Chapter 55: World Three [1] Part 2

She understood every individual character in the cultivation method, but once they formed their patterned combinations, Lu Wuqi was utterly lost.

To her, the content was more complex than any project proposal she had ever seen—on par with asking a company worth over a hundred million to topple a publicly listed giant valued at tens of billions.

After filling her stomach, Lu Wuqi lay down to rest. Unseen by her, faint wisps of spiritual power began gathering around her body, slowly seeping into her skin and flowing into her meridians.

Lu Wuqi was completely unaware. Ever since she memorized that incantation, her body had automatically absorbed spiritual power. And as she puzzled over the cultivation method, the rate sped up even more.

–

The next day, Lu Wuqi dragged herself out of bed to her alarm clock. She gave her wolf tail short hair a quick tidy, grabbed her phone, and headed out.

She had no habit of making breakfast, and no ingredients for it anyway.

Her usual breakfast came from the shop at the neighborhood entrance: two buns of different flavors plus a cup of fresh-ground soy milk. Eating them on the way got her to the company just as she finished.

“Little Lu, why the sudden decision to resign? Was it because of what happened yesterday?” Lu Wuqi had barely arrived at the office when the company’s sole HR person pulled her aside for a chat.

“Yes, I’m worried about retaliation, so I plan to go to another city and come back in a few months.” Lu Wuqi picked up the conversation very naturally. “Sister Li, those people are vicious criminals. Who knows if they even have blood on their hands? If I leave the company, it’ll be better for all of us.”

After hearing Lu Wuqi’s words, HR Sister Li found she couldn’t spit out a single word of the speech she’d prepared.

Lu Wuqi was only resigning to save her own skin. Could she really keep her with a raise?

“If you’re out there all alone, wouldn’t that be even more dangerous? Our company is right in the downtown area, and we have twenty people altogether. Those guys probably wouldn’t dare do anything here at the company,” Sister Li said, her voice betraying a hint of unease.

In order to keep her HR job, Sister Li steeled herself and spoke up. “The boss is very understanding of your situation. If you’re willing to stay, we can give you a raise of a thousand a month, and we absolutely won’t schedule you for overtime on holidays.”

“What do you think?” Sister Li asked.

Lu Wuqi shook her head. “Sister Li, I don’t lack for money. I do design purely because I like it. I don’t think an extra thousand a month is more important than my life. I hope you can understand.”

“I don’t have any projects on hand anyway. The boss already reassigned that last client to another designer. If possible, I’d like to handle the resignation right now.”

Lu Wuqi’s voice was slightly subdued, carrying an unmistakable tone of finality. “If the boss doesn’t agree, I’ll just coast for the thirty-day notice period, and I won’t take on any new work during that time.”

Sister Li opened her mouth, but Lu Wuqi’s uncompromising attitude rendered most of her prepared speech useless. In the end, she could only offer some polite reassurances, telling Lu Wuqi to head back to her desk while she went to discuss it with the boss.

–

“What? You couldn’t keep Lu Wuqi even with a raise? No, we can’t let her go. Plenty of clients come specifically for her. If she leaves, we’ll lose a ton of business.” The boss couldn’t help slamming his hand on the table.

“If a thousand won’t do it, offer two thousand. Put the new designer under her too, and give her the title of design director. Whatever it takes, keep her here.”

The distress on HR Sister Li’s face grew even more obvious. “But boss, Little Lu is dead set on leaving. If we force her to stay, we might lose clients anyway. Design work like this—if the person herself isn’t willing, no amount of talking will help.”

“Figuring out how to keep Lu Wuqi is your job. If you can’t do it, then you don’t need to stick around either.” The boss’s face was stern, his attitude unyielding.

Sister Li let out a soft sigh. “Alright, boss. I’ll go try again.”

Tired of it all. Let it all burn. If he’s going to be like that, good riddance to this boss!

–

“Thank you, Sister Li. I’ve left all the relevant materials on my computer. For the designs I’ve already finished, I’ve transferred the copyrights to the custom clients. I hope the boss won’t reuse them.” Lu Wuqi smiled faintly as she spoke. “If nothing unexpected happens, we probably won’t meet again.”

“You never know. I might show up at another company.” Sister Li signed her name on her own resignation form. “If it’s fate, maybe we’ll see each other again in a few months.”

“Sister Li, you’re resigning too?” A flicker of surprise flashed in Lu Wuqi’s eyes.

“Yeah, I need a boss who’s actually suitable.” Sister Li smiled.

If the boss was just a bit stupid and stingy, she could have pinched her nose and endured it. But if he didn’t even have a brain and just blindly pressured his subordinates, there was no need to put up with it.

“Then I hope that the next time we meet, Sister Li will already have started at her new company.” Lu Wuqi polished her words a bit.

“I’ll borrow your good words.” Sister Li sighed lightly. “But about those design copyrights, you’d better notify the clients yourself. The boss… might not have much of a sense of copyright awareness.”

Lu Wuqi nodded. After exchanging final greetings with Sister Li, she clocked out an hour early.

