Chapter 17: Question Mark Obsession

The day’s work left Yao Jia feeling exhausted. Though it was still early for bed, she decided to unwind by playing a few rounds of KartRider on her phone.

As soon as she logged into the game, a message from a friend popped up. It was from Xinghen.

Since they added each other as friends over half a month ago, they had exchanged only three sentences, none of which contained a single Chinese character.

Xinghen: [?]

Bread King: [??]

Xinghen: [???]

The latest string of question marks was sent just a few minutes ago. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that Xinghen was online too.

She replied directly: [????]

After all, question marks are free, and she could always send one more than him.

Just as she was about to close the chat and start a ranked race, Xinghen sent another message.

She opened it to find, unsurprisingly, another: [?????]

“…” Yao Jia suddenly felt the urge to engage in this pointless battle.

Bread King: [??????]

Xinghen: [????????]

Yao Jia spotted a flaw: [You added an extra question mark. You should have sent seven, not eight. Can’t count?]

She quickly typed: [Aren’t you childish? Are you planning to send a hundred thousand question marks to achieve some kind of record?]

Xinghen corrected himself by sending seven question marks again, claiming he had OCD.

Yao Jia sent eight question marks back, unwilling to let him have the upper hand.

In frustration, Xinghen sent nine.

Yao Jia, unfazed, replied with ten.

Xinghen, clearly exasperated, messaged: [Are you a question mark troll? You insisted on adding me, then didn’t say a word. I sent a question mark to express my confusion, and you responded with more question marks. Are you playing hard to get?]

Yao Jia nearly burst out laughing.

Bread King: [The internet is great. It fills people with unwarranted confidence.]

Xinghen: [Let’s race. If you lose, you have to let me send eleven question marks, and you can’t respond!]

Yao Jia scoffed, typing: Let’s race.

They opened a racing room and started playing.

Xinghen’s seven-day trial car had already been reclaimed by the system, so he was using the game’s basic, slowest car. Yao Jia, on the other hand, was driving the fastest luxury car, the Flame Red Flag, purchased with real money.

She chose the classic track “Forest Hairpin.”

Confident she would win, she was surprised when, at the first turn, Xinghen’s clunky car overtook her.

At each subsequent turn, he pulled further ahead. His drifts seemed perfectly calculated, ensuring the best route and shortest time without crashing into walls.

In the end, Xinghen won, leaving Yao Jia fuming.

She expected Xinghen to taunt her in the chat: “Driving the Flame Red Flag, yet you can’t beat my bronze car?”

But true to his word, Xinghen refrained from mocking her, instead sending eleven question marks to satisfy his obsession.

Yao Jia: “…”

He was the real question mark troll!

She was impressed. Despite years of clashing with people, this was the first opponent who made her mind involuntarily fill with ellipses.

Unwilling to admit defeat in terms of skill, Yao Jia continued to race against Xinghen. However, unless he went easy on her, she couldn’t beat him.

Yao Jia had to concede that her self-proclaimed bronze mentor was indeed stronger than her, the supposed master.

But after a few races, she felt much more relaxed.

Xinghen commented: [You drove terribly today, like your car had no soul.]

Yao Jia sighed and replied: [I’m just in a bad mood today.]

Xinghen: [?]

Yao Jia almost responded with “??” again.

She held back, sending: [Work hasn’t been going well.]

Xinghen: [Knowing I’m not the only one struggling at work is reassuring. Disciple, if you’re ever having a hard time, let your master know. It would be a filial gesture.]

Yao Jia: “…”

She almost deleted him from her friends list.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remove him. Upon closer inspection, it turned out the network was lagging.

Just then, she heard Meng Xingzhe from the next room step out and loudly ask, “Who’s downloading something? The internet’s crawling!”

Yao Jia got up and went to the living room, saying, “I’m getting disconnected too.”

Tian Huasheng, on a yoga mat in front of the TV, shook his head in confusion.

Tong Yumo hadn’t come out of her room yet.

Meng Xingzhe nodded toward Yao Jia: “Go ask her.”

“??” Yao Jia thought Meng Xingzhe was acting like a boss assigning tasks to his subordinates.

