Chapter 275 - 272: Eve

Chapter 275: Chapter 272: Eve

「The next day.」

Jiang Xia returned from a morning workout with Su Qing at Bauhinia Playground. Afterward, he had breakfast with his wife at the cafeteria, and the three of them went straight to the company.

Su Qing had passed by Tsinghua Science Park many times, but this was his first time actually going inside.

He followed Jiang Xia into the elevator and up to the fifteenth floor. A few steps to the right of the elevator doors, a pair of life-sized Tom and Jerry dolls stood by an entrance. Through the glass door, he could see the words "Qitian Animation."

Li Weiya and Wang Ming were already there. Jiang Xia led Su Qing inside and made the introduction. "God—ahem, Director Li, this is Su Qing."

Li Weiya glanced up at him, a hint of surprise in her eyes. "You’re quite tall, young man."

Su Qing offered a reserved smile. "Hello, Director Li. I’m Su Qing."

"Hello."

Li Weiya extended a hand for a brief shake. ’Since Jiang Xia brought him here personally, he must be a pretty impressive young man,’ she thought.

"This is Wang Ming, who’s currently studying at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He’s our company’s chief key animator, and the vast majority of the key animation for Cat and Mouse is his work. You two should get to know each other," Jiang Xia continued with a smile.

Su Qing looked where Jiang Xia indicated and saw a young man about his own age with a slight tan sitting behind a computer. He had assumed the key animator for Cat and Mouse would be some industry veteran. This was quite a surprise.

However, considering that all the storyboards came from Jiang Xia himself, it made sense for the lead artist to be so young.

"Hey, how’s it going." Wang Ming scrambled to his feet and shook his hand.

’Damn, he’s tall and handsome,’ Wang Ming thought, a little stunned. ’Where the hell did Jiang Xia find this guy? And judging by his accent, he’s a local from the Imperial Capital, too.’

"Hi, I’m Su Qing. I look forward to working with you."

Su Qing adopted a very humble stance. He was a modest person by nature, and besides, Wang Ming was the company’s chief artist, deserving of respect for both his experience and skill.

"Not at all. We’ll all learn from each other."

Jiang Xia glanced at the time. It was still about fifty minutes until nine. "Director Li," he said, "another classmate of mine, Luo Peng, will be coming over in a bit."

"Mm, alright." Li Weiya nodded. ’I’m so used to him calling me Godmother every day. Hearing him call me Director feels strange.’

"Su Qing, this area is mainly for the key animators. You can pick any workstation you like for now. Please fill out this resume form, and when your classmate gets here, I’ll give you both a quick briefing," Li Weiya said, handing him a blank form.

"Okay."

Su Qing nodded and glanced around. Almost all the computers were new, and there wasn’t so much as a single sheet of drawing paper on the desks. It was just as Jiang Xia had described—a company that had just been put together.

He sat down directly opposite Wang Ming and saw Jiang Xia follow Director Li into her office, presumably to discuss something.

"Godmother, the company officially starts running tomorrow. I’ll do my best to make the morning meetings, but I’ll have to trouble you with most of the company affairs from now on."

Li Weiya shot him an exasperated look. "Isn’t that exactly why you dragged me all the way out to the Imperial Capital?"

"Heh heh heh..."

Jiang Xia chuckled sheepishly. With his studies, he couldn’t be at the office all the time, which made Li Weiya, an industry veteran, the stabilizing pillar of the company.

"And as for my two classmates, please don’t give them any special treatment just because of me. Treat them however you think is fair."

"I know. Besides, artists don’t necessarily have to be in the office. As long as they can turn in their drafts on time, they can work from anywhere."

"That’s exactly what I mean."

"But let’s get one thing straight," she warned. "If their work doesn’t meet our quality standards or if they’re constantly late with their drafts, I’ll fire them and find replacements."

Li Weiya was giving him a preemptive warning. The company needed to stabilize as quickly as possible, and she would absolutely not tolerate anything that hindered its overall progress.

"You’re the director. You call the shots," Jiang Xia said with a lighthearted laugh.

Li Weiya feigned anger. "I’ve never seen such a hands-off boss!"

"But Godmother, I’m your godson."

"Oh, get out of here."

’I’m not falling for that line anymore,’ she thought. ’Godmother? More like a convenient tool, through and through.’

Shortly before nine in the morning, Luo Peng arrived at the company, following the address Jiang Xia had sent.

"Excuse me, is this Qitian Animation?" he asked as he pushed open the glass door.

"Old Luo, quick, come in."

Jiang Xia got up to welcome him and introduced Luo Peng to everyone just as he had with Su Qing. Then, Li Weiya pulled the two new hires into the conference room for a chat.

"They’re all your classmates?" Wang Ming asked, glancing over at Jiang Xia.

He couldn’t help but think of the girl he had recommended. After all the trouble he went through to recruit someone, Jiang Xia had just turned her away.

"Yeah. I’ve seen their portfolios; they’re very good and worth training. You should also start gradually shifting your focus to storyboarding. Once the company is on its feet, you’ll need to hand off the key animation work to others," Jiang Xia said.

’Over the past seven days, Wang Ming has made huge progress under my guidance,’ Jiang Xia thought. ’It’s like his creative talent from my past life has been unlocked ahead of schedule. At this rate, he’ll probably be able to gradually take over the work on Cat and Mouse after the New Year.’

"Yeah, I know," Wang Ming replied with a nod.

About an hour later, Luo Peng and Su Qing emerged from the conference room, contracts in hand.

Li Weiya had covered a lot of ground with them. She’d gone over their personal details, their specific roles and current tasks within the company, its future plans, and the basic rules and regulations all employees were expected to follow.

As for the contracts, they were for a probationary period. The salary was only average for the Imperial Capital, but for a pair of college freshmen, it was more than enough.

"Well, Director Li, we’ll be heading back to school now."

"Alright. Be safe on your way back," Li Weiya said with a small smile.

"Brother Jiang, are you coming back with us?" Luo Peng asked hesitantly.

Jiang Xia shook his head with a smile. "I still have a few things to take care of here. You two go on ahead, don’t wait for me."

"Alright."

"Old Jiang, we’re taking off then. Give me a call if you need anything."

Su Qing was very perceptive. ’Seeing the dynamic between Director Li and Jiang Xia, it’s obvious he’s not just a regular employee,’ he realized. ’Looks like he’s in a pretty high-up management role and just doing storyboarding on the side.’

"Sure."

At noon, Lin Yanwan returned from the business administration office with good news: Qitian Animation’s relocation application had finally been approved. She had the business license and all the related documents in hand.

Now, all the preparations were complete. They were just waiting for the final piece to fall into place.