1novels What does Chapter 15 have to do with me?
What does Chapter 15 have to do with me?
Ren Pingsheng dialed the mobile phone number on the resume.
"Feed?" The voice on the other end was hoarse from just waking up.
"Luo Hongming?"
"...Yes, who is this?"
"Sohu Video, Ren Pingsheng, I saw your resume."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, followed by rustling sounds, as if someone had jumped out of bed.
"Director Ren...?"
Director Ren, that's a novel way to address you.
"You applied for four positions on your resume: photographer, editor, voice actor, and assistant screenwriter. Which one do you actually want to do?"
"Anything is fine, I can do anything."
"Being able to do everything means being good at nothing."
Luo Hongming panicked, "I can do anything! I've written scripts, done voice acting, and I'm very proficient in editing software..."
Ren Pingsheng interrupted him, "Where did you get the original material for that dubbing in the attached work?"
"There's a foreign comedy manga called 'Gag Manga Biyori,' and the four of us in our dorm did the Chinese dialogue together."
"Is the dialogue original or translated?"
"Most of it is original. We don't understand the original Japanese very well, so we just made it up ourselves based on the visuals."
Ren Pingsheng thought for a moment. In his previous life, Bai Ke and his group started out by dubbing Hiyori, but they wouldn't become popular until next year.
"Is this all you do normally?"
"I guess so. I watch foreign animations in my spare time for fun, and I've uploaded them online, but not many people watch them. I've only gotten a little over a thousand views in total..."
"A little over a thousand is enough, which means you did it, and didn't just think about it. So, besides you, what's the situation with the other three?"
Luo Hongming rattled off a whole string of words.
Song Ming is the most outgoing, but his family is very strict, so he'll most likely go back to his hometown after graduation. Wang Cong is more easygoing and doesn't have any clear plans. Liu Hao, also known as Xiao Ai, is good at editing, but he's currently anxious about finding a job.
Ren Pingsheng didn't beat around the bush anymore.
"If you're interested, you can come to Yanjing for an interview. It's an internship, no room and board included, but you can get a permanent position if you perform well."
……
Jinling, Communication University of China, Nanjing Campus, Dormitory 201.
Bai Ke was still in a daze after hanging up the phone.
"Who is it?" Song Ming asked, peeking over with an ice pop in his mouth.
"Search Arc".
"Sohu? What does Sohu want with you?"
"Ren Pingsheng from Souhu has asked us to go to Yanjing for an interview."
"Who?"
"The director of 'Unexpected'".
The dormitory exploded.
"Holy crap!" Wang Cong leaned halfway out from the top bunk. "Are you talking in your sleep?"
Liu Hao put down his English book, adjusted his glasses, and asked, "Seriously?"
"Seriously, we're going the day after tomorrow." Luo Hongming looked at Liu Hao, "and we've invited you all."
"And us?"
Song Ming was stunned, but after the initial excitement wore off, he began to calm down.
"Hongming, have you thought this through? Where will you live during your internship in Yanjing? How much money do you have?"
Luo Hongming fell silent, and Liu Hao also remained silent.
Both of them were in similar financial situations, with their balances barely reaching four figures.
Wang Cong slurped up a mouthful of noodles and mumbled, "Hongming, maybe we shouldn't go. What if they're scammers? There are so many people these days who use the names of big companies to cheat people."
"Sohu can be a fraud?" Luo Hongming retorted.
"Who knows? What if it's some outsourcing team under Sohu? You've heard of interns who aren't paid and end up working for free for half a year."
Song Ming nodded in agreement, "That's true. You don't even know this Ren Pingsheng. He talks a good game on the phone, but what if he denies it when we get there?"
The atmosphere in the dormitory quickly cooled down from its initial excitement.
Luo Hongming sat on the edge of the bed, head down, his phone burning hot in his hand.
After a long while, he glanced at the number starting with 010 in his phone's call log.
"I'll go." Luo Hongming stood up.
Song Ming opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Liu Hao stared at his back for a few seconds, took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on.
"I'll go too."
Wang Cong paused, chopsticks in his hand, "Are you two crazy?"
"Maybe, but if you can only stay in school, you'll go crazy sooner or later."
Song Ming leaned against the headboard, watching the two rummage through drawers and cabinets to pack things up, and finally let out a long sigh.
Two days later, Luo Hongming and Liu Hao arrived in Yanjing after an eleven-hour hard-seat train ride.
The interview was so brief it was almost a formality.
