Chapter 74

Luxury goods and marketing require an incomprehensible style and sense of distance, but I just want the stage and the three-foot distance of my seat.

Jacqueline didn’t look at her, but stopped typing mid-air. However, after working as a subordinate for almost three years, they had developed a mutual understanding. She wouldn’t accept this option and was figuring out how to counter it. This made Gu Yi feel a little guilty for saying she was resigning. No matter how hard the work was, it wasn’t fake that she had fought alongside Jacqueline through late nights. She silently repeated to herself, “Hang in there. As long as she agrees and I walk out, the hardest step will be over.” Fortunately, Jacqueline was a beauty with a ruthless heart, and if she suddenly cried and begged her not to leave, Gu Yi might indeed soften. But then she thought about the salary. If she changed jobs, she could save the cost of rent! Jacqueline definitely wouldn’t offer that salary, and she’d likely manipulate her emotionally.

“You realized you could get fifty thousand fans and immediately decided to resign, is that it?”

“I have new pursuits.”

“I’d like to hear about it.”

“I’m going to work as a script coordinator for a stand-up comedy company.” Since it had come to this point, there was no need to hide it anymore. They were in completely different industries, and not even competing companies. How could she possibly sabotage her work?

“You’ve got guts now that you have some backing,” Jacqueline continued typing. The work report that popped up on WeChat clearly annoyed her. She frowned and stared at the screen, and after a long pause, turned to look at Gu Yi: “Have you reached the peak at Yizhou? The magazine layout has been done, the interviews are enough, and the fans have increased, so now you’re leaving?”

“Stop with the manipulation,” Gu Yi, now more confident after stating her resignation, couldn’t stop herself from talking: “In my first year here, I questioned my abilities many times, because all I heard from you were words like ‘redo,’ ‘junior editor,’ and ‘inefficient.’ I felt like I was only worth six thousand, and after working an entire year, the only praise I got was a single compliment. After my salary increase, I still wasn’t getting paid as much as the other colleagues who jumped jobs, because I came in as a senior with no experience—like the saying goes, a foreign monk recites better. I was told I didn’t have enough taste in clothes, and for all the big events, Pony was sent instead. When I got promoted, was it recognition for my ability? If you could find a more capable new media editor willing to work for 18K, you’d definitely pay her that, and I’d still be doing the grunt work. My ability came from working overtime and pushing myself. No one works harder than I do. How do I relieve stress? I rely on stand-up comedy—two-week open mics because the work was too tough. I know what you’re going to say, that every job is tough, but I want a different kind of tough. I don’t want to compete over luxury goods every day. I want to wear sneakers and jeans to work, and not have to worry about appearance anxiety anymore...”

She couldn’t stop herself, and Jacqueline smiled slightly: “How long have you been brewing this? Do you really hate this job so much?”

“No.”

“Your point of view isn’t something everyone has. I still wanted you to make the long comic a success at Bypass. Now you’re leaving, and no one can do it anymore.”

“Just find an illustrator.” Gu Yi thought, you still don’t get it, can’t find one this cheap. The real market rate is that illustrators with soul demand exclusivity for their work and refuse revisions. They’ll block you at the slightest disagreement. Anyone who’s willing to do long comics and endure hardship isn’t an illustrator—they’re an advertiser.

Jacqueline didn’t respond, as if deep in thought. In this battle of wits, she knew that Gu Yi was now clever and courageous, no longer the subordinate who would cry after a beating. Gu Yi said the last sentence: “I like the feeling of creating new ideas, but luxury goods and marketing don’t need new ideas. They need incomprehensible sophistication and a sense of distance. I just want the stage and the three-foot distance of my seat, where I can see everyone laugh.” Gu Yi took a deep breath: “So, when I have this chance to get closer, I don’t want to miss it.”

“How much are they paying you?”

“Huh?”

“I’ll give it to you, no problem.”

“It’s not about that.”

