Chapter 2: A Sudden Call and a Dizzying Reality

“Leaving already? Don’t go, Brother Yang! We still have three more skewers coming. What’s the rush? We can just skip the drinks if that’s the problem, alright?”

Luo Hao had assumed Bai YuYang was simply worried about drinking.

Indeed, Brother Yang wasn’t known for his high alcohol tolerance, and they had been drinking rather quickly moments ago.

Not just Luo Hao, but everyone else was also trying their best to persuade him to stay. Since high school, Bai YuYang had always seemed incredibly busy; getting him to join them for a meal was a rare feat.

However, it wasn’t the drinking that troubled YuYang. He had simply heard the topic of conversation earlier and felt a sudden pang of discomfort in his heart.

Just as he stood up, waving his hand with a wry smile, his phone rang.

‘Who could it be this time?’

YuYang subconsciously glanced at the screen. Besides more than twenty missed calls within the last hour, there was only the current incoming call.

This call was from his superior at the company where YuYang worked.

Despite his reluctance, he knew he couldn’t simply ignore it.

He answered the call and brought it to his ear, immediately hearing the slightly anxious voice of a middle-aged man through the receiver.

–Hello! YuYang! Are you still near the company?

–Hello, Section Chief Zhang. Is something the matter?

Without confirming his location, YuYang chose to keep his options open.

The classmates gathered around the dining table fell silent, sensing that YuYang was discussing work matters, and instinctively kept quiet.

The voice on the other end continued:

–YuYang, if it’s convenient, could you come back to the company and work overtime? None of our programmers are on the night shift today, and Xiao Liu, who was scheduled, called in sick. Wouldn’t you know it, right at this moment, our company’s program has run into an issue.

–I’ve thought about it, and even though you’re not a programmer, you’re the closest one on the schedule who also understands programming. If you haven’t gone too far, please come back and help us out! Otherwise, if we wait for the programmers from downtown to return, our company’s losses will be substantial.

While Section Chief Zhang was speaking, YuYang had already switched to speakerphone.

He wanted his friends to hear it too.

This was the perfect excuse to leave.

Watching YuYang hold his phone with a bitter smile, Luo Hao and the others couldn’t help but feel exhausted for him.

What a company! Even such a large enterprise demanded overtime at a moment’s notice.

With his superior personally calling, there was truly little room for refusal. But then again, Bai YuYang had been personally selected by the chairman.

Seeing that YuYang didn’t reply immediately, Section Chief Zhang quickly added:

–We’ll calculate your overtime pay at five times the normal rate, and regarding your promotion, YuYang, I’ll definitely communicate more with President Tang!

‘Oh, ho! Judging by his tone, if this glitch isn’t fixed, it seems Section Chief Zhang will be held responsible.’

YuYang had already planned to leave anyway. The company wasn’t far from here, so it was convenient to stop by and lend a hand. Dealing with computer programs was hardly a challenge for him.

–Alright, Section Chief Zhang. I’ll be there in ten minutes.

–Good! Good! Please hurry, YuYang.

–Understood.

Bai YuYang no longer had the heart to say anything more and simply hung up.

“Luo Hao, you all heard that, right?” YuYang shrugged, standing up again. “As a working adult, I’m not entirely my own master.

I’d love to stay and play longer, but when overtime hits you square in the face, what am I supposed to do if I don’t go and get fired?”

“Hahaha, Brother Yang, don’t worry, we brothers understand work matters. There will be plenty of opportunities to gather in the future! If you ever need anything… well, I doubt you’d need us, but if you do, just say the word!”

Everyone else also stood up to see YuYang off.

“Next time, for sure,” YuYang replied playfully.

Having a group of mischievous friends from high school wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

With that, YuYang picked up his suit jacket, draped it over his shoulders, and hailed another taxi. Without further delay, he headed back towards the company.

***

“Alright, Section Chief Zhang, the program has been restored to normal. I’ll need to wait here for another hour. If no issues arise, then it’s completely fixed.”

On the top floor of the Kongfeng Group building, which offered a panoramic view of Qifeng City’s nightscape, YuYang swiftly resolved the complex program issue that had plagued an entire floor of employees.

Standing nearby, the slightly balding Section Chief Zhang pushed up his glasses, his tense brows relaxing as he finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Ah, YuYang, I truly can’t thank you enough today! You truly are the talent President Tang personally selected; absolutely outstanding!”

“Haha… Section Chief Zhang, you flatter me. If there’s nothing else, could you allow me to stay here alone for a while? I need a quiet environment to investigate the root cause of the fault.”

“Of course! Do as you please! I’ll take the others out.”

In truth, YuYang wasn’t really planning to investigate the fault. He was simply feeling overwhelmed to his limit and wanted to be alone.

One thing after another… and even now, he hadn’t found the courage to send the girls the result of his decision.

‘Bai YuYang, oh Bai YuYang… aren’t you just escaping?’

‘You’ve already made your decision, so why can’t you be more resolute?’

As everyone else left the server room, this vast space was now occupied solely by Bai YuYang.

He lowered his head in thought, watching with hesitant eyes as his phone rang once more.

‘Should I keep hanging up?’

‘How long can I keep hanging up?’

Perhaps it was the lingering effects of the alcohol, but this time, in a moment of impulse, he didn’t even check the caller ID. He just grabbed his phone and pressed the answer button.

