Chapter 30

Uh Oh

Under the combined weight of his colleagues' stares, Chao Musheng's scalp crawled. He cleared his throat and met Mr. Xu's eyes with perfect composure.

The senior spoke first. "Sir — we have some work to run by Team Two next door."

"You've all been working hard." Mr. Xu nodded. "Go ahead."

Chao Musheng watched his colleagues leave with barely-concealed urgency, and felt a mild exasperation he couldn't express. Team Two's people were still in the canteen. Who exactly were they going to consult?

"I found a thermos on the desk. I thought it might be yours." Mr. Xu held it out. "Here."

"Thank you — I've been wondering what felt missing from my desk." Chao Musheng took it. The thermos was spotless, gleaming. Had he washed it for him?

"You're different from the other employees — you're here to learn, not as a regular hire. You don't have to call me sir." Mr. Xu looked at Chao Musheng's hands where they held the thermos. "Call me Mr. Xu, the way you did before."

He seemed to worry this might be misread, and added: "Of course — if you decide to join Kunlun after graduation, the honor would be mine."

Chao Musheng smiled and made the adjustment. "Mr. Xu — I've collected a bonus from you and I'm receiving an internship stipend from the company. Wouldn't it be a little rude not to call you sir?"

"What you've contributed to the technical team already far exceeds the value of any stipend." Mr. Xu looked at him, and paused. "You could also call me by my name. It's Xu Chenzhu."

The name had a quality to it — the weight of something that had settled over a very long time. If Mr. Xu weren't wearing a modern suit, Chao Musheng might almost have believed he was from another era entirely.

Wait — has his tie clip changed? This morning it was a blue stone. Now it looks red.

Looking more carefully, Chao Musheng realized it wasn't just the clip — the shirt and tie were different too, and there was a pair of white gloves on his hands that hadn't been there before.

Top-tier wealth really was a different world. Even wardrobe changes happened more frequently than for ordinary people.

"Rest properly at lunch. And drink more water." Mr. Xu glanced at the thermos again. "If you didn't notice the cup was gone, I suspect you forgot to drink too."

"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Xu. I'll remember." He'd had an enormous milk tea from Sister Jia's order this morning. Water had genuinely not crossed his mind.

Mr. Xu was younger than his father, but the way he reminded people to drink water was uncannily similar.

"Good." Mr. Xu's tone was gentle. "Go rest."

"You take care of yourself too. Kunlun needs you." Chao Musheng stepped forward and pressed the button for the executive elevator. "After you, Mr. Xu."

Mr. Xu looked at him standing at the elevator doors and walked in.

The doors were nearly closed when he caught a last glimpse of Chao Musheng's back — already moving away, step lively.

Xu Chenzhu stood looking at the elevator buttons for a moment. He removed the gloves and pressed his floor.

*

"You were out, sir?" Secretary Liu came in holding a coffee, catching his employer returning from somewhere. "There's an overseas partnership that's nearly finalized. Will you be going personally to sign?"

"Have the general manager handle it." Xu Chenzhu dropped the gloves in the bin, undid his cufflinks, and turned back his sleeves slightly. "For the next month — unless it's something that absolutely requires me, route everything to the department managers."

"Understood." Secretary Liu allowed himself a quick, covert glance at the gloves in the bin. White gloves in this heat?

*

The CEO had barely left before a row of heads appeared around the Team Two office door, eyes bright with the particular hunger of people who wanted answers.

"Don't ask me, I don't know, I have nothing to say."

Chao Musheng turned to leave. Brother Li hooked an arm around his neck. "Xiao Chao — I've been good to you since you arrived, haven't I? In the less-than-two-days that you've been here?"

"You've all been very good to me." He slipped out from under the arm. "I genuinely don't know Mr. Xu well. We happened to run into each other on the terrace this morning and talked for a few minutes."

His colleagues were skeptical. They began reviewing, privately, whether they had been sufficiently attentive to Xiao Chao.

They'd run into the CEO themselves in the office before. He'd never spoken to them.

Let alone personally delivered a cup. The executive suite was full of staff. What thermos, however valuable, was worth the CEO's personal trip?

Seeing they didn't believe him, Chao Musheng sighed. "We've met a total of four times. Once at the anniversary celebration, once yesterday morning, and both times today. How close could we possibly be?"

As for why Mr. Xu had personally brought the thermos down — he was probably just a kind person.

