In the evening, at Swan Lake Restaurant…
Pei Qian sat in a quiet corner against the window, waiting for Ruan Guangjian to arrive.
“I wonder if he had fun on the roller coasters and pendulum rides. I wonder if he got scared when he entered the haunted house.”
Pei Qian imagined Ruan Guangjian sitting on the pendulum rides, his face drained of all color and him screaming at the top of his lungs. At once, Pei Qian felt comforted.
Revenge was sweet!
He glanced at the clock. They should have arrived by now.
They had arranged to have dinner at 7 PM. According to Little Sun’s past practice, they should have been here ten minutes earlier than the arranged time. Yet, it was already past 7 PM. Why hadn’t they arrived yet?
Had it all been too much for Ruan Guangjian? Did he return to the hotel to rest because he had lost his appetite?
However, when Pei Qian checked his cell phone, there were no missed calls.
Just as he was feeling confused, Little Sun and Ruan Guangjian arrived.
“Boss Pei! I’m sorry, we’re a few minutes late.” Little Sun looked embarrassed.
Ruan Guangjian followed behind him. “Don’t blame the chauffeur. I was having too much fun and forgot the time.
“The pendulum rides were too fun!”
Ruan Guangjian looked like he had not played enough.
Pei Qian, “?”
This was his first time meeting Ruan Guangjian. He had thought that Ruan Guangjian would look like a stereotypical artist, with long, flowy hair and perhaps even a thin mustache.
However, that was not the case. On the surface, he looked like an energetic, young man. He had short hair, pale skin, and nice features. He even looked a bit like a student.
Compared to the fat nerd-Teacher Qiao, Ruan Guangjian was much more pleasing to the eye.
At that moment, Ruan Guangjian did not look as pale and listless as Pei Qian had imagined.
In fact, it was quite the opposite. Ruan Guangjian’s face was flushed, and he looked quite energetic. In fact, he looked slightly excited. Obviously, he had not been scared sh*tless by the pendulum rides.
“Boss Pei! Thank you!” Ruan Guangjian grabbed Pei Qian’s hand and shook it. “I haven’t had so much fun in a long time! Jingzhou’s amusement park is really interesting! The pendulum rides especially are comparable to the ones in Shanghai! It was really fun!
“Ai, it’s a pity I didn’t have that much time. Otherwise, I would have wanted to take the rides one more time!”
Pei Qian’s mind was filled with question marks.
Something was wrong. The tables had turned completely.
Ruan Guangjian loved extreme activities like that!
Ruan Guangjian looked moved as he said, “Boss Pei, you’re really thoughtful. You must have known that I enjoy activities like that. That’s probably why you made special arrangements on my behalf. You even made it a surprise and waited until I was in the car to inform me.
“Still, I have to say that you have been too polite, given our relationship. Boss Pei, you didn’t have to be so kind!”
Once again, Pei Qian was at a loss for words.
Our relationship? What f*cking relationship do we have?!
Pei Qian tried to suppress his anger. He needed to release it, but Ruan Guangjian’s passion seemed to have sealed his lips, leaving him no way to curse.
“Enjoy your meal.”
Pei Qian sat down in silence.
Swan Lake Restaurant’s food could not compare to Ming Yun Private Kitchen’s. However, there were many delicacies there as well. Furthermore, this was a buffet. One could take whatever and eat as much as they wanted.
Ruan Guangjian took many delicacies. Soon, the table was filled. The plot in Pei Qian’s head had been different. Ruan Guangjian should have felt listless and frightened after taking the roller coasters and pendulum rides. He was supposed to have lost his appetite. On the other hand, Pei Qian was supposed to enjoy watching his frightened state while savoring the delicacies. He should have been relaxed and pleased.
Yet, Ruan Guangjian was neither listless nor frightened. Instead, he looked energetic and hungry. Thus, Ruan Guangjian stuffed himself with food and ate to his heart’s content while Pei Qian lost his appetite.
Painful!
It was almost like Pei Qian had thrown a punch at a cloud. He was trying so hard to suppress his anger that he nearly burst a vessel.
