In the cramped and narrow office, the lights were dim and flickering like a dying candle, emitting a faint and feeble glow that barely illuminated the chaotic space. The air was filled with the sour smell of moldy paper, the pungent chemical odor of ink, and the stuffy and unpleasant smell caused by poor ventilation, which was almost nauseating. The temperature seemed to be always a bit too high, making the atmosphere even more oppressive, as if the walls themselves were sweating in this stifling environment.
Selene's desk was piled high with documents as if it were a small mountain on the verge of collapsing. Some of these documents had already turned yellow and wrinkled, with curled edges, as if telling the sad story of being repeatedly read and piled up over time. The advertising magazines on the desk were also in tatters, with worn covers and pages stained with coffee or water marks, making the whole mess even more chaotic when mixed with the sketches. The papers were stacked in such a haphazard way that it was a constant struggle to find what she needed without causing an avalanche of files.
The walls were covered with advertising creative sketches drawn by herself. However, these sketches seemed to be struggling to survive in this harsh environment. The colors had gradually faded under the erosion of time and the bad air, and some parts had even wrinkled due to moisture, with the edges curling up feebly as if resisting this cruel encroachment. Each sketch carried the painstaking efforts of countless days and nights for her and was her only spiritual sustenance in this dark world, yet now they also looked so fragile in this difficult environment. Some of the sketches had started to peel off from the walls, as if they were trying to escape from this inhospitable place.
The chair she was sitting on was old and rickety. Every time she moved, it would make a creaking sound as if it would fall apart at any moment. The springs inside were poking through the worn - out fabric, making it uncomfortable to sit for long. The busy figures of her colleagues around her were like automatons, numb and mechanical. The printer, like an old man suffering from serious illnesses, kept spitting out papers while making strange clicking noises. It often jammed, and fixing it was another headache for everyone. The ringing of the telephone was like a death knell, one after another, and occasionally mixed with the tired and irritable conversations of colleagues, all of which formed a picture of the office like a purgatory.
Selene's daily work was a struggle among these endless trivial tasks. When answering calls from clients, the old telephone often had a poor signal. She had to constantly adjust her posture and even run to the window to barely hear the clients' voices clearly. Meanwhile, she had to endure the angry shouts and complaints from clients who were dissatisfied. The clients would sometimes rant about the quality of previous ads or the delay in the projects, and she had to listen patiently and try to come up with solutions, even though she was not always the one responsible for those issues. Sorting out the materials was a nightmare task. The filing cabinets were rusty, and the drawers were difficult to open smoothly. Every time she took out or put back a file, it took a lot of effort, and she often got her fingers pinched. The files inside were disorganized, and there was no proper indexing system, so she had to rely on her memory and a lot of trial and error to find what she needed. When assisting senior colleagues in completing small projects, she was always assigned the most arduous and boring parts, such as manually entering a large amount of data. Her eyes stared at the computer screen for a long time, feeling sore and stinging, yet she couldn't slack off at all. She had to double - check every entry to avoid mistakes, as any small error could lead to big problems in the project.
In the highly competitive advertising industry, which was like a brutal arena, she had no background at all. She was like a little lamb struggling to survive among wolves, isolated and helpless. Her meager salary only allowed her to rent a small and damp basement. The basement had a low ceiling that made her feel claustrophobic. The walls were constantly damp, and there were even small puddles on the floor during the rainy season. The bedding was always damp and smelled musty, no matter how often she tried to air it. There were often cockroaches scurrying around, making her shudder with disgust. Every day, when going to and from work, she was squeezed almost out of shape in the overcrowded public transportation. The buses were always packed like sardine cans, and she had to endure the body odor of other passengers and the jostling in the limited space. She sometimes had to stand for the whole journey, which made her feet ache terribly by the time she reached the office or home.
