Chapter Eleven: The Company is Established

Chapter Eleven: The Company Is Founded

After finishing his call with Zhang Dazui, Shi Bai decided to head to the convenience store to buy some snacks. In the past, he had no money—during his school days, he could only afford a single steamed bun each morning. Every time he saw his classmates returning from the store with armfuls of treats, he envied them deeply. But now, he had money.

Gao Yang was Shi Bai’s only friend during those school years. It wasn’t for any particular reason; they were simply both failures. Like attracts like—those who loved reading befriended other readers, basketball players bonded with other athletes. For someone like Shi Bai, a loser, it was only natural to find a companion in someone as hapless as Gao Yang.

What was Gao Yang like? He wasn’t as unlucky as Shi Bai, but he was similarly useless at everything—except that he never left a bite uneaten. He had two extra traits: he was sharp-tongued and cried out at the slightest pain. Shi Bai, though a failure, still had a bit of a rebellious spirit; if it came to a fight, he at least wouldn’t surrender immediately. Gao Yang was different. Though his mouth often landed him in trouble, he’d drop to his knees in an instant, always calling for his father to resolve things, never his mother.

If Shi Bai ever got into trouble, Gao Yang would be the first to bolt, never sticking around to help—a coward through and through. But what could they do? They got along and both loved comics. Besides, if they didn’t hang out together, no one else would have them.

“This one, that one, and that one,” Shi Bai said, pointing at the shelves, gesturing to the lady behind the counter. Soon, his arms were full of drinks, instant noodles, and spicy snacks.

Gao Yang stared in disbelief and shouted, “Shi Bai, are you crazy?”

Shi Bai gave a faint smile and shot him a look, “Stop talking nonsense—let’s go!”

They made their way to a secluded corner of the school building. Gao Yang, munching on spicy strips, lowered his voice, “Tell me, did your dad win the lottery, or did you find a wallet on the street?”

Shi Bai took a bite of instant noodles and washed it down with a sip of vitamin drink, grinning carelessly, “Found a wallet.”

“Really?!” Gao Yang was so excited he nearly jumped. “How much did you find?”

Shi Bai thought for a moment, then held up two fingers, “Two hundred.”

“That much?” Gao Yang gasped, quickly covering his mouth, then nudged Shi Bai with his shoulder, grinning, “Split it fifty-fifty, right?”

“Get lost.”

Gao Yang chuckled, “Just kidding! Am I that kind of person?” Then, wearing a fawning expression, he asked, “So, how are you going to spend all that money?”

Shi Bai took out another pack of beef jerky and said while chewing, “Eat and drink it all up—what else?”

Gao Yang grew anxious at once, “Don’t! Let’s get a VIP at the internet café! Top up a hundred, get a hundred free!”

Shi Bai paused mid-chew. He had a point—last time around, he’d suffered from not having money for the internet, saving up all his breakfast money to splurge on a Sunday morning session. Later, he even suspected that his lack of breakfast might have stunted his growth.

“Alright,” he nodded, “this Sunday, let’s enjoy ourselves!”

“Oh yeah!” Gao Yang punched the air with excitement. “I can finally use up all my stamina points!”

“Stamina points?”

That triggered Shi Bai’s memories—last time, it was the lack of money for internet that left his Dungeon Fighter account stuck at level thirty-something even in college, and his roommates teased him about it for ages.

“No need to wait until Sunday—let’s go tomorrow!” Shi Bai suddenly changed his mind.

“Tomorrow?” Gao Yang was stunned. “Why not today?”

Shi Bai shook his head apologetically, “I’ve got something to do today.”

“Oh, come on! What could you possibly have to do?” Gao Yang didn’t believe him for a second.

Shi Bai just shook his head, not bothering to explain. Was he supposed to tell him he was starting a company?

The day ended quickly. Shi Bai called his housekeeper, Old Li, early, who picked him up at a spot five hundred meters from school and drove him back to the hotel.

Taking the private elevator up, Shi Bai hurried into his room. As soon as he stepped inside, he was greeted by a heated discussion.

“It has to be fantasy! That’s the hottest genre right now!”

“No way! None of us have any work experience. Fantasy settings and art styles are way too complex for us to handle.”

“Then urban! Urban reincarnation stories are good too!”

“Urban stories need realistic backgrounds, which we can’t draw well either.”

“Then supernatural! Haunted Tombs is really popular lately, and those stories have fewer characters and simpler plots.”

“But supernatural requires realistic art and a creepy atmosphere—that’s for real masters. You, a supermarket cashier, and you, a sewer worker—can you pull that off?”

“Hey! Who are you calling out? Aren’t you just a parking lot attendant? What gives you the right to judge us?”

“Yeah!”

The group grew agitated.

Shi Bai smiled and walked over, knocking on the meeting room door.

The staff paused, “Who’s this kid? How did a child get in here?”

“Hey, who are you looking for? This is a company, you know.”

At that moment, Zhang Dazui quickly stood up and gave Shi Bai a deep bow, “Hello, President Shi.”

“What?!” The employees’ faces turned ghostly pale as they all shot to their feet, “Hello, President Shi!!”

Shi Bai smiled lightly and tossed his backpack onto the conference table, “Alright, alright, everyone sit down.”

The employees glanced at the backpack, then at Shi Bai, sitting down as if they’d seen a ghost.

Shi Bai took the head seat, leaned back in the executive chair, and announced, “That’s right, I’m your boss—Shi Bai. From now on, we’re all on the same team. I look forward to working with you.”

“Looking forward to it!” Applause filled the meeting room.

“I heard your whole conversation just now—fantasy, supernatural, whatever. You all made good points, but you still haven’t grasped our company’s core philosophy.”

Shi Bai spoke casually, but the employees listened with utmost seriousness. Several female staffers even whipped out notebooks to take notes.

Shi Bai continued, “My idea is simple. I’ve said it before—it’s just two words: ‘draw nonsense.’”

“Huh? Really?”

The staff started whispering among themselves, “So Zhang Dazui was telling the truth!”

“I thought he was joking.”

At that, Shi Bai rose, planted his hands on the table, and declared with authority, “Here’s what I mean—fantasy, urban, supernatural, draw them all! Draw whatever you like! But there’s one rule: you can’t draw properly!”

The employees were dumbfounded, scratching their heads, “What does that mean? Don’t draw properly?”

“I knew it—nothing comes easy. This job isn’t simple.”

“Yeah, I just can’t get inside the boss’s head!”

Suddenly, a young man stood up, “I understand, President Shi!”

Shi Bai was startled, “Finally someone gets it?” He looked at him, hopeful.

The young man said, “President Shi means we can’t be cliché. We can’t copy what’s already out there! We must be original!”

The staff suddenly understood and broke into applause, “President Shi is brilliant!”

But Shi Bai could only cover his forehead with a hand—this wasn’t what he meant at all!