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Cancel and Regret
Cancel and Regret
Penulis: The Great Chaos

Chapter 1

Penulis: The Great Chaos
I finalized this year's team-building plan with the administrative director, Crystal Dalton.

"Mr. Sander, is this the one we're booking? An all-inclusive six-star resort in the Madiles." Crystal's tone was brimming with excitement.

I nodded in satisfaction.

Back when we were in a civilian house of less than 50 square meters, I promised my staff, "One day, I will take everyone to the most beautiful place in the world for a celebration party!"

I kept this promise in mind for many years.

I told Crystal, "The average budget per person is $30,000. Just splurge. Besides that, each participating employee will be granted an extra three days of paid annual leave. They must be paid!"

Crystal smiled and closed the iPad. "If we publish this plan, I guess the company group chat will be in an instant uproar."

Sure enough, after the notice was sent to the company's group chat of over 400 people, it was instantly flooded with all kinds of cheering emojis.

Simon Tanner from the tech department posted a family photo.

Simon: [Great! Last year, I promised to take my daughter to the seaside to see sea turtles. Now it can come true!]

The newlyweds in the marketing department discussed whether to make it their honeymoon.

The entire company was immersed in festive joy.

I watched the thankful messages scrolling on my phone screen, feeling a surge of satisfaction.

However, some discordant remarks suddenly popped up.

It was from the new intern, Cynthia Joller. She posted a link to a short video of an influencer complaining about pointless team-building activities in the group chat before casually remarking.

Cynthia: [Seriously? Seriously? Do companies still have mandatory trips these days? I would rather stay home and relax.]

The lively group chat instantly froze.

Department head Daniel Jackman immediately stepped in to smooth things over.

Daniel: [Cynthia's new here and does not know the situation yet. Our company's team-building activities are top-tier perks; not going is a huge loss.]

Another colleague chimed in sarcastically.

[Exactly, some people don't even have connections when they want to go.]

Cynthia immediately replied with an eye-rolling emoji.

Cynthia: [No thanks. I am not interested. I do not want to waste my life playing pretend with unfamiliar colleagues. If the boss really has that kind of money, it would be better to just give out the team-building funds in cash.]

Her words silenced the group chat completely.

Several long-time employees who had been excitedly chatting earlier silently unsent their messages.

I even saw a few anonymous users secretly like Cynthia's comment, only to quickly unlike it a few seconds later.

That afternoon, there was a knock on my office door.

It was Cynthia. Wearing stylish slippers and holding a cup of milk tea, she was completely unfazed by her boss's presence.

"Mr. Sander, how about a chat?" She raised her chin and casually sat down on the couch opposite me.

"I think company team building is too old-fashioned. We young people value separating work and life. You spend a fortune to bring us all together, and we have to fake smiles. It's exhausting."

She looked at me defiantly, "It's an emotional drain, you know? Why not just pay us directly? Everyone's happy that way."

Looking at her expression, which seemed to say she was here to teach me management, I found it both absurd and funny. "The company's team building activities are honor trips for outstanding employees. It's a form of collective recognition, not a perk that can be bargained for at the market."

Cynthia pursed her lips. "Fine, forget I said anything."

She stood up and walked away, muttering under her breath, "How preachy and boring."

Near the end of the day, I saw the company's veteran, Larry Deck, gather around Cynthia's workstation with a few younger employees.

Larry beamed. "Cynthia, we all had your back! You said what we were all thinking. No sweat, we've got you covered if anything goes down!"

Cynthia raised an eyebrow slyly and whispered, "Relax, Larry. Just wait and see."

Then, Cynthia whipped out her phone and snapped a pic of the computer screen. After that, she aimed the camera at herself, her expression shifting instantly to one of pure distress. She even added a gray filter for effect.

Her lips moved, silently mouthing, "Help!"

My stomach sank.
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  • Cancel and Regret   Chapter 9

    In the evening after the meeting, the setting sun enveloped my office in a golden hue.The call from investor Alex Leigh came on time.This time, it was no longer the cold notice from his secretary on the other end of the phone, but his hearty laughter. "Mr. Sander, well done! To be honest, the result you submitted far exceeded my expectations."The worry that had been haunting my mind for a whole week was finally vanquished. "Mr. Leigh, thank you for your trust and support at this critical moment.""Haha, you don't need to thank me." His tone suddenly became serious and profound."Actually, I should tell you something. This stock price crisis precisely confirms a key risk report presented at our investment decision-making meeting."I was stunned. I had no idea at all that such a layer existed in the story.Alex admitted," Our investment research team pointed out the risk points in the company's culture a month ago."I held my breath and listened quietly.He continued explaini

