Job Posting

"Job Opening: Senior Emotion Experience Specialist, no age limit, no gender limit, no education limit, the only requirement: extreme aversion to current social rules and the ability to internalize it into daily emotional expression."

This job posting was stuck on the glass door of the Human Resources Department, the ink still wet, carrying the warmth of just being printed out. Zhou Lin stared at it for three minutes, his fingertips worn pale, but ultimately he couldn't bring himself to push open the door.

He had been unemployed for three months, the resumes he submitted sinking like stones in the sea. Now, even the unheard-of position of "Emotion Experience Specialist" dared to claim "senior". Zhou Lin scoffed, in this day and age, even being averse to social rules had become a professional skill?

He decided to go take a look, since he was idle anyway.

Inside the Human Resources Department, a woman wearing a grey uniform was looking down, flipping through something. Zhou Lin gently knocked on the door, the woman looked up, her eyes like two pools of still water, without a trace of a ripple.

"Are you here to apply for the Emotion Experience Specialist position?" Her voice was flat and monotonous, like an old tape recorder.

Zhou Lin nodded.

The woman handed him a form, which was densely covered with all sorts of questions:

"What kind of experience do you think it is to take the subway at seven in the morning?" "What do you feel when you see your boss drinking expensive coffee while you can only drink instant coffee?" "If you were asked to say 'The leader is wise' ten times a day, could you maintain emotional stability?" "What is the social phenomenon you dislike the most? Please summarize it in three words."

Zhou Lin glanced at it, his lips twitching involuntarily. This wasn't a job posting, it was clearly a "negative energy emission test"!

He filled it out word by word, the tip of his pen making a rustling sound on the paper, as if accusing the absurdity of the world.

"Very good, it seems you indeed have a deep 'experience' of this society." The woman took the form, finally showing a slight, almost imperceptible smile, "However, that's not enough."

She pointed to a glass cabinet in the corner of the room, inside which were neatly arranged rows of small bottles of various colors.

"These are 'emotion capsules' developed by our company, each color representing an emotion. You need to choose an emotion you dislike the most and then take it."

Zhou Lin looked at those colorful bottles, as if looking at rows of souls waiting to be judged.

"What... what kind of emotions are these?" he asked tentatively.

The woman pointed to the red bottle, her voice still without any emotion: "Red represents anger. Blue represents sadness. Green represents helplessness. Yellow represents despair..."

Zhou Lin felt a wave of dizziness, this company was simply insane.

"So... do I have to choose one?" he swallowed, his voice trembling slightly.

"Of course, this is key to testing your ability to 'internalize emotions'." The woman answered matter-of-factly.

Zhou Lin took a deep breath, he knew he had no choice. He picked up a small black bottle, there was no label on it.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Oh, this is newly developed, representing 'numbness'," the woman replied, "We found that many people become numb after resisting for a long time, so we want to see what extent you can achieve."

Zhou Lin opened the bottle cap, a strong, bitter smell rushed towards him, he closed his eyes and swallowed it in one gulp.

He felt something shatter in his body, like glass falling to the ground.

"You passed," the woman said, her tone still flat, "Come to work tomorrow, the position is 'Emotion Experience Specialist's Experience Specialist', the main job is to experience the emotions of different 'Emotion Experience Specialists' and find out their shortcomings."

Zhou Lin walked out of the Human Resources Department, feeling as if he were in the middle of an absurd drama. He looked at the employment contract in his hand, which was clearly written: "Employees of this company are required to actively experience and internalize social rules, and those who do not obey will be handled as 'abnormal emotional fluctuations'."

He scoffed, so the end of resistance was even more complete obedience. He suddenly thought of his home loan, his child's milk powder, and his mother's medicine costs, he sighed and gripped the contract in his hand. Life was a huge ironic drama, and he was just an actor playing his part.