Work Prophet

The ringtone of his phone roused Li Yu from a state of half-asleep drowsiness, reminding him that his stop was drawing near.

Li Yu removed his earphones, stood up ahead of time, and walked over to stand by the middle door.

The night bus, due to its long intervals between departures, required a lengthy wait if one was missed, so the drivers had honed their timing skills to a fine art, keeping their stopovers at each station to an accuracy that rarely exceeded a minute and a half.

Accompanied by the automated female voice announcing, "The vehicle is arriving at the station, please hold on tightly… Mind the doors, and please take all your belongings with you," the Night Route 6 came to a solitary halt at the bus stop.

Li Yu alighted, walked straight past two intersections, then crossed a pedestrian bridge and a row of low walls emblazoned with the slogan "Salute to the Most Beautiful Strivers," to return to the residential community he was renting in.

This community, named Jinhe Garden, was a resettlement housing complex that was relatively new, complete with garden and elevators, and, being not far from a subway station, attracted many tenants.

Li Yu shared a two-bedroom apartment with someone, which was around seventy square meters in size; Li Yu occupied the master bedroom, while the other, a programmer named Wang Guowei, resided in the second bedroom.

Li Yu arrived home at 12:39 AM, to a pitch-black interior.

This wasn't because Wang Guowei had gone to bed; in fact, the guy was a certified night owl who, relying on his youth, often worked until eleven or twelve at night, played video games until one or two in the morning, and then got up early the next day with panda eyes to go to work.

Tonight, however, his room door was shut, without a sound coming from inside.

A quick glance at the shoe rack told Li Yu that he was once again the first of the two to reach home that evening.

Turning on the living room chandelier, switching to slippers, and tossing his backpack onto the second-hand IKEA sofa he had snagged from a flea market, Li Yu sat down at the dining table, picked up a pair of disposable chopsticks, and began to eat his now-cold stir-fried noodles alone.

As he had barely taken two bites, his phone vibrated again.

Li Yu glanced at the screen and saw that it was the department head tagging him in the work group, providing revision comments for the three versions of the proposal he had submitted earlier.

Li Yu replied with an acknowledgment.

After finishing the stir-fried noodles, he turned on his computer, downloaded the previously completed PowerPoint presentation from the cloud drive, spent twenty minutes making revisions, and then sent off another work email.

This time, there was no further response from the department head, probably asleep by now.

Li Yu shut down the computer, performed a simple wash-up, and also laid down in bed.

Despite his body and mind both feeling very tired, for some reason he found himself utterly unable to fall asleep.

After lying there for a while, Li Yu powered up his phone and started listening to a podcast explaining European history, using it as a sleep aid. After over half an hour, he finally drifted off into a groggy sleep.

...

It was half a month later when Li Yu received the interview phone call from The Third Empire.

He had even forgotten about that matter.

Despite the economic downturn during this period, with his impressive career track record, even though his alma mater wasn't among the prestigious 985 or 211 universities, merely a regular first-tier institution, he still managed to receive offers from several companies.

The resignation process had already been broached with his current employer, and he was now in the midst of the handover procedure.

This was the most relaxed period he had experienced since joining the workforce.

He no longer had to work unpaid overtime into the wee hours or deal with complicated workplace dynamics or be accountable for the whimsical ideas of clients.

Li Yu now just clocked in and out of work on time, never arriving late or leaving early, nor staying in the office for an extra minute. He complied with all reasonable requests from human resources and handed over his work to his successor.

Despite the severe overtime in his department, Li Yu heard that the company, in an effort to control costs, did not plan to hire anyone new after his departure, but would simply distribute the work he was responsible for among his other colleagues.

When this news got out, there was a general air of mournfulness, but Li Yu was no longer concerned with it.

Because Li Yu's work efficiency was generally good and he rarely complained about overtime, several leaders in his department were quite satisfied with him. When they heard about his resignation, they considered trying to retain him.

They talked to him several times and, aside from that, did indeed offer substantial incentives, such as promotions and pay raises. They also tempted him with promises like "the company was previously grooming and observing him, and he would be greatly useful in the future," a mix of half-truths and enticements, but still fell short compared to the several offers Li Yu had in hand.

Of course, the main reason was that Li Yu was determined to leave.

Realizing this, the company did not insist further. An executive took the lead and invited the entire department to a farewell dinner at Qiao Jiangnan next door.

During the banquet, host and guests enjoyed themselves fully. The executive changed his usual decisive and aggressive style in the company, becoming warm and gentle. He even clinked his tea cup with Li Yu's, acknowledging the hard work he had put in over the years and brought up the matter of having Li Yu revise a proposal in the middle of the night, hoping he wouldn't take it to heart.

Li Yu expressed understanding, pointing out that everyone from the rank-and-file employees to top executives like him were under the pressure of KPIs.

Setting aside those whose character is truly reprehensible, most people are able to maintain professionalism in the workplace.

Even if in the end they choose separate paths, they should part with a smile and no hard feelings, as having an extra friend is always better than having an extra enemy. The world is vast, and there might be a day of reunion in the future.

However, understanding this didn't mean that Li Yu approved of such a corporate culture and behavior.

After the meal, Li Yu went to the administration to return his work badge and other office supplies belonging to the company, cancelled his OA and company email, left the work group chats, and received a resignation certificate stamped with the company's seal.

And this also meant that he had finally completed the entire resignation process.

Li Yu said goodbye to a few close colleagues once more, took one last look at his empty workstation, shouldered his backpack, and walked out of the company's doors without looking back.

The sunlight outside the building was a bit dazzling. Li Yu stood there for about half a minute, still somewhat unaccustomed to a life without deadlines.

It felt as if someone had taken away the little hourglass that had always been ticking away above his head.

Li Yu glanced at his phone, noting that it was only two-thirty in the afternoon. His original plan had been to find a place to relax after resigning.

When he was frantically overworking, he always wished for a vacation to catch his breath. But once the holiday actually arrived, he felt lost, unsure of what to do.

Should he find a place to have a drink, or stay at home and binge a whole series? Perhaps play a game that had been stored on his hard drive for ages, or climb a hill...

But no matter what form of relaxation, at the core, it was all about creating a sanctuary - a temporary escape from the troubles of the real world through alcohol, artistic creation, or beautiful sights.

However, Li Yu found that this approach was becoming less and less effective for him, because he was very clear that any pleasure was only temporary.

Unless there was a Red Pill like in The Matrix, once the holiday was over, one would ultimately have to return to reality.

Thinking of this made it even harder for Li Yu to immerse himself as he used to do.

Just then, he received another text message from The Third Era, reminding him not to forget the interview scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Unable to find a way to relax, Li Yu simply used the remaining time to prepare for the upcoming interview.