但我還不想認輸。請幫我留意他在公司的舉動。 妹夢影於巴黎塞納河畔
「好你個湯懷民，竟敢玩弄我妹的感情，看我怎麼收拾你！」蘇莉敏忿恨地自言自語，隨即冷靜下來思考：「我自願當湯的主考官，就能牢牢地掐住他。」
蘇莉敏以內線向史密斯報准此事，莉敏隨即離開座位，來到湯懷民桌前。
「湯，看過你的基本資料，你是老霍爾賞識的人才，我自告奮勇擔任你見習期間的主考官，此事已經跟史密思部長報准，今後你將跟著我學習，並由我安排你系列的培訓課程。」
湯懷民聽完受寵若驚，起身深深一鞠躬說：「感謝蘇主任，以後我不懂的地方，請妳多教導關照，我會用心學習。」
蘇莉敏輕攏飛瀑般的長髮，嬌聲說：「人不親土親，我當然優先關照你囉！」
湯懷民吞吞吐吐地說：「主任，過兩天我得陪內人回去台灣，能否…」
蘇莉敏立馬變臉，不悅說：「你才剛到公司上班見習，就想請休假？這樣會給同事們留下不良印象喔！」
懷民一臉尷尬，趕緊解釋說：「這是既定行程，要處理一些重要的家務事，不回去不行啊！請主任諒解…」
蘇莉敏心裡暗自冷笑，嘴裡故作大方說：「好吧！就准你休假回台灣。」
蘇莉敏轉身往回走，心想：「這小子說要回去台灣，應該就是去見夢影妹妹，待會兒我就把這消息，寫電子信預先告訴她。」

Chapter 20: Huaimin’s Further Studies and Internship
01
At the English Language Center teaching building, students from all over the world gathered. Classes were arranged according to native language. Huaimin’s classroom was “Chinese 1A.” Each class had two instructors, one of whom was a native speaker.
The students in this class came from China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, including some mixed-race students. Huaimin’s appearance also made classmates think he was mixed-race.
Another student from southern Taiwan, Chen Zhilong, spoke with him in the southern Taiwan accent of Mandarin.
“Hey, bro, I’ve been to your tribe’s war festival! It was in Tefuye.”
“I’ve performed at your Kenting White Sand Bay music festival!”
“Really?” Zhilong asked.
“Of course! Our Zou tribe youth are always good at singing and dancing.”
“What school and department are you in?”
“National Taiwan Normal University, Fine Arts Department.”
“I’m at Tsinghua University, Information Management. I plan to work in Silicon Valley.”
The two young men quickly became familiar with each other.
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02
Huaimin’s SUV drove into Burbank and arrived at Disney headquarters. He showed his employee ID, and under the guard’s guidance, parked in the animation department’s staff parking area.
Dressed sharply in a suit and carrying a briefcase, Huaimin walked to the office building. Following staff into the elevator, he arrived on the fifth floor and entered the animation department. Director Johnson waved at him: “Huaimin, come here.”
Walking over, Huaimin was introduced to his team. Johnson led him to a cubicle: “This is the Character Illustration Department.”
A young Chinese woman with a ponytail and delicate features approached and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Su Limin.”
Johnson said, “Su is the head of this department. She will arrange your examiners and training courses. Su, take care of Huaimin! He was personally recruited by Mr. Hall and is very fast and accurate with character illustrations.”
Curious, Su immediately took an interest in Huaimin.
“No problem! I’ll take care of him,” Su said. “Huaimin, follow me.”
She led him to the “Character Design Area” and pointed to an empty seat. “Sit here, open your computer, fill out your employee profile, and hit send. Then someone will come guide you through the rest of your internship.”
“Thank you, Director Su,” Huaimin said.
Su asked, “You don’t look very Chinese.”
“I’m mixed Tibetan and Taiwanese indigenous.”
“Oh? Which tribe?”
“Zou tribe from Alishan.”
