Chapter Seven: An Inchoate Little Idea

After Manager Zhao left, the five members of the creative team all turned their eyes toward Chen Qi. Perhaps because of his “impressive” performance just now, they found themselves quite intrigued by this newcomer. In him, they each saw a reflection of their younger selves.

Just two days ago, when they submitted their work to the national broadcast station, they too had made such confident promises, just as he did. And what came of it? Who has ever truly been spared by fate? Ah… yet another promising young man led astray by the lure of money.

They couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Imagining the look on his face when he soon received the rejection notice, they found themselves rather looking forward to it. Hopefully, when the time comes, he’ll quickly regain his footing and come to understand the cruelty of the world.

Still, they were more than happy for him to share in their burden, for being the scapegoat was always a bitter pill to swallow.

“Um… hello, everyone. I’m Chen Qi.” Perhaps unable to bear the almost uncanny atmosphere in the office, Chen Qi broke the silence and greeted them.

The team members all chuckled and introduced themselves in turn. With the manager gone, they were noticeably more relaxed, and quite welcoming to their new scapegoat.

“You just graduated, didn’t you?”

“Which university?”

“Are you from the capital?”

Questions came one after another as everyone tried to learn more about Chen Qi. When they learned he was a graduate of Capital University, they were all slightly taken aback.

Instantly, his image in their minds rose a notch.

“By the way… how long has the national broadcast station been collecting public service ad proposals?” Taking advantage of their surprise, Chen Qi smoothly shifted the topic away from himself.

“Over a month now, I think.”

“How many of our company’s ideas were selected?”

“One.”

“Whose idea was it?” Chen Qi looked sincerely at the five, as if eager to learn.

To his surprise, the question made their expressions subtly awkward.

“It was the manager’s…” a rather pretty woman with curly hair admitted a bit sheepishly.

“Oh…” Chen Qi made a nonchalant sound, then tried to ask as casually as possible, “Did the manager get the hundred-thousand reward?”

“Of course! On the very same day the ad was selected, Finance handed out the bonus,” the curly-haired woman replied. “You might not know, but this campaign is open to the whole company. Anyone can submit ideas to the creative department, and anyone whose proposal is chosen gets a hundred-thousand reward.”

Chen Qi made a face of sudden understanding.

At that, the other five exchanged slightly odd looks.

This guy, did he suddenly hesitate earlier because he was worried he wouldn’t get the money? And fresh out of university too—already so cunning?

If Chen Qi had known what they were thinking, he’d surely have denied it with utmost righteousness. Money? In a company this size, would they really cheat him out of a hundred thousand? The reason he’d suddenly held back was mainly his worry that his idea might have already been thought of and produced by someone in this world. If so, wouldn’t that be awkward? The odds were small, but better safe than sorry.

“So… where can I watch the ads that were selected? I’d like to learn from them.” He asked modestly.

“Sure, I’ll send you the link,” the curly-haired woman replied.

His question seemed perfectly reasonable to the group—after all, it made sense to study what had been successful. If anything, it confirmed their suspicion that he really didn’t have any good ideas and was simply tempted by the reward money.

For a moment, they even felt a little sorry for him. He’d spoken with such confidence—how would he face the manager’s fury in a few days? The manager was already losing his mind because a rival company had three ads selected. Was this newcomer volunteering to walk into the line of fire?

Thanking the pretty curly-haired colleague, Chen Qi opened his computer, entered the web address she’d sent, and saw a page full of video thumbnails—around twenty, all public service ads currently airing on national television.

He watched them, one by one, with great focus.

Nearly an hour later, he closed the browser, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Luck was on his side—he hadn’t seen any familiar scenes on the site, meaning that the classic works from Earth were all still up for grabs.

Still, he wasn’t in a rush to present his idea. He was a man of principle: since he’d told the manager two days, then two days it would be—not a day, not even half a day sooner.

After sitting quietly in thought for a while, he stood and wandered out, taking a leisurely stroll around the company with an air of curiosity. Along the way, a few people glanced at him with puzzled expressions, but he paid them no mind, offering a polite smile and continuing his tour, as if genuinely interested in his new workplace.

The day passed quickly.

Spending almost the entire day exploring, Chen Qi gathered quite a bit of information. All in all, this company called Blueprint seemed reliable, with a good reputation in the industry. They probably wouldn’t cheat him out of his bonus.

With that main worry out of the way, he began planning which public service ad to submit. After long deliberation, he decided to go all out and put forward the king of them all: “Mama Washes My Feet.”

He urgently needed some money and didn’t want to waste time on complications.

That evening, back in his rented room, he opened his ring, found the script for “Mama Washes My Feet,” and watched it over and over, taking notes to avoid missing any details.

The next day.

In the manager’s office, Manager Zhao stared blankly at Chen Qi, his mind momentarily at a loss.

“You’re sure your proposal is ready?” he asked, scarcely able to believe it.

What kind of nonsense was this? Didn’t he say two days yesterday? Not even twenty-four hours had passed! He understood Chen Qi’s eagerness for the reward, but couldn’t he show a little principle? A little respect for his professional judgment?

Didn’t he think this was just a bit too perfunctory?

“It’s really ready. I think it’s got a good chance,” Chen Qi replied with full confidence.

Manager Zhao was speechless for a moment, then, a little disgruntled, set aside his work. “If that’s so, let’s hear it then.”

“Uh…” Chen Qi hesitated.

“What now?” Seeing him falter again, Manager Zhao nearly lost his temper.

Where did this oddball come from? Couldn’t he just be straightforward for once?

“Manager Zhao, I have a small, perhaps immature request,” Chen Qi said with a sheepish smile.

“Speak!” The word was practically squeezed out between Manager Zhao’s clenched teeth.

“I’d like to direct the ad myself. Uh… what I mean is, I’d like to guide the production process.”

Manager Zhao was left with nothing but question marks, wondering if he’d misheard.

What did that even mean? Was this some kind of leap in logic? He was getting too old to keep up with this kind of thinking!

…

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