Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 345: The Giant Pendulum Is Just Too Much Fun
That evening, at the Swan Lake Restaurant.
Pei Qian sat in a quiet corner by the window, waiting for Ruan Guangjian to arrive.
"I wonder if he had fun on the roller coaster and the giant pendulum… and whether he got scared in the haunted house."
Pei Qian imagined Ruan Guangjian turning pale and screaming his lungs out on the giant pendulum, and felt secretly delighted.
Revenge, sweet revenge!
He glanced at the time. By now, they should've arrived.
They had agreed to eat at seven o'clock. Judging by Xiao Sun's habits, he should've brought the guest over at least ten minutes early. But it was already past seven, and they still hadn't shown up.
Could it be that the rides were too intense, so he'd lost his appetite and gone back to the hotel to rest?
But Pei Qian checked his phone—no missed calls.
Just as he was wondering, Xiao Sun and Ruan Guangjian arrived.
"President Pei! Sorry, we're a few minutes late," Xiao Sun said apologetically.
Ruan Guangjian followed behind him. "It's not the driver's fault, I was having too much fun and lost track of time."
"The giant pendulum is so much fun!"
Ruan Guangjian looked completely unsatisfied, like he wanted more.
Pei Qian: ???
This was the first time Pei Qian had met Ruan Guangjian.
He had imagined Ruan Guangjian as the stereotypical artist type—flowing long hair, maybe even a little mustache.
But that wasn't the case at all.
From appearances alone, he was just a lively young guy: short hair, fair skin, well-defined features, and even a hint of student-like freshness.
Compared to Qiao Laoshi, that Redditor mod type, this one was clearly a full-on normie.
The scene Pei Qian had imagined—Ruan Guangjian pale-faced and traumatized—never materialized.
On the contrary, Ruan Guangjian's complexion was rosy, his energy high, and he even seemed a little excited. There was absolutely no sign of him being scared stiff by the giant pendulum.
"President Pei! Thank you!"
Ruan Guangjian grabbed Pei Qian's hand enthusiastically. "It's been ages since I've had this much fun! Jingzhou's amusement park is amazing! Especially that giant pendulum, it's on par with the ones in Shanghai! It's so much fun!"
"Ah, what a pity we were short on time. Otherwise, I'd really want to ride it again!"
Pei Qian: ???
Oh no. This went completely wrong.
Ruan Guangjian actually loves thrilling rides!
Ruan Guangjian sighed emotionally. "President Pei, you're really thoughtful. You must've known I like this kind of thing, so you arranged it specially and even kept it a surprise until I was already on the ride."
"But I still have to say, given our relationship, this is a bit too formal. President Pei, you really don't have to be so polite!"
Pei Qian: ...
Our relationship?
What relationship do we even have?!
Pei Qian had a whole rant stuck in his throat, desperate to burst out, but Ruan Guangjian's enthusiasm sealed his mouth completely, leaving him nowhere to vent.
"Let's eat," Pei Qian said at last.
He sat down in silence.
Although Swan Lake Restaurant couldn't compare to Mingyun Private Kitchen, it still used good ingredients. And since it was a buffet, guests could freely help themselves and eat to their heart's content.
Ruan Guangjian piled plenty of food onto his plate, and soon the table was full.
In Pei Qian's imagined script, Ruan Guangjian should've spent the entire afternoon on roller coasters and the giant pendulum, completely shaken and traumatized, with no appetite left. Pei Qian would then calmly enjoy his meal while savoring the other man's misery—easy and relaxing.
Instead, Ruan Guangjian wasn't traumatized at all.
He was energetic, in high spirits, and eating with gusto.
So there Ruan Guangjian was, stuffing his face and feasting happily, while Pei Qian was the one who had lost his appetite.
It felt awful.
Like winding up a punch with all his strength, only to smash it into a wad of cotton, Pei Qian almost felt internal injuries from holding it in.
The two of them ate and chatted at the same time.
Ruan Guangjian stuffed a huge chunk of lobster meat into his mouth. "The pirate ship was way too fun. Super thrilling, it's great for sparking inspiration!"
"The roller coaster and the drop tower were decent too. Totally worth the ticket."
"Overall, this afternoon was insanely enjoyable!"
"Thanks for the generous hospitality, President Pei. Come on, let me toast you!"
Even though they were only drinking soft drinks, the two still clinked glasses back and forth. Pei Qian felt a bit light-headed.
"Everything was good?" Pei Qian probed cautiously. "There wasn't anything you felt dissatisfied with? If there's anything lacking, we can still improve it."
Ruan Guangjian thought for a moment. "If I really had to point out something…"
"Maybe the haunted house?"
"I'm actually pretty afraid of the dark. I was mentally prepared to get scared to tears, but in the end, it wasn't scary at all."
"But that's fine too. If it had been too scary, I probably wouldn't have been able to come out tonight, hahaha."
Pei Qian fell silent.
Look at how things turned out.
He had painstakingly prepared so many attractions—roller coasters, pirate ships, all of them—and they all ended up like lambs walking straight into a tiger's mouth. Completely free kills.
The only thing that actually hit Ruan Guangjian's weak spot was the haunted house, yet it turned out to be utterly useless and didn't scare him at all.
What was supposed to be a show of force ended up as an appetizer.
So frustrating!
It was all Jingzhou's amusement park's fault. Why did you make the haunted house so pathetic?! Embarrassing!
Pei Qian silently dumped all the blame onto the amusement park.
Before long, the two of them were full and satisfied, the table left in complete disarray.
Ruan Guangjian patted his stomach contentedly and let out a burp.
"Absolutely delicious!"
"Huh? President Pei, why do you look like you didn't eat much at all?"
Pei Qian chuckled dryly. "I didn't have much of an appetite today."