As they ate, they chatted.
Ruan Guangjian stuffed his mouth with a huge piece of lobster meat. “The pendulum rides were really fun and exciting. They helped a lot in giving me inspiration! The roller coasters and drop towers were alright. It would be worth buying a return ticket just for those.
“All in all, I had a lot of fun today!
“Thank you for hosting me so well, Boss Pei. Here, let me offer you a toast!”
Although they were drinking soft drinks, both men drank heartily while they chatted happily. Pei Qian felt as if alcohol had gone to his head.
“Were they all good? Was there anything that you weren’t satisfied with?” Pei Qian tried asking. “Was anything lacking? Perhaps we could improve on it the next time.”
Ruan Guangjian pondered for a moment. “If you’re asking what was lacking…
“I would say the haunted house.
“I’m quite scared of the dark, and I was already prepared to be scared to tears. However, the haunted house wasn’t that scary. That’s good, though. If it had been too scary, perhaps I wouldn’t be sitting here right now, hahaha.”
Pei Qian was really speechless.
Look at how things turned out.
Pei Qian had gone to so much trouble to line up so many activities, but it turned out that Ruan Guangjian enjoyed the roller coasters and pendulum rides as much as a tiger would enjoy lamb. In the end, everything was a waste.
Only one activity could have scared Ruan Guangjian, but the haunted house was too lousy. Ruan Guangjian had not been frightened at all.
Pei Qian’s plan to dampen Ruan Guangjian’s spirits had ended up as the latter’s appetizer!
Painful!
Jingzhou’s amusement park is to blame for all of this! Why’s the haunted house there so lousy?! How embarrassing!
Pei Qian silently pushed all the blame to the amusement park.
Soon, both of them became full from the drinks and food. The table was covered with empty plates and dishes.
Ruan Guangjian patted his stomach happily and burped.
“That was yummy! Eh, Boss Pei, how come you don’t seem to have much of an appetite? You ate very little.”
Pei Qian sniggered. “I don’t have much of an appetite today.”
Ruan Guangjian nodded. “I understand, I understand. Boss Pei, you run a large business and you must be under a lot of pressure. That’s probably why you don’t have much of an appetite.
“I heard that Boss Pei likes activities like that, right? “It’s been so difficult for me to find a friend with similar interests. I didn’t expect me and you to share so many similar hobbies and interests!
“Let’s go and take the pendulum rides together in a couple of days. I’m sure it’ll increase your appetite!”
Pei Qian remained silent for a second, and then said, “There’s no need! Don’t stand on ceremony with me!” Pei Qian was furious. He had wanted to set Ruan Guangjian up, and yet the latter was ending up putting him to shame?!
The most frustrating thing was that Pei Qian could not do anything about it!
If they really went to take the pendulum rides together, Pei Qian would suffer a heart attack for no reason!
This was a massive challenge to Pei Qian.
When Teacher Qiao came the last time, Pei Qian had set him up using Repent and be Saved. That alone had been sufficient; Pei Qian could torture him with a click of his fingers. Although Teacher Qiao had made a comeback after that, he had still been subject to Pei Qian’s torture while he had been in Jingzhou.
Yet, now that Ruan Guangjian was here, the script was completely different!
Pei Qian had put in so much effort into planning the roller coasters and rides from soup to nuts, and yet it proved to be in vain. As a result, Ruan Guangjian’s place in Pei Qian’s notebook flew upwards. It looked like it would be a matter of time before he would surpass even Teacher Qiao.
Pei Qian was very unhappy.
He had to find a way to deal with Ruan Guangjian! He could not allow Ruan Guangjian to continue getting his way!
The next afternoon…
Ruan Guangjian brought his drawing tablet and laptop to Tengda’s office. He had eaten and slept well the night before. In the morning, he woke up feeling extremely refreshed and filled with inspiration.
His main purpose in going to Tengda today was to meet GOG’s designers, in order to confirm that his animations and concept designs for the characters would not turn out different from their expectations.
