April 8th, Clear.
Ying Miaomiao’s mood went from clear, to cloudy, then clear again.
She minded very much, and she was very happy.
The sun was bright, and combined with the light rain that had fallen last night, the leaves downstairs in the complex seemed to have fully unfurled. Ying Miaomiao stayed inside her cat carrier, and her nose could still catch a scent of the fresh post-rain air.
Her tail remained held high until she got into the car and arrived at the company.
Shi Xinyu was wearing a white shirt and slacks today, a very common combination, but the button at her neckline was undone. Her curly hair cascaded down, and long, delicate silver earrings hung down to her neck.
Her neck was bare, slender and long, and the slight sway of the earrings hanging from her lobes made Ying Miaomiao’s paws itch.
But as soon as she arrived at the office, Ying Miaomiao sensed something was off.
Everyone seemed unusually quiet today.
Yesterday at this time, when Shi Xinyu arrived, people were still daring enough to ask her about the little cat.
Clearly, the greenery was still lush, and the sun was still bright.
It wasn’t until she walked into the open office area that Ying Miaomiao realised what was wrong.
The logistics team had been truly effective yesterday, working through the night to install an extra workstation near Shi Xinyu’s office. It was fully equipped and similar to those of the other employees, except that the green plant on the desk seemed to have been replaced by a rose by its owner.
The rose was brightly coloured, red like a cloud-tinged sky, and, like the lips of the “connected person,” it was a passionate, glaring, and aggressive red.
She plucked the rose and rose to hand it to Shi Xinyu.
It was then that Ying Miaomiao noticed their heights were similar. Standing together, they resembled a red rose and a wild rose.
Equally dazzling.
Shi Xinyu didn’t take the rose; instead, she glanced sideways at her. “Since you’re here, work seriously.”
“Tsk.”
She clicked her tongue lightly, and her fingertip, adorned with a red manicure, pointed to her employee badge: “My name, familiarise yourself with it.”
Ying Miaomiao clearly saw that her name was Lü Jiaoyang. The water-diamond on her fingertip shimmered with the light, as dazzling and sharp as its owner.
Shi Xinyu paused. She didn’t say much about such a blatantly flirtatious gesture, only tacitly accepted the action.
“Come to my office at nine.”
Ying Miaomiao was let out as usual. Shi Xinyu stood by the window, the bright golden sunlight casting a golden edge on her face. Her facial lines were smooth and sharp, like a newly unsheathed blade.
But her eyes were slightly lowered, her slender phoenix eyes looked like a deep, bottomless, and almost dried-up spring.
She wore that inexplicable expression again.
As Ying Miaomiao was jumping onto the sofa, the office door was abruptly pushed open.
Lü Jiaoyang’s steps were composed and unhurried.
She walked straight to the sofa and sat down, only a quarter of the sofa-length away from Ying Miaomiao.
“Shi Xinyu, has your life been unsatisfactory lately? Why the long face?”
Shi Xinyu turned her head. Seeing Lü Jiaoyang’s manner, she frowned slightly but didn’t retort: “It’s better than you being a stray dog. Since you’re here, study well.”
Lü Jiaoyang lazily acknowledged, her gaze completely captivated by Ying Miaomiao, who was also sitting on the sofa.
The little cat looked quite a bit larger lately. Because of its long fur, it appeared sturdier than its actual size.
Its long fur was sleek, its ears stood up, and a pair of deep sapphire-blue eyes were currently watching her askance, just like its owner.
Lü Jiaoyang ‘tsked’ again. She reached out to pet the cat’s head, but Ying Miaomiao deftly dodged her.
She rolled her eyes, her previous red-rose aura completely gone. “Why is your cat just like you? Neither of you likes to be touched.”
Before she could finish speaking, Ying Miaomiao nestled against Shi Xinyu, slightly messing up its soft long fur. The pale, elegant hands picked up the little cat, moving it away from Lü Jiaoyang on the sofa.
“Stop distracting me, let’s talk business.”
Shi Xinyu paused, then continued: “Is your purpose for coming here to slack off or to learn something? Lü Jiaoyang, fix your attitude. If you’re only here to mess around, leave immediately.”
Lü Jiaoyang put away the smile on her face. She looked up, her eyes like inorganic glass spheres, clear yet chillingly cold.
“Since I’ve come, of course, I have a goal. Shi Xinyu, Shi Xinyu, why are you still like this toward me? Such a difficult person.”
She sneered, stood up, and left the office. Before opening the door, she turned her head, the smile returning: “Remember to get someone to show me the ropes. After all, I am—the connected person.”
Shi Xinyu lowered her eyes and gently placed the little cat back on the sofa. Difficult?
She supposed she really was like that.
Ying Miaomiao stood on the sofa, her sapphire-blue eyes seemingly spelling out a few large characters: “Left eye: Doubt,” “Right eye: Puzzlement.”
What was Lü Jiaoyang’s background?
Was their relationship a bit too intimate!
Ying Miaomiao suddenly felt her teeth itch, but she dared not chew on Shi Xinyu’s trouser leg again. She could only viciously eat a few mouthfuls of her cat food.
She couldn’t guess the exact nature of Lü Jiaoyang’s “connections.” She only knew that Lü Jiaoyang’s background seemed very strong, and she was extremely familiar with Shi Xinyu—familiar enough to poke at each other’s scars.
And what was her own status in this?
Outside the office.
