Daily Work

Morning sunlight slipped through a gap in the curtains and fell precisely beside Gu Yue's pillow. She seemed to wake with the light, throwing back the covers without the slightest hesitation and rising briskly.

The lingering effects of last night's "spicy fish" had long faded, replaced by an almost instinctive state of tension.

The woman in the mirror had shed her lazy, soft at-home demeanor and changed into a fitted black business suit, its clean lines accentuating her upright figure. She tied her smooth long hair high into an impeccable ponytail, revealing her smooth forehead and graceful neck. The faint anger and coquettishness from yesterday afternoon had vanished from her violet eyes, leaving only calm and focus.

Tang Wulin had already prepared breakfast and set it on the dining table, thoughtfully keeping it warm. But when Gu Yue glanced at the clock on the wall, her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. She immediately turned around and picked up her car keys.

"Not eating. I'm in a hurry." Her voice was steady and devoid of emotion. "Don't wait up for me tonight. I have a business dinner."

Before her words had even faded, she was already out the door. Her high heels struck the floor in sharp, hurried clicks, like a countdown. Tang Wulin looked at the breakfast on the table and sighed helplessly, shaking his head. He knew Gu Yue's work mode too well. Once she immersed herself in work, she forgot everything else.

The black car drove steadily out of the residential complex and merged into the morning rush-hour traffic. Gu Yue held the steering wheel with one hand while using the other to adjust the channel on her Bluetooth earpiece.

Upon arriving beneath the company building in the city center, she swiped her card into the underground garage, parked, and headed straight for the private elevator. At the elevator entrance, she paused briefly and took the silver "Director" badge representing her status from her handbag. She solemnly pinned it to her left lapel, the movement smooth and natural, carrying an unquestionable professional authority.

"Beep—" The time clock recorded her punctual arrival.

The private elevator went directly to the eleventh floor. When its doors opened, an entirely different world lay outside. Bright lights, marble floors polished to a mirror shine, and the faint scents of coffee and printer ink filled the air. Gu Yue never slowed, her heels echoing through the empty corridor in a steady rhythm.

Pushing open her office door, she did not even have time to see whether her newly replaced chair was comfortable before plunging headfirst into the flood of work.

Her secretary had already been waiting outside, holding a thick stack of folders. Upon seeing her enter, she immediately stepped forward. "Director Gu, good morning. These are the preliminary quarterly analysis reports compiled by each department last night. The Marketing Department's forecasting model needs adjustments; they've marked the key points. Also, the General Manager's Office just called to ask whether you'd arrived. They said there's an emergency meeting at ten-thirty, and you need to prepare your main speaking points."

Gu Yue took the thick report on top and nodded, her voice even. "Understood. Put the meeting materials on the left and the documents awaiting approval on the right. Coffee, no sugar, double espresso."

"Understood. I'll bring it right away."

The office door closed softly, leaving Gu Yue alone inside. She took off her coat, draped it over the back of her chair, sat down, powered on her computer, and logged into the system in one smooth sequence. The screen lit up, countless windows popped open, and email notifications sounded one after another. Like a precision instrument, she rapidly filtered the information, sorting out everything urgent, important, and requiring her decision.

From that moment on, time became thick and yet sped by.

One document after another was brought into her office by the secretary, then sent back out carrying Gu Yue's sharp handwriting and concise instructions. Lunch had long passed. A familiar dull pain, scorched by stomach acid, rose from her stomach, but she did not even furrow her brow. She merely looked away from the screen for a moment and reached down to pull open the bottom drawer of her desk.

Several cups of instant noodles were always stocked inside—her emergency rations. She casually took one out and quickly prepared it with the kettle at the corner of her desk. During the few minutes it took to steep, she was still reviewing charts on her tablet.

The noodles were ready, steaming hot. She picked up the cup, wound noodles around her fork, and shoved them into her mouth without really chewing. The taste meant nothing to her; it was only to maintain her basic strength. After swallowing the last bite, she accurately tossed the empty cup into the trash can by her feet without even standing up. Leaning back in her chair, she closed her eyes and forced herself into a brief, five-minute rest.

Five minutes later, she opened her eyes on time. The bloodshot veins in her eyes seemed even more pronounced, but her gaze had grown sharper. She threw herself back into the sea of documents, and the keyboard began clattering again, dense as war drums on a battlefield.

The afternoon stretched on, even longer and harder. A core proposal involving the allocation of resources across departments required her final approval. The data was complex, responsibilities and authority intertwined, and every changed word could trigger a chain reaction. Waves of dizziness washed over her, her temples throbbing—a warning sign of low blood sugar. She pressed her lips together and dug a bar of dark chocolate from the depths of her drawer, breaking off a small piece and holding it beneath her tongue so the sweetness could quickly ease her discomfort.

Just as she was fully focused and about to complete a crucial section of the final version, the internal phone rang sharply, shattering the stagnant air in the office.

It was the direct line from the General Manager's Office.

Gu Yue pressed the answer button. Her voice carried a trace of barely noticeable hoarseness, but her tone remained steady. "Hello, this is Gu Yue."

The general manager's assistant spoke from the other end, sounding somewhat rushed. "Director Gu, the general manager needs you to immediately transmit the finalized proposal through the internal system. He's on his way to the Group Headquarters and needs to review it in the car. Also, he mentioned that the preliminary concept you submitted last night was very interesting. He wants to see a more detailed risk assessment section."

The fingers gripping the receiver tightened slightly. This meant she had to immediately wrap up everything else, finalize the proposal, and rapidly add a detailed risk assessment analysis based on the original version, all before the general manager arrived at headquarters.

"Understood. I'll transmit it in fifteen minutes." Her reply was crisp, without a single wasted word.

After hanging up, she took a deep breath and forced herself to completely cast aside her physical discomfort and exhaustion, gathering all her focus on the screen before her. Like an overclocked computer, her fingers flew across the keyboard—revising, polishing, supplementing, generating reports, cross-checking data...

Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened. The city lights came on, outlining a brilliant panorama. Gu Yue was alone in the office, accompanied only by the faint hum of machinery and the tapping of keys.

Finally, at the very last moment of the agreed deadline, she pressed the "Send" button. The progress bar surged forward, and the data packet containing her effort and energy crossed space through the network in an instant, arriving at the general manager's mobile terminal.

The moment the successful transmission notification appeared, Gu Yue's rigid back relaxed slightly. A crack appeared in the resolve that had kept her going. She leaned back in the broad leather chair and stared at the dazzling yet cold city lights outside for a long time without moving.