Chapter 20 Tomorrow Will Be Better

"Dong dong dong—"

"Come in!" A commanding voice rang out.

Tang Song pulled open the frosted glass door and greeted, "President Chen."

Chen Yunteng's eyes left the computer screen as he looked up and said, "Have a seat, Song."

Tang Song nodded and sat down on the chair beside the desk.

Chen Yunteng, who also started as a programmer, was dressed casually: undershirt, jacket, and jeans.

At the age of around thirty-five or thirty-six, he looked ordinary with messy hair.

His appearance seemed very kind and sincere.

"Song, I heard you've been a bit lax with your attendance lately?" Chen Yunteng shifted in his office chair, his expression serious.

"President Chen, I've always strictly adhered to company regulations, never late nor leaving early." Tang Song calmly met his gaze, showing no signs of retreat or caution.

He chose to stay at the company simply for the identity of a "Jinxiu Commerce - Development Engineer."

Until Du Shaokai was fully capable of taking over the SCM project, his chances of being laid off were extremely low.

He could easily just coast along.

Hearing Tang Song's response, Chen Yunteng's eyes flickered and he spoke earnestly, "Song, as you know, I've been acting as the head of the backend team and the company will undergo a structural adjustment soon. I should be letting go completely to focus on management. Honestly, I have high expectations for you!"

Tang Song suppressed a smile and nodded, "Thank you, President Chen, for your high regard."

If this were him at the time of his hiring, he might have actually believed it.

But after experiencing a series of workplace bullying, he had completely seen through Director Chen's character— a typical scheming pot-stirrer and a master of baiting with promises.

If there really was a team leader to be appointed, it would definitely be Du Shaokai. No one else stood a chance.

Chen Yunteng paused for a moment, then continued, "Regarding your salary increase, I've already mentioned it to HR, and we are currently waiting for President Xu's decision. At this crucial moment, you must not falter. Work overtime, work hard!"

"Alright President Chen! Then I'll get back to work," Tang Song lowered his head to hide the sarcastic smile tugging at his lips.

Since April 1st, he had been promised a 10% raise in May.

Yet, half the month had passed, and Tian Jing, who was responsible for salaries, still hadn't contacted him to sign anything.

He hadn't even received any performance review email notifications; everything depended solely on Director Chen's word.

"Dong dong dong!" Chen Yunteng gently knocked on the desk, "Oh, one more thing. Recently, I've assigned quite a few tasks to Shaokai's side regarding the development of new SCM features. Help him out a bit; we're all colleagues in the same department. We rise together, we fall together."

"Understood."

"Alright, you can go now."

Tang Song nodded imperceptibly and left the office.

He had just returned to his station when a new notification popped up on DingTalk.

It was a requirements document sent over by Du Shaokai.

Tang Song turned around and saw Du Shaokai, smirking, waving at him.

He smiled back and promptly deleted the email, no longer paying attention to him.

"Ding dong—" The phone screen lit up.

"[China Merchants Bank] Your account ending in 6800 received a salary deposit on April 14th at 16:14. Amount: 7,424.84 RMB."

March's salary had been paid!

Normally, last month's salary is paid on the 15th of each month, but since tomorrow is the weekend, it had been moved up to Friday.

Upon opening his corporate email, Tian Jing responsible for payroll had already sent the pay slip.

Tang Song opened it and took a close look.

The salary was 9,500 yuan, meal allowance 225 yuan.

Since the company fully contributes to the five insurances and housing fund, his personal share of insurance + housing fund amounts to about 2,280 yuan.

His take-home was over seven thousand, not a lot deducted for tax. Of course, Jinxiu Commerce did have overtime pay, but it required application and approval.

This was also the first time he received a complete salary after becoming a regular employee, something he had long yearned for, and he was inevitably moved.

He bore no ill feelings towards Jinxiu Commerce; in fact, he was quite grateful.

The company was managed humanely with good benefits, salaries paid on time, and based on performance reviews, there was a year-end bonus of 2-5 months.

