Chapter 77: Shocking Employee Benefits?

Early morning.

A beam of sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating the room.

Liu Ruohan rubbed her eyes, then very reluctantly climbed out of bed. She let out a lazy yawn and pulled the curtains open.

The morning sun was so bright she could hardly keep her eyes open.

She checked her phone.

There were several text messages.

The first one indicated that Zhang Yang’s company seemed to have inexplicably sent her money again.

What was with this guy?

Did he have too much money? Was he trying to act like some nouveau riche?

Then…

When she saw that the date was September 6th, her groggy mind snapped into instant clarity!

What!

I actually…

I actually!

Heavens!

Though she really didn’t want to admit it.

Liu Ruohan realized that she had actually skipped work for three days.

How could I be so degenerate!

Looking back at her experiences over these past three days…

Liu Ruohan felt a deep sense of shame.

But.

For some reason, her heart felt a faint, sweet sensation.

Just as her fingers brushed the computer screen…

“Wow, my beautiful Princess, you’ve finally arrived?”

“…”

Hearing that gentle voice, her lovely face flushed slightly. When she saw that handsome, smiling face on the screen, she felt like her heart was about to melt!

No matter how much of a genius or how mature she was, she was still a girl who wasn’t even twenty years old yet.

In real life, she would be wary of many things, but in the virtual world, she could fully enjoy everything the game brought her.

Including…

A perfect, fairy-tale romance.

Even though…

She knew that fairy tales were all lies.

“Aaaaah!”

“I can’t do this. I can’t keep being this degenerate!”

“I need to pull myself together. There are still so many things to do at the company!”

She finished her daily check-in¹ within the game. Looking at the series of tasks designed to increase affection levels, she ultimately chose to close the game.

She tidied her hair, walked out of her room, and ate the breakfast prepared by the housekeeper. Then, she got into the car her driver had readied and headed to work.

Her mind was filled with thoughts of working hard from now on and no longer being addicted to this kind of romance game.

When she thought about it carefully…

What was so special about this crappy game?

It didn’t have anything worthwhile at all, okay?

But…

As she thought…

A series of affection tasks unconsciously drifted through her mind.

He and she had made a date to go on a monster hunt…

They had agreed to watch a dwarf performance together and go to the highest mountain range to watch the sunrise…

She had promised to give him a set of armor…

She hadn’t even raised the knight’s affection level from “Comrade-in-Arms²” to “Friend” yet!

How could she give up?

The more she thought about it…

The more she felt a sense of lingering attachment.

Maybe!

I’ll just leave it on AFK³ every day, do the daily check-ins, and save up virtual currency? Affection levels will go up sooner or later anyway…

Finally!

Her decision to give up on the game transformed into this new plan.

She arrived back at the company, only to suddenly realize that everyone was looking at her with slightly strange expressions.

They seemed to want to say something, yet didn’t quite dare to speak.

While she was in the office corridor…

She happened to run into Liu Yun, who had just stepped out of Liu Zhongshan’s office.

Liu Yun looked at Liu Ruohan, hesitated for a moment, and eventually called out to her.

“Miss Liu…”

“What is it?”

“Miss Liu… congratulations on reaching the top. Congratulations…” Liu Yun’s expression was very awkward. Although her words were congratulatory, her eyes were filled with a complex mix of emotions.

She seemed to have a mouthful of words she wanted to say, but in the end, she couldn’t say any of them.

“???” Liu Ruohan was bewildered.

Congratulate me for what?

What “reaching the top”?

Could it be because I haven’t been to work for three days?

Have I reached the top of the record for absenteeism?

At that thought, Liu Ruohan suddenly felt a surge of guilt. She felt that the way people in the company were looking at her was becoming even more peculiar.

By the time she returned to her office and sat down, there was a knock at the door.

Fan Qiang, the General Manager of the Marketing Department, walked in.

Fan Qiang’s expression was equally complex.

“Miss Liu, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you…”

“What is it?” Liu Ruohan had rarely seen Fan Qiang with such an expression.

