Meanwhile, Pei Qian was in his office scrolling through the comments under the promotional video “Breaking Out of the Cocoon Without Becoming a Butterfly,” his entire being in a state of stupefaction.
What the hell was this situation!
Meng Chang, oh Meng Chang, I asked you to do some reverse promotion for the esports industry, casually take a shot at the GPL league to lower the hype a bit, and this is how you handle things for me?
Pei Qian was absolutely furious. This Meng Chang was screwing him over again and again!
Last month after Meng Chang joined Tenda Group, he had already produced three promotional campaigns: the first was for Tenda’s physical industries, the second was a promotional video for Rabbit Tail Streaming, and the third was a promotional video for the esports industry.
And the effects of these three promotional campaigns were each more successful than the last!
Especially the promotional video “Breaking Out of the Cocoon Without Becoming a Butterfly”—not only did it completely outshine ICL’s newly released promotional video, but it also sparked widespread discussion among viewers, making GPL’s various benefits more widely known and increasing GPL’s attention!
Pei Qian could imagine what a teeth-gnashing state Erik and Zhao Xuming must be in right now.
But Pei Qian was so wronged! This really wasn’t his doing! It was friendly fire, friendly fire!
If Pei Qian hadn’t signed an agreement with Meng Chang and known him inside out, he would have almost suspected that Meng Chang was a spy who had deliberately infiltrated Tenda to mess with his mental state.
Once or twice might be understandable, but three consecutive highly successful promotional campaigns—it would be too much to say these were all accidental situations!
Pei Qian almost wanted to roll up his sleeves and handle things personally. In his view, even if he randomly threw together a few promotional campaigns with his feet, things wouldn’t have turned out this badly!
But then again, Pei Qian realized he was being too confident.
It’s not like he hadn’t tried before, and his results weren’t much better than Meng Chang’s.
“Even if I did it myself, I wouldn’t do any better. Oh, then never mind.”
Pei Qian silently sighed, feeling incredibly dejected.
It was precisely because his own promotional campaigns always inexplicably went viral that he had hoped to bring Meng Chang under his wing, letting this professional handle some reverse promotion for him.
But this professional Meng Chang—how could he be just as useless when he took over?
Last month, Meng Chang had racked his brains to come up with three promotional plans, and each was more effective than the last. No need to think about it—last month, apart from the base salary, he wouldn’t get a single cent of commission.
If Pei Qian didn’t know that Meng Chang was in debt for a huge sum of money, he would almost think he was someone who cared little for fame and fortune.
But Pei Qian absolutely would not forgive Meng Chang because of this. You think you have it tough, Meng Chang? Do you think I have it easy?
Do you know how much trouble the hype, promotional effect, and money earned from these promotional campaigns have caused me?
How much effort will I have to expend to eliminate all these influences?
Pei Qian sighed softly, opened the reports sent by various departments under Tenda, and began to ponder how to clean up the mess Meng Chang had left him.
Just then, the phone on his desk rang.
Pei Qian picked it up and saw it was Wu Yue from FV Club calling.
“Mr. Pei, there’s something I need to report to you.”
“The Finger Corporation, due to public pressure, has prepared a special fund that requires all ICL league clubs to arrange players’ daily lives and training according to their standards…”
Pei Qian frowned. “Hmm? Public pressure?”
Wu Yue: “Yes, Mr. Pei. That promotional video ‘Breaking Out of the Cocoon Without Becoming a Butterfly’ created tremendous public pressure. Finger Corporation’s ICL league needs to match GPL, so they definitely can’t be inferior in any aspects of their conditions, so…”
Pei Qian was puzzled and asked, “What does that have to do with us? FV Club’s conditions surely meet the standards, right?”
Wu Yue: “Yes, Mr. Pei, they definitely meet the standards. But Zhao Xuming said they treat all ICL league clubs equally, so the funding for our club won’t be reduced by a single cent.”
“I figured since it’s a unified ICL regulation, we really can’t refuse, and there’s no reason to refuse either.”
“Since Finger Corporation is providing this money, the regular funds you’ve been giving to FV Club are no longer needed. I’ve already called the finance department and told them they don’t need to transfer money anymore.”
“I was afraid you might not know, so I wanted to let you know. Don’t worry, Mr. Pei, from now on, FV Club can be completely self-sufficient and financially independent—we won’t need to spend your money anymore!”
Pei Qian’s mouth gaped slightly, nearly passing out from shock.
What was wrong with Finger Corporation?!
Who asked you to provide money for FV Team? Huh? Do you have too much money to burn?
I spend a little money on FV Team every month, providing them with meals and gym memberships—it’s quite comfortable. Although it’s not a lot of money, it’s at least some psychological comfort.
And now you want to cut in on this too? You even want to deprive me of the right to spend this small amount of money?
That’s too much!
Pei Qian hung up the phone and began to contemplate how to get revenge.
When unexpected windfall appears out of nowhere, it must be spent immediately, otherwise there will be endless trouble!
As he was considering this, there was a knock on the door outside.
Assistant Xin pushed the door open: “Mr. Pei, Meng Chang is here.”
Pei Qian maintained a stern face: “Hmm, let him in!”
Today was March 1st. According to the previous agreement, Meng Chang was coming to report on his work, and then determine the amount of commission based on the promotional effect of the advertising and marketing.
