The next morning, rushing into YiFan Group for onboarding, I quietly tried getting the scoop on the boss from the receptionist, Lin Jie.
She glanced around, lowered her voice, and whispered, “I heard the boss is in a bad mood lately. Must’ve had some bad takeout.”
I nodded vigorously this opportunity was hard-won. YiFan Group, was the shining star of the industry since new management took the reins. People would kill for a position here.
I only applied on a whim who’d have guessed I’d actually get in?
But my thoughts got interrupted as my phone pinged with a new notification:
“Condition met. Daytime play now unlocked.
Have fun raising your cub today”
That tilde at the end looked suspicious. What condition had I even met?
While I pondered, Lin Jie nudged me.
I looked up and spotted an upright figure walking towards us, his eyes sharp, handsomely distant, and with an elegance that almost startled me.
Weirdly, he looked a lot like my chibi cub even the eyebrows matched.
Before I could finish drooling, the man shot me an icy look.
“Who are you?” he demanded. “Why are you hanging around during work hours?”
Classic boss tone. Whatever puppy-love fantasy I had died on the spot.
“I'm the new intern,” I stammered, “HR said to explore and get familiar with the office.”
He frowned but let it go, walking away.
As soon as he was out of sight, Lin Jie grabbed my arm. “That's our boss, Xu Yingqi. Guess his mood’s still in the dumps.”
I sighed. Being a wage slave wasn’t easy.
Longing for some comforting distraction, I opened the game to check on my cub. To my surprise, he was now sitting in an animated office, tiny suit and all, rocking a deadly serious face.
It was hilarious not even virtual pets get to be kids anymore?
After surveying the interface, I found two new buttons: Cub Profile and Mood Diary.
Profile:
Name: Hanhan
Gender: Male
Character traits: Possessive, sarcastic
Mental state: Severely compromised
Description: In the fading light, will you look away, or try to save him?
I reread these lines several times this wasn’t just a pet sim, but a healing story.
Obsessive yandere archetype. Totally my jam.
There were also greyed-out narrative sections apparently, the game had a full story mode. But no clue how to unlock it yet.
Clicking into the Mood Diary, I found only two entries
“Very annoyed. Might commit murder.”
“Met an intern. Looks like a lost duck. So dumb it’s kind of funny.”
I mulled over these words. My cub’s mental health might be a mess, but he was basically the in-game boss.
But what kind of intern acted like a clueless duck? Hilarious.
When I poked him again, the game warned: “In work mode. No disturbances allowed.”
Realistic much.
Away from my phone, I hurried to get to know the company's departments. Thanks to my thick skin, I quickly picked up office gossip.
Rumor had it, the Wen family’s relationships were as wild as any soap opera. Boss Xu Yingqi, a once-overlooked son, had outmaneuvered all rivals to seize the reins of YiFan Group wealthy, ruthless, legendary for his iron grip.
No one knew the whole story, and Xu Yingqi hated rumors, so gossip only happened in whispers.
Thinking about his striking features, I wondered why fate handed such a haunting, chilly beauty a role in family drama.
But the company cafe quickly distracted me no wonder the perks drew top talent.
After lunch, I naturally checked on my cub again.
Onscreen, my cub nibbled plain bread and eggs with only a cup of black coffee. No meat, not even a splash of color.
Panic hit his mental state was shot, he’d worked all morning, and now he’s expected to run on empty. What if he died and the system gave me a cub I didn’t even like?
Trying to change his meal earned only another “affinity too low” warning.
This wretched affinity system.
I vented to customer service with a rant worthy of a college thesis.
Reply? An eye-rolling emoji.
Seriously? I’m a paying player.
I kept at it, but was met only with more silence.
I had no choice but to watch my cub finish his sad lunch and go right back to work.
He stayed that way until six thirty, at which point he massaged his temples, then finally left his digital workplace.
This game developer is evil.
Official quitting time at YiFan is 5pm, but Xu Yingqi was still in his office when I left.
Word was, he always left hours after everyone else. Meanwhile, I’d spent all day goofing off no wonder my cub was pulling overtime too.
Once home, Hanhan carefully tended to the white roses, then finally ate his dinner.
By now, I’d mastered his dietary demands at least we weren’t losing affinity over food anymore.
Oddly, affinity now rose faster than I expected. A peek at the system logs revealed the white roses were responsible.
At least that soothed my wounded heart a bit.
Tapping the roses brought up a small info box:
Name: Forgotten Memory
Species: White Rose
Description: Though this bouquet may appear ordinary, it holds lost memories and has a remarkable therapeutic effect for the mentally wounded.
The “mentally wounded” part stung a little.
I stroked Hanhan’s hair again. To my surprise, he merely paused and didn’t lose any affinity points.
A rare victory.
I slapped my forehead when would new story chapters unlock? I wanted to understand everything about him. Why was his mental state so wrecked? Why did sorrow flicker in his eyes?
Chapter 02
*
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