Chapter 56, Part 3: The Fantasy Mansion
The atmosphere was unusually cold and desolate.
Within the first minute of meeting, everyone on the art team understood one thing—the new director was difficult to get along with.
The lead artist was on stage alone, reporting on the results of the first week of the new year. Everyone below, young and old, stared intently at the PPT, demonstrating their most diligent attitude in front of the new director.
"The revenue of several key games during the Spring Festival was quite good," the lead artist said, remaining calm and pushing the meeting forward despite the crisis. "The most outstanding one was the revenue from the Cloud Crane Cry pool."
Some eyes fell on Wen Ting, but she kept her eyes down and maintained her usual low-key demeanor.
"Last year, including the Spring Festival period, we had 96 card pools and 391 cards, including those we outsourced... This is the ranking statistic for each group."
"The top three groups in each department are consistently strong pillars and deserve praise."
"The newly established groups also deserve commendation."
The art director glanced at the meeting notes. "Scene Seven and Character Design Nine, these two teams, which have been established for less than two years, have performed exceptionally well."
"As artists, we have limited conversion rates we can achieve, but there are also conversion rates we can reach. Next, we would like to invite the two team leaders to share their experiences."
Chang Qi turned around and glanced at Wen Ting, who raised her hand to indicate that she should go first.
After she finished, Wen Ting paused to catch her words before walking onto the stage.
The internal remarks don't need to be long. Thank the leaders and colleagues, and then bring out the same old clichés: "For a long time, I was blindly pursuing breakthroughs in technology and design, neglecting the role itself."
"Give me an apple as a theme, and all I can think about is 'how to break the mold,' 'how to create amazing lighting and shadows,' and 'how to make it transcend the realm of apples,' completely forgetting to interpret what an apple should actually look like."
"It took me a long time to realize that before technology and innovation, the first thing to do is to understand the role, respect the role, and restore the true nature of the role."
After rambling on for two minutes, saying things that even she herself didn't understand, Wen Ting bowed and ended her speech.
Just as the lead artist was about to applaud, the new director in his seat suddenly raised his hand and said, "Bring out her most popular characters, let me take a look."
The applause in the conference room stopped before it could even begin.
The new director, who hadn't said a word since the meeting started, suddenly spoke up. Everyone knew what that meant.
The head of the character design team narrowed his eyes.
The gazes on the field were murky. Cathy gripped her notebook tightly, gritting her teeth in frustration.
Director Xu, who had a crush on Wen Ting, had just been transferred overseas, and the new director had also taken a liking to her.
Wen Ting, is she really that amazing?
The art director wasn't prepared. "Windy, you take..."
Wen Ting nodded. "I have the pictures on my phone."
As she walked past the new director, she caught a faint fragrance while using her phone to project it onto the screen.
Wen Ting bent down to connect the data cable, her face directly in front of the new director's hair.
Her hair was smooth, jet black and soft, with a faint fragrance. She recalled her conversation with Gong Baidie yesterday:
"I've already prepared the snow-white perfume that Ling Tiao and the wife like. Does the master still find the smell acceptable?"
This text was written by Wen Ting back then.
Lingxiao, also known as trumpet creeper, is said to help darken hair.
The next one is the flower chosen by the player.
Snow□……
Snow lotus? Cedar?
What did she choose back then?
As she plugged in the data cable, the faint fragrance grew stronger, becoming clearly audible to her.
It smells like snow orchids.
Wen Ting bent over to operate her laptop, her hair loosely draped over one side of her shoulder.
Her curly hair wasn't very dark, but it had a gentle, luster.
Such soft hair has a complex and varied fragrance that is too lingering and lacks elegance.
A soft strand of hair slipped off her shoulder and swayed to the side of her face.
Gong Baidie half-closed her eyes and smiled silently.
The next moment, the woman finished using the computer and casually tucked a strand of curly hair behind her ear.
She smiled at him, "Director, these are some of my main personas since I joined Green Forest."
He stared at her: "Judging from your expression, you're very satisfied with them."
The tone was slightly cold, and Wen Ting sensed something was wrong.
With the new broom sweeping clean, is this new director going to use her as a sacrifice to establish his authority?
But the next moment, he smiled at her and said, "Tell me about it. I'm really curious."
