Chapter 34: Getting on the Right Track
Pu Tong felt that he had done pretty well on this round of exams.
Aside from the rather unusual Chinese composition prompt, every other subject had been perfectly normal.
Perhaps it was simply harder to sneak in any hidden agenda with the other papers...
His daily studying had been solid and consistent. A mere monthly exam was hardly enough to trouble him.
Looks like someone is about to lose that bet.
The three-day exam period was followed immediately by the weekend. Teachers would spend those two days grading papers and compiling results—essentially working a little overtime.
No matter how much time was allotted, exams always drained more mental energy than ordinary studying. Students needed a chance to recover afterward.
"So tired..."
After getting home, Pu Tong did something he almost never did—he collapsed onto the sofa, completely devoid of his usual diligent energy.
Exams...
They were exhausting.
Two hours per paper, three papers a day, for three straight days. Staying mentally focused the entire time was no joke.
He lay there, completely relaxed, enjoying the rare moment of peace.
Then he realized...
Something was missing.
"Mom?"
Supporting himself with one hand on his forehead, he got up and glanced around the unusually empty house.
Normally, whenever he came home, his clumsy mother would be making an absolute disaster of the kitchen before proudly serving one of her infamous "dark cuisine" creations.
Sure, they looked like biological weapons, but they were... barely edible.
Today, however, she wasn't home.
Strangely enough, he felt a little uncomfortable without her.
When did I start enjoying these warm, ordinary days?
Returning to his room, he grabbed his phone and called Ni Hui.
"Mom, where are you?"
"I figured you'd be home by now—I was just about to call you!" Her side of the line was incredibly noisy, as if surrounded by people. "Son, hurry over! Everyone's waiting for you!"
"...Waiting for me?"
"Company dinner! We're just waiting for President Pu to come pay the bill!"
"..."
What kind of company held a banquet before it had even officially started operating?
And using his money, no less!
Forget what he'd said earlier.
Maybe this mom really wasn't salvageable.
After receiving the address she sent, Pu Tong locked the house and headed out.
To make matters worse...
She'd picked the most expensive hotel in Huailin City.
His mother really was generous when it came to spending his money.
Rush-hour traffic in Huailin was terrible.
What should have been a twenty-minute ride ended up taking forty minutes by taxi.
Stepping out of the car, Pu Tong looked up at the moon hanging in the evening sky and fell into silent contemplation.
At this point, there probably isn't even any food left...
He was paying for dinner...
Yet hadn't gotten a single bite.
Was that reasonable?
Absolutely not.
The hotel was decorated in an elegant ancient Chinese style, exuding refinement and classical charm.
"This way, please."
A waitress immediately recognized him and began leading the way.
"You didn't even ask which private room I'm going to?"
She smiled.
"You're joking, sir. I know who you are—Pu Tong. The reservation was made under your name."
"..."
Fame really is a pain.
At this rate, every young person who followed the internet probably recognized him.
Would people start recognizing him just from walking into a convenience store someday?
Muttering to himself, he followed the waitress until they arrived outside a large private dining room.
She pushed open the door.
Inside, Ni Hui was chatting happily with a young woman seated beside her.
"Enjoy your meal."
The waitress bowed and quietly left.
Whether I enjoy it is another matter.
As for actually eating... that's probably impossible.
"Son! Why are you so late? Come sit down!"
Ni Hui waved enthusiastically, pointing to the empty seat beside her.
Only then did Pu Tong notice the twenty or so young men and women sitting around the room.
Most looked like recent university graduates.
Isn't this a bit excessive?
We're only making a Werewolf card game...
"Everyone, let me introduce my son, Pu Tong. I'm sure you all know him already."
She grinned proudly.
"Actually, he's the real boss of this company."
"And tonight's dinner is on him!"
Pu Tong: ...%￥#@!
"Hello, President Pu!"
All the employees stood up together to greet him.
That...
Actually felt pretty satisfying.
"Hello, President Pu."
The young woman sitting beside Ni Hui smiled.
"You probably don't recognize me anymore, do you?"
He felt vaguely familiar with her...
