Chapter 2 — Leave Application Approved Within 10 Minutes

Just in the blink of an eye. I looked at that gray icon. Suddenly I feel like a ghost in the digital world. Ever existed. But all traces are being erased at breakneck speed. The box was quickly filled. I hugged it and stood up. At that moment, Vuong Wei stepped forward. On his face was a look of surprise and regret.

“Oh my, Tran Nhien, are you...really going?”

He held out his hand, as if he wanted to help me carry the box. I leaned away to avoid it.

“Yes, I'm going.”

"Why so suddenly? Haven't heard any news before."

That tone sounded as if the two of us were very close.

“It's a pity, it's really a pity.”

He clicked his tongue repeatedly, shaking his head emotionally.

"In the project, you have always been the mainstay. Now that you're gone, what can we do?"

When he said the three words "pillar", his eyes absentmindedly glanced at the fire sprinkler head on the ceiling. I just smiled faintly.

"The company has so many talented people, I'm not the only one lacking."

“It's not the same, definitely not the same.”

Vuong Wei looked at me with a very sincere expression.

"Be sure to keep in touch from now on. I'll organize a meeting someday and call everyone together."

I held my luggage and walked towards the elevator. He followed side by side, constantly chattering.

“Seriously, don't be polite to me.”

"Your phone number hasn't changed yet? I'll contact you someday."

The elevator just arrived. An alarm sounded. I stepped inside and turned around. Vuong Wei stood outside the elevator door, waving at me.

“Remember to keep in touch!”

The smile on his face was so standard that it looked like he had just used a ruler to measure it. I nodded slightly. The elevator door slowly closed. Right in the last second before the door was completely closed, I saw Vuong Wei turn around. The corners of his lips curled up into an exaggerated curve. Then raise your eyebrows toward a certain corner of the work area. I understand that expression clearly. It's mockery. It's also bragging. The elevator started going down. In the cold metal compartment, there was only me and my own shadow left. I looked at the woman holding the cardboard box reflected on the shiny elevator wall. There's not much emotion on his face. There were not many ripples in my heart. Just feel like the past three years... Like a joke. But it's a joke that's not funny at all. Third day after quitting work. I slept until I woke up on my own. Sunlight filtered through the curtains, shining into the living room, cutting a bright streak of light on the floor. I cooked myself a bowl of noodles. Add two more fried eggs. Then curl up on the sofa, turn on the TV, and arbitrarily choose an idol movie full of old details. Phone placed next to it. Silent mode. I enjoy this rare feeling of peace. No work messages. No urgent calls. No system error reports at midnight. The tea table was covered with melon seeds, chips and soft drinks. Life is so pleasant it's unbelievable. Three o'clock in the afternoon. I bit into the melon seeds while watching the scene where the male and female leads were acting out their misunderstanding and breaking up. At that moment, the phone screen suddenly lit up. Local area code. I don't care. The screen goes dark. Less than ten seconds later it lit up again. Still the same number. Persistence is like a creditor asking for money. I started to feel annoyed and uncomfortable Hand swipes the screen to answer the phone. On the other end of the line, an urgent voice sounded, sounding quite familiar.

"Tran Nhien, right? I'm Luu Le from the human resources department!"

I was momentarily stunned. What are you looking for me?

“Is there something wrong?”

"Can you go to the company now? Something big has happened!"

Her voice was sharp, even filled with sobs.

“I quit my job.”

I calmly replied.

"I know! But the system... the company's internal management system has completely collapsed! No one can log in anymore!"

My movement of biting melon seeds stopped. That system. From the platform architecture to the front end. Every line of code is written by myself. To avoid arbitrary intervention by outsiders, I also set up three layers of security encryption and a special set of administrative commands that only I can recognize.

“Then find your technical room.”

"Found it! They can't access the administration system at all! Director Truong... Director Truong is about to scold the whole room to death!"

In my mind, Truong Dao's face distorted by anger almost immediately appeared.

"Sorry, I'm currently a freelancer. I have no obligation to handle my old company's work."

I'm about to hang up.

"Don't! Don't!"

Luu Le panicked.

“Wait a minute!”

On the other end of the line, a series of chaotic sounds rang out. It seemed like the phone was snatched by someone else. Right after that, a deeper male voice, but clearly trying to suppress his anger, rang out.

"Excuse me, is this Ms. Tran Nhien? I'm from the General Director's Office, my last name is Chu."

The general manager's person?

“Hello Mr. Chu.”

"Miss Tran, the company needs your help now. This system problem is extremely serious. All order, financial and logistics data of the branches are locked. The company has been paralyzed for two hours."

I conveniently picked up another handful of melon seeds, weighing them back and forth in the palm of my hand.

“Mr. Chu, I am no longer a company employee.”

"I know. We will hire you back as a technical consultant at market price to handle this problem. Just quote the price."

Finally arrived. This is what I'm waiting for. I slowly spit out the melon seed shell in my mouth.

"Okay."

“Currently I charge by the hour.”

“10,000 yuan an hour.”

“At least eight hours.”

“In addition, half of the deposit must be paid in advance, or 40,000 yuan.”

“The money is in my account, I'll just leave.”

The other end of the line was silent. A dead silence. About half a minute passed. It took so long that I thought the other person had hung up. Finally, Mr. Chu's voice rang out again, carrying a barely perceptible tremble.

“Send me your bank account number.”

I hung up. Inside there is a price quote I compiled a long time ago. The whole process goes as smoothly as clouds moving and water flowing. On the TV screen, the female lead was still crying non-stop. I find her a bit noisy. Then change the channel. The financial channel is broadcasting the stock market news of the day. A green color spread across the screen. It looks no different from the faces of some people right now.