Tuesday morning.
Standing outside Shenhua Luxury Mansion, Huang Sibo felt slightly dizzy.
The gaming company called "Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd." really did have its office inside Shenhua Luxury Mansion.
Huang Sibo knew about this building—it belonged to Shenhua Real Estate and was one of the city's top-grade office buildings, filled with wealthy companies.
Before he could muster the courage to enter, several young professionals approached him.
They were all tall, elegant young men and women in stylish suits, clearly employees from an investment bank inside the building.
Even from a distance, one could tell they were young talents destined for future success.
Seeing them, Huang Sibo immediately lost confidence.
He felt nervous!
He'd accidentally come across Tengda's recruitment ad online over the weekend.
He realized he met the qualifications and submitted his resume.
Unexpectedly, he received a quick reply. A pleasant-voiced female assistant informed him he was scheduled for an interview on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. at Shenhua Luxury Mansion, 17th floor.
The assistant had even thoughtfully sent an email detailing the location.
Huang Sibo was shocked upon hearing "Shenhua Luxury Mansion."
Wasn't this among the highest-grade office buildings in Jingzhou?
He'd searched online repeatedly but couldn't even find Tengda's official website.
Only after further investigation did he realize this was the very company behind the games Lonely Desert Road and Ghost General!
Much to his embarrassment, despite having played these two games, he never realized their developer was based right here in Jingzhou.
While uncertain about the exact state of the company, having produced hit games and being located in Shenhua Luxury Mansion meant it couldn't be too bad.
In fact, it wasn't just "not bad"; it was certainly far better than his current employer!
He should probably be more worried about whether he could land the job.
Huang Sibo had switched careers only six months ago. He currently earned the lowest-level entry salary of 1,500 yuan a month as an associate game designer.
Constant overtime had even begun to make him lose hair prematurely.
After spotting the recruitment ad by chance, he thought he'd give it a shot.
Even if his salary didn't rise, he'd be endlessly grateful if he would get less overtime hours.
But Huang Sibo was fully aware his resume wasn't impressive. His chance of rejection was extremely high.
Within Jingzhou's small gaming industry, he belonged at the bottom—potentially less attractive than some fresh graduates.
After seeing the impeccably dressed investment bankers exiting the building, Huang Sibo felt terribly inadequate standing there in his T-shirt and shorts.
Checking his watch, he realized he was slightly early.
He'd left early to avoid being late. Luckily, the bus came quickly, and there was minimal traffic, causing him to arrive sooner than expected.
But standing idly outside wasn't helping him calm down either.
Gathering his courage, he stepped into the grand, luxurious lobby.
After explaining his reason for being there, the reception staff arranged for him to register and handed him a temporary visitor's pass.
Huang Sibo pressed the elevator button, his heart pounding loudly.
He felt more nervous now than during his college entrance exams.
Perhaps it was because the lobby had high ceilings and extravagant decorations, making him feel small and insignificant, that he suddenly wanted to turn and flee.
Ding
The elevator doors opened.
Just as Huang Sibo was about to step inside, he saw a familiar face and froze instantly.
Standing in front of him was his direct supervisor, the lead designer from his current company—Old Liu!
Just yesterday afternoon, Huang Sibo had called Old Liu requesting a leave, claiming he had urgent matters to attend this morning, which Old Liu had approved.
And now here they were, unexpectedly face-to-face.
It's awkward.
The two men stood silently, looking at each other.
Since they had already made eye contact, pretending not to recognize each other would be inappropriate.
Besides, both clearly knew why the other was there.
They were both interviewing for positions at Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd.!
Judging from Old Liu's expression, it seemed he had just finished his interview.
The two men's interview appointments were back-to-back—Old Liu first, followed immediately by Huang Sibo.
Huang Sibo could only awkwardly greet him first: "Hey, Brother Liu."
Old Liu's expression was sour, clearly in a bad mood.
He was very satisfied with Tengda's office environment, but the young, bratty interviewer had simply told him to "go home and wait for further notice."
Moreover, during the interview, while he eloquently discussed his experiences, the interviewer seemed completely disinterested, even spacing out occasionally.
The interview clearly hadn't gone well.
Old Liu was frustrated.
With his qualifications and skills, he was a rarity in Jingzhou's gaming industry. How could this bratty interviewer look down on him?
It must be some rich second-generation kid just playing around. This company wouldn't last long!
Of course, his frustration was mixed with a touch of jealousy.
Seeing Huang Sibo now further irritated Old Liu.
Huang Sibo had joined the industry just half a year ago, always assisting him, but he's incompetent at everything he did.
He often got so annoyed that he'd tell Huang Sibo not to leave until tasks were done. When he was in a bad mood, he'd pile extra work on him.
Yet this useless guy actually dared to job-hop?
And even applied to the same place as him?!
Does this kid have zero self-awareness?
Unable to hold back his irritation, Old Liu sneered sarcastically, "The standards here are very high. You have no chance."
"If you have spare time to attend interviews, it seems your workload is too light. I'll have you redo the numerical balancing tables later."
With a scornful look, Old Liu walked off.
"…"
Huang Sibo felt doomed.
The standards here were that high? Even someone as experienced as Old Liu couldn't pass?
Then there was definitely no chance for someone like him, who had only been in the industry half a year, to join!
Moreover, Old Liu was clearly planning to give him trouble once he returned to work.
But Huang Sibo couldn't even report this to their boss.
Imagine the scenario:
"Boss, Old Liu secretly went for an interview at another company!"
"Oh? How do you know that?"
"Well, because I went to interview there too, and we bumped into each other…"
That wouldn't end well.
Should he just quit outright?
He could resign first and search slowly, even if it meant going broke temporarily.
Maybe it was his only choice now.
Many thoughts raced through Huang Sibo's head.
While still deep in thought, the elevator arrived at the 17th floor.
Stepping out, Huang Sibo immediately spotted the Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd. sign.
Glancing inside, he was shocked.
This office was stunningly extravagant!
Behind a spacious reception desk sat two exceptionally attractive female receptionists.
They were even twins!
In a city like Jingzhou, finding twin sisters to work as receptionists was no small feat.
This immediately showcased the company's strength!
Of course, Huang Sibo was overthinking things again.
When Pei Qian initially decided to hire administrative staff, he hadn't planned anything elaborate—just wanted two or three attractive receptionists to enhance the company's image.
But somehow, Xin Hailu managed to locate a pair of twin sisters, she then goes to him and claims they'd greatly boost the company's image.
Pei Qian was delighted upon seeing her work, immediately offering the highest possible market salary for receptionists and general administrative roles—5,000 yuan each per month!
It didn't sound like much, but in 2009 Jingzhou, typical receptionist salaries were barely above 2,000 yuan. Even exceptionally attractive ones earned around 3,000 yuan at most.
Pei Qian directly boosted theirs to 5,000 yuan, a very generous offer.
He wouldn't have minded offering even more—say, 10,000 yuan—to accelerate spending his money.
However, even he realized that in 2009, paying 10,000 yuan monthly to receptionists—even if it's to a pair of pretty twins—was ridiculously extravagant.
The system would certainly flag it as a violation.
- - - - - -
If you want to see more chapter of this fic for free, please go to my Scribblehub Account[1], I cross-poted this fic in there too.
Link: https://www.scribblehub.com/series/1589938/losing-money-to-become-a-tycoon-starting-with-games/[2]
[1] https://www.scribblehub.com/series/1589938/losing-money-to-become-a-tycoon-starting-with-games/
[2] https://www.scribblehub.com/series/1589938/losing-money-to-become-a-tycoon-starting-with-games/