Chapter 1: Corporate Slave

Beep, beep…

Chi Xiting’s eyelashes trembled lightly.

The sharp, cold sounds of the machine kept ringing in his ears. Perhaps because his sight was deprived, Chi Xiting felt that his other senses had become unusually sharp. The breeze gently lifted the curtains, the branches rustled, and even the faint warmth of the sunlight on his body felt exceptionally clear and real.

Hadn’t he already died?

Chi Xiting was a bit confused, his mind a blank.

He had died on the very day he finally got promoted to regional director after six years of hard work.

It was a sudden death.

He hadn’t even felt much pain—just a tight, crushing pain in his chest, and then he lost consciousness.

Could he have been revived?

No way.

Chi Xiting’s mind was in a mess. He tried to open his eyes to confirm, but after struggling for a long time, he couldn’t lift his eyelids. In the end, he had to clear his thoughts with his eyes closed.

There were sounds of machines nearby, so he must be in a hospital.

But…

Chi Xiting’s fingers moved slightly, feeling the sunlight tracing along his exposed arm, the warmth rising. Yet, his heart sank.

The day he died had been during the coldest days of winter, with continuous heavy snow. Logically, it shouldn’t be warm enough the day after his sudden death to feel this way.

Suddenly, there was a soft sound outside the door, followed by footsteps drawing closer. A slightly deep voice sounded.

“How was the person injured?”

The tone was cold and detached, slow and unhurried. Though it was a concerned question, it seemed indifferent due to the flatness of the voice.

“Looks like they accidentally stepped wrong and fell down the stairs.”

Chu Yu glanced at the hospital bed.

The person lying there had an extraordinarily beautiful face, with delicate and clean skin, soft and radiant features. Perhaps due to the injury, they looked somewhat haggard, their lips pale, and a few strands of hair fell on their forehead, contrasting with the thin layer of sweat, resembling a snow-covered mountain stone under the cold moonlight.

“Since it happened at Chu’s, the medical expenses will be fully covered by the company. The sick leave has also been approved, and all the procedures have been completed. Mm…” Zhou Shan glanced at his phone and continued, “His parents and friends have been notified, and they should be coming soon.”

“Mm.” Chu Yu lowered his gaze and looked at his watch, seeing that it was getting late. Remembering the task that had been interrupted, he said, “Let’s go.”

“Yes, Mr. Chu.”

Chu’s? Mr. Chu?

Chi Xiting was dazed.

Which boss around him had the surname Chu?

Chi Xiting’s eyelids suddenly fluttered, as if realizing something was wrong. The machine sounds by his ear suddenly elongated and became even more jarring, the cold noise seemingly piercing through his eardrum directly into his brain.

The sensation of sudden death washed over him again, like a sharp knife cutting through his brain without hesitation, and the suffocating feeling surged up, forcing Chi Xiting to open his eyes.

His eyes were dry, and his vision was blurred, as if covered by a layer of white mist.

All he could see was a vast expanse of white.

It was a hospital room.

Chi Xiting slowly blinked, and his gaze was drawn to the man standing by the door.

Through his misty vision, he couldn’t see clearly, but he sensed that the man had a tall, strong build, wearing a finely tailored suit, his face slightly turned. Only a small, narrow segment of him entered Chi Xiting’s view, but even so, Chi Xiting could distinctly feel an aura of authority emanating from him, his demeanor cold and somewhat unapproachable.

“Who is that?”

“Mr. Chu?”

“Do you know him?”

Chi Xiting parted his lips, but before he could speak, the man had already turned and walked out, disappearing from his view.

With the sound of the hospital door closing, Chi Xiting fell into silence.

No, something doesn’t seem right.

Chi Xiting calmly thought for a moment. It seemed that as his mind settled, his previously stiff and unfeeling body began to wake up. A sharp pain throbbed at his temple, reminding him that he wasn’t dreaming.

He turned his head slightly and glanced at the cabinet beside the bed. After scanning the surface and not seeing what he was looking for, he furrowed his brow, half-raised his body, and reached for the drawer.

Before his fingers could touch the drawer, the door was pushed open again.

A rough, hurried voice sounded.

“Damn it.” Fu Ning took two large strides and reached Chi Xiting’s side, grabbing him and whispering in a startled tone, “What are you doing? If you need something, I’ll get it for you. Just lie back.”

Chi Xiting blinked slowly, his gaze fixed on Fu Ning’s face. After scanning Fu Ning’s face carefully, he stiffly lowered his lashes, his long curled eyelashes trembling slightly.

This is bad.

He didn’t recognize this person either…

“What do you want?” Fu Ning muttered a couple of things, put the fruit basket down, and bent over to pull open the drawer. After waiting for a while without hearing Chi Xiting respond, he called out in confusion, “Chi Xiting? Say something.”

It seemed like something sensitive was triggered. Chi Xiting suddenly turned to look at Fu Ning, his beautiful eyes fixed on him, staring for a while before he asked, “What did you just call me?”

Fu Ning froze, his fingers curling a few times. He stared blankly at Chi Xiting for a few seconds before finally straightening his posture. His gaze slowly shifted to the wound on Chi Xiting’s temple, and his expression became serious as he pursed his lips.

“Amnesia?”

The doctor looked at Chi Xiting, who was half-lying on the bed, and frowned.

