After reading some fans' comments about "Water Ghost", Xu Qiao opened a small account with the Star Master Certification, intending to repost the game's official business blog.
This account doesn't have an unusually large number of fans, so Xu Qiao didn't close private messages and would occasionally open the comments to take a look.
The little red dots in the message list are reminders of unread messages, and the top one was sent 5 minutes ago.
Huazhiwan, do you accept private works? The price is negotiable. I really like your style of painting! (Looking forward to it) (Looking forward to it)
Xu Qiao yawned, but did not refuse immediately. He typed a line of words in the dialog box and sent it.
"What manuscript do you want?"
When the other party saw that he really replied, he immediately sent an exclamation mark.
Xu Qiao waited for a while. The other party seemed to be organizing his words. After a long time, another message finally came.
Squid Maru is a fanfiction!! Starry eyes, probably like this!
Below is a picture. My internet speed is not very good and the picture kept spinning in circles for a long time but couldn’t be loaded.
Can you take the squid balls? The price is negotiable!
"Wait a minute, I haven't seen the picture yet."
Xu Qiao waited for a while before the picture was loaded.
Looking at the two identical faces and intertwined bodies in the picture, Xu Qiao paused.
…
The protagonists of Squidward Maru are these two! The water ghost and the slug spirit. If you want the fan art you draw to be a little more erotic, that is, oh you know what I mean!
Xu Qiao: …I don’t understand.
The facial features of Huazhiwan are based on Xu Qiao's face! I really like your lines and colors. The painting style is really great!
Squidward Wan? Are you still here? Ah, no need to rush to reply, just reply when you see it! Waiting for you obediently
"Sorry, no answer."
squid balls qaq
The price of squid balls is really negotiable.
Squid balls, big, big
Xu Qiao replied with an apology expression and then left Weibo.
He really has no interest in drawing fanart of himself and himself that is not suitable for children.
After dinner, Xu Qiao packed up and drove out.
Dianxing Technology Company is in the next city, and it only takes 1:00 p.m. to drive there.
This was his first time to order stars. The company rented a separate studio in the industrial park. Xu Qiao parked the car, put on a mask and hat and got out of the car.
It was the hottest time of the day, and as soon as I got off the car I felt a wave of heat coming towards me.
Taking out the access card that Gao Ming had given him, Xu Qiao found the area where the star was. As soon as he approached, he felt the incredibly cold air coming out of the crack in the door.
After swiping the card and pushing the door open, what greeted me was a messy and decadent scene. In the two-story studio, the floor and table were scattered with A4 papers, and the whiteboard on the wall was a mess of writing and drawing, and a bunch of concept settings. In the room that looked like a garbage dump, a group of young people were typing on the keyboard with their eyes distracted.
They were each doing their own things, chatting dejectedly with the people around them, and when they heard the door ring, they all looked over.
Seeing Xu Qiao's face clearly visible with a mask and hat, the group looked at each other, somewhat puzzled. Wearing a mask and hat in such a hot day looked weird, and considering the turmoil in the company in recent days, everyone's eyes were more alert.
At the front row, a young man in a white T-shirt came over and asked, "Excuse me, who are you looking for? Do you have an appointment?"
Xu Qiao took off his mask and hat, and the young man's eyes widened immediately: "Xu, Xu Qiao?"
He is a loyal viewer of survival documentaries, and Xu Qiao's face has been imprinted in his mind countless times.
Others were also shocked.
“Isn’t this the star?”
"I am not seeing things, it is really Xu Qiao."
"It's really him, what is he doing here?"
There are fans of Xu Qiao in the company, and they are very excited at this moment.
"Ahhh! I was watching water ghosts at home yesterday, and today I actually saw a real person. Am I dreaming?"
"Sister, let me pinch you and see if it hurts. If you feel pain, it means I am not dreaming."
The young man in the white T-shirt came to his senses and asked, "Why are you here...?"
"I'm looking for Gao Ming." Xu Qiao replied.