In her memory, Fan Qiang was always the picture of calm, wearing his glasses with a composed demeanor.

“We were originally planning to build hype for our new game, Legendary World. Our plan was to invite the celebrity Zhao Yiman, right?” Fan Qiang said quietly as he looked at Liu Ruohan.

“Yes, that was indeed the decision. What’s wrong?” Liu Ruohan asked, puzzled.

According to various market surveys, Zhao Yiman was a top-tier star in the Chinese entertainment industry in terms of traffic. Since her debut years ago, she had never been involved in any scandals, and her reputation was excellent across the board. At the same time, she was the “goddess” of every shut-in online, possessing immense influence. The company’s comprehensive evaluation of her was very high.

There shouldn’t be any problem with her!

“I don’t think Zhao Yiman is necessarily the best fit. Online surveys have produced a better candidate. I just spoke with President Liu for a long time, and he was also shocked by the results online…”

“Manager Fan, just say it. What exactly do you mean?”

“Miss Liu, how about… you take the lead yourself! We could save a massive amount on endorsement fees, and since this is your company, your appearance might produce an explosive effect!”

“What?” When Liu Ruohan heard this, she was completely stunned. “Me? Are you sure it’s me? I take the lead? I’ll be the spokesperson?”

She pointed at herself…

It was unbelievable.

A few years ago, she had indeed gone viral because of a single photograph.

She had been dubbed the “Pure Goddess” and “everyone’s dream girl” by bored netizens…

But that was years ago!

She must be a has-been by now, right?

“Yes. Miss Liu, let me ask you seriously, do you have a partnership with Zhang Yang’s God of Conquest?” Fan Qiang suddenly became solemn.

“No… well, wait, yes, there is a partnership. Strictly speaking, I’m one of the minor shareholders of God of Conquest…” Liu Ruohan nodded subconsciously, remembering the money Zhang Yang had inexplicably sent her this morning.

“Then you… haven’t you been following the rankings?” Fan Qiang looked at her with a very strange expression.

“What ranking?”

“The male and female god rankings for God of Conquest!”

“Huh?” Liu Ruohan was completely stunned when she heard the news.

“…”

She instinctively opened her browser.

Then…

She was shocked to find that various Tieba forums and even some major web portals were filled with polls regarding the characters of God of Conquest!

And then…

She looked at the male god rankings first.

When she saw a handsome, domineering CEO type sitting at number one, she stared blankly for a moment.

Wait a minute!

Shouldn’t the Prince Knight be number one?

Was this rigged?

This domineering CEO looked so fake, he wasn’t even that handsome!

She scrolled down and found that her beloved Prince Knight was actually ranked outside the top ten…

Suddenly, she felt a twinge of annoyance.

No!

That’s not what I should be focusing on!

She instinctively looked at the other list, the goddess rankings.

The person ranked first on the goddess list was actually…

She rubbed her eyes.

Wearing glasses, looking pure and lovely, brimming with youthful energy, and at the same time, impossibly beautiful. The white wings on her back added a sense of divinity…

The description below read…

“The beautiful and pure daughter of a deity, the untouchable holy angel of God of Conquest, the perfect goddess of both virtual and reality…”

This person…

This person!

Wait!

It was actually her?

“How did I end up on the list?” Liu Ruohan was shocked!

“You are, and you’re in first place. Your popularity is even higher than the second-place character, the female CEO Hu Bingqing!”

At that moment, she finally realized why Liu Yun had looked at her with such a complex expression and offered her congratulations.

She…

She had actually been turned into a game character?

Wait!

This was a copyright infringement by Zhang Yang!

No…

Wait, it seemed like she might have actually agreed to it?

This!

Liu Ruohan’s mind was a complete mess.

“…”

“Miss Liu, as much as I hate to admit it, it might really be due to the influence of God of Conquest. In the survey rankings for Legendary World that we just finished yesterday… your ranking was also the highest, far surpassing Zhao Yiman. Furthermore, your former fans are now frantically campaigning for you. At the same time, some entertainment reporters want to interview you, asking if you’re planning to make a debut… Of course, we haven’t officially announced your identity yet…” After saying this, Fan Qiang handed Liu Ruohan another market report.

