"You've seen Inception, right?" Gaoyang refilled his glass. "A person's dreams are actually controlled by their subconscious."

"You know about the subconscious, right? Usually, you're not even aware of it, but it always subtly influences your behavior, emotions, and... your dreams!"

"To put it simply, your subconscious is basically your underlying perception. Even if you don't notice it, it doesn't mean it's not there. A lot of times, people can fool themselves, fool their own minds, but—"

"You can never fool your subconscious!" Gaoyang craned his neck to glance at the big screen behind him, then leaned back to look at Linden. "Does that make sense? Am I getting too deep?"

"I understand the words," Linden nodded. He'd seen Inception too; it was a brilliant movie. In the film, the main character used a machine to invade other people's dreams and extract information. "But what does that have to do with my dream changing?"

"Because your subconscious changed!" Gaoyang downed another beer. "Let me ask you, right now, in your subconscious, what do you think that cat's name should be?"

Linden thought carefully for a moment... "Rhyne Cat."

"Exactly! If your subconscious believes it's the Rhyne Cat, then the dream version naturally has to update itself!"

"It's that simple?"

"It's that simple!"

Linden frowned. "Is your theory actually reliable? Can movie plot points be taken as fact?"

Gaoyang chuckled, waggling his index finger mischievously. "I didn't just learn it from a movie, you know~ Look—" He opened his phone, clicked on someone's Moments feed, and held the phone up to Linden. "This client of mine is a psychologist, very famous in Shanghai! I added her on WeChat when she bought a car, and she often posts stuff like this on her feed. I just browse and learn when I'm bored."

Linden glanced at the Moments. It was filled with shared psychology knowledge and lecture snippets.

"Honestly... you're overthinking this whole thing!" Gaoyang waved his hand dismissively. "Ultimately! What's so strange about something from reality appearing in a dream?"

"The real big deal will be when something from your dream appears in reality!"

With that, Gaoyang, beer glass in hand, shook his head and went back to watching the game. Argentina had scored again. The entire bar was deafening.

Linden sat in his chair, reflecting on Gaoyang's words... The ice-cold beer in his glass gradually warmed. Gaoyang, despite not being the most educated, often said surprisingly convincing things.

Thinking about it carefully, it really wasn't a big deal for something from reality to appear in a dream. Didn't everyone's dreams consist of fragments pieced together from reality? Actually... in his dream, only the doll's name had changed. The cat was still the same cat. Not a single detail had shifted. With that perspective, it seemed he truly had been overly sensitive.

…

Ultimately, Argentina won the match. Amidst the cheers of the fans and drinking buddies, the bar gradually emptied.

"That was awesome! I really hope Argentina makes it to the finals! Winning the championship would be the best!"

In the chilly wind, Gaoyang, his face flushed and beer belly protruding, bounced on the spot. "Linden, I heard you got promoted?"

"Yeah, just to a team lead, but it's a direct team, on par with a department."

"Nice, man! You're really moving up in the world!" Gaoyang put an arm around Linden's neck and laughed heartily. "Hurry up and make some money! When you do, come buy a car from me!"

"Next time, for sure."

…

Zhao Yingjun's efficiency was truly impressive. When Linden arrived at the company today, his team and office were already completely set up.

Linden now had his own private office. Though not large, it was fully equipped. His workstation had also been upgraded to department head specifications: a massive single desk, a brand new top-of-the-line Apple all-in-one computer, and a dedicated bookshelf. With perks like these, how could he not be motivated to work?

Linden took the latest Rhyne Cat design sketches to report to Zhao Yingjun. Zhao Yingjun's office was on the 22nd floor, secured by two keypads, and no one knew the codes except her.

"Come in." Zhao Yingjun remotely opened the door from inside, and Linden stepped into the office. It was his first time inside, and just as rumored, it was clean, minimalistic, and without any unnecessary clutter. But it was also genuinely spacious, with two adjacent resting rooms.

Today, Zhao Yingjun was wearing a white trench coat, with exquisite makeup, and silver earrings sparkled in the sunlight. Usually, her hair was tied back, giving her a sharp and capable look. But today, it was softly down around her neck, making her seem much more approachable.

"Very good." After reviewing Linden's designs, Zhao Yingjun nodded in satisfaction. "Hand these over to the production department. Have them find a factory to begin production, to be released as a giveaway item alongside our flagship Rhyne brand products."

"Once the doll samples are produced, bring me one first. I quite like this Rhyne Cat."

"Understood." Linden acknowledged, picked up the designs, and turned to leave.

"Oh, Linden." Zhao Yingjun called out to him. "I saw on your resume that you graduated from Shanghai University?"

"Yes, Ms. Zhao."

Zhao Yingjun looked him up and down. "Do you have a suit?"

"I have one... bought it for job interviews."

"Go to the mall next door, to the Brioni store, and pick one out." Zhao Yingjun looked down, flipping through documents. "Go now. There's a science charity gala tonight, and I need you to accompany me. I'll send you the address later."

"Oh..."

Thud! The heavy, coded office door closed, leaving Linden standing outside, utterly perplexed. What... Zhao Yingjun wanted him to accompany her to a gala? What kind of situation was this? Still, other team leads often went out for drinks and networking every night. Perhaps as a leader, these things were unavoidable.

Linden returned to his office, assigned tasks to his four team members, and then headed to the nearby mall. The business district next to the company building housed Shanghai's most upscale shopping mall, teeming with luxury brands. This place had always been outside Linden's orbit; it was his first time browsing there.

Following the directions, he quickly found the "Brioni" that Zhao Yingjun had mentioned. It was a men's suit store with classic, elegant decor.

"Welcome, sir!" A young, beautiful lady smiled and bowed, gesturing for Linden to come in. As the sales assistant explained, Linden learned that Brioni was a venerable Italian brand.

Linden figured out why the sales assistant was giving him such a detailed explanation. Their eyes were sharp; they could spot a customer's purchasing power instantly. This seemingly thorough explanation was actually a polite way of testing the waters. If a customer couldn't afford it, they'd naturally retreat, and everyone would understand without awkwardness. This was the subtle sophistication of luxury brands; the cliché of sales associates looking down on customers probably only existed in urban novels from a decade ago.

"Hello, Mr. Lin!" At that moment, a slightly older, manager-type woman emerged, bowing to Linden. "You must be Mr. Lin from MX Company, correct?"

Linden nodded.

The manager smiled. "My apologies, Mr. Lin, I was momentarily occupied... and didn't greet you promptly."

"Ms. Zhao has already informed us. Please, follow me! The suits displayed outside are our basic styles... the premium styles you need are in the inner room!"