radicalducati Chapter 16: Unexpectedly, it's a loser's man.
Chapter 16: Unexpectedly, it's a loser's man.
Bai Ke and Xiao Ai sat at their newly assigned workstations, their palms sweating slightly.
Yesterday they were eating instant noodles on a hard seat on a slow train, and today they're sitting in the Sohu Building. The speed of their journey is so fast that it feels unreal.
Xiao Ai took a picture of her employee ID with her phone and was about to post it on her social media when Bai Ke grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"Don't send it."
Why?
"What if I get fired after working for two days?"
Just as Xiao Ai put her phone away, Ren Pingsheng walked over, pulled up a chair, and sat down in front of them.
"The first task is to write a notebook."
Bai Ke sat up straight reflexively. "Director Ren... no, Brother Pingsheng, what kind of subject matter are you writing? What are the requirements?"
"No special requirements," Ren Pingsheng said, looking at the two of them. "Just write about all the things that are being argued about online right now—teachers, experts, housing prices, losers—write whatever you want. Submit it to me before you leave work tomorrow."
The two looked at each other but remained silent.
"Can't write it?" Ren Pingsheng raised an eyebrow.
"Yes! I can write!" Xiao Ai blurted out, afraid that if she was even a step behind, people would think she couldn't do it.
"That's fine then," Ren Pingsheng stood up. "Don't feel pressured. Just write whatever you think is appropriate. The main thing is to see how you guys are good at online writing."
After saying that, he left, leaving the two of them staring at each other in bewilderment.
Bai Ke lowered his voice, "Do you know what 'internet savvy' means?"
"I don't know," Xiao Ai scratched her head, "but I know that if we don't hand it in before we leave work tomorrow, we might really get fired after working for two days."
……
Ren Pingsheng returned to his workstation and ignored the two of them.
The script was the material to be used in the second season of "Unexpectedly", but that's a matter for later.
There's a bomb right now, and he plans to detonate it himself.
I opened Premiere Pro and imported several organized video clips.
This is what he spent the whole night yesterday scraping from various forums and news websites.
The first story is about a woman with unusual appearance being interviewed by a television station.
"I read extensively at the age of nine, reached my peak at the age of twenty, and now I read social and humanities books, such as 'Zhiyin' and 'Story Club'... Looking back three hundred years and forward three hundred years, no one has surpassed me in a total of six hundred years."
紧接着，是她的徵婚条件：必须为清华北大硕士、经济学毕业或者精通经济学、必须具备国际视野、身高1米76到1米83之间越帅越好、东部沿海户籍、无生育史、年龄在25-28岁之间。
The second piece of material is a screenshot from Tianya Forum.
A girl from Liangshan with the ID Zhang Shujuan posted: "If you want to marry me, then you have to bring a dowry of 200 million yuan, pay it all at once, and I will love you as much as a mountain."
The post was followed by tens of thousands of abusive comments from netizens.
The third item is a blog post that has received over 100,000 views.
Wan Xiaodao, a migrant worker born in the 80s, posted his views on urban and rural life: "The city is heavily polluted, and with the pressure of survival and soaring prices, especially housing prices, it would be terrible to lose your job in the city."
He also vowed never to marry a city woman, saying that marrying one would be like finding an ancestor for himself!
……
Ren Pingsheng stared expressionlessly at these surreal yet incredibly real snapshots of the era.
He inserted Wang Duoyu's monologue from "Unexpectedly" and Aoi Sora's "friend card" as transitions between these materials.
Finally, he added a relatively restrained caption to the video, which was less than five minutes long:
Don't blame the condescending experts, and don't blame the women who have set their prices. In this era, love is a luxury, and we are simply people who can't afford it...
There were no vehement criticisms, no indignant accusations; the video, less than five minutes long, presented only a cold, stark contrast to reality.
The reason he is doing this now is because the recent online controversy reminded him of the TV series "Dwelling Narrowness" that just aired.
