Chapter 1: Frustrations

Description

At 5:00 PM on Sunday, in an office of a certain department at Jiancheng Company, Zheng Yang was scratching his head while rushing a PPT for a Cultural Tourism Project.

This was not his specialty, nor was it the responsibility of his department, but General Manager Li had still handed the tricky task to him. Manager Li had said he “saw potential” in him and that Zheng Yang had “great ability.”

“Damn him. He says he thinks highly of me, but if he really did, he’d give me a promotion and a raise! Sending me work that isn’t even mine—is that what he calls thinking highly of me?! He’s just bullying an honest man!”

Zheng Yang grumbled as he shredded a document that had just been printed but failed to meet the requirements.

“The key is that this isn’t even my business area. I don’t have the background, the client contacts, or the crucial information needed for this project. No matter how capable I am, how the hell am I supposed to do this!”

His chest heaved with rage, and the fury in his eyes made it look as though he wanted to personally strike down Manager Li for giving him this work. But he knew this was just a way to vent. That was all.

Over the years, this kind of extreme pressure always forced Zheng Yang to produce results before the deadline.

The leaders seemed to recognize his talent, so they frequently handed him urgent and difficult tasks. He had become a firefighter—specifically, a crew member, not the captain. The credit always went to the captain, never to him.

He was truly fed up, and he had truly done enough “bootlicking.”

But…

His phone rang. It was his wife.

“Hello…” He answered the phone, sounding exhausted, hoping his wife would hear his helplessness and offer some comfort.

“Husband, our son’s mock exam results are out. He barely got over 400 points! At this rate, even getting into a regular high school will be a struggle! Doesn’t one of the leaders at your company know the principal of No. 2 Middle School? Go find them quickly! You drink every day and never do anything useful—well, this is something worth drinking for. You must take this to heart!”

His wife’s voice was a mix of anger and worried sobbing. Zheng Yang had no choice and replied weakly, “Alright, alright, I’ll find a way…”

Zheng Yang hung up the phone. He felt a surge of pressure hit the top of his skull, giving him the urge to smash the device. But he couldn’t. Not only could he not smash it, but thanks to his son and wife, he now had two more people he needed to “suck up” to.

“It’s true what they say—when a woman takes charge, the house collapses! I’ve advised her so many times, but she just won’t listen. If he can’t get into high school, let him go to a vocational school! Why must I be the one to go beg people!”

Zheng Yang shouted his frustrations toward his wife aloud. He could no longer hold back his tears. A 38-year-old grown man was currently crying like a baby.

5 minutes later, Zheng Yang wiped his face and calmed himself down. He poured a glass of water and prepared to finish the PPT while he drank.

Before he could finish the water, his phone rang again.

It was Xiao Zhao from his department.

He answered mechanically. ‘What’s the new task now? Whatever. When the lice are many, they don’t itch; when the debts are many, they don’t weigh you down.’

“Brother Zheng, Manager Chen says he misses you. I told him you still have work to finish, but he said you should relax first. If you can’t finish it, he’ll help you explain it to the General Manager tomorrow. So, Brother Zheng, why don’t you come over? We’re at Wuwei Ju, Room 206!”

Manager Chen was a Vice General Manager at the company. He didn’t oversee Zheng Yang’s department, but they seemed to have a deep history, and he often invited Zheng Yang out for drinks.

Zheng Yang put down the phone and smiled bitterly. ‘He misses me? If he missed me, he would have called earlier. I bet he just wants me to show up and settle the bill.’

But he couldn’t refuse. When he was younger and full of hot-blooded arrogance, he had offended Manager Chen and suffered greatly for it. After learning his lesson, he had backed down and was forced to begin his days of “sucking up” to Manager Chen.

He glanced at the PPT on his computer, which wasn’t even half-finished, and finally cursed, “To hell with it! I’m going to enjoy myself today!”