Pei Qian had arranged a dedicated analysis team to monitor the advertising plans made by Meng Chang, analyze various factors including influence, and provide a very detailed analysis report, ultimately arriving at an appropriate heat index from 0 to 100.
The specific commission amount would be determined based on this heat index.
Last month’s report had already been sent to Pei Qian’s email, but he hadn’t looked at it yet.
Because the result would be the same whether he looked at it or not.
Of course, the necessary formalities still needed to be observed, which was the purpose of Meng Chang’s visit today.
Pei Qian found the report, opened it on his laptop, and waited for Meng Chang’s arrival.
A moment later, there was another knock on the door outside the meeting room. Meng Chang had arrived.
“Mr. Pei.”
Meng Chang’s expression was full of disappointment; the entire person seemed to have suffered a major blow. The previously spirited demeanor was nowhere to be seen.
Moreover, his gaze toward Pei Qian contained a very complex emotion—a bit of fear, a bit of avoidance, and a bit of resentment.
For Meng Chang, having three consecutive promotional plans all go against his wishes, there must definitely be Mr. Pei behind this mischief!
By now, he completely understood why Mr. Pei wanted to sign such an agreement with him—it could only be said that Mr. Pei’s intentions were extremely malicious!
But despite that, Meng Chang was completely submissive, not daring to show any angry emotions, because he could feel that every step he took seemed to have been calculated by Mr. Pei.
Faced with this absolute intellectual suppression, Meng Chang felt helpless.
Seeing Meng Chang looking so miserable, Pei Qian’s anger subsided by half, and he even felt a sense of sympathy.
Ah, he couldn’t blame Meng Chang. Judging by his appearance, he had clearly tried his best.
“This is last month’s analysis report. Take a look.” Pei Qian handed the laptop to Meng Chang.
Meng Chang took it, glanced at it perfunctorily, and then put it back.
No need to look—the heat from all three plans had gone through the roof.
Pei Qian said very painfully: “No commission, just the 3,000 yuan base salary. No objections, right?”
Meng Chang nodded: “Mmm.”
Having failed at reverse promotion and failing to receive a high commission, Pei Qian’s mood was about as sorrowful as Meng Chang’s at this point.
However, Pei Qian was, after all, a strong person who had seen such situations too many times. He felt he should encourage Meng Chang a bit, considering they had signed a contract for a full ten years, and this was only the first month.
If Meng Chang were to become completely discouraged due to consecutive setbacks, that would definitely not be good news for Pei Qian either.
“The first month’s results aren’t ideal, but don’t be discouraged.”
“After all, you’ve only been at Tenda for a short time and aren’t very familiar with the company’s various operations, so sometimes things happen contrary to expectations.”
“However, people learn from their mistakes. You’re a smart person and should be able to draw inferences from one instance to another. I believe these three experiences will be beneficial to you. Keep up the good work in March!”
Pei Qian spoke with full sincerity.
However, Meng Chang listened with a head full of question marks.
Logically, when a boss says such words to a subordinate, it should be very heartwarming and encouraging.
The subordinate didn’t do well in his work, and the boss showed tolerance, hoping he could learn from the lesson and do better in future work. Any single sentence taken out would be completely fine.
But to Meng Chang’s ears, how could this not sound completely off!
This was obviously passive-aggressive sarcasm!
The promotional plans Meng Chang made were hugely successful. Tenda Group’s various industries gained both heat and money, and all Mr. Pei paid for the three plans was just a 3,000 yuan base salary.
From any perspective, Mr. Pei should be the one who made a killing.
And yet Mr. Pei was still hypocritically telling him to learn from mistakes and keep up the good work?
Ridiculous!
But looking at Mr. Pei’s expression, it was so sincere, with grief flowing from his face, as if every word of that speech came from the heart.
Meng Chang couldn’t help but sigh—if Mr. Pei went into acting, he’d probably win an Oscar effortlessly. What would be left for Lu Zhiyao or Zhang Zuting to do?
With a stomach full of complaints and nowhere to vent them, Meng Chang could only nod very stiffly: “I… I’ll definitely keep up the good work.”
Pei Qian nodded, satisfied with Meng Chang’s attitude.
Good, young people shouldn’t give up so quickly. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
“You’ve worked hard this month. Go home and get some rest. I’ll find you when I think of new tasks.”
“Of course, if you have any good ideas, you can come to me anytime.”
Pei Qian once again offered reassurance to Meng Chang.
Meng Chang smiled very stiffly, then turned and fled.
Watching Meng Chang leave the office, Pei Qian began to ponder the ICL matter again.
Courtesy demands reciprocity.
Since Erik and Zhao Xuming had saved him money, he must spend it back on them with interest!
But… where specifically to spend it?
Pei Qian browsed online briefly and found that there were many promotional materials related to the ICL league—they were everywhere.
Apart from that promotional video, Finger Corporation and Longyu Group were also vigorously promoting ICL league’s subsidies to various clubs, with good heat.
Many industry insiders analyzed that the reason why Finger Corporation was willing to bleed money this time to help various clubs improve their training conditions was, on one hand, to respond to the public opinion crisis and create a good reputation, and on the other hand, to better maintain the commercial value of the ICL league.
According to rumors, Finger Corporation and Longyu Group seemed to be negotiating with domestic streaming platforms about ICL’s broadcasting rights, but they hadn’t reached an agreement yet. The specific progress was unclear.
Pei Qian’s eyes lit up.
ICL’s broadcasting rights?
Wasn’t this a great opportunity to spend money?