Chapter 32

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Chen Xu quickly realized that he did not have time to bother about other things as he was in a bit of a pickle.

Even though only one night had passed in reality, to him, he had been in the virtual dreamworld for almost half a year. He was indeed a little overwhelmed by the fact that he had completed his half-done task, which he had left off almost half a year ago.

Sitting in front of his desktop, he was at a loss. He did not know what to do.

“Right, my briefcase.”

He emptied out the items in his briefcase and found a document. He finally knew where to start after scanning through the document thoroughly.

Hereafter, he put his items back in his briefcase and opened the computer file, where he used to save his documents for work.

He spent his entire morning trying to familiarize himself with these documents and slowly getting back on track. He did not approach anyone for help as he did not want his colleagues to be weirded out by him.

He managed to push through until lunchtime when Old Tang called him over for lunch.

They went to the restaurant which they regularly patronized. It was just a stone’s thrown away from the company.

The moment he entered the restaurant, Chen Xu had some recollections of the restaurant. The food there was cheap and affordable. Hence, they frequently went over for lunch.

Both Old Tang and he disliked food delivery as they did not want to spend their entire day in the office. They preferred to take a break outside their office during their lunchtime.

“Did something happen? You seemed really out of place recently, “Old Tang said after settling down.

Chen Xu knew that his actions in the morning were definitely peculiar, and he would not be able to hide from his colleagues for long. He replied, “It’s nothing much. I’m just a little annoyed.”

While chatting, he suddenly remembered that he could ask Old Tang for some advice regarding his change of job.

“Actually, I’m contemplating to change my career.”

“What? That’s so sudden.” Old Tang was taken aback.

“As you would’ve known, I have been in the same position for the past two years. I shouldn’t continue to muddle along. I may have better prospects if I change my job now,” Chen Xu said in a disheartened tone.

“Have you thought it through?” Old Tang asked. Knowing his situation in the company, Old Tang could not persuade him to stay.

“Yes.”

“Do you have any jobs in mind?”

“No, I will be sending my resumes to different companies first. I don’t have any other requirements; I’m just hoping that their salary will be higher than my current one.”

As they were chatting, the dishes were ready. They continued with their conversations as they dug in.

Given his experience, Old Tang was able to give Chen Xu much valuable advice.

They returned to the office after their meal, and they did not discuss Chen Xu’s resignation further as he did not want other colleagues to know.

They met a delivery man who was making his delivery to the company when they reached the office. Chen Xu immediately handed the iPhone X to the delivery man. His senior high school friend in the neighboring city should receive the phone the next day.

Once he sold this phone, the money he received would help to relieve some of his financial burdens.

After the delivery man had left, Chen Xu took up his cup to brew himself a cup of tea to freshen up.

At the water dispenser, a few of the female colleagues were gossiping. Chen Xu overheard them talking about Luo Xiyun, saying that she was on a business trip.

He was in a much lower position compared to Luo XIyun. Needless to say, he definitely would not be notified of Luo Xiyun’s whereabouts. A wave of relief washed over him now that he was aware that Luo Xiyun had gone on a business trip. This meant that he would not be crossing paths with her anytime soon.

He returned to his desk after filling his cup. He leaned against the chair while he was pondering and scribbling on his paper.

He tried to recall the incidents in his dream, trying to find opportunities to earn money.

Even until break time, he still could not remember anything useful. Crumpling the paper he’d scribbled on, he tossed it into the wastebasket in the comer of the room.

The paper ball went straight into the wastebasket.

He dusted his hands and spun himself around. Taking a sip of tea, he pulled himself together and continued to work on his document diligently.

…

Chen Xu returned back to his dull and mundane lifestyle again. Besides the little surprise from his senior high school friend, who transferred him nine thousand dollars after receiving the phone, there was nothing different.

He still had not received any replies after sending out his resume.

One week had gone by in a breeze.

As usual, he always reached the company on the dot. After a week, he had finally adjusted himself and was returning to how he was half a year ago.

When he reached the office, his colleagues were flocking together for some discussion as usual.

“What’s going on? Did something happen?” he turned and asked Old Tang.

“I just reached here, too.” Old Tang shook his head, unaware of what was happening as well.

“Haven’t you heard?” Cai Hao scooted over to Chen Xu. “There have been rumors going around saying that the company will set up a Marketing Department, and our Advertising Department will be dismissed. Old Wang is trying to find out more information. We still don’t know what’s going on exactly,” Cai Hao said worriedly.

“What? So sudden? There wasn’t any news of that yesterday,” Old Tang gasped in shock.

Their company did not manufacture products. The newly set up Marketing Department had responsibilities that were imbricated by the Advertising Department, and Chen Xu was clearly aware of the consequences of setting up this new department.

In due time, their department may be deprived of authority, and in the worst-case scenario, the entire department would be suspended. Neither of the situations would be advantageous for the employees working in the Advertising Department.

However, it was not a big deal to him considering that he was already prepared to resign.

Speaking of which, this company had over 10 supermarket chains under its name and most of them were located in business districts. This was definitely not a small company.

Including the supermarket employees, the company had more than 2000 employees. They were definitely a large enterprise.

Nominally, the Advertising Department in the headquarters had to oversee the promotion of all the stores.

In reality, the Advertising Department had little influence. Each store had its own promotional events independent of one another, and they would send in a report to the department merely to notify them about their events.

Every store was governed by a General Manager. Even though they were on equal footing as the Head of Department, they would still disregard the Advertising department, especially when they had greater capabilities, salary, and backing.

For the past two years, Chen Xu had been working on report summaries, and during peak periods, he would be assigned to the stores to help out. It was clearly tiring for him.

This was also one of the reasons why he wanted to resign. In this industry, it was extremely difficult to be promoted without anyone to fall back on.

He had no clue why the company had to choose such timing to set up a Marketing Department. Regardless, it would not concern him.

Everyone in the Advertising Department was jittery; none of them was focusing on their work the entire morning.

Finally, the Head of Department, Old Wang, brought back some good news. The Advertising Department would not be revoked, and none of the employees will be dismissed. The newly set up department would not have overlapping responsibilities as the Adverting Department as they would only be overseeing the publication on online platforms.

The employees were finally appeased.

“Chen Xu, meet me in my office.” Old Wang stopped Chen Xu after announcing the news.

Could it be?

Chen Xu was a little depressed. Every time he was called into the office, it was not for something good. “Is he going to reprimand me for sloppy performance recently?”