◎I like Master the most!◎
Chen Yi had no idea how she ended up following Xu Yan into her office.
She somehow managed to walk those few short steps with all the grim resolve of someone exiled to the frozen wastes of Ningguta.
Xu Yan really was elusive as a ghost.
Had she accidentally stepped on Xu Yan’s foot when she’d backed away earlier?
Chen Yi sneakily eyed Xu Yan’s shoes. They were spotless, without a speck of dust. Her suspended heart eased a little.
“Chief Editor Xu, you wanted to see me?” Chen Yi asked proactively when Xu Yan reached her desk without a word.
Xu Yan didn’t reply. Instead, she shot a glance toward something behind Chen Yi.
Chen Yi turned around, caught on, and hurried over to close the door.
Only then did Xu Yan hand her a folder that had clearly been prepared ahead of time from her desk. “Come with me this afternoon to meet the designer. This is the material—get familiar with it.”
Chen Yi took it with both hands and replied on reflex, “Got it, Boss. No problem, Boss.”
Xu Yan: “……”
Chen Yi: “Leader?”
Xu Yan pursed her lips.
Chen Yi had an epiphany. “Chief Editor!”
Xu Yan felt a headache coming on.
“Whatever,” she said. “As long as you get the job done, call me what you want.”
Chen Yi let out an “oh.”
She thought to herself, whatever I want? How “whatever” could that be? She couldn’t possibly just call her “wife,” right?
Even if someone gave her a hundred times the courage, she still wouldn’t dare call Xu Yan “wife” to her face.
“Got it, Chief Editor Xu.” Chen Yi was practically saluting.
Ever since she’d stepped into this office, her whole body had gone rigid, standing at perfect attention as if determined to out-tower the pine trees visible through the window.
Sometimes, the body was the most honest mirror of one’s emotions.
Xu Yan frowned. “Are you nervous?”
Chen Yi shook her head like a rattle. “Not nervous, not nervous at all.”
It was just her heart pounding.
Seeing Chen Yi like this, Xu Yan had no idea what else to say to her, so she simply dismissed her.
“Leaving at two-thirty this afternoon,” Xu Yan instructed. “Don’t be late.”
“Got it, Chief Editor Xu!”
After leaving the office, Chen Yi headed back to her workstation. She hadn’t even sat down yet when Yu You’an’s eyes lit up as she asked, “How’d it go? What happened between you and Chief Editor Xu in there?”
Chen Yi snapped irritably, “What do you mean ‘how’d it go’? What could possibly happen?”
Yu You’an gestured wildly with her hands and feet. “You two were like that just now—you know, that classic idol drama trope. Oh, the only issue is you’re a bit taller than Chief Editor Xu, so it wasn’t quite that shoujo manga moment where she falls right into your arms.”
Chen Yi grabbed a crumpled sheet of scrap paper from her desk and smacked Yu You’an on the head. “What are you even thinking!”
“Yu You’an, if I catch you thinking stuff like this again, I’ll really get mad,” Chen Yi said seriously. “We can joke around sometimes, but not this often.”
Yu You’an clasped her hands together in apology. “I’m sorry.”
“Yi-jie, don’t be mad.”
Chen Yi’s lips curved up. “Alright, I’m not really mad. Just watch yourself.”
Xu Yan had drawn the privacy curtains in her office. From the second floor, she had a clear view of Chen Yi’s workstation below.
Chen Yi had never acted like this around her.
Xu Yan glanced at her dark computer screen.
Was she really that scary?
Ding-dong. A notification chimed from Xu Yan’s phone.
She tapped it open. It was a message from Miracle, alerting her that a friend had sent her a gift.
Xu Yan didn’t need to guess who it was from.
Besides Chen Yi, she hadn’t friended anyone else in the game.
She glanced outside. Sure enough, Chen Yi was at her workstation, phone in hand, clearly playing the game.
With that, Xu Yan opened it up too.
The moment she logged in, a message from Chen Yi popped up.
Sister Don’t Hit Me: Master Master Master~~~
Sister Don’t Hit Me: Good midday, Master!
Xu Yan wondered how Chen Yi always knew the instant she came online.
Had she installed some kind of tracker on her?
In-game Chen Yi was a total chatterbox, way more bubbly than in real life.
In the few seconds Xu Yan took to ponder that, Chen Yi had already sent several more messages.
Sister Don’t Hit Me: Is Master not busy with work today~? You’re online at midday?
Sister Don’t Hit Me: I just saw this super cute dress—it’d look amazing on you! Perfect for an adult female character! Sent it to your email!
Xu Yan replied one by one: Good midday.
Fade: Not too busy.