  • Cancel and Regret   Chapter 8

    At exactly 5 PM, the HR director placed a statistical report and a resignation application form on my desk at the same time. The statistical report showed that the company had 412 employees, among whom 409 had signed. The rate of those who signed was as high as 99.3%. Meanwhile, the resignation application was from three employees who did not sign.Two of them submitted their resignation letters after the email was sent out yesterday, citing personal development reasons as the reason. They did not even ask for compensation and just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.The remaining one was Cynthia's best friend, who was usually the closest to her. She hesitated until the very last moment. Eventually, she was summoned for a talk by the legal department on the grounds of suspected involvement in business defamation and leakage of internal company information. An hour later, she came out crying and submitted her resignation.My phone rang. It was Cynthia.As soon as the cal

  • Cancel and Regret   Chapter 7

    My statement of facts and position with a link to sign the petition was like a depth charge, igniting a violent undercurrent within the company.Messages flooded the anonymous group chat named "We Workers Are Powerful," set up by Larry. The chat had been a hub for them to give likes, share ideas, and rejoice in their gradual triumph over the past 24 hours. However, now, it had transformed into a battleground of fear and distrust.[What should we do? What should we do? Samuel's move is too ruthless! He is asking each of us to pledge our loyalty!][Sign it? Wouldn't signing it be equivalent to openly proving our joint statement yesterday wrong? What will we become? Two-faced villains who petitioned earlier and defected afterward?][Nonsense! Are you not signing? How dare you refuse? Didn't you read the email saying you'd be a witness for the company? If you do not sign, you will be siding with Cynthia! Look at the $3 million claim letter? You will be the next one in court!][Where's

  • Cancel and Regret   Chapter 6

    I quietly looked at the joint statement on my desk, which carried the employees' "wisdom", before looking up again at Larry, who was standing opposite me with an expectant expression tinted with confidence. I almost burst out laughing.They were smart, so smart that they thought they could manipulate everyone at will.In front of Larry, I slowly picked up the statement and read it word by word, as if appreciating a work of art. Later, I got up and walked to the shredder in the corner of the office. I fed the document, which carried all their hopes, into the machine's opening.Screech!Amid the shrill and ruthless shredding sound, Larry's humble smile instantly froze before turning into shock and disbelief. Mr. Sander, what... what do you mean by this?" His voice trembled a little.I turned around, leaned against my desk, and gave him a cold stare. "A solution? No, Larry, this is not a solution; it is extortion. You are attempting to extort the company collectively and using fake d

  • Cancel and Regret   Chapter 5

    I turned around and walked out of the conference room, leaving them an arena to fight among each other.As I expected, the place was in temporary chaos in the first few minutes after I left. Countless people stood up and pointed at Cynthia's nose, cursing.Simon from the tech department, the father who was originally looking forward to taking his daughter to see sea turtles, was so angry that his face turned red and he almost rushed up to hit her.Amid this chaos, Larry stepped forward once again. Instead of rushing to shift the blame onto Cynthia, he shielded her, who was trembling with fear. "Everyone, calm down first! Listen to me!"Larry shouted hoarsely to the agitated crowd. "What's the use of scolding and hitting her now? Can it bring the stock price back up? Can we bring back the Madiles? It can't solve any problem! What does Mr. Sander want? A solution!"His remark instantly calmed the enraged crowd.Yes, punishing Cynthia would only be venting their anger; keeping their

  • Cancel and Regret   Chapter 4

    The next morning, the company's spacious conference room was packed.The atmosphere buzzed with excitement and eagerness, not like a crisis meeting but more like a reward sharing session.Cynthia and Larry were sitting in the front row, surrounded by a group of young colleagues.Larry boasted, "I told you Mr. Sander is soft-hearted. As long as we unite and make a big fuss, he will surely compromise! "Cynthia was even more smug, even secretly livestreaming with her phone.The title of the livestream was particularly eye-catching.[Everyone, witness how Gen Zs reorganize the workplace and how we take welfare back from capitalists!]At 9 AM sharp, I walked into the conference room.Everyone instantly fixed their gaze on me. There were gloat, gossip, and anticipation.I walked up to the front of the stage and bowed deeply. "Sorry."A murmur rippled through the audience before thunderous applause exploded.In Cynthia's livestream chat, the screen was instantly flooded with comme

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