"Have you seen the movie 'Inception'?"
Gao Yang poured himself a full glass of wine.
"Human dreams are actually controlled by the subconscious mind in their brain."
"Do you know what the subconscious is? It's something you're not aware of most of the time, but it always influences your behavior, emotions, and... dreams!"
"To put it simply, the subconscious is your latent cognition. Just because you're not aware of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Many times, people can deceive their hearts and brains, but..."
"People absolutely cannot deceive their subconscious!"
Gao Yang glanced at the big screen behind him and then turned back to Lin Xian.
"Can you understand? Did I make it too profound?"
"I can understand the literal meaning."
Lin Xian nodded. He had watched the movie "Inception" and found it fascinating.
In the movie, the protagonist infiltrates other people's dreams using a machine and extracts information from them.
"But what does this have to do with the changes in my dreams?"
"It's because your subconscious has changed!"
Gao Yang took a sip of beer.
"Let me ask you, in your subconscious, what do you think this cat should be called?"
Lin Xian thought for a moment...
"Lein Cat."
"That's right! Your subconscious already thinks it's called Lein Cat, so naturally the version in your dreams has to be updated!"
"Is it really that simple?"
"It's that simple!"
Lin Xian furrowed his brows.
"Is your theory reliable? Can we take the settings from the movie seriously?"
Gao Yang grinned mischievously and wiggled his index finger.
"I didn't just learn this from the movie. Look..."
He opened his phone and showed Lin Xian someone's WeChat Moments.
"This client of mine is a psychologist, quite famous in Donghai! I added her on WeChat when she bought a car from me, and she often posts these things in her Moments. I read them sometimes to learn."
Lin Xian glanced at the Moments.
They were all sharing some psychological knowledge or lecture content.
"Ah... actually, you don't need to worry about these trivial matters!"
Gao Yang waved his hand.
"When something from reality appears in a dream, it's not a big deal. Isn't everything people dream about just fragments of reality pieced together?"
Lin Xian nodded, reflecting on what Gao Yang had said. The chilled beer in his cup gradually became milder. The coldness in his mind also began to dissipate.
Gao Yang, although not very knowledgeable, was quite persuasive with his words most of the time.
Upon careful consideration, it seemed that the appearance of things from reality in dreams was not a big deal. Wasn't everything in dreams just fragments of reality pieced together?
In the end, it was just the name of a toy that had changed in his dream.
The cat remained the same.
Unchanged.
With this realization, it seemed that he had indeed been overly sensitive.
...
In the end, Argentina won the match.
Amidst the cheers of the fans and bar patrons, the bar gradually emptied out.
"That was awesome! I really hope Argentina can make it to the finals and win the championship!"
In the chilly wind.
Gao Yang, his face flushed, with his beer belly, bounced in place.
"Lin Xian, I heard you got promoted?"
"Yeah, just a team leader, but it's a direct team. Equivalent to the department level."
"Congratulations, bro! You're climbing up fast!"
Gao Yang hugged Lin Xian's neck and laughed heartily.
"Make money quickly! When you make enough, come buy a car from me!"
"Next time for sure."
...
Zhao Yingjun was indeed efficient.
When Lin Xian arrived at the company today, his work team and office were all set up.
Lin Xian now had his own private office. Although it wasn't large, it was fully equipped. His work station had also been upgraded to the level of a department head.
A huge single desk, a brand new top-of-the-line iMac, and even a separate bookcase.
With such treatment, who wouldn't be motivated to work?
Lin Xian took the latest design draft of the Lein Cat and went to report to Zhao Yingjun.
Zhao Yingjun's office was on the 22nd floor, with two password-locked doors. Apart from Zhao Yingjun, no one else knew the password.
"Come in."
Zhao Yingjun remotely opened the door, and Lin Xian entered the office.
This was his first time entering this office, and it was just as rumored – clean, simple, with no unnecessary items.
But the space was indeed large, with two adjacent rest areas.
Today, Zhao Yingjun was wearing a white windbreaker, with exquisite makeup, and her silver earrings were shining in the sunlight.
Usually, her hair would be tied up, giving her a dignified and capable appearance. But today, it was gently flowing around her neck, softening her whole demeanor.
"Very good."
After looking at Lin Xian's design draft, Zhao Yingjun nodded in satisfaction.
"Hand it over to the production department. Let them find a factory to start production. It will be launched as a flagship product for our Lein brand, as a gift item."
"Once the sample of the toy is produced, give me one first. I quite like this Lein Cat."
"Okay."
After Lin Xian agreed, he picked up the design draft and left.
"Oh, Lin Xian."
Zhao Yingjun called him back.
"I saw your resume. Did you graduate from Donghai University?"
"Yes, General Manager Zhao."
Zhao Yingjun looked him up and down.
"Do you have a suit?"
"I have one... I bought it for job interviews."
"Go to the Brioni store in the mall next door and pick out a suit."
Zhao Yingjun flipped through some documents.
"Go now. There's a scientific fundraising dinner tonight, and you'll accompany me. I'll send you the address later."
"Oh..."
The heavy door to the office closed, and Lin Xian stood outside feeling perplexed.
What's going on... Zhao Yingjun wants me to accompany her to a dinner?
What's the matter with that?
However, other team leaders often go out for drinks and socialize every night. Probably, as a leader, it's unavoidable.
Lin Xian returned to his office, assigned some tasks to his four team members, and then set off for the nearby mall.
The commercial district next to the company's office building was the most upscale shopping mall in Donghai City, with luxury brands gathered there.
Lin Xian had never had any interaction with this place before, and it was his first time browsing.
According to the guidance, he quickly found the "Brioni" store mentioned by Zhao Yingjun. It was a classical and elegantly decorated men's suit store.
"Sir, welcome!"
A young and beautiful lady greeted him with a smile and a bow, indicating for Lin Xian to come inside.
During the explanation from the salesperson, Lin Xian learned that Brioni was a long-established Italian brand, purely handmade, and exclusively for social elites.
Lin Xian guessed that the salesperson was giving him such detailed explanations because she wanted to gauge his purchasing power.
This seemingly detailed explanation was actually a polite probe. If the customer didn't have money, they would naturally know when to give up, and everyone understood tacitly without embarrassment.
This was the essence of luxury brands, the kind of scene where the sales lady looked down on the customer... probably only existed in urban novels from ten years ago.
Lin Xian set his eyes on a black suit.
Although he didn't understand much about these things, the fabric, stitching, and details of this suit were worlds apart from the one he bought for job interviews.
"How much is this suit?"
"96,000 yuan, sir."
???
Lin Xian was taken aback, almost speechless. Was this the world of the wealthy?
"Oh! I'm sorry!"
At this moment, a slightly older woman, who looked like a manager, came out and bowed deeply to Lin Xian.
"Forgive me, sir. Are you Mr. Lin from MX Company?"
Lin Xian nodded.
The female manager smiled apologetically.
"I'm really sorry, Mr. Lin. I was busy with something just now... and didn't come out to receive you in time."
"General Manager Zhao has instructed us. Please follow me! The advanced styles you need are in the rooms inside!"