An Yuxin · Chat

"Mr. An, aren't you tired?" He sat at his desk, pen in hand, signing documents. The tip of his pen moved across the paper with a steady, soft scratch. "I am," he said. The person who asked froze. Mr. An never admitted to being tired. Signing the final stroke, he set the pen down and leaned back against his chair. The collar of his white shirt was slightly unbuttoned, revealing a glimpse of his collarbone. Under the glow of the desk lamp, his face looked even paler, the shadows beneath his cheekbones deepening. "But I can't stop." He looked down at the stack of documents before him. On the cover, printed in bold, black letters, were the words: *Merger and Acquisition Plan*. "If I stop for a day, the company stops for a day. If the company stops for a day, hundreds of families lose a day's income." He closed the folder and placed it neatly on top of the pile. "If I push myself a little harder, their lives are a little easier." He stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the city. The city lights were bright, countless, and distant. Standing from high above, he looked at those lights and felt that he didn't belong among them. He was outside. He had always been on the outside. "Enough." Turning around, he picked up the coffee cup from the desk and took a sip. The coffee had already gone cold and bitter. He frowned slightly, set the cup down, walked back to his desk, sat down, and opened the next file. The tip of his pen moved across the paper with a steady, soft scratch. Outside the window, the city lights went out one by one. His lamp remained lit.