Resigning first

"All right. There's no need to be so pessimistic. Our company's services allow you to supervise us in real time."

Hah. Supervise them? How? Would his soul float up in the sky watching after he died?

Zhang Youzhi saw Number Two give him an inexplicable nod.

The two fell silent for a while.

"The 38,888 package-is that your final choice?" Number Two instinctively reached for more fries, only to grab empty air again.

"Let me take another look." Zhang Youzhi studied it carefully again, checking whether he was wasting money anywhere. If he could save a few thousand, he would. Even buying a dog for his parents to treat as their son would be better than spending it on pointless flourishes at his funeral.

"What are my current funeral arrangements?" Zhang Youzhi asked.

"With the 'Grand Funeral,' 'Heaven-and-Sea Scenic Cemetery,' and several other options removed, your remaining default arrangements are as follows:

"First, a first-class public cemetery in Quanqing City.

"Second, during the seven days after your burial, people will come to your grave at intervals to leave flowers.

"Third, offerings, liquor, candy, and spirit money. These will be replaced with fresh supplies for seven days.

"Fourth, on the day of your burial, we will assign you a complete family-a father, a mother, a young son, a young wife, a mother-in-law, a younger brother-in-law, a father-in-law, and three to five friends, who will take turns visiting your grave.

"They will also cry if necessary. Naturally, these will all be our staff members in disguise."

"Fifth, your gravestone will bear a QR code linking to your biography. Anyone who scans it can learn about your life. This is a new software service we've launched. It's still in testing, so you can try it free of charge. Your life has been relatively straightforward and uneventful, so it won't take up much memory on our servers.

"Sixth, online footprint removal: we will completely erase every trace you've left on the internet. Whether it's visits to unsavory websites, bizarre comments, or anonymous answers on Zhihu, we can delete them at the source. Even that webnovel you've been secretly writing behind your girlfriend's back-we can wipe it from the internet completely.

"Seventh, online game account management: we can sell your accounts or continue running them for you until the specified time, when they will be handed over to a friend or descendant of your choosing.

"Eighth, open flames are prohibited in Quanqing City cemeteries, so we will burn spirit money for you in a designated area for seven consecutive days.

"Ninth, the basic rites associated with urban burials. Please note that, in response to the call for simpler weddings and funerals, performances involving wind instruments, strings, plucked instruments, singing, and crying are available exclusively in rural areas."

Zhang Youzhi fell silent for a moment.

"I'm a staunch materialist. I don't believe in ghosts or gods, and I don't need anyone burning spirit money after I die. I certainly don't need strangers taking group sightseeing trips to my grave. So I don't need any of those services."

"Wait. Keep number six," Zhang Youzhi added after careful consideration.

Number Two looked surprised. "Mr. Zhang, you don't even need a burial plot? We can lower the standard for that too. The cheapest option is on a hill in your village, for just 1,000 yuan."

"No need. After the cremation, just find a stream somewhere and scatter me in it." Zhang Youzhi smiled.

Number Two gave him an admiring look, though Zhang Youzhi couldn't see it.

"Let's scatter you at sea. Quanqing City is on the coast. Let me check how much it costs to use an approved area... Hmm, sixty yuan. Our company can waive that and scatter you at sea."

"Just find the nearest stream after leaving the crematorium and scatter me there. Sorry for the trouble." Zhang Youzhi gave a wry chuckle.

"Your package now costs 12,888. Apart from the services for your girlfriend and your parents, everything else has been reduced to the bare minimum."

After tallying it all up for quite some time, Number Two spoke with a helpless smile.

"Mm, sounds good. Do I scan your code, or do you scan mine?" Zhang Youzhi asked quietly.

"Wouldn't you like to discuss it with your designated informed party first?"

"Considering you've spent over an hour talking nonsense with me here, there's no need to discuss anything else."

"All right. There's no need to scan a code. We'll establish a dedicated link to your bank account. Please ensure that you have 12,888 yuan in the account at the time of your death. The contract will take effect automatically after you pass away. If there are insufficient funds, the contract will be deemed void for that service. Please sign here first."