She refused to go.

“Why don’t you ask?” Yao Jia countered.

Meng Xingzhe replied, “It’s late. If I knock on her door and she gets the wrong idea, what then?”

“…” Yao Jia conceded.

But he did have a point. It was late, and it wasn’t appropriate for a guy to knock on a girl’s door.

Yao Jia hesitated, then knocked on Tong Yumo’s door.

Tong Yumo opened the door, her doe-like eyes blinking innocently. “I don’t know. I was watching a makeup video when it suddenly lagged. I thought you were downloading something.”

“…” How easily she passed the blame.

Yao Jia glanced back at Meng Xingzhe and shrugged.

Meng Xingzhe nodded, “Alright, I’ll check it myself.”

He turned and went back to his room, leaving the door open. Yao Jia, with her keen eyesight, saw him open the router interface on his computer.

Meng Xingzhe seemed to gasp at what he saw on the router interface.

Curious about what he was doing, Tian Huasheng got up from his yoga mat, leaned against the doorway, and asked in a sweet, childlike voice, “Brother, what did you find?”

Meng Xingzhe shared his surprise, “Our router has over thirty devices connected. Besides our own, there are about twenty from outside.”

Tian Huasheng let out a surprised “Wow,” while Yao Jia internally went “Huh?”

Meng Xingzhe turned to Tian Huasheng and Yao Jia, “Did either of you give the wifi password to anyone?”

Both shook their heads in unison.

Meng Xingzhe said, “Then maybe the password was hacked.”

He changed the password and shared it with Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng, who then passed it on to Tong Yumo.

As Tong Yumo noted the new wifi password, she asked hesitantly, “Do we really have to change it? Can’t we just leave it?”

Yao Jia glanced at her, “Is there a problem?”

Tong Yumo quickly shook her head, “This password is so complicated, I’m afraid I won’t remember it!”

Once the password was changed, the internet speed improved. Yao Jia picked up her phone, intending to delete Xinghen from her contacts.

After logging back in, she saw Xinghen had left her a message: [You’re still young, aren’t you? Little one, let me tell you, life is filled with disappointments. Being unhappy today doesn’t matter, because tomorrow you’ll have new reasons to be unhappy.]

Reading this bit of dark humor, Yao Jia unexpectedly felt much better.

Her finger hovered over the delete button for a moment, then she withdrew it.

She replied to Xinghen: [Big brother, go to bed early, or you’ll lose hair.]

As soon as she sent the message, the internet speed crashed again.

※※※

Meng Xingzhe was touching his own short, thick hair when the spinning circle indicating a network issue appeared on his phone screen.

Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng came over to inform him that the internet had crashed again.

Meng Xingzhe thought for a moment, then logged back into the router interface on his computer. He saw that the twenty-some external devices were once again firmly connected to the broadband.

Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng exchanged bewildered looks.

“Are we being monitored by aliens?” Tian Huasheng asked, holding his face in disbelief.

Yao Jia patted his shoulder to calm his wild imagination.

She turned to Meng Xingzhe, “Is there a hacker expert living nearby?”

To crack their newly changed wifi password so quickly.

Meng Xingzhe smirked slightly. His fingers moved elegantly over the keyboard and mouse, his actions smooth and confident.

Tian Huasheng watched in admiration, praising, “Brother, even your hands look good! What are you doing?”

Meng Xingzhe explained, “Since changing the wifi password doesn’t work, let’s limit the speed for these external devices.”

He paused and added, “We’ll probably find out soon how the password was cracked.”

Watching his impressive skills, Yao Jia thought he knew quite a lot. At that moment, despite his shiny pajamas, Meng Xingzhe seemed to have a bit of a glow about him.

※※※※※※

After a restful night, Yao Jia mentally prepared herself for work the next day.

—Another day of serving others, hang in there, one less day each time.

The Customer Service Department’s morning meetings were usually led by the Customer Service Supervisor and Assistant Manager, Cao Chun. She would briefly summarize the previous day’s work, outline the day’s plans, and communicate any new company updates or tasks.

Only for significant matters would the Customer Service Manager, Li Wangli, personally host the morning meeting.

