Welcome to BR Corporation, the largest multinational financial group in the world.
Black slogans. A black logo. And Su Mosheng, dressed in an equally deep-black suit.
Only the chairwoman, Su Yue, wore a white tailored suit, seated at the very center of the conference room.
"I wish to resign from my position as vice president of BR Group. All of my shares will be transferred to my mother, Madam Su Yue."
The boardroom was a cold, deep sea. The uniquely cruel waves of that sea were about to swallow Su Mosheng whole.
"Might I ask whether you're leaving BR Group because you're dissatisfied with P Company's pharmaceutical plans?"
"Rumor has it you refused the partnership between P Company and BR Group. But doing so will push BR Group into an abyss from which there's no return. You're not willing to walk into the line of fire, so you've chosen to resign instead."
"The chairwoman's investment in you is plain for all to see. Are you really going to become a deserter over a little thing like your so-called sense of justice?"
Su Mosheng did not respond to these challenges. He knew they were right. He couldn't merge into that cruel, cold deep sea. He could only swim toward dry sand—even if that sand was another kind of dead end, one where deep-sea fish could not survive.
The black logo of BR Corporation grew even more despairing. That despair was more agonizing than death itself. So let me struggle on this beach a little while longer. Because I don't want to die right away—die in this despair that reaps and exploits others.
This apartment building was that beach. Everyone here was nursing secret motives, every family carrying its own hard-luck story.
But as long as he disguised himself as a blind man, as a weak man, then maybe he wouldn't see the colors before him—wouldn't see despair and suffering in any color at all.
He had still overestimated himself. His stepmother would surely come with a fishing net to the beach, wanting to drag him back into that deep sea he had once lived in.
And the adoptive father hiding behind the scenes was the real culprit who had destroyed his life.
He spent the entire night studying P Company's financial statements, trying to find a flaw in them—anything that might prove his theory.
Before leaving for school, Xiao Die saw that the light in Su Mosheng's apartment was still on. She guessed he must have been busy all night. She didn't know what he had been doing; she only wanted to tell him to rest.
"Mosheng gege, I'm heading off to morning self-study. You need to be good and get some sleep. My mom used to say that as long as your health is good, your life can start over again. Every one of us gets a chance to start over!"
Hearing Xiao Die's gentle words, he felt the sense of safety she brought. Setting aside the cold documents, he drifted into a deep sleep.
Today's mock exam was very important. Xiao Die felt nervous. She made up her mind to decide which school to apply to once the results came out.
Over the summer, she could work part-time at a bubble tea shop with Lu Na. If time allowed, she could also try writing and submitting stories, making solid preparations for university life.
Mom and Dad, are you well up in heaven?
I recently read a fairy tale about Atlantis. Scientists say Atlantis was as beautiful as heaven. I know Atlantis must really exist, and that you have returned there.
I still have to keep struggling here in the human world—even though I'm not a mermaid princess from Atlantis, just the smallest, most unremarkable star among eight billion on this planet.
She passed by BR Group's branch building. A poster of a top female celebrity hung at the very top of the building—the highest point in this city.
Her parents had once wished that their daughter could one day work at BR Group and become a creative director at a multinational corporation.
"Mom, Dad—I will definitely make your wish come true."
"And that is my dream, too."