Even though he went to bed early the night before, Fu Shiwu woke up in the middle of the night and spent hours watching videos. The next day, he felt like he hadn't rested at all.
"Ah..." He yawned widely, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes.
As the elevator doors opened, he swiftly put on his glasses, acknowledging a neighbor with a nod, sporting an elite demeanor.
The neighbor smiled at him but didn't speak, merely fixating on the changing numbers on the elevator display.
Fu Shiwu knew how his neighbors viewed him.
He was a professional in the workplace, courteous but aloof, not easy to approach.
Consequently, few people ever initiated lively conversations with him, a fact that both relieved and occasionally made him envious of the camaraderie among his colleagues.
Unfortunately, wearing this astute and distant mask for so long left him feeling adrift when it came time to take it off.
Back in his younger years at school, his large eyes and cute face garnered praise from teachers and attention from female classmates, inadvertently causing him to be antagonized and bullied by male peers in subtle ways.
Being a boy, he couldn't hold hands with girls to walk to the restroom.
He found himself consistently excluded from social groups, gradually growing timid, burying himself in studies. It was only when his nearsightedness developed, necessitating glasses, that he suddenly gained a piercing gaze that made others shrink away, making his life somewhat better.
The downside was that even female classmates no longer dared to approach him, leaving Fu Shiwu completely isolated.
Having experienced both adoration and isolation, Fu Shiwu found solace in this solitary mode of existence, considering it almost routine.
For him, being without glasses was inconvenient; he had no clue how to engage in conversations or interact with people.
Standing inside the elevator, which stopped and started intermittently, several people got on. The silence shattered, and they inevitably began discussing the red light seen the night before. Fu Shiwu couldn't join in; he merely listened intently.
Their conversation mirrored what he'd seen online the previous night. Nothing new caught his attention, so he stopped caring.
Exiting the elevator, Fu Shiwu spotted Tang Xuhai at the emergency exit corridor.
Fu Shiwu twitched his lips. This guy was a lunatic, always choosing stairs over the elevator!
The weather was hot, yet Tang Xuhai strolled in casual pants, a tank top, cigarette dangling, swaying as he walked.
Fu Shiwu found this behavior particularly irksome. Couldn't he walk properly?
Fu Shiwu studied environmental design. After graduating, he worked in a local design institute, relaxed at times but mostly engaged in endless design rushes.
He'd recently taken on a project, and several colleagues had been working tirelessly for days. Despite his lack of sleep, Fu Shiwu summoned his energy and left early; otherwise, he'd get stuck in traffic.
Arriving at the office, the usually lively workspace was eerily quiet, surprising Fu Shiwu.
However, due to his unapproachable demeanor, nobody bothered to inform him of what was happening.
So, Fu Shiwu, feigning a tea break, discreetly passed by other colleagues' offices a few times, finally understanding what they were up to.
They weren't working at all; instead, they were furtively watching videos and browsing webpages!
This left Fu Shiwu utterly perplexed.
He couldn't fathom it. Growing up being bullied and having no one to play with had turned him into somewhat of a bookworm. Apart from news, magazines, and documentaries, he'd never delved into modern internet literature or brainstorming.
Naturally, he believed whatever the experts said; his thoughts were straightforward!
But others were different!
The real battleground wasn't in the real world or on news channels; it was in the virtual world. Conspiracy theories, doomsday prophecies—the internet was in an uproar, forums and microblogs filled with various opinions.
The experts were left dumbfounded.
They were fooling common folks like they were fools themselves!
"How many hours does your angle of reflection stay the same? Doesn't it move with the atmosphere?"
"Ever seen something disappear during the day and reappear at night?"
"It's shifted to a time zone country now, so it's been orbiting the earth all along? Geng, what's your take on this?"
...
Witnessing the disinterest in work among his office mates, Fu Shiwu didn't want to completely detach. So, he opened a webpage, searching for the address he'd glimpsed on a colleague's computer a while ago.
Only then did he realize the situation might not be so simple.
Once inexplicable human phenomena arise, various cults emerge, selling doomsday prophecies, urging people to convert to the god of XX. Especially those adept at foreign languages and accessing overseas instant news had amplified the anxiety.
He'd woken up fine, but as soon as he turned on the computer, everything seemed amiss.
Fu Shiwu furrowed his brow, yet when a colleague abruptly stood up, he reflexively arched his eyebrows into an indifferent expression.
"...I need to take leave," the female colleague forced a smile, saying, "There's a sudden emergency at home... please inform the boss for me."
With someone taking the lead, others stood up, offering various excuses, awkwardly passing the responsibility of taking leave onto Fu Shiwu, who merely nodded dispassionately as they hurriedly left.
...What's going on? Fu Shiwu, in a sophisticated manner, crossed his arms on the table, watching the office empty, leaving only him behind.