Chi Xiting licked his dry lower lip, a bit guilty, and looked away, glancing briefly at Fu Ning before slowly nodding.

It wasn’t the typical amnesia, but… wasn’t this also a form of amnesia?

He truly couldn’t remember anything, and using this amnesia excuse to gather more information wouldn’t be a bad thing for him.

The doctor said, “Head trauma can indeed lead to memory loss, but your wound is not very large… If you’re still worried, we can do another brain scan.”

Chi Xiting nodded to indicate he understood.

Fu Ning, who was nearby, easily accepted the fact that Chi Xiting had amnesia. After seeing the doctor off, he plopped down on the bed next to Chi Xiting, staring at him for a while before asking, “You don’t remember me either?”

Chi Xiting nodded.

Fu Ning pursed his lips. “So, what do you remember?”

Could memory loss be so severe that he forgot even him?

“I remember my name is Chi Xiting.”

“What else?”

“Nothing.”

—-

Fu Ning remained silent for a few seconds, sighed, and began to “educate” Chi Xiting about his life.

They were childhood friends, very close. “Chi Xiting” was still in university, majoring in marketing, and was already doing an internship in his fourth year. By June this year, he would graduate and officially start working.

Fu Ning was studying at an art school and had already started auditioning for drama roles.

“The internship company was even found by your dad. I heard it’s pretty good. There’s a very impressive guy from the next university… What was his name again?” Fu Ning racked his brain for a moment before remembering, “Right, Huo Youshen. I think he also submitted his resume and was probably hired.”

Huo Youshen?

Chi Xiting’s gaze froze for a moment, and in the next instant, those long-forgotten memories flooded back, and the pain in his temple flared again.

He must have crossed over into a novel.

It was the book he had randomly opened one night when his sleep cycle was disrupted due to overtime, a novel about a male protagonist’s rise in the workplace.

The story was about Huo Youshen, who relied on his ability and sharp business sense to rise through the ranks, from a small intern to the general manager, eventually founding his own company, Huo’s, and becoming a business tycoon.

And Chi Xiting had become a minor character in the story, someone who appeared for only five minutes, with less than ten lines of dialogue, a mere background figure.

Normally, being a background character wouldn’t be so bad, but…

Why did he have to be a worker again in this life?

Other people who crossed over became rich heirs or young masters, but why was he stuck as a mere corporate slave?

The miserable experiences from his previous life as a worker suddenly surged into Chi Xiting’s mind.

007, 996, on-call 24 hours a day.

During his internship, the pay was low, and the workload was high. He did countless miscellaneous tasks, always treated as an intern, doing the work of a general assistant. He never had a fixed desk, and whenever any department was short-staffed, he was sent there. After struggling to secure a full-time position, he faced endless reports, evaluations, and mounting pressure from clients, all while training new hires.

Intern, full-time employee, team leader, department director, regional director.

It looked smooth, but behind the scenes was constant competition and demands. As his position rose, it wasn’t just about salary and benefits; it also meant more work piled on. He had to do what junior employees could do, and what they couldn’t do, he had to handle too.

Under the exploitation of ruthless capitalists, Chi Xiting eventually became a more successful version of an overworked employee, from a symbol of cheap labor to an even cheaper one.

With the pressure of survival, Chi Xiting had to support his family—his father’s debts, his siblings’ tuition fees—and the mounting stress pushed him to endure the humiliation and work long hours, not knowing if he was working with his eyes open or if he had already passed out from exhaustion.

Under the long-term high workload, Chi Xiting eventually couldn’t hold on any longer.

Chi Xiting lowered his eyes, a wave of bitterness rising in him.

So, what’s the point of working so hard?

His mental and physical state had both become impoverished, but materially, it seemed no better off.

It could be said to be a lose-lose situation…

Seeing that Chi Xiting suddenly fell silent, Fu Ning also quieted down and glanced at him a few times.

Chi Xiting sat quietly on the hospital bed. His already pale skin had become even paler due to his illness. His eyes were half-closed, with thin eyelids and lashes gently drooping, damp and forming a pretty, soft arc, making him look haggard and pitiful.

Fu Ning’s gaze wandered around the room, then he picked an apple and started peeling it, saying with concern, “You too, how could you be so careless to fall down the stairs?”

“By the way, don’t forget to call your parents later. Your phone’s off, right? They couldn’t reach you, so they called me instead.” After finishing peeling the apple with difficulty, Fu Ning handed it to Chi Xiting. “Here, eat this apple. I hope everything will go smoothly from now on.”

Chi Xiting snapped out of his thoughts and raised his eyes to meet Fu Ning’s gaze before lowering them again, looking at the apple in Fu Ning’s hand.

Fu Ning probably wasn’t very good at peeling apples; the whole apple was full of dents, but he carefully peeled every bit of the skin off.

Everything going smoothly.

Yeah.

A while ago, a new colleague in the company had asked him in a spur of the moment what the ultimate purpose of life was.

He had casually answered, “The purpose of life is to live and enjoy.”

But in his past life, let alone enjoyment, he hadn’t even achieved living.

This life…

To hell with the 996, 007. It’s impossible to push myself any harder. He just wanted to be a lazy worker and live his life properly.

As for the internship…

Chi Xiting softly thanked Fu Ning, then took the apple from his hand and slowly took a bite.

His stereotype of internships could be summed up in eight words:

“3,000 yuan a month.”

Even a dog wouldn’t want it.