Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Huang Sibo nodded. “That’s right.

“When I first received this sum of money, I was extremely confused. I never thought that I would lay hands on so much money before. I thought about what to do with the money for a long time.

“Finally, I decided that my passion did not lie in the game industry.

“When Ocean Stronghold became popular, I did think about giving my life to the game industry. However, once I got the money, I discovered that what I really wanted to do was to venture into the filming industry. “Thus, I used this sum of money to set up Fei Huang Workspace. I found a friend with similar passions, Zhu Xiaoce. Then, I embarked on an entirely new journey.”

Xia Jiang replied, “So, this sum of money changed your life.”

Huang Sibo nodded again. “That’s exactly right. This sum of money helped me to see my true self and recognize what I truly wanted. I also found my life ambition. Now, I am extremely grateful for being selected as the most outstanding employee and being awarded the Dream Fund.

“It was not just a sum of money that I was given to start my own business. It was a sum of money that helped me to see myself as who I really was. One could say that if I had not been selected as the most outstanding employee, I would not be who I am today. There would be no Fei Huang Workspace, Boss Pei’s Daily Life, Coming Out of the Cocoon as a Butterfly, and other great works.”

The more Pei Qian heard, the more he felt like there was something wrong with the interview.

Indeed, his name was not mentioned throughout the entire video—that was apart from the mention of Boss Pei’s Daily Life.

However, Huang Sibo was obviously describing an ‘invisible person’!

Who was the one who selected the inexperienced Huang Sibo over Old Liu, who seemed to have vast experience?

Who was the one who gave Huang Sibo the pay raise?

Who was the one who created the outstanding work environment in Tengda?

Huang Sibo did not understand the three requirements for Ocean Stronghold, but who was the one who came up with them?

Who was the one who came up with the Dream Fund and allowed Huang Sibo to leave Tengda Games to start Fei Huang Workspace?

Obviously, the answers to all of these questions pointed to one single person.

It was the boss of Tengda!

In other words, it was Pei Qian!

Although the interview did not mention Pei Qian from beginning to end, the ’empty spaces’ technique allowed the readers to strongly feel somebody else’s presence and influence over Huang Sibo. This person seemed to play a critical role in Huang Sibo’s growth.

He had shown Huang Sibo how to get onto the right path!

Anyone who listened to this interview would be left with the same impression.

Huang Sibo was talented indeed. He was still young, and yet he had already completed so many successful projects. Be it games or films, Huang Sibo’s works were outstanding.

However, his talent had been hidden at first.

If this ‘invisible person’ had not scouted Huang Sibo’s talent, brought it out, and showed him the right path; Huang Sibo’s talent might still have been hidden. At the very least, he would not have been able to accomplish so much in a little over a year.

The saying ‘a fine steed in the hands of a slave-driver would only hover between working to death and staying in the stable; nobody would recognize it as a fine steed’ probably applied here.

People always said there were tons of fine steeds, but few people like Bole[1].

The fact that Huang Sibo could achieve so much showed that he was a fine steed indeed. Yet, the interview emphasized the importance of someone like Bole!

Pei Qian felt cold sweat forming on his forehead.

The situation looked bad!

Both of them were echoing one another’s sentiments; there was great chemistry between them!

Pei Qian had thought that Huang Sibo would jump at the chance to be featured in the video, so that he could boast about his own achievements. He expected Huang Sibo to leave Pei Qian out of the picture altogether.

Yet, Pei Qian was only half-right.

Huang Sibo had left Pei Qian out of the picture, but the achievements he boasted about were Boss Pei’s!

This was much more effective than praising Boss Pei directly!

Pei Qian quickly scrolled down.

The second interview was with Bao Xu.

Bao Xu’s resume was written above his video as well. It contained his history as a young internet addict, his experience as Ocean Stronghold’s concept designer, and his experience making adjustments to various games after that. Bao Xu was now a stabilizing force in Tengda Games.

Although his interview took a completely different angle from Huang Sibo’s, the feeling that it left Pei Qian was exactly the same!

“I heard that you used to be what most would call an ‘internet addict’. You basically lived in internet cafes. Is this an exaggeration or…?” Xia Jiang asked.

Bao Xu laughed, clearly embarrassed. “It’s true; it’s not an exaggeration at all. I used to stay in an internet cafe from the end of winter until summer-that’s four to five months. I didn’t even go back to my dormitory.

“Everyone else in the internet cafe was dressed in short-sleeved shirts, but I was still in my winter clothing.”

Xia Jiang’s eyes widened in disbelief. “How did you shower, then?”

Bao Xu shook his head. “I didn’t.”

“Brush your teeth?” “I didn’t either. At most, I washed my face and rinsed my mouth in the internet cafe’s washroom.”

