Chao Musheng felt his scalp tingle under the scrutinizing gazes of his colleagues. Clearing his throat, he smiled naturally at Mr. Su.
His senior colleague was the first to speak up. "Boss, we have some work matters to discuss with Team Two next door."
"You’ve worked hard," Mr. Su nodded. "Go ahead."
Chao Musheng glanced at his colleagues, who were practically itching to leave, and couldn’t help but feel exasperated. The members of Team Two were still eating in the staff cafeteria—where exactly were they planning to "discuss work"?
"I noticed a thermos on the table and thought it might be yours," Mr. Su said, handing the cup to Chao Musheng. "Here you go."
"Thank you, boss. No wonder I felt like something was missing from my desk—it was this." Chao Musheng took the cup, noting how spotless it was. Had Mr. Su even cleaned it for him?
"You’re different from the other employees. You’re here to observe and learn, so you don’t have to call me 'boss,'" Mr. Su said, his eyes lingering on Chao Musheng’s fingers as they curled around the cup. "Just call me Mr. Su, like before."
Perhaps worried Chao Musheng might misunderstand, he added, "Of course, if after graduation you’d be willing to join Kunlun, it would be my honor."
Chao Musheng chuckled and corrected himself. "Mr. Su, you’ve given me red envelopes before, and Kunlun even pays me a training stipend. Wouldn’t it be impolite not to call you 'boss'?"
"The effort you’ve put into Kunlun far exceeds the value of that stipend," Mr. Su replied, pausing slightly as he took in Chao Musheng’s smiling face. "You can also call me by my name—Su Chenzhu."
The name carried a weight, as if steeped in the passage of millennia. If not for Mr. Su’s modern attire, Chao Musheng might have mistaken him for someone from ancient times.
Wait, had Mr. Su changed his tie clip? Earlier, it had been a sapphire—now it looked like a ruby.
Only then did Chao Musheng notice that Mr. Su had not only swapped the tie clip but also changed his shirt and tie entirely, now wearing a pair of white gloves as well.
Truly, the ultra-wealthy lived differently from ordinary people, changing outfits more frequently than most changed socks.
"Rest well at noon, and remember to drink more water," Mr. Su said, his gaze flickering back to the thermos in Chao Musheng’s hands. "If you didn’t even notice your cup was missing, I doubt you remembered to hydrate."
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Su. I’ll keep it in mind." Chao Musheng thought to himself—he’d already downed a huge cup of bubble tea courtesy of Sister Jia that morning. Who had room for water?
Mr. Su was younger than his father, but his tone when reminding someone to drink water was eerily similar.
"Good," Mr. Su said gently. "Go back and rest."
"Please take care of yourself too. Kunlun’s entire workforce depends on you." Chao Musheng hurried forward in three quick strides to press the button for the executive elevator. "Take care, Mr. Su."
Mr. Su stepped inside, his eyes lingering on Chao Musheng standing by the elevator doors.
Just before they slid shut, he caught a glimpse of Chao Musheng’s retreating figure, light and carefree.
Removing his gloves, Su Chenzhu stared at the elevator panel for a few seconds before pressing a floor button.
"Boss, you went out?" Secretary Liu held a cup of coffee, surprised to see the boss returning from outside. "An international deal is about to be finalized. Will you be going abroad to sign it personally?"
"Send the general manager instead," Su Chenzhu replied, tossing his gloves into the trash and rolling up his sleeves. "For the next month, unless it’s absolutely critical, delegate all engagements to the other managers."
"Understood, boss." Secretary Liu stole a glance at the discarded gloves, puzzled. Why wear gloves in this heat?
"Little Chao!"
The moment the boss left, his colleagues’ heads popped out from Team Two’s office doorway, eyes gleaming with gossip-fueled curiosity.
"Don’t ask me. I don’t know. No comment."
Chao Musheng turned to leave, only for Brother Li to sling an arm around his neck. "Chao, you’ve only been here two days, but Brother Li’s been good to you, right?"
"Brother Li is great. Everyone’s great." Chao Musheng wriggled free. "I really don’t know the boss well—we just exchanged a few words on the balcony this morning."
His colleagues didn’t seem convinced, some even mentally reviewing whether they’d treated Chao Musheng well enough.
They’d all run into the boss at the company before—why had he never spoken to them?
And personally delivering a thermos? With so many people in the executive office, what kind of priceless cup warranted the boss’s personal attention?
Seeing their skepticism, Chao Musheng sighed. "I’ve only met the boss four times—once at a school anniversary, once yesterday morning, and twice today. How close could we possibly be?"
