Climbing the Tech Ladder Is Really Tough

Parallel Universe, Blue Star. Early 2017.

Compared to the northern frontiers where snowflakes drift and the north wind wails, the deep winter in Shu City could hardly be called cold.

Dusk was settling as the city’s lights began to bloom. Under the yellow glow of streetlamps, the traffic flowed incessantly, weaving between shifting traffic signals. All manner of commercial lights and LED screens flickered, showcasing the city’s brilliance and splendor. Near and far, windows began to shine, illuminating countless homes.

You might not believe it, but Lu Yu was, indeed, named Lu Yu. He shared his name with the great Tea Sage of the Tang Dynasty, author of the Classic of Tea—same style, same elegance, exquisitely crafted, retro and tasteful, authenticity guaranteed, and a full refund for counterfeits. Perhaps, just perhaps, it was all from the same online seller.

At this moment, Lu Yu sat on the rooftop, his gaze unfocused as he drank, surrounded by empty bottles and scattered cigarette butts. Frowning at the city before him, Lu Yu felt a loneliness he had never known.

Including his four years at university, he’d been in Shu City for nearly seven years, and still, he could not blend into the city’s rhythm. Such was the dissonance of leaping from a backward small town into a modern metropolis.

Or perhaps, more likely, it was Lu Yu’s own self-pity as an unlucky soul.

Back when life revolved around college entrance exams, he hadn’t felt it, sheltered as he was in the close confines of the school. But ever since he started a business with