“What did you do when you were tired?”

“I would line the internet cafe’s chairs up together at night. If I felt sleepy during the day, I would lean back in my chair and take a nap.” “Did you have enough money to pay the bill and purchase your daily necessities?”

“I sold in-game equipment, boosting and grinding services while I stayed at the internet cafe. Apart from the internet cafe’s bill, I did not spend much money elsewhere. Whenever I felt hungry, I would have some cup noodles. If I was absolutely starving, I would order takeaway. I guess I had just enough money.”

Xia Jiang looked shocked. He could hardly express his feelings in words. “Your hygiene and health must be…?”

Bao Xu laughed. “Extremely horrible, but I didn’t really care about these things back then.

“Recently, I’ve been reading a lot of news about people suddenly dying in internet cafes. Looking back, I guess I was quite lucky that I didn’t just drop dead.”

Xia Jiang continued, “How do you think you started living that kind of lifestyle? Is it what people call an ‘internet addiction’?”.

Bao Xu remained quiet for a moment and said, “I think I was confused and lost about my own future.

“At the time—apart from gaming, nothing really excited me. I wasn’t interested in anything else. Even when I left the internet cafe, I had nowhere to go. As time went by, I found myself stuck in a vicious cycle.

“Now, looking back, I think I would have been reduced to nothing if things were allowed to carry on.”

At that moment, Xia Jiang asked, “What caused the change, then?”

Bao Xu recalled what had happened. “Someone found me in the internet cafe and hired me to design a game.

“At first, I didn’t believe him. However, he looked very sincere. He even gave me five hundred yuan upfront and told me that there was a top-tier computer that had two monitors in his office. He said I could play games there any time that I wanted.

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“Five hundred yuan was not much, but… for the first time in my life, I felt important and appreciated. At that moment, I realized that I was not a piece of trash who knew nothing but playing games.

“Thus, I walked out of the internet cafe.

“At that time, I did not think that my life would be changed forever.”

Xia Jiang said, “You’re quite an outstanding employee in Tengda Games. It’s said that you’ve been placed second for ‘best employee’ twice. Both times, you got a paid one-month holiday. How do you feel about this?”

Bao Xu smiled bitterly. “I feel regret.”

Xia Jiang was shocked. “Regret?”

Bao Xu nodded. “That’s right, I regret being selected.”

Xia Jiang could not help but smile. “That’s very hard to understand. Most people would probably be over the moon if they had such opportunities to go for paid holidays, right?”

Bao Xu shook his head, helpless. “I did not want to leave. I would choose to stay in the office to work over roaming around outside any day.

Xia Jiang said, “But you still went in the end.”

Bao Xu nodded. “That’s right. I wanted to give it up and let the person who came in third go on the paid holidays instead. However… rules were rules. I could not change them.”

Xia Jiang became curious. “This is the first time I’m hearing something like that.

“The company arranged for one of their best employees to go for a paid, one-month-long holiday. Not only did they pay their salary, but they also covered all costs of the holiday. The employee did not want this prize and attempted to transfer it to someone else, but the company did not allow it!

“If I had not heard you saying this with my own ears, I would be tempted to think that these are lies.”

Bao Xu shrugged, looking helpless. He could not do anything about it; these words came from the bottom of his heart.

“I don’t think that’s necessary. If you were willing to transfer the prize, why weren’t you allowed to?” Xia Jiang asked.

Bao Xu pondered for a moment and said, “I think the company was treating me well. In the beginning, I was firmly against leaving. However, after traveling twice, everyone said that I looked much better. My health improved as well.

“I think they did not allow me to transfer the prize because I needed the exercise.

“This is probably how employees are being cared for here. Although I was conflicted, I knew in my heart that it was right.”

After that came Lin Wan and Lu Mingliang’s interviews.

Each one of them had impressive resumes, and they seemed to shine brightly.

Lin Wan was a director who had taken part in the research and development of Bloody Battle Song: The Powerful Version. She was also the one who decided to turn it into a mobile game.

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Lu Mingliang was the creator of Game Designer and the mocking voice in the game. Now, he was the man in charge of Upwind Logistics.

Both of these interviews were about the same as Huang Sibo’s. As they spoke, they seemed to hint at an ‘invisible person’ giving them directions as they produced their respective games.

After these interviews, Xia Jiang finally came to a conclusion.

“These four outstanding employees of Tengda are remarkable representatives of a hundred others in the company.

“They all have different personalities and experiences, and they all take on different roles and responsibilities.

“Yet, without a doubt, all of them are impressive talents!”

[1] Bole was famous in China for being able to judge horses’ potential based on their appearance.