As for why Mr. Su had personally brought him the cup…
Maybe Mr. Su was just a kind person.
"Oh, I see." Brother Li nodded sagely—then immediately followed up, "Bro, the boss won’t dock my pay, will he?"
"Didn’t you say Kunlun is a proper, well-run company…?"
"In principle, yes." Brother Li’s expression turned world-weary. "But sometimes, the boss gets to redefine 'principle.'"
Chao Musheng was speechless.
So after all that, Brother Li still didn’t believe him.
During the lunch break, Brother Li considerately adjusted Chao Musheng’s recliner. "Here you go, dear Chao. Try it out—is the angle comfortable?"
"Little Li, adjust my seat too," his senior teased, cradling his water cup. "Or I’ll make your life miserable—assigning you the entire team’s workload."
"Little Li, us too!"
The others chimed in, the topic of the boss now dropped—though they’d unanimously stamped Chao Musheng with the label of "well-connected."
Talented, likable, highly educated, and with powerful connections—was such a colleague a rival?
No. He was a treasure on their path forward.
After his nap, Chao Musheng glanced at the thermos on his desk, recalling Mr. Su’s reminder to hydrate. He filled it with water, returned to his workstation, and booted up his computer.
Back to work.
Downstairs in customer service, Ze was getting chewed out—though the scolding lasted barely two minutes before his supervisor was called away by a phone call.
Ze patted the now-empty biscuit tin. Those two points of luck had come in handy. Yesterday, the lecture would’ve dragged on for an hour.
"Four more hours till clock-out," he checked the time, praying his supervisor wouldn’t return before then.
Whether it was his wishful thinking or sheer luck, the team leader stayed absent until the end of the workday.
As he and Xiaojuan headed downstairs, they heard what sounded like a woman sobbing and a man’s furious shouts outside the company entrance.
Exchanging a glance, they quickened their pace.
At the gates, they found an elderly couple wailing on the ground, surrounded by a crowd filming on their phones.
Their team leader and a few unfamiliar men and women had formed a protective barrier around a young woman in a professional suit, trying to reason with the two elders.
The young woman behind them stood rigid, her face stormy and silent.
"How have your mother and I ever harmed you?" The old man scrambled to his feet, his flushed face twisted with rage. "A father disciplining his daughter is only natural. Stay out of this!"
Amid the clamor, Ze finally understood what was going on. The elderly couple wanted their daughter to return to their hometown, claiming that she had been working away for too long without coming back. Rumors in the village suggested she was mingling with unsavory characters.
"This side quest setup is just ridiculous," Ze muttered under his breath. "Working at Kunlun, a company this prestigious—how could that be shameful? And what kind of parents make a scene at their daughter’s workplace?"
"Not ridiculous at all," Xiaojuan said, eyeing the wailing old couple with disgust. "Novels and TV dramas have to follow logic. In real life, some people do things that are beyond comprehension—or tolerance."
She pushed Ze aside and strode toward the hysterical elders.
"Xiaojuan, what are you doing?" Ze quickly grabbed her arm. "Stay out of this. Those two old geezers just turned from yellow to red—they’re hostile now."
Xiaojuan shoved him off again. "I know."
What do you even know?
Ze stared at his empty hand. Why was Xiaojuan harder to hold back than a New Year’s pig?
"You think she’s embarrassing? Look at yourselves, making a scene right at the company entrance!" Xiaojuan pointed across the street. "If you love crying and screaming so much, go to the back alleys over there. The night market’s packed—maybe someone will toss you a tip for the performance."
"And who the hell are you, you little brat?" The old woman instantly sprang up from the ground, jabbing a finger at Xiaojuan’s face. "No respect for your elders? Did your parents teach you nothing?" A torrent of curses followed, laced with vulgarities and wishes for dead parents.
"Exactly! My parents were just like you, so I do have no manners." Xiaojuan didn’t flinch at the insults. Instead, she grinned and nodded. "Good insults. Keep going. Louder, even. Maybe you’ll curse my parents—who were just like you—straight to hell."
The onlookers: "…"
This girl’s ruthless. A kamikaze trade?
The old man, seeing his wife fuming, raised a fist to charge at Xiaojuan—only to trip over something unseen. He crashed onto the old woman, sending her into another round of howls.
"Old fool, can’t even walk straight and still trying to bully a girl?" Xiaojuan crossed her arms. "Lay one finger on me, and I’ll call the cops. Tell them you tried to assault me because I’m ‘too pretty.’ Let’s see how proud your village is of you then."
