Chen Lizhou carefully recalled those experiences he deliberately forgot, ones he never discussed in detail with anyone—including Nan Zhubin.

After so long in counseling, Chen Lizhou immediately understood that what he felt at the time was actually mild dissociation.

That state was like being a bystander, watching his own life yet unable to participate in it.

"Hiss—hoo, hiss—hoo—"

In a corner Chen Lizhou wasn't paying attention to, as those memories surfaced, his breathing gradually became forceful and rapid.

But he seemed oblivious, merely straining to remember.

The sudden clarity of the memories and the sensitivity of his body finally allowed him, after an unknown span of time, to tear a small hole in the thin membrane that kept him isolated from life.

"Hiss—hoo, hiss—hoo—" Chen Lizhou pressed against his chest, feeling something seemingly brewing powerfully within.

At the same time, his mind started to churn more intensely, throwing out a few images.

Before his wife's death, something was amiss in their lives—at least with Chen Lizhou himself.

"Mr. Chen? Mr. Chen... are you okay?" Shen Xuecheng's voice rang in his ear, interrupting Chen Lizhou's thoughts.

Chen Lizhou jerked his head up and saw the worried face of his wife's student.

"Hiss—hoo—Xiao Shen, my wife mentioned you to me before. It seems she kept in contact with you over the years, right?"

The man's appearance was truly alarming, causing Shen Xuecheng to involuntarily drop his chopsticks, instantly reverting to the restrained state he had when he first met Chen Lizhou.

He answered Chen Lizhou's question methodically: "Yes... we were still in contact last year."

"At that time, I was looking for an internship. It was Teacher Su who recommended your company to me, saying it was great. But I didn't mention it before because it never felt like the right time."

After returning home, Chen Lizhou rarely discussed work with his wife and never voluntarily exposed any negative information.

Therefore, in Su Fangfang's eyes, any company capable of providing her husband with a high-income and stable job must be good and even worth recommending to students.

It was understandable Shen Xuecheng hadn't specifically mentioned getting into the company through Su Fangfang's recommendation, as he was a student who even worried that visiting might seem insincere.

"Okay, so until Fangfang passed, you two were still in contact." Chen Lizhou took a deep breath, "I want to know... would you discuss life topics during your usual conversations?"

"Did she ever complain about her current life, or mention topics like wanting to return to her hometown?"

Shen Xuecheng's expression immediately turned awkward: "Uh... well."

A look of "it's inconvenient to say some things."

But for the socially experienced Chen Lizhou, that expression said it all.

Suddenly, Chen Lizhou felt his limbs go numb, a precursor to dissociation. He instinctively locked his right hand onto the thumb muscle of his left hand, while his left hand pressed firmly against his abdomen.

This action panicked Shen Xuecheng across from him, "Mr. Chen? Are you feeling unwell, Mr. Chen?"

His voice was loud, and his movements were pronounced, enough to attract quite a bit of attention from people around them.

Among them, two pairs of eyes stopped moving once they locked onto this scene.

"Hiss—hoo—"

"I'm fine," Chen Lizhou said.

In an instant, all of Chen Lizhou's expressions and bodily sensations seemed to be covered by a thick isolating film, all wholly repelled.

He presented an entirely normal demeanor, not needing any concern from others.

"Let's end it here for today. I need to leave."

Saying this, without waiting for Shen Xuecheng's reaction, Chen Lizhou picked up his untouched meal tray and stood up.

Shen Xuecheng was left with a dumbfounded expression, "Mr. Chen, did I... say something wrong?"

However, Chen Lizhou made no further response to his late wife's student; after saying goodbye, he turned to leave.

"Director Chen... is it Director Chen?"

However, two figures suddenly appeared, blocking Chen Lizhou's path.

...

Just when Chen Lizhou was undergoing dissociation blockade, Shen Xuecheng's reaction was exceptionally dramatic, attracting abundant attention in the bustling employee cafeteria.

And some weren't just drawn in by the attention; they were directly enticed over.

Standing in Chen Lizhou's way were two people. Both slightly bowed with bloodshot eyes, badges hanging crookedly on their chests.

With a large ink stain on his badge chest, the voice from that man exclaimed, "Director Chen, didn't expect to see you here."

Ink-stained badge man's face beamed with relief, "I'm from the marketing department, usually responsible for channel operations, frequently liaising with your team... A few days ago, we received a layoff notice, felt really insecure about it, yet couldn't find any executives, no one to ask. Didn't expect to meet a supervisor like you here."

"So we presumptuously wish to chat for a bit..."

Indeed, starting from mid-level management, it's rare to have meals in the employee cafeteria. It was only under exceptional circumstances today that brought Chen Lizhou there.

Ink-stained badge man's words were courteous. While speaking, his companion consistently tugged at him, genuinely feeling their behavior was overly intrusive.

Nonetheless, ink-stained badge man seemed unfazed, casually sat down at the table with his tray.

He maintained a polite expression while speaking incessantly, "Director Chen, half of our department got laid off this time, yet the compensation standard was based only on the basic salary, and it's only 'N', no '+1'... it's really unacceptable."

"My wife is due next month; prenatal and hospitalization fees have already cost a lot upfront, and Beidu's mortgage payment is high. With the current standard, we won't last three months."

"Director Chen, we've worked together many times before. I'd at least count myself as half your subordinate. Our department director isn't as considerate as you, neither oversees matters nor protects us..."

Ink-stained badge man's companion tugged at him again, though he remained oblivious, "We really have no alternatives now... could you possibly put in a word for us with leadership? We're not bargaining, just hoping to get what we are entitled to as per labor law, or else we genuinely can't manage..."

Having said that, ink-stained badge man looked at Chen Lizhou with hopeful eyes; his companion, who had been pulling at him, also halted movements, looking up together.

Maintaining his stance, Chen Lizhou, with unfocused eyes, seemed not to have fully comprehended their words.

After a moment, he replied icily, "Telling me this won't help."