"I Will Die Without a Boss" · "SSS-Level Save Face".

If the scrutiny and speculation about her on the internet were merely based on a 2D plane,

then Tang Hua in her 3D form would evoke an extreme illusion of "Indeed, the three-dimensional world can completely outshine the two-dimensional one."

—「First Encounter」.

…

Her flushed cheeks, her gaze directed slightly downward,

her alluring figure, her feverish body state,

her arms crossed over her chest,

her right hand gripping the bandages wrapped around her left arm, trying to hide them from her boss.

Unfortunately,

even if she didn’t need to do this,

Lu Qing was already rooted to the spot by the breathtaking beauty that greeted him upon entering the room.

—「From her facial features to her toes, she hits every inch of my preferences」.

"What kind of beauty is this?"

Lu Qing exclaimed inwardly.

Outwardly, he struggled to hide the fact that he was utterly captivated.

In his eyes,

Tang Hua was like a 3D version of a succubus.

Top-tier, elegant, unadorned with makeup, relying solely on her natural beauty and the pheromones radiating from her body,

she was enough to leave anyone spellbound in an instant.

— A true「Allure」in the literal sense.

"Indeed, her avatar is a 1:1 replica."

Rather,

it is a manifestation of her image.

However, the avatar is just an avatar,

even if it is perfect,

it still pales in comparison to her in the flesh.

This three-dimensional Tang Hua, alive and radiating an overwhelming allure at every moment,

though motionless, could exert a magnetic pull that clawed its way onto Lu Qing’s body.

Her aura was stripping away his rationality.

Even without doing anything.

「Human Succubus」.

"Lubia?"

He tried calling her name.

"……"

Tang Hua first froze.

Then, she nodded very slightly, confirming her identity.

She awkwardly shifted to the side, making a narrow gap for him to enter, her heart full of anticipation but her expression filled with worry as she welcomed her boss into the room.

—「Throughout, she dared not meet his gaze.」

Lu Qing saw a shadow of self-doubt in her.

The mischievous intentions he had originally planned also gradually faded.

"I brought you a souvenir as a small token of our previous collaboration. Please accept it."

Regarding her gender, Lu Qing didn’t mention it at all.

He simply took out a beautifully packaged cosplay outfit from his bag, handing it to her with polite, slightly distant words.

Since it was in a gift box, the cosplay outfit was just a flat rectangular box from the outside, leaving its contents a mystery.

As for its size and measurements, Lu Qing had put a lot of effort into choosing it at the「Maidolia」shop.

When the shop assistant asked, "Are you buying this for the girlfriend you brought last time?"

Lu Qing found himself struggling to explain.

He just shook his head and pulled out his phone, showing the shop owner a photo of「Tang Hua」,

hoping the professional could estimate her body size and the required measurements just by looking.

The highly skilled shop owner quickly came to a conclusion, but the look she gave Lu Qing also carried a strange implication.

One could probably read it as—

"Rich boys are so fickle, today it's JK, tomorrow it's bodhisattva, you really know how to play"… or something along those lines.

But it didn’t matter, the past was the past.

Lu Qing snapped back to reality, glancing to the side, confident that the 80H bust size he had ultimately settled on should be correct.

“...Hmm.”

Tang Hua let out a small, almost inaudible sound, as if responding to him.

She reached out and took the gift box,

noticing the Gothic-style「Maidolia」logo etched in high-end artistic font on the top.

"!"

Her beautiful eyes widened slightly, and she looked at her boss in panic.

Realizing that what was inside was likely a high-end custom piece, and the price would certainly not be less than 1500.

Her boss…

had spent money on her again.

40000+20000+1500=?

Tang Hua wanted to express her gratitude.

But at this moment, she couldn’t utter a single word.

Despite having grand ambitions before opening the door,

the moment she actually saw her boss, standing under his gaze,

a feeling of self-loathing would creep over her like mud in a swamp,

no matter how hard she tried to shake it off.

She was「dirty」.

A dirty person did not deserve to accept her boss’s favor.

Any courage she had was gone.

Yes.

On the internet, even bantering with her boss required hours of preparation.

And now, her boss was standing right in front of her,

any words she spoke without careful consideration would likely lead to mistakes.

The more she said, the more mistakes she made.

Saying nothing meant making no mistakes.

Tang Hua hugged the gift box tightly, not wanting to lower her impression in her boss’s eyes due to any slip of the tongue.

She held the box against her chest.

It carried the warmth of her boss’s hand, even if only on one corner.

It needed to be cherished.

"Please… come in."

Finally, she managed to say something that sounded human.

"Yeah, don’t be nervous. It’s okay."