"You little bitch!" The old woman scrambled up, ready to lunge—when another voice cut through the crowd.
"Wow, an old man harassing a girl, and the old lady joins in instead of scolding him? Now that’s headline material!"
Chao Musheng squeezed through the crowd, looking utterly entertained. He found a spot and squatted down. "Don’t mind me. Keep going. I’ve loved watching drama since I was a kid."
The old couple turned to glare. What the hell? This wasn’t some village opera.
"Why’re you all staring?" Chao Musheng blinked innocently. "Keep fighting. I’m not interrupting."
The old man’s fists clenched. This punk’s attitude was even more infuriating than the damn girl’s.
"The boss is here!"
The crowd parted as Su Chenzhu appeared at the top of the steps. His gaze swept over the elderly couple with the indifference of someone observing ants on the sidewalk.
The two, who had been wailing moments ago, fell dead silent.
Xiaojuan activated her skill to assess the man on the steps—clearly someone of high status. The instant she looked, her eyes burned as if about to explode, her mind flooded with a deafening roar. She clutched her head, frozen in place.
Unreadable. Unbearable to even look at. This was the most terrifying entity in the entire scenario.
For the first time, Xiaojuan smelled death. She gritted her teeth, refusing to let anyone see her fear or the tremors wracking her body.
"Boss, I’m sorry." Sister Jia, who hadn’t flinched at her parents’ abuse, now looked flustered. "I didn’t expect my personal matters to reach you."
"Sir, Madam." A legal department employee stepped forward, all smiles, helping the elders up and even fetching chairs for them.
"Now this is proper treatment." The old man huffed, accepting a glass of water. "At least the big boss knows how things should be done."
He shot a glare at Chao Musheng, still squatting nearby. Unlike this little bastard, who not only watched but had the audacity to plant himself front and center.
Chao Musheng cupped his cheeks and beamed back.
The old man turned away, refusing to spare him another glance.
"Sir, take a look at last month’s financial report." The legal employee handed the old man a document. "Rest assured, our company operates within the law. We’d never falsify records."
The old man was lost. What did this have to do with him?
"Given the disturbance you caused at our entrance, negative rumors are already spreading online. This has caused significant financial damage." The legal employee’s smile never wavered. "Regarding compensation, we’ll let the courts decide. Does that sound fair?"
The couple understood nothing—except the key word: pay up.
"You—!" The old woman started to curse, but the legal employee cut her off. "Under public security laws, verbal harassment can lead to fines or even detention. You’re respected figures in your village, no? Imagine if word got out you’re lawbreakers. How would you hold your heads high then?"
"We don’t understand any of this! We just came to talk to our daughter, not cause trouble!" The old man grabbed his wife’s arm, pointing at Sister Jia. "If you want money, take it from her!"
He rambled excuses—too old, never went to school—before dragging his wife through the crowd.
Watching their surprisingly spry retreat, Chao Musheng stood. "Leaving already? Shouldn’t you keep the show going?"
The old couple stumbled but didn’t look back, speeding up their escape.
[Ding! Daily Quest: Help the Crying Elders—Failed. 50 points deducted.]
Xiaojuan wiped cold sweat from her brow and scoffed at the system’s announcement.
50 points? Whatever. I’m not scared.
With the boss present, the crowd dispersed quickly. Only Chao Musheng hesitated, concerned for Sister Jia, and stayed behind.
"Boss, I’ll submit my resignation to HR." Sister Jia had regained her composure. "I apologize for the negative impact on the company."
"Those were just scare tactics. There’s no real damage," the legal employee reassured her. "Netizens aren’t fools—they know loud doesn’t mean right."
"Don’t overthink it. Take a paid day off," Su Chenzhu said calmly. "Return to work the day after."
"But the new game’s about to launch. I can’t afford time off now." Sister Jia shook her head. "Boss, I’d like to save my leave for after the release."
Her dedication wouldn’t allow a break at such a critical time.
"Fine." Su Chenzhu nodded. "I’ll approve two extra days for you then."
"Thank you, boss." Sister Jia wiped her face. "Boss, I’ll head back to the office first."
"It’s already off-duty hours." Su Chenzhu glanced at his wristwatch. "Go rest."
"Yes." Sister Jia’s expression softened slightly as she lowered her head in gratitude.
"Sister Jia, wait for me." Chao Musheng moved closer to her. "We’re going the same way—let’s head back together."
"Alright, wait for me to get the car from the garage." Sister Jia forced a smile at Chao Musheng.
