Chapter 298: Interviewer and Interviewee Reach a Mutual Understanding
Chapter 298: Interviewer and Interviewee Reach a Mutual Understanding
Leaving the reception room, Pei Qian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
He finally understood—this interview team did not come in peace!
Originally, Pei Qian thought this was a small matter he could brush off. It’s just an exclusive interview, right? He would say a few perfunctory lines, the reporter would jot down a few perfunctory notes, readers would skim through it perfunctorily, and everyone would pretend nothing ever happened.
He absolutely did not expect that this Chief Editor Xia’s ability to twist facts would be this terrifying!
Now it was clear: this was definitely not a small problem. If handled poorly, the consequences might be extremely serious!
Pei Qian quickly pulled Assistant Xin aside.
“Which employees is Chief Editor Xia planning to interview?”
Assistant Xin thought for a moment.
“They’re all outstanding employees who’ve made notable contributions in Tengda—like Huang Sibo, Bao Xu, Lin Wan, and Lu Mingliang.”
Pei Qian sucked in a sharp breath.
This was practically a list of thorns in his side!
Most of them were elite employees he had tried (and failed) to get rid of, plus problem cases like Bao Xu who required constant supervision.
And these employees, who loved backstabbing him, all had one thing in common:
They loved to overthink.
Whether it was Huang Sibo, Bao Xu, or Lin Wan—each one was a deadly overthinking monster.
If they were interviewed by Chief Editor Xia, the overthinking from both sides might not add up—it might multiply, or even become exponential.
At that point, would the interview even be readable?!
It might blow so much smoke up his backside that he’d go into cardiac arrest on the spot.
Pei Qian instinctively wanted to switch them out, but after a moment’s thought, he realized that wouldn’t work.
First, who could guarantee that other employees weren’t also overthinking monsters?
Second, if they really sent a few ordinary bottom-level employees to the interview, and those employees introduced themselves with their humble job titles in front of Chief Editor Xia… well, that wouldn’t look right.
Chief Editor Xia would definitely start wondering:
Why aren’t the core employees being interviewed?
Is there some hidden reason behind this?
And then she might privately track down the overthinking monsters anyway, giving him a “surprise”…
That possibility was terrifying, and Pei Qian didn’t even want to imagine it.
So, it still had to be these people who took the interviews.
As for how he could save himself…
Pei Qian thought for a moment, then instructed:
“Tell them directly: during the interview, they absolutely must not mention me. And even if they have to mention me, they must not say a single good thing about me. Got it?”
Assistant Xin froze.
“President Pei… that might be a bit difficult.”
Pei Qian waved his hand.
“This is an order. It must be done. Go notify them.”
Assistant Xin nodded, then took out her phone and quickly selected the employees scheduled for interviews. She sent a group message conveying President Pei’s instructions.
After that, the assistant returned to the reception room to brief Chief Editor Xia on a few simple matters.
Pei Qian still didn’t feel very reassured.
But he had already told Chief Editor Xia that he had other business to attend to. If he stayed any longer at Tengda, it would become awkward to explain.
So, even though he felt uneasy, Pei Qian ultimately had to leave—planning to regroup after the interviews were finished and reconsider things the next morning.
…
Huang Sibo entered the reception room and felt a little nervous upon seeing the elaborate setup.
There were three cameras—one fixed and two mobile cameras filming from different angles—and the very professional-looking Chief Editor Xia. Everything indicated that this interview was of an unusually high grade.
As the first Tengda employee to receive the Dream Fund, it made sense that Huang Sibo would be interviewed first.
Originally, he thought this would be an ordinary interview: just say whatever needed to be said and that would be it. He hadn’t taken it too seriously.
After all, the main interviewee was President Pei. All he needed to do was describe President Pei’s radiant image truthfully, answer whatever the reporter asked, and everything would be fine.
But now, the situation had changed.
Because just before entering, Huang Sibo received a crucial message: during the interview, he must not mention President Pei—and even if he had to mention him, he must not say anything good.
Instantly, Huang Sibo felt a massive wave of pressure.
He wasn’t particularly confused, though. After all, President Pei’s way of thinking had always been wild, unpredictable, and completely unconstrained. Many behaviors or requests that seemed illogical on the surface often carried deep and complex meaning beneath.
At this point, Huang Sibo—like most Tengda employees—was already used to it.
He couldn’t praise President Pei, but he absolutely couldn’t tarnish his image either.
Only someone with nothing in their head would smear their boss in such an important interview.
Not to mention, President Pei had shown everyone great kindness. Saying bad things about him—wouldn’t his conscience hurt?
So, the only option left was not mentioning President Pei at all.
However, if he followed President Pei’s request too rigidly, what if he failed to properly complete the interview?
