左腿是包好了，生華側過身又微微擡起他的右腿，雙手在上面捏來捏去，檢查有沒有循環不好的地方。陳靛雙腿截肢時身體還沒有發育完全，因此在之後的幾年中腿骨不斷生長，長長的骨頭頂着殘端，那些年他吃了不少苦頭，一次次開刀截骨，殘端總是疼也穿不了義肢，最終殘株定型成了錐形。好在發育完全之後他堅持複健，殘肢狀況恢複的很好，大多數時候并不算磨人。
“這邊想戴矽膠套還是彈性繃帶？”
“彈性繃帶吧。我自己纏吧。你先睡。”陳靛說着準備把自己靠左斜放到床上，讓左側的腰分擔一些身體的重量，這樣就能把左手解放出來，右腿殘肢也能暫時擡離床面——生華不在的時候他常這樣自己纏繃帶。
生華可不依：“脊柱不想要了？！”把他的左手一把摁回床面撐着，生華有些生氣的低斥。陳靛失了一側坐骨身體習慣向左借力本來就容易脊柱側彎，她嚴令禁止他任何向左借力的行為，每天都要做一套定制的瑜伽來幫助糾正身形拉伸一邊緊張的肌肉，定期陪他去醫院複查脊柱狀況，生怕他這一身本來就不太靈光的“破銅爛鐵”再出什麼問題。
陳靛見生華生氣趕緊乖乖束手就擒，聽話的扶穩身體，微微翹起右腿任她熟練的在上面一圈一圈纏繃帶。
他俯首帖耳，右手半摟着她的肩，在她身側柔聲念道：“謝峻來曆不凡，能耐還在其次，心性遠在你我之上。他非池中物，此行同路一程，有幸被他借勢，倘若他日異軌殊途，不過緣起際會、緣滅分離。我們無需過分思量，他定自有打算。”
生華心明如鏡，沉靜着面色給他纏好右腿。陳靛善于把他真正忌憚的人收入麾下，比起鳴鼓攻之，不如把他們買下來關起來而不是讓他們亂跑到對面的立場跟自己作對。生華收拾好藥箱和精油，心滿意足的把陳靛這隻大貓摁回床上。
“睡——覺——”
溫和地走過這個良夜的後果就是——他們差點兒放了傑瑞米鴿子。
原本定好上午八點傑瑞米過來讨論陳靛後天出席H大畢業典禮上用的講稿，現實是傑瑞米和酒店早餐幾乎一同邁進了房門。
生華覺得十分尴尬，巴巴盯着燒臘腸粉咽了口口水便借稱去健身房逃之夭夭。陳靛彼時其實連義肢都沒來得及穿，裹着襯衣西褲端坐在輪椅上一臉若無其事的疊着褲腿，甚至還非常慷慨的邀請傑瑞米要不要一起嘗一下潮汕砂鍋粥。
傑瑞米無語。在他心目中，身負世襲爵位的陳靛絕不應允許自己在他面前坐下來彙報工作，但事實是陳靛竟然堅持在未經女王和高級法院批準認可前連他在聖誕節手寫的祝福信件上都禁止使用“Lord”作為前綴。雖然爵位目前确實還在陳靛母親内爾克勒斯勳爵身上，但誰不知道準貴族的身份可以順理成章的打開多少扇緊閉的大門？所以傑瑞米一直認為陳靛的堅持到底有些個人好惡上的牽強，思前想後耿直進言稱陳靛是由于頻繁漂洋過海去波士頓看望生華不免過多的沾染了美式個人主義的叛逆行徑。
“這不公平！”生華掐着腰站在波士頓的公寓裡義憤填膺的指着窗外波光粼粼的查爾斯河，“進入陳氏之前你至少在河對岸那棟樓裡待了四年。而我隻來了四個月！”河對岸的那棟樓正是陳靛念MBA的斯隆商學院。
“确切點說是十八個月，大多數時間我在理學院和港灣醫院。”陳靛一邊伏着身忙着在狹小的公寓裡給輪椅清障，一邊又覺得這麼說一點都沒有滅火的誠意，于是趕緊補充道：“你知道的，他一直硬的像塊石頭。”
雖然陳靛一直抱着等閑視之的态度把傑瑞米的奇葩理論當做跟她茶餘飯後的談資，生華聽着好玩但也總不免盤算，決計不想當這個禍國殃民的紅顔禍水。因此今時今地便莫名有種被抓現行的理虧。
生華回到酒店套房即見傑瑞米正襟危坐在客廳一側二人位沙發的一邊，手捧筆記本十指飛動，而要不是看到窗前空落落的輪椅，她幾乎沒找到陳靛，後者則背朝她慵懶的窩在一百八十度全景落地窗前的一張冷白皮質躺椅裡，聽到開門聲慢悠悠的探出頭來，擡擡額頭道：“Would you mind if I asked you to do me a favor?”