Ruan Guangjian nodded. "Understandable, understandable. President Pei's empire is huge, and the work pressure must be intense. It makes sense you wouldn't feel like eating much."
"I heard President Pei also enjoys similar kinds of sports, right?"
"It's so hard to find like-minded people. I never expected President Pei's hobbies to align so closely with mine!"
"In a couple of days, let's go ride the pirate ship together. Guaranteed to open up your appetite!"
Pei Qian: "…No need! Really, no need to be polite!"
So infuriating. He had planned to deal with Ruan Guangjian, and instead got completely bullied to his face, how was that acceptable?!
What made it worse was that there was nothing he could do about it!
If they really went to ride the pirate ship together, with Pei Qian's fragile heart, he'd be completely finished.
Pei Qian felt like he had been seriously challenged.
Last time, when Qiao Liang came to visit, he had used Turn Back Before It's Too Late to arrange everything perfectly, playing him like a fiddle.
Even though Qiao Liang later turned the tables, at least on Jingzhou's home turf, he had still been the one calling the shots.
But when Ruan Guangjian showed up, the script completely changed!
His carefully planned roller-coaster combo had utterly failed to achieve anything.
As a result, Ruan Guangjian's status in Pei Qian's little notebook shot up rapidly, it was only a matter of time before he surpassed Qiao Liang.
Pei Qian was extremely displeased.
He had to find a good way to rein in this Ruan Guangjian!
He couldn't let this guy keep getting away with being so arrogant!
…
…
The next morning.
Ruan Guangjian arrived at Tengda's office carrying his drawing tablet and laptop.
He had eaten well and slept well the day before. Waking up refreshed, his mind felt clear and his inspiration was overflowing.
Today's visit to Tengda was mainly to communicate face-to-face with GOG's designers, to make sure that the character concept art he was going to draw wouldn't deviate at a conceptual level.
He planned to fully gather their opinions, lay down the initial linework himself, and then send it to the rest of the studio for refinement.
The moment he stepped into the office area, Ruan Guangjian froze.
So spacious!
Compared to this place, his own Halo Studio suddenly felt like a pigeon cage, while this place was basically a standalone villa per person.
The floor-to-ceiling windows were lined with lush green plants, all meticulously cared for, it clearly looked like someone was assigned to maintain them.
On top of that, there was a water bar, an entertainment room, a snack area…
Basically, everything you'd expect—and even things you wouldn't—was all there!
A jet-black kitten with only its four paws white wandered over, sniffed Ruan Guangjian briefly, then walked away in disinterest, as if mocking this country bumpkin who had never seen the world.
Ruan Guangjian was stunned. How much rent must a place this big cost?!
This is too extravagant!
His Halo Studio was located right next to the University of Economics and Trade where he had graduated. Office rent in that area wasn't considered expensive, yet it was still hard for him to bear.
With rent being so costly, workstations naturally had to be cramped. There wasn't enough money for good desks, chairs, or computers, so conditions across the board were noticeably worse.
Ruan Guangjian hadn't really thought much of it before. After all, most companies in Shanghai were like this.
A standard workstation usually took up about ten square meters—any less felt cramped, any more was burning money.
He had always thought his own studio's workstations were fairly spacious.
But now, looking at Tengda's office environment…
Instantly, he felt sour.
The gap was just too huge!
Li Yada stood up to greet him. "You're Ruan Guangjian, right? Hello, I'm Li Yada. We've chatted online quite a lot before."
The twin receptionist poured Ruan Guangjian a cup of hot tea, and then he and Li Yada began discussing the hero designs for GOG in detail.
As Ruan Guangjian listened to Li Yada's explanations, he started sketching rough lines on his drawing tablet, constantly making adjustments.
"This Guardian of Justice, Zadkiel, is designed with President Pei as the prototype. In the previous draft, there were a few areas that weren't quite suitable, for example, the body proportions—"
Following Li Yada's suggestions, Ruan Guangjian continuously refined the details, including appropriately exaggerating the hero's physique and adjusting facial expressions based on personality traits.
Face-to-face communication was indeed much smoother than chatting online, and the character design quickly began to align with the concept Li Yada had envisioned.
Before they knew it, noon was approaching.
Out of habit, Ruan Guangjian took out his phone. "Should we order takeout? Which place do you usually order from?"
Li Yada hurriedly replied, "I'll handle it. We have dedicated work meals here, you can just pick one."
"Work meals?" Ruan Guangjian took the phone with a hint of suspicion. On the screen were very simple-looking dishes: tomato and egg, potato with beef, twice-cooked pork, and the like. They didn't look much different from the usual boxed lunches.
He didn't think too much about it, assuming it was probably ordered from some roadside eatery. He casually chose the "Healthy Set of the Day" and didn't give it another thought.
At exactly twelve o'clock, the delivery arrived right on time.
Everyone in the office seemed to move in unison, standing up from their desks and heading to the water bar area to eat.
White porcelain bowls were laid out on the tables, giving the scene an unexpectedly proper, almost ceremonial feel.
People chatted and laughed as they ate.
"This one's yours, the Healthy Set of the Day. Oh, it's shrimp and broccoli," Li Yada said, handing Ruan Guangjian a transparent glass lunch box.
Ruan Guangjian took it, opened the lid, and saw that the container was divided into three sections. The largest section—taking up about half the box—held the main dish.
Several plump shrimp were mixed with vibrant green broccoli, dotted with small red cubes of carrot. The colors were bright and appealing, and it didn't look greasy at all.
The two smaller compartments held two brown-rice rice balls and a few slices of salmon sashimi. There was also a purple sweet potato milkshake as a drink.
All the food was packed in a transparent glass container, looking crystal clear and irresistibly appetizing.
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