Once she stepped out of the company building, Lu Wuqi quit six or seven work-related group chats. Then she blocked the boss and the colleagues she wasn’t close to, keeping only Sister Li and some clients she’d collaborated with.

–

As Lu Wuqi emerged from the office building, she instinctively glanced at the sun still hanging in the sky. She raised her hand and scratched absently, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

The thought of not having to get up early for work tomorrow made her want to laugh out loud.

Before Lu Wuqi had walked two hundred meters, her phone buzzed in her pocket. Seeing the caller ID marked “Sheng Xu,” she instinctively licked her lips.

“Hello, Xuxu, it’s me.” Lu Wuqi answered the call, slowing her steps as she walked.

“Little designer, are you switching companies? Why’d you quit all those groups?” Sheng Xu’s clear, faint voice came through the receiver, making Lu Wuqi’s heart tremble slightly.

“No, I just feel a bit worn out and want to rest properly for a while.” Lu Wuqi replied. “Of course, if Xuxu has any ideas, I’d still be happy to do designs for you.”

“Just tired? Nothing else bad happened?” Sheng Xu pressed, her concern evident. “If you’ve been treated unfairly, you can fight back with the law.”

“Yeah, just tired. I’m planning to travel around. Who knows, I might even come to your city.” Lu Wuqi infused her tone with some energy.

“Sounds good. Then I’ll be waiting for you to visit.” Sheng Xu laughed along.

Once she confirmed her little designer wasn’t quitting due to bullying from colleagues, Sheng Xu didn’t press further. They chatted a bit more before hanging up.

“Sheng Xu, who are you talking to on the phone? A friend you met last time?” A young woman in Daoist robes sat beside Sheng Xu. She asked while reading a book.

“Yeah, a little designer with real talent.” Sheng Xu set down her phone, a trace of longing hidden in her eyes.

Dropping everything for a free trip sounds so enviable. When could she have a chance like that?

“You seem to like her a lot. It’s rare to hear praise from you.” The woman in Daoist robes said casually, though tension lurked beneath her words.

“How’s your selection going? If you really can’t decide, why not try picking me? If I can beat those guys, I could marry you too.”

“Could you?” Sheng Xu countered.

The woman in Daoist robes thought seriously for a moment, then answered honestly. “I don’t know, but I’m about to break through to Level 5 Celestial Master. My talent isn’t inferior to any of my peers.”

Sheng Xu smiled, the longing in her eyes gradually fading. “They won’t agree, even if you beat your peers.”

With her special constitution, she was probably a prized catch in their eyes. If not for her decent background, they might not even bother with the fig leaf of a marriage alliance.

“Xiaoshi, you have to cultivate hard. That way, if I get bullied, I can come to you for help.” Sheng Xu said with a smile, her downcast eyes concealing all her emotions.

–

When Lu Wuqi reached the neighborhood, she paused, bypassed the entrance gates, and walked another two hundred meters to a small noodle shop.

“Boss, one bowl of your signature beef noodles.” Lu Wuqi sat facing the door and placed her order, then watched the entrance.

Soon, a man in a duckbill cap appeared at the door. His eyes met Lu Wuqi’s squarely, and he instinctively looked away, taking a flustered step forward before abruptly stopping.

After hesitating on the spot for three seconds, the man in the duckbill cap came in too. He pretended to study the menu posted on the wall and ordered a bowl of seafood noodles.

“Boss, could you pack mine up for me, please?” Lu Wuqi said after the man ordered.

The man’s pupils contracted slightly. He almost called out for his to be packed too but held back in the end.

“Sure thing, packing’s an extra buck. I’ll separate the soup and noodles for you.” The boss replied while stir-frying the meat topping.

Lu Wuqi acknowledged it and stood to scan the code and pay. Then she leaned on the ordering counter with one hand, her gaze drifting lightly onto the man in the duckbill cap.

The man tugged at his cap brim, avoiding Lu Wuqi’s eyes.

Tch, does he think she’s an idiot? That obvious tailing—any normal person would notice.

Lu Wuqi narrowed her eyes slightly. Once the boss had packed the beef noodles with the soup separated, she picked it up and strode out boldly.

But Lu Wuqi didn’t go far. After just five meters, she stopped and turned back toward the noodle shop door, silently counting in her head.

Five, four, three, two, one.

“Hey, customer, your noodles aren’t ready yet. You don’t want them?” The boss’s voice rang out first, followed by the man in the duckbill cap rushing out the door—right into Lu Wuqi’s hostile gaze.

“Why are you tailing me?” Lu Wuqi demanded, having caught him red-handed.

The man in the duckbill cap wanted to explain, but he couldn’t think of any excuse that would make his weird behavior sound believable.

“Um, if I said I’m your little martial uncle, would you believe me?” With no other options, the man in the duckbill cap pleaded with his eyes, hoping to make his words more convincing.

“Little martial uncle?” Lu Wuqi frowned deeply. “I don’t have a master. Where would a little martial uncle come from?”