The lecturer for the mandatory intern course was still droning on like a monk reciting sutras, and the dense text on the slides made my eyelids feel heavy. I was secretly doodling cats fighting on my pen display, the tip of my tail twitching occasionally against the chair leg.
‘Corporate culture management… what kind of genius came up with this nonsense? What is the point of a class like this…?’
‘I’d rather go back and finish a couple of my drawings.’
Just as I was sinking into boredom, the phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated.
Thinking it was Xiaoxiao, I pulled it out to check, only to find a text from an unknown number: “I’m downstairs at your company!”
‘Who is this?’ My ears perked up in alert.
Not many people knew I was interning here, and anyone who did wouldn’t send such a brash message…
Before I could figure it out, the conference room door was pushed open. The administrative sister poked her head in, her gaze scanning the room before landing on me. “Guiyun, are you here? Someone is at the front desk looking for you. They said they’re your friend.”
‘A friend?’ I quickly ran through the possibilities in my head. If Sister Yueran were coming, she would have sent a WeChat message first, and unless it was something important, she wouldn’t visit Ning Dongya’s company.
As for Xiaoxiao, that girl would definitely just call and start shouting.
Could it be… Sister Beina, whom I just met yesterday? Impossible. A shut-in like her would rather send ten messages than make a trip in person.
A strange sense of dread washed over me. But compared to listening to this gibberish, going out for a breath of fresh air didn’t seem so bad.
“Thanks, Sister. I’ll be right there,” I whispered, slipping out of the conference room under the curious gazes of the other interns.
The closer I got to the front desk, the stronger my ominous premonition became. It wasn’t until I turned the corner that I saw the familiar figure.
Lin Yuehan stood there with her hands on her hips, her short chestnut hair clearly styled with care. Her brown dog ears twitched warily, and her tail stood straight up like a flagpole.
‘Tsk, it’s this girl. I should just pretend I don’t know her and go back to class!’
But it was too late. She noticed me, and her eyes instantly lit up as she took a deep breath.
‘Oh no, oh no! I’m going to be pestered by this disaster child again!’
“I, ‘Night Howl, Blood Moon Fang,’ have come here today to issue the ultimate challenge to my nemesis, Guiyun!” Her voice was so loud that the entire lobby could hear her. “I declare this place the new battlefield! I shall not rest until I have utterly crushed her with my drawing skills!”
the receptionist’s shoulders shook as she suppressed a laugh, and several passing colleagues stopped to stare. I wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and roll away.
‘How on earth did this idiot find this place! Is being a target not enough for me already!’
I fought the urge to facepalm, my tail curling into an embarrassed knot. Forget it. Getting tangled up with this girl with eighth-grader syndrome never ends well. I should just pretend I didn’t hear anything and go back to the lecture.
Just as I started to move, Lin Yuehan’s mocking voice chased after me.
“Hmph! So you’re running away after all? Someone who won an award through connections doesn’t dare accept a fair challenge! You’re just scared!”
My footsteps froze, and my claws tightened around the hem of my shirt.
‘Tsk!! Who’s scared of you! And who used connections! I drew that piece stroke by stroke! Do you have any idea how many nights I stayed up to fix the composition!’
Lin Yuehan’s words poked right at my most sensitive spot, and the string of my rationality snapped. I whipped around, my fur bristling as I rushed toward her.
“Who are you calling a back-door winner! If you don’t have a use for those eyes, you can donate them! In what way was my painting inferior to yours!”
“In every way! If the judges hadn’t been biased, I should have been the one on that podium!”
“Bullshit! Your composition was as stiff as a textbook! Your color palette was tackier than dirt!”
“I call that bold!! Anything is better than someone like you who just acts cute to please the judges!”
Like a cat and dog who had both had their tails stepped on, we devolved into a mess of shouting at the front desk, completely disregarding our images. Whatever! I have to win this argument!