Lu Qing stepped into the room, closing the door behind him without needing Tang Hua to do anything.

Click.

"!"

The door blocked out the dust that had accumulated in the hallway;

the stuffy air of the room enveloped him.

"Barrier" gave way to "Domain".

This old, run-down place…

was clearly not suitable for living.

Lu Qing thought this,

but soon,

his worldview was once again shaken.

"……"

If Tang Hua’s appearance had already surpassed the level of a mythical beauty he had imagined before coming here,

then the「her room」that now met his eyes…

"…………"

was truly no different from what one would expect after a 38-year-old unemployed male artist had left his room untouched for months.

Lu Qing was utterly shocked.

He thought:

—「If you take Tang Hua out of the equation, this is exactly the room of a 38-year-old perverted manga artist, what the hell」.

So, roughly speaking, Tang Hua hadn’t lied to me.

She lived in this dump of a place.

Her computer workstation was surrounded by layer upon layer of trash…

No, how did she work like this?

That chair looked like an oasis in the desert…

Did she work with her feet on the chair, her body curled up while drawing?

Lu Qing didn’t have time to be shocked.

Because he suddenly realized,

【he couldn’t move.】

The reason was,

her room was completely「impossible to step into」.

"……"

Lu Qing had only taken one step into the room and already had no idea where to go next.

After all, no matter which direction he chose, he would step on some dirty thing.

Oh, if he hadn’t mistaken, a cockroach seemed to have crawled past a shadowy corner.

Emm……

His forehead veins bulged.

And his fists clenched tightly.

"I said Lubia, do you really live in such a place?"

"……"

For Lu Qing, who had been raised by older sisters and had a mild case of cleanliness obsession (taking 1-2 baths a day), he simply couldn’t stand the bizarre and absurd environment before him.

The bizarre part was how dirty and messy the room was beyond his imagination,

the absurd part was that this was a girl’s room, and a girl as beautiful as her.

If you had to say anything clean in the room…

Lu Qing glanced at the bed and the bathroom door.

Probably only those two「sacred places」were barely passable.

“...Hmm.”

At this moment,

Tang Hua’s heart sank.

She lowered her head in humility.

Her boss was disgusted.

She hadn’t misheard or misjudged,

her boss indeed didn’t like the messy version of herself.

Of course.

How could such a room be worthy of her boss’s status.

Her boss lived in the Tianhe Platinum Apartments, with a monthly rent of 6100,

the community was perfectly landscaped, and even stray cats were fighting to get in.

If it weren’t for that big orange cat guarding the place, the entire area might have turned into a haven for cats and dogs.

Yes, her boss lived in a completely different environment from her.

He was「clean」.

She was「dirty」.

Whether in life or in the past.

Whether it was the secrets she wanted to hide or the facts that could no longer be changed.

Tang Hua’s eyes dimmed.

"I am a worm in the shadows, only worthy of silently gazing at my boss from afar.

Now that my boss has come to my humble abode, he will surely be unable to bear the air and turn around to leave."

Thinking this, she suddenly felt the urge to die grow even stronger.

Indeed.

Lu Qing turned back and opened the door.

"Ah…"

Seeing his actions, Tang Hua opened her mouth but couldn't produce any more sound.

Yet,

the expression on her face, on the verge of tears,

seemed to convey something already.

— Boss, don't leave me.

Boss, where are you going?

Are you abandoning me?

Is it because of my "ugly appearance" that makes you uncomfortable?

Do you want to leave me, to distance yourself from me?

Do you want to throw me here, to cut me off?

Is that it?

Boss...

I...

I don't want you to leave.

I don't want you to go.

Sob.

But,

even just reaching out to try and stop him,

was, for her at this moment, as difficult as climbing to the heavens.

Online, she could throw punches with full force, but in reality, she was just introverted.

She was timid,

indecisive,

afraid of the outside world's air.

【She never speaks】.

...

...

Her bangs covered her cheeks.

Her gaze slightly downward.

Tang Hua's eyes were unfocused,

already unable to hold onto the souvenir in her arms.

The box fell to the ground with a thud.

"?"

Lu Qing suddenly turned around.

"What are you doing?"

…

"Huh…?"

Tang Hua paused for a moment,

thinking the boss was angry,

about to scold her.

But instead, he furrowed his brows deeply,

speaking in a commanding tone, "I'm going downstairs to buy a broom, mop, trash bags, dish soap, and air freshener and stuff. You stay here and don't go anywhere. I said, Lubia, you deliberately decorated the room like this to make it difficult for me, huh? Well, you're dead wrong. Listen up, if I don't clean this hellhole up today, my last name Lu will be written backwards. Heh."

...

...