Inside the general manager’s office, a middle-aged man squeezed into a large executive chair lowered his voice as he tried to persuade him.
“Team Leader Yu, Qinghai Yundi is really a great project. Sure, the client has a lot of requirements, but isn’t that a good thing? You designers won’t even have to think too hard! You know how bad the market is right now—the whole industry is sluggish. For a project like this to come to you, you should cherish it.”
Across the desk, a slender young man leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, a tablet resting on his raised knee. With a flick of his fingers, he zoomed out on the image, made two quick strokes with his stylus, and didn’t even bother to look up.
“Seven hundred per square meter. Anything less, I’m not taking it. I’m not short on work.”
No matter how tolerant Qian Yuanxin might appear, he couldn’t stand such arrogance and stubbornness from a subordinate—especially since he wasn’t truly a patient man to begin with.
His breathing grew heavier, but he forced out the last bit of patience he had. “I’ve told you before, this client is a friend of mine. It’ll be very beneficial to the company’s development—”
Click. The stylus snapped back into its slot. The young man looked up, revealing an expressionless, cold face.
“That’s your business. Don’t use my design fee as a favor. Fifty-one per square meter—who are you trying to fool?” He glanced at the watch on his left wrist, his tone just as lifeless.“President Qian, it’s already off work hours. If you’re keeping me, you’ll need to pay overtime… Speaking of which, when are you settling last quarter’s overtime pay? Or are you leaving it for the next boss after you step down?”
“You—!” Qian Yuanxin finally lost his temper. He slammed the desk, the flesh on his face trembling. “Yu Sibai! Don’t think just because you’re number one in performance the company won’t fire you!”
Yu Sibai paused for a moment, then closed his tablet and stood up.
“Have the N+1 severance ready. I can hand over my work next week.”
Qian Yuanxin choked on his anger, grabbed a crumpled document, and hurled it at him—only for Yu Sibai to casually block it with his tablet. It fell right back onto the desk.
“Get out! Get out! Don’t even bother coming to the meeting later!”
As if he hadn’t heard a thing, Yu Sibai turned and walked straight out, not even closing the door for his superior. The corner of his lips lifted slightly.
He hadn’t received any meeting notice beforehand, so this was probably another one of President Qian’s last-minute “meetings” before the end of the workday—long, tedious, and unbearable. He was more than happy to skip it.
His steps grew lighter. He took out his earphones and put them on, and instantly, the sound of a live esports broadcast filled his ears.
“Congratulations to ICG for winning the CN region’s first stage regular season championship! As the number one seed, they will head to the Newfoundland Masters! Ten years of honing a blade—this is where their rise begins!”
His steps faltered for just a fraction of a second—then he sped up immediately.
…Ahhh, it’s already over?! Qian Yuanxin! You owe me this stream!!
“President Qian is busy right now. You may need to wait a moment…”
Voices drifted from the elevator area. As Yu Sibai approached, he saw two people already standing inside.
Facing him was a long-faced young man with high cheekbones—Secretary Zhao, Qian Yuanxin’s most loyal lackey. He wore a fawning smile as he looked at the man opposite him.
That man had his back to Yu Sibai. He was tall, dressed in a well-tailored dark gray trench coat. Even from behind, he looked refined and elegant.
“Mm, I’m not in a hurry,” the man said. His voice was gentle and patient, carrying a faint smile.
Such a good temper?
Yu Sibai raised an eyebrow, then withdrew his gaze before Secretary Zhao could notice. Without a second thought, he slipped away into the emergency stairwell.
In horror games, protagonists with too much curiosity who casually talk to NPCs tend to trigger instant death flags.
The moment the stairwell door closed, Yu Sibai pulled out his phone.
The stream had already reached the post-match interview stage. Although he’d missed the championship moment, fortunately, a familiar face was on stage.
Standing in the center, wearing a jersey labeled pupu, was his good friend Pu Pu—a baby-faced guy now crying like he’d just been pulled out of the water.