Ren Pingsheng simply had the two of them perform a short skit on the spot and then asked for their opinions on "Unexpected".
"The internship lasts for three months, with a monthly salary of 1500 plus a housing allowance of 300. You can stay in a shared apartment near the company, but the conditions are very poor."
He paused deliberately.
"Want to come again?"
They both nodded at the same time.
"Starting work tomorrow."
……
Less than half an hour after the interview ended, Dapeng came over.
"Ping Sheng, I heard you hired two new people?"
"Um."
"What do you do?"
"Voice acting, editing."
Dapeng took a sip of soy milk, making a loud sound.
"Voice acting? Don't you have me?"
"Brother Peng, you're the lead actor, not just a voice actor."
"Does that mean I won't be doing voice acting work anymore?"
"It depends."
Da Peng put down his soy milk and lowered his voice: "Ping Sheng, tell me the truth, my screen time won't be reduced in the second season, right?"
"It won't decrease, it will only increase."
"That pay..."
"It's gone up, now it's 3,000 per episode."
Da Peng's expression shifted from wary to satisfied within two seconds, and he patted Ren Pingsheng on the shoulder.
"Okay, I trust you to handle things. If the new guy doesn't do a good job, just come to me anytime."
……
After lunch break, Sister Zhao brought some news.
"My life, Tianya is in an uproar again."
Ren Pingsheng turned on his computer, and a trending post was displayed on the homepage.
[Experts sit on their pedestals spouting vulgarities, but have they ever come down to look at housing prices?]
In the post, netizens intertwined Wang Duoyu's lines with the current reality.
The incident stemmed from the controversy surrounding Aoi Sora. After Xinlang and NetEase published their derogatory reports, the comments section did not see the overwhelming condemnation that the media had expected. Instead, it split into two groups.
One group of people joined the experts in criticizing those who were corrupting social morals, while another group directly targeted those who were criticizing them.
The trigger was this post that had already garnered 30,000 replies.
"I'm not just a poor person, I'm a poor person without any talent."
"She's only with someone for money."
These two sentences, coupled with the soaring housing market data and the employment situation of fresh graduates in 09, fermented into an emotional outpouring that went far beyond the realm of entertainment.
"Wang Duoyu isn't vulgar; Wang Duoyu represents us in reality—those of us who can't afford a house or get married!"
"Those experts who constantly talk about cultural pollution, did they buy their houses or were they allocated them?"
"What's wrong with being a loser? Don't losers deserve to live in this world?"
Those who supported the video and those who criticized it were locked in a fierce battle, which spread from the video to housing prices, employment, education, and that indescribable issue.
Kobayashi leaned over for a look and gasped.
"Brother Pingsheng, this matter is getting out of hand. Should we take it easy? What if the higher-ups think we're inciting trouble..."
"Control what? We're making a comedy; if the audience thinks that way, they're overinterpreting it."
To be honest, this progress has indeed exceeded Ren Pingsheng's expectations.
His initial motivation for making "Unexpectedly" was simple—to ride the wave of popularity, accumulate resources, get promoted, and make quick money.
The reason for hiring Aoi Sora was to create clickbait headlines, and the reason for writing about losers was because this topic was likely to go viral.
All the other random things were just things the audience imagined.
He had no intention of making videos to criticize or awaken anyone.
What does this have to do with him?
He's not Lu Xun.
However, since things have come to this point, it doesn't stop him from making the fire burn even brighter.
……
Meanwhile, in Perfect World's office area, the planner handed the printed posts to Teng He.
"Boss, the Tianlong short drama thing is getting bigger and bigger."
Teng He was reviewing the final version of the materials for "Zhu Xian 2" before its public beta launch. He glanced at it, chuckled, and tossed the paper aside.
"I expected that. By the way, I heard Guo Weiwei wants to collaborate with them?"
"Yes, I heard they've already made a call."
"They're really getting worse as they get older," Teng He shook his head. "Instead of focusing on making good products, they're always thinking about doing shady things."
In another office, Guo Weiwei scrolled to the bottom of the post and remained silent for a long time.
The team member standing nearby looked conflicted. "President Guo, the public opinion is quite complicated. Now that we're cooperating with Sohu, will we be implicated? Should we wait until things calm down?"
Guo Weiwei took off her glasses and wiped them.
"Do you know what our biggest problem is right now?"
"Is the game too difficult?"
"Nobody's talking about us," he said, putting his glasses back on. "Nobody's even criticizing us."
"Therefore, the cooperation must be finalized."