The smile silenced the meeting room for a moment.
It's hard to imagine that a man could have such a beautiful appearance.
Wen Ting felt inexplicably flustered.
She adopted a humble and unassuming posture, cautiously reporting: "This one is from 'Heterosexuality,' these are from 'Shadow of the World,' and this one is..."
From otome games to puzzle games, and then to the action games promoted by Green Forest, as the team leader, Wen Ting's presence can be seen in several of the games currently developed by Green Forest.
She picked out ten characters with high commercial value, planning that if the new director said her drawings were all garbage, she had to control her expression and appear humble.
Then, at a suitable moment, arrange a chance encounter, and with the reverence of a young girl in prayer, say, "What you said that day was so wonderful, like the sun breaking through the clouds, it enlightened me completely. Will I ever have another chance to receive your guidance?"
After this series of moves, even if he doesn't develop any feelings for her, he's a grown man... a young boy, so he definitely won't make things difficult for her anymore.
After introducing the ten characters, Wen Ting smiled and waited to hear the new director's insightful opinions: "These are the characters that I am personally quite satisfied with."
She was not only satisfied, but each of the ten roles brought Wen Ting a six-figure commission, making them her most cherished treasures.
The young man in the seat didn't speak, but looked up and quietly stared at the playboy on the screen.
His Tang-style peony-patterned brocade robe was open, partially revealing his muscular chest and abdomen, and his pair of captivating, peach-blossom eyes shimmered with charm.
After a long silence, he finally spoke, "Hmm, not bad."
Wen Ting, who was prepared to be publicly sacrificed, was stunned: Not bad?
She glanced at the new director's expression, then lowered her eyes and met a pair of unfathomable phoenix eyes.
Thick, dark eyelashes obscured the heavy shadows.
Wen Ting saw her own reflection in those eyes, both blurry and distorted.
He smiled and gave her a faint compliment, but Wen Ting detected a strange emotion in his eyes.
She couldn't understand this reaction.
It felt like the excitement of starting a new game, yet also like intense hatred.
...
The weekly summary meeting for the first week after resuming work was originally intended to motivate employees, but it took a turn for the worse due to the change of director.
The arrival of the new director turned this otherwise relaxed and pleasant Friday afternoon into a chaotic mess.
"He's so inconsiderate!" Chaochao stomped her foot as she returned home from the meeting. "The rule is that when a new boss takes office, snacks come first. I didn't even see the cake or milk tea before he showed up. Does being good-looking give him the right to break the rules?!"
DD declined to comment, went to the vending machine, grabbed a can of Coke, and went back to his workstation.
Wen Ting held her phone, ignoring the fact that she had been singled out by the director, and made calls over and over again.
Regardless of the director's attitude for the time being, what's wrong with my three little devils? It's already this late and they still haven't replied to my messages.
"Can you get in touch with them?" Wen Ting asked the other two. "Let them complete the procedures, just consider it a leave of absence."
"I've been trying to reach them all day, but I still can't get through," Chaochao said.
DD shook his head as well.
Wen Ting frowned. "I hope nothing bad happens. Do you know where they live?"
Both of them shook their heads.
"I only know which neighborhood they live in, but I don't know their exact apartment number," Wen Ting said, looking troubled. "Never mind, you guys pack up and get ready to go home. I'll ask HR."
As she spoke, she looked down and sent a message to the HR, explaining her situation.
"So many people didn't come today," Chaochao said, puzzled. "Sister Windy, what happened to them? Could it be—"
DD opened the Coke can to see what she could say.
"Is it a business war?" Chaochao asked excitedly. "They are all Director Xu's confidants. Did they go overseas with the director?"
“It’s more reliable than overthrowing Arakawa.” Wen Ting smiled. “But that’s impossible.”
She was Director Xu's confidante, yet she hadn't received the news.
Just as they were talking about the director, someone knocked on the door, "Is Team Leader Wen in?"
Wen Ting stood up. "I'm here."
Standing outside the glass door was a man dressed in a Western suit, with gentle features and glasses, who gave off a kind appearance.
Wen Ting felt as if she had seen this somewhere before.
"And you are?"
“I am Director Gong’s secretary.” The other person nodded to her.
Wen Ting wasn't surprised at all that he was the director's secretary—he exuded the air of a secretary. If a secretary NPC was needed right now, this person could be easily placed in the role.