"Right, right." Brother Li nodded with the air of someone who had understood everything. Then added: "Mate — he's not going to dock my wages, is he?"

"You just said Kunlun is a legitimate company—"

"In principle, yes." Brother Li looked careworn. "But sometimes the boss gets to hold the principles."

Chao Musheng gave up.

All that effort, and Brother Li still didn't believe him.

At lunchtime, Brother Li personally adjusted the reclining chair for him. "Come on, dearest Xiao Chao — lie down and check whether the angle's right."

"Xiao Li, adjust mine too." The senior shook his thermos. "Or I'll give you a hard time and make you do the whole team's work on your own."

"Xiao Li, ours too!"

The afternoon became a general chorus, and nobody mentioned the CEO again — though a new label had been quietly attached to Chao Musheng's mental file: extensive connections.

Strong ability. Good personality. Excellent credentials. Connections everywhere. Was this a competitor?

No. This was a treasure to be protected.

*

After his nap, Chao Musheng looked at the thermos on his desk, remembered Mr. Xu's reminder about water, got up to fill it, came back, and opened his computer.

Work. Back to work.

*

Downstairs in customer service, Ah Ze was in the middle of being told off — but after barely two minutes, his supervisor was called away by a phone call.

He patted the now-empty biscuit box. Those two luck points had genuinely worked. Yesterday this would have gone on for at least an hour.

"Four more hours until I'm off." He checked the time, and hoped his supervisor wouldn't come back before then.

Whether by prayer or by luck: the supervisor didn't return.

When he and Curly Hair headed downstairs to leave, they heard a woman sobbing outside the building entrance, and a man shouting in anger.

They exchanged a glance and went to look.

Two elderly people were sitting on the ground, crying loudly. Around them, a crowd had gathered with phones raised. Their supervisor and a group of colleagues Ah Ze didn't recognize had formed a human wall around a young woman in a business suit, speaking to the crying couple with great patience.

The young woman behind them had gone very still, lips pressed together, saying nothing.

"How have we done you wrong?" The old man pulled himself off the ground, his face twisted and red. "A father looking after his daughter — that's how it should be. Mind your own business."

Through the noise, Ah Ze pieced it together: the couple wanted their daughter to come back home. She was working away from the village, and people were saying she must be living improperly with someone.

"The instance must be in a very creative mood," Ah Ze muttered. "Working at a company as big as Kunlun — how does that count as something to be ashamed of? And what kind of parents turn up at their daughter's workplace to cause a scene?"

"Not creative." Curly Hair looked at the crying, shouting couple with undisguised distaste. "Films and novels need internal logic. In real life, some people do things that are beyond comprehension and beyond acceptance."

She pushed Ah Ze aside and walked toward the commotion.

"What are you doing?" He grabbed her. "Don't get involved — they've both flipped from yellow to red. Hostile intent."

She pushed him off again. "I know."

You know?!

He stared at his empty hands. How was she harder to stop than a holiday pig at slaughter time?

"You want to talk about embarrassing?" Curly Hair pointed across the street. "Nothing is more embarrassing than making a scene at someone's place of work. If you enjoy crying and shouting so much, go around the corner to that night market — there are plenty of people there who'd enjoy watching, maybe even tip you."

"Who do you think you are, you little brat?" The old woman launched off the ground instantly, pointing at Curly Hair and unleashing a torrent that included reproductive anatomy, dead parents, and assorted other classics.

"Yes, yes, that's right — my parents are just like you, which is why I have no manners." Curly Hair absorbed the full force of this without a flinch, smiling and nodding steadily. "Keep going. Louder. Give it your best. Maybe you'll manage to curse my two parents — the ones exactly like you — right into the ground."

The crowd watching: "..."

This one plays hardball.

The old man raised his fists and lurched forward. His foot caught on something and he fell directly onto the old woman, who wailed.

"Can't even walk straight, still trying to push a girl around." Curly Hair folded her arms. "Touch me once and I'm calling the police. I'll tell them you came after me because you liked how I looked. See how that plays in the village."

"You little—" The old woman scrambled up and was about to lunge when a new voice cut through the crowd.

"Wow — old man tries to go after a young woman, old woman doesn't scold the old man, joins in to bully her instead. Big story."

Chao Musheng squeezed out from the middle of the onlookers, wearing the expression of someone who had come specifically to watch, and crouched at a clear sightline. "Keep going, don't mind me — I love a good scene. Always have."

