Chapter 17: Like He Was Being Offered as a Sacrifice

Three people backed out of the office. Through the gap, Chu Fuxuan peeked inside. Qi Yingzhu, leaning against the edge of a desk just like him, was looking down at a paper report.

Chu Fuxuan instantly froze on the spot. Before Qi Yingzhu could notice, he hurriedly retracted his gaze.

No wonder Shannai had been vague and stammered when questioned; there was a massive catch waiting for him right here.

“I see there are empty seats in your row. I’ll dismantle my computer at noon.” Chu Fuxuan made a move to escape, unwilling to spend every day under the watchful eye of his fake husband.

Shannai pleaded bitterly, “Don’t do it! According to our big data analysis, this is the only spot on the entire floor that brings good fortune to you, sir!”

Chu Fuxuan was a bit dumbfounded: “Why are you guys practicing feudal superstition?”

“Our department has had four supervisors before you,” Shannai said sadly.

“The first one laid down our foundation right here. After that, they all changed seats. The second one engaged in infighting and was kicked out, the third one took kickbacks from outsourcing and made the legal news, the fourth one also took kickbacks and was taken away…”

As a popular project with steady income and proper management, the core team should logically be very stable.

However, with such a high turnover rate for a core position and serious incidents occurring one after another, it was indeed so unlucky that it felt bizarre.

Chu Fuxuan said meaningfully, “Is it that lucrative? To the point that it even happened a second time?”

Shannai elevated the significance of the matter for him: “Everyone suspects there’s something cursed about our seating area, and only this spot can suppress it. By staying here, you are protecting the safety of the entire department.”

He described it as if Chu Fuxuan were being offered as a sacrifice. Chu Fuxuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry upon hearing this, but he also didn’t want to spend day and night with Qi Yingzhu.

Noticing his slightly conflicted expression, Shannai continued to promote the spot enthusiastically.

“Raven interviewed you in the final round, right? He seems unapproachable, but he rarely interferes with our affairs out here. You don’t need to be afraid in front of him; he really won’t eat anyone alive.”

Internet companies favored alias cultures, and Raven was Qi Yingzhu’s alias. Listening to Shannai’s chattering persuasion, Chu Fuxuan gradually wavered a bit.

Indeed, Chu Fuxuan pondered carefully, Qi Yingzhu was so busy from morning till night that his heels were kicking the back of his head; how could he possibly have the mind to stare at what Chu Fuxuan was doing?

Besides, the two had agreed to keep their personal and professional lives separate. If he insisted on moving now, it would seem overly coy and awkward. Who knew what Qi Yingzhu would think if he found out?

Would he think I was fleeing in panic? Chu Fuxuan speculated, grinding his back teeth. Such a weak descriptor could not be pinned on him.

Having figured this out, nothing else mattered. Chu Fuxuan didn’t come to work here just to slack off. Pressure always coexisted with opportunity; the closer he was to the decision-makers, the easier it would be for his work performance to be noticed.

Seeing Shannai’s face full of longing, Chu Fuxuan didn’t insist on the minor issue and relented: “Thanks for setting this up. By the way, any recommendations for lunch?”

Shannai replied, “There are five cafeterias here, and three in the adjacent area. If you like Western food or light meals, you can go to the cafe.”

Chu Fuxuan said evasively, “Let’s change to something else. I have a domestic palate.”

Two minutes later, he was taught by Shannai how to navigate the internal software.

Hongni’s development tech was very impressive; the office platform was smooth and comprehensive. Besides communication functions, it also embedded life modules. Every food window would update their daily menus, making it convenient for everyone to choose in advance.

Chu Fuxuan studied it for a moment with a sense of novelty and quickly got the hang of it. He dropped into the game designers’ group chat and sent an announcement, notifying everyone to gather in a bit.

The PM noticed Chu Fuxuan had finished his onboarding procedures and instructed him to write an all-staff email for a self-introduction. According to custom, it was best to attach some photos, so that despite frequent online communication, they wouldn’t stare blankly at each other, unable to recognize one another face-to-face.