“Aren’t you complaining about the salary?” Jacqueline relentlessly pursued: “I’ll match it, and even add a thousand.”

Gu Yi was a bit annoyed: “What I want is the opportunity to pursue my dreams. I don’t have that here.”

A faint sadness appeared on Jacqueline’s face, like a thin layer of foundation. Her voice turned cold: “Got it. I’m not going to beg anyone to stay. Today’s July 16th, HR will contact you about the details of your resignation, now leave.”

After the resignation date was set, and she was told she wouldn’t be eligible for next week’s employee health check, Gu Yi didn’t care. She didn’t have to attend the team-building event either. The cold distancing, like a trap for an abandoned horse, actually made her feel relieved. Pony, seeing her expression in the hallway, was already smiling—gossip always spread fast.

But when she lifted her head and looked at the cold Alaska office, Gu Yi felt uneasy. There was a tug in her chest. She ordered three cups of coffee, cursing the cruel Stockholm Syndrome under her breath, and planned to send them to Jacqueline through an intern later.

Without leaving her name.

The good news didn’t stop there. The photos Liang Daiwen sent showed that the arbitration had finished, and she and You Wurou had officially terminated their contract. But at this moment, she couldn’t celebrate with Liang Daiwen. She and Yu Dule had both been selected for the open mic, and in front of the rare opportunity of an open mic, men didn’t matter.

“Hello everyone, I’m Gu Yi. I’ve had a lot of good things happening recently, but I’m putting the most important thing first. I’ve terminated my contract with the unscrupulous stand-up comedy company, and I’ll be managing the ticket-selling public account for Antelope. Yes, that’s right. I’m officially a signed actor now. For those of you waiting, the competition for spots on stage will get tougher from now on.”

“I’ve been through some ups and downs recently, but I’ve changed jobs. The two jobs I had weren’t much, but my colleagues and I are pretty much the same. Employees like us, earning a few thousand, have skills that match the pay, and we’re particularly good at—slacking off.”

“These symptoms cost thousands of yuan, because in Shanghai, anyone working in media knows that media jobs are hourly-based. The pay rate is fixed per hour, and the more you work, the more you earn. Once it exceeds ten thousand yuan, you start to take on more responsibility, like leading a team or working overtime until midnight, dealing with bosses and clients constantly bombarding you with requests, and you have to greet them with a smile. But when the salary is a few thousand, you don’t have to worry about that. You can slack off openly. If your boss asks, you can roll your eyes and act like ‘You expect me to work this hard for such a low salary?’ From the moment we start work in the morning, the act of looking busy begins. It’s obvious that women are at a disadvantage because they have to carry bags, tissues, powder, and other things, so their freedom is limited and they are easily caught. But men are different; they leave their bags at their desks after work and come in empty-handed in the morning. This way, when the boss comes by at the end of the day, it looks like you’ve been working all day. You’re considered very diligent, right? If you’re even smarter, you hang a couple of jackets on the back of your chair and leave two phones on the desk. During lunch breaks, you keep one phone on and the screen constantly on. When you come back at 3 p.m., the boss thinks you just went to the bathroom. Actually, we think men work seriously, while women are more likely to slack off, right? Not true. Male colleagues bring their breakfast to the office, browse websites like KuanDaiShan, Hupu, or Twitter, and some even look at 91. Ahem, you know what I mean. Once, I passed by the restroom, and the cleaning lady sighed and complained to me—men’s restrooms are always full, with people taking paid bathroom breaks constantly, especially married men. They eat, sleep, and squat on the toilet, with their intestines as straight as can be.”