The couple spun toward him. What was there to look at? This wasn't a village performance for their entertainment.

"Why is everyone looking at me?" Chao Musheng seemed genuinely puzzled. "Keep going. I'm not interrupting."

The old man's fists tightened. This boy's attitude was even more infuriating than the girl.

"The CEO is here."

The crowd parted. Xu Chenzhu appeared at the top of the entrance steps. His expression as he regarded the two old people was the expression of someone idly noticing ants on a path.

The couple, who had been shrieking and wailing without restraint thirty seconds ago, went absolutely silent.

Curly Hair activated her skill for one look at the man on the steps — and the pain hit her eyes immediately, her head filling with a roar like static, vision blanking out. She clapped her hands over her ears and eyes, unable to move at all.

Cannot assess. Cannot look directly. This was the most terrifying presence in the entire instance.

In that instant, Curly Hair smelled death. She locked her jaw to keep the fear and shaking from showing.

"I'm sorry, sir." Sister Jia — who hadn't flinched under her parents' insults — looked stricken. She hadn't imagined her personal situation would reach the CEO's attention. "I'll submit my resignation to HR."

"Sir, ma'am." The legal department employee approached the couple with a broad smile, had chairs produced, and helped them to sit.

"Now that's how you handle things." The old man accepted the offered water with a bluster designed to hide his nerves. "That's what a real boss looks like."

He glanced sideways at Chao Musheng, who was still crouching nearby with an attentive expression. That little swine — who crouches at the front of a crowd specifically to watch better?

Chao Musheng beamed at him with full radiance.

The old man turned his head. He had no further interest in this boy.

"Sir — here's last month's financial report." The legal employee set a document in the old man's hands. "Please be reassured: our company operates entirely within the law. We would never misrepresent our accounts."

The old man stared blankly. What did that have to do with him?

"Given the scene that has just occurred outside our premises, there is already negative commentary appearing online, which represents significant economic damage to our company." The legal employee's smile remained warm and professional. "We'll leave the question of compensation to the courts to determine. Does that work for both of you?"

Neither old person understood most of this. But they understood the key word perfectly: compensation.

"You—" The old woman jumped up, and the legal employee cut her off smoothly. "Under the public security management statutes, verbal abuse without cause exposes the abuser to both compensation liability and potential detention. You're both respected people in your village, I imagine. Would you really want people to know you'd become law-breakers?"

"I don't understand any of this — we were only trying to talk to our daughter, no trouble intended." The old man grabbed the old woman's arm and pointed at Sister Jia. "If there's compensation to pay, find her."

He muttered something about being old and uneducated, and the two of them pushed through the remaining crowd and left at speed.

Chao Musheng stood up, watching their retreating figures. "Leaving already? Don't you want to argue a little longer?"

The couple's footsteps faltered. They did not look back, and moved faster.

[Ding! Daily task: assist distressed elderly person. Failed. 50 points deducted.]

The system notification rang in Curly Hair's head. She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and said — inwardly — hm.

Fifty points. Fine. I'm not afraid.

With the CEO present, nobody was inclined to linger. The crowd dispersed quickly. Chao Musheng, a little worried about Sister Jia, hesitated, then stayed.

"I'll submit my resignation, sir. I'm sorry for the damage to the company's reputation." Sister Jia's composure had fully returned.

"Everything I said to them was to frighten them off — there's no real reputational damage." The legal employee's smile was reassuring. "The internet is smart. Crying doesn't automatically put someone in the right."

"Don't give it another thought. Take a paid rest day." Xu Chenzhu spoke calmly. "Come back the day after tomorrow."

"The new game is about to launch. I can't take time off now." Sister Jia said. "Sir — I'm requesting to defer the leave until after launch."

Her professional drive wouldn't allow a break at a moment like this.

"Alright." He nodded. "I'll approve extra days when the time comes."

"Thank you, sir." She pressed her hand briefly to her face. "I'll head back up."

"It's after hours." He glanced at his watch. "Go home."

"Yes, sir." Something shifted in her expression. She bowed her head and thanked him quietly.

"Sister Jia — wait for me." Chao Musheng fell into step beside her. "I'll walk back with you."

She almost managed a real smile. "I'm fine, really. Let me get the car from the garage."

