Chapter Three: Employment Contract

Internet Café.

The most popular online game of the moment: Return of the Demon Horde.

In the eerie, forbidding Arctic Forest, the boss known as Big Ba, who respawned every two hours, was just cut down by a gleaming longsword. Hong Chen watched as his character, a demon warrior with the ID “Stallion,” had the dazzling VIP letters burst from his body onscreen. In the blink of an eye, he swept up all seven or eight of the treasures dropped by Big Ba, grinning from ear to ear.

Outside the Pavilion, along the ancient road, fragrant grasses stretch to the sky... He hummed a little tune in high spirits, his ten fingers dancing over the keyboard like a pianist. Lyrics floated above “Stallion’s” head like drifting clouds, while the ground was littered with the corpses of fellow players who’d fallen in the fierce battle for the boss.

“Told you not to fight me. Now do you get it? In the end, you’re nothing but bones paving the way for a champion’s glory.” His teammate, the demon priest known as “Last Aristocrat,” had venting words floating above his head as he changed expression stickers rapidly, trampling over the scattered bodies.

After the chaos, the two returned to the capital, deposited their spoils in storage, and replenished their supplies. Just as they were about to embark on another adventure, Hong Chen’s phone vibrated. Seeing it was his wife, he suddenly realized it was already Friday.

He answered, exchanged a few brief words, and hung up, shaking his head helplessly. When the wife called, there was no refusing. He was still pondering how to explain when “Last Aristocrat” popped up an apologetic emoji onscreen: “My girlfriend just messaged, wants to meet at the Qingshi Park gate.”

Hong Chen’s eyes lit up. He typed quickly: “You’re logging off?”

“Last Aristocrat”: SORRY.

“Stallion”: What about your so-called integrity?

“Last Aristocrat” responded with a sweat emoji.

“Stallion”: You’re buying supper.

“Last Aristocrat”: OK.

Satisfied, Hong Chen exited the game, shut down the computer, paid the bill, and left.

...

Apartment complex, downstairs.

A tall, elegant city woman stood quietly, dressed in a pale business suit, long hair draped over her shoulders, skin like jade, lips red and teeth white—a stunning sight by any measure.

Her name was Lin Yuxin, Hong Chen’s wife. In her school days, she had been the most beautiful girl in her class, and now she was the most striking CEO in Qingshi’s business world.

Hong Chen strolled over in a leisurely manner. Lin Yuxin regarded him with a clear, cool gaze. “You haven’t come home these past few days. Where have you been?”

“The internet café,” Hong Chen replied.

She bit her lip, visibly frustrated. “All you ever do is play games. How is that any different from being addicted to drugs?”

Hong Chen silently turned his gaze away, uninterested in revisiting an argument they’d had countless times before.

She sighed, her tone softening. “I heard about what happened with Yufei. I’ve already explained things for you—don’t overthink it.”

Hong Chen had been accused of harboring improper intentions toward Lin Yufei. When her mother had first complained, Lin Yuxin had been furious. But after calming down, she dismissed it. If Hong Chen really were that sort of man, after two years of marriage, sharing a room night after night—her on the bed, him on the floor, barely three meters apart—how could she have remained untouched?

Truth be told, even she admired his self-control. In her estimation, it had to be a misunderstanding. Hong Chen, unable to defend himself, had his pride wounded and so had stayed away for three days and nights...

“Let’s go. Your uncle called—Grandma wants us to come over. My parents are already there.” With that, Lin Yuxin gestured and strode off, her high heels clicking crisply on the pavement.

Hong Chen didn’t want to go; he found the Lin family’s attitudes repugnant. But he had no grounds to refuse. As long as they weren’t divorced, in name he was still a member of the Lin family. He could only follow in silence.

...

Half an hour later.

They hailed a cab to the old Lin family residence.

By now, more than a dozen people had gathered in the main hall. The Lin family had once been among Qingshi’s first-tier clans, but had gradually declined to second-tier status—though their numbers remained robust.

