My autobiography is definitely not a tragedy!
Chapter 80 - 77: Excessive Self-Consciousness

Chapter 80: Chapter 77: Excessive Self-Consciousness

When he returned to his rental, it was already past nine in the evening.

Just as he was about to take out his keys to open the door, he heard a woman’s crying coming from room 302 next door.

Meng Lang’s heart skipped a beat.

Could something have happened?

He walked to the door of 302 and listened carefully.

"Wuuu~ You heartless people, not answering calls, not replying to Feixin messages, I was all alone, hungry, and watched a comedy show for an entire evening.

I was so worried about you guys that I almost called the police, and it turns out you all ran off to the bar and forgot about me!

No! It was that despicable Meng Lang, he definitely did it on purpose! Yes! He deliberately wanted to ditch me to hit on you!

Awooo~ (chewing sounds~)

The pouch has aluminum pang yao... Supplement lotus!"

"I couldn’t bring my phone on stage, and besides, couldn’t you order takeout yourself, really."

"(Swallow~) Takeout isn’t as delicious as what Xiao Yu cooks! Haitang, you’ve changed! You don’t care about me at all anymore..."

"Sister Weiwei, don’t be mad. Come on, eat some more."

"Awooo~ (chewing sounds~)"

Meng Lang’s mouth twitched as he listened.

Before going to the bar today, Lin Haitang did mention, didn’t she, that she had asked Yan Weiwei to come over and keep Xiao Yu company?

He had indeed forgotten about it, guilty as charged.

But... Supplement lotus?

That shouldn’t be cursing at me, right?

He thought about apologizing but worried about getting kicked out by an angry Yan Weiwei.

Forget it, the best defense is to avoid the spearhead for now...

...

Returning to his room, Meng Lang freshened up and then started unpacking.

The hp home-use miniature laser printer he ordered online had arrived, and finally, no more hand-copying notes.

He spent over half an hour reading the manual, plugged in the power, and familiarized himself with the operations.

He chose not to connect it to the internet. Like his phone, the printer could potentially leak information.

Once connected, data could be stolen, especially since it was a foreign brand.

Unfortunately, in 2018, there wasn’t a single domestic printer worth its salt, even the best-selling Fantasias were just OEM products.

So right out of the box, it was doomed to standalone mode.

It’s not that Meng Lang was overly cautious, but with the advancement of technology, it’s increasingly difficult to protect privacy in this world.

Not to mention, Yuan Li was a prime example!

These days, even a petty thief could end up surrounded by onlookers, Meng Lang felt he couldn’t be too careful.

He wouldn’t want a careless mistake to land him on the front page the next day.

Back when he was just a humble insurance salesman, his pockets cleaner than his face, no one paid attention to such a small fry.

His social stratum ensured his uneventful daily life, at worst he might be framed, contract a deadly disease, or be in a plane crash...

Err... well, his personal experiences can’t be considered standard for the general public; he was a man envied by the world...

For the common folk, life’s daily routine is nothing more than necessities; striving for the freedom to enjoy bubble tea, crayfish, cherries... and toiling within the blessing of a 996 schedule.

Ma Qiao, Uncle Zhang, Duan Xian, and Teacher Tony, people of his class, even if there were conflicts of interest, they were just ordinary competitors.

But Gao Yuan, Cui Jizhong, Xu Jingsong... these friends and enemies had entered another social echelon.

The closer you are to money, the farther you are from human nature.

From the numerous ruthless acts of Xu Jingsong, Meng Lang could feel the turbulent undercurrents in the high places of this world, full of deceit and trickery.

If class is a mountain, then the closer you are to the base, the warmer it is like spring, and the closer to the peak, the colder and harsher it becomes!

The jump from one class to the next brings only financial freedom, while other freedoms are forcibly reduced.

In some sense, selling off some freedoms is the only way to exchange for wealth and glory.

Many people simply can’t adapt to a sudden leap in social class and overlook the intangible shackles the current class imposes on people, which is why they rapidly revert from nouveau riche to their previous status.