Lü Jiaoyang received several files in quick succession.
The sender showed “Department,” immediately followed by a message from Shi Xinyu.
“Three days. Go through it thoroughly. I will conduct random checks.”
Lü Jiaoyang swore under her breath. She looked incredulously at the tightly shut office door, and seeing no movement, she cursed again under her breath and resignedly opened the files.
It wasn’t until near lunchtime that the entire office area erupted.
Ying Miaomiao was startled by the abrupt noise, her eyes wide with confusion.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long. Someone immediately knocked on Shi Xinyu’s office door. Their steps were hurried, and after being granted permission, they rushed in impatiently, clearly overly excited. Their cheeks were flushed, and their speech was incoherent: “Ms. Shi! Our game is a hit! It’s because of Sister Miaomiao! We’re really popular!”
Ying Miaomiao’s eyes widened.
The illustration she drew the night before was officially released, reaching over a million clicks within twenty-four hours, and game downloads surged. And this was just the beginning.
The potential commercial value was far beyond this.
The confusion in her eyes was gone, replaced only by excitement.
They succeeded!
Ying Miaomiao’s mind was blank. How long and how far had they travelled for this dream?
…
When she first joined the company, it wasn’t the size it is now, but the salary and benefits were good. Combined with Shi Xinyu, an excellent alumna, recruiting from the school, Ying Miaomiao chose this job somewhat by chance.
In fact, Ying Miaomiao was initially puzzled as to why Shi Xinyu, who studied finance, would invest in and found a company focused on game development.
The company was small, but the benefits were good.
After joining, she discovered that Shi Xinyu was not her direct superior. Although she was the division head, she never arbitrarily interfered in fields she wasn’t familiar with.
However, due to budget constraints, their office areas were not separated, and Ying Miaomiao often saw Shi Xinyu calling people into her office.
They would go in with one expression and come out with another.
It was not without reason that Ying Miaomiao’s attitude towards Shi Xinyu shifted from admiration to fear.
Until one day, Shi Xinyu called a thin, weak-looking girl from her team into the office.
Not long after, the girl resigned.
The game content continued to progress. As she understood more, Ying Miaomiao found herself falling in love with the game’s core concept.
The game was an open-world exploration type, rich in story while offering a high degree of freedom. It mainly told the story of a girl who travels to a different world and gradually builds her own kingdom.
The game content was not boring, but for some reason, perhaps due to the target audience, the game had always been mediocre.
Until Ying Miaomiao suddenly thought of a character silhouette.
She would be afraid, she would hesitate, she would fail.
But she never feared any enemy, she wasn’t afraid of failure, wasn’t afraid of hesitation; in fact, she conquered fear itself.
—To the protagonist.
The illustration had no explicit pointer.
The scorched earth was cracked inch by inch. In the dark-toned desolation, hope was walking. The withered tree was twisted, yet a few new sprouts were emerging at its very top.
Where the sunlight shone, was her destination.
Ying Miaomiao was a little overly excited, and her tail once again puffed up like a dandelion. Upon hearing the good news, Shi Xinyu finally revealed a genuine smile.
She calmed her colleague’s emotions and was the first to step out of the office.
The area outside the office was chaotic, but for once, Shi Xinyu only cleared her throat. She raised her hand to signal for silence.
“I know everyone is very excited, but we should celebrate in a different setting. Those willing to attend the team building tonight, please sign up in the group chat—it’s my treat.”
As soon as those last three words were spoken, the office area erupted in cheers once more.
Lü Jiaoyang sat at her workstation, supporting her head with her hand, a formulaic smile still on her lips.
This was rather interesting.
It wasn’t until Shi Xinyu turned her head and their eyes met that Lü Jiaoyang suddenly had an ominous feeling.
“Lü Jiaoyang, you’re good at this kind of thing. Why don’t you organise this party?”
Lü Jiaoyang lazily agreed, without objecting.
…
Many people signed up in the group chat. Aside from colleagues on long-distance leave, almost everyone who could attend went.
Originally, Shi Xinyu didn’t want to go and spoil the fun, but besides Lü Jiaoyang, other colleagues enthusiastically invited her, and Ying Miaomiao was in a state of continuous excitement.
Whenever Shi Xinyu had a thought of not going, Ying Miaomiao would interrupt with a meow-meow-meow. Coupled with the tacit cooperation of the others, Shi Xinyu ultimately could not resist the popular choice.
Lü Jiaoyang was clearly an expert at livening up the atmosphere. Although she wasn’t familiar with her colleagues, she was good-looking and a fun-loving person.
They were all young people, and they quickly became much more familiar with each other.
Until after a few rounds of drinks.
Shi Xinyu and the little cat, who insisted on coming, sat in a chair, soaking in the lively atmosphere. Ying Miaomiao’s eyes were shining brightly. She was sitting on Shi Xinyu’s lap, just barely able to see the table.
But the drunkards decided to “contaminate the last pure land” in this place. Lou Jia, with tears and snot, held a wine glass and stepped forward, crying out with a ‘wah’.
“Ms. Shi… without you, we wouldn’t have succeeded!”
With that, she downed the fruit wine in her glass.
Zhong Ying, standing beside her, pulled her, looking a little embarrassed. “She’s a one-cup wonder.”
But a drunk person pays no attention to explanations. She cried out again with a ‘wah’, lamenting towards Shi Xinyu: “And the biggest hero—Miaomiao! Is she going to abandon all of us—”