"The director would like to see you in his office."
This is a bit unexpected. "Do you know what it's about?"
The secretary replied with a secretary's smile, "I don't know."
Wen Ting then asked, "Are there any other people?"
"there is none left."
"Okay." Wen Ting said to Chaochao and DD, "You two should go back when it's time."
She glanced at her phone; the HR representative hadn't replied to her message yet.
Maybe they're busy; they'll deal with it as soon as they see the message.
The 13th floor was the office area for the team leaders. The secretary led Wen Ting to the door of the summary office, gestured for her to go in, and then returned to her own office.
Facing the plaque next to the door that read "Art Director," Wen Ting took a deep breath.
The atmosphere at the meeting was a bit awkward, and now that the meeting has just ended, he's calling me over again. What does he want to do?
Such a young art director at a major company is unheard of. Even in Mary Sue novels, the CEO has to be 27 or older. I've never seen a character under 25.
Therefore, this person must be a direct descendant of the imperial family.
She pursed her dry lips and knocked on the door. "Director, I'm Wen Ting from Design Department 9."
After a brief silence, a cool male voice came from behind the door: "Please come in."
She pushed open the door and stood there, stunned.
Behind the main entrance, a modern Chinese-style office came into view.
The original Parisian style is gone; all traces of Director Xu have been cleaned up, and even the wallpaper has been replaced.
She hadn't heard a sound of renovation at all. When was the layout changed?
Passing through the entrance hall, Wen Ting walked inside and saw a whole wall of black and gold cabinets behind the heavy black walnut wood desk.
The dark wooden door features symmetrical gold patterns in the center, resembling ancient butterfly patterns or some kind of hieroglyphic character representing butterflies.
The new director, who had just finished a meeting that afternoon, sat in front of the butterfly-patterned central axis.
Against the dark background, his fair skin and youthful appearance appeared even more striking, as did his air of pampered elegance and refinement.
"Director Gong." Wen Ting stood in front of the desk, showing him a harmless and friendly expression.
The man sat in his seat, staring intently at her.
He stared at her for a long time, making Wen Ting somewhat uneasy. "I heard you called me?"
Gong Baidie smiled and raised the corners of her eyes. "Hello, Wen Ting."
The four simple words circled his lips, accompanied by a sweet smile, revealing an indescribable affection.
Wen Ting was momentarily stunned by that inhuman beauty, and replied with a smile, "You remembered my name so quickly."
“I’m very interested in what you said this afternoon.” Gong Baidie gestured with her hand, “Please sit down.”
Wen Ting sat down opposite the desk. "You mean?"
“You said you understand and respect the characters,” Gong Baidie looked at her. “You’ve created so many characters, I’m curious, which one has left the deepest impression on you?”
Wen Ting suddenly understood.
It turned out to be an interview.
As for why she was chosen, Wen Ting guessed that perhaps Director Gong was really too young, and he could only start with employees who were as young as him and slowly infiltrate the team.
If he really intends to recruit her, then you should answer this question carefully and leave a good impression on him.
Wen Ting pondered, “Director, in my five and a half years at Green Forest, I’ve drawn too many characters. Dozens have been presented to the public, and hundreds or even thousands have been rejected. If you ask me which one left the deepest impression, to be honest, it’s definitely the one with the highest turnover.”
The man's fingers, beneath his thin black gloves, tightened and then loosened: "You are very honest."
Wen Ting added, "However, in recent years, my favorite is still the crane's cry."
"Is he the one who makes the most money?" he asked.
“He is profitable, but not the most profitable,” Wen Ting said. “The important thing is that he was the first character I drew after I became a team leader from a junior employee. Compared to before, I have a greater say and more creative freedom, so he is the character that best reflects my ideas.”
She openly expressed her love for profit and revealed her desire for further promotion, which was actually just to better create a role.
Wen Ting felt that this answer was flawless, no matter what.
However, the director remained unmoved, his gaze fixed on the phone in Wen Ting's hand.
“Open the game,” he said. “Let me check your progress on Cloud Crane Cry.”
"..." Wen Ting's mind went blank on the spot.
Forget about progress, she hasn't even drawn the Yunheli card.