After all, there were three cameras recording him right now. Once the footage was edited and published, countless players would watch it. There was no way he could babble nonsense just to fulfill President Pei’s instructions and have Tengda look ridiculous in front of tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of viewers.
He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Thus, Huang Sibo could only rack his brain, trying to figure out how to speak in a way that met President Pei’s requirements and prevented the interview from becoming too strange or raising public suspicion.
But there wasn’t enough time to come up with a perfect plan. In the end, he could only wait for Chief Editor Xia’s questions and adapt on the spot.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Xia Jiang was also preparing nervously, carefully reviewing the list of employees she would be interviewing.
Before the interview, she had received this list—complete with each employee’s career summaries, responsibilities, and notable accomplishments.
This would save a lot of preliminary communication time and make the interview much more efficient.
Assistant Xin had hinted that President Pei preferred the employee interviews to avoid mentioning him as much as possible, and instead focus on exploring the employees’ inner thoughts.
Xia Jiang understood completely.
Low-key President Pei never competed with his employees for credit or recognition. He always left the spotlight for them.
This was an extremely rare and noble quality.
If someone else had made such a request, Xia Jiang might have questioned their motives.
But when President Pei said it, Xia Jiang felt it was only natural.
Thus, Xia Jiang decided to fully respect President Pei’s intentions and steer the conversation away from him.
But… was that enough?
Xia Jiang felt it wasn’t.
President Pei might be indifferent to fame, might refuse to claim any credit.
But Xia Jiang, as a professional journalist, believed she had both the ability and the duty to let the world know about President Pei’s noble character—and to restore the truth for everyone!
So, how could she convey President Pei’s lofty character without mentioning him at all, as per his wishes?
This was an extremely challenging mission—but Xia Jiang was already prepared.
Once Huang Sibo sat down on the sofa, Xia Jiang finished reviewing his résumé, and the interview officially began.
Xia Jiang smiled and said, “Because of some reasons we both understand, today’s interview will have to be conducted a little differently.”
“You only need to answer according to your true thoughts. Is that alright?”
Huang Sibo immediately nodded.
As expected of a professional journalist—she must have already prepared a solution. There's nothing for him to worry about.
“We all know you’re considered one of Tengda’s veteran employees. When you joined, the company had only just been founded. Could you tell us why you decided to join such a new company at the time?” Xia Jiang asked.
Huang Sibo took a moment to recall the scene from back then.
“In the beginning, I was doing miscellaneous tasks at another game company in Jingzhou. The pay and the work were completely mismatched. Then I happened to see Tengda’s recruitment ad online, so I thought I’d try my luck.”
“When I came for the interview, I actually ran into Old Liu, the lead executive designer from my previous company—but even he didn’t pass the interview. That made me a bit nervous.”
“After entering the company, I found that although it was a startup, the working environment was excellent. That made me even more certain I wanted to work here.”
“I truthfully introduced my position and skills, then received a salary far higher than I had expected. So… I took the job.”
Throughout the entire explanation, Huang Sibo very carefully avoided mentioning President Pei.
Xia Jiang, understanding perfectly, nodded. He prepared to ask deeper follow-up questions.
“So the company accepted you, but did not accept the experienced lead executive designer from your previous company, correct?”
Huang Sibo nodded. “Correct.”
“At that time, even though Tengda was just a startup, the work environment was excellent, correct?”
“Correct.”
“You said you received a salary far beyond your expectations. How exactly was that salary negotiated?”
Huang Sibo thought for a moment. “Uh… I first proposed a number, and then the salary doubled.”
Xia Jiang gave him a look of approval.
Excellent. This was exactly the feeling she wanted.
With their mutual understanding established, the rest of the interview became extremely smooth.
“Before you officially began working on Ocean Fortress, the basic concept for the game was already somewhat formed, correct?”
“You also weren’t clear about the game’s promotional strategy at first, correct?”
“After finishing Ocean Fortress, you left Tengda Games. Could you briefly explain why?”
“When Feihuang Studio was initially losing money, you never took on any low-end sponsorships like typical video creators do. This was because someone gave you advice, correct?”
One question after another—they conversed fluently, enjoying the exchange.
By noon, the interview with Huang Sibo finally came to an end.
Xia Jiang was extremely satisfied. He stood up and shook hands with Huang Sibo.
“Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to accept this interview. I wish you continued success and even greater achievements!”
…
…
Moyu Internet Café.
While playing a game, Pei Qian glanced at the time. It was almost noon.
Logically, the first interview should be finished by now, right?
But he had no idea what had actually been said. He couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in his heart.
Yet he felt embarrassed to ask.
He could only hope that his “treasured employees” had behaved themselves and followed instructions—especially the part about not mentioning him.
Pei Qian felt the whole situation was absurd.
Other people were the ones being interviewed—so why was he the one feeling nervous?
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