It turned out that the boss knew him. The young man in white T-shirt showed an understanding expression and pointed upstairs: "The boss's office is upstairs. I'll take you there."
Xu Qiao glanced upwards, figured out the location and said with a smile: "No need, I'll go up by myself, you guys go ahead and do your work."
Except for a few people in the company, no one else knew that he was the one who was in charge of the decoration.
Seeing him go upstairs, a group of people couldn't help but gather together and start discussing.
"How does our boss know Xu Qiao?"
"Are you here to discuss endorsements? Didn't our game say we were looking for endorsements?"
"It's too early to say whether it's an endorsement or not. Even if it's an endorsement, it's the agent who comes to discuss it, not the person himself."
"I don't understand, maybe he has a personal relationship with the boss?" This possibility won the approval of most people. They really couldn't figure out what other reason Xu Qiao would come here.
Xu Qiao's fans couldn't help but sigh: "The boss is too stingy. He often hears us talking about Qiao Qiao and knows that we are fans of him. He knows Qiao Qiao but he doesn't say a word to him."
"I really want an autograph. I'm satisfied. I'm full of motivation to work again."
"Wait for him to come down and ask for his autograph later!"
After going upstairs, Xu Qiao knocked on the office door.
"Come in." Gao Ming's voice came from inside, sounding a little tired.
After Xu Qiao went in, he closed the door and sat down in front of him.
Seeing that it was him, Gao Ming's expression eased a lot. He stood up and poured him a glass of juice. Gao Ming rubbed his temples and said, "I'm worried about this."
Xu Qiao held onto the wall of the juice glass and said, "Tell me what happened."
Gao Ming told him in detail about the current situation of Dianxing. The company is in its early stages, and the staff is more like a small workshop. The company has not yet made a profit and is relatively tight on funds. After investing in the documentary advertisement "Survival", its reputation has risen, and in addition to game users, it has also attracted a lot of extra attention.
Because the art work was so outstanding, several large companies in the industry poached some of our employees and suppressed them, resulting in a talent shortage in the company.
"You can only blame yourself for being such a good artist. They are trying to poach our art team." He said half-jokingly, and then snorted, "It's better to leave. Good birds choose good trees to roost in. Our small company is not worth staying in."
But as they are all employees who have been together all the way, Gao Ming believes that he has never treated them unfairly, and he feels a little sad at the moment.
Xu Qiao looked at his depressed expression, leaned lazily on the back of the chair, and asked, "How much work is left to do?"
"There are so many things to do." Gao Ming said helplessly, "Art, level values, etc. all need to be optimized. We are about to do a small-scale closed beta test, and we have to further optimize based on user data."
"Don't be in a hurry, take it one step at a time." Xu Qiao paused and told him his thoughts.
Gao Ming was extremely anxious, but after talking with Xu Qiao he felt much better and his lost confidence returned.
The two discussed the work arrangements for the rest of the day, and Gao Ming smiled: "With this arrangement, the work becomes much clearer. I'll take you down to meet everyone, and we can communicate online later."
Knowing that Xu Qiao had a lot of other things to do, he didn't think that Xu Qiao could stay here to help.
"OK."
The two walked downstairs and a group of people looked over eagerly.
"Xu Qiao, everyone knows him, right?"
Everyone responded: "How could we not know him? Many of us are Xu Qiao fans!"
Seeing that people had started discussing, Gao Ming clapped his hands with a smile. When everyone quieted down and looked at him, he cleared his throat and said, "A group of people left in the past few days. The company is not doing well. I know you are all worried now, but please believe that we will get through this difficult time."
"Let me introduce Xu Qiao to you all." Gao Ming put his arm around Xu Qiao's shoulder. "Our deity is both the chief artist and the chief planner."
Everyone was about to applaud after hearing the introduction, but the smiles on their faces froze when they realized what was happening.
"Uh, I didn't hear that. What was it?"
"Main artist? Main planner?"