“We are! The champions!!” he shouted through sobs.
“—We are champions!” Yu Sibai clenched his fist, echoing him silently.
With no one around to see, the usually cold and composed Yu Sibai jumped in place twice in excitement.
If he hadn’t been holding his tablet, he’d probably be throwing punches in the air.
Through the earphones, pupu rambled through his thank-yous. Yu Sibai headed downstairs, watching his steps while also thinking about sneaking in time later to replay the winning moment.
“…And I also want to thank my good brother, res—our big streamer Respit2!”
Yu Sibai: !
His lips curled upward, his posture straightening slightly as he focused on the audio.
Pupu spoke with genuine emotion. “You all know res is busy with work, but he still stays up late to talk strategy with me, helps me adjust my mindset, even does data analysis for me… I’m really, really grateful to him.”
Yu Sibai’s eyes curved into a smile. He let out a soft, proud hum and quickly opened pupu’s stream on his phone, sending a flashy, high-effect gift.
Money is meant to be spent!
In his ear, the host Xiao He asked, “So what is player pupu’s championship wish?”
Sniffling, pupu replied, “I promised res before—if we really won, I’d give him a chance to confess his love for ‘Card God’ in front of the whole world. Re-bao! Time for me to repay you! I’m calling him right now—”
Huh… huh?!
Yu Sibai stumbled. Realizing what was happening, he quickly pocketed his phone, hugged his tablet, and hurried down the stairs, rushing straight to the break room.
With the acoustics in this stairwell, if he dared answer the call here, the entire building would know tomorrow that he was the streamer Respit2.
The moment he stepped out, his phone vibrated—pupu was calling.
His heart pounded as he answered. The noise of the venue flooded in, and for a moment, it felt like he was right there, immersed in the celebration.
“Re-bao—!”
Lowering his voice, Yu Sibai said, “Give me ten seconds—I’m at work.” Then he immediately muted himself.
A few seconds later, he heard his own voice echo from the stream: “Give me ten seconds—I’m at work.”
He glanced at the chat.
[Holy crap whose voice is that?? Handsome guy who are you?][Res has THIS kind of cool, rich voice??][Where’s my sarcastic little office worker??][‘At work’ LMAOOOO][I can’t, the streamer’s office-worker persona never collapses!]
Yu Sibai trembled with frustration.
What’s wrong with being at work?! It’s 5:30! Are you all already off work?! What’s so funny?!
Clenching his fists, he turned the corner—and saw people in the break room.
Before he could decide whether to leave, the three chatting employees spotted him and scattered instantly without even greeting him.
As he passed, he claimed the now-empty break room. Behind him, whispers followed.
“Damn, Team Leader Yu’s killing intent is intense…”“Isn’t their whole team like that? Too much overtime.”“He just got called in by President Qian again, right? Makes sense.”“When is the new boss coming? I can’t stand Qian anymore.”“Any day now… but what if the new boss is even worse?”
Yu Sibai shut the glass door, waited a couple of seconds to make sure they were gone, then slipped to the back, cleared his throat, and quietly spoke.
“Hey, pupu? Congrats on the win!”
His tone was brighter now, almost like a cheerful college student—nothing like the sharp-tongued Respit2 online, nor the cold-faced office worker in reality.
On the other end, pupu grinned widely. “We won! Did you see my last shot? Was it awesome?!”
“…No,” Yu Sibai admitted. “I just got out of my boss’s office.”
He could already imagine the chat.
Darkness.
“Ah, okay!” Pupu, who had never worked a day in his life, couldn’t relate at all.
“Thank you, re-bao! This championship belongs to you too! My wish is fulfilled, so I’m giving this chance to you!”
The host leaned in. “So what is res’s championship wish?”
From the background, Yu Sibai could faintly hear the audience shouting things like “Card God!” “Let him meet his husband!”—utterly shameless.
Flushed but smiling, he lowered his voice.