Chu Fuxuan had also done a newcomer greeting at his previous company. Back then, he had deliberated over the wording for a long time, his lines fraught with a desire to prove his capabilities. Now, with more experience under his belt, his tone was lively and relaxed, simply sharing his background as if making friends.

He stopped after briefly writing three paragraphs, then leaned over his desk to search through his photo album. He usually didn’t have a hobby of taking selfies. Fortunately, before his marriage, he had taken a solo photo at a studio for the application materials. Coupled with a graduation photo, he had exactly two.

He attached them exactly as they were, grasped the mouse, and clicked send. Although no one messaged him privately, teasing began in the main project group chat:
[The design department is moving up in the world. With that face alone, he could at least coax the art department into doing ten sets of original illustrations plus 3D modeling.]

[Is this a new workplace scam? Pretending to be a handsome guy to tempt us into taking on tasks? That’s a huge setup.]

[The HR who screened his resume kept bragging about his good looks. Looks like the hype is real this time.]

[We corporate slaves won’t be distracted by mere outward appearances. Please stop stealing pictures. And photoshopping a Princeton logo onto a graduation photo? I gotta hand it to you guys.]

Chu Fuxuan had been pulled into the main group chat by Xie Yu earlier, but he hadn’t spoken up yet. Seeing them discussing him now, he didn’t respond. He just skimmed through it quickly and closed the window, logging into the game’s developer server to start familiarizing himself with the engine.

The group he had muted continued to buzz non-stop. After a while, a video was circulated. The camera seemingly passed by Chu Fuxuan unintentionally. The footage confirmed that he was indeed the person in the photos, and his appearance in motion was even more striking than in static shots. At this, the discussion became even more lively.

Chu Fuxuan had no idea someone was playing paparazzi. Right now, he was quite motivated. He swapped in his own frequently used keyboard and began reviewing previous instance dungeon designs.

Because his attention was focused on the computer, he didn’t notice that the normally quiet corridor had suddenly become bustling, with seemingly a lot more colleagues walking back and forth.

Separated from Chu Fuxuan by a single door, Qi Yingzhu opened his email and saw the all-staff letter. Knowing full well what the people under him were like, he immediately opened the X17 chat logs.

The company had always advocated for flat management. Even though many executives were clearly in the group, everyone lacked a sense of hierarchy and would occasionally interject with off-topic banter.

Right now, they didn’t surprise Qi Yingzhu at all. They were chattering away about Chu Fuxuan. Everyone who had gone to see him said it was worth the trip, as if treating his cubicle like a tourist attraction.

Qi Yingzhu then watched the initial video and realized that Chu Fuxuan had been placed right near him.

Subsequently, he stood up and walked out, catching a group of guys looking elated, craning their necks toward Chu Fuxuan, planning to pretend to be passersby for a chance encounter.

Leaning against the doorframe, Qi Yingzhu spoke nonchalantly, “Are you all on a group spring outing? What’s so good to look at?”

Suddenly questioned by the top boss, everyone nearly lost their souls. One by one, they stood stiffly against the wall, offering the lame excuse that they just happened to be clustered here by coincidence.

Not exposing their sophistry, Qi Yingzhu glanced at Chu Fuxuan. From his angle, he could see a half-profile of his back. The distance between them was practically nothing—just a square inch.

As his gaze landed openly on him, the other party remained completely oblivious, busy debugging the game’s instance dungeon.

Immediately after, Qi Yingzhu let the group go and went over to Chu Fuxuan, knocking on the edge of his desk.

“Hm?” Chu Fuxuan snapped back to reality and looked over in a daze.

Qi Yingzhu reminded him, “I recalled the email you just sent. You can resend it with pure text.”

Chu Fuxuan had initially felt burdened by sharing his photos, but hadn’t refused out of respect for company norms. Hearing this, he secretly rejoiced, but feigned slight regret.

“Isn’t everyone supposed to attach them? If I hide them, what if people can’t match my name to my face during meetings?”