How can one appreciate the fragrance of plum blossoms without experiencing the bitterness of cold?

What you gain is naturally accompanied by what you lose.

At this moment, Meng Lang’s left foot was still in his original social stratum, but his right foot had already begun to venture into another deep water.

After tonight, he would have to start considering if he might enter the sight of some "big shot" at any time, with the most crucial work of maintaining confidentiality naturally becoming a priority.

"Hiss~ hiss~ hiss~"

After the printer’s faint buzzing, a stack of about twenty A4 papers were ejected.

Having organized the freshly printed documents, three sets of materials lay in front of him.

The first was the comic "Chronicles of X (Science Edition)" from "Scream."

The second one was "HLJ/18-17GD Gene Deficiency Recombination Virus (For Pigs)" from "Her Second Half Life," dated 2030, and it was critical data for developing gene-deficient and attenuated live vaccines for the African Z virus.

The third document was "Peripheral Blood Neural-Derived Exosomes Synaptic Protein Predictive Technology for Asymptomatic Phase of Alzheimer’s Disease" from "The Old Man and the Sea," a medical paper from 2038 authored by Lin Xiaoyu.

"The theory is there, but how to get them into the lab and eventually commercialize them... it’s a long road ahead..."

Looking at the three pieces of future data in his hands, Meng Lang felt somewhat like a skilled swordsman unable to find a worthy opponent.

Not to mention the comic, the other two documents could each cause quite a stir if released.

But now wasn’t the time, as external conditions were not yet mature.

To speak of the Z vaccine, the Second Elder Brother hadn’t even started to suffer; there were no virus samples available, and bringing out the documents now would purely be a call for the FBI.

As for the Alzheimer’s prediction technology, it would be suitable for making money, but without his own biotech company, it was hard to explain the source and maximize benefits.

The comic was of lesser sensitivity, the issue only being how to distribute it.

Even if it just sparked some keen discussions within the industry and slightly influenced the future, he would have contributed his modest share.

He stroked his chin thoughtfully while holding the comic.

Bilibili isn’t helping, should I pay to make it into an animation myself?

But it’s so short, it could probably only be made into a short film of a few minutes, and the outcome is hard to predict.

Maybe take it to a publisher for consultation tomorrow? It’s better than doing nothing.

Resolute, Meng Lang locked the three sets of documents in a drawer.

But looking at the old-fashioned copper key in his hand and the somewhat worn wooden drawer, Meng Lang furrowed his brows.

As the "future data" from the books grew more abundant, finding a secure storage solution was becoming an issue.

He had already planned that his phone would only be used to record some non-sensitive information, including using codes only he could understand to note down some keywords.

Some future scientific documents and data needed to be printed out for backup. Fortunately, they were not too conspicuous for now.

Still, this was just a short-term solution.

Both the future data and the "Autobiography" itself urgently needed an absolutely private and secure space for safekeeping.

The ideal storage environment would include a vast collection of books to mask their presence and a bank vault-level safe!

Given that Yuan Li had easily broken in before, it was clear that this rental apartment couldn’t be tied to the word "safe."

"It looks like... it’s time to move..."

At that thought, Meng Lang felt somewhat melancholic.

Money wasn’t the issue, renting a safer, high-end apartment was absolutely feasible for the current Meng Lang.

The problem was that moving meant parting ways with Xiao Yu and the others.

As the saying goes, distant relatives are no match for near neighbors, being close by the water... cough! In short, increasing the distance often meant that relationships would gradually fade.

Then it would be hard to enjoy the delicious meals Xiao Yu cooked herself again.

Not wanting to eat takeout, should I eat noodles every day? That would be torture for someone like me who prefers rice.

Maybe I should find a brother to visit New Oriental?

Would that be underutilizing talents?

Not sure if I could even persuade him, and what if he "Screams" again?

Ai! With employees having an excess self-awareness, being a boss is a bit headache-inducing too...