“Th-then I wish my idol Execut2 could attend the celebration banquet. I want to meet him—and get his autograph!”
Pupu burst out laughing. “Haha! I knew it—our famous Execut2 fanboy streamer!”
The host added playfully, “Hope your wish comes true! After all, Card God hasn’t appeared in public for a long time.”
The call ended shortly after. The lively noise vanished, leaving only silence.
After a while, Yu Sibai rubbed his stiff cheeks.
It felt like waking from a vivid dream—only to open his eyes to a low, white ceiling.
Dull. Repetitive.
Work. Overtime. Sleep… forget it.
Yawning, exhaustion from staying up late finally caught up to him. His eyes reddened, and when he took off his glasses and rubbed them, his hands came away damp with tears.
He propped his phone up and searched for “ICG championship moment.”
The dim yellow lights of the break room faded into the background, leaving the bright screen as the only source of light, reflecting in his tired yet shining eyes.
Rip. He tore open a packet of instant coffee, poured it, added water, screwed the lid tight—his precise movements almost like conducting an experiment.
Then he took a deep breath and started shaking the cup vigorously.
Moments later, in the video, pupu’s final headshot ended the match, and the crowd erupted.
With a soft pop, Yu Sibai twisted open the lid. The rich aroma of coffee filled the air.
A working man’s version of popping champagne!
In the mirror, he was smiling widely, dimples showing, looking almost foolishly happy—completely different from the cold, expressionless Team Leader Yu.
That kind of unguarded, soft-hearted brightness made it obvious he was easy to coax—like someone who could be talked into writing extra reports every week.
He patted his cheeks, smoothing away the dimples.
Happiness aside, it wouldn’t be good if colleagues saw.
Without the dimples, he looked naturally cold again—even his smile seemed like a smirk.
Just like his idol. Heh.
So really, he hadn’t meant to scare those three earlier…
“Ahem.”
A sudden cough behind him made him jump. He turned sharply—and froze.
The glass door had been pushed open at some point. A tall man in a dark gray trench coat stood there, hand on the handle. His sharp features, neat black hair—and that face—
Yu Sibai’s mind went blank.
M-my idol…?
Sure, championship wishes could come true, but wasn’t this a bit too instant?!
He felt like he was dreaming, like he was standing on clouds.
He instinctively tried to smile.
The man glanced at his phone and raised an eyebrow slightly.
Yu Sibai nearly dropped his coffee. “Y-you…”
The man’s gaze fell on the faint tear tracks on his face. He paused, then smiled—though it felt unfamiliar.
“Sorry, did I startle you?” His voice was gentle, apologetic.
But the moment he smiled, the illusion shattered.
…No, no. What idol? He must be delirious from excitement.
That perfectly practiced corporate smile completely ruined a face that looked seventy percent like his cold, aloof idol!
When he looked again, the resemblance vanished.
Realizing his mistake, Yu Sibai’s expression turned cold. “It’s fine.”
The smiling fox-like man didn’t seem bothered. Leaning casually against the counter, he asked, “Playing games here… aren’t you afraid your boss will catch you?”
My idol would never strike up conversations with strangers, Yu Sibai thought.
“If you don’t tell, he won’t know.” He pocketed his phone, frowning slightly. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”
The man’s smile deepened.
Before he could reply, hurried footsteps approached outside.
“President Ji, so you’re here!”
…Ji what?
Yu Sibai’s face went blank for a second.
Then he heard a soft laugh.
The man before him, still smiling elegantly, somehow gave off the feeling of a fox locking onto its prey.
“First time meeting you. Ji Wenze. ‘Wenze’ as in ‘to welcome criticism with joy.’ Starting today, I’ll be serving as general manager.”
Before Yu Sibai could respond, Ji Wenze glanced at his badge and read it aloud with a smile.
“Design Team One… Team Leader Yu Sibai. Ah—come to think of it, I didn’t see you at the meeting just now.”