The man understood her expression and raised an eyebrow in surprise: "This is what you like?"
Wen Ting broke out in a cold sweat. She had thought he was just a rich second-generation who had landed in through bloodline. How could he be so vicious and cunning?
She frantically racked her brains, trying to salvage the situation, when the man in front of her suddenly smiled.
His brows relaxed, and his smile became sweet and gentle, completely shattering the cold arrogance he had displayed in the conference room.
Wen Ting had the illusion that she saw tenderness and affection in those upturned phoenix eyes.
He spoke, his voice several octaves lower, ethereal as if floating in the clouds: "You don't love Yun Heli, you only treat them out of necessity, just to make a living, right?"
Wen Ting: Hmm?
The handsome man beckoned to her, gesturing for her to come closer.
Wen Ting leaned forward, pulled a black stylus from his suit breast pocket, held the pen tip and end with both hands, and handed it to Wen Ting.
The way he handed over the pen was very strange.
Wen Ting hesitated before picking it up.
“Go draw the characters you truly want to draw,” he said. “You don’t need to flatter or go against your own heart. Give me a drawing of your favorite character today, without being limited to any particular company, and let me see your original intention.”
Wen Ting was even more confused.
What are you even talking about?
“Okay.” She requested clarification from her supervisor: “Do you need three-view drawings, or character illustrations? What are the requirements for size and detail?”
"Just draw the characters you love."
It's very strange to assign such a task at this time.
Wen Ting carefully considered his intentions and pleaded earnestly, "Although I don't quite understand your intentions, this is the first task you've given me, and I don't want to rush through it. Could you give me a little more time?"
“I don’t care about precision.” Gong Baidie raised her hand, pressing a beautiful brass pocket watch against her palm. “There are still three…six hours left until the end of the day.”
He glanced at Wen Ting, who was standing still, and added casually, "You can sit here and draw too, I don't mind."
"...Okay, I'll go back and try to draw one, and send it to you later."
Gong Baidie put away the pocket watch. "Bring it to my office."
"It might be quite late."
"I will wait for you." A gentle smile returned to the man's face. "I will always be waiting for you."
"..." It's Friday after get off work, how could someone assign such a cruel task in the tone of a male protagonist from an otome game?
Fortunately, it was an individual task, not a team project, otherwise the kids in her group would have burst into tears.
Wen Ting left with her pen, full of doubts.
When she got back downstairs, it was past closing time. All the offices were brightly lit, which Wen Ting wasn't surprised about. What was surprising was that two people from her office were also there.
"What's wrong?" Wen Ting pushed the door open and came in. "You two haven't left yet?"
The two women looked on the verge of tears the moment they saw Wen Ting. Chaochao lay on the table, looking aggrieved, and said, "Sister, let's look at the OA."
Wen Ting took out her phone, opened the OA system, and was surprised.
The latest notification:
"February 7th: Please submit one character illustration with the theme of death by today. Old illustrations are not allowed. The following characters are eligible:..."
Wen Ting couldn't believe it.
She has received urgent work after get off work before, but those were all due to client requests, and were the result of her superiors' inability to refuse them.
The current task is inexplicable and doesn't seem urgent at all.
"Does the character design team have to draw everyone?" Wen Ting asked.
DD shook his head.
Wen Ting frowned. Could it be that their group was being targeted? Just as she thought this, Chaochao added, "We need the entire art team, even the modeling and animation teams."
Wen Ting: Hmm?
"Is this a preliminary assessment?" DD asked Wen Ting. "Does the new director want to see everyone's level?"
Chaochao was the first to object: "Why should the quality of the set design team be demonstrated using character images?"
Wen Ting frowned, walked past them to her workstation.
18:21, five and a half hours left until the end of the day.
She has two pictures.
The purpose of the task assigned by OA is unclear, and it's entirely possible, as DD mentioned, that it's a skill assessment. There are nine groups involved, and eight of them have taken the test; as the group leader, she can't afford to perform poorly.
As for the drawings the director wanted, even though he said he had no requirements, Wen Ting didn't dare to take them lightly.
It's impossible to produce two decent images in such a short time.
She had never drawn a character's death scene before; the OA assignments required drawing them on the spot, but the director's assignments often included many old drawings that could be used.