"I'll walk down with you." He waved to Ah Ze and Curly Hair. "These two are interns — they live across the road at Xingfu Estate. Want to give them a lift too?"

Sister Jia recognized Curly Hair immediately as the girl who'd waded into the argument on her behalf. Her smile came easier this time. "The more the better."

Curly Hair's vision was still blurred, her chest still heavy, breath still short — but she kept all of it carefully off her face. She didn't dare look toward the steps. When she heard Chao Musheng's voice, her sight began to return, slowly, and the roaring in her head quieted.

"Curly, we're getting a ride!" Ah Ze looked at the suited figures on the steps — all yellow neutral, every one of them — and felt very cheerful. Completely safe!

"Mr. Xu — I'm off." Chao Musheng remembered to say goodbye to Xu Chenzhu at the top of the steps, and raised his hand. "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." Xu Chenzhu's mouth curved slightly. He stood at the top of the steps and watched him go.

The legal department people glanced at the executive suite staff. Why is the CEO just standing here? Does he particularly enjoy this view?

The executive suite staff maintained expressions of serene inscrutability. Don't worry about it. The boss has his own thoughts.

*

"Sister Jia, let me drive." Chao Musheng spoke as she reached for the car door. "I haven't driven in a while — let me get some practice."

She laughed — the color was already coming back to her face. She tossed him the keys. "I'm fine. Really."

She got in the back with Curly Hair. Ah Ze took the passenger seat without being asked.

"Thank you for earlier." Sister Jia turned to Curly Hair. "I'm sorry — you got sworn at on my account."

"It's nothing. My own parents aren't exactly good people — they can say whatever they like." Curly Hair's vision had more or less recovered. She looked at this NPC beside her — golden-level, unmistakable. The two old people who'd been screaming at her were ordinary white-green: roadside civilians.

Ignorant and cruel, using blood ties as justification to claim total control over someone else's life.

This instance. Reality too.

The only difference was that the people in this instance world were more clear-sighted than random strangers in the real world. Not everyone automatically sided with the parents and rushed to condemn the child.

"Your boss is something else, though," Ah Ze said with feeling. "Actually coming out to help an employee deal with a personal situation."

Curly Hair pressed her fingers to her temples, pushing back the lingering pain. She stared at the back of Ah Ze's head — every strand of hair radiating guilelessness — and breathed.

Yes. Really something. The kind of something that could end you with a look.

"Kunlun is famous in the industry for being a company that actually cares." Sister Jia's energy was improving visibly. She looked at the two interns. "Work hard during your placement. If you can convert to full-time before the internship ends — Kunlun's salaries and benefits are at the very top of every sector they operate in."

Chao Musheng nodded. "Mr. Xu really is a good person."

"Xiao Chao, do you actually know the CEO?" Ah Ze had been thinking about the goodbye on the steps. "Like, personally?"

The silence from the back seat was pointed. Even someone genuinely curious about this would normally not ask it directly out loud. Sister Jia found herself quietly impressed — she had never encountered anyone quite this guileless and unfiltered.

Curly Hair closed her eyes and pretended she and Ah Ze were not, in fact, particularly well acquainted.

"We've crossed paths a few times." Chao Musheng pulled out of the garage smoothly — his driving was steady and confident, completely at odds with his claim about not having driven in a while. "Mr. Xu is a thoughtful person."

Sister Jia thought about her employer's face, which in normal circumstances revealed almost nothing.

Is that so. He's gentle-natured at heart.

The car joined the road. Chao Musheng watched Sister Jia and Curly Hair in the rearview mirror. "We got out early today — shall we eat something before heading home? A friend of mine runs a barbecue stall at the night market. His cooking is exceptional. If you don't have other plans, it's on me."

"Sure—" Ah Ze caught himself halfway and turned to Curly Hair. "I'll do whatever Curly says."

Curly Hair sighed with the resignation of someone who had stopped expecting better. She had no energy for words.

All three ended up at the busy night market.

Curly Hair looked across to the stall — the figure working through the smoke, flipping skewers, shaking on seasoning with practiced ease. Something flickered across her face.

"That stall owner. I feel like I've seen him before."

Oh no. She pressed her fingers to her aching eyes.

Her eyes really had gone wrong.

How could she possibly think the barbecue stall owner in this instance looked like that famous player from the infinite world — the one everyone knew, the one with the universal charm aura and the reputation for living off others' goodwill?

But that player had died.