Su thought: What a coincidence—Zou tribe from Alishan, and his surname is Tang… Could he be the childhood fiancé mentioned in Mengying’s email?
She decided to stay calm, reviewed Huaimin’s profile, and then planned to verify through Mengying’s email. Switching to Taiwanese-accented Mandarin, she said: “I’m from Tainan, immigrated to Silicon Valley early. I went to elementary school there for three years. Can you speak Taiwanese?”
Huaimin scratched his head, smiling sheepishly: “A little, not very fluent.”
“Okay! We’ll just speak Taiwanese Mandarin from now on,” Su said with a smile.
________________________________________
03
Huaimin’s SUV returned home. Annie heard the car, came out from the study, and took his briefcase.
“Dinner’s cold. You rest first, I’ll reheat it.” She put the briefcase on the coffee table and took two dishes into the kitchen.
“In the future, if I come home late, you just eat without waiting for me,” Huaimin said, loosening his tie, taking off his suit and shoes, and sitting on the sofa by the coffee table with a glass of aiyu lemon drink.
“Of course, I’ll wait for you to eat together!” Annie said, putting the steamed fish in the microwave and heating the braised beef on the stove.
“Today at work, I learned a lot. But it really is exhausting there,” Huaimin remarked.
“You’ll get used to it quickly. What matters is learning,” Annie replied, bringing a pot of soup into the living room.
Huaimin mused: “America dominates in entertainment because of creative and efficient companies.”
“That’s American business! Everyone relies on their own skills, no favoritism,” Annie said, rinsing spinach in the sink.
Watching the news, Huaimin muttered: “Why are there shootings every day? Guns are too widespread!” He switched to the Disney channel to watch Kung Fu Panda 2.
About ten minutes later, Annie called, “Dinner’s ready!” Huaimin turned off the TV and went to the dining table.
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04
The next morning at the office, Su Limin opened Huaimin’s employee profile and noticed his wife, Cangyang Annie, and the marriage registration date.
She murmured: “Just married? Cangyang Annie? Cangyang… that must be Tibetan. There’s a Cangyang Gyatso in Tibet.”
Using a search engine, she confirmed several records: “Yes, Cangyang is a Tibetan name. Huaimin’s wife must be Tibetan.”
Su immediately drafted an email, attaching Huaimin’s profile with the modified filename, and secretly sent it to Tang Mengying.
Soon, Su received a reply:
Limin Sister:
I was heartbroken receiving your email!
That man is indeed my childhood fiancé. Last year, he went to Tibet, met a new girlfriend, and after more than six months of dating, secretly registered marriage without telling me. In his previous letter, he didn’t even reveal his whereabouts. I wrote to him asking him to return to Taiwan before my birthday, and I’m still waiting for his reply.
Thank you for letting me know. Though my mood is frozen, I’m not giving up. Please keep an eye on him at work.
—Mengying, by the Seine, Paris
Su muttered angrily to herself: “You dare play with my sister’s feelings? I’ll deal with you!” Then she calmed down, thinking: By becoming his examiner, I can control him.
Su reported to Director Smith and then approached Huaimin:
“Huaimin, I’ve reviewed your profile. You were personally recruited by Mr. Hall. I volunteer to be your examiner during your internship and will arrange your training courses.”
Huaimin, astonished, stood and bowed deeply: “Thank you, Director Su. I will work hard and learn from you.”
Su, smoothing her waterfall-like hair, said softly: “I naturally take care of my people first!”
Huaimin hesitated: “Director, in a few days I need to accompany my wife to Taiwan. Could I…”
Su immediately frowned: “You just started, and already want leave? This may leave a bad impression!”
Embarrassed, Huaimin explained: “It’s a fixed schedule, important family matters. I must go… Please understand.”
Su smiled generously, secretly amused: “Alright! Leave for Taiwan is approved.” She thought: He’s going to see Mengying; I’ll email her in advance.