I am not a literary giant

Wang Zixu did not go to work in the afternoon.

He didn't skip work because he wanted to become an outlaw. After his afternoon nap, he sat on the hard, brown mattress, the afternoon sun streaming into the room, making him feel hot and bothered. As his adrenaline levels subsided, he suddenly remembered how many people he had offended and began to feel afraid.

He couldn't help but calculate the number of people he had offended: First was Gou Yingbiao; offending him was equivalent to offending a group of people who protected the leaders' furnaces.

He also offended Diao Yiwen's campaign clique, which meant that he had offended the group of young colleagues who had just joined the company.

What's worse, he also cited several infuriating examples, such as Hu Xiaoping, who had received an outstanding award. This older woman is mainly a gossip. She's probably sitting in her office right now, eating sunflower seeds and cursing him.

People may not remember him speaking out for those who work diligently and conscientiously, but they will certainly remember him criticizing his superiors for not receiving an "Outstanding" award for nine years. Therefore, everyone who had received an "Outstanding" award during those nine years became a target of his attacks.

By this calculation, he had offended everyone in his workplace, from the older generation to the younger generation. Thinking about this, Wang Zixu began to consider whether he should just resign.

He was like a middle school student who didn't want to go to school because he hadn't done his homework. He sat at home, and when the clock struck 2:30, he still hadn't left for work.

He thought that if someone called him and asked why he wasn't at work, he would pretend he had overslept and then go to work properly, making it seem as if someone had invited him first.

Normally, if he's not at his workstation, someone will call him every few minutes to ask where he is and why he hasn't come to work yet. He'll say, "I'm here, I'm in the restroom," and then slowly walk into the office under the suspicious gazes of his colleagues.

Throughout his many years of working, he has never been late or left early. This is his pride and a testament to his pursuit of perfection. As we all know, once something becomes imperfect, it's easy for people to give up on themselves.

Wang Zixu sat on the bed until after three o'clock. The sunlight outside the window changed from a scorching yellow to a reddish hue, but no one called him. Not a single one.

He never used to skip work, and everyone had high expectations of him. But when he deliberately skipped work, people didn't dare say anything. Being incredibly audacious was practically a passport for the incredibly audacious. Wang Zixu found the world so absurd it was laughable.

Unbeknownst to him, the workplace was perfectly orderly, and no one mentioned him. Everyone acted as if he didn't exist.

Director Gou was relieved to learn that Wang Zixu hadn't come to work; he was actually hoping he wouldn't see him. Guo Ranran also knew Wang Zixu hadn't come to work, but she was glad she didn't have to face that scoundrel and didn't utter a single complaint. Xu Shichao also knew Wang Zixu hadn't come to work; he assumed Wang Zixu had gone to the government office to see Mei Rucheng.

In reality, everyone in the workplace knew that Wang Zixu wasn't at work. But everyone tacitly avoided mentioning him. They all pretended that he didn't exist at all. Thus, Wang Zixu truly ceased to exist.

Or rather, Prince Xu's existence has finally returned to its true self. If Sartre knew this, he would smile broadly and bless him for finding his freedom. But Prince Xu is unaware that he has become the freest man in all of Xihe; he believes he has been isolated.

At 3:30, someone Wang Zixu never expected called him; it was Ye Lan.

"Have you decided how you want to sign the contract?" Ye Lan asked. "Will you sign it yourself or have someone else sign it on your behalf?"

Wang Zixu said, "Let's have someone else sign it."

He wasn't really ready to resign.

Ye Lan said, "Okay then, who do you plan to have sign on your behalf? Your wife? Or your parents?"

Wang Zixu fell silent. Emotionally, he preferred his wife to hold the shares on his behalf, but reason told him that he shouldn't tell her about it.

Ye Lan said, "Let me remind you, I suggest you let your parents hold the shares. It's not that you and your wife have relationship problems, I've just seen similar cases where couples held shares on behalf of each other, and the divorces ended up being very messy."

"Of course, I'm not saying you'll get a divorce. What I mean is, it's better to let the parents handle things like this. After all, once a couple divorces, they're no longer a couple, but the relationship between parents and children can't be severed."

Wang Zixu said, "When your parents divorce and remarry, they are no longer your parents."

Ye Lan laughed and said, "That's a minority, after all. Most people have a deep affection for their children. Oh, I didn't even know that idiom, I'm so cultured. I'm just reminding you. You can have whoever you want to hold the shares on your behalf, I have no objection."

Philosophers have much to say about trust. The problem is this: even with the person you trust most, there's no need to hand them a knife and let them hold it to your back. Trust should not be tested, just as human nature should not be tested.

After much deliberation, Prince Xu decided to have his father hold the shares on his behalf. This decision had nothing to do with trust.

He trusted his wife completely, but he dared not tell her about his role at Wen'ai Company. As intelligent as his wife was, she must have guessed what he was up to the moment he brought the contract.

He wanted to maintain his dignity, at least in front of his wife.

After making the decision, Ye Lan said with a smile, "By the way, do you want to try taking orders again recently? A lot of people are asking you."

Wang Zixu felt a little ashamed of this statement: "What do you mean, 'point me'?"

"Didn't you top the daily sales chart last time? A lot of people have noticed you. They're very interested in you. Among them are some big spenders."

The "R" in "Big R" stands for RMB, meaning a player who spends real money. Prince Xu is interested in real money, but at the same time, he is afraid of getting deeply involved.

"I only want to be responsible for literature and don't want to get entangled with specific people."

"But you really did a great job. Qiu Ge described your speech therapy to me, praising you to the skies, making me want to try it out myself."

Ye Lan spoke and laughed, her silvery voice easily reminding people of her silver dangling earrings and delicate collarbone from that day.

Wang Zixu said, "No way. I never wanted to do speech therapy in the first place, let alone with people I know in real life. If I did speech therapy with people I know in real life, the results might not be what they seem, and it could easily turn out like something else entirely."

Ye Lan got angry: I was just joking, why are you taking it so seriously? She hung up.

Wang Zixu held his phone, which was emitting a busy tone, and spread his hands out towards the wall. He couldn't understand why a woman's emotions could fluctuate so wildly.

The next second, another unexpected person called – it was Lin Feng.

On the other end of the phone, Lin Feng said, "Brother, I heard you had a fight with your boss?"

Wang Zixu gave an awkward laugh: "I acted impulsively at the time."

"Courageous. A true warrior dares to confront the powerful, not to turn their sword against the weak. You're very brave, very brave," Lin Feng said. "Are you free this afternoon? Want to come with me to 'Xihe Literature' magazine?"

Wang Zixu was taken aback and asked in a low voice, "Which 'Xihe Literature' are you talking about?"

"Their editorial department," Lin Feng said, "didn't you submit a manuscript? Are you sure they didn't reject it?"

"no."

"They didn't publish your article either?"

"no."

"Then I'll take you there and ask about the situation," Lin Feng said. "And while I'm at it, I can get acquainted with them. I'm quite familiar with their editor-in-chief; he's a very nice guy."

The prince swallowed hard. The day that had been weighing on his mind had finally arrived.