April 11th, Wednesday.
To avoid the interview, Meng Chang had buried himself under the covers at home yesterday, not answering any calls all day or sending any messages in the department group chat, afraid that he might accidentally show his face and get caught.
Fortunately, Yu Yao and the other colleagues in the Advertising and Marketing Department were very cooperative and didn’t actively seek him out.
After lying low for a day, Meng Chang felt there shouldn’t be any major problems.
He had specifically asked about it; this wasn’t a particularly important interview, and its scale wasn’t large.
If they were interviewing Mr. Pei, the scale would definitely be maxed out, possibly lasting three to five days, but Meng Chang was just the head of the Advertising and Marketing Department and didn’t have that kind of status.
Since the scale wasn’t large and the interview only took one day, there shouldn’t be any danger.
However, to be safe, Meng Chang continued to lie low until the afternoon before going to work.
When he arrived at the Advertising and Marketing Department, all his colleagues were diligently working, implementing Meng Chang’s marketing plan. Everything seemed normal.
Meng Chang, like a student who had just skipped class but luckily hadn’t been caught, sat down at his workstation. While turning on his computer, he asked Yu Yao, who was sitting opposite him, “Is the interview finished?”
Yu Yao nodded: “Yes, it’s done!”
“The entire interview process was very short, just about three hours, interviewing three or four people. It was all written text, with very few visual materials.”
Meng Chang felt more at ease.
If it was just a written interview, then there would be even fewer problems.
But to be safe, he still had to ask a few more questions: “What was the theme of the interview?”
Yu Yao said, “Actually, it wasn’t much, just wanting to understand your journey working at Tenda, Brother Meng.”
Meng Chang’s heart skipped a beat: “So how did you answer?”
Yu Yao: “Of course I told the truth, the Tenda spirit has always been founded on honesty. I simply recounted what you’ve done in your work factually, without including any subjective judgments.”
Meng Chang nodded: “Very good!”
Meng Chang trusted these colleagues in the Advertising and Marketing Department. Since Yu Yao said he told the truth, there shouldn’t be too much deviation.
“However…” Yu Yao added, “Editor Xia felt that my account might be too plain, so she said she would do some moderate ‘artistic processing.’ So I’m not sure what the final interview will look like.”
Meng Chang: “…”
What the hell is ‘artistic processing’!
Meng Chang instinctively felt a bit panicked, but then he thought, Xia Jiang was the editor of the official platform, surely she must have some integrity? She couldn’t just make things up out of thin air, could she?
Hmm, there probably wouldn’t be any major issues.
Meng Chang thought about it and felt there was no need to scare himself. Once the interview was published, he would naturally see what the content was actually like.
So he calmed down, opened his computer, and continued playing the “Mission and Choice” Demo.
The entire Advertising and Marketing Department became quiet, with everyone working seriously, leaving only the sounds of keyboard typing and mouse clicking.
This continued for more than two hours, until about four o’clock in the afternoon.
Yu Yao received a message and said with surprise, “Huh? The efficiency is so high? The interview is already out!”
The timing was faster than he had expected.
Clearly, after finishing the interview yesterday, Xia Jiang had quickly drafted the article. After passing review, it was directly submitted, and in just one day, the interview was already posted on the official platform.
“So fast? Send me the link!”
Meng Chang was also surprised and hurriedly clicked on the link Yu Yao sent to check.
The interview wasn’t long, only a few hundred words. Since it had just been published, there weren’t many comments below yet, making it look a bit quiet.
Meng Chang’s eyes scanned the content of the article, and his expression quickly changed from composed to confused, then to shocked.
“…If he hadn’t met Mr. Pei, how would Meng Chang have found his way back from going astray?”
“Clearly, Tenda’s work environment has influenced him, and Mr. Pei’s style of conducting business has affected him…”
Meng Chang’s eyes widened, his mouth slightly open, his entire person falling into a dazed state.
What the hell is this!
Complete nonsense!
When was I ever influenced by Tenda’s work environment? And when did I start following Mr. Pei’s every move?
None of this ever happened!
I’m now just trying to pay off my debts, reluctantly depending on others for survival. Once I get my commission and clear my debts, I’ll immediately leave Tenda and make a comeback!
How is this interview writing as if I’ve decided to be a loyal servant at Tenda for the rest of my life?
Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!
The Meng Chang in the interview was portrayed like a heinous criminal who, after being enlightened by a sage, willingly served under the sage, using the rest of his life to atone for his sins.
But Meng Chang knew clearly that wasn’t the case at all!
Strictly speaking, his relationship with Mr. Pei now should be one of conflict! How did it turn into him being Mr. Pei’s loyal dog?
Meng Chang was fuming with anger. He initially wanted to confront Yu Yao about it, to really hash out this issue, but after struggling with it for a while, he gave up on the idea.
Let it go, it’s not worth it.
On one hand, outsiders weren’t aware of the agreement between Meng Chang and Mr. Pei, and this agreement couldn’t be disclosed. From an outsider’s perspective, Meng Chang’s current behavior did indeed align with what was written in the interview. This situation was like mud falling into your crotch—impossible to explain clearly.