This allowed him, who had returned from Imperial City, to settle down in Yan City with a stable income, providing peace of mind for his parents and giving him room to dream about the future.

This was also the main reason he hadn't resigned despite suffering from workplace bullying.

However, a corporation is ultimately made up of individuals, mixed with too many personal interests and calculations.

When some managers' interests do not align with the company's, they are more likely to prioritize personal gain.

After all, the company isn't his, and if the company were gone, he could simply grab an n+1 severance and flee, perhaps to a better opportunity next.

Director Chen is exactly this type of manager.

…

Nine o'clock in the evening.

After finishing the "30 minutes Fat-Burning Workout," Tang Song was heavily panting as he sat on the yoga mat.

After resting for a few minutes, his body gradually relaxed.

He opened the Little Red Book app, created a note for "Day 10 of Transformation," uploading his current weight, today's fat-reduction meal, comparison photos, and exercise amounts, and then clicked publish.

Tang Song glanced at his follower count, which had risen to 661 without him noticing, but there was still a ways to go to reach 1000 followers.

Most of them had been attracted by the post about his helicopter hairstyle. Subsequent posts were relatively mundane and lacked sensational content, so naturally, the growth of his followers had slowed down.

"Buzz buzz buzz—" His phone vibrated, displaying a new message.

[Ops-Guo Peng: "Song, send me your address, I'll drive over to pick you up tomorrow."]

After thinking it over, Tang Song replied, "No need, Brother Guo, just send me the location of the repair shop, I'll take a cab there, it will also be faster."

Guo Peng lived in the Yuhua District, and it would be quite a detour for him to come over; it was unnecessary.

[Ops-Guo Peng: "Mingjun Auto Repair Factory.map"]

The two chatted for a few more moments and agreed on a time to meet up.

Tang Song put away his phone, washed up, and stood naked in front of the full-length mirror, examining his post-weightloss self.

In just 13 days, his body had undergone a radical transformation.

The previously pronounced belly had disappeared, and though he didn't have abs yet, his stomach was fairly flat.

A layer of fat had been shed from his thighs, chest, and back.

His face had also undergone considerable changes; normally, his double chin and the fat around his mouth had vanished, and his nasolabial folds had lightened.

The contours of his face were much clearer, and his neck looked significantly better.

Overall, he looked like a fit, spirited young man, neither fat nor thin.

The biggest issue was still the condition of his skin.

Skin tone, spots, acne, blackheads, whiteheads, eye bags, puffiness.

These appearance-affecting aspects still needed improvement, one step at a time under Zhao Yaqian's guidance.

Tang Song's facial features weren't bad at all—high nose bridge, thin lips, double eyelids—and with his sufficient height, he was quite a popular handsome student in high school, radiating a youthful vibe.

However, after going to university, in order to keep up with his first love, he became more reserved and diligently studious, completely neglecting his appearance.

He excelled in his major courses more than anyone else, amassed scholarships, and various certificates, even getting his motorcycle and teaching licenses.

In his senior year, he smoothly entered a major Internet company in Imperial City, standing by her side again, but unfortunately…

Shaking his head, Tang Song bit his lower lip, forcing himself to snap out of the memories.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the system interface to check his personal information.

[Player: Tang Song (28')]'

[Character: Jinxiu Commerce - Development Engineer]

[Height: 180CM, Weight: 81.6KG]

[Constitution: 57, Endurance: 55, Agility: 50, Comprehension: 76]

[Financial Status:]

Balance: 26,020.50 yuan (Debt: 20,000.00 yuan)

Company: None

Real Estate: None

Vehicles: Yadea Electric Vehicle

…

Agility had increased by 1 point, and weight had dropped to 81.6kg.

He was only 0.6kg away from completing the "Restraint and Persistence."

This amount of weight belonged to normal bodyweight fluctuations; basically, a sleep or a trip to the restroom would take care of it.

The "Lung Enhancement Potion," an item to strengthen the body, was right in sight!

Besides that, his first vehicle, along with the accompanying "Car Package," was almost within reach.

For tomorrow, Tang Song could hardly wait.