As April moved into late spring, the days in Yan City grew longer. At 6 PM, the sun slowly dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with hues of orange and gold. Tang Song closed his notebook, tidied up his desk, and clocked out right on time.

Just as he punched out at the front desk, someone gave his shoulder a firm pat. Du Shaokai, laughing and joking, followed closely behind to clock out as well. He winked at the company’s beautiful receptionist, “Yuying, make sure to let me know when you guys from the admin department are having a dinner gathering. I know a place that has amazing BBQ.”

Du Yuying giggled, “Sure thing, Brother Du. We girls without cars will rely on you for rides.”

Du Shaokai shook the Cadillac keys in his hand. “No problem! I’m heading out with Old Tang now. Bye!”

“Bye-bye.”

Du Shaokai put his arm around Tang Song’s shoulders, gesturing towards the stairwell, “Let’s go, Old Tang. I need to talk to you. I’ve been messaging you for days, but you haven’t replied. Some things are hard to discuss in the office.”

Tang Song glanced at him and nodded, “Alright.”

During Tang Song’s three-day leave, Du Shaokai frequently asked about the project’s progress and urged him to complete it within the week. It seemed he expected Tang Song to cave under Director Chen’s pressure.

“Creak—” Pushing open the heavy fire door, they entered the quiet stairwell. Du Shaokai visibly relaxed. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lit one, and took a deep drag before offering one to Tang Song, “Want one?”

“I don’t smoke.”

“Heh, suit yourself.” Du Shaokai leaned against the wall, blowing smoke rings and grinning, “By Monday, the HR module should be done, right? Remember to commit it to the Git repository’s dev branch first. I’ll handle the merge and deployment.”

“That’s not my task,” Tang Song shrugged, mimicking Du Shaokai’s gesture. “I haven’t received any work orders from the HR department, so it’s not my concern.”

Du Shaokai’s hand paused mid-drag, “Old Tang, let me be honest. This module is something Tian Jing wants to add. You know I like her, and she’s quite influential. We can’t afford to offend her. I hope you understand. Whatever happened before, if I wronged you, forgive me. As long as you follow my lead from now on, I can ensure you have a comfortable time in the company.”

Tang Song patted Du Shaokai’s arm and smiled, “I see the project schedule only allows for a two-week development period. Good luck, Xiao Du. Your time is running out.”

No wonder he was so invested; it was because of Tian Jing. At 22, she was already a compensation supervisor. Her connections far surpassed those of Du Shaokai’s uncle, the vice president.

Du Shaokai’s eyes filled with anger, and his voice rose, “You might not know, but I’ll be promoted to backend team leader by next month, your direct supervisor. Think before you act. In this world, there’s no shortage of people willing to do the work. If you don’t, someone else will.”

Tang Song calmly met his gaze, showing no fear or hesitation, “Congratulations in advance, Supervisor Du. I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll be leaving now.”

He opened the fire door without waiting for a response.

“Thud.” Du Shaokai flicked his cigarette, hitting the fire door. His tone turned icy, “I’ll discuss this with Director Chen. The team doesn’t need troublemakers, and Jinxiu Commerce doesn’t have room for you.”

Tang Song paused and turned back, “You’re quite hypocritical, like Chen Yunteng. Always putting the team and company first, when it’s really all about your own interests.”

Ignoring Du Shaokai’s reaction, he left.

With the system’s rewards and support, Tang Song felt no pressure regarding demotion or termination.

...

At Qingxin Homestead.

Tang Song munched on a diet meal while browsing short videos. Although the food was bland, the girls in the videos made it more appetizing.

“Ding-dong—” His WeChat notification sounded.

[Gao Mengting: "Meiting Clothing Store.map"]

[Gao Mengting: "We have a batch of men’s clothing in good condition. Mr. Tang can come and choose. I’ll sell them at cost."]

Tang Song replied, “Alright, see you this weekend.”

He then exited the chat and checked his conversation with Zhao Yaqian. His invitation to go shopping had gone unanswered for two hours. Since their road trip, Zhao Yaqian seemed to be avoiding him, and less enthusiastic in their chats.

After hesitating for a moment, he decided not to send another message.

Just then, the system interface automatically appeared before him.

[April 20, 2023: You’ve achieved your goal of gaining over 1,000 followers on Little Red Book.]

[Though modest, you’ve become a qualified influencer. Your transformation journey has attracted attention, granting you access to the Dandelion platform for monetizing through ads.]

[You have received the title “Popular Me.”] Updates are released by NoveIＦire.net

[Would you like to equip it now: Yes, No]

Tang Song’s heart leaped with joy. He had finally hit 1,000 followers! All his efforts in daily updates and interactions had paid off. He hadn’t expected a title as a reward.

Titles in the Heartthrob Simulator game were honor badges that provided special effects, such as attribute boosts, charisma, skills, etc.

He clicked to equip it. A golden light flashed, and the system interface switched to the main screen, where a golden title appeared above his 3D character.

He clicked to view the details.

[Popular Me]: Wearing this title grants you a cash reward of 100 times the number of new followers on your social media platforms.

[Note 1: Marketing methods to gain followers are prohibited.]

[Note 2: Your usual platforms include Douyin and Little Red Book.]

[Current cash reward: 102,000 yuan (Total 102,000 yuan)]

He was going to be rich!

Seeing the title’s content, Tang Song was stunned. In the Heartthrob Simulator game, he received many titles with cash rewards, such as [The Power of Breathing], which granted 5 yuan for every breath. In the game, such titles were trivial, but in the real world, this was a game-changer!

One follower equaled 100 yuan. Ten thousand followers meant a million yuan!

Tang Song regretted not being more active on platforms like Weibo and Kuaishou. Otherwise, his usual platforms wouldn’t be limited to just these two.

Even so, Douyin was much easier to gain followers than Little Red Book. Without any promotion, he could gain followers simply by consistently posting videos. And the system generously counted his existing followers, too.

Tang Song checked his phone: Little Red Book had 1,001 followers, and Douyin had 19, making a total of 1,020 followers. This translated to a withdrawable amount of 102,000 yuan.