三年后,乡村 D,城市 T
早上九点快的时候,Lynkwa 手里拿着一杯咖啡走进办公室,边走边刷卡.她坐下并将包放在椅子上后不到三秒钟,GAGA 就出现在她身边,重重地拍打着她的肩膀."怎么了?"她吃惊地问道,放下咖啡,看着 GAGA,她平时俏皮的举止被一反常态的严肃表情所取代."我今天早上很匆忙,没有接你的电话.发生了什么事?"天空即将改变颜色.""嗯?"Lynkwa 前一天晚上熬夜看美国电视节目到凌晨三点,仍然有些昏昏沉沉的."政权更迭,新名字,新身份."Lynkwa 感到头疼,并没有特别想进一步参与.她低下头打开电脑."...你最近是不是看了太多年代剧?"Rene,我是认真的,"GAGA 说,她的声音也变了."你今天可能面临失业."一提到这个词,Lynkwa 开始感觉到确实有些不对劲.GAGA 是她三年的同事和密友——朋友中的朋友,朋友中的朋友——不是轻易拿这种事情开玩笑的人."到底发生了什么?"GAGA 叹了口气,回头看了一眼逐渐涌入办公室的其他人,压低了声音."今天早上七点之前,最高领导层和康先生都在会议室里闭门造车.似乎 A 国的人在半夜到达,一着陆就找到了康先生.康先生一言不发,召集所有高级管理人员在六点开会.姜先生是她所在的组织结构的巅峰,拥有难以想象的权力.由于他的名字叫 GKang,大家在背后叫他"康先生".GAGA 与康先生的助手小迪关系非常好,因此总是掌握组织新闻的内幕消息."然后?""然后,"GAGA 深深地呼出一口气,认真地看着她,"小迪说,这个来自 A 国的神秘人...今天很可能会更换其中一名管理层成员,原来位置的人会被带上门.随着 GAGA 的说话,Lynkwa 平静地喝了两口咖啡,她的头脑越来越清晰,她开始期待 GAGA 接下来要说什么."那么,将被取代的人是蒂姆?""...是的.蒂姆是她的老板,现任公共关系和传播主管.她是蒂姆的助手.她把咖啡杯扔进垃圾桶,深吸了一口气."好吧,我明白了."GAGA 太疯狂了."明白什么?我们该怎么办?当我得到这个消息时,我立即打电话给你.你没回答,我就赶过来.当我听到小迪的消息时,我完全困惑了.蒂姆怎么了?他在这里勤奋工作了十多年.他怎么能就这样被换掉...""嘘,你太吵了,"她说,拍了拍 GAGA 的肩膀."回去工作吧.如果有人看到你这样就不行了."但我很担心你!"GAGA 的眼睛开始发红."雷内,虽然人们来来去去这很正常,但你却因为联想而受到牵连.这与你个人无关,我真的不能接受明天不在这里见到你的想法..."Lynkwa 笑了."你说得对,这与我无关.但被牵连仍然是一个错误.你在这里的时间比我还长——长得多.你难道没有见过比这更残忍,更令人作呕的事情吗?再多一个不会有什么不同."但是...""好,你先回去.我可能很快就会被传唤.事情确认后我会给你发个微信消息.GAGA 离开后,每走一步都回头看,Lynkwa 坐在电脑前,再次深吸一口气.在内心深处,她真的很感谢 GAGA 给她一个提醒.至少当不可避免的事情发生时,她并没有完全措手不及.她在这里走钢丝这么久了,目睹了无数人——即使是那些出乎意料的谨慎者——从悬崖上掉下来,碎成碎片.现在轮到她了,这并不完全出乎意料.在古代,哪位新皇帝在登基时,没有处决了前任统治的所有官员,消灭了他们的整个家族?作为统治者,使用自己的人总是更舒服.使用前政权培养的那些人怎么能感到安全呢?——以免他们怀有卷土重来的梦想.So, when the tree falls, its confidants must fall with it.Once Tim left, she had to go as well.To work here was seen as the ultimate honor in the eyes of ordinary people—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, wielding immense power, commanding the winds and the rains, and enjoying unparalleled prestige.But only those inside the fortress knew that this place was actually an infinitely large chessboard, where a game of black and white pieces was played every day. One misstep, and it was a matter of life and death....The news arrived even faster than she had anticipated.After emerging from the conference room, Tim called her directly into his office.Closing the door, the handsome middle-aged man sat down on the sofa, his face pale as he gently massaged his temples, seemingly contemplating how to phrase his opening words."Tim, I already know," she said, standing by the sofa and getting straight to the point.Tim paused, looking up at her."I sincerely thank you for all the cultivation and care you've given me over these three years," she tilted her body slightly. "You're an impeccable boss, but the person who should be most saddened by today's events is not me."After a long moment, Tim closed his eyes. "This year marks my nineteenth year at the Kerbo Palace. I have a clear conscience.""No one knows better than I do how much time, energy, and passion you've invested here. I don't understand what could have led to this situation...""Do you remember the meeting I attended in Country A a month ago?" Tim gently interrupted. "In mid-July, for a week.""I remember.""That time, I unknowingly stepped on a landmine. I didn't realize it then, and even now, I'm still unaware of the real reason.""Serious enough to force you to leave Kerbo Palace forever?""For the owner of that landmine, perhaps it is serious enough to force me to leave Kerbo Palace forever."Lynkwa felt that anything she said at this moment would sound incredibly feeble. Judging by Tim's demeanor, it seemed that the situation was already set in stone, beyond redemption.Come to think of it, Tim was undoubtedly one of the top three most cautious people she knew when it came to handling affairs. Striving for perfection in every detail was something he