Volume One, Chapter 9: Could It Be That I’m About to Be Forced into the Shadows So Soon?

Under the summer sun, Xia Yang instinctively checked Yatina’s data panel.

Sure enough, there was a new discovery!

Her previously full satiety level had now dropped to just a quarter full.

Though her fullness had decreased, her magic reserve had risen from 15% to 18%!

Xia Yang rested his hand on his chin, already forming a preliminary hypothesis.

This so-called magic reserve was most likely the energy Yatina consumed during her daily activities and magic use!

“Can you still eat?” Xia Yang inquired.

Seeing Yatina nod, he pretended to go to the kitchen for water, but instead grabbed a steamed bun, sprinkled magic powder onto it, and returned to the table.

He didn’t want Yatina to notice, fearing she might devour all the magic powder at once.

Xia Yang could distinguish between a single full meal and continuous fullness. Yatina’s current magic reserves were sufficient to support her daily movements, so he only needed to fill her stomach at each meal.

If she consumed all the powder at once, it would be like eating compressed biscuits: while the large amount of energy could sustain her for a long time, her stomach would still feel hungry—it just wouldn’t affect her ability to move.

Returning to the seat with the magic-infused bun, Yatina’s eyes gleamed with golden light once more.

After finishing the entire bun again, Yatina slumped down, her face full of contentment.

This time, she didn’t rapidly convert the food into magic; after all, even if she didn’t, it would slowly digest.

Better to feel full than to starve!

“Don’t you find it strange why I have these magic-infused buns?” Xia Yang couldn’t help but ask.

“Huh? Didn’t you say it was a mutation?” Yatina replied.

Xia Yang: “…”

He had indeed said that. Well, as long as Yatina believed it.

Yatina ate two buns in total; Xia Yang finished the rest.

While Xia Yang ate, Yatina flitted around the room—her so-called post-meal stroll.

After breakfast, he changed clothes and prepared to leave for work.

Just as Xia Yang was about to step out, he called Yatina’s name several times, but there was no response.

“Did she fly next door?” Xia Yang wondered, but didn’t pay it much mind. He opened his phone and sent a WeChat message to Yihong.

[Xia Yang: Yatina seems to have flown into your room. If you’re free, please take care of her. If not, just send her back. I didn’t lock the balcony window.]

Then Xia Yang rode his bike toward the company.

“Clock-in successful!”

The clock showed 7:45.

Xia Yang entered the company but didn’t rush into the chairman’s office to start work.

There were still fifteen minutes before the eight o’clock start time. If the general manager, Su, hadn’t arrived yet, he could slack off a bit. But if Su was already there...

Then entering the office now would mean starting work fifteen minutes early!

That was absolutely unacceptable!

So Xia Yang wandered around the company for fifteen minutes, basking in his newfound authority. Who wouldn’t respectfully call him Assistant Xia?

Even Liu Huaide greeted him with a beaming smile, letting Xia Yang savor the feeling of being in power.

At exactly eight o’clock, Xia Yang knocked on the office door. Expecting silence, he was surprised to hear a voice say,

“Come in.”

He pushed the door open, inwardly pleased—it was as he suspected! General Manager Su had already arrived. Luckily, he was clever enough!

Su Yixue sat at her desk, flipping through various documents.

Xia Yang sat at his workstation, ready to begin, when Su Yixue suddenly spoke beside him:

“Fox assuming tiger’s might.”

Xia Yang’s body jolted. Though the phrase was emotionless, to him it felt like plunging into an icy abyss, instantly recalling his earlier “inspection” around the company.

“How... how do you know?” Xia Yang broke out in a cold sweat. Had someone leaked the secret?

“Hmm?” Su Yixue looked up, rare confusion flickering across her face.

“Sorry, I was just talking to myself. Don’t mind me.”

“Oh... alright then,” Xia Yang sighed in relief. After all, with his good relations in the company, who would betray him?

What Xia Yang didn’t know was that Su Yixue’s computer streamed footage from every company camera.

From the moment Xia Yang clocked in, every move he made was under her watchful eye...

Taking it all as coincidence, Xia Yang wiped the sweat from his brow and prepared to take out his laptop to start work.

But when he reached into his bag, instead of the cold, hard surface of his laptop, his hand touched something warm and incredibly soft.

“Strange?” Xia Yang murmured, bending over to see what it was.

At first glance, when he saw the truth, cold sweat drenched his entire back again.

He quickly pulled his head out and zipped up his bag.

Breathing heavily after all this, his phone suddenly chimed with a message. His hands trembling, he opened it—it was from Yihong.

[Yihong: I just woke up, but my floor-to-ceiling window is locked, and Yatina isn’t in my room. Did she release herself on her own?]

Xia Yang: “???”

He nervously typed back.

[Xia Yang: It’s fine, you keep sleeping...]

Turning off his phone, Xia Yang glanced sideways at Su Yixue, who was still absorbed in her documents, unaware of anything.

He exhaled, forcing himself to stay calm, then tentatively unzipped his bag again.

Unfortunately, the scene from before was not a hallucination. Inside the bag, Yatina lay like a noble consort, legs crossed, quietly watching Xia Yang.

Her eyes seemed to say: “Surprise, human! You went hunting without me, but I sneaked along!”

Xia Yang rubbed his temples and turned to speak to Su Yixue, intending to excuse himself to the restroom.

But before he could say a word, she suddenly stood up.

Without a word or change in expression, she walked to the office door and locked it from the inside.

Xia Yang was utterly puzzled.

Before he could react, Su Yixue came to his side and said,

“Let me see yours.”

“See... see what?” Xia Yang swallowed hard. Could it be?

Was this how quickly he was to be subjected to unspoken rules?

But Su Yixue said nothing more.

In the next moment, a snow-white little fox suddenly leapt onto her shoulder.

The fox’s eyes locked onto Xia Yang’s bag.

With a low growl from its throat, the silver-white fox spoke human words:

“Finally found you! Come out, Yatina!”