“When salaries rise to more than ten thousand and people are over thirty, the salary ceiling has been reached. At this point, they have families, children who have started kindergarten, and taking time off will make the boss think you have too many personal issues. It becomes hard to get a promotion. So they have even more ways to slack off. They send their kids to a kindergarten next to the office, attend parent meetings at 3 p.m., lock their phones, and pretend to go out for a client meeting. Once they return, they act as if it was nothing, and the boss wouldn’t even notice unless they’re paying close attention. But if these senior employees become your managers, you need to be careful. They’ve been through the same low-paid days and know all the tricks. You might have skipped lunch and returned at 2 p.m., only to get a message from your manager: ‘Xiao Gu, where are you? We have a meeting at 2 p.m.’ You can’t say you were slacking off, so you tell them you were in the restroom. You run into your male colleague who’s also taking a paid toilet break at the same time. Everyone is slacking off.”

“It sounds like we’re all experts at slacking off, right? But when the workload is heavy and everything is urgent, who would want to slack off? These days, it’s all about 996, where you have to be at your desk even when there’s nothing to do. If there isn’t enough work, you just clock in, attend meetings, and for a 6,000-yuan salary, 5,000 is spent buying compliance. Not long ago, a company became famous when an intern asked whether they would have weekends off. The intern hadn’t picked up the phone by 10 a.m. and got attention on the company forum. In our company, someone even thought they could have weekends off. Don’t they have the ‘fighting spirit’ of a company employee? It’s laughable! Young people are still too young. The company loves you so much, why didn’t they check your spine during the annual physical? Because the whole company has a stiff spine, but we still work ourselves to the bone…”

After getting off the stage, they both looked at Yu Dule, and both suddenly couldn’t hold back their emotions. Gu Yi’s nose turned sour, and Yu Dule wrinkled his nose. Both of them took a step back, and Gu Yi said, “I can’t do it. I’m going to cry.”

Yu Dule wanted to mock her, but his eyes turned red first: “Back to Ounce again.”

“Right, we’re still in the same company.”

“Do you need a hug?”

“No, it’s gross.”

“Do you remember when we went to Suzhou, and I took you to the noodle shop to eat? We ordered 7-yuan plain noodles and thought they were too plain, so we ordered a portion of vegetarian chicken to share. I told you back then, we’ll both achieve our dreams.”

“We will.” Gu Yi hugged Yu Dule tightly, “The dream is the biggest, don’t give up on your ideals.”

“Have you talked to Guan Xingxin?”

“Her parents are still around, no chance to meet her.” Yu Dule smiled wryly. “But it’s okay, I’m also busy. Once this is over, the second season of the talk show will have my name in the editing credits. After that, I’ll talk to her parents.”

Gu Yi felt a pang of sadness—editing not only requires skill but also a ‘script’ for editing. There’s conflict, tension, and topics, all created through brainstorming with the director. Those who spend time crafting hit shows don’t care about outdated parents. He just wants to prove himself to Guan Xingxin. But feelings, like candy sinking in water, will only meld together after being stirred. Long separation causes feelings to become uneven and spoil.

She couldn’t say these things to Yu Dule; he was beyond control. For once, not sitting on the red sofa behind the curtain, she held a wine bottle and bent over to run to the back row of the audience. She heard a voice on the phone, low but familiar.

“What? That girl rejected you for the variety show because she has a boyfriend? She’s too naive. She should have thought about it—having fame and a controversial boyfriend would make him love her more. Her parents would think higher of her. All love comes from status. If you want respect, you can’t be indecisive. All she’ll get is contempt for being useless. I’ll teach you a trick. Write her script so that no one wants to be with her. She’ll get exposure, and that’s enough. At the end of the show, let her give her boyfriend a video letter, making it look like she’s leaving with dignity. Don’t thank me. We all know these tricks. She’s a hot topic, and the show will regret not having her. If you need PR support, just call me. I’m familiar with trending topics. Thanks? What for? I want to see what this woman can stir up, and— I also need to show you my skills to get the topic I need, don’t I?”

