It...it was a success? Well done!
No bad luck? No misfortune?
I took the envelope almost in a daze, forgetting even to refuse, and not even to say thank you.
I started the car almost unconsciously, my mind blank as I pressed the accelerator, turned the steering wheel, and then...
boom!
The front of the car crashed into a tall industrial ladder standing in the parking lot. The ladder collapsed with a crash, then slammed into a parked Mercedes, shattering its windshield. A can of white paint, which had been on the ladder, flew out and struck a Cadillac, splattering white paint across the black body – a truly horrifying sight! Even more outrageous, the paint can, after hitting the front of the car, bounced off and struck a motorcycle…
Damn it, that's an expensive limited edition Harley-Davidson motorcycle...
With a loud crash, the headlights shattered, and the car body toppled over...
Beep beep beep...
The piercing sound of car alarm systems echoed through the parking lot!
And I was stunned...
Bad luck... damn bad luck!
Book 1, Part 1: A Man in the Martial World, Forced by His Own Will, Chapter 41: Contacting the Source of the Ring
Honestly, after living for twenty-three years, I only just realized this fact today:
The headlight of a limited-edition Harley-Davidson motorcycle, such a tiny thing, costs more than the entire windshield of a Mercedes-Benz! And by a lot!
Of course, this is something I've experienced firsthand. I swear from now on, I'll walk far away from Harley-Davidson motorcycles whenever I see them on the road!
By the way, I suddenly developed an immense fondness for Fang Nan.
Of course, this goodwill stemmed from her generosity in paying my compensation check.
A scratched windshield of a Mercedes; a repainted Cadillac; the headlight and repair costs of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle (the headlight had to be imported from the United States)... plus compensation to the building management department for an industrial ladder and a can of Nippon Paint.
The ten thousand yuan I had just received hadn't even warmed my pocket before it flew away from me like a bird with wings.
“Chen Yang…” Fang Nan looked at me, her expression unreadable, a mix of joy, anger, or surprise. “Listen carefully, you’ve worked for me for less than three hours so far, yet I’ve already paid you 300,000 RMB. So… based on your monthly salary of 8,000 RMB, even if I deduct half from your salary every month… you have to work for me unpaid for six years!” As she said this, she stared into my eyes, her gaze seeming to say, “Don’t even think about reneging on your promise.”
Honestly, I'm already very grateful to her. Her own BMW was also damaged, but she didn't ask me for compensation.
By the way, after that accident, Fang Nan could only take a taxi back to the company, while I drove to the BMW repair shop. When I returned to the company and walked into Fang Nan's office, she said the above to me.
Then I took the initiative to return the envelope to Fang Nan.
She didn't move, but glanced at the envelope on the table.
Then I couldn't help but ask her, "I thought you were going to fire me. After all, it's rare for a boss to tolerate such a big mistake on my first day of work."
Fang Nan sat behind her enormous desk, staring at me with a complex expression. She slowly said, "You did cause trouble. Because of your superb driving skills, I won't have a car for the next two days! However, I'm fair in my rewards and punishments. Although you caused trouble today, you also completed my task. Minister Jin likes you, which is very helpful to my business. Moreover, he specifically asked to find time to spar with you again, so you must stay here with me."
A friendly spar? I'm afraid he's just not convinced.
As I walked out of Fang Nan's office, the female secretary sitting outside smiled at me. Her smile was very friendly: "What's wrong? Did you get scolded?"
I gave a wry smile: "I'm having some bad luck today, I've run into a bit of trouble."
The female secretary nodded, walked over and handed me a paper cup of water: "Take a break."
I responded with a grateful smile to my friendly new colleague.
“Miss Fang is actually a very nice person, just a bit impulsive at times… but I’m sure you can understand. After all, she’s a woman, and such a beautiful one at that. In this kind of social environment, a beautiful woman has to support such a large business; sometimes she has to be strong-willed to survive.” The female secretary smiled and extended her hand to me: “Qian Pan, Miss Fang’s secretary.”
"Hello. My name is Chen Yang." I shook hands with her, and Qian Pan shrugged and blinked: "I know, I have your information."
I glanced at the clock on the wall: "Aren't you off work yet? I saw quite a few people had already left when I came in."
“I’m waiting for you.” Qian Pan took out a form from her desk. “Fill this out, and then I need to help you collect some office supplies. Also, starting tomorrow, your desk will be right here, next to mine, but I’ll ask the property management to put a partition here. Here’s your office supplies list, take a look.”
I took it and sincerely said, "Thank you."
"You know what? I'm really curious." Qian Pan's face showed a playfulness that seemed a little out of place for her age. "Don't let my age fool you, women are all very gossipy." She seemed to be a naturally approachable person. "Miss Fang has had several assistants before, but they were all girls. The two who did a great job have been promoted by Miss Fang and are now senior managers in the company. So I believe that if you continue to work hard, you will have a place in this company. However, when I received your information, I was really surprised because you are actually a man."
Suddenly, a thought struck me. I glanced at the closed door to Fang Nan's office and lowered my voice, saying, "I have a question... Hmm, do you think my appearance resembles anyone? Someone you know?"
Qian Pan tilted her head and thought for a moment: "No. Why do you ask that?"
"Um, it's nothing," I mumbled, but my doubts remained undiminished.
`
This was undoubtedly a very exciting day.
Back home, Yan Di was busy in the kitchen, while the little miser was pouting and sulking. Seeing me come in, Yan Di immediately put down her spoon, ran to me, and hugged me: "You went out? Where did you go?"