Following Number Two's instructions, Zhang Youzhi signed his name in the contract section of the service brochure covered in checks and crosses.

"Sign here too." Xu Kongzheng pointed to the blank space beside the "Supervision Regulations."

Suspecting nothing, Zhang Youzhi signed his name a second time.

Number Two suddenly stood up, his manner turning solemn as he addressed Zhang Youzhi again.

"As required by our company's rules and procedures, I must explicitly inform you that you have the right to read the Supervision Regulations. Would you like to do so?"

"No need." Zhang Youzhi waved a hand.

Supervision Regulations? What the hell was he supposed to supervise once he was dead? He had designated his childhood friend as the informed party, and he had already looked into the company. It was a massive funeral-services company renowned both at home and abroad, with an excellent reputation.

As for why he had only heard of it today, that was probably because he had never paid any attention to it before.

After all, he hadn't expected to leave so soon.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Zhang. Here's my card. If you need to purchase painkillers or have any other requests, you can call me."

Number Two took off his sunglasses and solemnly extended his right hand to Zhang Youzhi.

Only then did Zhang Youzhi notice how pale and thin the man was. He was tall, but looked as though a single breath could blow him away. Young women probably liked that type.

After shaking that ice-cold hand, Zhang Youzhi walked out of KFC without looking back.

This time, he truly didn't look back.

Once Zhang Youzhi was far away, Number Two put his sunglasses back on and slowly strolled over to the counter. He leaned against it at an angle, like an old silver ribbonfish wrapped in black cloth and hung out to cure.

"Warm me a cup of Coke, and give me a plate of fries," Number Two drawled.

"Please scan the code to order."

More than half of the medication's six-hour duration had elapsed, and Zhang Youzhi was starting to feel dizzy. He knew the cancer cells that had spread were eating away at his less-than-brilliant brain.

His parents were in the county town, and so was his girlfriend. He was the only one still working at the company in Quanqing City.

Just like someone resigning in a TV drama, Zhang Youzhi held a square cardboard box with his belongings neatly packed inside-books, a mouse, a keyboard, a large orange, a drinking cup, a seat cushion, and a big red envelope.

The red envelope had been slipped to him by a female supervisor who thought highly of him. It was thick, probably thick enough to hold fifty days' wages.

But he had left a few things behind, including that little round cactus that never grew any spines.

Once his desk was cleared, an eager young man came over carrying his own box of work supplies and plopped down in Zhang Youzhi's seat. Zhang Youzhi turned back and gave him an approving nod.

The young man bashfully addressed him as his senior.

Zhang Youzhi told him to take good care of his bald little cactus.

His seat was by the window, close to the air conditioner, and diagonally opposite his supervisor's office. It was an unquestionably excellent spot for slacking off.

That was how young people ought to be. They needed to learn to slack off.

If they couldn't slack off, stroking the cactus wasn't a bad alternative.

The coworkers he got along with asked one after another why he was resigning so suddenly. Zhang Youzhi explained that he was going home to marry his girlfriend of five years, and would stay in the county town as a teacher afterward. He said Quanqing City was too competitive, and that he would rather leave the big city and spend his life in a small town with the people he cared about.

This drew a chorus of praise and congratulations. Some male coworkers clamored for wedding candy-and Zhang Youzhi actually pulled a great handful of it from his pocket and cheerfully handed it out to everyone.

His female coworkers also cast envious looks his way. Most of these perpetually overworked colleagues still had dark circles under their eyes, but those did nothing to conceal their heartfelt envy.

Carrying his box, Zhang Youzhi passed a girl's desk. Her hair was tied in a bun, and she was still absorbed in running a map. He wanted to offer a few words of advice to this junior he had mentored, but after opening his mouth, he let out a defeated sigh instead.

She didn't want to see him off. There was no need for him to say anything more.

And so, amid the well-wishes of a herd of workhorses grinding themselves into the ground, Zhang Youzhi carried his little world out of the company where he had spent three years.

"Jiajia, why didn't you get up to see Youzhi off?"

"Huh? Youzhi left? Oh no, I was running a map and didn't notice. I'll send him a message."