TNSFC – Chapter 26

Que Yining talked with Xie Yanhuai. After understanding his ideas, she felt he was indeed talented.

She briefly discussed her ideas for the game she wanted to create. He could quickly grasp her train of thought and even proposed some new things, which Que Yining found very interesting.

After they agreed on this aspect, Que Yining needed to assess their work abilities, so she had them write a small game program on a computer in a short amount of time.

Half an hour later, upon seeing their results, Que Yining raised an eyebrow.

Xie Yanhuai, as expected of someone who previously led a studio, was significantly more capable than Lin Jingyu, but Lin Jingyu wasn’t bad either.

Que Yining extended her hand. “Welcome aboard.”

Xie Yanhuai: “Thank you for this opportunity.”

Que Yining smiled and extended her hand towards Lin Jingyu. Lin Jingyu quickly wiped his hand and shook hers carefully, looking quite amusing.

As Lin Jingyu was walking out, he asked in a daze, “Boss, are we really hired just like that? Can we start work tomorrow?”

Que Yining: “Yes.”

Xie Yanhuai: “Then what’s our studio called?”

Que Yining: “It’s called Qingyun.”

Que Yining was confident she could soar straight to the clouds.

Everything proceeded in an orderly manner. Que Yining purchased computers for the studio and renovated the office according to her own ideas.

Zhang Shiyu was in charge of recruitment. Xie Yanhuai and Lin Jingyu weren’t idle either; they were busy with initial tasks while also helping to find people.

It couldn’t be helped; their boss was a real go-getter. When she wanted something done, she did it immediately, finding everyone from scratch and never settling for less.

Zhang Shiyu was spinning like a top, and Que Yining wasn’t idle either. She first registered the company trademark. She applied for a sole proprietorship limited liability company, keeping all the power to herself. She ran around to many places to clear hurdles, striving to get the license in the shortest possible time.

Compared to that, registering an individual game studio was much simpler.

The studio’s business license came through first. Que Yining placed the Qingyun Studio business license on the desk, unwrapped her scarf, and hung it on the office coat rack.

Xie Yanhuai: “Boss, your speed is just too fast.”

Zhang Shiyu pushed up her glasses and said, “This is called efficiency.”

She looked at Que Yining. “By the way, Boss, the planner interviewed yesterday is starting work today. Should we have a meeting later?”

Que Yining: “Alright, you arrange the time.”

Zhang Shiyu: “Then in half an hour. Let’s gather the whole team. We still don’t have enough people…”

They had already hired two people before, but they were still far from having enough staff.

Xie Yanhuai gave a wry smile. “I’ve already been contacting people. I had an appointment with one, but when he saw we only had a few people and our business license hadn’t come through yet, he thought I was running a pyramid scheme or a scam.”

Lin Jingyu: “And then Big Brother, to prove our legitimacy and show we’re really making games, even showed him a candid photo of you, saying this is our boss, we’re definitely not scammers. But the guy asked why he was using a female celebrity’s photo to keep tricking him, hahahahahaha—ouch! Bro, why’d you kick me?”

Xie Yanhuai immediately explained, “Boss, it wasn’t a candid shot! I just told my younger sister that the new boss is very beautiful and took a picture to show her—a side profile, definitely not a random snap!”

Que Yining: “…It’s fine.”

Que Yining never thought she’d one day be associated with the term “pyramid scheme.” Although their company, including the boss and secretary, currently had only six people, plus the planner starting today making it seven, it did indeed resemble a small workshop.

Lin Jingyu was always a straightforward person. Even though he had just been kicked, he continued, “It’s definitely his loss for not joining us. Even though we’re small now, I think we’ll be incredibly awesome in the future!”

“Of course. We will definitely become a top-tier game studio in the country.”

A light, pleasant smile was on Que Yining’s face, her eyes bright. She looked down at the studio’s name on the business license, her words filled with determination.

But no one present took it seriously. They just thought the boss was trying to motivate them, to get their spirits up.

Xie Yanhuai once had the ambition to build a top-tier domestic game studio, wanting to create better games. But this idea had long been worn down by the daily grind. The challenges ahead weren’t just about creation; there were many, many other issues.

He looked at the young boss and just smiled faintly.

She was like a young scholar in her prime, full of talent and spirit, boldly shaping the future.

This was also good. At least it gave his heart, which had been disappointed too many times and worn down into silence, a glimmer of hope, stirring it to life.

Zhang Shiyu thought the same. Reaching the top of the industry was truly difficult, but of course, she wouldn’t dampen the boss’s enthusiasm, so she just stood quietly by.

But not long after, when the studio became famous, she suddenly recalled this day of the company’s founding and realized with a start that she had been wrong back then. Some people are just destined to stand at the peak.

The meeting lasted a long time. Que Yining had only briefly touched upon what kind of game she wanted to create and which aspects of detail should be emphasized.

Que Yining had a precedent of success. Back then, she too had spent sleepless nights discussing what she wanted with the product team. No one understood her painstaking efforts better than she did.

The people sitting below quickly took notes. Que Yining only stopped when she saw they had absorbed enough for the day.

It wasn’t until dusk began to fall that Que Yining announced the end of the meeting.

