Then Luna gently took Ye Qiu's palm again, this time with a softer smile curling her lips.
"Ye Xiu… I heard Sister Chan hired you because she thought you were Everstay."
Ye Qiu nearly choked on his own breath. What? His eyes widened as confusion hit him like a splash of cold water. He wasn't the only one stunned—everyone else snapped their attention to Luna, who was still smiling sweetly at him like she hadn't just dropped a verbal grenade.
"That's absurd! Where did you hear that?" David asked, frowning.
Luna turned to him, her love-struck expression melting into casual coolness as she faced her group.
"I heard it from the receptionist at Door 3."
"And why would she think that?" Mimi asked, eyes narrowing as everyone slowly turned their heads back to Ye Qiu.
"Come closer," Luna whispered dramatically, gathering everyone into a tight circle, heads huddled like a squad of gossip detectives—leaving Ye Qiu standing awkwardly outside their huddle. Not that he wasn't interested. He subtly leaned forward, eavesdropping shamelessly as their whispers weren't really whispers at all.
"You know that rumor about Everstay's real name possibly being Ye Qiu?" Luna said.
Inside the huddle, David gasped. "And Ye Xiu sounds just like Ye Qiu!"
"Bingo." Luna clicked her fingers smugly.
Just then, Mrs. Zhou, who had somehow missed the entire context, blinked innocently and asked, "What is Ye Qiu?"
All heads turned to her in mild disbelief.
They rolled their eyes in unison and turned back toward Ye Qiu.
"Are you Ye Qiu?" Mrs. Zhou asked bluntly.
Ye Qiu flinched and immediately blurted out, almost yelling, "No, I'm not!"
"Whoa," David said, raising an eyebrow. "That was passionate. You must really hate Everstay, huh?"
They all looked at him expectantly.
"Y-Yes," Ye Qiu replied, trying to sound as convincing as possible.
Their eyes widened in surprise.
"Wait—really? You don't like Everstay?" Mimi asked, clearly not expecting that answer.
"Yes," he said simply.
Then Luna hit him with the unexpected.
"Why?"
Ye Qiu blinked. "Umm… do I need to give a reason?"
"Well," Luna shrugged, "it's hard to find someone who doesn't like Everstay, so we're curious."
"Is this like... an anti-Everstay club?" Ye Qiu asked, genuinely confused.
"Yup," Mimi replied, nonchalant. "Anti-Everstay, anti-Chan Guo, anti-anything she's into."
"So... you guys hate him because Chan Guo likes him?" he asked, deadpan.
"Exactly." Mimi grinned. "Now back to the real question—why do you hate Everstay?"
Ye Qiu's brain spun. Crap. He needed a reason that didn't sound made up, but also didn't give himself away. He had to betray Everstay... for Everstay.
He began, "I just hate the guy. Am I supposed to have a reason?"
"That's ultimate hate. Loving the energy," David muttered, impressed.
"Never in my life have I heard such a negative sentence sound so sexy," Luna chimed in with a dreamy smile. Then she turned to Mimi, eyes lighting up.
"Let's hire him!" she said excitedly.
"Wait, hire who?" Ye Qiu blinked.
"You are hired," Mimi said flatly, pointing at Ye Qiu.
"Hired for what?" Ye Qiu asked, his face scrunched in even more confusion.
David stepped forward, throwing an arm around his shoulder like they were long-lost brothers. "Let me break it down to you, brother. I'm sure you've noticed how unbearable Sister Chan can be. So unbearable that a hate group had to be formed in her honor."
"In her dishonor, you mean," Mimi added, sipping from her coffee.
"Right," David continued. "Anyway, here we just... let it out, you know? Vent. Rant. Express all the pain, anger, and suffering caused by the Great Tyrant herself. It's like a little therapy group—call it A.T.: Anger Managment Team, or Anti-Team, depending on your mood."
Luna nodded eagerly. "Here in our team, we have ranks. And no, not by age—by seniority. Mimi's the founder, so she's the oldest. Then comes Mrs. Zhou—" she paused, glancing to the side where Mrs. Zhou was now fully slumped against the counter, snoring softly.
"She... has dementia," Luna said with a half-smile. "So she doesn't count half the time."
"Then there's me, followed by David," she continued. "And now—since you're the freshest hater on the block—you're the youngest. Congrats."
Ye Qiu frowned. "What makes you think I want to be part of this?"
"Because we see your potential," David said with a grin. "You're a natural. First day on the job and you've already managed to clash with the Wicked Witch of Netzone. That's not just skill. That's destiny. Welcome to the team."
David patted his shoulder again and started walking off. "Follow me, bro. I'll show you around. That's how we roll in the A.T."
Mimi followed after him, grumbling something about needing more coffee.
Luna smiled brightly. "Orientation complete!" she said, then gently shook Mrs. Zhou awake, snatched the broom from her hand, and guided her away.
Ye Qiu just stood there, completely dumbstruck.
What the hell just happened?