Given a loophole, he happily squeezed through it, not forgetting to seize the opportunity to play the good boy. Qi Yingzhu saw through his true nature perfectly but didn’t argue with him on the spot.

Thus, Chu Fuxuan relaxed completely and quickly immersed himself in the novelties of the day.

He had left his contact info in his introduction, so people were successively reaching out to him. He tagged and categorized them one by one.

Qi Yingzhu watched from the sidelines to see how he handled it. Seeing Chu Fuxuan give people all sorts of colorful contact nicknames, he couldn’t help but watch a little longer in doubt.

Perhaps with his rich imagination having nowhere else to go, Chu Fuxuan’s contact book was entirely different from Qi Yingzhu’s. One was so aloof it had no embellishments whatsoever, while the other was a full page of flashy and sunny nicknames.

Chu Yu was dubbed “Sponsor,” Song Yanyi was called “Breeder,” and Dou Can was labeled “Blindfolded Cupid / Angry.”

Qi Yingzhu lowered his eyes in astonishment, then took a closer look. Even Xie Yu was beautified into “Kind Producer.”

“Allow me to interrupt. May I ask what nickname you gave me?” Qi Yingzhu asked.

Chu Fuxuan turned his head and crashed into Qi Yingzhu’s gaze, immediately dodging it. “Please respect my privacy. Labor laws state that workers have dignity too.”

Qi Yingzhu was not easy to deal with. He lowered his voice: “But marriage laws also state that spouses have the right to know about each other. What kind of shady thing did you write for me?”

Chu Fuxuan also kept his movements restrained and stubbornly scoffed, “If you have the ability, go to the US to defend your rights. When I receive the execution subpoena, I will calmly embrace death.”

Unable to pry his mouth open, Qi Yingzhu was truly left without any options.

Since they were currently in the workplace, arguing with him would be absurd. He tactfully created some distance between himself and Chu Fuxuan.

Chu Fuxuan firmly covered his screen, watching Qi Yingzhu return to his office. Only after seeing the door close did he completely relax.

Hongni’s lunch break started at noon and lasted two hours. Shannai punctually asked him what his plans were.

Knowing they had only known each other for half a day and hadn’t established much of a relationship, Chu Fuxuan felt it would be too burdensome to have them entertain their boss during break time. So, he volunteered that he wanted to stroll around alone.

He went to the specialty window to eat roast duck, then wandered between the two office areas. Hongni’s facilities were very convenient; the vending machines supplied fruits and snacks in addition to drinks.

Chu Fuxuan shared his current status with his parents, telling them not to worry about his whereabouts. Strolling and stopping like this, he passed the time until noon was over.

At 2 PM, the design team met with him. Chu Fuxuan was good at socializing; a short ten minutes was enough to leave a strong impression on his subordinates.

He rarely exerted external pressure, nor was he accustomed to putting on a cold face like Qi Yingzhu. However, being too gentle would cause him to lose his authority. Chu Fuxuan struck the right balance; while showing friendliness, he also made his boundaries clear.

With over sixty people packing the room to the brim, he couldn’t recognize everyone at once. He started by remembering about a dozen senior leads, getting a general assessment of the team’s situation.

The schedule progressed systematically. At 3 PM, an executive meetup was arranged. Chu Fuxuan asked the department secretary to download an attendance list and searched the names to figure out their job scopes.

Before making his appearance, he washed his face with cold water beforehand to make himself exceptionally alert. Then he slowly dried it with a tissue, observing himself in the mirror and taking a few deep breaths.

Facing the design team was like meeting his own people, but meeting the management level was like undergoing a secondary inspection. Chu Fuxuan confirmed that his appearance would pass scrutiny without any issues before navigating his way to the designated location.

On the way, he silently analyzed the situation. Although Xie Yu was easygoing, he could tell that this producer had a strong sense of self. While he handled things decently, he was definitely not worldly or slick.

Faced with a social event like this, Chu Fuxuan was prepared to fend for himself, so he mustered his courage and stepped into the conference room.

