Chapter <b>261 </b>


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    The premium oflice tower in Downtown Norhill had been buzzing with activity since the crack of dawn.


    The subway line heading downtown was always packed during the morning rush hour on weekdays.


    But today, it was on a whole different level. At Central Station, lines wound around the entrances and exits, and every subway car had queues at every single door–people were packed in tight, barely squeezing on.


    Commuters grumbled and cursed under their breath. The Metro Transit Department scrambled to add extra trains, pushing out a new one every two minutes just to keep things moving.


    By the time the trains reached Central Station, the crowd spilled out like a swarm of bees, buzzing and pushing their way through the exits.


    The whole crowd moving out to work had all their pent–up irritation from the morning simmering, and as soon as they hit the exit, it kind of exploded–everyone was cranky, and you could feel the tension in the air.


    “Seriously, does the whole damn city work here now? Yesterday wasn’t nearly this packed. Did somepany just open up and hire everybody?” someone griped loudly.


    That started a chain reaction. The rest of themuters, just as annoyed and in a rush, instantly chimed in, letting all theirints spill out at once.


    “For those of us who always clock in at thest minute–no way I’m making it today! Say goodbye to my perfect attendance bonus!” someone wailed.


    “It’s Friday! Why is everyone acting so desperate to get to work? Last Friday was way less packed—this is insane!” anotherined.


    “If I’d known, I would’ve just requested a day off. At least I wouldn’t bete and miss out on my perfect attendance bonus,” someone else grumbled.


    “Lucky for me, mypany doesn’t start until ten. Still got a whole Sonny–plenty of time,” another said, sounding a little smug.


    The station was so thick with frustrated energy it almost felt like the whole ce had been hit with a curse- like Evil Sword Immortal just came through, leaving his trademark ck and purple aura swirling everywhere.


    The staff, worried these frazzled office workers might snap at any moment, doubled their team and rushed around trying to keep everyone chill. Signs popped up all over, guiding the sea of folks and keeping the chaos


    in check.


    Finally, after fighting their way out of the crush at the subway exit, the oflice workers stumbled gasping toward the tower entrance. Just when they thought the worst was over, they ran smack into yet another bottleneck—a sea of people already stretching through the elevator area, every line longer than thest. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,‘ someone thought, their hope evaporating.


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    The lobby was packed, with lines stretching all the way from the elevator banks to the front doors.


    To top it all off, the time clock system downstairs had been malfunctioning these past couple days—now anyone could flood upstairs whenever they wanted, making the chaos even worse.


    Employees who used to think they’d have a chance to clock in were losing their minds.


    One of the office workers, fed up and frazzled, cornered a stranger and snapped, “Hey, whichpany are you from?”


    ‘I gotta see what kind of business moved in here and suddenly hired half the city,‘ she thought, sizing up the


    neer.


    “Actually, we’re not staff,” one of the girls replied, grinning. “We’re headed to Xylic Studio on the 16th floor to get custom women’s fashion.”


    The girl was practically bursting with excitement, her eyes shining bright with anticipation–totally unfazed by the workce chaos around her.


    The office worker’s rage meter shot through the roof.


    “You seriously dragged yourself out this early just for custom clothes? Is that why there’re suddenly so many elevator hogs? You all aren’t even employees–give us workers a break! We’re gonna bete!” she snapped.


    The girl’s excitement crashed instantly. It wasn’t what that person said—it was how she said it.


    “Doesn’t matter if you’re working or shopping–rules are rules! We’re all waiting our turn, so how about you just stand in line like everyone else?” she fired back.


    “I’m usually riding up and clocking in at this time! You guys just had to pack the elevators right during rush hour, huh? Now you’re actually acting like it’s your right?” the office worker snapped.


    “Where does it say these elevators are only for you office folks?” the girl shot back, arms crossed.


    The argument turned into a shouting match, and onlookers started crowding around, splitting fast into two squads–some taking the office workers‘ side, others backing the shoppers.


    It was the office workers from the tower versus the Xylic Studio customers–everyone split into two camps, and you could practically see sparks flying in the lobby.


    Tensions ran high, with both sides shouting over each other until the entire lobby was caught up in chaos.


