Who would study psychology unless they had some issues?!

"I know that many young guys and girls in our department work much more overtime than I do, yet they may not necessarily have results."

Chen Lizhou looked at the people below.

"However, while I was at the company, for... various reasons, I exhibited what the Psychological Consultant described as ’mild dissociation.’ But what truly made me like I was a while ago was an accident."

"Many of you here probably know about this accident, just like I just said—gossip spreads quickly."

People in the audience began to whisper again. Even though they knew Chen Lizhou would reveal the answer next, they couldn’t suppress their curiosity, as if knowing a second earlier meant achieving some major victory.

But after a commotion, the noise quickly subsided.

"My wife is gone." Chen Lizhou’s voice lowered.

Over the past few months, every time he mentioned this sentence, he was very calm.

Only now, his throat carried a vague feeling.

Yet now was precisely when he needed his voice to be clear and powerful.

"Heart attack, it was an accident," Chen Lizhou continued, "I’d like to think she didn’t experience much pain."

The conference room was silent.

"But I was in a lot of pain." Chen Lizhou took a deep breath.

It was like sharing, yet also like confessing.

"The pain wasn’t just because my wife left. It also comes from the many wrong things I did before and after she left."

"I left a lot of regrets," Chen Lizhou said, "Regrets that can’t be remedied."

"My wife and I had a campus romance. We struggled from a small town to Beidu, counting the days together, over ten years."

Chen Lizhou’s voice trembled slightly.

"I worked hard in business, accompanied clients, took root in Beidu with her. I thought what I was giving her was the best life."

"But she didn’t like it. She even told me she wanted to go back home. At that time, I thought she was being immature, that she didn’t appreciate the blessings she had, and we even had a big fight."

"I even thought about divorce."

There were slight whispers below, which quickly ceased.

"Now that I think about it, she wasn’t wrong. When I was in Beidu, I also occasionally thought about going back home, but when these thoughts came out of her mouth, I was especially angry and felt offended."

Chen Lizhou nodded to himself: "Yes, I felt offended. It was my ego acting up."

As he said this, his expression grew more relieved.

"So I started staying longer at the company, even if there was no overtime, I voluntarily stayed there longer."

"On the day she left, the hospital called me on her phone, and I deliberately didn’t answer while I was at the company. By the time I called back after finishing work, she was already gone."

The audience below let out uncontrollable gasps. Whether they could empathize or not, faced with such a tragedy, humans inevitably show instinctive sympathy.

"And at the moment I heard the news, a scary thought flashed in my mind—that I would never have to worry about our conflicts anymore and never have to struggle with whether to divorce."

Chen Lizhou shrugged: "Then, my ’Personality Dissociation’ came. The Psychological Consultant told me it was a self-protection phenomenon."

"My body, to stop me from blaming myself, to stop me from drowning in unbearable negative emotions, actually made me sick."

...

Boss Wang said to Nan Zhubin: "You are still young now, this is the time to focus on your career."

"I know your schools teach you about ideals and ambitions and all that, but in society, you have to let those go."

Boss Wang spoke more and more excitedly.

"As I see it, work and performance should be prioritized in your life—I’m like that!"

"I earn enough money and give it to my family so that my wife and children have no complaints, and they can live comfortably. Everyone works hard, and makes money well, so everyone’s wives and children can be happy."

"Especially this in Beidu. Kids can go to good schools here, wives can enjoy themselves here, isn’t that good?!"

"As long as the work is good, everything can be good. Men should prioritize their careers!"

Boss Wang took a deep breath.

"You think my layoff policies are wrong, right?"

Even though Nan Zhubin hadn’t said a word, Boss Wang brought up the issue himself.

"Do you really think those employees deserve sympathy? They take the company’s salary but don’t give their all. They complain about working a little overtime, cause trouble for a little grievance, such employees should have been eliminated long ago!"

Boss Wang spoke more and more excitedly: "The policies I implement are not layoffs, they’re filtering! Filtering out those who are incompetent and uncommitted, leaving behind those with ability and responsibility, so that the company can develop better, go public smoothly, and provide more opportunities to those who work hard!"

"Think about it, those just going through the motions are taking up resources for the capable and responsible employees. By laying off those irresponsible ones, I’m reallocating their resources to the serious employees."

Boss Wang slammed the table: "Like you, Xiao Nan. If I take the money from those laid-off employees and give it to your project team, would you want it? Of course, you would!"

Despite being pointed at by Boss Wang, Nan Zhubin still did not speak.