Originally, he had planned to smile at everyone he met. Pretending to be harmless could never go wrong. However, upon arriving, he immediately spotted Qi Yingzhu, and his expression instantly became somewhat complicated.

Chu Fuxuan had a bad feeling. This person wasn’t on the list; why did he suddenly appear?

Thinking of this, he quietly turned around to slip out, only to be stopped by a clearly articulated voice calling his name: “Chu Fuxuan.”

“What a coincidence.” Chu Fuxuan turned to Qi Yingzhu, feigning surprise. “I thought I walked into the wrong room. What brings you here?”

Qi Yingzhu matched his fake sincerity: “Everyone doesn’t know you yet. Since I’m the one who nodded to hire you, throwing you into a crowd of people and ignoring you seems unethical. So I’ll keep you company while you put names to faces.”

Chu Fuxuan: “…”

He had pretentiously said that without photos, he couldn’t match faces to names, which had ended up provoking the big boss into personally introducing him.

Chu Fuxuan was on edge the entire time. Under the scrutiny of the crowd, he didn’t dare to directly glare at the person next to him.

The executives were probably holding their breath as well. Originally, they just wanted to give him some face and go through the motions, but now they were forced to put on a show of genuine appreciation.

Anyone who could make it to this level was full of scheming. Seeing that Qi Yingzhu was taking it seriously, they also started paying attention. Chu Fuxuan didn’t have any network resources to utilize, so he could leverage this current gathering to a great extent.

Someone invited him, “Teacher Fuxuan, we have team building here on Saturday. Will you come along?”

Chu Fuxuan needed to understand their circle as soon as possible. “Sure, where are we going?”

The location for the team building was a bit far. Xie Yu said, “You haven’t bought a car yet, have you? Are you sleeping in the company-arranged dorms? Let Raven give you a ride.”

The industrial park had two floors of employee dormitories, specifically used for short-term relocations, decorated and furnished like a hotel.

Administration had arranged a single room for Chu Fuxuan. He hadn’t had time to move in yet, but he planned to stay there temporarily while slowly looking for a suitable rental apartment.

“Right, Raven has to come to the company on Saturday for an interview anyway, so bringing you along is just on his way,” someone said.

Chu Fuxuan responded with apparent excitement: “Great, then I’ll have to trouble him.”

Someone considerately added: “Do you have his phone number? Or just add his WeChat, it’s easier.”

After saying this, the people around them pushed the boat along with the current, urging Chu Fuxuan to add him as a friend.

Chu Fuxuan forced a smile; he couldn’t possibly reject this coaxing to their faces.

As his heartbeat sped up, he reluctantly shuffled toward Qi Yingzhu, his steps as difficult as if they weighed a thousand pounds.

With the situation at hand, it was hard to refuse. Hoping Qi Yingzhu would understand his look, Chu Fuxuan said, “May I scan your QR code?”

He kept a straight face and looked at Qi Yingzhu, constantly fluttering his eyelashes, meaning for the man to quickly speak up and refuse.

But Qi Yingzhu stared at him, and after a moment, actually let out a laugh: “Teacher Fuxuan, remember to categorize your nicknames.”

Chu Fuxuan: “.”

Why was this guy so difficult to deal with?

He cursed the man in his heart for being annoying. Amidst his chaotic emotions, his mind went somewhat blank.

What on earth had he written on a whim back then? Chu Fuxuan suddenly couldn’t remember.

He mechanically opened WeChat and carefully tilted his phone to prevent anyone around him from catching a glimpse. Then, pursing his lips, he went through a series of operations and jumped to the account page.

For a moment, he didn’t even care about the answer to his question, using his peripheral vision to quietly observe Qi Yingzhu’s reaction.

Even with such concealment, Qi Yingzhu noticed his gaze, and then his lips moved soundlessly.

His movement was extremely subtle, almost like a natural breath, and only Chu Fuxuan, who was close by, could notice it.

Reading his lips, Chu Fuxuan’s heart became clear. What he had written was indeed not something that could see the light of day.

“Brother.”