Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 2

Scrolling through short videos was so much fun!

Song Tan never realized her past life could be so interesting! She wanted to play too!

This world was so fascinating. If she could always be this happy, delaying her cultivation… No, not cultivating for a while wouldn’t be a problem.

After all, there was no spiritual energy around. Cultivating would be twice the effort for half the result, which wasn’t worth it.

As a cultivator, Song Tan pondered her decision and felt it wasn’t the procrastination she had heard about in her memories, but rather a mysterious sixth sense from her cultivation.

In short, she calculated with her fingers and concluded that today was an auspicious day to play with her phone!

Though the screen was badly cracked…

In the next moment, a call suddenly popped up on her phone—

“Song Tan! Where is the PPT I asked you to make? Why haven’t you sent it yet?!”

Song Tan: …

What’s a PPT? Who is this?

She reviewed her memories and realized that in her past life, she had rushed to the office because her boss suddenly needed a PPT.

Who knew she would encounter a multi-car accident just after getting on the Ninghai Bridge.

“And why didn’t you come to work today? An absence costs 500! If it happens again, you’re fired!”

Song Tan: … She hadn’t fully remembered, but she was already feeling angry.

Judging by her outfit, her monthly salary couldn’t be much.

Song Tan rubbed her temples, took a deep breath, and recalled the endless overtime tasks from her company. A deep-seated desire surged within her—

[I want to go back home]

[I want to stay with my parents and brother]

[I don’t want to work anymore]

This thought was so strong that Song Tan immediately made a decision—

“…”

Darn, she had been away from work for too long. What was she supposed to say next?

Ahem…

“Boss, right? Just wait.”

…

Ning City was just an ordinary provincial capital, always under construction, dusty and grimy.

Ninghai Bridge was a newly built overpass, connecting the north and south, saving on toll fees. It cost 55 yuan to take a taxi from Song Tan’s rented place.

She usually didn’t take taxis, but her boss urgently needed the PPT, and she had other tasks on hand, so she splurged on a taxi.

Who knew it would result in a car accident…

Her broken phone still worked, so Song Tan, unfamiliar with the process, tried scanning a code and took another taxi, heading back to Ninghai Bridge.

Over half an hour later, she arrived at her company’s building—don’t get the wrong idea, it wasn’t a big company. Song Tan was an ordinary graduate from a second-tier college, who had struggled her way out of the countryside. Big companies were out of her reach.

Her current company rented the third floor of this building, doing various outsourced work.

She had studied finance, a jack-of-all-trades major. She hadn’t been picky at the time, enrolling in whichever school accepted her.

She had been recruited by this company after a confusing campus recruitment session where she listened to an HR (later revealed to be a regular employee) making empty promises.

Now, after being battered by society, she was a versatile 007 worker, handling planning, operations, post-production, editing, promotion, and being a general problem solver.

Seven days a week, 24 hours a day, as long as there was a task, even during her period, she had to crawl to work if necessary.

An intern’s salary was 5000, and after becoming a full-time employee, it was 7500. It sounded good, right?

But the provincial capital hadn’t developed much, while housing prices had soared to 15,000 per square meter. The small, 20-square-meter unit Song Tan rented in an old neighborhood cost nearly 1000 yuan a month.

Transportation, food, daily necessities… she saved whatever was left.

Having paid the fare, Song Tan sighed, “I still have over 60,000 in savings, that’s a lot.” She hadn’t expected her past self to be such a thrifty girl!

…

It was lunchtime, and the small office was filled with the mixed smells of various meals. A young girl among her colleagues waved to her:

“Tan Tan, why didn’t you come this morning? Have you eaten?”

Song Tan couldn’t remember her name, but she walked over quietly and saw her badge—

Huo Xueying

She glanced at the foil box of clay pot rice in front of her, the mixed aroma and odor making her feel uncomfortable.

“I was in a car accident this morning, just got out of the hospital.”

Huo Xueying pulled out a fried egg from the box:

“Ah—open your mouth, have a bite!”

“The hospital discharged you, so you must be okay—this means Mr. Zhang won’t give you any subsidies again!—Compensation is hard to get, you should have stayed in the hospital for a couple of days! Quick, eat the egg to recover!”

Song Tan’s stomach grumbled in agreement.

Though the gesture was a bit too intimate, Huo Xueying seemed to be a good friend of hers. After a moment’s hesitation, Song Tan opened her mouth and took a small bite.

As her teeth closed, a strange taste filled her mouth—the charred flavor of the egg, food impurities, rich oil, but mixed with an indescribable disgust, causing stomach pain and nausea.

This food? Forget about improving her cultivation; long-term consumption would fill her body with impurities. She would be lucky to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, let alone form a Golden Core!

Song Tan forced herself to swallow the small bite of egg.

Huo Xueying was ready to feed her a second bite, feeling sorry for her friend who saved and scrimped every day.

But Song Tan shook her head, “No more, it tastes a bit weird.” Quite terrible, actually.

Huo Xueying didn’t hesitate to take back the egg, biting off a big piece, “What’s weird about it? It costs 25 yuan a portion!”

“But it’s true, it’s not as good as homemade food. As my mom says, takeout lacks real flavors, it’s all heavy oil and seasoning.”

Song Tan touched her stomach, feeling genuinely hungry.

She hadn’t eaten since last night till this morning. Now, she realized she was just an ordinary mortal who needed food.

After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “Is it because of the ingredients? Then I’ll… I’ll order something better.” The lack of spiritual energy made the ingredients too impure.

Thinking of the strange taste of the food, she now focused on more expensive dishes.

These should have better-quality ingredients, right?

While waiting for her food, Song Tan asked, “The boss asked for a PPT… what is that…”

It had been too long; she genuinely couldn’t remember.

Huo Xueying didn’t mind, casually saying, “Which PPT? You mentioned you did half of it yesterday, why don’t you check your computer?”

Song Tan walked to her narrow cubicle, slowly turned on the computer, and opened the half-finished presentation on her desktop, with images, text, and format—

She carefully looked through it.

But… what about the rest? How was she supposed to complete it?

She opened other folders—sure enough, she had no idea how to do any of it!

Song the Cultivator remained calm and composed.

Not knowing was fine. After all, she had worked hard for two lifetimes. This time, she wouldn’t be a wage slave.

At that moment, a loud call came from the company’s entrance: “Hello, your delivery!”