The person hung up the phone, turned around, and looked at the stage. It was Huang Wenduo. Gu Yi thought, no wonder—this guy is all schemes, like an old fox. While she was mumbling, Huang Wenduo saw her, and clearly, the talk show on stage wasn’t enough to capture Gu Yi’s attention. He pulled a chair and sat beside her, leisurely chatting. He had a kind of detached, aristocratic air, as if he’d seen enough of the world and the money, not taking anything seriously. Just as Gu Yi wanted to gossip about who Huang Wenduo was talking to, he spoke first: “You’re here again doing a talk show. If Jacqueline finds out you’re not focused on your main job, she won’t be happy.”

“I quit my job today.”

“Oh?”

“How come you’re here?”

“A friend said stand-up comedy is popular lately, so they told me to check it out and see if I can pitch something.” Huang Wendai tried to light a cigarette, but Gu Yi shot him a glare, and he tucked it behind his ear. “Fake prosperity.”

“Don’t underestimate stand-up comedy.”

“New things should never be overly optimistic. It’s popular because of a small group of people, and it can easily be ruined by that same small group. But let’s not talk about this. Jacqueline’s favorite, she didn’t keep you?”

This topic made Gu Yi sad. She said, “She did keep me, but I don’t want to be a puppet for luxury brands anymore.”

“Hah. She really doted on you.”

“Didn’t notice.”

“Roger really hates you.” Huang Wendai laughed eerily. “Jacqueline protected you to the point where even Roger thought her sexual orientation was questionable. Roger asked me if Jacqueline broke up with the young guy recently because of you. I couldn’t stop laughing. Of course, she broke up with Xu Guanrui because of me, what else would it be?”

Gu Yi sucked in a sharp breath. “So confident. If Jacqueline drove, she’d have to buy a big van, just to carry your coffin and ashes.”

“You don’t get it. Her potential can only be fully unleashed by me. I taught her the skills, and I can stir all her emotions,” he said, sounding very serious. “As long as I’m around her, whether she loves me or hates me, she can always reach the peak in her work. That’s the best gift I’ve given her. You think it’s fake, right? But after I came to Shanghai, she transferred you to ‘Bypass,’ forced you to come up with new content, and even agreed to help you with planning, teaching you how to organize content and stir up emotions in the audience—anger, too, is a source of inspiration.”

This left Gu Yi stunned. Although Huang Wendai was arrogant and overly confident, when it came to work, he was surprisingly accurate in predicting trends and quickly spotting patterns in any field. He also knew how to pick the right industries to invest in. Gu Yi didn’t agree with his views on love, but she did listen to him when it came to work—he was, after all, one of the few “elite” people she had access to, aside from Liang Daiwen.

Yu Dule was pacing around the venue, chatting with the stand-up comedians about the photos on the wall. Huang Wendai took a sip of his drink and casually asked, “Your friend, the one who also does stand-up comedy, he’s quite interesting.”

“Of course, he’s Guan Xingxin’s boyfriend, a video editor.”

Before Gu Yi even finished speaking, Huang Wendai’s expression subtly changed. He held the small bottle of 1664 beer, almost warming it in his hand before he finally spoke: “Youth is really great.”

“What does youth have to do with this?”

“Only when you’re young can you act impulsively because of love, not knowing what’s important, living and dying for it. When we reach our age, we don’t have anything resembling a proper relationship anymore. Let me put it this way: if I were five years younger, I’d definitely pursue Guan Xingxin, even if I were married.”

“What does that have to do with age?”

“Some crazy things can only be done around thirty. Whether it’s love or madness, it’s still beautiful, like taking a leap off a cliff. But now, no matter what we do, it seems like the actions of a middle-aged, greasy person. Middle-aged love sounds so sleazy, and we can’t even be confident.”

Gu Yi, for once, detected something in Huang Wendai’s tone. He didn’t really fit the image of a greasy middle-aged man; he maintained his figure well, and his face didn’t have that oily shine late at night. Especially when he expressed his emotions, his loneliness still appeared to be very sensitive. He slammed the beer bottle on the table. “After you pass thirty-five, love isn’t worth celebrating anymore. The beautiful love in this world belongs to the young. But—this is the world’s regret.”