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Taking a day off, Chen Xu went to the company with renewed energy, as if all the fatigue of the past half month had vanished, and he was fully recharged.
Actually, he hadn't realized it himself, but the half-year experience in the apocalyptic dream, with all its hardships, had toughened his spirit and willpower. That's why, despite half a month of continuous overtime, he didn't find it very exhausting.
As he went upstairs, he happened to run into Mr. He from the HR department, leading four or five people over, saying they were new colleagues for their department.
The entire electronic sales department applauded enthusiastically, almost chanting "Long live Mr. Liu."
With so much work piling up in the department, having more people to share the load was welcome by everyone.
Just then, Liu Kun came over, encouraged them with a few words, and conveniently announced something, "To accelerate the integration of new colleagues into the team and enhance everyone's sense of camaraderie, Mr. Luo and I have decided to hold a team-building activity this week."
This time, the applause was much less enthusiastic than before.
Not everyone enjoyed participating in team-building activities. People like Chen Xu preferred being alone; even when going out, he would rather not have too many people around.
Since joining the company, he had attended two such events involving the whole company, and those weren't exactly pleasant experiences. In the end, the company's executives were older and somewhat out of touch with young people like them. It all seemed too formal, not at all down-to-earth.
Besides, it was quite cold now; did they really want to go out and freeze?
"Team-building, huh? Wonder where we'll go," Dai Zixin said somewhat expectantly. "Hopefully, somewhere fun."
Chen Xu glanced at her, thinking that since the department was full of young people, with the oldest, Liu Kun, not even forty, and having an open mind, it should be interesting.
This matter didn't stir much excitement as they soon drowned in endless tasks that left them no time to think about anything else.
By Wednesday, after the morning meeting, Liu Kun announced that the team-building would take place the next day, in a county over a hundred kilometers away from the city center.
"With the cold weather now, it's perfect to soak in hot springs. This time, everyone can relax."
Chen Xu was a bit surprised, again feeling that departments with a big boss overseeing them were indeed different. They could actually go to hot springs, a luxury far beyond what the previous advertising department could offer.
Someone asked, "Mr. Liu, aren't you going?"
"I have to stay at the company. This time, Mr. Luo will lead the team. Besides, the team-building activity was planned by Mr. Luo, and she chose the location," Liu Kun said with a smile, then announced the end of the meeting and left.
Upon hearing that Luo Xiyun would lead the team, Chen Xu knew it wouldn't be an easy trip.
In life, Luo Xiyun kept everything around her orderly. The same was true for work, where she was extremely demanding of her subordinates, insisting on perfection and not tolerating any flaws. The past half month had been an ordeal for their group.
Moreover, he found it odd that the timing was set for Thursday. Wasn't it usually on weekends?
It seemed extremely spontaneous to him.
He felt somewhat indifferent in his heart.
......
On Thursday morning, Chen Xu arrived at the meeting point at the agreed time, where Luo Xiyun had directly rented a bus. Once everyone had arrived, they set off.
On the bus, besides their department colleagues, there were a few unfamiliar faces.
Luo Xiyun introduced them as professional team-building facilitators she'd arranged, responsible for hosting this team-building exercise.
These people were experts at creating atmosphere. During the hour-long journey, they helped everyone relax and many people clearly got into the spirit. The bus was filled with laughter and chatter.
Finally, the bus stopped at a four-star hotel, and everyone got off.
Chen Xu couldn't help but marvel again at having a generous leader. The day before, Luo Xiyun had mentioned the team-building would last two days and one night.
Unexpectedly, Luo Xiyun had booked a four-star hotel for them to stay in.
The room allocation was two people per room. After everyone settled their luggage, they gathered downstairs, and the activity officially began...
It had to be said, hiring those facilitators was well worth it. Professionals are just different. After a few games, even Chen Xu got really into it, surprisingly enjoying the team-building experience.
By the afternoon, they played a basketball game, with their department facing the facilitator team.
The facilitators regularly exercised. Though they didn't have a height advantage, their skills far surpassed those of the office workers, and they soon had them well beaten.
Chen Xu couldn't stand it. He had recently developed a sense of team honor and couldn't just watch his department suffer defeat. When the opponent scored, he held the ball, grabbed the ball-handler, and said, "Let me play for a bit."
"Alright," the colleague, who was hardly exercising and already gasping for air, agreed when Chen Xu expressed his desire to play.
"Substitution."
Chen Xu called out, standing at the baseline, and threw the ball out.
"Chen Xu, go for it," Dai Zixin shouted first when she saw him enter the game.
Chen Xu waved at her and ran to the opponent's half-court.
In high school, his only extracurricular hobby had been playing basketball. Of course, his level was amateur at best. He hadn't played in a long time, and his dribbling skills were likely rusty.
But it didn't matter, as long as he could score.
Earlier, during the warm-up, he had thrown a few balls and already had his eye in.
He stood outside the three-point line and noticed the defender was relatively far away. This was normal; on amateur courts, three-point shots were rare. He shouted, "Pass it to me."
The colleague handling the ball also had limited skills. Seeing the defender before him well-positioned and feeling hesitant about a long shot, he heard Chen Xu's call and passed the ball.
Chen Xu caught it, took aim, and shot.
Swish, it went through the hoop clean.
Next, it became his time to shine. For every shot the opponents made, he countered with a three-pointer. After scoring three in a row, the morale on his side instantly lifted. His teammates started trusting him, always passing the ball his way.
The opponents also realized his threat. When he received the ball for the fourth time, his defender stayed close.
Back in high school, he might have been able to get past them. Now, he didn't even dare to dribble, for fear of losing the ball right away.
Under such circumstances, he could hardly settle into a shooting stance.
"Were those three just luck?" The defender couldn't help but tease, seeing Chen Xu's reaction. He seemed like a ball-handling novice, but sometimes, beginners magically get into a rhythm and make unbelievable shots.
"You think that stops me from shooting?" Chen Xu chuckled, using his left shoulder to hold off the defender, while making a big hook shot with his right hand.
With this hook shot, the only way the defender could block it was if he were twenty centimeters taller. All he could do was watch it sail overhead.
"Rebound," he yelled mid-air. A hook shot beyond the three-point line was akin to a wild throw, and his first instinct was to grab the rebound.
Swish.
The ball went through the hoop again, perfectly clean.
"No way," the defender froze, dumbfounded.
...
By the fifth ball, the defender couldn't believe it, sticking close again, "I refuse to believe your luck is that good."
Chen Xu glanced at him and, using the same stance, took the shot.
Swish.
"Fifth one," suddenly, Dai Zixin shouted, and the rest of the team cheered.
The defender stood there slack-jawed, looking bewildered.
......
The sixth ball.
This time, the defender remained silent, sticking closely.
Again, Chen Xu made a hook shot.
Swish.
"Sixth one," this time, the colleagues shouted in unison.
"Damn, this is just crazy," the defender was starting to question his reality. Making such difficult shots in succession, three in a row, how was this possible?
After that, nobody cared about winning or losing anymore; everyone just wanted to see how many shots Chen Xu could make.
"Seventh one!"
"Eighth one!"
......
"Tenth one!"
Other than the guy defending Chen Xu, the facilitators looked at Chen Xu as if he were a deity.
"Today I truly had my eyes opened," one of them murmured.
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