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The humid heat of August rose like steam, and the sea breeze from Victoria Harbour swept through Central, carrying the briny scent of the water. Tang Yu had just stepped out of the taxi when a wave of...

The tension in the room had stretched to breaking point. Jiang Yuejian wiped the slender silver tube with strong liquor. Firelight danced along its surface, making it look like a cold snake poised to ...

Senior year began earlier than any other grade. The chill of the first lunar month still lingered; the snow on campus had been swept to the roadside and piled into gray-black mounds. Bare branches poi...

At the opening ceremony, Qin Ting stood behind Zou Songpu, silently staring at him. That silhouette looked more and more familiar, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't place it. Absorbed as she w...

For three full minutes after my car pulled away, I said nothing at all. Neither did he. Then I told him. I won't repeat what I said. Some of it was cruel, and I meant every word, and I'd say it again ...

Liang Zhecheng bent down, picked Lu Nan up, and settled him in the armchair in front of him. Then he leaned close and took an enormous sniff. “Yes! That's it! That cat smell!” Poor little Lu Nan tucke...

Lin Ting couldn't settle down in her studio today. She singled out Shen Yueji to accompany her out. Over the next three hours, Shen Yueji went from a personal bodyguard who had been bored out of her m...

When Su Die woke again, she heard sirens. In the instant she opened her eyes, she could not tell whether the sirens came from a dream or from reality. Qin Zu was sentenced to ten years for fraud. Xiao...

The question, asked so abruptly, made Guan Zhiyan freeze for a beat. She shook her head at once. "Of course not. We're not police—we're here strictly for the money. When someone won't come out to meet...

This summer was hotter than any summer before. Xiao Die was successfully admitted to A University, but she was still worried about tuition and living expenses. Lu Na's uncle paid her wages for this mo...

Listening to Shen Jingyu's childish questions, Ye Jingchuan felt a tangle of emotions and had no idea how to answer. A three-year-old did not understand death, and he couldn't bring himself to say som...

Su Mian leaned over Taibai Tower's carved white-marble windowsill, chin propped in his hand, leisurely watching that timeless historical drama unfold below: “Rich Young Bullies Torment Poor Scholar.” ...

The first batch of twenty Tianxuan blades — delivery in forty days. I did the finishing. Xiao Sun did rough grinding and semi ‑ finishing. Sixteen hours of work every day. The first ten went smoothly ...

Chapter 16: Currents Beneath the Surface The news came on the evening of the third day. Sheng Linyou was chopping vegetables when Yin Xigui answered the phone. Through the half-open kitchen door, he h...

Xiao Die got into Lu Yu's car, and she fell into a long, long dream. "Jiejie, save me… Jiejie, please don't leave me behind!" "Xiao Zhen, jiejie is right here with you. Don't be afraid." "Jiejie, you ...

After Old Liu arrived, the workshop became four people. Me, Xiao Sun, Lin Kai, and Old Liu. Old Liu couldn ’ t do finishing, but he had spent fifteen years at Tianchen on equipment maintenance and mat...

The noodle shop buzzed with voices, the rich aroma of bone broth filling the air. We sat in our usual corner. Head lowered, Chen Jingming poked at the noodles in his bowl with his chopsticks, splashin...

My name is Shi Wei. By the time you read this sentence, I will already have removed your brain... “Qiu He! Qiu He! Big news! Huge news! The forum's practically exploding!” Qiu He glanced at his franti...

The day the Tianxuan blades arrived, I held one in my hands for a long time. It looked similar to the WZ ‑ 16 blade, but the moment I touched it, I could tell it was different — lighter, with a pale g...

Guan Zhiyan finally finished examining the surveillance footage. She recorded everything she'd seen, then looked up at a cleaner passing by. Curiously, she asked the shop owner, “Do the same cleaners ...

Outside the cockpit door, Keane and Daisy traded looks. Keane leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, and—catching Daisy’s bewildered, shocked stare—explained with a low laugh: “No need to look so...

Xiao Die missed the summers after the turn of the millennium with a particular ache. In childhood, the summer wind had been dyed sky blue. She would sit in front of the television, waiting for differe...

One week later. The company holds an all ‑ hands meeting. The group ’ s top leadership attends in person, announcing the resolution of the XX Bank incident. The guarantee contract is unilaterally revo...

Three days after Zhang Mingzhe left his card, another person showed up. Qian Zhiyuan. General Manager of Tianchen Precision. He drove a black Audi A6 and parked at the workshop entrance. I saw him get...

The news of Tianchen losing the WZ ‑ 16 contract exploded in the industry. A precision manufacturing company with annual revenue over two billion — its core project gone, just like that. Old Liu sent ...

By ten-fifty the restaurant had thinned out. Joey and the others drifted off with waves and goodbyes, and our table was down to five people and too many empty glasses, all of us pleasantly loose aroun...

News of Tianchen ’ s troubles spread quickly. The industry is small. In the aero ‑ engine precision processing field, there are only a few hundred people nationwide. When something happens at one comp...

With Xiao Sun on board, the workshop ’ s capacity barely caught up. I did the finishing. He did rough grinding and semi ‑ finishing. The final surface correction was still done by me. ASG ’ s orders s...

In the second month of the workshop ’ s operation, ASG added three more orders. Forty ‑ two blades in total. I worked alone, fourteen hours a day, non ‑ stop. Master Zhao came by once. Seeing me grind...

Day twenty ‑ three. Old Liu sent me a WeChat late at night. “ ASG sent people. ” Followed by a frightened emoji. “ How many? ” “ Three people from the Quality Department. The one leading them seemed p...

The day my supplier approval came through, Mr. Lu called again. “ Mr. Song, we ’ re raising our offer to three hundred fifty thousand a year, plus a relocation allowance and housing subsidy —” “ Mr. L...

That fifteen hundred came from Old Liu. “ Yuan Ge, it ’ s just fifteen hundred. Don ’ t be polite. ” Old Liu sent me a screenshot of the WeChat transfer. “ Use it. No need to pay back. ” “ I have to p...

On the twelfth day of the first lunar month, ASG Quality Department. Gu Ping was in his early forties, wearing gold ‑ rimmed glasses, and spoke with the unhurried cadence typical of state ‑ owned ente...

I went back to the city early, on the seventh day of the New Year. On the train, I got a call from Old Liu at Tianchen. “ Yuan Ge, something happened after you left. ” “ What? ” “ The batch of blades ...

Back in my rented room, there was a slip of paper on the table that the landlord had left in the morning — rent going up three hundred next month. Adding that eight ‑ hundred ‑ eighty bonus, I had a t...

Eight hundred and eighty . I opened my year ‑ end bonus envelope and counted it three times. Eight hundred and eighty yuan. Old Liu from the next cubicle leaned over. “ Yuan Ge, how much did your grou...

Out of the office building. The sun is blinding. I squint, holding my cardboard box, standing on the crowded street. Where will I go? What will I do? I don ’ t know. But I ’ m not anxious at all. My b...

The next 48 hours unfold like a movie on fast ‑ forward. Public opinion explodes. Our silent sit ‑ in – photos and stories – go viral on local social media. Headlines like “ Worst Colleague Ever, ” “ ...

The next day, Monday. The early morning sun cuts through the glass curtain walls of the financial district, cold and glaring. In front of the XX Bank headquarters. Thirty ‑ three office workers in for...