That phenomenal drama, which brutally exposed the issues of mortgage slaves, mistresses, and power-for-sex transactions to a national audience, swept across the country in those two months.
Ren Pingsheng not only wants to ride this wave of popularity, but also wants to add fuel to the fire for everyone at the center of the storm.
Without hesitation, he logged into his account, which had been dormant for months on various platforms—[Life Story].
Click to upload.
Title: [Game of Thrones 2: Why Are We All Like Wang Duoyu?]
Just as the video was posted, a hearty laugh rang out.
"My dear brother Pingsheng!"
Mr. Wang, who was enjoying a leisurely stroll, strode in. He wasn't wearing a suit, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He looked radiant.
"Why did President Wang come all the way here in person?" Ren Pingsheng got up to greet him.
"Couldn't you have come in person?" Boss Wang grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously a few times. "Brother, you've done me a huge favor! The first season hasn't even finished airing, and Tianlong's registered users have already increased by 7%. The boss specifically praised me at the meeting!"
"It's a win-win situation for us, Brother Wang."
"Yes, yes, yes, a win-win situation!" President Wang leaned closer and lowered his voice.
"Brother, I'm here today to finalize the second season with you. There are only two episodes left in the first season, let's strike while the iron is hot and continue! Name your budget, we're family, no haggling!"
That's quite frank!
Anyone else would have readily agreed to such a windfall.
Ren Pingsheng simply smiled politely.
"Mr. Wang, I haven't even come up with a script for the second season yet. If we follow the same formula as the first season, the audience will definitely get tired of it. This can't be rushed. Let's wait until the first season finishes airing, check the data, and then decide what to do."
Mr. Wang was taken aback, clearly not expecting Ren Pingsheng to refuse, but he couldn't force him and could only accept the offer.
"Alright, bro, you're a perfectionist. I'll wait for your call, anytime!"
Ren Pingsheng politely escorted the person to the elevator, his face beaming with a warm smile.
The moment the door closed, the laughter vanished.
The reason given for rejecting Mr. Wang was not just a polite remark. If another ancient-themed episodic drama with the same gimmick is made, the audience will definitely get tired of it.
Moreover, he has no plans to film a second season of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, as it wouldn't be of much help to him as an employee.
Ren Pingsheng glanced at his watch; it was 2:30 PM.
He straightened his clothes, walked out of the building, and walked five minutes to the coffee shop next to the company.
A person was sitting in a corner by the window.
He had chubby cheeks and a youthful face, yet he was wearing a dark blue polo shirt.
Ren Pingsheng walked over, extended his hand, and said, "President Guo, thank you for flying all the way from Pig City. It must have been a long journey."
Guo Weiwei stood up and clasped his hands together.
"Mr. Ren, you're too kind. It's my pleasure."
The two sat down, and the waiter came over to pour water, but neither of them spoke first.
Guo Weiwei picked up her cup, took a sip of coffee, and twirled her finger around the rim of the cup as she put it down.
Ren Pingsheng wasn't in a hurry.
"I'll be frank," Guo Weiwei couldn't hold back any longer. "President Ren, I can offer 30% more than Changyou in terms of price, and I can also accommodate your production schedule. It can be launched before October."
Ren Pingsheng picked up the water glass in front of him and slowly took a sip.
Thirty percent.
The first season of the game cost 600,000 RMB. If the renewal fee is increased by 50%, it would be approximately 900,000 RMB.
Guo Weiwei directly set the price at around 1.2 million.
This price is sufficient.
But he didn't nod immediately.
"Mr. Guo, there's something I need to clarify with you beforehand."
"you say."
"JX3 and Tianlong are competitors. If I reject Changyou's offer, and they then use the second season of 'Unexpected' to promote you, it will look very bad."
Guo Weiwei blinked. "So?"
"So the promotion for JX3 has to be done in another work, which I call 'Diaosi Men' (Loser Man)."