It has already been 8'o clock when Om reached his home. At this time, the moon was already out and some stray dogs were barking at each other in the silent alley. Om opened the front door of his rented place and went inside slowly. He was tired from all the events that took place today. So, he just walked a few step and laid down on his bed without even taking his shoes off. After a few minutes of rest, he stood up and took off his shoes and clothes and went inside the bathroom to take a bath.
After some time, he came out with a refreshed look on his face. He looked around and spotted his underwear under the bed and wore it quickly. Suddenly, his stomach started growling. It's good that Om had bought some vegetables when he was coming home otherwise he would have nothing to eat tonight. Eating noodles everyday for more than a month had already made Om feel disgusted with only seeing it much less eating it.
"Grrr.."
"I feel so hungry…Let's make some food. Hmm…What should I make?" Om asked himself.
After deciding what to cook, Om started cooking the dish. Not too long after, a fresh dish was ready. Om immediately made some chapatti. After eating his fill, he put the dishes in the basin. After cleaning the dishes he laid down on the bed. Today was really a wonderful day for Om. He easily beat down two specially trained men, did a stand-up comedy in front of who know how many people and got a cheque of Rs 30,000. If this was a dream, Om would really just commit suicide but after pinching himself, he knew that whatever happened today was not a dream at all. It was all real.
Om did not know what to feel at this time. If he said he did not feel happy at all, then that would be out rightly lying. 'Slapping' Ravindra's face was the most satisfying moment of the day, no, of his life. And standing in front of so many people and making them laugh was next on his 'Most satisfying moments of the life' list.
Suddenly, he remembered about the system. He slowly said, "System, open."
At the same time, a virtual screen popped up in front of Om. Everything on the screen was the same except one thing, the [Popularity Value]. Earlier, it was only 2000. But now, it was 2100. If what the system had said was true, that the popularity points would increase if someone agrees with you or likes your work, then wouldn't that mean that there were around 100 or should he say more than 100 people inside the auditorium? Why not only 100? Because Om didn't dare to say that everyone present inside the auditorium liked his stand-up comedy. Even the world famous superstars don't dare to guarantee that everyone will like their work, let alone a small employee like him. So, this is why Om had assumed that there were more than 100 people inside the auditorium today.
And the fact is that Om was right. There were indeed more than 100 people inside the auditorium. To be more precise, there were 101 people present. There were already 100 people present before Arnav came, so Arnav was the 101st person inside the auditorium. As Arnav hated Om for stealing his limelight, he didn't give any points and that's why there were only 100 points increase in Om's [Popularity Value]. But if you ask, wasn't Ravindra also present in the auditorium? Didn't he hated Om too? Then I would say, because of realizing late that along with Om, he could also lose his job, he started to secretly pray to god, wishing him to succeeded. And after Om was successful in making the audience laugh, he was satisfied with Om's performance
This was the reason there was an increase of 100 points in [Popularity Value]. And also unknowingly, Om was able to entertain almost every single person present inside the auditorium.
After checking that nothing else had changed in the system, Om closed it. After using his hands as pillow, Om looked at the dark wall above him and started to ponder what he was going to do in the future. He definitely can't continue to work in company he did now. Ravindra was one of the reason and the Life-Changing System was another.
It was not that he was afraid of Ravindra, but it was just that the company was too disgusting for him to work in. If a company can't even protect its employee's then, even if they were earning billions of dollars, they were still no better than a third-rate company in his eyes. Om didn't dare to imagine what would have happened to the girl that day if he hadn't come at the right time.
And seeing the rewards given by the system, Om knew that even if he can't become a very huge figure, he would still become rich enough so that there never comes a time when he had to beg for money. So, resigning from his present job was just a matter of time for him.
After having thought till here, Om closed his eyes. Soon, snoring sounds could be heard in that room.
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Next Morning
Om Woke up at 6:30 AM and got ready till 6:55 and left for work. He left a little bit early because he had to report to his boss, Arjun, before 8'o clock. So, he had to leave early to reach in time. When he arrived at the main entrance of the company, it was 7:55. He still had 5 minutes left. Om hurriedly took the elevator, and pressed the 12th floor button. When the elevator reached the 12th floor, Om dashed straight towards the cabin door and opened it quickly. As he stepped foot in the cabin, it was exactly 8'o clock.
[A.N- I've once again forget to mention this in earlier chapter. Arjun is a Hindu name (अर्जुन) from Sanskrit meaning "white, clear". One of the Top 10 masculine names in India today, Arjun is bestowed in honor of Arjuna, a warrior-hero in Hindu mythology from the Mahabharata, "The Great Epic of the Bharata(Indian) Dynasty".]
When Om entered the cabin, he saw Arjun sitting behind his desk and looking at the watch in his hands. When he stepped foot in the room, Arjun clicked his tongue and smiled lightly towards Om. Om immediately knew that Arjun was looking forwards to him coming late, but not in an evil way, instead in a playful way. As Om also knew that, he laughingly greeted Arjun, "Good morning, boss. You are very early today."
"Do you also think so? Hmm…let's talk about it later. I have some important things to discuss with you."
Om was shocked when he heard this. Why shocked? Because Arjun had said 'discuss' not 'tell' or something else. Saying this, Arjun was treating Om as someone who was equal if not bigger than him. This was why Om was surprised after hearing Arjun. He immediately realized that there was more to this little 'meeting' with Arjun than it seemed.