Chapter Six: He Suddenly Brought Up Money

The office was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Manager Zhao seemed to have finally vented his frustrations; he kept rubbing his temples, looking thoroughly exasperated.

The five colleagues—three men and two women—sat there in silence, their faces full of grievance.

They were genuinely aggrieved.

The advertising manager had reviewed the ideas they’d submitted, and they’d all been involved in the creative process. Back then, he’d praised their work, saying it was excellent and had a great chance of being selected.

Now that their proposal had been shot down, he was taking it out on them...

Fine, let him vent if he must. After all, he was the boss. As seasoned employees who’d been through the grind for years, they were no strangers to taking the blame or swallowing their frustrations.

“Chen Qi.” For some inexplicable reason, Manager Zhao suddenly turned his gaze toward Chen Qi and asked, “Do you have any good ideas?”

“???” Caught off guard, Chen Qi stared at him in a daze.

What is this situation? I’ve only just pieced together what’s going on, and now you’re asking me?

Even if you’re going to ask, did you have to make it so obvious that you’re grasping at straws? You don’t really expect anything from me, do you?

“No!” Chen Qi shook his head without hesitation.

He hadn’t even grasped the rules of the game—what ideas could he possibly have? If his idea gets rejected by the national broadcaster too, who would he argue with?

It was better to be scolded as a group now than to be singled out later.

No! Absolutely not!

“You people…” Denied, Manager Zhao fumed again, “You’re always complaining to me about poor benefits and low salaries, but now that there’s a hundred thousand yuan reward for a single ad, why is not a single one of you saying a word? Huh?!”

Wait a minute!

Chen Qi seemed to have caught some crucial information.

“Wait…” As the whole office felt suffocated under Manager Zhao’s outburst, Chen Qi timidly raised his hand, standing out like a lone sapling.

With a swoosh, all eyes in the office turned to him.

Feeling the weight of several gazes, Chen Qi gave an awkward smile, then forced himself to sound calm as he asked, “Manager Zhao, did you say there’s a hundred thousand yuan reward for an accepted ad?”

“…Yes.” Interrupted mid-rant, Manager Zhao was momentarily thrown off by the question.

What’s he trying to do?

“Well…” Chen Qi looked at him sheepishly and said, “I… I suddenly have a pretty good idea.”

Manager Zhao: “…”

Five colleagues: “…”

They stared at Chen Qi in astonishment, as if seeing a newly discovered creature.

For a moment, their memories seemed out of sync.

Who was it, just a second ago, who’d flatly insisted he had nothing?

“You… Are you serious?” Manager Zhao forgot to be angry for a moment.

Chen Qi nodded.

He was serious—of course he was serious.

A public service announcement? He had plenty!

He had so many ideas, he could list several off the top of his head, believe it or not. If he pulled out something as impactful as “Mom Washes My Feet,” it would shake the whole nation. If that one was too powerful, there was always the “No Trading, No Killing” series, or “A Simple Gesture” series... The treasures of Earth were abundant, and as long as the payment was enough, he’d be more than happy to serve as a cultural ambassador from Earth!

Seeing Chen Qi’s confident demeanor, Manager Zhao opened his mouth but couldn’t say a word.

Even with his years of experience, he found himself doubting his own eyes at Chen Qi’s complete reversal.

This… he’d never seen before!

He’d seen people change their tune, but never this seamlessly!

The switch was so smooth, so natural, he couldn’t find a single flaw!

How did he do it?

Didn’t he feel even a little bit embarrassed?

Not at all?

For a fleeting moment, Manager Zhao felt he’d just witnessed something extraordinary.

The other five colleagues felt much the same. Though they understood the motivation behind the turnaround, wasn’t this just a little too desperate?

If they searched their own consciences, none of them could have changed roles so quickly.

That was just shameless!

Couldn’t he have waited an hour or two before pretending to suddenly have a good idea?

“So… let’s hear it?” Manager Zhao’s tone was laced with skepticism, as if he didn’t quite believe him.

“Uh…” Just as he was about to speak, Chen Qi suddenly hesitated.

Manager Zhao’s nerves instantly tensed, nearly pushing him to curse aloud.

Did this brat really have an idea or not?

Couldn’t he just follow the script for once?

I’m still mad, you know!

Noticing the change in his expression, Chen Qi hurried to say, “Manager, my idea isn’t quite mature yet. Could you give me two days to refine it?”

Manager Zhao eyed him with suspicion, clearly unconvinced.

“Don’t worry,” Chen Qi promised solemnly, “I’ll come up with an ad that will be accepted by the national broadcaster. If I can’t, you won’t have to say a word—I’ll leave on my own.”

Manager Zhao stared at him stone-faced, suddenly recalling the general manager’s instructions from the day before.

“Fine. Two days. I’ll give you just two days. If I don’t see a good proposal after that, you can pack your things yourself.” Manager Zhao nodded heavily, putting on a fierce expression and then turned to the other five: “And the rest of you, if your next submission isn’t selected, forget about getting any performance bonuses this quarter.”

With that, Manager Zhao stormed out, still looking furious and not fully appeased.

What else could he do? After being interrupted by the new guy, the anger he’d been building up in the office had all but dissipated!

It wasn’t as if he didn’t know how harsh the broadcaster’s requirements were, or that rejected proposals weren’t entirely their fault.

But as the manager, he had to apply pressure—he had his own reputation to maintain.

As for the new guy who seemed to have connections, well, the general manager had already told him to take care of him as much as possible, as long as it wasn’t too obvious. If he had ideas, all the better—after all, rejected proposals were nothing new; one more wouldn’t make much difference.

Manager Zhao truly had no expectations for Chen Qi. The reason he’d put on a show of asking and then agreeing was simply to give the general manager a bit of face.

A freshly graduated student, even if he came from the top university, was still naïve.

Besides, anyone could see that the only thing motivating this kid was the ten-thousand-dollar reward.

Now, he didn’t hope for much—just that in two days, Chen Qi’s proposal wouldn’t be embarrassingly childish. Otherwise, in front of the whole creative department, he wouldn’t be able to save face even if he wanted to help him a little.

As for telling him to pack his things, that was just something he said in the heat of the moment—of course, he didn’t mean it.