After work, when colleagues fled as if they had been pardoned, Selene still stayed in the office. At this time, the office was terribly quiet, and the lights were flickering on and off as if they would go out at any moment, leaving her alone on the edge of this darkness to struggle. She sat on that rickety chair and began to study advertising knowledge, reading various professional books and case analyses. Some of those books were borrowed from the library, with worn pages that were on the verge of falling apart. The library copies had been used by so many people that some of the important passages were underlined or highlighted in multiple colors, making it a bit confusing to read. Some were bought from second - hand bookstores, full of notes and scribbles left by previous readers. The second - hand books had their own stories, with names and dates written on the inside covers, as if they had passed through many hands before reaching her. She devoured the knowledge hungrily, like a traveler searching for water in the parched desert, not letting go of any information that might help her make progress. She would take detailed notes, writing in the margins of the books or on separate pieces of paper, trying to make sense of the complex advertising theories and practices.
On such a hard day, as usual, Selene was sorting out materials. Her eyes were full of exhaustion, with dark circles under her eyes as if they were indelible shadows, and her face was thin and haggard. But even so, her eyes were still fixed firmly on the documents in her hands, so focused that it seemed that there was only this one thing left in the world. Suddenly, a unique advertising idea flashed through her mind. This idea was like a supernova born in the dark universe, instantly bursting out with unparalleled brilliance and illuminating her mind world that had been shrouded by exhaustion and hardship. It was as if a new world had opened up within her thoughts, filled with vivid images and possibilities.
She flushed with excitement, her body trembling slightly with agitation. She suddenly stood up from the chair, completely ignoring the protesting sound of the chair. She picked up a pen in a flurry and recorded frantically in the notebook, each stroke full of strength, as if declaring war on this cruel life. The pen scratched the paper with a sense of urgency, and the ink smudged in her haste, but she didn't care. This creative idea was about an advertisement for a new high - tech product. She imagined using a highly futuristic visual effect to showcase the functions of the product, allowing consumers to feel as if they were in the product's usage scenario through virtual reality. In her imagination, the picture was so clear and shocking that consumers would be deeply attracted by this advertisement, with their eyes shining with amazement and the desire to buy, as if they had seen the magical charm of future technology. She envisioned a world where the product was not just an object but a gateway to an exciting new experience.
Her heart was beating rapidly, like a war drum beating loudly in this quiet office. The blood was surging in her veins like a raging river, carrying her passion and hope roaring through her body. This creative idea continued to expand and improve in her mind, like a magnificent science fiction blockbuster playing in front of her eyes. She could see every detail, from the sleek design of the virtual environment to the smooth interaction of the users with the product within that space. She knew that this idea might be an opportunity for her to stand out in the advertising industry. It was like a magic key that could open the door to success and allow her to escape from this endless hardship.
She carefully put away the notebook as if guarding the most precious treasure in the world. Her hands were still trembling, with excitement, expectation, and also reverence for this hard - won inspiration. She held the notebook close to her chest for a moment, as if trying to protect the fragile spark of creativity within. Her eyes were shining with a fervent light, a light that was enough to dispel the gloom brought by this dark and damp office. It was her infinite longing for the future. At this moment, she was no longer the ordinary little clerk oppressed by life but a queen who was about to change the pattern of the global advertising industry. Her creative idea was her most powerful weapon that could cut off the shackles of fate that bound her.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, but the excitement still surged in her body. She sat back in the chair and continued to finish the work at hand. However, every movement carried a different kind of lightness, and her eyes were shining with expectations for the future, like the brightest stars in the night sky, emitting the light of hope in this dark world. She felt a new energy within her, a determination that had been rekindled by this moment of inspiration.
In this ordinary day, in this small office filled with hardships, Selene was moving forward with big dreams. She didn't know that the gears of fate had already begun to turn quietly, and an encounter that would change her life was about to come. This encounter would be like a gust of fresh wind in the stuffy room of her life, bringing new challenges and opportunities that she could never have imagined. But for now, she was content with this newfound hope, this glimmer of a better future that her creative idea had brought her.