If someone told Su Yao yesterday that her first day at Haiyun Innovations Group would feel like stepping into another planet, she would've probably laughed and then checked her bank balance twice. But here she was, standing in front of Haiyun Tower in Lujiazui, staring up at a building so tall she almost felt like it would judge her for being financially hopeless.
It was early. Too early. The kind of early where the sun was only half awake and the office workers were all walking like programmed robots doing their daily pilgrimage to capitalism. She watched a group of people in suits breeze past her, each carrying expensive coffee, while she clutched her five-yuan soy milk that was 80% warm water.
The revolving glass door looked fancy as hell, and she hesitated a bit before stepping inside. Her reflection in the glass didn't help. She looked normal. Too normal. A loose white blouse she ironed three times because the first two attempts failed. Black slacks that weren't quite the right length. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, except for one rebellious strand that kept falling onto her cheek.
"Okay," she muttered quietly to herself, tapping the toe of her shoe on the tiled floor like she was testing the ground for traps. "You can do this. You survived college. You survived the landlord's price increase. You survived your mother asking when you'll get married every other call. A job is nothing."
A security guard glanced at her. She pretended she wasn't pep-talking herself in public and flashed her new employee badge at him with way too much force. He blinked, nodded, and she rushed through like a criminal trying to pass immigration.
Inside was… clean. Too clean. Like the place smelled faintly of money and lemon-scented professionalism.
The receptionist told her the HR onboarding was on the 10th floor, so she headed toward the elevator bank. The elevators were these shiny silver things that moved too fast, as if they were designed to expose who wasn't used to corporate life. She pressed the button, and the doors slid open silently. The moment she stepped inside, she felt her stomach flip, because wow—that was a lot of mirrored surfaces for someone who barely slept last night.
The elevator stopped again on the 5th floor, and a tall man stepped inside. She felt him before she actually saw him. He gave off this kind of cold air-conditioning aura even though he was just wearing a regular suit. Not flashy. Not overly fitted. But sharp. Sharp like he could cut someone with a glance.
She moved aside quickly, holding her soy milk like a shield. He didn't say anything, didn't even look her way. He just pressed a button—48—and stood there like an actual statue. Quiet. Hands behind his back. Face completely unreadable. She tried not to stare, but her brain was already going, Wow, must be some department boss. Maybe HR? No, HR didn't look like that. Finance? Maybe. CEO? Lol, no way. CEOs didn't show up this early, right? Right??
Her soy milk suddenly felt childish. She tried to hold it in a way that didn't scream "I can't afford Starbucks."
She sneaked another glance.
He had this sort of face that made her brain short circuit for half a second. Not the idol-type pretty. More like a calm, sharp-featured, kind-of-unreachable sort of handsome. The kind that made her straighten her posture even though she was 98% sure he didn't even know she existed.
The elevator dinged and she almost jumped out before realizing it wasn't her floor yet. The man didn't move. Didn't blink. Didn't breathe? Was he even human?
She finally reached the 10th floor. She practically sprinted out, mumbling something like "excuse me sorry excuse me," even though he didn't say a thing or look at her.
When the elevator doors closed again, she didn't notice the tiniest flicker in his eyes as he looked at the floor number where she got off.
Anyway, HR onboarding was… long. The sort of long where her brain started melting halfway through an orientation video about proper workplace conduct. Her eyes glazed over when someone explained digital security protocols for the sixth time. She was pretty sure she nodded off for three seconds but pretended to blink slowly.
Finally, after signing what felt like her entire life away, she was given her access card, a temporary seating assignment, and a map of the office layout that looked like it belonged in a survival game.
The Operations Support Department was on the 23rd floor, so she made her way there. The moment she exited the elevator, her nose was hit by a mix of coffee aroma, stress, and an overworked air purifier. People rushed left and right clutching papers, tablets, pens, and panic.
A girl waved at her from across the room. Waved like they were old friends. "You must be the new hire! I'm Lin Shanshan! Come, come, sit here before Fang Min comes back. He yells when he's stressed."
"Is he stressed a lot?"
"He INVENTED stress," Shanshan said flatly.
Su Yao tried not to laugh but failed a little. She took her seat—a tiny desk squeezed between the ancient office printer and a stack of documents that might collapse and kill her one day. The printer made a noise that sounded like a dying cow. She prayed it wouldn't explode.
Shanshan leaned over. "Don't worry, it only jams when it senses fear."
"That's not comforting."
"Welcome to Haiyun," Shanshan said dramatically.
Su Yao breathed in slowly, trying to steady herself. This was fine. This was okay. She had a job now. In a big company. With a big building. And terrifyingly handsome bosses who stepped out of elevators like ghosts who paid taxes.
She started logging into her computer when the printer let out a sudden grinding noise. Loud. Angry. She jumped in her seat and slapped a hand over her chest.
"Oh, don't mind that," Shanshan said. "It's possessed."
Possessed was right. It made a noise again, louder, and Su Yao muttered under her breath, "Why is this money-eating demon the first thing I face on my first day…?"
She said it quietly.
She THOUGHT it was quiet.
But the entire row seemed to freeze.
Shanshan's eyes widened. Chen Wei, who was walking past, choked on his coffee. Even the printer seemed to pause dramatically.
Su Yao blinked. "What… what happened…?"
Shanshan stared at something behind Su Yao. "Uh… don't turn around."
She turned around.
She regretted turning around.
Standing there—like a living sculpture carved out of cold authority—was the man from the elevator.
Her soy-milk embarrassment guy.
Except this time, he was looking at her. Directly.
And he was smiling.
SMILING.
A tiny one. Barely there. More like the corner of his mouth softened for half a breath. But it was unmistakable.
The office went silent. Dead silent.
Someone muttered, "Holy—"
Someone else dropped a pen.
Even Shanshan's eyebrows were about to leave the country.
He spoke, voice calm and low. "Don't worry. The printer sounds like that even when it's in a good mood."
Her soul left her body.
She opened her mouth but no air came out. She probably looked like a fish having an existential crisis.
The man gave the printer a brief glance and then nodded to the room before walking away. His footsteps were nearly silent, but the shockwave he left behind was very much alive.
When he disappeared into the executive corridor, Shanshan grabbed Su Yao's chair and hissed, "Do you have ANY idea who that was?!"
"N-no…?"
"That's the CEO."
Su Yao's brain stopped.
"The C— the— what?"
"CEO. Big boss. King of the building. The man whose smile has been extinct for like five years. AND HE JUST SMILED AT YOU. YOU."
Su Yao stared at the screen, her ears ringing.
Her first day.
Her first morning.
And she had already called the office printer a "money-eating demon" in front of the CEO.
She sank into her chair, face burning.
This was it.
She was going to die here.
Maybe the printer would just finish the job.