-73- Sound
Seeing Zhao Jinghuan crying, Lu Kai panicked. "What's wrong? Why are you crying again?" he muttered, hurriedly fetching a piece of paper and handing it to her, asking if she was stressed out. Zhao Jinghuan's "automatic translation" kicked in again, and Lu Kai's caring inquiries sounded like deliberate accusations. She figured she couldn't stay here any longer, or else someone would be murdered. She waved her hand and stood up. Lu Kai chased her out, but as they reached the door, Zhao Jinghuan gently pushed him back inside. The door slammed shut. Zhao Jinghuan got on her electric scooter and pedaled aimlessly in a familiar direction, eventually arriving at Cool Toys. She scanned the shelves of trendy toys. Even the ones she'd previously considered ordinary now shone with a dazzling brilliance, each one perfect for her to hang herself with. The more she looked, the more despair grew, almost like she was drowning. Hoping to grab onto something, she pulled out her phone and, finally, randomly called Sister Zou. "Sister Zou..." Zhao Jinghuan told her on the phone about Lu Kai asking her to design a new trendy toy. Sister Zou seemed busy, her responses of "hmm-hmm" and "ah-ah" seeming halfhearted. After Zhao Jinghuan remarked that she clearly had no talent and couldn't even draw a single stroke, Sister Zou suddenly interrupted, "Just sit tight for now. I'll talk to you after work tonight." Then she hung up. Zhao Jinghuan was inevitably disappointed, but she also knew that Sister Zou had her own work to do and was grateful she'd even answered her call. Furthermore, calling Sister Zou during work hours, whether asking for help or complaining, was inherently abrupt. Zhao Jinghuan was lost in thought when Sister Zou called back, "Hey, are you okay now? Come to my office. I'll send you your location." ……… Zhao Jinghuan said no, but Sister Zou ignored her and, after hanging up, sent her a location. Zhao Jinghuan hesitated for a moment, then rode her electric scooter to TD Club to find Sister Zou. Sister Zou didn't come downstairs to pick her up, but instead contacted the front desk in advance and had them escort Zhao Jinghuan upstairs. Compared to Mr. Huzi, TD was clearly much larger, even on a completely different scale. While the decor didn't appear to be significantly more expensive, the difference in attitude was stark. Mr. Huzi's employees had a certain small-company slackness, while at TD, Zhao Jinghuan stood in the hallway for a moment. The employees passing by her all had a tense air about them, walking...
When Lu Kai saw Zhao Jinghuan crying, he immediately panicked. He muttered, "What's wrong? Why are you crying again?" He hurriedly took out a piece of paper, handed it to Zhao Jinghuan, and asked her if she was under too much pressure.
Zhao Jinghuan's "automatic translation" came online again, and Lu Kai's caring inquiries sounded like deliberate accusations to her. She couldn't stay here any longer, or else someone would be murdered. She waved her hand and stood up. Lu Kai chased her out, but when they reached the door, Zhao Jinghuan gently pushed him back inside. Then, with a bang, the door closed.
Zhao Jinghuan got on her electric bike and rode randomly in a familiar direction. She came to Cool Toys again. She looked at the toys on the shelves. Even the toys that she had thought were ordinary before seemed to be radiating thousands of rays of light in her eyes. Every one of them was suitable to be given to her so that she could hang herself with them.
The more she looked, the more desperate she felt, almost like she was drowning. She wished she could grab onto something, so she pulled out her phone and, finally, randomly called Sister Zou.
"Sister Zou..."
Zhao Jinghuan told her over the phone about Lu Kai asking her to design a new toy. Sister Zou seemed busy, responding with a few "hmms and ahs" and seemingly unconcerned. After Zhao Jinghuan remarked that she clearly had no talent and couldn't draw a single stroke, Sister Zou suddenly interrupted, "Just sit tight for now. I'll talk to you in detail after work tonight." Then she hung up.
Zhao Jinghuan was inevitably disappointed, but she also knew that Sister Zou had her own work to do, so it was good that she answered her call. Even calling Sister Zou during work hours, whether asking for help or complaining, was inherently abrupt.
Zhao Jinghuan was just lost in thought when Sister Zou suddenly called back: "Hey, are you okay now? Come to my office and I'll send you your location."
…………
Zhao Jinghuan said no, but Sister Zou ignored her and sent her a location after hanging up. Zhao Jinghuan hesitated for a moment, then rode her electric scooter to TD Club to find Sister Zou.
Sister Zou didn't come downstairs to pick her up, but instead contacted the front desk in advance and had them escort Zhao Jinghuan upstairs. Compared to Mr. Huzi, TD was clearly much larger, perhaps even on a completely different scale. While the company's decor didn't appear to be significantly more expensive than Mr. Huzi's, the status of the employees was noticeably different.
Mr. Hu's employees more or less had the lazy spirit of a small company, and on the TD side, Zhao Jinghuan stood in the corridor for a while. The employees coming and going in front of her all had a tense feeling, walking hurriedly with the wind under their feet. In the corner of the corridor, there was a boy hugging a trash can and crying and vomiting, but no one stopped to ask, and most people just glanced at him when passing by.
Not long after, Sister Zou came out from inside, her head tilted with a phone between her ears and a pile of documents. She nodded at Zhao Jinghuan, and the phone between her ears fell to the ground with a "bang".