So when Yao Jia arrived at the office and saw Li Wangli sitting at the head of the conference table, she was a bit surprised.

On her second day of officially taking calls, to have Li Wangli personally lead the morning meeting was quite an event. She wondered which of the newcomers had managed such a feat.

Li Wangli first had Cao Chun summarize the previous day’s situation and highlight the day’s key tasks.

Normally, the morning meeting would end here, and everyone would return to their posts.

But today, the meeting clearly wasn’t over. Li Wangli took over from Cao Chun, his expression serious, and began with a firm opening.

“I’m here personally for the morning meeting today to inform you of two situations that require your attention and vigilance.”

The atmosphere in the room grew tense, and everyone sensed that something significant—and likely not good—was about to happen.

Sitting in her chair, Yao Jia scanned the room with her eyes, trying to see if she could identify who had caught Li Wangli’s ire.

Her gaze swept from left to right, then back from right to left. As it passed the center, her eyes suddenly locked with Li Wangli’s.

Her heart skipped a beat, and in her mind, a herd of alpacas began to roam across a vast prairie.

…Could it be her??

Li Wangli shifted his gaze away and, with little expression, began speaking again, “Yesterday was the first day new employees officially took customer calls. The company executives took it very seriously and conducted random monitoring of your conversations.”

Yao Jia felt a sinking feeling in her heart.

“From the monitoring, most of the sampled employees performed quite well. The best among them were Tian Huasheng and Tong Yumo. Stand up, both of you, and let’s give them a round of applause. Fellow employees, learn from them. But aside from that—”

This turn of phrase made Yao Jia’s heart drop.

“—there were also those who performed poorly. Their work was so unsatisfactory that it displeased the higher-ups. The leadership directly called me and the head of the Human Resources Department in for questioning, asking how we conducted the recruitment screening and training assessments. How could such employees remain in customer service, muddling through their duties?”

As Li Wangli spoke, he couldn’t help but pound the conference table twice with his fist. It seemed this was his first time being implicated and facing the wrath of the higher-ups due to the incompetence of newly hired employees.

In those two thumps on the table lay a trace of inexplicable grievance over this unprecedented misfortune.

Previously, the higher-ups wouldn’t have been so idle. The first day new employees in the Customer Service Department took calls never required their grand presence for random monitoring. Who knows what happened yesterday?

Li Wangli hadn’t slept well last night, worried that he might have mishandled something and that the higher-ups were looking for an excuse to reprimand him.

But after a thorough self-examination, he couldn’t pinpoint anything he had done wrong or out of line.

So this accountability for the poor performance of new employees felt like a calamity falling from the sky.

Li Wangli pounded the table again. In his agitation, even the drawn-out official tone in his voice disappeared, “During training, we repeatedly emphasized that you cannot argue, debate, or quarrel with customers. You are customer service representatives, not debaters or quarrel champions. Just keep apologizing!”

His gaze fell on Yao Jia, and his voice rose, “Yao Jia, who taught you that you could argue with customers? Do you know that by arguing, you put our company in a passive position? We go from being right to being wrong, from not needing to offer discounts to having to give them to calm the situation. By the way, this discount will be deducted from Lin Qian’s internal employee discount quota, not the company’s costs. Remember, no matter what, you must keep smiling and remain calm! If you can’t maintain such basic professional conduct, then don’t work in customer service. Go home!”

Being called out, her suspicions confirmed, the suspense in Yao Jia’s heart turned into a heavy stone settling down. The sinking and dropping feelings were replaced by guilt for implicating Lin Qian.

But she wanted to argue: Why can’t I talk back, yet unreasonable customers can endlessly insult me?

She wanted to speak up for the customer service role: Even if it’s a service industry, with service first and customers above all, don’t employees’ dignity and rights matter? Why must people work in such an unequal environment?

Someone placed a hand on her leg.

Yao Jia turned to see Lin Qian restraining her, preventing her from acting impulsively.

Yao Jia held her breath. That breath stuck in her throat, making her feel she might explode, turning into a defiant, blood-red Yao Jia.

Li Wangli glared at her for a moment before moving his gaze away.

Yao Jia noticed there was still another layer of fire in his eyes.