    Finally, security rolled in, started sorting people into separate groups, and ushered them upstairs. Just like that, the war came to a halt.


    Still fuming, the office workers trudged to their desks, muttering nonstop about Xylic Studio up on the 16th. ‘What’s with that lousy fashionpany acting like they own the ce? Their customerspletely took over the elevators–how’s anyone supposed to make it to work?‘ someone groused.


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    But before they could really get into it, apany–wide announcement shed onto their screens.


    [Because of this morning’s chaos, no one will be markedte. And as a peace offering, Xylic Studio is treating everyone in the building to free snacks and drinks at 4 PM. Don’t miss out!]


    Suddenly, every singleint vanished into thin air.


    Everyone was giving each other side–eye, thinking, ‘Whoa, Xylic Studio must have some serious clout–who knew they could get even our HR department to y nice for them?’


    No penalties for beingte and free treats in the afternoon? That took the sting out of everyone’sints.


    in no time.


    Meanwhile, Xylia was working overtime in the lobby, patiently ushering out thest batch of walk–ins. Smiling through her exhaustion, she kept saying, “If you want to order custom pieces, just drop us a DM on WhatsApp or hit up our website–we’ll reply to everyone one by one, promise!”


    She practically had to beg and reason with everyone before they finally headed out. By the time it was all done, Xylia’s throat felt scorched, and it was nearly lunchtime.


    Joshua came down from upstairs and told Xylia that he’d just waived a whole month’s rent for every business in the building, all to calm everyone down.


    He also made sure that the message came under Xylic Studio’s name, reaching out to all the employees to reassure them and smooth things over.


    ‘I don’t even know how to feel about this, Xylia thought, a little overwhelmed.


    The whole ce was actually owned by Garcia Group, and losing a month’s rent meant taking a hit of over a million bucks.


    Joshua handled all the fallout without even a hint ofint, and still found time to bring her a cup of warm water. “Here, have some–it’s good for your throat,” he said, genuinely caring.


    That sense of security, knowing someone would always have her back no matter what–only Joshua could give her that kind of certainty.


    After taking a few sips, Xylia and Joshua headed back to the studio.


    Josie wasted no time posting a notice on the website, letting everyone know the online shop would be up really soon. If anyone needed help, they could just call instead–she made it clear that swinging by in groups for custom orders wasn’t a great idea. And, most importantly, she offered a big apology to anyone whose day got thrown off by all the drama.


    Meanwhile, the inte was already blowing up over the morning’s drama.


    Comments about Xylic Studio were all over the ce–half of them were roasting the studio, while the other half were defending it.


    [“So thepany’s customers basically shut down the whole city? Shouldn’t they be held responsible? Rush hour is tough enough, and all those people rushing to Xylic Studio–what were they even thinking? Just made


    8:33 Thu, Sep <b>25 </b>


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    everything a nightmare for the rest of us.“]


    [“Exactly! So many people ended upte because of this mess. There goes my whole month’s attendance bonus, thanks a lot! Do office workers even matter anymore?“]


    [But then you hadments like: “Why are there so many people online just fanning the mes? This whole blowup has nothing to do with Xylic Studio! Their owner was already wrongly used a few days ago, and their shop got shut down because of all you bandwagon jumpers fake–ordering and mass–cancelling. Now the truth is out, but people are still showing up to mess with their business. Honestly, Xylic Studio hasn’t done anything wrong from the very beginning.“]


    [Another reply: “Totally agree with the person above. Xylic Studio barely has any fans to begin with. Their shop got dragged into a disaster for no reason, and now folks are still trying to trash them. The boss really can’t catch a break!“]


    [And another user chimed in: “Anyone with half a brain wouldn’t go out and stir up trouble in real life. It’s not like Xylic Studio is some regr clothing store you can just drop by whenever. Get a grip, sheeple—try using your heads for once!“]


    Xylia stared at the nonstop flood ofments online, feeling wave after wave hit her.


    Good or bad, right at this moment, she just felt deeply tired.


    No matter what people said, there was no denying it–this morning had left a really nasty impact.


    ‘For all the time I’ve spent running Xylic Studio, I’ve never felt this helpless before,‘ Xylia thought, letting her phone drop as she let out a long sigh.


    C


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