The patriarch, Old Master Lin, had three sons and one daughter. Lin Yuxin’s father, Lin Yuangui, was not Lady Lin’s biological child but an illegitimate son. Back then, Old Master Lin had credited the business he received from Su Qinghai to Lin Yuangui, granting him ten percent of the Lin Group’s shares. As a result, Lin Yuangui’s branch had avoided hardship after the old man’s passing, and Lin Yuxin became the CEO of a Lin Group subsidiary, but their status in the family was the lowest.

As soon as Hong Chen and Lin Yuxin entered, all eyes turned their way.

Hong Chen frowned, sensing an odd atmosphere. He was about to head for an empty seat when the old lady in the seat of honor spoke: “Hong Chen, if I’m not mistaken, you’ve been part of our Lin family for two years now.”

He looked at her. She continued, “In these two years, you haven’t held a proper job. It can’t go on like this. The Lin Group happens to have a vacancy—head of pharmaceutical procurement. You’ll take it.”

Hong Chen could hardly believe his ears. The Lin Group wasn’t huge, but its interests were broad, including two pharmacies with an annual turnover of about five million, a quarter of the group’s revenue. Procurement was a lucrative post—yet they’d hand it to him, the family’s notorious deadbeat?

Was the sun rising in the west?

Before he could respond, the old lady signaled to her second son, Lin Yuanshan, who stepped forward with a folder.

“Hong Chen, you’re still young—you should show some ambition and work hard.” Lin Yuanshan shoved the contract into his hands, offered him a pen, and pointed to the signature line. “This is your employment contract—sign here.”

Lin Yuxin frowned. The whole thing felt fishy. She tried to get a closer look, but Shen Huifang quickly pulled her to a seat.

No one else spoke, all eyes fixed on Hong Chen. The room was oppressively silent.

Hong Chen glanced over the document, made no move to sign, and shook his head. “Grandma, I’d better not. I know nothing about pharmaceuticals.”

The old lady’s face tightened. “You can learn. Your second uncle is the deputy general manager in charge—he’ll find you an assistant.”

Hong Chen cast a slow, meaningful look around, a sly smile playing at his lips. Out of nowhere, he remarked, “Why does everyone in this room look so nervous? Is there something wrong with this contract?”

At that, faces shifted throughout the hall.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You think Grandma and your second uncle would set you up?” Lin Meimei, daughter of the third aunt, burst out, her tone foul. “You useless bum—you want to sponge off the Lin family forever? We give you a chance and you throw it back in our faces?”

Shen Huifang’s face darkened. “Hong Chen, if you want to stay in this house, sign it now.”

The eldest cousin, Lin Tianhao, chimed in with a patronizing air. “Hong Chen, you can’t lounge around forever. Even if you don’t care about yourself, think of Yuxin.”

“Bah, what a hopeless case—useless as mud that won’t stick to the wall.”

“Exactly—poor Yuxin, married to a complete wastrel.”

Suddenly, everyone was attacking Hong Chen. Lin Yuxin couldn’t stand it. She spoke up, “Second Uncle, you know Hong Chen’s situation. He’s just not ready. Give me the contract. I’ll talk to him at home, and on Monday he’ll report to the office with it.”

The old lady’s gaze turned icy. “Yuxin, the Lin family doesn’t keep idle mouths to feed. He’s being offered a job—does he need to be coddled like a child?”

“Grandma...” Lin Yuxin started, but the old lady waved her off. “He must work. The Lin family will not tolerate layabouts.”

Lin Yuxin wanted to argue, but suddenly Hong Chen said, “The start date on this contract is wrong.” With a few strokes, he amended the dates.

“Don’t change that—” Lin Yuanshan blurted, catching himself too late, his face falling.

The old lady’s expression soured as well.

Lin Yuxin, already suspicious, snatched the contract and scanned it. Her face went cold. She tossed the contract back at Lin Yuanshan.

This was nothing less than an expired contract—the start date was last year’s date, among other glaring irregularities.

Her action plunged the hall into silence once more. Everyone exchanged uneasy glances, the atmosphere growing increasingly odd.