When he heard the chairperson's assessment, the Chief Inspector knew it was all over.
That was far too glowing an endorsement. The tone had already been set; cooperation was his only option.
Soon, word would spread that he and Chen Yu were in cahoots, and he would pick up another label: "Longevity Prefecture's dog." His application for permanent status would never be approved. He would work himself to death in this lousy position. The only reason they would not fire him was that he was good value for money. Nobody else would work overtime and take the blame without complaint.
The Chief Inspector's face went deathly pale, but he kept listening to the chairperson's instructions. His right hand gripped the Fish Lantern's handle so tightly that he almost squeezed the water out of it. When the chairperson finally finished the discussion, he forced a smile and said, "Everyone, since the chairperson has approved of you, let's talk next door." He led everyone into the adjoining room, put the Fish Lantern on the table, and brought over a chair. Without inviting anyone else to sit, he sat down himself and stared blankly at the Fish Lantern.
In the shadows, he reflected on the miserable first half of his life, then moved from his miserable past to his miserable present, and from his miserable present to his miserable future.
In short, it was all misery.
Once he finished thinking, he let out a long sigh, forced another smile, and said to Chen Yu, "Boss Chen, sorry for the wait."
"It's fine." Chen Yu nodded. "Mind telling me why you're so depressed?"
"It's nothing much. It's just that if we cooperate with you and accept your funding, a lot of outsourced workers will lose their chance at permanent status." "Does permanent status even