The Unexpected Non-Disclosure Agreement

Zhang Qiang, a middle-aged man in his forties with a hairline retreating to the back of his head, yawned during a company meeting. This yawn, like opening Pandora's box, awakened a forgotten memory deep within his mind.

He suddenly remembered that when he joined this "Unbeatable Cosmic Innovation Technology Company" three years ago, he seemed to have signed a... non-disclosure agreement?

Memories flooded back like a tidal wave. The agreement was as thick as a dictionary. He had glanced over the dense clauses, only remembering the last few words – "Never disclose," and then numbly signed.

For three years, he had followed the routine, writing "algorithm optimizations" that no one understood, developing "futuristic apps" that no one used, living a life cut off from the world. He even forgot what his major was. He felt like a cog on an assembly line, day in and day out, tightening, then tightening again.

Thinking this, Zhang Qiang felt a chill down his spine. He took out his phone and nervously dialed the Human Resources department.

"Hello, this is Zhang Qiang from the Technology Department. I would like to ask, is it possible to get a copy of the non-disclosure agreement I signed three years ago?"

A sweet voice came from the other end of the line, "Okay, sir, please hold on."

A few minutes later, an email with a PDF file arrived in Zhang Qiang's inbox. He opened it and the dense text made his eyes glaze over again. He struggled to find the key clauses, and when he saw the content of the clauses, he almost spit out the mouthful of water he had just drunk.

The agreement stated: "Party B promises never to disclose to any third party any project undertaken by the company, including but not limited to, project names, project content, project progress, project personnel, project funding... and even the names, appearances, clothing, accents, dietary habits of the company's internal staff... furthermore, any ideology produced by Party B's thoughts, words, and actions during work hours are classified as confidential and must never be disclosed."

Zhang Qiang felt his worldview being crushed over and over again. This was a non-disclosure agreement? This was mind control!

He looked at his colleague Li Ming, who was two meters away at the opposite workstation. He saw Li Ming wearing the same plaid shirt and eating the same instant noodles every day, but they couldn't communicate, because even the content of their conversations would be company secrets.

He tried to pick up his glass to drink water. He was about to let out a sigh, but immediately covered his mouth because the sound of a sigh was also an ideology that he couldn't disclose!

Zhang Qiang felt like a transparent person, living inside a clear glass cage, where everything was monitored by the company.

He tried to post on the company's internal forum asking if anyone else had forgotten what they were doing. The post was immediately deleted by the administrator, with the reason that any attempt to discuss company secrets was a violation.

He decided to talk to his manager.

The manager's office door was ajar. Zhang Qiang knocked lightly on the door. The manager, without looking up, said, "Come in."

"Manager, I suddenly remembered today that I signed a non-disclosure agreement. Is that agreement..."

"That agreement is one of the most important secrets of the company. It ensures our company's leading position in the field of technology." The manager interrupted him with a serious tone, "You just need to do what the agreement says, you don't need to ask so much."

Zhang Qiang was stunned. He felt like he had fallen into an absurd vortex. He tried to find loopholes, to figure out the meaning behind all of this. He decided to go home and study the agreement.

He went home and rummaged through boxes to find the paper version of the agreement he signed. He studied it word by word, trying to find a breakthrough, but the more he read, the more something felt wrong. The more he read, the more he felt that he had signed a contract of servitude.

He saw the last line, written in font too small to read clearly: "The final interpretation right of this agreement belongs to the company." He laughed angrily. So it was all up to the company; they had already dug a pit for him.

Zhang Qiang slumped on the sofa in despair. At this moment, he noticed a package on the coffee table with his name on it. He opened it and it was an invitation to the "Unbeatable Cosmic Innovation Technology Company" annual meeting, with the theme – "Decoding the Future."

He looked at the bright colors on the invitation, and remembered the lifeless atmosphere of the company. He felt like he was being "decoded", dissected, and drained.

He suddenly felt an unprecedented rage. He grabbed the invitation and tore it to pieces. He decided that he would resist. He would break free from this absurd cage.

The next day, Zhang Qiang didn't go to work. He went to the busiest square in the city and found a bench to sit down. He took out a pen and paper and began to write. He wrote down what he had seen and heard, what he had thought, over the past three years. He wrote down everything he knew.

He wrote for the whole afternoon, filling a thick stack of paper. Then, he stood up and threw the pieces of paper into the air, letting them scatter like snowflakes in the sunlight.

He watched the flying pieces of paper, feeling as if he had also broken free from some kind of restraint. His heart was full of long-lost freedom.

Just then, he suddenly noticed that the people around him were looking at him with strange expressions. These expressions were curious, but also tinged with fear.

He looked down at his clothes and realized that he was still wearing the company uniform, which had the eye-catching logo of the "Unbeatable Cosmic Innovation Technology Company." All that he had just done had been seen by the people from the company, who were also being controlled by the agreement, and they didn't even dare to express a normal reaction.

Zhang Qiang was stunned. He suddenly understood that the real secret was not the agreement itself, but all the people who were bound by the agreement; they had long given up resisting.

He felt like a clown, performing a silent act that no one was watching. He sighed and slowly left the square, he had to go back into the glass cage and become a screw again.

Because, he suddenly remembered, the company had sent him not only a non-disclosure agreement, but also a... performance contract. It stated that any absenteeism would affect his monthly performance. And this month, he hadn't paid his mortgage yet.