回來的路上就知道會被他抓壯丁，這種他個人的或是不涉及CCU保密條款的事務他一直以來都很樂意邀她出謀劃策。
“Count me in.”
生華從卧室取來自己的平闆往鍵盤上一架，跳上開放式廚房的吧台，咬開水瓶灌了幾口，單刀直入：“Where are you?”
“Disenchant predecessor’s mysticism, ”吧台在落地窗邊，所以陳靛現在一轉頭就可以看到生華。他還是沒穿義肢，空蕩蕩的左臀下面塞着一隻靠枕以免從躺椅上滑下去，非常老派的握着一支筆在手中的便簽上打草稿，“especially when you a green hand landing in the real world from the air.”
十分習慣自己老闆這種霧裡看花式的頭腦風暴，傑瑞米從沙發上擡起頭來，對着生華言簡意赅：“How you think experience plays at your disadvantage?”
生華重新紮好馬尾，幾乎沒費什麼力氣的信手拈來：“Narrative fallacy.”這實屬得歸功于陳靛前天晚上在寫的、集團官網邀稿緻職場新人的《緻年輕自己的一封信（A Letter To My Younger Self）》。這次陳靛談的是向上管理的同理心，其中談到認知偏差時他們在“narrative fallacy”和“attribution theory”的措辭上考慮到職場反偏見的心理訴求而一拍即合地選擇了後者。相反，此時把聽衆換成即将邁入社會的大學畢業生則頗有點學院派的前者便成為了更好的選項。
“Impressive.”陳靛轉過頭來沖她一笑。
生華咧咧嘴，并不覺得多麼受用，他應該知道這到底是有些作弊的嫌疑在裡面，而且比起措辭，生華倒是比較在意陳靛這篇講稿的立論——跟各方面經驗都匮乏的學生去講什麼經驗之談顯然不是個明智之選。生華目不轉睛觀察着已經回頭落筆的陳靛，想在他臉上捕捉到一絲他一貫的那個微微有些諷刺意味的标準英式假笑，然而并沒有。
“But what’s that?” 還在正常頻道徘徊的傑瑞米終于停下他時刻不歇的十指，盯着面前兩人之間微妙的氛圍鼓起勇氣耿直發問。
“…which is, the tendency to create stories by connecting dots that should not be connected, and use those stories to give apparent meaning to things that don’t have a meaning, or create chains of cause and effect that provide comfort.”生華解釋，然後問道：”But why experience?”
“Put this down,”陳靛卻接着她的話串成了講稿：“‘As time goes by, you start being surrounded by those stories, like someone sitting inside your personal library, and picking up a book to map something that your experience to something THAT YOU have seen and experienced already.’”陳靛着重強調了這個坐在經驗圖書館裡的“自己”，意味深長地偏頭與生華對視了一眼，顯然是在解釋她關于選題的疑惑。
生華聞言咬唇。某種程度上她承認陳靛的話本身的的合理性，但還是對陳靛的意圖一知半解。陳靛善用隐喻，他強調的那個“自己”分明是在隐喻什麼。
“‘As a young person,’” 陳靛接着講稿，“‘you don’t have many of those stories, so you need to make sense of things as they happen, using your judgement more than your or anyone else’s experience. That’s uncomfortable, and scary at times. But that’s how you learn, and how you let randomness make you stronger, instead of confusing you. That is something I never want you to lose, because …’”
被陳靛的情緒所感染，生華不禁也感懷：“‘Because reality is infinitely more complex than any stories you could have written about it.’”
