replay.

A phone screen on the desk suddenly lit up, and the colleague stepped out to take the call. Tao Ci continued to look around; at least half of the dozen people in view were planning to switch jobs, while the other half had just switched, as everyone had recently received their year-end bonuses, gone home for the reunion of the New Year, and were looking forward to the next leap in their careers.

Most who took calls at this time were preparing to switch jobs.

The immense shortage of talent in the IT industry was also a reason for frequent job switching; dissatisfaction with one's job could mean firing the boss, as there were plenty of opportunities, and these people had caught this wave.

Tao Ci was eager to see what the next emerging industry would be, wondering how they would feel when looking back at this time in their old age.

Would they feel their lives were well-lived because they rode the wave of society? Would they proudly say, while looking at their bulging stomachs, "If I had to choose again, I would still choose this industry"?

The occasional phone ring pulled Tao Ci back from his thoughts. The nearby conversation was clearly a personal call, with a trendy young man wearing fashionable Korean-style black round glasses chatting with a female friend.

Tao Ci couldn't help but think about himself: an ordinary family, ordinary experiences, only realizing a few years ago that he was as ordinary as could be—a total loser.

His friends had started to straighten out, the kids of rich and handsome men were experiencing life in luxury cars on their way to kindergarten, while he remained single, though being single now meant not wanting to search rather than being unable to find someone.

His maturity seemed to lag behind his peers, but he was clear that his happy childhood exceeded that of his peers.

Now at 27, like many other young people, he had no romantic experience—a blank slate.

He seemed ordinary in all aspects: average height, average income, average looks. These twenty-some years had passed in mediocrity, with nothing spectacular and thus no tragedy. Stability was the main theme for every salaried family.

Tao Ci turned back, randomly picked up the lid of his thermos, and carefully examined it for no particular reason. The industrial design aura emanated from the rounded lid, as humanity had just experienced a leap forward because they did not believe in fate, though sometimes they had no choice but to believe.

There were some powdery lip marks on the lid, as Tao Ci always used the thermos lid as a cup.

Lifting the lid to his lips, he slightly blew away some of the heat from the plain boiled water, letting it slowly flow into his mouth, down his esophagus, and finally into his stomach. Feeling the warmth spread through his bo

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