He would gather their opinions, come up with sketches, and then send them to his workspace to be perfected by his colleagues.
The moment he stepped into the office, Ruan Guangjian paused.
It was so spacious!
Ruan Guangjian felt that comparing this place to his Halo Workspace was like comparing a pigeonhole with a detached villa.
There were many verdant and lush plants set up against the French windows. The plants looked well taken care of by professionals. Apart from that, there was also a pantry, an entertainment room, a snack area…
It contained everything necessary and unnecessary!
A pure black cat with white legs walked towards Ruan Guangjian and sniffed him before turning around and walking away, uninterested. It was almost as if the cat was mocking Ruan Guangjian for being a country bumpkin.
Ruan Guangjian was shocked. How much rent did they have to pay for a place like that?!
It was so extravagant!
His Halo Workspace was in Shanghai, near the University of Business and Economics where he graduated from. The rent in Jingzhou for a place like that probably could not be higher than in Shanghai, but it was still too much for Ruan Guangjian to cope with.
Naturally, renting an expensive place meant that everyone’s workspaces would be more cramped. Furthermore, he would have less money for good desks and computers. Other facilities would have to be compromised as well.
At first, Ruan Guangjian did not feel that bad. After all, Shanghai’s offices were mostly like that.
The standard workspace only measured about ten square meters. Any smaller than that, and it would be too cramped; any bigger than that, and it would be too expensive.
Ruan Guangjian had always thought that his own workspace was quite spacious. However, when he saw the working conditions in Tengda…
He immediately felt bitter.
The difference was huge!
Li Yada stood up to welcome him. “Big Boss Ruan Guangjian? How are you? I’m Li Yada. We’ve spoken a lot online.”
The girls at the front desk poured Ruan Guangjian a cup of tea before Li Yada and Ruan Guangjian began discussing GOG’s hero designs in detail.
As Ruan Guangjian listened to Li Yada’s briefing, he sketched on his drawing tablet and continually made adjustments.
“This Guardian of Justice, Modest, is based on Boss Pei. Your original sketch doesn’t look right in several places. Take the body, for example…”
Ruan Guangjian edited the details according to Li Yada’s advice. He exaggerated the appropriate parts of the hero’s body and adjusted the hero’s expressions based on his character.
Discussing face-to-face was much smoother than discussing online. The hero’s design soon looked much closer to what Li Yada initially had in mind.
Before they knew it, it was almost noon.
Out of habit, Ruan Guangjian retrieved his cell phone. “Is it time to order take-out? Where do you all normally order from?”
Li Yada quickly said, “Let me do it. We have our meals specially prepared for us. Just choose what you want to have for lunch.”
“Meals are prepared?” Ruan Guangjian took Li Yada’s cell phone suspiciously and saw a simple-looking menu on it. There were eggs and tomatoes, stew beef with potatoes, double-cooked pork, and the like. The dishes looked no different from what most other restaurants served.
Ruan Guangjian did not read too much into it and guessed that someone would order food from a restaurant nearby. He casually selected the ‘Daily Healthy Set Meal’ and then quickly forgot about it.
At 12 noon sharp, the delivery man arrived.
Everyone in the office got up from their seats and walked towards the pantry as if they had discussed this beforehand. One by one, white porcelain bowls were laid out on the table. It looked very extravagant.
Everyone talked and laughed as they ate.
“This is yours, the Daily Healthy Set Meal. Eh, it’s Broccoli with Shrimp.” Li Yada handed a transparent, glass lunchbox to Ruan Guangjian.
Ruan Guangjian took it and opened it. The lunch box was split into three compartments. The compartment that took up half of the lunchbox contained the main dish.
There were several large shrimps mixed together with green broccoli. There were also diced carrots in the middle. The meal looked very colorful and not oily at all. The two smaller compartments contained two balls of brown rice and several slices of salmon sashimi. The entire meal was also accompanied by a sweet potato milkshake.
All the food had been placed in the transparent, glass lunchbox. It looked extremely delicious and luxurious, and Ruan Guangjian could not help but salivate.