Chapter 1

At 1 a.m., after lying dormant in the company group chat for five years, my boss suddenly sent a red envelope worth 888,888 yuan.

The massive employee chat exploded.

“Boss is back from the dead?!”

“888,888? Am I seeing things?”

“So generous, Boss!!!”

Everyone rushed to grab a share.

I stared at my screen, a chill creeping down my spine.

For five years, all our boss had ever handed out at New Year’s was a red envelope worth 0.01 yuan. Why was he suddenly so generous?

I stared at the red cover, my finger hovering above the screen. I couldn’t bring myself to tap it.

The next second, my boss sent another message.

“You’ve all worked hard. We’re having a dinner tonight. No one is allowed to miss it.”

I immediately opened my computer and submitted my resignation.

Then I went home, locked the door, switched off my phone, and pulled the blankets over my head.

The following afternoon, I woke to my phone vibrating.

I had 99+ private messages on WeChat.

The last message from my coworker, Xia He, read:

“Zhaozhao, you really are allergic to good luck! Do you know what that man did?”

I tapped the photo she’d sent.

One look, and every trace of warmth drained from my body.

1

At 1:07 a.m., the company group chat was still buzzing.

“Boss is sending red envelopes? Am I seeing things? It’s not even New Year’s!”

“I got 21,000! Someone save me!!!”

“I got 12,000! I’ve never seen the company hand out anything this big!”

“Did Boss Shao win the lottery?”

The number of people claiming the envelope kept climbing.

Some posted screenshots of their winnings.

Others sent a dozen thank-you emojis in a row.

I sat alone in the empty office, staring at the words on the red envelope: “Cash Red Envelope Fund: 888,888.”

I didn’t move.

The words stayed perfectly still.

For five years, our boss had given us only 0.01 yuan at New Year’s. Now he was suddenly dropping 888,888 in the middle of the night.

This didn’t look like a simple employee benefit.

A few days earlier, HR had abruptly urged everyone to submit their ID cards and bank cards and complete facial verification. The company was supposedly adopting a new “Win-Win Co-Creation” office system, and from then on salaries, reimbursements, and bonuses would all be paid through it.

My direct supervisor, Ms. Zhou, had also posted in our department chat:

“The company has some major plans underway. Let’s get through this difficult period together. No one will miss out on their share of the profits later.”

Xia He, at the desk beside mine, had dozed off with her head down. Her phone rattled across the desk.

She groggily lifted her head, grabbed it, and took one look at the screen. Then she sat bolt upright.

“Oh my god!”

“Zhaozhao! The boss sent a red envelope!”

“Did you claim yours? Why didn’t you wake me?”

I lowered my voice. “Don’t claim it.”

Xia He stared at me for two seconds.

“What?”

“Have you worked so much overtime you’ve lost your mind? Everyone’s going crazy over it!”

“If you don’t tap now, it’ll be gone!”

Before I could stop her, she opened the envelope.

Red light washed across her face.

The next second, she nearly jumped out of her chair.

“Ahhhhh!”

“Zhaozhao! I got twelve thousand!”

“Hurry, get yours!”

I looked at the amount on her screen, and my stomach sank little by little.

Twelve thousand. That was tempting, all right.

I opened my mouth, but then the boss sent another message.

“You’ve all worked hard. Dinner tonight. No one is allowed to miss it. @Everyone”

The group chat got even louder.

“Dinner? Tonight? Do you mean tonight or tomorrow night?”

“Where? Where?”

Less than a minute later, Ms. Zhou appeared.

“Everyone, please stop spamming. It’s a celebration for the major project. The boss is treating us.”

“Seven tonight at the Jinlan Villa. Admin is arranging buses. Everyone will leave together from the office.”

Jinlan Villa.

A famous high-end private club in the city.

The average bill was four figures per person.

This was the same boss who insisted we split the cost of bottled water on team-building trips.

Now he was handing out a massive red envelope and treating us to a luxurious dinner.

The unease in my chest rose straight to my throat.

Admin posted another notice.

“Department heads, please confirm your staff lists. In principle, no leave requests will be approved.”

“Please acknowledge receipt.”

The group quickly filled with “Received.”

Ms. Zhou sent another message in our small department chat:

“If anyone has a special circumstance, let me know in advance, but try not to upset the boss.”

“Lin Zhao, Xia He, are you two still at the office? Head home and get some rest. Don’t be late tonight.”

Xia He showed me her phone.

“See? Ms. Zhou even cares about us.”

I stared at the words “Don’t be late,” and my heart suddenly dropped.

2

After a moment’s hesitation, I opened my computer and logged in to the company portal.

Resignation request.

Submit.

A notice appeared:

“Your request will be sent to your direct supervisor for approval. Are you sure?”

Confirm.

Xia He saw the screen, and her expression changed.

“A resignation request?”

“Zhaozhao, have you lost your mind?”

I pulled out my USB drive, closed the work portal, and stuffed a few photocopies of my ID documents from the desk into my bag.

I lowered my eyes.

Maybe I had.

But I didn’t dare take the chance.

My mother had a follow-up appointment next month.

My mortgage payment would be automatically deducted at the end of the month.

There wasn’t enough in my account to survive another unexpected hit.

I took off my employee badge and placed it right in the middle of the desk.

“Xia He, I’m heading home.”

She hurried to her feet.

“Zhaozhao, don’t you think you’re overthinking this?”

I didn’t look back.

