An impromptu stand-up comedy routine filled with “Tucao” (mocking and complaining humor) stirs up deep-seated emotions within Xiuya, causing her to toss and turn all night, unable to sleep. This affects her work the next day, leading to many typos in her writing. Thankfully, her colleague Pang Jing helps her correct the mistakes and shows concern for her well-being.
Exhausted after a long day, Xiuya returns home, washes up, and goes to bed, hoping for a good night’s sleep. However, as soon as she closes her eyes, all she can see is the scene on stage and Ma Chao’s hypocritical face in front of the chairman. She can’t fall asleep at all. Even after talking to her friend, she remains wide awake, resorting to reading advanced mathematics and doing yoga in the middle of the night.
The second day of insomnia takes its toll. Her organs are unable to rest, and their functions decline. Her brain, receiving these signals, mistakenly believes her body is failing and orders the secretion of more adrenaline. This increases her breathing and blood oxygen levels, making her appear more energetic than she actually is.
Pang Jing is surprised to see Xiuya so talkative. During a department meeting, when Manager Hu repeats the same old tune, Xiuya speaks her mind before she can think, causing a stunned silence. Realizing her mistake, she immediately apologizes and continues to do so profusely afterward. Pang Jing kindly offers to write Xiuya’s article for her, urging her to go home and rest. However, Xiuya remains unable to sleep for a third night, becoming acutely aware of even the slightest sounds.
The prolonged and excessive secretion of adrenaline keeps Xiuya’s central nervous system in a state of overexcitement, making her extremely sensitive to her surroundings. Mr. Gao, a senior executive, talks to Manager Hu and then calls Ma Chao into his office for a long discussion, planning to promote him to team leader of the Internal Publicity Department. As soon as Ma Chao returns to his workstation, he receives an email from the Human Resources Department. He acts smug and can’t wait to announce the news, using it as an excuse to treat everyone to milk tea. Already exhausted and irritated, Xiuya loses her temper and sharply tells Ma Chao to leave her alone.
The matter could have ended there, but Ma Chao, not yet officially a team leader, starts acting like one, bossing around his former colleague Pang Jing. This finally pushes Xiuya over the edge.
She has a huge argument with Ma Chao in the office. Manager Hu witnesses it but doesn’t intervene, instead reporting the incident to Zheng Hao. That evening, Zheng Hao invites Xiuya to dinner to discuss the situation. He believes that for the sake of the bigger picture, Xiuya should apologize in front of the entire department to give Manager Hu and Mr. Gao a way out, making them owe her a favor. He also mentions that Xiuya’s outburst will negatively affect him.
Xiuya remains noncommittal. On her way home, she passes the stand-up comedy club, goes in for a while, and receives a hypocritical apology message from Zheng Hao, which disgusts her.
The next day, at the department meeting, everyone waits for Manager Hu to bring up the previous day’s incident. Xiuya is called upon to speak.
Holding a script, Xiuya starts to read it aloud. Suddenly, the once vibrant and assertive Wu Xiuya, dressed in a red dress, reappears. Questioned by her past self, Xiuya chooses to follow her heart. She declares that she will not apologize and that Ma Chao is the one who should be apologizing. This is certainly not the answer Manager Hu wants, but she can’t fault Xiuya because what she says is completely true.
Freed from the burden of injustice, Xiuya finally regains her sleep.