I don’t know how much time passed as we bickered back and forth. She called me a panderer, and I called her colorblind until we were both out of breath.
“Still not convinced?” Lin Yuehan strained her neck, her brown dog ears trembling slightly from excitement. “Then let’s compete again! A live prompt, a fair duel! If I lose, I’ll admit you won that award on merit, not through the back door!”
I was almost driven to laughter by her bizarre logic. “I get nothing if I win, but if I lose, I’m stuck with the label of a back-door winner. Only a fool would compete with you!”
She froze, her dog ears tilting in confusion as if she had never considered that point. But only two seconds later, her arrogant air returned, and her tail shot back up. “Th-Then, if I lose, I’ll buy you another meal! Just like yesterday! You pick the place!”
‘A meal?’ My ears twitched instinctively. Those octopus balls from yesterday were actually pretty good, and that fried chicken place… ‘No! Now is not the time for that!’
My logic started to return. Looking back at yesterday’s competition, if Ning Dongya hadn’t given me that highly targeted tutoring beforehand, it would have been a toss-up whether my amateur style could even snag a bronze award. Lin Yuehan had ranked fourth; her strength was definitely not to be underestimated. If we really competed, the outcome was uncertain.
My moment of hesitation was immediately caught by her sharp eyes.
“What? Don’t tell me you’re afraid?” She stepped closer, her eyes frighteningly bright, her tone dripping with “I knew it” smugness. “It looks like I hit the mark. Without President Ning giving you private lessons, you’re showing your true colors?”
‘Private lessons? How does she know Ning Dongya tutored me? Did she just happen to guess correctly?’ But those words were like a needle, stabbing into the most insecure part of my heart.
“What kind of nonsense are you talking!”
“Then prove it! Compete with me!” She pressed closer, her tail practically whipping against my face. “Or are you saying that without help, you’re actually useless?”
‘Useless? Who said I’m useless!’
The suppressed fire flared up again, burning away the last of my reason.
‘Fine! Let’s do this! Who’s afraid of who!’
“Fine! We’ll do it right now! Don’t you dare cry when you lose!” I shouted, my tail puffed out like a feather duster.
“Good! It’s a deal!” Lin Yuehan’s eyes sparkled brilliantly, as if her scheme had succeeded.
Seeing how excited she was, I suddenly felt like… I had fallen into another trap.
—
Meanwhile, inside the CEO’s office.
Ning Dongya was looking at the surveillance footage on her tablet. The screen was divided into several small grids, one of which clearly showed the farce taking place at the front desk.
On the screen, the silver-haired catgirl’s tail was puffed out in rage as she argued with the chestnut-haired doggirl until they were both red in the face.
The CEO tapped her finger lightly against the edge of the tablet, her expression unreadable. It wasn’t until she saw the catgirl get completely provoked and nod in agreement to the challenge that she gave a nearly imperceptible shake of her head.
‘She hasn’t changed at all. Still so easily manipulated by a few words.’
She tapped the screen, enlarging the footage of the front desk. Looking at the catgirl whose ears were trembling with anger, a hint of faint helplessness flickered in her eyes.
‘She jumped into such an obvious provocation so easily.’
She turned off the monitor and picked up the internal phone.
“Notify the Human Resources Department,” her voice was calm and steady. “A girl named Lin Yuehan will likely be coming in to process an internship soon. Follow the standard procedure and assign her to… the workstation next to Guiyun.”
“If they really want to compete, remember to arrange judges and invite some staff who aren’t busy to watch. As for the competition, keep the time limit short to test their reaction speed. For the theme… let’s go with ‘The Most Peaceful Moment.’ Yes, that will do.”
Setting down the phone, she picked up her fountain pen, her gaze falling back onto the documents awaiting her signature.
‘This is for the best. Having an over-energetic rival nearby might make her reveal her secrets faster.’
And this upcoming competition also hid a massive trap.
‘How much longer can you hide at this rate?’
‘My dear little cutie…’