"...So, this is a typical negative example!"
Zhang Wei, the department supervisor of Pioneer Technology Company, had a receding hairline that glistened under the ceiling lights of the meeting room. He slammed a report heavily on the table, spittle flying as he spoke.
"Chen Mo, come explain to everyone why you used a 12-point font for the report's header? The company regulations clearly state it should be 10-point! 10-point! Are you blind?"
Chen Mo stood in the center of the meeting room, like a criminal being publicly tried. He hung his head, feeling the blood rush to his neck, making it burn intensely.
He wanted to explain that it was just an accidental keystroke mistake, something totally insignificant. But under Zhang Wei's eyes—even smaller from the tension—any defense would only become new evidence of guilt.
"No response? Then you're admitting it? You have a problem with your work attitude!" Zhang Wei's voice rose another notch. "Because of your tiny mistake, the entire department's report has to be redone! Do you know how much labor cost this wastes?"
The colleagues around him either pretended to look at documents with their heads down or exchanged secret glances, their eyes a mix of sympathy, relief, and a hint of barely concealed schadenfreude.
Chen Mo clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms. He knew Zhang Wei didn't care about the font at all—he was just making an example of someone to assert his authority. Just yesterday, Zhang Wei had been chewed out by his superiors for a project delay, and now he needed a "chicken" to reestablish his dominance.
And Chen Mo was that chosen, most docile chicken.
"Given your extremely irresponsible work attitude," Zhang Wei finally revealed his real intention, a sadistic pleasure on his face, "Chen Mo, you won't be getting the department's performance bonus this month. Reflect on yourself properly!"
Hum—
Chen Mo's mind went completely blank in an instant.
That bonus was his only hope for next month's rent.
The meeting ended with Zhang Wei's contented concluding remarks. Chen Mo stumbled back to his desk, but before he could even sit down, whispers from the pantry drifted through the crack in the door.
"Tsk tsk, Old Zhang lost his temper again. Chen Mo is so unlucky."
"Unlucky? He just walked right into the firing line. I heard Old Zhang got chewed out by the director and is just looking for someone to take his anger out on."
"That bonus is no small amount. He's really screwed now..."
A new intern walked past with a water cup. Probably taking pity on him, the intern whispered to Chen Mo, "Brother Mo, don't take it to heart. Supervisor Zhang is just... sigh."
That one sigh contained all the unspoken subtext that every adult understands.
Chen Mo forced a smile, wanting to say "thank you," but found his throat was too dry to make a sound. He felt like an invisible man, all his embarrassment and humiliation exposed to everyone's gaze, 任由 them discuss.
It was already 10 p.m. when he dragged his leaden legs back home.
In the old corridor, the voice-activated light turned on as he approached, illuminating a glaring A4 sheet taped to his rental house door.
"Rent Reminder: Mr. Chen Mo, your rent is three days overdue. Please pay it within three days; otherwise, we will clear the contents of the house in accordance with the contract, and you shall bear all consequences! Landlord: Ms. Li."
The cold printed words hit his already frayed nerves like a heavy hammer.
Just then, his phone in his pocket pinged—it was a text message from the bank: [Dear Customer, the balance of your debit card ending in xxxx is: 17.5 yuan.]
At that moment, a cold, piercing sense of despair spread from the soles of his feet to the top of his head in an instant.
Chen Mo numbly took out his keys, about to unlock the door, when the door next to his—adorned with anime posters—slammed open. A young man in trendy clothes, looking no more than twenty, walked out, carrying a bulging trash bag.
The young man glanced at Chen Mo with undisguised disgust, then casually threw the trash bag full of drink bottles at Chen Mo's door, making a clattering sound.
Deafening sounds of a game's gunfights and heavy bass music poured out from the slightly ajar crack of his door.
Chen Mo's sanity, stretched to its limit like a string, let out a whimper before breaking.
He didn't have the energy to argue. He silently opened his own door, then silently closed it again.
The ten-square-meter partitioned room felt like an airtight coffin. His supervisor's greasy face, his colleagues' sympathetic looks, the landlord's warning, the bank's text message, and the heavy bass from next door that seemed to pound directly on his heart... Everything turned into tangible pressure, squeezing in on him from all sides, threatening to crush him completely.
Humiliation, anger, and fear for the future overwhelmed him like a tide.
He slid down the cold wall and sat on the floor, weakly raising his hand to hit the wall from which the noise kept coming.
It was so light that even he couldn't hear it.
He didn't even dare to vent loudly.
Just as this extreme sense of powerlessness and despair reached its peak, an translucent interface glowing with a faint blue light suddenly appeared before his eyes, without any warning.
The interface was full of a futuristic sci-fi vibe, with complex geometric lines flowing slowly. In the center, a line of simple yet infinitely powerful text came clearly into his view.
[Reality Editor - Loading Complete]