Fade: Got the dress, thanks. No need to do it again next time.
Chen Yi stared at the line Xu Yan had sent, feeling like those last five words rang a bell. But try as she might, her brain stalled, unable to place where she’d heard them before.
Sister Don’t Hit Me: Think of it as my apprenticeship gift!
Sister Don’t Hit Me: No need to stand on ceremony, Master!
Xu Yan sighed.
How much could Chen Yi even make on her internship salary? Sure, Xu Yan knew the girl came from a well-off family. But still, she probably wasn’t earning her own money yet—everything she spent was likely from her parents. It made Xu Yan feel guilty accepting such lavish in-game gifts.
She couldn’t just come out and say it—that would give away her secret—so she probed indirectly.
Fade: Okay.
Fade: But you’ve just started working. Don’t spend like that.
Sister Don’t Hit Me: Don’t worry, Master!
Sister Don’t Hit Me: I’ve got tons of piggy banks! All my pocket money is from my own earnings! Master, relax!
With Chen Yi putting it that way, Xu Yan felt like refusing further would just seem pretentious. She said she understood, then headed to the mall to pick out a gift for Chen Yi. But nothing seemed right.
Unlike her, Chen Yi had zero interest in the mall outfits.
From the day they’d met in the game right up to now, Chen Yi had always worn the default newbie clothes.
Practical as ever, and not wanting to send something useless, Xu Yan simply asked outright.
Fade: What about you? Anything you like? I’ll buy it for you.
Sister Don’t Hit Me: You’re giving me a gift in return, Master?
Fade: What do you mean “in return”?
Fade: A master buying things for her disciple is only natural. How is that returning a gift?
There was no response from the in-game avatar.
“Ah—”
A thunderous yell erupted from outside the office.
Xu Yan looked out.
Chen Yi shot up from her seat in an instant, startling Yu You’an, who had been fiddling with her phone across from her.
“What? What happened?!” Yu You’an asked, worried.
Chen Yi shook her head and plopped back down. She spun around to profusely apologize to the handful of colleagues in the office, then slumped over her desk like she was melting. Her chair rocked back and forth as her feet kicked excitedly under the table.
Xu Yan couldn’t help but chuckle.
The kid’s reactions really were something.
She deliberately messaged in-game: Don’t want it?
After sending it, she peeked through the window to secretly observe Chen Yi.
Chen Yi perked right up, straightened in her chair, and hammered away at her phone.
Sister Don’t Hit Me: Want want want!
Sister Don’t Hit Me: I’ll take anything as long as it’s from Master.
Xu Yan bundled up a bunch of outfits from the mall and traded them over to Chen Yi. What Chen Yi had sent her was a limited-edition dress from a past season that someone had been selling—long out of stock in the mall. The moment Chen Yi got it, she swapped into a set that matched the color of Xu Yan’s outfit. From afar, they looked like a couple in matching styles.
Of course, Chen Yi didn’t dare say that outright. She beat around the bush: Master, we look like we have matching master-disciple outfits!
Sister Don’t Hit Me: So happy (^^)
Sister Don’t Hit Me: I like Master the most~~
Faced with the sudden onslaught of words, Xu Yan had no idea what to reply. She sent an emoji.
Chen Yi kept going.
Sister Don’t Hit Me: Master, my tooth hurts so much.
Xu Yan frowned: What happened? Wisdom teeth?
Sister Don’t Hit Me: Nope! It’s because Master is too sweet!
Xu Yan stared at her phone in silence for three seconds. She had a sudden urge to march right over to Chen Yi and see if the girl could still say that to her face.
Imagining the scene made it all the more entertaining.
She gazed at Chen Yi’s back.
Suddenly, Chen Yi seemed to sense something. She glanced around, then looked up. Her eyes met Xu Yan’s exactly.
The next second, a message popped up in Xu Yan’s game interface.
Sister Don’t Hit Me: Aaah Master! The Female Demon Head is staring at me!! I can’t play anymore, logging off!! Mwah mwah mwah!! Bye bye!!
Before Xu Yan could even reply, Chen Yi vanished from in front of her.
Moments later, a system notification appeared.
【Your disciple Sister Don’t Hit Me has gone offline. Looking forward to seeing her next time.】
Now Xu Yan understood how Chen Yi always clocked her login times right away.
The system had that feature.
Xu Yan arched a brow and stared at the empty game scene, her gaze lingering on Chen Yi’s last message before logging off.
Female Demon Head?
Some people, huh—one second they’re kissing up to Master, the next they’re calling her the Female Demon Head.
She was curious just how exaggerated Chen Yi’s two-faced act could get.