had always exemplified and taught her, and it was a trait that everyone in the organization admired.But the most terrifying thing about Kerbo Palace was that you never knew who would be forced out of the game tomorrow."Rene, this is something I owe you. You can ask for...""Boss," she raised her hand, "please allow me to call you that one last time. As I've already said, this has nothing to do with you. Moreover, with the Kerbo Palace background, I should be able to find a job of the same caliber elsewhere."Tim gazed at her motionlessly for a moment, then rose from the sofa and bowed to her slightly.At that very moment, there was a knock on the office door.Lynkwa and Tim exchanged glances. She walked over and gently turned the doorknob.Standing outside was a woman she had never seen before. The woman was tall, dressed in a well-tailored business suit, and regarded her with an expressionless face."Chase wants you both to leave here in two hours," the woman said coldly.Lynkwa frowned and stepped in front of Tim. "A decade-long office can't be vacated in just two hours."The woman waved her hand dismissively. "Then perhaps you can choose to leave everything behind and just walk out. That would be convenient. I'll have the logistics department come by and throw everything away afterward."Lynkwa's temples throbbed with anger. Their conversation at the office door was audible to everyone in the nearby workspace, and all eyes were on them."Ok," she said after a moment, smiling at the woman in an exceptionally gentle voice, "Then please fuck off."The woman's face turned an ugly shade of green at the insult. She opened her mouth to respond, but Lynkwa slammed the office door in her face.Turning back, Tim, with his arms folded, shook his head at her with a helpless smile. "I have to say, you let me go out with a bang."She triumphantly whistled. "Can't disappoint the nickname of 'She - Panther' you once gave me."**
Two hours later, Tim left the office with some of his most important personal belongings. Her things were minimal, easily packed into two boxes. Originally, Tim had offered to have the workers who were helping him move assist her as well, but she politely declined.News, no matter how trivial, always spread like wildfire in this place. As she packed up her things, many people came to her desk to hug her goodbye. She could see that most were genuinely saddened, regretful, and reluctant to see her go. People like GAGA— even after she left, she would not lose that friendship. However, there were also those who came with a sense of schadenfreude.People always love to kick a man when he's down.As she stood with her two boxes, waiting for the elevator to take her downstairs, she was surprisingly calm. Perhaps it was because she had just bested that follower of the replacement so brilliantly? She thought that if she could slap the replacement himself, she would be even more delighted.With a "ding," the elevator arrived.The doors opened, and someone stepped out. She immediately spotted the follower from earlier and, almost instinctively, looked over to where the follower was standing.A young, handsome man in a well-tailored suit, holding a phone to his ear and speaking into it with his head slightly bowed, walked out with the follower.It seemed that fortune still favored her.Lynkwa probably only pondered for a second in her mind before she dropped the two boxes to the floor.As the man looked over at her, she gracefully raised her hand and, under his watchful gaze, delivered a perfectly executed middle - finger salute.After performing the gesture, she bent down, picked up the boxes, and walked into the elevator without looking back.