24 FLAMBOYANT COVER (1/2)

The young man waiting in the gazebo seemed to realise that he was not behaving strangely. Or perhaps, he noticed the cold look that Zhong Feng sent his way. He calmed down immediately and approached them with a professional demeanour.

”Good afternoon, Mr Zhong.” The man spoke in halting Mandarin.

Zhong Feng shook his hand and responded in the same way. He then turned to Hu Lei.

”My name is Furukawa Shun. Forgive my lack of fluency.” He spoke with a wide smile.

Hu Lei wanted to roll her eyes, but she did not. If he did not know how to speak, why was he using complicated terms and complex sentence structures? However, she was not here as a critic. So, she smiled politely and bowed lightly while both her hands holding her purse.

”You do not have to worry about that, Mr Furukawa. I am Hu Lei, your interpreter for the day.” She responded charmingly in Japanese.

”Your Japanese is perfect.” The energetic man smiled even wider.

She nodded and spoke a modest word of thanks.

With the pleasantries out of the way, the party of three moved to the table, and business began.

Furukawa Shun looked like the playboy types who would be busy partying and drinking every day. However, one cannot really judge a book by its flamboyant cover. Once he began discussing business, his entire demeanour changed. His eyes became sharper, his hands stopped fidgeting and he spoke eloquently.

As the small interpreter, Hu Lei tried to minimise her presence though she had to speak more than the other two parties. Lin Man had said that an efficient interpreter should not become the centre of attention.