She returned to her office and called Zhang Shiyu in alone.

Que Yining: “I might need to find another assistant to share your workload.”

Zhang Shiyu was stunned. Her current workload was indeed very heavy. She had to run back and forth, responsible not only for recruitment but also for collecting other information.

Her current workload far exceeded eight hours a day; she was basically busy until late at night. However, if Que Yining were to hire another assistant, Zhang Shiyu hoped it wouldn’t be so soon.

She wanted to secure her position as the boss’s right-hand person. She hadn’t been working with her for long and didn’t want competition to arise so quickly.

Que Yining: “We don’t have enough staff right now, and you’re indeed too busy on your own. I’m telling you specifically because I want to give you a choice. Would you prefer to handle more company-related matters, or would you rather lean towards being my personal assistant?”

Que Yining also needed help in her personal life, so she was giving Zhang Shiyu a choice.

If Zhang Shiyu preferred work-related matters, then when Que Yining hired the next assistant, that person would focus more on personal life aspects.

Zhang Shiyu didn’t hesitate much and immediately made her choice: “The latter.”

Que Yining: “Alright. I’ll contact Ye Su and ask her to recommend someone else for me. If you can drive, I might need you to be my driver temporarily.”

Que Yining hadn’t yet found a good excuse to fire Wang Lu. Although it would be easy for her to do so, Que Yining felt there was something hidden behind it all, so she decided to keep him for now.

Zhang Shiyu: “Okay, Boss.”

Que Yining had two cars in her home garage; Wang Lu was driving one of them.

Que Yining called Wang Lu and asked him to drive the other car over, then told him to take a taxi back himself.

Wang Lu asked somewhat cautiously, “Miss, is there something I haven’t done well enough?”

Que Yining answered directly, “No, it’s just that I’ve recently wanted a beautiful woman to be my driver. It’s nice to look at pretty ladies, easy on the eyes.”

Wang Lu: “…Alright, Miss. Goodbye, Miss.”

Zhang Shiyu had never driven such an expensive car before. Sitting in the driver’s seat, she swallowed nervously, feeling rather helpless.

Que Yining sat in the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt, and seeing Zhang Shiyu like this, patted her very tense shoulder.

Que Yining: “Don’t be afraid. Even if you crash it, you won’t have to pay. Just drive slowly and get used to it first, then find a restaurant for dinner.”

Zhang Shiyu placed her hands on the steering wheel and nodded.

Que Yining took her phone out of her bag and found the cat in her contact list.

She hadn’t deliberately stopped on the ninth floor just now, so she didn’t know what the situation was there, nor did she know if Gu Shanxue’s team had arrived.

【Que Yining】: Miss Gu, my side is mostly set up. Has your team arrived?

Gu Shanxue on the other end took several minutes to reply.

【Gu Shanxue】: Arriving tomorrow.

【Que Yining】: Then, Miss Gu, you’ll be at the company tomorrow too? Are you free to have a meal together tomorrow?

【Gu Shanxue】: Probably not, sorry.

Que Yining let out a deflated breath, which stirred her bangs.

This was the third time she had been rejected for a meal invitation since that dinner.

She didn’t know if the other person was really that busy or if she was avoiding her.

Que Yining hoped it was the latter.

If the other person was avoiding her, perhaps she had some feelings for her; otherwise, there would be no reason to do so. But if the other person was genuinely very busy, then there was nothing to be done.

Zhang Shiyu had gradually become familiar with the car, and her speed slowly returned to normal. She stopped at a red light.

“Boss, where would you like to eat?”

Zhang Shiyu didn’t think of finding a place herself. She usually just ate fast food. She mentally sifted through many restaurants, only to reject them all, so she decided it was better to ask Que Yining directly.

“Let’s go to Xiang Qing Waterside Pavilion.”

Que Yining remembered that was where she first met Fu Wenjing, and where she had held Gu Shanxue’s hand.

Although nothing further happened, the food there was quite good.

Zhang Shiyu set up the navigation and drove Que Yining to the place.

It was currently mid-winter, and the weather was very cold. The sub-zero outdoor temperature had caused water on the ground to turn into ice.

Zhang Shiyu was wearing boots. When she stepped on the ice, she wasn’t paying attention, her foot slipped, and she fell backward.

Just as she was about to hit the ground, Que Yining quickly reached out and caught her.

Zhang Shiyu instinctively grabbed Que Yining’s clothes for support, her body swaying unsteadily. Then she leaned forward, her other hand landing on Que Yining’s back, hugging Que Yining tightly.

Que Yining: “Good thing I’m not wearing high heels today, or you would have pulled me down with you.”

Zhang Shiyu, still shaken, let go and quickly apologized, “Boss, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to grab you.”

Zhang Shiyu tried to step back, but a strand of her loose hair got caught on Que Yining’s button.

Que Yining: “Don’t move. Let’s get your hair untangled.”

Hearing this, Zhang Shiyu stood still, not daring to move an inch, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.

Upstairs at Xiang Qing Waterside Pavilion, Gu Shanxue had just finished discussing a collaboration. She had drunk quite a bit of alcohol, and her face was flushed.

The indoor heating made it even harder for her to breathe. She subconsciously looked out the window.

Then, her gaze froze.

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