She worked hard and was looking forward to gaining experience at PwC, a multinational giant in the financial consulting industry, according to her friends.

Pan asked for sick leave on March 31 due to a cold. Doctors said she died of acute cerebral meningitis that developed from the flu virus.

Pan seemed to be aware something was wrong. On March 31, Pan wrote on her microblog: "Whenever there's a chance to take a break, a fever comes. My body, I am at a loss whether I should praise you for being understanding or just the opposite."

One of the most striking comments on her microblog was a post about the death of an auditor from KPMG, another global auditing firm, this year.

"I can accept overtime. I can also accept out-of-town business trips. But on learning a young worker died from fatigue at kp (KPMG), I feel something has broken my bottom line to endure," she wrote.

Feng Lijuan, chief HR analyst with 51job.com, a headhunting firm, said office workers need to eat well and get adequate sleep.