So, there were other new employees who performed poorly and were about to be criticized next?

“And Meng Xingzhe, do you have some misunderstanding about customer service work? This is the Customer Service Department of an electronics company, not some radio station’s spiritual voice or online salon. This position is for solving customer problems, not for chatting endlessly with little girls who have nothing better to do!”

Everyone’s attention turned to Meng Xingzhe, like fish in a pond drawn to bait.

After scrutinizing his appearance, the curiosity in their eyes faded, replaced by understanding for the girls who called just to chat.

…

Yao Jia once again felt how unreasonable this world that judges by appearances could be.

Meng Xingzhe sat in his chair, leaning back, legs crossed, elbows resting on the chair’s arms, hands clasped on his lap. He appeared as composed and nonchalant as ever.

When he heard his name being criticized, he furrowed his brows slightly, pressed his thin lips together, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed the words he wanted to say:

“Get out! Who do you think you’re talking to like that?”

He told himself to restrain. After all, he wasn’t the boss who could criticize anyone; he was just a low-level employee who could be criticized by anyone.

But soon, he realized that the silly girl sitting next to him, with Lin Qian between them, had already diverted Li Wangli’s barrage.

Because Li Wangli said, “Yao Jia and Meng Xingzhe, oh, you’re both under Lin Qian’s guidance. Lin Qian, what are you doing? Is this how you train newcomers? Can you continue as a team leader, or should we replace you? Your bonus for this month will be recalculated, with deductions and penalties as needed!”

As soon as Li Wangli finished speaking, Lin Qian could no longer hold Yao Jia back.

Yao Jia stood up and said, “Manager Li, I’m sorry, it’s my own fault. Our Team Leader taught us well, the mistake isn’t hers. She’s the best Team Leader I’ve ever seen. Please dock my pay, not hers!”

Li Wangli’s anger flared even higher. “Who do you think you are, standing up and interrupting me? Why don’t you come sit in my chair, and I’ll call you President Yao? You can lead me, how about that?”

Everyone in the meeting room lowered their heads, stifling laughter at Yao Jia’s audacity given her lowly position.

Lin Qian tugged on Yao Jia’s arm, managing to pull her back into her seat before she could say anything more.

Lin Qian apologized to Li Wangli, “I’m sorry, Manager, it was my fault. I didn’t guide them properly. I’ll write a report for you.”

Yao Jia wanted to stand up again to take the blame, but Lin Qian firmly held her down and whispered, “Do you really think you can absolve me of responsibility? If you want to make me feel better, just stop arguing.”

Yao Jia looked at Lin Qian’s gentle yet determined expression, and a wave of guilt washed over her like a tidal wave.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to Lin Qian. “Team Leader, I’ve dragged you into this.”

Lin Qian didn’t say anything, but typed a line on her phone for Yao Jia to see.

“Learn to be silent before you argue. Winning a verbal battle is a hollow victory.”

Yao Jia committed these words to memory.

But ultimately, Lin Qian still received criticism and lost her bonus because of her, leaving Yao Jia deeply remorseful.

Li Wangli delivered his final outburst from the podium. “Yao Jia and Meng Xingzhe, you two are something else, consistently tying for last place! Let me tell you, whoever is at the bottom at the end of the month better pack up and leave. This isn’t a junkyard; we don’t collect trash! Everyone else, listen up. If you’re going to work here, do it well. Our Customer Service Department doesn’t accept garbage!”

After his tirade, the morning meeting finally adjourned.

Yao Jia returned to her desk.

She thought about how Xinghen had been right last night; a new day indeed brought new troubles.

Turning her head, she saw Meng Xingzhe, who appeared completely unfazed, as if the person criticized in the meeting was someone with the same name and face, but definitely not him.

Before the official workday began, Tian Huasheng wandered over to offer comfort and warmth to Yao Jia and Meng Xingzhe.

“Jia, don’t worry. It’s just a scolding. It’s not worth getting upset over.” He paused, then added, “With your performance, there might be a second or third scolding. If you get upset every time, how will you manage?”