–Hello?

–Brother?! You finally answered! Where are you?! You’ve been worrying me sick! Sister Qingyu has been looking for you too. What are you doing?!

The caller was Bai YuYang’s younger sister, Bai YuXi.

Though he had only recently learned… they weren’t blood relatives.

–Xiao Xi… did you… see the decision I sent you?

–I saw it, but is that important? The main thing is, where are you right now? Are you safe?

–Eh… YuYang was momentarily taken aback.

However, out of his usual indulgence for his sister, he still told her his current location and assured her of his safety.

On the other end, she seemed to relax, pausing for a moment before speaking in an incredibly gentle voice.

–Brother, you… you’re always like this. You’ve only made your own choice, but we haven’t given up, you know… No matter how long it takes, I’m going to win you back…

–Xiao Xi? Hello? Xiao…

*Beep beep beep…*

The call disconnected.

Based on YuYang’s understanding of Bai YuXi, she was likely heading straight for the company.

After that call, YuYang felt no relief at all.

Instead, he felt even worse.

He slumped into a chair, his mind a chaotic mess. ‘What do you mean, you haven’t given up?’

‘If that’s the case, what am I supposed to do?’

At times like this, YuYang knew he needed to distract himself and calm down.

As for how to distract himself… didn’t he have a method right at hand?

YuYang was, in fact, a veteran otaku.

It was time for something drastic!

Normally a miser who was extremely frugal, he opened a few mobile games he played and, with a pang of heartache, spent money on over a dozen top-ups!

‘How about this?!’

‘My wallet hurts so much! Surely this should divert my attention a bit, right?’

Watching the continuous debit notifications flash on his bank card…

‘No… my heart hurts even more.’

“I must be sick… doing such a foolish thing. Forget it, I do feel a little lighter now.”

As long as one pain slightly overshadowed another, it counted as a form of relief.

Since he had already spent the money, YuYang gazed at the bustling nightscape outside the window and simply decided to open the gacha pools and do a few ten-pulls.

‘My luck has been so terrible today; surely a game should grant me a single-pull miracle, right?!’

As it turned out, he got carried away.

Every game, every ten-pull, hit the pity timer… and it was always the worst kind, offering no hope whatsoever.

“Get out of here!”

YuYang completely broke down. The mountain-like pressure made him throw his phone to the ground.

Then he picked it up… checking anxiously to see if it was broken.

“Ugh… I’m so annoyed, so utterly annoyed! If I could do it all over again, I’d rather never have met any of you! It’s all your fault; how can I let go of any of you?! Do I even want to choose?!

“I’m just an ordinary person! I have responsibilities too! How could I possibly keep ignoring you all?!

“I… cough cough…”

Was he too agitated, choked by his own saliva?

Was he so infuriated by his bad gacha luck?

Neither was quite right.

Just now, YuYang had thrown his phone and roared loudly. These unchecked emotional outbursts… yet, there were many employees outside this server room. Why hadn’t a single person come in to check on him?

The soundproofing here wasn’t even that good.

And ever since a moment ago, hadn’t it been far too quiet?

A server room shouldn’t be this silent; at the very least, there should be the hum of machines working. Now, there was not a single sound.

YuYang felt a tightness in his chest, not the emotional pain from before, but a literal, physical ache.

Clutching his chest, he forced himself to stand, walked to the window, and looked outside, his eyes widening in astonishment.

He was utterly bewildered.

Because the bustling traffic on the street outside… had all come to a complete standstill.

The vibrant neon lights, once a riot of colors, had all transformed into a single hue YuYang couldn’t quite name.

The pain in his chest grew more intense, causing YuYang to squint his eyes in agony.

‘What on earth is happening?’

He could feel his consciousness gradually blurring, much like the semiconscious state before falling asleep.

This was absolutely not normal.

YuYang gritted his teeth, forcing his eyes open through the sharp pain, only to see the distant vehicles and lights seeming to merge into one, becoming utterly indistinguishable.

Moreover… everything, every single thing, seemed to be receding backward.

Those lights… those landscapes… they should have no direction, yet in YuYang’s eyes, they were indeed rushing backward at an incredible speed.

Unable to comprehend these bizarre phenomena, Bai YuYang, under immense pressure, lifted his head, stretched out a hand as if to touch something, and then, with all his might, cried out:

“So, can anyone tell me what’s going on?!”

After shouting that sentence, his consciousness completely fragmented.

The world, too, seemed to finally settle back into tranquility.

***

“Brother? Brother! Wake up, don’t scare me! Were you having a nightmare, Brother?!”

A sweet, soft voice filled Bai YuYang’s ears.

The sound grew clearer as he slowly opened his eyes.

Then…

As Bai YuYang’s consciousness fully sharpened, he clearly saw the person before him—a face he knew all too well.

This adorable person, with silver hair and blue eyes, standing around 1.56 meters tall, and with tears welling at the corners of their eyes from worry.

It was none other than Bai YuYang’s younger sister, Bai YuXi.

“Eh… Xiao Xi? Why am I here? Wasn’t I at the company? Why are you crying? And why are you wearing your high school uniform?”

Bai YuYang sat up.

He had too many questions, but the sheer volume of information was overwhelming.

He didn’t know where to begin.