The Top Star Fell for Me at First Sight After I Transmigrated as a Dog-Like Streamer - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Atavism 11.0

The man clearly hadn’t expected anyone to be in the office. Matt’s voice wasn’t loud, but it made him flinch so hard the document envelope in his hand nearly hit the floor.

“Ah… I’m here to deliver the quarterly budget report to President Yu.”

Matt frowned and instinctively reached out to catch the envelope, glancing at the man’s ID badge.

“Cross-departmental Coordination Specialist… Xu Hang?” Matt’s expression remained neutral as he took the documents and turned to leave. “Wait here a moment. I have some materials you need to take down to the Real Estate department on the 31st floor.”

Seeing that Matt didn’t seem suspicious, “Xu Hang” slowly unclenched his fists. He nodded repeatedly and sat in Matt’s previous seat to wait.

Once Matt rounded the corner, he whipped out his phone and messaged the Head of Security to bring a team up immediately. After sending it, he peeked out to observe “Xu Hang.” Seeing the man casually pouring a glass of water, completely off-guard, Matt sighed and shook his head.

Of all the ID cards to steal, you picked Xu Hang’s.

Everyone on this floor knew Xu Hang was a nightmare to deal with. When Matt first started, he’d submitted a document where the version number in the header was off by half a character; Xu Hang had rejected it publicly, @-ed Matt’s direct supervisor in the group chat, and written a long lecture on the “seriousness of procedural compliance.”

While he was just doing his job, Matt had an indelible impression of the man. Later, he heard Xu Hang had offended so many people with his rigidness that he had been stuck at a P6 rank for nearly six years.

“Matt, where is he?”

The Head of Security arrived with a team of six carrying security poles. Matt pointed to the desk. “Right there. The one wearing Specialist Xu Hang’s badge.”

The security team’s expressions were priceless at the mention of Xu Hang’s name. Thinking the thief had really picked the wrong target, they fanned out to block both exits and easily apprehended the dazed “Xu Hang.”

As the thief tried to struggle and explain, the real Xu Hang rushed over with a brand-new ID. Seeing his old badge around the man’s neck, he exploded: “I just spent fifty bucks to replace that! Do you have any idea how shameful this behavior is? Come with me to the Security Office right now. You young people have no morals at all…”

The Security Head wanted Matt to give a statement, but since Matt had work to do, he explained the situation briefly and returned to his post. He logged the incident in the system, and shortly after, the call button paged him.

He’s awake?

When Matt swiped into the rest area with the supplements, he saw Bai Xun sitting on the call button, half-awake and dazed. He pulled back the blackout curtains. Blinded by the light, Bai Xun sneezed twice before slowly raising a paw to greet Matt.

“Woof!”

“Yes, yes, good morning.” Thinking the pup was cold, Matt pulled a small sweater from under the duvet. He sat Bai Xun on his lap to keep him steady, used a fine-toothed comb to smooth out his sleep-mussed fur, and then put on the sweater and collar.

Once finished, he held Bai Xun up for a full inspection and nodded in satisfaction. He tidied the room quickly before bringing him into the main office.

“Come on, Xiaobai. Cod liver oil, chondroitin, liquid calcium. Say ahh—” Seeing Bai Xun cooperate perfectly, Matt’s voice turned into a high-pitched “baby talk” tone. “Aww, such a good boy.”

“What’s ‘such a good boy’?” Tracy walked in with a container of mixed blueberries and raspberries, catching Matt shaking hands with Bai Xun.

“Sister Tracy, you’re here!” Matt tucked away his doting smile, feeling a bit embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head.

“I saw the message. Good job with the security catch.” Tracy checked her watch and remembered a message from Yu Congyue. “Xiaobai, the boss is in a meeting. He’ll take you to lunch when he’s done.”

Bai Xun nodded, resting a paw on Tracy’s hand. His brow twitched, and he let out a burp.

“What did you feed him?” She asked, noticing a very round belly.

“Just his supplements and a few freeze-dried treats. I didn’t dare give him anything else.”

“Then he probably hasn’t finished digesting breakfast.” Tracy tidied the bowls on the floor and gestured for Bai Xun to follow her. “The weekly meetings are finishing up. Xiaobai, I’ll take you to meet the team you’ll be working with later.”

…

Bai Xun followed her to the department workspace just as the meeting let out. The staff, who were busy discussing new quarterly projects, immediately dropped their laptops and swarmed him.

“Oh! Is this Xiaobai? Such a precious baby! So cute!” “He looked cute on the livestream, but I was working overtime and couldn’t see him in person. This little head is so soft!” “Sister Tracy, is this really Xiaobai? If I were President Yu, I’d fall for him too…”

Due to the Golden Retriever DNA’s natural love for humans, Bai Xun’s tail practically became a propeller. He nudged every hand that reached out to him, but in his excitement, he lost his balance, did a little front-roll, and prompted another wave of “Awws.”