Distinguishing between what was important and what was secondary, Wen Ting took out a pen and used it to tie her hair up.
start.
At 11:20, rendering was completed, images were exported, and the OA (Office Automation) was submitted.
Wen Ting rubbed the back of her neck, twisted her neck, and searched through the documents for a drawing that met the director's requirements.
Finished at 11:40.
She looked at the revised black and white manuscript.
The director knew that it was impossible to produce two high-quality drawings in such a short time, so Wen Ting specifically chose simple characters and a time-saving drawing method.
This is a side profile drawing she made two years ago for Qin Mu, the campus heartthrob male lead in the novel "Heterosexual Love".
The boy in the jersey looked fresh and sunny. He glanced at her from the front, and with a simple sketch, his eyes conveyed the surprise of suddenly seeing the female lead.
Qin Muwenting has the simplest outfit among all her characters.
She had already come up with her reasons for choosing to paint him: Qin Mu was the first major role she played in Green Forest, and the starting point of her career.
More importantly, her portrayal of Qin Mu in "Heterosexual Love" has already garnered a high level of likability and can withstand scrutiny.
Flawless.
After printing out the diagram, Wen Ting stood up and quietly asked the two children about their progress.
"How are you all doing?"
Both of them buried themselves in their work and drew frantically, letting out a dying sob: "I feel like I've drawn a blob."
Wen Ting took a look; the painting was finished, but the quality wasn't very high, and the two of them were making revisions.
"It's alright, just submit it." She patted the back of their chairs. "With such a tight deadline, the boss knows it's impossible to produce very detailed drawings."
"But it really doesn't look good..."
"That's fine." Wen Ting rubbed Chaochao's little head. "It's already excellent if you can finish your work after get off work. Look how sleepy you are, you're like a little chick."
DD has already submitted his application. He has a year more experience than Chaochao, and he also has a more indifferent and numb attitude.
"Just hand it in," he comforted her. "No matter how much you change it, you'll never stand out."
"You're really good at comforting people." Chaochao rolled her eyes at him and clicked submit.
The two uploaded the image, which needed to be approved by their superior, Wen Ting.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong, sis?"
Wen Ting was puzzled, "Did you submit it successfully? I don't see any new process here."
The two checked: "Submission successful, huh? The flowchart doesn't show who the next approval node is."
Wen Ting leaned over and took a look.
Not only them, but even the images she submitted didn't show the process, yet they were indeed submitted successfully.
After fiddling with it for a while, Wen Ting took a screenshot and sent it to the administration department to see if there was a bug in the OA system.
It was unlikely that the administrators would reply to her messages at this hour, so she put away her phone and casually asked, "Are you going back today?"
DD nodded. "Tomorrow is Saturday."
Wen Ting raised an eyebrow. "Let me tell you first, I have a feeling we have a meeting tomorrow."
"Huh?!" Chaochao suddenly turned around, her drowsiness completely gone.
Wen Ting said with a sigh, "I just have a feeling. If you want to go back, then go back. If there really is a meeting, I'll call you then."
What if it's a morning meeting?
Wen Ting smiled and said, "Then I'll call you in the morning and set a strong reminder for me."
"..."
DD took off his backpack, picked up his employee ID, and Chaochao also dejectedly picked up her employee ID and went to the staff lounge to book a room.
After seeing the person off, Wen Ting took her rather insincere character illustrations upstairs.
She didn't believe that the man surnamed Gong would really sit there until the early hours of the morning waiting for her. While knocking on the door, she took out her phone, ready to send him a message asking where he was.
"Please come in."
The sound coming from inside the door surprised Wen Ting.
It really is there.
Upon entering, Gong Baidie was still sitting in the back of the office, her posture unchanged.
The moment he saw Wen Ting, his eyes widened slightly, a smile played on his lips, and his eyes shone with light, as if his whole being had been illuminated.
Wen Ting sensed an unusual level of anticipation.
Feeling pressured, she handed over the paper and jokingly apologized, "I was short on time and was lazy so I didn't add any color."
"It's alright." Gong Baidie leaned forward.
The paper was on the table, and Wen Ting waited anxiously for feedback.
The new director stared at the paper for a long time.
He lowered his head slightly, his long, thick eyelashes trembling gently.
After a long silence, he looked at the painting and asked, "Is this your favorite character?"