陳靛筆頭不斷，眯了眯眼道：“Ravishing darling, it‘s terribly kind of you if you would continue.”
為了表達對這個過分雍容華貴的贊美的敬意，生華顧自翻了個白眼，一邊埋頭打字一邊繼續：“‘You don’t have many days that you can look back to, so you’re naturally inclined to look forward. And your hope is that what’s ahead of you will somehow be better than what you left behind. That’s the wind that fills your sails, and I urge you not to look back, or that wind will turn against you, and make you slow down, and eventually stop. Continue hoping in a better future, and in a better self, because …’” 生華停下來，思索，因為她發現自己又回到了陳靛隐喻的那個“自己”。
“‘Because cynicism is a form of defeat, the defeat of your life.’”陳靛眼神溫柔的看向生華，娓娓道來。
幾乎是立刻，生華便豁然開朗。在傑瑞米聽來陳靛一開始那句有些不知何所雲的論點其實已經很明确了，鑒于最近中環在發生的實事——陳靛想聊的根本不是所謂的經驗，而是假由承嬗離合、來自外部世俗的被強加在來者不拒的年輕人身上的“二手理想”——憤世嫉俗。結合她進門時陳靛那句有些過分多禮的邀請和對待叙事謬誤的嚴肅态度，比起在世界另一頭長大、不食此間煙火的傑瑞米，陳靛俨然更傾向于讓文化背景更貼合的她來執筆。
“‘I am standing on a pair of 6-pound titanium prosthetics with a curved rubber auxiliary, made by some intelligent visionary all over the world, that emancipates my dedication from lending my ability to a hand-rolling wheelchair. I can only imagine what you have today at your disposal, may be something that speaks to you. What I wish, is that, no matter how easy and tempting that vested interest and retained power look, you will still consider whatever futuristic wisdom you are using as just your own discourse, not the tip jar from nowhere that would willfully or accidentally ignorant, overwhelm your voices, pathologically make you too lazy to think on your own.’”
飛速敲完最後一個單詞生華長舒一口氣，不得不說就像是一種幻覺，陳靛的演講有着極度驚人的感染力。
“Jerry, your turn.”
鼓着腮幫子狂敲鍵盤的傑瑞米分明也頗受鼓舞，接着陳靛的部分作結：“‘Lastly – it’s easy to be humble at your age, in particular without any answer here. I hope that won’t change, no matter how much or how little you would have accomplished. You look up to more thoughtful people who take the time to listen to you, to be open to feedback, to question even the strongest of their beliefs. I hope one day you will be able to reciprocate, preserving humility and offering whatever experience you have as a path to the next generation …’”
“excuse me,” 生華插進來，“Can we make it into ‘map’? Not a path. ‘Always respecting that others may decide to take a very different road than the one you have.’”
陳靛投來期待的目光，生華便繼續道：“‘But there is one humility you are not supposed to allow yourself a privilege, that not knowing for certain, but refusing to give way to those who claim certainty. That is, never would you allow yourself to be made foot soldier in a conflict you don’t understand. Never make your life being narrated for you by others. The courage to live in your own mind, and not in someone else’s. A person claiming about the truth is limited, and will always be limited, coming to terms with their own ignorance and partiality. Keep studying, reading, thinking, traveling, those transform you into someone who no longer belonged to anywhere. In knowing the ground was not ground at all, you find you could stand on it.’”
“BRAVO——”
生華一氣呵成，恍如隔世，剛才的那一瞬間仿佛如有神助。她松了一口氣擡起頭，陳靛笑看着她不停拍手稱贊，滿含愛意的雙眼中甚至還有一絲與有榮焉的得意。生華想，幸好他沒穿義肢，不然他現在一定要忍不住踉踉跄跄的走過來吻她。