She took a deep breath, clearly making an effort to control her emotions."Ryan Cross, what exactly do you intend to do?"

I shrugged nonchalantly."I merely wish to be a cleaner, living my life quietly."

She sneered."Do you think that will absolve you of responsibility? Do you believe this will make me let you off the hook?"

I spread my hands."I am not avoiding anything. I am simply doing what I must."

She glared at me with intensity."Fine, you want to be a cleaner, do you? Then clean up the entire company!"

A sinking feeling filled my chest, knowing that I had thoroughly enraged her this time. Still, I maintained an indifferent facade."No problem. I will do my best."

Her voice trembled with anger as she shouted,"Leave! Go clean now!"

I thought, what's the harm in cleaning? No one is watching, I can take as long as I want.

I went downstairs to grab a broom, and just then, cleaner Maureen came by to take out the trash. Seeing me with the broom, she said,"Ryan, don't just leave the broom lying around. It's hard to find."

"It's just a broom," I said with a chuckle.

"Only one broom a month. I can't get it this month." Maureen said seriously.

"Alright, I'll keep it on me every day," I replied.

"Where are you cleaning? I'll help you, you go back to work," Maureen offered, still worried about her broom.

"I'm just like you now. I'm a cleaner too," I said, feigning righteousness.

"You? You're kidding, right? You're a team leader, not a cleaner. What are you playing at?" Maureen said in disbelief.

"Really. I'm heading to the workshop," I said, mainly to find someone to chat with.

Maureen seemed a bit confused."Is the boss going to fire me? Is he even optimizing the cleaners now?" It seemed Maureen had paid close attention during the meeting—she had even grasped the concept of optimization.

I trudged to the workshop with the broom, while Maureen hurried off to the administration department. Ha, Maureen was flustered. But the treatment of cleaners in the company wasn't bad; they earned the same as frontline workers.

When I arrived at the workshop, I found a few people resting. I wandered over, broom in hand, and sat down to chat. When their break ended, they returned to their posts, leaving me to sweep aimlessly in the workshop, where it still looked relatively tidy, thanks to the former chairman's insistence that workers stop to clean while he tried to sell the company.

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Brian, seeing me sweep, looked utterly confused."Ryan, what are you doing? Why are you cleaning?"

"From today on, I'm the cleaner," I replied nonchalantly.

The others overheard and, curious, asked,"Ryan, did the cleaners get a raise? How much? Maybe I should join too."

"No raise," I said with a grin."I'm doing this for the company's bright future. I volunteered to clean."

"Really now, Ryan? Don't hide any perks. You, the team leader, quitting to be a cleaner? I won't believe it unless you're getting paid," one of them teased.

"Enough talking, get back to work. I'm going back to sweeping," I said, shooing them away, then continued aimlessly wandering through the workshop.

My phone rang again—it was her."Get up here now." It had become her catchphrase.

With a sigh, I hefted the broom and made my way to her office. When she saw me, she couldn't help but laugh. But she quickly composed herself, putting on a stern face."I told you to clean, why did you go to the workshop?"

"I'm cleaning the workshop," I said, feeling a bit perplexed."Isn't the workshop supposed to be cleaned as well?"

"Sophie, I am cleaning diligently and without complaint," I said, secretly relieved that I was in the workshop. But who had ratted me out?

"Sophie, I'm cleaning diligently and without complaint," I thought to myself, relieved that I was still in the workshop—though I couldn't help but wonder who had tattled on me.

"You don't need to clean the workshop anymore. From now on, you will be responsible for the office building," she stated with a clear intention.

I was baffled."Just the office building? Is that really all?"

"Yes. Now, go and clean the women's restroom. Scrub the toilets and urinals until they shine like new," she instructed with an unwavering tone.

She threw another folder at me."Do as I say. If the cleaning isn't done properly, I'll deduct from your wages."

"I'm a man—why not send Maureen instead?" I protested.

"I said, go do it. Don't argue," she snapped.

How the gentle girl I once knew had transformed into a stern figure?

......

"Is anyone there? I'm cleaning!" Two girls from the lab rushed out of the women's restroom, their faces flushed, running past me. What's there to be embarrassed about? I couldn't understand. Everyone has to relieve themselves, to excrete, to urinate—it's only natural.

When I entered, I was taken aback—the women's restroom was even dirtier than the men's. Tsk, it was enough to make me gag. I immediately grabbed a hose and flushed everything furiously. Then, I poured toilet cleaner everywhere, liberally on the floor, the urinals, and the toilets. But there were only two bottles, so I ran to the administrative department and found the clerk, Lena.

"I need more toilet cleaner," I said.

"We're out," Lena replied matter-of-factly."What do you need toilet cleaner for?"

"Sophie instructed me to clean the women's restroom in the office building. If there's no toilet cleaner, I'll just tell Sophie that the administrative department has run out and I can't clean it," I responded.

Lena's face turned pale. She hadn't realized that toilet cleaner would cause a stir even at the chairman's level."Wait here. I'll get it for you. How many bottles do you need?"

"Five more," I estimated, erring on the side of caution.

"That many?" Lena's eyes widened in surprise.

"Not giving it to me?" I made a show of turning to leave. It served her right—whenever I or the workers came to the administrative department, she always looked down on us, her nose in the air.

With the toilet cleaner in hand, I returned to the women's restroom and continued to pour it everywhere. The restroom was soon filled with fumes, making it unbearable to stay inside. I slipped outside, intending to wait a while before rinsing it with water. A few male leaders came to use the restroom and asked me,"Why only clean the women's restroom? What about the men's?"

"The Chairman Summers only asked me to clean the women's restroom, didn't mention the men's. You'll have to wait for the leadership's instructions," I replied bluntly.