"I’ll go with you." Chao Musheng waved at Ze and Xiaojuan. "They’re interns at the company, living in the Happiness Complex across from us. Should we give them a ride too?"
Sister Jia immediately recognized Xiaojuan as the girl who had stood up for her earlier and smiled at her. "Come on, the more the merrier."
Xiaojuan’s vision was still blurry, her chest so heavy she could barely breathe, but she didn’t dare show any sign of discomfort—nor did she dare look at the terrifying presence standing on the steps. Only when she heard Chao Musheng’s voice did her sight gradually return, and the roaring in her mind quieted for a brief moment.
"Xiaojuan, we’ve got a free ride—let’s go!" Ze glanced at the well-dressed men and women on the steps. Hah, all neutral yellow NPCs—they were perfectly safe!
"Mr. Su, I’m off work now." Chao Musheng didn’t forget to bid farewell to Su Chenzhu on the steps. He waved. "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow." Su Chenzhu’s lips curved slightly as he stood there, watching him leave.
The legal department employees turned to look at the executives from the president’s office. Why wasn’t the boss leaving? Did he like the view here?
The president’s office staff wore inscrutable expressions. Don’t ask—the boss has his own reasons.
"Sister Jia, let me drive." Chao Musheng spoke up as she reached for the car door. "It’s been a while since I’ve driven—give me a chance to practice."
Sister Jia chuckled, her previously pale complexion now regaining some color. She tossed the keys to Chao Musheng. "Don’t worry, I’m fine."
She walked to the back and sat with Xiaojuan, while Ze naturally took the front passenger seat.
"Thank you for earlier." Sister Jia expressed her gratitude to Xiaojuan. "I’m sorry you got dragged into the scolding because of me."
"It’s fine. My parents aren’t exactly model citizens—they can say whatever they want." Xiaojuan’s vision had mostly recovered. She studied the golden-tier NPC before her, while the two elderly people who had given her trouble earlier were just ordinary white-green NPCs.
Ignorant and foolish, yet they still tried to control someone’s entire life under the guise of blood ties.
This was how the game world worked—and reality wasn’t much different.
The only distinction was that the NPCs in this world had clearer minds than the judgmental bystanders in reality, not all of them eager to stand on moral high ground and condemn their children’s so-called faults.
"Your boss is pretty great, though," Ze remarked. "He actually stepped in to help an employee with their problems."
Xiaojuan rubbed her temples, trying to ease the throbbing in her head. She stared at the back of Ze’s head—his very existence seemed to radiate idiocy—and took a deep breath.
Yeah, just great. The kind of great that could end your life in the blink of an eye.
"Kunlun is known as one of the most employee-friendly companies in the industry," Sister Jia said, her spirits lifting. Remembering that the two were still interns, she added, "If you two work hard during your probation, you might get promoted before it ends. Kunlun offers top-tier salaries and benefits in the industry."
Chao Musheng nodded. "Mr. Su really is a good person."
"Brother Chao, do you know the company’s big boss?" Ze asked, recalling how Chao Musheng had bid farewell to the CEO earlier.
Sister Jia fell silent in the backseat. Even if someone was curious about such things, most wouldn’t just blurt it out. This was her first time meeting someone so… unfiltered.
Xiaojuan closed her eyes, pretending she wasn’t that close to Ze—lest Sister Jia associate her intelligence level with his.
"We’ve met a few times." Chao Musheng started the car, his driving smooth and steady, nothing like someone who hadn’t driven in a while. "Mr. Su is a gentle and considerate person."
Hearing this, Sister Jia thought of the boss’s usual expression—one that rarely revealed any emotion.
Ah, so the boss was actually that kind-hearted?
As the car left the garage, Chao Musheng observed Sister Jia and Xiaojuan’s expressions in the rearview mirror. "Since we’re off work so early, how about grabbing something to eat before heading back? A friend of mine runs a barbecue stall at the night market—his skills are unmatched. If you don’t have other plans, I’ll treat you all to try his food."
"Sure—" Ze began nodding, then cut himself off and turned to Xiaojuan. "I’ll go with whatever Xiaojuan decides."
Xiaojuan sighed in resignation, too drained to speak.
In the end, the three of them followed Chao Musheng to the bustling night market.
Xiaojuan stared at the stall owner in the distance, expertly flipping meat amid the smoke and flames, and felt a strange sense of déjà vu. "I feel like I’ve seen this guy before."
Damn it. She pressed a hand to her aching eyes—her vision was still messed up.
Why did this game-world barbecue vendor look like that infamous freeloader from the Infinite Space, the one with the harem protagonist halo?
But that guy was already dead.
