Chapter 1

Bai Ying woke up early one morning feeling that everything around him was somehow off.

The air seemed to harbor an unusual aura, the leaves rustled in harmonious rhythm with the wind, and sunlight pierced through the gloomy sky the moment he stepped out the door. His dizzy head, turning into a mushy mess, stubbornly believed that something monumental would happen today, that he was standing at a turning point in his demon life. He was completely unaware that it was probably because he had only slept four hours each night for three consecutive days, nearly driving himself to madness.

Bai Ying was a snake demon.

It sounded somewhat impressive, but the reality was the polar opposite of those mythical legends of great demons who could summon wind and rain. Perhaps it was because the thin spiritual energy of the End of Dharma Era couldn’t foster powerful monsters, or maybe because snakes had small brains, making Bai Ying a bit dim-witted. In any case, he possessed neither mighty magic nor world-shaking talents. After barely scraping through a second-tier university, he smoothly joined the ranks of the 996 workforce.

In truth, it was even worse than 996—Bai Ying was an advertiser who often pulled 007 shifts.

He had returned home and gone to bed at three in the morning the previous night, only to squeeze onto the commuter subway at seven-thirty that morning. There were no seats left on the subway, so Bai Ying gripped a pole, his head nodding drowsily. If he had transformed back into a little white snake right then, he would have coiled his body, rested his head on it, and fallen asleep in seconds.

As the subway drew closer to the business district, the crowd in the car grew denser. Bai Ying felt himself shoved this way and that, his expression blank as if his soul had already flown out of his body.

“Arriving at Jingming East Road…”

Passengers hurried on and off, but the calm, steady female announcement remained unchanged. The words “Jingming East Road” acted like some signal etched into his bones. Bai Ying, on the verge of dozing off while standing, jolted awake.

Jingming East Road was home to many high-end office buildings. Bai Ying was swept off the train by a group of fellow unlucky white-collar workers just like him.

After exiting the station, he instinctively turned left, but after a few steps, he suddenly realized something and spun around to head back the other way.

He had almost forgotten: after his advertising company was acquired by a major conglomerate, their office location had shifted to the group’s building. Both were on Jingming East Road, but one was a shared tower for dozens of companies, while the other was a landmark skyscraper—in completely opposite directions.

Bai Ying entered one of the Twin Towers. The lobby was spotless, with black marble floors reflecting the sharp-suited figures hurrying through. The receptionist in her uniform flashed a bright smile, though the curve of it hadn’t changed in minutes—her body was at work, but her soul still slumbered.

The elevator arrived on the first floor after a short wait, and a horde of white-collar workers crammed in. The elevator, fully loaded with corporate drones, delivered them to their respective floors.

Bai Ying’s new office was on the fifteenth floor.

His company wasn’t large, and Bai Ying had no idea what the nationally renowned conglomerate saw in their little outfit. After the acquisition, they kept all the employees, even the interns. The unfinished projects from the old ad company were inherited by the new owners too. Aside from the change in location and top boss, the acquisition had no impact on Bai Ying.

Though they had moved in not long ago, he could find his way to work with his eyes closed. Bai Ying quickly reached his team’s workspace, clocked in, and sat down at his desk.

He turned on his computer and, while waiting for it to boot, recalled his work progress…

Lost in recollection, Bai Ying suddenly had a face right in front of him.

“Senior, I brought you breakfast!” The face beaming at him was exceptionally radiant.

Bai Ying stared blankly for a moment. By the time he snapped out of it, a steaming hot pan-fried dumpling was in his hand, and a soy milk with a straw was placed on his desk.

“If you don’t like it, Senior, I have bread too,” the intern said. “But this one’s warm—better for your stomach.”

“This is fine,” Bai Ying said sincerely. “Thank you.”

The intern’s smile grew even brighter.

Bai Ying watched enviously as he returned to his own desk. They had been commuting at the same times these past few days, so why did he have so much energy? Was it because he was still a university student?

Bai Ying could hardly remember what he was like in college.

He had probably spent every day fretting over credits. He really wasn’t a smart demon, so he could only attend an ordinary school, land an ordinary job. While his peers in advertising jumped ship one after another from the grueling workload, he, buried in overtime just like them, couldn’t think of anything else he could do.

Bai Ying didn’t dwell on it long, because a call from the client came in.

His phone vibrated, and his body jolted along with it. Seeing the familiar contact name on the screen gave him a heart attack-like pang.

Bai Ying answered the phone.

He had steeled himself mentally.

From the other end came words he had heard countless times these past few days.

“Little Bai, we think one part still needs changing…”

Bai Ying kind of wanted to die.

Just then, his colleague handling the same project walked in. She clocked in at the wall machine while glancing at Bai Ying. From his dead-fish eyes, she already knew what the call was about.

Duan Yunjin slammed her forehead against the wall, wishing she could just die right there to spite the client.

A minute later, she sat back down at the desk opposite Bai Ying’s. Together, they diligently met the client’s new demands while sharing half a bag of pan-fried dumplings.

***

Bai Ying and Duan Yunjin were handling the offline promotional event for a web drama. Normally, a professional ad company would separate client relations, planning, and execution, with everyone sticking to their roles. But Bai Ying’s crappy little company treated people like workhorses, so they unfortunately handled client, planning, and execution all in one. There were some minor internal divisions, but overall, they did everything.

The web drama wasn’t a hit, but the client they dealt with was exceptionally nitpicky, tormenting Bai Ying and Duan Yunjin endlessly.

They even had to binge the drama on company time to better understand the project, per the client’s demands.

