"Because I suddenly shouted out loud."
"Everyone in the office was startled."
"I couldn't help it."
"I was really busy today. I had so much to do that I was completely overwhelmed."
The young man pressed his fingers to his brow. "And there was constant noise in my ears."
"I really couldn't take it anymore."
"So I shouted."
"It was my fault."
"It was only right that my boss reprimanded me."
"And later, when my boss saw how awful I looked, he didn't make me work overtime. He told me to go home early and rest."
"He said I'd work more efficiently if I felt better..."
"Ah, sorry."
The young man suddenly realized something. "I was just saying how I'd told you too much about unpleasant things."
"And now I'm venting to you again."
Madam Xiao had appeared at his side at just the right time and shown him such kindness that he'd started to cling to her a little.
He'd told her about things he'd had no one to confide in before.
Their relationship as a tea house customer and proprietress made him feel at ease, too.
But was he being too presumptuous?
The proprietress might have felt she couldn't refuse him because he was a customer.
Even though he'd deliberately been spending more here...
Come to think of it, the month was only halfway over, and he'd already gone way over budget.
He felt as if he'd just suffered another blow to his mental well-being.
"No."
Madam Xiao shook her head.
She truly didn't find it burdensome to listen to the young man talk about his troubles.
Besides, his confiding in her felt like a novel experience.
In a sense, her son was too capable. As far as she could remember, he'd hardly ever complained to her