“creeeaak”
The old metal door hinges squeaked as the flimsy wooden door attached to it was pushed open. A tall and skinny figure entered the dark room and flipped a switch next to the door. Right as the lights turned on,
“brrring, brrring”
A hand covered with calluses reached into a pants pocket to pull out a black burner flip phone that had been ringing. The tiny sub-screen of the flip phone displayed the incoming caller’s phone number.
Another hand covered with calluses opened the flip phone which was brought up to the face of a male that appeared to be in his late 20s. He had dark circles under his puffy eyes and looked as if he could fall asleep any minute. The man answered the phone call, “Hello?”
A female on the other end of the line responded, “Hello, is this Chen Jiang speaking?”
“Yes.”
“This is [xxxx](a random employee) from [xxxxxxx](some random company), I wanted to thank you for coming by the other day. We really appreciated all of the time and effort you put in. However, we have decided to choose another candidate. You seem to be a very capable person, but aren’t what we’re looking for.”
Chen Jiang looked down and sighed, “I understand. Thank you for calling me.”
The call ended after some words of encouragement from the caller and a half-hearted response from Chen Jiang.
He felt disappointed, but had expected his job application to be rejected. Chen Jiang picked up a pencil and crossed a name off of a page in a notebook that appeared to be falling apart. As he closed the notebook, a loose page fell out filled with crossed out names.
Chen Jiang looked at the paper that had fallen onto the ground and saw all of the names crossed out. As he looked down, Chen Jiang felt something wet coming out of his eyes. Tears started streaming down his haggard face and it became slightly hard to breathe with a lump forming in his throat.
Chen Jiang held out one of his hands and felt the droplets fall down onto his flat palm.
“plip, plop, plop”
He blankly stared at his hand that was slowly filling up with tears. After a few minutes, Chen Jiang wiped away his tears and slowly walked towards a cheap wooden desk. He reached under the desk to grab a hold of several cables and plugged them into electrical outlets.
Chen Jiang came out from underneath the desk and sat on a chair that creaked slightly as it supported his 125 pound (56.699 kg) body.
On top of the desk was a mail organizer filled with envelopes that were mostly utility and rent bills. Next to it was a small desktop computer. He pressed the power buttons and waited for the desktop top to boot up.
The screen lit up and a blue loading screen appeared. After the white dot spun around in a circle for a few minutes, a dark blue background was displayed.
Chen Jiang moved the mouse and clicked on an icon that opened an internet browser. He logged into his email account which was full of new messages. Chen Jiang clicked and read each one with his face slowly turning grim.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“hahhhh”
He sighed after reading the second to last new message and clicked to view his inbox.
“huh?”
Chen Jiang was puzzled when he saw the sender’s name.
“I don’t remember sending an application to The Cafe System.”
“click”
[August 5, 2022
Cafe System
421 Sleric Ave
Slaoye, Slans 01010
Dear Mr. Jiang,
After careful deliberation, our business has decided to hire you to become our first employee. Please click the link below to accept our job offer.
(https://www.thecafesystem.company)
Sincerely,
The Cafe System]
He stared at the screen and reread the message several times.
‘This must be a scam. It’s probably a link to a virus.’
“click”
Although the letter looked like a scam, Chen Jiang was desperate enough for a full time job that he clicked on the link. He was redirected to a blank page and facepalmed.
‘So it really was a scam.’
Suddenly, a genderless voice spoke in a monotone.
[No it wasn’t]
“aahh!”
[Registering host]
A hologram appeared in front of Chen Jiang’s face and displayed his status.
[Host: Chen Jiang (Human)
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Physical Health: B
Mental Health: F
Education: B
Previous Employment: Handyman and part-time worker
Culinary Evaluation: Competent (You have 4 years of cooking experience and are slightly skilled)
Owner of the Sleric Cafe]
Chen Jian digested the information and closed his eyes. After thinking for a few minutes, he asked, “I’m going to be the owner of a cafe?”
[Yes.]
“How much is my salary?”
[One hundred percent of the profits]
“Fine, I agree.”
[Excellent, the Cafe System hopes that our cooperation will be successful. Please pack up and move to the cafe.]
“Right now?”
[Immediately.]
------------------------
“ding-dong”
Li Yan kicked her bed sheets, stretched her arms, and yawned. She rubbed her eyes and put on a pair of fluffy slippers.
“ding-dong”
The doorbell rang again as Li Yan shambled out of her bedroom and towards her front door.
“I’m coming.” (AN: That’s what she said. Literally)
She opened the door and covered her mouth as she yawned, “Mr. Jiang, what brings you here? Rent isn’t due until the end of the month.”
Chen Jiang looked slightly embarrassed as he said, “About that. I’m here to cancel my monthly rental agreement. I’ve already filled out the paperwork and I’m willing to pay the full amount for this month’s rent before I move out.”
Li Yan widened her eyes and became fully awake, “Huh, why are you moving? Is the rent too expensive?”
“No, it’s already cheap enough. It’s just that I got employed and the employer wants me to move closer to my workplace.”
After he mentioned getting employed, Li Yan was delighted. She eagerly asked, “Full time?”
Chen Jiang nodded and Li Yan smiled, “Congratulations! Where are you working at?”
“I’m going to be working at a cafe.”
Chen Jiang handed over the cafe address, the paperwork, and payment for this month’s rent which Li Yan reluctantly accepted. She watched Chen Jiang’s figure walk away from the apartment complex with two suitcases rolling behind him. After his silhouette disappeared, Li Yan yawned and went back into her bedroom.