“…” Liu Ruohan fell silent for a long time after seeing the massive amount of buzz in the market report. “What did my father say about this?”

“He also hopes you can become the spokesperson… Miss Liu, you should know better than I do what kind of person he is.”

“Fine, I understand. I’ll consider whether or not to reveal my identity and whether to endorse the company’s new game…”

“Understood!” Facing this situation, Fan Qiang really didn’t know what attitude to take.

On one hand…

He felt annoyed hearing that Zhang Yang had somehow poached some of their interns.

On the other hand…

It seemed Zhang Yang had indirectly helped the company save at least several million in endorsement fees by hyping Liu Ruohan up…

This whole situation!

How should he even put it…

After he left, Liu Ruohan took out her phone and dialed Zhang Yang’s number.

“Zhang Yang! You jerk, who gave you permission to turn me into a character for other people to romance?”

“Huh? I didn’t. I didn’t make you a character for people to romance. You’re a hidden character, the kind that can’t be romanced. But for some reason, people keep sending you milk tea, trying to force a romance with your NPC even though they know it won’t increase your favorability… I can’t help that. I didn’t even consider putting you in the poll, but you just became that popular… I originally intended for the cold female CEO to be number one, but even she couldn’t compete with you… By the way, President Liu, about that…”

“About what?”

“Well, some people from your company came here to apply for jobs… I didn’t poach them, I swear, I absolutely didn’t poach them. You won’t have a problem with that, right?”

“What? You’re even poaching people from my company?”

“I’m not! They came here on their own. I tried to persuade them repeatedly, telling them that Mumaen is a very promising company and that staying at our company has no future… but as I was persuading them, they just went ahead and signed the contracts…”

“Zhang Yang!!!”

Hearing Zhang Yang’s shameless words over the phone, Liu Ruohan stomped her feet in a fit of rage!

Why couldn’t this guy be as gentle as the Prince Knight?

What a waste of a handsome face!

Wait!

Him, handsome?

Handsome my ass!

…………………………..

Ten o’clock in the morning.

Su Nuannuan arrived at the entrance of the Universe Technology dormitory building with her luggage.

She had always been a decisive person.

She had indeed been recognized by Mumaen Technology.

But…

She felt that Mumaen wasn’t the place she wanted to be.

First, she couldn’t stand the dullness of a nine-to-five job, and second, after weighing the pros and cons, she felt Mumaen Technology wasn’t a good fit for her.

The reason she had gone to Mumaen Technology for an internship was that her family, teachers, and seniors all felt that Mumaen was reliable and had a bright future.

Her first impression of Mumaen Technology had actually been quite good.

The company was large, had its own office building, and the employee benefits were excellent, including a full social security and housing fund package. It was prestigious to work there, and the overall happiness index was high.

In fact!

If Universe Technology hadn’t appeared, if Zhang Yang hadn’t given her that bonus, and if that ranking hadn’t appeared online, she would have decided to stay at Mumaen Technology.

But…

Life is full of surprises.

When she received those few thousand yuan in bonus money from Zhang Yang and saw the domineering CEO character she designed topping the male god rankings and being loved by thousands of girls, her heart suddenly began to waver.

Mumaen Technology certainly had a great future, but there were also many talented artists there. Although she was currently being given a lot of attention, the company’s internal management system was far too restrictive!

Zhang Yang’s company was just starting out, and its current performance was actually quite good…

Right?!

Should they talk first?

And then…

She tried to contact Zhang Yang’s company.

“Our company doesn’t have that much red tape…”

“Even if you aren’t an official employee, as long as you participate in the production of the company’s games, we’ll give you a share of the profits based on your performance…”

“Mm, as long as you finish your tasks, you can do whatever you like. You don’t even have to come into the office…”

“You get paid for the effort you put in. I’ve never thought of you as employees, you’re all partners…”

“For every game released in the future, as long as it’s profitable, I’ll distribute a portion of the profits based on each department’s contribution. Of course, the amount will vary depending on the company’s performance…”

“Yes, the company provides some accommodation. The dormitory buildings are all new. Of course, you have to buy your own food, the company doesn’t provide that…”

“Of course, Mumaen Company is also very good. As for how it’s good, it’s probably more formal… we aren’t very formal right now…”

“…”

What Zhang Yang said over the phone was very blunt.

