Chapter 1 Leaving the Reception Room, Wiping Cold Sweat

Coming out of the reception room, Pei Qian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He finally understood. This interview team didn't come with good intentions!

Originally, Pei Qian thought this was a minor issue that could be easily dealt with. It was just an exclusive interview; he could say a few things casually, the reporter could take some notes, the readers could take a quick look, and everyone could pretend it never happened.

He never expected that this Editor Xia's ability to twist black and white would be so strong!

Now it seemed that this was definitely not a minor issue. If not handled properly, the consequences could be severe!

Pei Qian quickly pulled Assistant Xin aside, "Who are the employees Editor Xia wants to interview?"

Assistant Xin thought for a moment, "They are all outstanding employees with remarkable performance in our Tenda, such as Huang Si Bo, Bao Xu, Lin Wan, Lü Mingliang..."

Pei Qian gasped.

This was practically a list of President Pei's thorns in his side!

Most of them were excellent employees who had been eliminated, and there were also problem cases like Bao Xu who needed to be closely monitored.

Moreover, these employees who were keen on backstabbing President Pei all had one thing in common: they liked to overthink.

People like Huang Si Bo, Bao Xu, and Lin Wan were all fatal overthinkers.

If they were to accept Editor Xia's interview, the overthinking of both sides might not simply add up but could be multiplied or even exponential.

How could the interview be watchable then?

He was afraid it would blow President Pei's cover so badly that he would have a heart attack on the spot.

Pei Qian instinctively wanted to arrange for someone else to replace them, but then he thought again that replacing them wouldn't be appropriate.

First of all, who could guarantee that other employees weren't also overthinkers?

Secondly, if he really found a few ordinary employees from the lower ranks to accept the interview, it wouldn't be right for them to state their titles in front of Editor Xia.

Editor Xia would definitely wonder why he didn't arrange for key employees to be interviewed. Could there be some other hidden reason?

Then Editor Xia might secretly find these few overthinkers for an interview and give President Pei a surprise...

This situation was too terrible; Pei Qian couldn't imagine it.

So, these people still had to accept the interview.

As for how to save himself...

Pei Qian thought for a moment and instructed, "Tell them directly that during the interview, they must not mention me. Even if they do mention me, they must absolutely not say a single good thing about me, understood?"

Xin Hailu was stunned, "President Pei, this... I'm afraid it'll be a little difficult?"

Pei Qian waved his hand, "This is an order, it must be done. Go and notify them quickly."

Xin Hailu nodded, took out her phone, and quickly selected the employees who were about to be interviewed, sending a mass message to convey President Pei's requirements.

Afterwards, Assistant Xin went to the reception room and briefly explained a few things to Editor Xia.

Pei Qian still felt a little uneasy.

But he had already told Editor Xia that he had other official business to attend to, and it would be difficult to explain if he stayed at Tenda.

Therefore, although he was a little worried, Pei Qian could only leave, thinking that he would discuss it in detail after the interview was over today and tomorrow morning.

...

Huang Si Bo arrived at the reception room, and looking at the unprecedented setup, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

There were three cameras alone, one with a fixed position and two roaming cameras shooting from different angles. Combined with the seemingly very professional Editor Xia, everything indicated that the scale of this interview was definitely not low.

As the first Tenda outstanding employee to receive the Dream Fund, it was reasonable for Huang Si Bo to be the first to be interviewed.

Originally, he thought this was just an ordinary interview, and he could just say whatever came to mind. He didn't pay too much attention to it.

Anyway, the protagonist of the interview was President Pei. As long as he truthfully described President Pei's glorious image and said whatever the reporter asked, wouldn't that be enough?

But now, the situation had changed somewhat.

Because before Huang Si Bo came in, he received a key message saying that he should not mention President Pei during the interview, and even if he did, he should not say good things about him.

Huang Si Bo instantly felt a lot of pressure.

He didn't feel too puzzled because President Pei's thinking was always so imaginative and unconventional. Behind many unconventional behaviors and requirements, there were often very complex and profound meanings.

Huang Si Bo, like most of Tenda's employees, had already become accustomed to this.

He couldn't say good things, but he certainly couldn't smear President Pei either.

Only someone with water in their brain would smear their boss in such an important interview.

What's more, President Pei had been so kind to everyone; wouldn't their conscience hurt if they said bad things about President Pei?

Then the only option was not to mention President Pei.

But, if he followed President Pei's requirements and failed to complete the task of the interview, what should he do?

After all, there were three cameras filming. When the interview footage was edited and released, a large number of players would watch it. He couldn't just run his mouth and make Tenda lose face in front of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of players just to complete the task assigned by President Pei, right?

A dilemma.