At that moment, the supervisor walked in.
"Where is everyone? Shiwu, why are you alone?" The supervisor exclaimed.
Fu Shiwu calmly stood up, "They've all taken leave, either due to emergencies at home or because their wives are about to give birth..."
Ordinarily, no one dared take leave during project rushes. The supervisor, who'd just finished a meeting and received the notice, would've been furious. But today, he was preoccupied.
He cursed under his breath, reprimanding the disorganization of some employees. Then, he looked at Fu Shiwu, feeling conflicted, "Shiwu... you shouldn't be too straightforward..."
This statement left Fu Shiwu even more puzzled.
After sighing, the supervisor delivered the necessary information, even though there was only one person left to hear it, "The higher-ups have requested that units remain calm and focused. They assure that the celestial phenomena won't affect daily life. There's abundant stock in the city; there won't be shortages of water, electricity, or food. Additionally, personnel from various agencies are prohibited from joining any chaotic behavior..."
The supervisor dryly recited the notice. It was then that Fu Shiwu understood why everyone left—they all went out to buy goods!
Now Fu Shiwu couldn't sit still. Had things gotten this serious?
"Supervisor? Isn't this a simple celestial problem? How could it affect daily life?" Fu Shiwu couldn't comprehend.
The supervisor cryptically replied, "It's not the celestial problem causing chaos..."
His implications were too dense for Fu Shiwu to grasp.
Seeing Fu Shiwu alone in the office, the supervisor kindly said, "Since they're all gone and you're the only one left, you should go home too."
"Should we work overtime tomorrow?" Fu Shiwu asked.
Tomorrow was Saturday. Usually, during projects, they had to work overtime on weekends. But given today's situation, who knew about tomorrow?
"Come back to work next Monday," the supervisor said before leaving, calling his wife as he walked, urging her to go out and buy things quickly.
Despite the assurance from above, once panic struck, some goods would definitely become scarce in the market. Without prior preparation, they might not be available later.
Fu Shiwu also realized this.
Leaving the design institute, Fu Shiwu noticed more people than usual on the streets, carrying bags and packages.
He sighed; even if some people truly understood the situation, they'd still be influenced by this atmosphere, unable to remain calm.
Calculating the items at home, he had bought groceries and necessities just last weekend. But as a precaution, he decided to visit the supermarket.
Arriving near the nearest large supermarket, it was jam-packed. Fu Shiwu had to park his car a street away and walk.
Pushing through the crowd into the supermarket, Fu Shiwu felt a bit anxious, worried that what he needed might be sold out.
When he reached the almost-empty food section, he luckily found the stock replenishing.
Rather than join the crowd, Fu Shiwu directly approached the stocker, requesting a box of "Healthy" brand milk chocolate from the storeroom.
The stocker found this unexpected; most people were buying food items, but here was someone directly purchasing chocolates!
Under the curious gaze of the stocker, Fu Shiwu almost couldn't bear it, clutching a small box of chocolates and heading to the checkout line.
"A guy who loves chocolates this much and is so slim!" The stocker murmured to herself, glancing at the now-emptied shelf, sighing before returning to the storeroom to restock.
It was hot, and the store was crowded. Fu Shiwu emerged sweating profusely and climbed into his car, turning on the AC.
Looking at the chocolates placed on the passenger seat, Fu Shiwu wiped his sweat with tissues, feeling that the effort hadn't been in vain.
Fu Shiwu had been fond of this particular brand and flavor of chocolates for years.
As a bachelor, sometimes he was too lazy to cook and had to work on designs at home. To replenish his energy, he relied on chocolates as snacks.
After trying various options, he found this chocolate tastier, not too intense, with a hint of milk flavor, and more nutritious than regular chocolates.
With his loot, Fu Shiwu returned to Tianjing Garden.
As he rode the elevator, unfortunately, he encountered Tang Xuhai in the lobby.
Perhaps returning from dinner, Tang Xuhai, passing by Fu Shiwu, looked at the box of chocolates he held, his gaze peculiar.
Fu Shiwu suddenly felt it was similar to the stocker's gaze, making it particularly hard for him to bear.
So what if he liked sweets!
Thank you for reading this far! You can access more chapters from HERE by joining my Patreon community. You'll gain exclusive early access to the COMPLETE NOVEL.
As a member of my Patreon community, here is what you'll get:
For $5
- Early access to 100s of chapters before they go public.
- You also get access to all the novels I'm translating, you can find them here HERE.
- Your name will be featured on the "Wall of Gratitude".
- The power to vote on which novel I translate next.
- You Get Ad-free Chapters.
For $10
- You get to suggest a Novel for me to translate.
- You get access to Digital art.
- Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in gold).
For $20
- You get to recommend a Novel and I will immediately start translating it.
- Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in blue).
Plus, you can Cancel your membership at any time.
Don't let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers!
