Once his shift began, Ye Qiu officially clocked in for work. For the moment, there was nothing urgent to handle, so he quietly toured the building on his own, walking with slow, measured steps. His eyes wandered from desk to hallway, casually scanning the space in case any customers needed assistance.
He wondered to himself—is this what working feels like? Everyone always complained about how stressful it was. But this? This felt almost… easy. Peaceful, even. For a brief moment, a small flicker of excitement passed through him. This was his first time doing something outside the world of gaming. Something normal. And so far, he didn't hate it.
Meanwhile, near the reception area, four staff members stood together. They all wore the standard job uniform, blending into the background of the café. Among them were a young man and three women—two young and one noticeably older, perhaps in her mid sixty. They huddled in quiet conversation, but their eyes kept drifting toward Ye Qiu as he passed by, unaware of the attention.
Something was clearly being debated. The younger staff seemed to be urging the older woman against something, trying to hold her back. But the woman waved them off, stubborn and unbothered. Without hesitation, she turned toward Ye Qiu, who had now stopped at a terminal, curiously studying the interface on a customer PC.
"Young man!" she called.
Ye Qiu didn't respond right away. His gaze was fixed on the monitor in front of him. For a second call, she raised her voice slightly, "Young man!"
A staffer nearby glanced at her and gestured in question—Me? She shook her head and pointed deliberately.
"The one in black," she said.
The other staffer walked over to Ye Qiu and gave him a gentle tap on the arm.
Startled, Ye Qiu turned, and the man gestured toward the older woman at the reception. She gave a polite smile and nodded.
Ye Qiu blinked, then pointed at himself as if to ask me?
She nodded again.
He walked toward her.
As Ye Qiu approached, he nearly mistook the older woman for a customer. But when he saw the matching uniform she wore—alongside the others standing with her—he realized they were staff members. Somehow, it had escaped his notice until now that the café staff wore uniforms. Looking around, he spotted several others dressed the same way and suddenly understood: these were his new colleagues.
The older woman smiled warmly as he drew near. Her smile was quickly echoed—some genuine, some performative—by the others beside her.
"You must be the new employee," she said, her voice kind and steady. She reached out and gently took his hand. "I'm Zhou Lifen, but you can call me Mrs. Zhou," she added with a dignified nod.
Before Ye Qiu could reply, one of the younger women, already visibly charmed by his presence, stepped forward and eagerly took his hand from Mrs. Zhou.
"I'm Lulu, but just call me Luna," she said sweetly, blinking rapidly in an attempt to charm him with wide-eyed cuteness.
Awkwardly, Ye Qiu gave a small, stiff bow and gently withdrew his hand from hers. He offered a short, polite smile, which only seemed to amuse the others—some of whom smirked or tried not to laugh at Luna's failed attempt.
The young man in the group stepped forward next, extending his hand.
"I'm Da Hui, but you can just call me David," he said with a casual grin. They exchanged a quick handshake.
"David…" Ye Qiu repeated softly, still a little dazed by the social whirlpool he had walked into.
The last young woman gave a disinterested wave.
"Mimi," she said flatly.
Ye Qiu nodded to her, but her expression didn't change.
As he stood there, he began to overthink. Oh… this is how introductions go here? He glanced around at the other staff walking by. Should I be expecting more people to introduce themselves too? Or is this it? Wait—why all these introductions anyway? Is this a company thing?
Everyone in front of him was smiling—well, everyone except Mimi, who looked like she hated life and regretted ever waking up. They're weird, Ye Qiu thought. But then again, why am I surprised? They're Miss Chan's people—of course, they're weird. A trickle of sweat rolled down his temple. Should I have brought a gift or something? Is this some unspoken workplace ritual? Why am I like this? I didn't feel this awkward when I first met Team Dragon... What do I do now?
Mimi snapped him out of his thoughts.
"You can just introduce yourself instead of standing there like a corpse," she said, eyes half-lidded with that signature "I'm so done" expression, sipping her coffee without breaking eye contact.
"Corpse don't stand," David muttered beside her.
"Duhh," Mimi said, rolling her eyes.
Ye Qiu finally realized how long he had been standing there in silence. He straightened up and bowed politely.
"Ye Xiu," he said simply.
They all smiled at the name. Mrs. Zhou gently took his hand again, her voice soft.
"I'm the cleaner here," she said. Then she gestured toward Mimi. "She handles Reception—Door 1." She pointed to Luna and David. "They're both floor assistants."
She turned back to Ye Qiu. "What post were you given?"
Before he could answer, Mimi interjected, folding her arms and stepping forward.
"We already know what post he was given. Let's drop the pretense and get straight to the point."
She turned to Ye Qiu, eyes narrowed. "We heard a new employee got into a fight with Miss Chan. Was that you?"
"Huh?" Ye Qiu blinked, blindsided by the question.
"C'mon, don't act all innocent. We know everyone's face here. You're new, and the timing checks out. Just confirm it."
He squinted slightly, still trying to understand where this interrogation had come from, but before he could respond, Mrs. Zhou suddenly spun toward Mimi.
"Hey!" she snapped. "Don't you know how to take things slowly? You're going to scare the young man off!"
Her sudden outburst startled Ye Qiu—not because of the volume, but because the woman who looked like she had only 24 hours left to live was now radiating full-blown gangster granny energy.
Mimi fired back immediately. "Take a look at my skin!" she shouted, pulling up her sleeve and revealing goosebumps. "I'm getting chills from this cringe-fest of a conversation!"
"Umm... you guys realize Ye Xiu is still standing here, right?" David interjected weakly.
The group turned toward Ye Qiu again, who was now completely overwhelmed, questioning every life decision that led him to this moment.