By the time he arrived at Room 206 in Wuwei Ju, Manager Chen, Xiao Zhao, and the others were already halfway through their meal. According to the rules, a latecomer had to down two drinks as a penalty to catch up with the others.

Zheng Yang couldn’t explain that Manager Chen had called him late. After greeting everyone, he picked up the glass and downed two in a row. As Manager Chen led the group in clapping and cheering, Zheng Yang’s head immediately began to feel light and dizzy.

At the table, whether it was Manager Chen or Xiao Zhao, everyone treated Zheng Yang like a brother. Although he was dizzy, he was still sharp in his mind.

When Manager Chen repeatedly mentioned “singing” as if by accident, Zheng Yang knew he couldn’t play dumb any longer.

“Let’s go, Manager Chen. Today is on me. We’ll go to Golden Era. I’ll book a room right now!”

Golden Era was a high-end business KTV in the city. Zheng Yang had been there many times accompanying various leaders.

As he spoke, Zheng Yang pulled out his phone, pretending to look for a number, his face wearing an expression that said, “I’ll be furious if you don’t let me pay.”

Manager Chen said with a smile, “Old Zheng, how can I let you spend your money? Don’t worry, I’ve already arranged everything this time!”

“How can that be, Manager Chen? You’re looking down on your younger brother!”

Zheng Yang and Manager Chen stayed locked in an embrace, acting out the standard routines of adult men, as they stumbled into the car and headed toward Golden Era.

Manager Chen always said he loved hearing Zheng Yang sing, and Zheng Yang would always give a passionate performance. But this time, Zheng Yang didn’t grab the microphone. With the overwhelming pressure he was under, he was afraid that if he opened his mouth now, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from crying…

Manager Chen was busy kissing the hostess in his arms, while Xiao Zhao took on the role of the mood-maker. He howled Xiao Shenyang’s song, “My Good Brother,” with an unpolished voice. When Zheng Yang heard Xiao Zhao sing the line “My good brother, tell me if there’s any bitterness in your heart,” he turned to the hostess sitting beside him.

“Girl, what’s your name?”

“I’m Lili, big brother ~”

Zheng Yang patted Lili’s leg, his breath smelling of alcohol. “That’s good. You’re young, beautiful, and sexy. And you make so much money… Hey, can I ask? In your line of work, how much can you make in a month?”

Lili whispered in his ear, “When things are good, maybe 20,000. When they’re not, around 8,000 or 9,000.”

“Whoa, even when things are bad, you still make 8,000 or 9,000?”

Lili smiled and asked, “How much do you make, Brother?”

Zheng Yang held up five fingers.

“50,000?” Lili gasped.

“Hahaha, don’t laugh, but it’s 5,000.”

Lili’s expression seemed a bit awkward. “That’s not a small amount either.”

Zheng Yang laughed loudly and sighed, stroking Lili’s leg. “I really envy you guys… I wish I could make money that easily…”

Lili stopped smiling and looked at him sideways. “Brother, do you really think it’s easy for us?”

“Of course it is!” Zheng Yang said as he downed a beer and slammed the glass onto the table with a loud thud. “It’s nothing more than singing, hugging and kissing men. It doesn’t even involve those kinds of transactions, so the police won’t even bother you…”

Hearing this, after a brief moment of surprise, a strange curve formed at the corner of Lili’s mouth.

She leaned in close to Zheng Yang’s ear. “Then remember this, Brother. You asked for this.”

Zheng Yang’s eyes were hazy with drink, and he didn’t catch the chill in her words at all. Instead, he smiled bitterly in self-mockery. “You’re right. Everything has a cause and an effect. This miserable state I’m in is all my own doing. I deserve it! But… it’s already like this. It can’t be changed… there’s no way to change it…”

After finishing his sentence, he leaned back against the sofa. As the strong alcohol rushed to his head, he felt his consciousness fall into a black hole—dropping further and further… both himself and the world gradually blurred until he completely blacked out.