She was stunned when she heard it at the time.

How could there be a boss like this in the world?

In an era where most bosses exploited their workers, an outlier like Zhang Yang had appeared. It really made her feel out of place…

She suddenly became very interested in Universe Technology!

After arriving at the dormitory to drop off her luggage and having lunch, she headed to Universe Technology…

Su Nuannuan suddenly realized that not a single person in the company was late.

Everyone was working hard at their posts.

Well…

Maybe “late” wasn’t the right word, since there were no clearly defined working hours…

She walked toward her workstation.

She sat down, and then…

“One of the top ten game companies in the world…”

“The king of global single-player games!”

“One of the world’s top ten most popular game companies among young people…”

“The favorite home for game industry professionals!”

“…”

Seeing these words posted next to her workstation, Su Nuannuan was stunned again.

“These are things President Zhang once said…”

“I used to think it was just a slogan, but after being with the company for half a month, I realized President Zhang is actually doing it…”

“President Zhang is more like an idealist. He wants to create a gaming utopia for us, and we are actively responding to his dream…”

“Other bosses always talk about having vision but act like typical capitalists. But someone like President Zhang, he’s the one who truly has vision!”

“Though I don’t know how it will all end, the atmosphere here is really great. As long as you have the ability, you’ll be valued here. A lot of the overtime is voluntary…”

“You’ve just arrived, so you don’t know yet. After you’ve stayed for a few days, you’ll understand…”

“…”

Seeing Su Nuannuan’s expression, a girl nearby instinctively started introducing things to her.

Her words were filled with various forms of admiration.

Of course she was full of admiration!

After all!

Not long after joining the company, she had already received a two thousand yuan bonus!

Slogans might lie, but cold, hard cash wouldn’t!

This really was a miraculous company!

When Su Nuannuan heard more interns arriving for interviews nearby, this thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.

Just as she sat down and before she could start working…

She heard the sound of footsteps coming from not far away.

She instinctively looked in that direction.

She saw several young men in suits walking in with smiles on their faces.

“Hey there, everyone! Good afternoon, colleagues! I’m Zheng Gong, the manager of Great World Cinema. To thank everyone for your support, we’re announcing that from now on, if you come to our cinema to watch a movie, just show your employee card. Not just movie tickets, but also popcorn and other items will be twenty percent off…”

“…”

“Everyone, I’m from Ice World Milk Tea. Per President Zhang’s request, if you come to our shop with your employee card, you’ll receive a twenty percent discount starting today. This applies to any store nationwide, and there’s no expiration date. You’re all lifetime VIPs!”

“…”

“Everyone, uh, I’m Xiao Zhang, a salesman from Bluebird Computer. If you purchase any products under the Bluebird brand in the future, we’ll give you a twenty percent discount. With your employee card, you’re all lifetime VIPs…”

“…”

“I’m from Amayi brand clothing. If you need anything, well, we’re offering a ten percent discount…”

“…”

Su Nuannuan watched these people in a daze.

The little girl next to her was so excited she was almost jumping.

“Wow, the investors collaborating with us are giving out benefits to the employees… Our employee cards are valuable now! If we partner with a car brand later, wouldn’t we get discounts on cars too? I was just thinking about buying one…”

Just as the short-haired girl finished speaking…

Footsteps were heard nearby.

Then…

Su Nuannuan instinctively looked over.

She saw Wu Zhuang with a simple, honest smile, excitedly leading in a middle-aged man.

“Heavens, that, that, that person! That’s Manager Qian, the head of BMW Huaxia!”

“I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“I just said I wanted to buy a car, and now BMW is here!”

The girl next to Su Nuannuan widened her eyes, feeling as if she were living in a dream.

(End of chapter)

Translator’s Notes