Stepping into the door of the nursing center again, Hesta became familiar with the routine.
It was just nine o'clock now, and Mihailo, like yesterday, had not come to work yet. Hesta asked the front desk to take Eleven to the canteen at the back for dinner, while he picked a conference room to wait by himself.
After waiting for less than fifteen minutes, Mihailo appeared again walking vigorously.
"Hello!" He still welcomed Hesta in that exaggerated tone, "Are you here again today?"
Hesta just looked at him, hesitating to speak, and said lightly, "Hello, doctor."
"What happened?"
"I..." Hesta glanced aside, "I'd better go to your office and talk, okay?"
Mihailo's expression became a little subtle - Hesta had just used honorifics to him.
"certainly."
The two came to the office, and Hesta sat down again in the same position as yesterday.
"It seems that you must have encountered some difficulties." Mihailo smiled, "Tell me about it."
"You shouldn't hide it from me," Hesta whispered, "I want to know the price... Let's be honest, what kind of price can you give me?"
"Wait, wait," Mihailo raised his hands and made a comforting gesture, "What happened?"
"Someone talked to me." Hesta stared into Mihailo's eyes, "She is much more honest than you."
"who?"
"...It doesn't matter who it is." Hesta said softly, "I came to you because of what you said to me yesterday... You are very much like one of my elders. I believe you are not a bad person."
"Who is it?" Mihailo asked, "...is it Eleven's mother? Or did Eleven take you to someone else?"
"It's not important..." Hesta protested, "I'm here today just to have a frank talk with you. Let's not tell each other riddles anymore. Give me an accurate letter and I will make a choice. I Now I just want to ask you one question - can it be done, or can't it be done?"
Mihailo's expression froze for a moment. He looked at Hesta in embarrassment, then took off his glasses and gently rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"You...you really gave me a difficult problem."
"What kind of problem is this?" Hesta leaned on the sofa, "Give me your quotation, and then I will give you my answer... Although I am young, I have been on the battlefield, so none of you can lie to me. "
"Listen, madam." Mihailo also lowered his voice, "I told you yesterday that I don't think you need our help yet. It's absolutely unacceptable for you to make rash decisions in a hurry like this. This is not a good state to talk about things - I am doing this not only for you, but also for myself. I hope you make a choice in a clear and rational manner. Otherwise, you will definitely regret today's impulse in the future."
"I don't have that much time to think about it slowly." Hesta said lightly, "The lady said she had a way to help me get an unimaginably high price -"
"She farted!" As soon as the words came out, Mihailo almost immediately realized his gaffe. He shook his head, his voice softened again, and his speaking speed was slower than before, "No, kid, you tell me. Since yesterday , up to now, what happened in this day, you must have encountered something terrible...tell me about it, okay?"
Hesta did not answer. She lowered her eyes slightly and remained silent for a long time.
Mihailo stood up, poured a cup of coffee for her, and handed it to Hesta with both hands.
"Don't be afraid, don't worry," Mihailov said warmly, "What exactly happened... No matter what the problem is, I will always be on your side, just ask."
"...There is no problem. Even if there is a problem, it is my problem alone," Hesta whispered, "You just need to tell me how much money you can give."
"Of course this is not just your problem." Mihailo opened his eyes wide, "Okay, let's talk about your biggest concern first. Do you remember the other Hesta girl you met here yesterday? Come here Countless people have approached her before and gave her quotes...but none of them were higher than what I have here!"
"Why are you just unwilling to give me a specific number?" Hesta looked at him, "Obviously others gave it to me very readily -"
"Let me tell you why," Mihailo walked to Hesta's side, "please keep this posture."
Mihailo walked to the side cabinet, opened the cabinet door, and took out a colored paper turntable from inside.
Mihailo put the paper turntable close to Hesta's eyes. He kept flipping the color card on the turntable until the color of the paper approached Hesta's eye color. He wrote down the color number and put the other end of the turntable close to Hesta's hair, repeat.
"Okay," Mihailo returned to his seat, "I have good news and bad news to tell you now. Which one do you want to hear first?"
"Bad news."
"Based on the standard market price, your price is probably less than half of eucalyptus."
"...Why?" Hesta raised her head, "Why?"
"Your eye color and hair color are not as pure as hers." Mihailo folded his hands, "Yes, I said yesterday that your quality is excellent, but compared with the best ones like Eucalyptus , it’s still a little inferior - your eye color is one color darker, and your hair color is half a color lighter, which is a slight flaw in perfection."
Hesta's throat moved.
In silence, she tried her best to look calm and normal.
"But you don't have to be discouraged at all!" Mihailo suddenly smiled, "The good news is that things in this world often have to be a little flawed in order to approach true perfection!"
"...What do you mean," Hesta whispered, "I don't understand, please explain."
"That set of 'excellent' color gamut intervals is just an international convention - beauty is beautiful, but we people in District 14 have our own preferences," Mihailo's tone gradually became cheerful, "We here Most people don’t like eye colors that are too light. It is precisely the sapphire-like blue of your eyes that is the most popular category in our experience;
"As for hair color, we men in District 14 prefer light-colored long hair. Hair color that is too dark will only undermine a woman's innocence. Hair like yours is more appropriate - of course, in order to get a better price , you will have to grow your hair later, at least to your waist...but we can discuss these trivial matters after signing the contract."
With that said, Mihailo sat back in his seat.
"So you understand, I can't give you an estimate now, because right now I can only give you an extremely conservative price... But if you just give me some time, I can get you a price that will make both of us happy." The price is surprising, and only I can do that.”
