Heavenly Court Employee

Qiao Yang was a staunch atheist, at least while he was alive.

But after he unfortunately died from overwork while staying up all night on his thesis, Qiao Yang was astonished to discover that the afterlife really did exist.

Qiao Yang gazed at the endless layers of clouds stretching before him and the towering pillars made of gold and jade, and heard his worldview being rebuilt:

"...So this is heaven?"

The man in a suit sitting amid the clouds corrected him. "No, this is the Celestial Court."

He casually pointed in one direction. "Look over there."

Qiao Yang turned around and saw a red paper-cut character for "fortune" pasted conspicuously to one of the pillars, drifting gently through the clouds.

The man in the suit said, "It's the twenty-first century. The Celestial Court has to keep up with the times and embrace innovation, too." Then he picked up Qiao Yang's resume and read, "Qiao Yang, 21 years old. Skipped four grades between primary and middle school, completed his bachelor's and master's at Jing University, went straight into a doctorate, and died suddenly while preparing his doctoral thesis."

Qiao Yang: "...You really didn't have to tell me that. My heart hurts again."

The man in the suit looked up and said curtly, "My condolences."

His face wore an expression Qiao Yang knew well: the unshakable exhaustion of an office worker and the faint air of someone who couldn't be bothered to say another word.

"Then I'll get straight to the point." The man in the suit spoke concisely. "Since you died by accident before your allotted lifespan was over, and your merit score was high during your life, this court is willing to offer you a clerical position at the Celestial Court. Two days off each week, room and board included, and double merit points. You'll have the chance to cultivate immortality after five hundred years. Would you be willing to accept?"

Qiao Yang: ...

Oh my god, do I have to be a wage slave even after I die?!

Qiao Yang was furious. He slapped the table and stood up. "I died from overwork and you're still going to exploit me?! Is there no justice here? No! I firmly oppose this kind of workplace rat race!"

The man in the suit nodded. "All right. If you don't accept a position at the Celestial Court, we'll transfer you to the Underworld according to the law, and you'll prepare for reincarnation." As he spoke, he adjusted his rimless glasses. "But I should warn you: because the world's birth rate is declining, your chance of being reborn as a human in your next life is approximately 0.000009%."

Qiao Yang: …

He slowly sat back down on the chair floating among the clouds, clasped his hands together, and put on a fawning smile. "Sorry, is that offer you gave me still on the table?"

·

On the seventh day after his sudden death, Qiao Yang successfully started working at the Celestial Court.

Now that he had a government job, Qiao Yang was in a pretty good mood.

However, on his very first day at work, his direct supervisor, Lord Yuqing, was in a terrible mood.

The reason was that his colleague, another clerk who had started that same day, hadn't reported to Yuqing Palace.

Qiao Yang was quietly shocked, wondering which guy was audacious enough to slack off on his very first day.

Who knew that two hours later, a handsome immortal in celestial robes, with a jade crown on his head and seven-colored Buddhist prayer beads in his hand, would drift in. He stopped in front of Lord Yuqing and yawned without the slightest restraint.

"Sorry, Martial Uncle." The man said mildly, "I just came out of seclusion, so I'm late."

Lord Yuqing flew into a rage. "Were you in seclusion or taking a nap? Explain yourself!"

At the same time, Qiao Yang stared at the immortal's striking, otherworldly face and was so shocked he nearly spat out the fasting pill he'd eaten that morning.

Wasn't this the unlucky junior from his undergraduate days, the one who was always late and left early, talked back to professors and stomped all over his teammates, had a weakness for everything except one subject, drew a crowd of female students from the department whenever he presented, and argued with him that Newtonian mechanics was fundamentally wrong????

·

After getting used to life in the Celestial Court, Qiao Yang asked You Xi during a work break, "So why did you descend to the mortal world to study at Jing University? Do gods need degrees, too?"

You Xi replied, "Yeah. I was thinking of going to grad school, too."

Qiao Yang smiled on the outside while thinking that if You Xi's grades could get him into a master's program, he'd lose his bet. But he'd already died, so it wasn't his problem anymore. Let the kid take his cultivation physics system to grad school!

Who knew You Xi would then say, "But it wasn't just for the degree."

He turned his head, his gaze settling on Qiao Yang's face.

"It was also to overcome my love tribulation."

-----A quick heads-up-----

1. High-IQ small-town exam ace, hardworking top student bottom X cool, reserved god's second-generation son top

2. An adversarial couple, though mostly the bottom is the one picking fights with the top

3. Looks like an age-gap romance with the top younger, but he's actually older

4. A workplace comedy about modern (?) Celestial Court wage slaves + modern (?) cultivation

Theme: Work has its own soul