“Alright, settle down. I’m just bringing him to get familiar. Once his Atavism Month is over, he’ll be joining your team,” Tracy said, finding the pup’s clumsiness amusing. She reined in their enthusiasm and began talking to the department lead.

At that moment, Matt received a message from the Security Department. The thief was refusing to speak, so Matt needed to go down for a quick formal statement. He excused himself to Tracy and ran downstairs.

A few minutes later, Bai Xun felt exhausted by all the attention. Finding a gap between legs, he bolted. By the time Tracy looked down, he was gone.

“Oh no! Where’s Xiaobai?” Tracy’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly enlisted a few colleagues to help search.

Bai Xun ran aimlessly until he reached the stairwell. The mixed scents of perfume in the office had made him a bit dizzy, and the cool air coming from the slightly ajar heavy door felt refreshing. He tried to squeeze through the gap, but the door swung shut with a heavy thud once he was inside.

Crap, I’m stuck.

He looked up. The door handle was incredibly high. Since he was still clumsy with his four paws, he tried jumping several times but couldn’t reach it.

I’m doomed…

Just as he thought that, the sound of a door opening came from the floor above. A second later, he could vaguely see someone peeking out, looking up and down the stairs. Because Bai Xun was standing in the shadows, he wasn’t spotted.

A low, hushed voice echoed in the stairwell.

“They’re in the board meeting now. Once Yu Congyue submits the budget, if you guys pull the rug out and hike the prices, you know what it’ll do to his impact. So, either transfer the money to my account now, or I’ll act like nothing happened.”

The draft in the stairwell made Bai Xun let out an uncontrollable sneeze. The speaker went silent instantly. “I’ll call you back,” the voice muttered before the person started walking rapidly down the stairs.

Bai Xun didn’t have time to hide. A man and a dog came face-to-face at the landing.

“Sh*t… call you back.” The man clearly recognized who Bai Xun was. He lunged down the last few steps and grabbed Bai Xun’s muzzle, one hand squeezing his neck to keep him quiet.

He looked around to make sure no one followed. He glared at Bai Xun, his mind racing. After a few seconds, his eyes turned cold and ruthless. He walked to the edge of the stairs and prepared to hurl Bai Xun down.

“No choice. If I get caught, I’m finished anyway. It’s just your bad luck being here.”

Just as he was about to let go, Bai Xun heard a noise at the heavy door. He gritted his teeth, twisted his body, kicked off the railing with his hind legs, and at the moment the man’s grip faltered, he bit down hard on the man’s ear.

“ARGH!” The man screamed in pain. He ripped Bai Xun away and slammed him onto the floor. Just as he raised his foot to stomp, a roar came from behind.

“XIABAO!”

Matt had just finished his statement when he heard Bai Xun was missing. He’d brought a security team and started searching from the bottom up. Noticing the heavy door was shut tight instead of propped open for ventilation, he swiped his card. He walked in to a scene that made his pupils contract in horror. He snatched a security pole from an officer and lunged forward, pinning the man to the wall.

The security officers weren’t slow either, quickly tackling and restraining the struggling man.

Bai Xun pushed through the pain, limped over to the man’s dropped ID card, bit it, and dragged it to Matt’s feet. He whined and yelped urgently. Tracy arrived shortly after, nearly fainting at the sight.

“What happened?” She asked, her voice trembling.

“I don’t know. I pushed the door open and saw him trying to throw Xiaobai down,” Matt said, his heart still pounding as he scooped up Bai Xun. He handed the ID card to Tracy.

“Take him to the vet now. I’ll handle this,” Tracy said, her face set as she took the badge and left.

Bai Xun, however, began squirming with all his might, refusing to be taken away. What he had heard was far more important than a vet visit.

“What’s wrong, Xiaobai? What are you trying to say?” Matt was frantic, but he couldn’t figure it out.

Bai Xun ignored the pain in his leg, looked up at Matt, and barked twice at the bottle of fish oil in Matt’s pocket.

“What? My pocket?” Matt pulled out the fish oil. Bai Xun barked three times.

“Fish oil… three barks… the oil is from the boss… the boss’s name has three characters…” Matt’s eyes lit up. “You need to find the boss?”

Bai Xun let out a long breath and nodded. If it weren’t so inconvenient, he would have hugged Matt’s brilliant brain.

Matt didn’t dare delay. He dashed up the stairs toward the top-floor conference room. But since this was an emergency, he didn’t have the high-level clearance needed for the top floor; getting it through the system would take at least three levels of approval. As Matt stood at the restricted entrance holding Bai Xun, debating whether to force his way in, a familiar voice came from behind.

“Hm? What are you two doing here?”