The Vanishing Afternoon Tea
Zhang Qiang stared at the empty tea room, feeling a void in his heart. The shelves, once filled with snacks and drinks, now only held cold glass and a few outdated notices. ByteDance had canceled afternoon tea. The news was like a silent earthquake, causing the entire office area to feel a bit shaky.
Zhang Qiang had been working at ByteDance for three years, progressing from a naive intern to a slightly jaded team leader. Afternoon tea was the moment he looked forward to most each day. That brief twenty minutes was a rare time for him and his colleagues to relax, and it was the fuel that allowed him to continue into the endless ocean of code.