Duncan's Apartment.
"Are you really going?"
Ross frowned.
"I'm really going," Adam sighed.
"Well, that's good then."
Ross suddenly grinned. "I'll go with you. It'll be a nice little getaway."
"…"
Adam immediately had a bad feeling.
He had chosen to go to Boston for two reasons.
First, to visit Juno and Karen and take the opportunity to explore the city.
After all, Boston was home to two of the world's most renowned universities—Harvard and MIT—along with many other excellent schools.
A cultural hub of the United States.
A true college town.
Definitely worth seeing.
Second, The Lord of Mysteries IV was about to be released, and Random House hoped he would help with the promotion.
Of course, it was just a request, not a requirement.
At Adam's level, Random House treated him like royalty—there was no way they would dare force him to do anything.
Boston, being a cultural hotspot, had one of the highest book sales in the country. Holding a book signing and promotional event there was a no-brainer.
But neither of these reasons was the real reason he wanted to go.
The most important reason was that he wanted to take Max on a trip to get away from Ross and Rachel.
If he couldn't win against them, he could at least avoid them.
But he never expected Ross to be so clueless that he insisted on tagging along!
"No way!"
Adam instinctively refused.
"Why not?"
Ross looked at him with a pitiful expression.
Adam twitched.
For Chandler's sake, their friendship had to continue—so he couldn't tell the truth.
"I'm going there for work. I won't have time to hang out with you."
With no other choice, Adam had to make something up.
Lu Xun once said: One lie requires countless others to cover it up.
This was exactly that situation.
"That's fine," Ross chuckled. "I won't bother you. I can explore during the day, and at night we can go out together. I've never been to Boston before."
He was excited about it.
"…"
Adam almost swore out loud but forced himself to smile. "Do you even have vacation days? We're leaving on a Tuesday."
"Huh?"
Ross frowned. "Why would they schedule a book signing on a weekday?"
"No choice," Adam continued his nonsense. "If it were on a weekend, way too many people would show up. I'd probably sign books until I drop dead. Having too many fans is such a burden, you know?"
This time, Ross twitched.
Was he complaining… or showing off?
"Besides, I probably won't even have time for you in the evenings."
Afraid that Ross would still insist on coming, Adam quickly added, "There are promotional events at night too."
"Can't you take me with you?" Ross asked stubbornly.
"Are you a woman?"
Adam finally snapped. "If I bring you along, by the next morning, every newspaper will have headlines saying I came out as gay! Unless—of course—you're willing to wear a dress. Then we can talk."
Talk?
If Ross was actually willing to do that, Adam might just spit in his face.
A burly dude in a dress? No one needs to see that.
"Oh…"
Ross finally gave up, though he looked reluctant. "Fine, I won't go. Just come back soon."
Come back?
With the way you're acting, maybe I'll just transfer to Harvard Medical School and never return.
Adam rolled his eyes.
After halfheartedly walking Ross out the door, Max chuckled. "Are you really going to Boston?"
"We are," Adam grinned. "I'm taking you to meet two of my good friends, explore the city, and get away for a bit."
"You mean Juno and Karen?"
Max was curious.
"Yep," Adam nodded. "I was planning to go over the weekend, but I guess I'll have to leave a few days early. You can get time off, right?"
A random line of text suddenly appeared: No one makes a mistake, no one sends a message, no one shares content on 69ShuBa.
"Are you kidding?"
Max smirked confidently. "One of the perks of being a waitress is that I can take time off whenever I want. Especially someone like me—places are always hiring. I can leave whenever, come back whenever. No problem at all."
"That's true."
Adam chuckled.
Max's confidence reminded him of Penny from The Big Bang Theory.
There was that one time when Bernadette suggested skipping work to go to Disneyland and dress up as princesses.
Amy, despite being relatively normal when dealing with Sheldon, was actually a weirdo herself.
So how did she request time off?
First, at around 7 PM, she called her boss to casually discuss some lab issues and casually mentioned she was going out for seafood.
At 9:30 PM, she called again, casually mentioning that one of the scallops tasted off.
At 11:30 PM, she called to say she had been violently throwing up.
At 12:45 AM, she called again—saying nothing—just dry heaving into the phone.
By then, her boss finally got the hint and offered to give her the day off.
Now that was a ridiculous way to get time off, but it had a certain charm to it.
Back in his previous life, Adam would always cough a few times when calling in sick—just to make it sound real.
Whether or not the boss believed it was another story.
But adding that little performance? It forced them to be a "good boss" and approve the request.
And how did Penny request time off?
Just like Max—she simply said, "See ya!" and walked out.
And when Penny decided to quit her waitressing job to focus on acting, she confidently told her boss and coworkers that they should "keep their eyes open" because she'd be on TV soon.
Of course, when things didn't work out, she just as confidently walked back in like nothing happened.
Being pretty or intimidating had its perks.
If an average person tried that?
They'd be replaced in seconds.
Three-legged frogs are rare.
Two-legged waiters? Plenty.
Originally, Adam planned to take time off and leave early with Max. But his med school schedule was too packed, so he had to stick with the weekend plan.
Still, to dodge Ross, Adam had to pretend he was leaving on Tuesday.
Luckily, he was rich and a pro at this.
To sell the lie, he and Max booked a room at the Four Seasons instead of going back to his apartment.
A change of scenery can be surprisingly refreshing.
No wonder so many big shots preferred hotels.
By the end of it, Adam's resentment toward Ross and Rachel had mostly faded.
He was too busy enjoying himself.
As for the Boston book signing?
Ross had no idea when it was actually happening.
And whenever Max had a break, Adam called Monica and the others—urging them to end the Ross and Rachel drama once and for all.
Just break up already!
No need to drag their friends down with them.
He even suggested they explode at both of them—yell, scream, whatever it took—so they'd finally stop.
Ross and Rachel deserved to be put in their place.
Why didn't Adam handle it himself?
Because with Leonard around, he'd definitely take Rachel's side.
And Ross?
Ross wasn't exactly calm—if Adam too obviously favored Rachel, Ross might just snap and start ranting in a thick Northeastern accent.
"What's going on here?! This doesn't look right at all!"
So letting Monica and the others handle it was the best plan.
They were neutral—they had no bias.
Only they could put an end to the madness before Adam returned from Boston.