If it had been a good show, paid binge-watching might have been a perk. But… staring at the eye-searing acting from the leads on screen, Duan Yunjin lost her appetite for lunch. Bai Ying’s face was expressionless as he mechanically shoveled rice into his mouth.

How I wish I could shift back to my true form and swallow it whole…

“They actually dare to do offline promos?” Duan Yunjin couldn’t fathom it. “If I acted like that, I’d be afraid of getting pelted with rotten eggs.”

Bai Ying said gloomily, “They’re getting paid tens of thousands per episode. Why not?”

“Damn it!” Duan Yunjin slammed the table in fury. “I’m slaving away here, and my monthly salary isn’t even ten thousand!”

Bai Ying, whose own monthly salary was under ten thousand too, sadly finished his lunch.

“Speaking of which, Little Bai, you’re so pretty—way better looking than that lead in the drama. Why not try showbiz? Beats being a workhorse here. I hear they make two hundred thousand a day or something.” As Duan Yunjin spoke, she gently pinched Bai Ying’s cheek. The skin felt smooth and delicate—not at all like someone who stayed up late often.

The more Duan Yunjin thought about it, the more it made sense. The intern Xiao Lu chimed in from the side. Bai Ying was truly beautiful, his personality calm and clear like water, his looks vivid and alluring rather than plain. If he smiled deliberately at someone, the flicker in his eyes could steal their soul.

“I couldn’t,” Bai Ying said, assuming Duan Yunjin was joking.

He always felt his brain wasn’t the sharpest—probably because he wasn’t human. He wasn’t great at socializing either; handling one or two people was tough enough, let alone facing crowds.

Bai Ying returned to his desk after lunch to revise the proposal.

Still, Duan Yunjin’s words touched something in him. Showbiz was out of the question, but advertising was too much like being a beast of burden. Could he switch to a different lifestyle…?

One suited to him—a little snake who didn’t want to strive anymore.

No sudden inspiration struck. The document name in the top-left corner of his screen ended with “9.0,” showing this was the ninth revision. He felt his brain growing duller with each iteration.

It was another day of not leaving on time, but better than the previous ones—at least he could head home by nine at night. And most importantly, the tenth version of the proposal was finally approved!

“It’s finally through!” Duan Yunjin gnashed her teeth. If the first draft had passed, she’d have been grateful to the client, but after the tenth, she only felt hatred. “Little Bai, you stay in the office tomorrow to coordinate with design. Xiao Lu and I will head to the factory.”

Bai Ying agreed obediently. Duan Yunjin was their team lead with the most seniority, and she assigned the tasks. He knew she was looking out for him by taking the trickier job.

“Everyone, get a good night’s sleep tonight. Come back at noon tomorrow,” Duan Yunjin added. After four straight days of non-stop work, they could finally rest.

But instead of relaxing, Bai Ying felt a wave of deliberately ignored exhaustion crash over him.

His steps felt floaty as he walked. The intern Xiao Lu must have noticed, because he hurried over, grabbed his arm, and said, “Senior, how about I drive you home? I came by car.”

“No need, I’ll take the subway,” Bai Ying shook his head. He had been mentoring Xiao Lu most of the time and knew the kid lived in the opposite direction from him. No point troubling him for extra driving.

As he refused, Bai Ying felt a twinge of envy. A university student like Xiao Lu already had his own car and rented close to the office—clearly from a good family. Bai Ying didn’t know why he’d intern at their crappy company, but his future held far more options. Unlike Bai Ying, who seemed to have no choices ever.

Though Bai Ying’s personality was mild and approachable, as a senior he carried some authority. After the refusal, Xiao Lu’s lips moved, but he didn’t insist on driving him home.

After a ten-minute walk, Bai Ying boarded the subway home. The evening train leaving Jingming East Road always carried a crowd of weary white-collar workers—wage slaves like him who had worked overtime until this hour.

Still no seat. Bai Ying stared at his blurry reflection in the train window.

When he got off, a slight stomach pain reminded him he had forgotten dinner amid the busyness.

Clearly, he wasn’t some impressive demon—skipping one meal and his body was already protesting.

Too drained to cook or wait for delivery, and luckily there was a convenience store right outside the station that he frequented. He bought an onigiri, planning to make do with that for dinner.

The store felt stuffy, and maybe due to sleep deprivation, Bai Ying felt feverish. He left with his freshly heated onigiri, and the cold evening breeze outside made him feel better.

He tore open the packaging and waited for it to cool a bit before eating slowly.

The area was residential, so the streets were quiet at this hour. Suddenly, amid the wind, Bai Ying heard faint meowing.

He looked over instinctively.

A scrawny orange tabby emerged from the greenery, meowing and rubbing against a girl. Though thin, its orange-and-white fur was sleek and pretty; its tail brushing her calf felt like it could hook a human soul.

The girl, delighted, squatted down to pet its head. The kitten obligingly nuzzled her palm.

The girl felt like she might faint from happiness.

“It’s so sweet!” she squealed softly to her friend on the phone. “I feel like it wants to come home with me—”

She played with the kitten reluctantly for several minutes before deciding to follow her heart. She scooped it up into her arms.

“I’ll take good care of you forever!” she promised solemnly, rubbing her chin on its head.

Bai Ying watched, stunned.

He saw the kitten play cute for five minutes and secure fifteen years of luxury. A thought suddenly bubbled up in his mind.

He had no fur, but he had beautiful scales like white jade.

He had no limbs, but his body was very soft.

As a human, he seemed to have no options. But as a pet… surely plenty of people would like him?

In that instant, Bai Ying felt the world open wide.

Today, he truly stood at a turning point in his demon life. Bai Ying clenched his fist inwardly. He couldn’t live another day as a corporate slave. He wouldn’t be human anymore—he would become a white snake again!