The weather was scorching hot. The old air conditioner emitted a creaking noise, letting out a breeze that made people feel light-headed.
"Hey... Wake up! Wake up!"
An impatient voice snapped from above, causing the young man to wake up from his dream with a start. He jolted up from the office desk, narrowing his eyes to look, with his back to the light. What he saw, however, was the unsmiling face of his boss. Immediately, a shiver went through his heart; there was no longer a hint of sleepiness in his entire body.
He hurriedly explained himself. "Sorry, just had lunch so I felt a little sleepy, I..."
"Work hard, don't loaf on the job." His boss merely gave him a glare and said nothing more; he soon turned around and left.
The young man sighed in relief.
1. The original Chinese phrase used here was 经历了九九八十一难, which literally means 'experienced nine times nine, eighty one hardships'. It is a reference to the 81 ordeals that the Chinese Buddhist monk, Tang Xuanzhang had to go through in order to reach Buddhahood, in the Chinese novel Journey to the West.
2. The Chinese word used here was 马赛克, a transliteration of the word 'mosaic'. It is used as a verb.