“…”

Before Yao Jia could feel moved, Tian Huasheng turned to Meng Xingzhe with a sweet voice. “Bro, don’t be upset. You’re so handsome, who cares about job performance? Oh, you look like you’re not upset at all. In that case, I’ll continue comforting Jia.”

Tian Huasheng turned back, ready to continue his dubious encouragement for Yao Jia.

Yao Jia slapped a notebook over his face to shut him up. “If you want me to live a few more days, don’t talk me to death so quickly. Just keep quiet for now.”

Tong Yumo had silently drifted over to Meng Xingzhe’s desk, speaking softly to him. “Meng Xingzhe, don’t be sad. If there’s anything you don’t understand when taking calls, you can ask me. I can help you.” She glanced at Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng, who were busy talking, and whispered to Meng Xingzhe, “For the end-of-month assessment, I won’t let you come in last again! You’ll definitely outlast someone else!”

Meng Xingzhe looked up at her, his tone even. “Thanks, but there’s no need.”

Tian Huasheng turned around, clapping his hands. “Tong Yumo, I think you’re speaking too soon. Jia and Brother Meng’s performances are quite mysterious. Even when getting scolded, they compete to see who gets it more! I’m not sure who will ultimately outlast whom!”

Yao Jia made a gesture as if to slap Tian Huasheng. “You troublemaker, do you even have a stance?”

Tian Huasheng pretended to dodge. “I’m on your side! Tong Yumo said Brother Meng would eliminate you, and I’m denying it, saying it’s not certain!”

Yao Jia: “…”

That’s a very obvious way of showing support!

Suddenly, Meng Xingzhe spoke up. “Let’s make a bet.”

Everyone turned to look at him.

Meng Xingzhe turned his head slightly, glancing at Yao Jia and the others. “Aren’t you all curious? Let’s bet on who will eliminate whom.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Yao Jia glared at him fiercely.

Their eyes clashed like swords once again.

Tian Huasheng suddenly grabbed a pen and paper from Yao Jia’s desk, adopting a playful tone as he announced, “Place your bets, everyone! Betting on Yao Jia to be eliminated is the big bet, betting on Meng Xingzhe is the small bet. Come on, place your bets! The more you bet, the more you win!”

Yao Jia: “…………”

To Yao Jia’s surprise, someone actually responded to his call and placed a bet. Yao Jia was impressed.

Even Tong Yumo joined in, pulling out money to join the fun.

“I, I’ve never gambled before, I’m a bit scared… How about I bet that Meng Xingzhe stays? Sorry, Yao Jia!” Tong Yumo’s innocent demeanor made Yao Jia’s scalp tingle.

With a slap on the table, Yao Jia took out two pink bills and entered the bet herself.

“I bet I’ll eliminate him!” she declared, pointing at Meng Xingzhe.

Who couldn’t have a little confidence in themselves?!

Meng Xingzhe turned his head, raised an eyebrow at her, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. He looked incredibly handsome, yet there was a hint of mockery.

He gestured for Tian Huasheng to come over.

Tian Huasheng leaned in to listen. After a moment, his burly face was full of surprise and excitement, as if saying “Oh~~!”

He nearly plastered his notebook to his face to prevent others from seeing what he was writing, muttering in a childish tone, “I’m noting Brother Meng’s bet in my little book, and you can’t see it!”

※※※

As Yao Jia was tidying up her desk at the end of the workday, she received a call from home. Her mother informed her that she should come home for dinner that evening.

For some reason, Yao Jia felt a little excited and happy. It was the first time her parents had invited her back for dinner since she moved out to live in the dormitory.

Clocking out, she took advantage of her good mood and asked Meng Xingzhe, who was walking with her out of the building, “Regarding our elimination bet, how much did you actually wager?” He was being so mysterious about it.

Meng Xingzhe glanced at her, smiled, and squinted his eyes. In an instant, his charming demeanor was like that of a power generator.

“Guess.”

Guess my foot.

Yao Jia felt like scratching that suddenly smug face of his.

— Translator’s Notes —

– a herd of alpacas began to roam across a vast prairie: A popular Chinese internet meme depicting a chaotic stampede of alpacas (or llamas) in one’s mind to express embarrassment, panic, or overwhelming thoughts.