But only vaguely.
The original owner's memories were hazy at best.
No matter how hard he looked at the quiet, refined young woman, he simply couldn't remember her name.
"This is Sister Gu Ning," Ni Hui explained.
"She's Aunt Chen's daughter."
"Aunt Chen?"
"The reporter."
"Oh."
That finally rang a bell.
Chen Ying—the famous entertainment reporter who had broken countless celebrity scandals.
"Gu Ning studied game design in university,"
Ni Hui continued.
"I figured you'll be busy with school and won't have time to manage the company. Your father and I don't understand game development either, so I hired her as your assistant."
A female assistant?
We're not even close.
What if Yu Wanwan misunderstands?
...
Wait.
Why am I thinking about Yu Wanwan?
Gu Ning smiled.
"My classmates and I already had an established development team. We originally planned to start our own business, but Auntie asked me to help, so I simply brought everyone over."
"To be honest, they're all pretty proud people."
"If your Werewolf game hadn't genuinely interested them, I doubt they'd have agreed to join."
An already established team...
That meant better chemistry and much higher efficiency.
This really did feel like a professional development studio.
Ni Hui had already negotiated everyone's salaries.
Pu Tong didn't bother discussing that.
Instead...
He wanted to inspire them.
No.
He wanted to paint them the biggest possible dream.
"What do all of you think about this company?"
The young employees exchanged awkward glances.
None of them seemed eager to answer.
It wasn't hard to tell.
None of them were particularly optimistic.
To them, Pu Tong's company was simply a stepping stone.
Once they finished making Werewolf and had a completed project on their résumés...
They could move on elsewhere.
After a long silence, a bespectacled young man finally spoke.
"President Pu... we'll be honest."
"We were mostly dragged here by Gu Ning."
"Your Werewolf concept is genuinely interesting, and we're excited to make it..."
"But..."
"A card game has limited earning potential."
"So after this project..."
He trailed off.
It was difficult to imagine a future working under a sixteen-year-old boss.
Better to make things clear now.
"I understand."
Pu Tong nodded calmly.
"But..."
"I don't really have many strengths."
"I just happen to have..."
"A lot of ideas."
He grinned confidently.
"Games like Werewolf?"
"I've got plenty more where that came from."
The room fell awkwardly silent.
Everyone assumed he simply hadn't seen enough of the world.
How many groundbreaking ideas could a normal high school student possibly have?
...
Well.
He wasn't exactly a normal high school student.
"You don't believe me?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Fine."
"I'll give you a few examples."
Pu Tong began speaking casually.
A side-scrolling strategy tower defense game.
A casual puzzle game where birds are launched from slingshots.
A battle royale shooter with one hundred players parachuting onto an island.
An anime-style open-world adventure game.
An open-world crime action game set in a modern city.
A monster-catching RPG centered around collecting and battling magical creatures.
...
Naturally, those ideas stayed inside his head.
These people were still outsiders.
He only casually hinted at a few concepts instead of explaining everything in detail.
Even so...
Those tiny glimpses alone were enough to leave everyone speechless.
Looking around at their captivated expressions, Pu Tong couldn't help thinking:
These people really haven't seen much of the world.
A few dreams are enough to keep all of you here.
Next week...
His company should officially be up and running.
Then he could keep feeding them more ambitious ideas until this became his permanent core development team.
These concepts...
Were unlike anything they'd ever heard before.
The highly educated graduates simply couldn't understand how games could be designed this way.
Including Gu Ning, every employee stared at him in complete astonishment.
The private room seemed frozen in time.
These ideas are incredible!
Their sixteen-year-old boss suddenly seemed almost legendary.
At that moment...
Only two people in the room remained perfectly clear-headed.
Pu Tong was thinking:
That's it?
I only shared a handful of ideas, and they're already convinced.
I haven't even finished painting the full picture yet.
Meanwhile, Ni Hui was thinking:
I have absolutely no idea what he's talking about...
But as expected of my son.
"So..."
Pu Tong looked around the table.
"When are we eating?"
"We already finished."
"...Fine."
(End of Chapter)
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