On the other hand, Meng Chang was still counting on these people in the Advertising and Marketing Department to implement his marketing plan and earn him commission. If he confronted them and they realized that Meng Chang and Mr. Pei weren’t aligned, they might stop cooperating, and that would be disastrous.
Moreover, this was most likely not what Yu Yao had said, but rather Editor Xia’s creative interpretation.
Meng Chang couldn’t exactly go to the official platform to complain, could he?
So, although Meng Chang was extremely dissatisfied with the content of the interview, for the sake of the bigger picture, he could only force himself to accept it and swallow his anger.
“Forget it, forget it. I’ll just consider myself as Goujian, who endured humiliation to achieve his goal. What does it matter if the world misunderstands me, looks down on me, or laughs at me? When the ten-year term is up, I will definitely make a comeback and show these people who laugh at me what it means to be a true man who can endure and then rise up!”
The content later in the interview was similarly annoying, making him extremely irritated and practically unbearable to read.
Meng Chang didn’t look carefully, just skimming through the text and images.
As Yu Yao had said, there were indeed a few images, four in total: a promotional image for Tenda’s physical industry, a screenshot from a Rabbit Tail Live Streaming promotional video, the work environment of the Advertising and Marketing Department, and a photo of Meng Chang’s back.
Seeing this back view, Meng Chang instinctively shuddered.
I didn’t even come, where did they get this photo?
But at a glance, there didn’t seem to be anything unusual about the back view.
Meng Chang didn’t think too much about it and jumped directly to the comments section.
It must be said that the official platform had high traffic. Many players would browse the information on the official platform when they had nothing to do. Although this interview had only been published a few minutes ago, players were already leaving comments, and the comments were rapidly increasing. Each refresh would bring several new ones.
“Huh? Meng Chang is now the head of Tenda’s Advertising and Marketing Department?”
“How is that possible!”
“These advertising plans were actually done by Meng Chang? That can’t be right. These plans are too different from Meng Chang’s previous work—they have a strong Tenda flavor.”
“It seems this company called Tenda is really mysterious. No matter what kind of person goes in, they all get assimilated. Even someone like Meng Chang can perfectly integrate? And can actually be useful to Mr. Pei?”
“The way this interview is written, it feels like Meng Chang has almost become Mr. Pei’s loyal dog. Is this the charisma of Mr. Pei?”
“If Meng Chang can truly reform, that would actually be a good thing. He still has capability, and as long as he puts all his energy into doing the right things, he can still make some contributions to society.”
“Don’t joke around, I don’t believe it. Meng Chang obviously can’t be trusted. Only with Mr. Pei putting a tight leash on him can he do anything decent. I hope Meng Chang stays locked at Tenda from now on, reforming well under Mr. Pei’s supervision. Don’t ever let him out again!”
“Exactly, I hope Mr. Pei keeps a good eye on him and never lets him out to harm others again.”
After reading these comments, Meng Chang was absolutely furious.
What the hell!
These comments were basically saying two things: First, although Meng Chang now seemed to be doing decent work, it didn’t change his essentially untrustworthy nature, and people shouldn’t trust him! Second, Mr. Pei is amazing!
Meng Chang was speechless. The interview itself was already distorted enough, but these players’ interpretations were even more extreme, taking it to another level!
But they were all a million miles away from the truth and essence of the matter!
Meng Chang was so angry he could spit blood. His previously calmed state of mind was showing signs of cracking again.
“Forget it, forget it, a true man can endure…”
Meng Chang adjusted his mindset again and continued scrolling down.
Suddenly, he saw a comment with an odd focus.
“Hey, has anyone noticed a detail? This interview says that Meng Chang, in order to create a promotional plan for the ‘Classic Chinese Game Collection,’ specifically requested the game’s Demo from Tenda Games and plays it every day? But I looked at this collection, and it’s all old games?”
Below this comment, players quickly replied.
“Hmm, that’s right. This collection is full of older games from years ago. If he wanted to play them, wouldn’t he just download them directly from the official platform? What does it mean to get them from Tenda Games? And it even says ‘Demo’?”
“Only unfinished new games would have Demos.”
“Was it written wrong?”
“That’s impossible! Look at the author of the article, it’s Editor Xia! Editor Xia is the most professional editor on the official platform, very knowledgeable about games. How could she make such a basic mistake?”
“You guys are so slow, look at the picture! Isn’t there a photo? Zoom in and you can see that the game on the computer isn’t any of the ones in the collection!”
“Holy crap, it’s true! What game is this? I don’t think I’ve seen it before?”
“So many units, and it’s a god’s-eye view. Looks like an RTS game.”
“Could it be… that this interview deliberately included an Easter egg? Is this a new game Tenda is about to release??”
The netizens were practically possessed by Sherlock Holmes. At first, not many people noticed, but as soon as one person discovered the clue, others swarmed like sharks smelling blood!
Someone downloaded the original image for a closer look. Although the photo was taken from a distance, it was clear enough. The game screen was completely different from any game in the “Classic Chinese Game Collection”!
What did this mean?
Meng Chang’s mouth fell slightly open, his entire body frozen.
“Holy shit!”
“This is big trouble!”