Therefore, Huang Si Bo could only rack his brains to consider what to say so that he could both meet President Pei's requirements and prevent the interview from deviating too much and causing everyone to question it.

He couldn't think of a very good solution in such a short time. He could only improvise based on the questions that Editor Xia asked.

On the other side, Xia Jiang was also facing a formidable task as she flipped through the list of interviewees.

Before the interview, Xia Jiang had already obtained this list, including their work experience, the areas they were responsible for, and some outstanding work events.

This would save a lot of time in preliminary communication and make the interview more efficient.

Assistant Xin hinted that President Pei hoped that the interviews with employees would not mention him as much as possible and that they should focus on exploring the inner world of these excellent employees.

Xia Jiang expressed her understanding.

The low-key President Pei never competed with employees for fame and fortune, leaving all the opportunities to show their faces to his employees.

This was a very rare and noble quality.

If someone else had said such a thing, Xia Jiang might have suspected their motives.

But when President Pei said these words, Xia Jiang felt it was only natural.

Therefore, Xia Jiang also decided to fully respect President Pei's intentions and avoid the topic of President Pei as much as possible.

But, was that enough?

Xia Jiang didn't think so.

President Pei could be indifferent to fame and fortune and completely disregard these empty titles.

But Xia Jiang felt that as a professional journalist, she had the ability to let everyone know about President Pei's noble character! She also had the obligation to restore the truth for everyone!

So, how could she convey President Pei's noble character while respecting President Pei's wishes and not mentioning President Pei at all?

This was a very difficult task, but Xia Jiang was ready.

Huang Si Bo sat on the sofa, and Xia Jiang quickly finished reading his resume. The interview officially began.

Xia Jiang smiled and said, "Because of some reasons we both know, today's interview content will be slightly changed."

"You only need to answer the questions truthfully according to your own ideas, okay?"

Huang Si Bo quickly nodded.

As expected of a professional journalist, it seemed she already had a solution, so there was no need to worry.

"We all know that you are considered a veteran employee of Tenda. When you joined, the company should have been established not long ago. So, can you talk about why you joined such a company at that time?" Xia Jiang asked.

Huang Si Bo briefly thought about the scene at that time.

"In the earliest days, I was doing some odd jobs at another game company in Jingzhou. Because the salary and work were completely disproportionate, and I happened to see Tenda's recruitment advertisement online, I wanted to come and try my luck."

"When I came for the interview, I actually ran into the previous chief planner, Lao Liu. However, he didn't pass the interview either, which made me feel a little more uneasy."

"After arriving at the company, I found that although it was a start-up company, the working environment was very good, which strengthened my determination to work here."

"I truthfully introduced my position and work ability and got a salary and benefits that far exceeded my expectations, so... I came here to work."

Huang Si Bo very carefully concealed President Pei's existence throughout the entire description.

Xia Jiang nodded knowingly, preparing to ask a few questions in detail about these contents.

"The company finally hired you but didn't hire the experienced chief planner from your previous company, right?"

Huang Si Bo nodded, "Yes."

"At that time, Tenda was still a start-up company, but the working environment was very good, right?"

"Yes."

"You said that you got a salary that far exceeded your expectations. How was this salary and benefits specifically communicated?"

Huang Si Bo thought for a moment, "Uh... I took the initiative to propose a number first, and then the salary I wanted was doubled."

Xia Jiang cast an approving look at Huang Si Bo.

Good, that was the feeling!

The two sides reached a tacit understanding, and the subsequent interview became very simple.

"Before you officially started making *Ocean Fortress*, the game's production ideas already had a rough outline, right?"

"You weren't clear about the specific promotion methods for this game at the beginning either, right?"

"After *Ocean Fortress* was completed, you left Tenda Games. Can you briefly talk about why?"

"Feihuang Studio continued to lose money at the beginning, but it never took on some low-end advertisements like ordinary video creators. This is because someone gave you a piece of advice, right?"

One question after another, Xia Jiang and Huang Si Bo asked and answered each other, and they talked very happily.

It wasn't until noon that the interview with Huang Si Bo finally came to an end.

Xia Jiang was very satisfied with the interview and stood up to shake hands with Huang Si Bo.

"Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to accept the interview. I also hope that you can work smoothly and achieve even greater success!"

...

...

Mo Yu Internet Cafe.

Pei Qian, who was playing the game, looked at the time. It was almost 12 o'clock.

In theory, the first interview should be over, right?

He didn't know exactly what they said, and he felt quite uneasy in his heart.

But Pei Qian was too embarrassed to ask, so he could only hope that these treasure employees would be obedient and follow the requirements not to mention him.

Pei Qian felt that this matter was a bit outrageous.

It was clearly someone else who was being interviewed, so why was he so uneasy?