“Warmth” on the Road

Old Li has recently become obsessed with watching the 999 Cold Remedy commercials. Not because he has a cold, but because the line "There's always warmth on the road" inexplicably brings him a sense of comfort. He works overtime every day until late at night, is crammed into the subway like a sardine, and then has to face mountains of reports when he gets home. He feels like a screw, tightly screwed onto the company's machine.

That day, he was just scolded by his supervisor because his report was missing a decimal point, although that decimal point had no impact on the final result. He dragged his tired body home, and passed a convenience store. The 999 advertisement was playing on repeat in the window. The familiar melody and heartwarming images brought tears to his eyes. He suddenly wanted to know what this "warmth" actually felt like.

The next day, Old Li decided to make a change. He arrived at the company half an hour early, wiped all the desks and chairs in the office, and made hot tea for everyone. His colleagues were all bewildered, wondering if he had suffered some sort of shock yesterday. But he felt full of energy, as if he too had finally started to radiate "warmth".

At lunchtime, Old Li took the initiative to get lunch for his colleague, Xiao Zhang, at the next table. Xiao Zhang was flattered, said thank you several times, and quietly asked if he had won the lottery. Old Li shook his head and said with a smile, "It's nothing, I just wanted to send you some warmth."

In the afternoon, the supervisor suddenly asked him to attend an important client meeting. Old Li was so nervous that his palms were sweating, but he still mustered the courage to use all those heartwarming lines from the 999 ad, such as "Difficulties are only temporary," "Let's work hard together," and "There's always warmth on the road." The client was confused, thinking he had wandered onto the wrong set. At the end of the meeting, the client pointed at Old Li and said with a smile, "Your company's people are quite interesting."

That evening, Old Li returned home. As soon as he turned on his computer, he received a message from the company. The message said that in response to the social call for "warmth", the company had decided to launch a "Warmth Transfer" campaign, requiring every employee to do something to warm others every day, and to take a picture and upload it to the company's internal group. Old Li looked at his phone screen and suddenly felt that the hot tea in his hand had gone cold.

The next day, the company posted a "Warmth List", and Old Li's name was prominently displayed, with an enlarged photo of him getting lunch for his colleague from the day before. He looked at his stiff smile in the photo and felt a little strange. He realized that everyone had become enthusiastic about performing "warmth", busy taking pictures and uploading them every day, while genuine care and assistance were rarely mentioned.

Old Li began to feel that this kind of "warmth" was a bit off. He found that everyone was like being pulled by an invisible string, making the same movements and saying the same lines. Everyone was like an actor in a 999 ad, mechanically playing the role of warmth.

One day, Old Li suddenly received an anonymous message that read: "Stop performing, you are like us, you are a puppet of warmth."

Old Li was stunned. He looked around, and his colleagues were holding up their phones, taking pictures of the coffee they had just bought, with programmed smiles on their faces. He felt like he was standing on a huge stage, and everything around him was prepared for this absurd performance.

He began to reflect on what kind of "warmth" he really wanted. Was it the fake concern in the commercials? Or the real emotions between colleagues? He looked at his stiff smile on the company's "Warmth List" and suddenly felt incredibly ironic.

On the weekend, Old Li was walking down the street and saw an old woman shivering in the cold wind. He hesitated for a moment, then walked over and took off his scarf to put it around her neck. The old woman looked at him gratefully, with a long-lost smile on her face. At that moment, Old Li felt a real warmth surge from his heart, gradually spreading to his limbs.

Just then, a familiar voice sounded behind him: "Hey, what are you doing? Hurry up and send the photo to the group, you haven't done your homework today!"

Old Li turned around and saw his supervisor, holding a phone in his hand, with the familiar, programmed "warm" smile on his face. Old Li didn't say anything, but silently took the scarf off the old woman's neck and put it back on his own. He turned around and left without looking back.

A voice echoed in his heart: "There's always warmth on the road," what a fucking ironic statement.