The company does have a nominal chief artist with a unique painting style and amazing talent. When the apocalyptic game was still unknown, he became famous with his beautiful promotional pictures and accumulated the first batch of pre-registered players for the game.
But Gao Ming has been hiding who this main artist is, who knows Xu Qiao is the main artist! Listen, he is not only the main artist, but also the planner, and he built the framework of the game!
Gao Ming nodded: "Because Xu Qiao has a special status, his position as chief art planner has not been announced. Those who stay here are trustworthy, and I hope everyone can keep it confidential."
After being shocked for a while, they finally reluctantly accepted Xu Qiao's identity.
"Continue with the rest of the work. If you have any questions, ask me or Xu Qiao." Gao Ming looked around and said, "Then let's get to know each other so that it will be convenient for us to discuss work later."
Everyone looked at each other with complicated expressions.
Asked what it's like to work with your idol? The answer is, there's no need to get excited, just seeing him makes my blood boil.
In the following days, Xu Qiao has been following up on the work of adding stars, and Gao Ming dragged him to meetings almost every day to discuss until midnight. The game's original closed beta date is approaching, and the progress is very tight, working overtime.
Fortunately, the progress was smooth, and the work was advancing rapidly as if the accelerator was turned on. When the Dianxing employees found that Xu Qiao had joined in, the stagnant work was like grease applied to the rusty gears.
Not only is he the backbone in art, he is also very sensitive to various aspects of the game values. Everyone was silent when they thought that Xu Qiao was not only a star, but also a science and engineering genius from a prestigious university.
Why is there such a big gap between people
While working at Dianxing, he also has to go to the studio to exercise. Every few days he also has to go to Ying Wenlin's folk music orchestra to participate in training. His daily schedule is quite full.
When Xu Siyi is not busy with announcements, he will pick him up and take him to the studio.
Seeing Xu Qiao coming downstairs, Xu Siyi stepped out of the driver's seat, walked around to the passenger seat, opened the door for him, and put his hand on the door frame to signal him to get in.
“…” Xu Qiao looked at him a few more times, feeling a little puzzled.
After getting in the car, Xu Siyi continued to provide attentive service and leaned over to fasten his seat belt.
His action was so deliberate that Xu Qiao even suspected that he had ulterior motives.
"You don't have to come to pick me up next time. I can drive there by myself, and Feifei can also come to pick me up." Xu Qiao said after seeing him sit firmly.
Xu Siyi held the steering wheel and said in a low voice: "It's okay, I just have time."
Xu Qiao didn't say anything else and pressed his temples which were a little swollen from staying up late and attending meetings.
He reached out to turn on the car stereo and wanted to play some light music.
As soon as I opened it, the expressive reading voice from the audiobook app began to echo in the car.
“You are welcome to continue listening to “It Started With a Kiss: The Domineering President’s Love Slowly”.
Bo Junhao opened the car door for Xu Ning, put his hand on the door frame, waited for his girl to get into the car safely, then leaned over to fasten her seat belt, his movements were gentlemanly and gentle.
Xu Ning bit her lips lightly, her eyelashes trembling, and the only sound she could hear was her own pounding heartbeat.
Looking at her fair and transparent face and light pink lips in the sunlight, Bo Junhao paused, lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on her lips… "
Xu Qiao: “…?” Why does this plot seem familiar
Xu Siyi pursed her lips and moved a hand to switch the audio.
Soft piano music flowed in the car.
After a while, Xu Qiao leaned back in his chair and looked at him lazily: "I can't tell, you like reading this type of book?"
Xu Siyi glanced at him, then looked away: "I don't like it, this is what my mother put there."
He just mentioned how to get along with the other person in a relationship, and his mother immediately recommended a bunch of books to him as if she had been injected with chicken blood, under the pretext of telling him to study hard.
At the end, he asked cautiously when he would bring the person back to see him.
Xu Siyi thought about his current indescribable relationship with Xu Qiao and sighed silently.