I kissed her on the cheek. This level of intimacy was the bottom line that Yan Di could accept. Looking at her blushing face, I suddenly felt a sense of relief, and the gloom in my heart was swept away. I smiled and said, "Oh, I got a job with a monthly salary of eight thousand. The boss is good to me and bought me an expensive formal suit. Then I performed well at work and received a bonus of ten thousand yuan."
Yan Di cheered with delight, but then I patted her cheek and shook my head, saying, "I haven't finished yet... Then I caused a huge disaster, making the boss lose a lot of money, which will be deducted from my future salary..."
The turn of events was probably too sudden. Yan Di's surprised expression hadn't faded yet. It was a bit difficult for this kind-hearted girl to go from joy to disappointment in an instant. So I suppressed a laugh, leaned over and pecked her on the cheek, then glanced at the little money-grubber who was still angry beside me: "What's wrong, girl? Your expression looks like you just accidentally swallowed a spider."
"Ugh!! Ugh!!!" Ah Mei shouted twice, "How can people's manners be so bad these days!"
"Um?"
Yan Di said in a low voice, "Amei had an argument with a taxi driver today."
"Why?" I asked.
This time, the answer came from the little money-grubber himself:
"When I came back, I was carrying a huge bag. It was inconvenient for me to take the bus, so I had to hail a taxi."
"Hmm, you're quite generous today." I smiled. Because the little miser is usually very stingy when it comes to spending money. Unless she's going out with us and I'm paying for the fare, she absolutely refuses to take a taxi.
"I was carrying a really big bag, it was so heavy! I asked the driver how much it would cost for such a big suitcase. He told me the suitcase was free..."
"Then what?"
"Then, I told him the address and asked him to bring the box here. I'll take the bus myself."
"...And then...?"
"Then he called me a lunatic."
I stared at the little money-grubber for a full minute before I managed to suppress the impulse in my heart! Because my first reaction was also to call her "sick".
After comforting Yan Di, who was worried about me, I left the two girls busy in the kitchen and quickly ran back to my room, turned on my computer, connected to the internet, and logged into my email.
Perhaps God really heard my prayers, because I received a new email in my inbox!
The sender's email address is that damn ring user survey form!
"Dear Mr. Chen Yang:
Thank you for your support of our business! We sincerely hope you have a smooth experience while trying out our products! We welcome your request to purchase our official products; please contact us using the following methods…
My heart was pounding as I looked at the text on the computer screen!
I'm so excited! After all, I already have immense respect for this company... or rather, awe for them! They can produce something so amazing (or terrifying)!
Part One: A Man in the Martial World, Not in His Own Hands Chapter Forty-Two: The Only User
The email contained three contact methods: an email address, an MSN account, and a phone number. I checked it, and the phone number was strange because I couldn't find the international dialing code in the Yellow Pages to indicate which country it represented!
Could it be an encrypted number?
Obviously, email was too slow and long-distance international calls were too troublesome, since my home phone didn't have long-distance international service enabled. So I immediately logged into MSN and contacted the MSN account in the email.
The contact went very smoothly this time, without any waiting, and the other party responded immediately!
"Hello, Mr. Chen Yang, I am a customer service representative from our company. Since you are a user from China, the company has entrusted me to provide you with service. You can choose to communicate with me in English or Chinese."
The other party sent this message twice, once in Chinese and once in English.
"Chinese." My choice was undoubtedly clear.
"OK! I'm happy to answer any questions you may have."
I thought about it and asked my first question: "Will this ring still have any effect on me when I'm not wearing it?"
Then I listed some of my recent experiences and gave a brief account.
Then, I waited patiently for a full five minutes before I received a reply—I suddenly regretted not having international calling enabled on my home phone.
"Please forgive my slow Chinese typing... Our company's answer is as follows: Theoretically, a ring will not bring you good luck when you are not wearing it. In other words, once you remove the ring, you will no longer receive its luck-enhancing function. However, given that you are using our trial product without a measuring device, it may cause side effects. That is, you may have used the ring to enhance your luck in a way that is not in accordance with the rules, affecting your luck balance and causing some... other inconveniences. We call this a 'side effect.' This situation is beyond the ring's control, so even if you have removed the ring, you will still suffer some negative consequences due to previous misuse."
I sighed helplessly and wrote, "I've experienced all of these things... especially the side effects, which have left a deep impression on me!"
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience," the other person replied. "You can remove the ring, and it will no longer affect your life."
Remove?
It's that simple...
I sneered inwardly!
When someone truly experiences the magic of this ring... who could resist such temptation?
Just think about all the good luck and amazing experiences that the ring has brought me!
I think no one would be willing to give it up, right? Anyone who has gone through what I've been through... well, unless that person is crazy, their only thought right now is: how to find a way to use this ring "correctly" without causing any side effects!
If it could really achieve that effect...
God, how wonderful life would be then?!
I'm increasingly feeling that this ring is like a drug! Once you're drawn to it, it's really hard to give it up!
“I’m not going to give up on your product, I just want to find the right way to use it!” I sent it.
There's something else I haven't said: It's a pity your cheapest official product costs millions! (And that's not even in RMB!) Even if I sold my own organs, I still couldn't afford your product!
"Then, you'll have no choice but to purchase our company's official products." His response was exactly as I expected.
I thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "I'd like to ask if your company provides replacements for easily consumable parts? Just to give an example: I bought a computer, but after using it for a while, the keyboard broke, and I need to replace it... The computer company can't expect me to spend money to buy a new computer, can they?"
The other party responded quickly: "You mean you want to... buy a measuring instrument separately?"