Chapter 1183 Tacky and Confusing
Soon, they arrived at Paradigm Co. After Tom parked the car, he swiftly pressed a button and raised the partition between the front and back seats. He knew that Toby would part ways with Sonia today.
Although they would only be separated for a few hours and meet again tonight, Toby, who enjoyed Sonia’s company very much, would still miss her terribly. Therefore, whenever they had to part ways, Toby would definitely take the chance to hug and kiss her.
In order not to disturb them and avoid placing Sonia in an embarrassing situation, he quickly raised the partition to give them some privacy without any prompting.
Well, Mr. Fuller should be delighted to see me so sensible, right? Not only that, but he will also give me a bonus, right? Tom rubbed his hands excitedly when he thought of this.
Tom had been working with Toby for more than a decade now, so he knew Toby like the back of his hand.
Sure enough, when Tom took the initiative to raise the partition, Toby was not dismayed at all. In fact, he was very satisfied. Good. I can give him a bonus.
Toby nodded as he glanced at the partition and then at Sonia, who was about to get out of the car. “I’ll come and pick you up after work later.”
“Come over when you’re done with your work, but if you’re busy, I can drive home. You don’t have to put your work aside just to pick me up. After all, you will be busier than me because you manage such a big company. If you put your work aside just to pick me up, you will end up working through the night. So, you don’t have to do that, okay?” Sonia looked at Toby and smiled.
“Don’t worry.” Toby nodded. “I know what I’m doing. You won’t be the malevolent mistress placing me in thrall and turning me into an incapable emperor.”
“Pfft!” Sonia burst out laughing. “Malevolent mistress? Haha, do you really think of yourself as the emperor? I can’t believe you are capable of cracking such a joke. Have you watched those nonsense dramas lately? Wait a minute that can’t be it. You only watch the news and never the dramas.”
Toby shrugged. “I didn’t watch the dramas before, but now, I occasionally watch them. I have a girlfriend now, so I need to learn how to be romantic and know what to say when I mess up. Tom told me that we need to learn from examples in order to maintain our relationship. Only by doing so can I always maintain the spark of our love, and our relationship can last for a long time. I felt it made sense, so I have been watching romance movies and reading novels.”
It finally dawned upon Sonia. “No wonder you sometimes say and do something very tacky that is so utterly out of character for you. It never even crossed my mind that you actually picked them up from dramas! Sometimes your behavior confuses me so much that I’ve just chalked it up as men having some peculiar behaviors that women don’t understand. Now I’ve finally cracked the case.”
At this point, she chuckled in amusement as she covered her face in exasperation. “Oh my goodness! How can you listen to Tom’s advice? He’s single and teaching you how to maintain a relationship?! Has it never crossed your mind that he’s simply bluffing?”
It was truly a shame that they were so good at their jobs. Otherwise, they could consider joining the comedy industry. They were just too hilarious!
Toby fell into deep thought after hearing Sonia’s words. Then, he looked up at her and asked, “Is it bizarre to learn things from the movies and novels? Or is it that I shouldn’t learn from those things?”
Sonia shook her head as she giggled merrily. “I think it’s so lovely that you’re willing to learn how to love and maintain a relationship. The world nowadays is too restless and edgy. Most people choose to go with the flow and do not want to put effort into maintaining a long-term relationship. They think that there are so many people in the world. If they break up now, they can always find another partner soon, so they don’t feel the need to go to great lengths to cherish their current partner. So, I think you’re amazing because you’re willing to put your heart and soul into maintaining our relationship, and I’m touched by it, but I’m also surprised that you will do something like this. It doesn’t suit your temperament.”
“It means that you don’t know me that well.” Toby held her hand gently in his. “I can do more and become better as long as it’s for you, so you’d better spend more time getting to know me too.”
Sonia nodded. “Okay, Mr. Fuller. In order not to let you down, I’ll work hard to peel your layers until you no longer have secrets. What do you think?”
“I would be honored.” Toby raised his chin in feigned arrogance.
Sonia chuckled in amusement. “But you should really stop watching the dramas that Tom suggested to you. The more you watch those things, you will be easily affected by the characters and become tacky and sleazy.”
“Tacky? Sleazy?” Toby raised his eyebrows.
Sonia nodded. “Yup. Don’t you feel that the behaviors of the protagonists in romance dramas and novels are very tacky and sleazy? Sometimes, they are quite corny, but it’s okay because it is quite heartwarming. But, on the other hand, their cheesiness is so foolish and stupid. Don’t you feel secondhand embarrassment when you watch dramas? Don’t you ever wonder if those people are off their rockers?”
Toby was silent. When he first heard from Tom about learning how to maintain a relationship and be romantic, he researched romance dramas and novels which he had never watched or read.
He did feel those feelings that Sonia had stated when he first watched the dramas, but at that time, he assumed that it was because he wasn’t used to watching dramas of such genre, and he figured that he would get used to it over time.
Alas, after so long, he was still not used to it, and he had the same feelings every time he watched them but to a different degree.
It was only after hearing Sonia’s remarks that he realized that it was not because he was not used to them but because the dramas made people feel physically and mentally awkward.
“Are you saying that I feel that way because of the characters’ strange behaviors?” Toby asked, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“Yup!” Sonia nodded. “That is because these characters are rather two-dimensional, and the plot is full of holes. It is supposed to be a romantic relationship, yet their interactions look stiff and unnatural. They want the audience to think that they are very much in love, but it doesn’t invoke that feeling. On the contrary, when we watch them falling in love, it feels as if someone had forced them at gunpoint to fall in love, which is why they don’t look as loving or sweet when they interact romantically. On the contrary, they look awkward, stiff, and corny. So, how can someone learn anything from this kind of drama? Don’t get carried away and become like them.”
“Oh, I see.” Toby nodded.
No wonder he felt something was off when he watched those dramas. It clearly indicated that it was a romantic drama, but instead of feeling that the protagonists were in love, he felt as if someone had forced them to be together. He finally understood why he felt that way.