When I got home, the first thing I did was lock the door.

Second, I drew the curtains.

Third, I turned off my phone.

The room fell quiet.

So quiet I could hear my own heartbeat.

I crawled under the covers and wrapped them tightly around myself.

All I could see in my mind was Xia He’s excited face and that bright red envelope in the group chat.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t tempted.

Twelve thousand.

Twenty-one thousand.

Those weren’t small sums to me either.

But my boss wasn’t the sort of man to let his employees get something for nothing.

What did he want from us?

I didn’t know.

The next time I woke, it was already morning.

With my phone off, the world felt shut out.

I went to the kitchen for a glass of water. My hands were still cold.

At ten, I turned my phone back on.

Notifications appeared one after another.

Missed calls.

Three from Ms. Zhou.

One from Xia He.

One from the admin office landline.

WeChat messages kept popping up, too.

I opened Ms. Zhou’s chat first.

“Lin Zhao, what do you mean by submitting a resignation request?”

“Why didn’t you talk to me first about something this important? Everyone’s in a good mood. Don’t start acting up.”

I stared at the words “Don’t start acting up” for a long time.

I left the chat and opened Xia He’s.

“Ms. Zhou is looking for you.”

“She said she hasn’t approved your resignation yet and told you not to be impulsive.”

“Zhaozhao, don’t you think you’re overthinking it? Ms. Zhou says the boss really does have a major project this time. She says we shouldn’t miss out.”

“Why don’t you come to dinner tonight? Have a meal first, then decide whether you still want to quit.”

I didn’t reply.

I turned the phone facedown on the nightstand.

The screen went dark.

The room fell quiet again.

A sliver of light crept through the gap in the curtains, shifting from gray-white to pale gold.

I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Truthfully, I was beginning to doubt myself, too.

Was I being too sensitive?

Had I turned a sudden, generous benefit into some kind of conspiracy in my head?

But then I remembered what HR had said a few days ago.

“Facial verification is mandatory. Otherwise, there may be issues with the payroll system.”

“Electronic signing is just a process upgrade. It has nothing to do with changing your contract.”

“Bank-card authorization is only for making transfers more convenient.”

They kept saying it was “unrelated” while hounding us as if their lives depended on it.

The more I thought about it, the clearer my head became.

3

At 10:30, Ms. Zhou called again.

I watched her name dance across the screen. Only after the sixth ring did I answer.

“Lin Zhao.”

Her voice was gentle.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“A little.”

“Then get some rest. I saw your resignation request. I’ll start the approval process for you.”

I paused.

She was being so straightforward?

“Thank you, Ms. Zhou.”

“Don’t mention it.” She chuckled. “You’ve been with the company for five years. I don’t want to make things difficult for you.”

I said nothing.

“But you should still come to dinner tonight. Boss Shao specifically asked about you. He wanted to know why you hadn’t claimed a red envelope and whether you had a problem with the company. I told him you weren’t feeling well. He said all the more reason to come—have something good to eat and get your strength back.”

I gripped the phone, my knuckles tightening one by one.

“I really don’t feel well.”

“It’s just one dinner. You can’t be that sick, can you?” She was still smiling. “Lin Zhao, you’ve been with the company for so long. It’s the first time the boss has treated everyone. If you don’t come, what will people think?”

“I’ve already put in a good word for you. Don’t make this difficult for me.”

I looked at the sliver of sunlight coming through the curtains.

“Ms. Zhou, I’ve already submitted my resignation.”

“Even if it’s approved, you can still come. We’re not asking you to come back to work, just have a meal. We can part on good terms.”

“I’m afraid I can’t.”

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then she gave a soft laugh.

“Fine.”

“Get some rest.”

Before hanging up, she added, “Maybe we’ll get together again sometime.”

I didn’t answer.

After the call ended, I switched my phone to silent and tossed it back on the bed.

Then I pulled the blanket over my head again.

I slept badly.

In my dreams, someone kept knocking at the door.

Sometimes it was Ms. Zhou.

Sometimes it was the boss.

Sometimes it was Xia He, holding up her phone and calling to me with a smile:

“Zhaozhao, I got twelve thousand!”

A little after three in the afternoon, a barrage of vibrations woke me.

The phone on the nightstand lit up again and again.

Buzz—

Buzz—

Buzz—

It was like someone was pounding on the door from the other side of the screen.

I reached out from under the covers and fumbled for my phone.

The screen was covered in red dots.

Forty-six missed calls.

99+ WeChat messages.

The main employee chat, our department chat, the project chat—every one of them had blown up.

My heart suddenly sank.

Before I tapped to look, I was still trying to find excuses for it.

Maybe they’d just changed the dinner time.

Maybe Admin had made a mistake with the staff list.

Maybe everyone was drunk and going wild in the group.

But when I opened Xia He’s chat, every last bit of wishful thinking vanished.

Her latest message had arrived half an hour earlier.

“Zhaozhao, you really are allergic to good luck! Do you know what that man did?”

The messages above it were all voice notes.

I didn’t play them. I converted them directly to text.

“Why didn’t you come?”

“Something happened! Something really happened!”

My heart shook. I opened my computer and scrolled through the work chat history.

As I went back through the messages, I suddenly started trembling all over.

4

On my phone screen was Xia He’s message history.

“That red envelope was a trap! The dinner was a trap, too!”

“We all signed! I think every one of us signed!”

I sat bolt upright, cold sweat breaking across my back.