As expected, Wen Ting was prepared for this question.
She nodded, a hint of shyness in her eyes. "Yes, this is my first main character design, which is the starting point for me as a character designer." Learning from Yun Heli's experience, she added this time, "Back then, I spent a lot of my salary to draw Qin Mu's card."
The fingers gripped the paper tightly, leaving wrinkles on the paper from the black glove.
He raised the corners of his lips, his voice low and distant: "He was your first leading man..."
“That’s right.” Before that, Wen Ting could only draw NPCs in Green Forest.
Her beautiful phoenix eyes swept over him, "Didn't you have any work experience before you joined Green Forest?"
Previous work experience?
Wen Ting didn't understand why it was necessary to test her loyalty in the middle of the night.
“That’s just a small workshop,” she guessed, trying to guess the answer her boss wanted. “It’s not on the same level as Green Forest in any way. Of course, I also want to thank my previous company. With my qualifications, I wouldn’t have been able to get into Green Forest. It was my work experience at my previous company that gave me the opportunity to come here.”
“I see.” He murmured to himself, then smiled, “...a stepping stone.”
Wen Ting corrected: "It's usually said as 'stepping stone'."
“I’ll ask you one more time,” he said, lifting the paper and holding it to Qin Mu’s face, “is this your answer?”
Under the flat, incandescent light, his face was close to that of the male protagonist in the otome game, and his features were even more striking than those of the person in the painting.
He once again displayed the same expectation he had when she entered, a kind of subtly excited expectation that concealed malice.
Wen Ting's eyelids twitched, and she felt a sudden, inexplicable palpitation.
Having said all that, she steeled herself and said firmly, "Yes, perhaps Qin Mu is unremarkable from today's perspective, but he is indeed one of the roles I cherish most. I value his significance to my life more than his commercial value."
"Ha...hehehe." Gong Baidie propped her forehead up, turned the paper around, and laughed at the man with bare arms on the paper.
What is the meaning of life?
Her answer was even better than he had expected.
When it's elevated to the level of life itself, it's truly unattainable and beyond our reach.
He chuckled softly, finding it increasingly ridiculous; the more he looked, the harder it was to suppress the boiling hatred within him.
"Ah—!" Suddenly, a terrifying scream pierced through the night sky above the building.
Wen Ting was startled, and then heard more and more shouts and cries coming from outside the door.
"What's going on?" She turned around in surprise and walked towards the door.
She pressed the handle, her wrist jerked, and she was shocked to find the door locked.
“Director…” She turned to look for Gong Baidie, but found no one behind the desk.
Sizzle...
The lights flickered a few times and then suddenly went out.
The dark-colored office instantly fell into a somber silence.
Screams continued in the distance. Wen Ting leaned against the door, her heart pounding slightly. In a daze, she heard muffled words mixed in with the screams: "Dead..." "...Head...shattered..." "They're all dead..."
What died? What happened down there?
"Director...Director?" Wen Ting's breathing was unsteady, her eyes still adjusting to the darkness. "Are you still there, Director?"
There was no response.
Wen Ting blinked hard and discovered a dim light.
She finally saw Gong Baidie.
He sat upright on the sofa against the wall, holding a tablet.
The cool electronic light illuminated his face, and the light and shadow made his handsome and flawless features appear three-dimensional.
He was drowning in darkness, with a wisp of red smoke rising behind him.
"Director?"
The young man turned to the side, looked up from the tablet, and revealed a wicker incense burner behind him, with a wisp of red smoke rising from the opening opposite the bird's beak.
The delicate fragrance rose to the ceiling, lingering there for a long time.
A refreshing, cool fragrance seeped into Wen Ting's bones. Her eyelids twitched, and she saw the man backlit lifting his lips at her.
Feeling slightly dizzy, as if experiencing an illusion, Wen Ting suddenly saw a scarlet red butterfly under his left eye, its color alluring as if it had been saturated with blood.
Upon closer inspection, there was nothing on that face; the skin was as smooth as stone.
He faced her, half of his face hidden in the dim red smoke.
“I gave you a chance, Wen Ting.”
-----------------------
Author's Note: -Entered Hard Mode-
Wen Ting: You can turn red? You are—Long Kui?! (A jumbled mess ×)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com