"Wow!" They both squatted down to pick it up. Zhao Jinghuan handed the phone to Sister Zou. Seeing her look like she wanted to have three heads and six arms, she felt a little embarrassed for a moment: "Sister Zou, if you are busy, we can meet in the evening."
Sister Zou took the phone and said hurriedly, "It's okay, I'll be right over. Please help me take care of the child first."
Zhao Jinghuan was stunned, wondering how come Sister Zou was pregnant after not seeing her for a few months. However, she didn't expect that Sister Zou pointed at the boy who was crying and vomiting in the corner.
"This is with my young colleague. Please help me keep an eye on him and don't let him die here."
After Sister Zou finished speaking, she left with the phone in her hand, leaving Zhao Jinghuan a little dazed.
The boy retched repeatedly, but only saliva, snot, and tears flowed down in streams. It was unclear whether his stomach had been emptied long ago. Zhao Jinghuan saw that he did not look drunk, so she took out a tissue from her bag and walked over.
The boy retched for a while before looking up and seeing Zhao Jinghuan. He was wearing glasses and had a grimace on his face, but Zhao Jinghuan couldn't tell if his grimace was due to his appearance or just his current state.
The boy took a deep breath, took the tissue, and thanked Zhao Jinghuan. Zhao Jinghuan asked him if he was okay, and he shook his head and said he was used to it and that it would be fine after he spit it out.
Zhao Jinghuan frowned, feeling that the phrase "I'm used to it" really pushed the bitterness in him to the extreme. She said, "I'm a friend of Sister Zou. She asked me to..."
The boy shouted, "Don't mention it!" Then he turned around and hugged the trash can and started to retch, as if he had triggered a button.
Zhao Jinghuan realized what was going on and asked him not to mention anything. The boy had recovered somewhat, but as soon as he turned back, Zhao Jinghuan said, "Can't you mention Sister Zou?" He screamed and began to retch again.
Only then did Zhao Jinghuan confirm that the words "Sister Zou" were actually forbidden words for him. The corridor was poorly ventilated, and after the boy's condition improved, Zhao Jinghuan, still wondering "What on earth did Sister Zou do to him," took him downstairs and found a place to sit and rest in the square below the company.
I don’t know if it was because the space finally became open, or because he was away from Sister Zou, but the boy’s excitement calmed down. He obviously felt that his previous performance was a bit embarrassing, but he stubbornly made excuses for himself.
“This is what it’s like to be a newbie at TD Club.”
Zhao Jinghuan asked him, "What do you mean by this look?"
The boy said, "If you fail the first design meeting, you can go back to business and operations. No one will give you any chances again."
From what he said, it seemed like he had just attended the design meeting he mentioned. Zhao Jinghuan asked him, "So you just submitted your work?"
The boy nodded with red eyes. "Yes, I went to the meeting and was criticized by the review panel. It was all because of that woman. I said I wasn't prepared, but she lied to me, saying that now was the best opportunity. Now everyone knows I'm a loser who failed the internal referral."
Zhao Jinghuan asked: "That woman is..." With her previous experience, she no longer dared to mention Sister Zou's name.
The boy nodded and said, "Yes, she's your friend." He frowned and looked off into the distance. "I'm not afraid of her finding out about my dissatisfaction with her anymore. My career is ruined anyway. Even if I go back to operations, no one will take me seriously anymore. My words will soon become worthless. After all, my own designs didn't even get an internal referral, so what qualifications do I have to give advice to other designers?"
He sneered, "A review panel composed of a few management members can decide your life or death, your fate. They don't care how much passion you have in your heart, how good your past achievements are, or how many honors you have. They are all worthless in their eyes."
Zhao Jinghuan frowned. No matter how slow she was, she had already figured out by now that Sister Zou didn't call her over simply to "take care of the child," but wanted to convey some information to her through the boy in front of her.
Zhao Jinghuan asked him: "Is this your first time doing design?"
The boy nodded and said dejectedly, "I guess so. And this is probably the last time." He sighed silently, "If only I had waited a little longer, I would have been able to produce a better work. If I had more confidence in my work, I wouldn't have been so nervous. I wouldn't have acted like a fool at the meeting, and I wouldn't have nervously vomited in front of so many people... I clearly should have waited a little longer."
Zhao Jinghuan always felt that the boy's words seemed to be said deliberately for her, and she suddenly became rebellious: "How long do you have to wait? Ten days, a month, a year, or a lifetime? How will you know if you can do it or not if you don't try?"
The boy sneered: "You are indeed that woman's friend, saying the same thing as her. Now I have found out that I am a loser. Are you happy now?"
Zhao Jinghuan said: "Why should I be happy? I don't even know you."
"But you know that woman."
"What woman? You don't even dare to say your last name, Sister Zou, Sister Zou, Sister Chou."
“Ugh, ugh…”
The boy's post-traumatic stress disorder had clearly not subsided. Every time Zhao Jinghuan called him "Sister Zou," he would dry heave. However, the more he retched, the more Zhao Jinghuan felt he was just playing it cool, and the angrier she became, she began to spout off a barrage of rhetoric at him.
——A running comment with only two words: “Sister Zou, Sister Zou, Sister Zou, Sister Zou, Sister Zou…”
As I was muttering to myself, Sister Zou called.
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