Human Standee

Old Wang has been working as a human standee at the company entrance for three days.

Not the kind wearing a cartoon costume, nor the one holding a billboard. He's just standing there in his wrinkled suit, motionless.

At first, Old Wang thought it was a joke. The HR manager just handed him a piece of paper with a blank expression, which read, "Job responsibilities for Human Standee: Stand, smile, and do not speak." He asked the manager if they were messing with him. The manager simply adjusted the glasses on his nose and said, "This is part of the company's new strategy to enhance the company's image."

Old Wang was helpless. He had elderly parents to support and young children to raise, and the mortgage and car loan were suffocating him. For the sake of a paycheck, he’d even be a potted plant, let alone a standee.

On the first day, he felt like he was performing a piece of performance art. Some of his colleagues would wink at him, others would stare at him with curiosity, and still others would pretend not to see him, rushing past. He tried to force a stiff smile, his cheeks nearly cramping up. He felt like a product displayed in a shop window, not a living person.

On the second day, he began to study the cracks on the stone slab floor in front of the company entrance. He found that these cracks resembled some kind of strange map, or the trajectory of life, winding and twisting, leading nowhere. He started making up stories in his mind about the origin of each crack. He found that this kind of life, where you don't speak or think, but just stand, was actually quite comfortable. At least he didn't have to face endless meetings and never-ending reports.

On the third day, he had completely entered the "human standee" mode. His smile became natural and infectious, his posture straight and upright, and his gaze empty yet profound. He even began to feel like he was merging with the land in front of the company entrance. He began to observe every person who passed by, and from their expressions, their footsteps, their clothes, he could capture their emotions and states.

He saw a young girl crying and breaking up with her boyfriend, sobbing uncontrollably in front of the company entrance. He saw a middle-aged man cursing at the bus stop sign because he had missed a bus. He also saw an old woman, holding a tattered paper bag, searching for something in the trash can at the company entrance.

Old Wang felt like an observer, watching an absurd social drama unfold. And he himself had become the most absurd character in this play.

One afternoon, a client in an expensive suit pointed at Old Wang and said to his secretary, "See, this is their company's new strategy. Quite unique, isn’t it? They treat people like ornaments."

Old Wang heard it, but he still kept smiling. There was a trace of untold bitterness and helplessness in his smile.

After another week, Old Wang had become accustomed to this human standee life. He began to calculate how much money he could earn every day, how much money he could save for his family every day, and how many cold shoulders he could endure every day. He even began to silently thank this absurd job, because it allowed him to avoid facing even more absurd things.

One day, a police officer in uniform came to the company entrance and saluted Old Wang. "Comrade, have you seen an elderly person who went missing in the vicinity?" The police officer took out a photo and handed it to Old Wang.

Old Wang took the photo and looked at it carefully. In the photo, there was an old woman in tattered clothes, holding a tattered paper bag, the same one he had seen in the trash can a few days ago.

Old Wang nodded and pointed to the trash can at the company entrance.

The police officer immediately ran over and began to search the trash can.

Old Wang, on the other hand, still kept smiling, standing there, motionless.

But this time, there was a hint of profound meaning in his smile. His gaze passed through the noisy crowd and cast towards the distant sky, where a tiny black dot was constantly spiraling upward.