Restart life

Chapter 249, 0246: [Showgirl and Gaming Guru]

Visitors to this year's ChinaJoy exhibition were truly treated to a visual feast.

Last year was relatively normal. Although they used beautiful women to attract attention, their clothing was still "relatively" conservative.

This year, however, there's a trend of showing off legs, waists, and arms.

I wish I could just wear a bikini!
This trend will intensify, and in a few more years, some manufacturers will even draw lucky audience members on stage to touch the show girls' breasts (in a suggestive way).

"good."

Chen Guiliang looked at his own "Three Kingdoms Kill" booth, where a row of beautiful women were indeed a feast for the eyes.

They were wearing hot pants and tank tops with the words "Three Kingdoms Kill" printed on them.

Xu Fengyin pursed her lips, utterly despising the planner, yet she couldn't help but keep glancing at the beautiful woman. This girl's sexual orientation was a mystery; she liked to look at anything pleasing to the eye, regardless of whether it was a man or a woman.

She continued cosplaying Zhen Ji, but this time she wasn't dressed as revealingly.

Due to her unexpected rise to fame last year, Xu Fengyin now not only serves as the company's art director, but she also makes sure to appear at any major events held by "Three Kingdoms Kill".

Huh?
Chen Guiliang looked at the row of beautiful women and suddenly spotted a familiar face.

A long-haired girl stood in front of the "Three Kingdoms Kill" booth. While the other show girls all had smiles on their faces, this girl looked like she was being forced to work. She kept a cold expression the whole time, didn't smile when handing out flyers, and didn't even bother to say a word, seemingly only thinking about getting off work as soon as possible.

Chen Guiliang asked the staff member in charge of executing the exhibition activities, "Where did you find these show girls?"

The employee, a department head at Youke, said, “We posted an ad on the school’s intranet, inviting female students in Shanghai to sign up. We don’t need to send anyone over in advance to select people; we can screen applicants’ photos online, which saves a lot of money. Plus, it’s cheaper for current students; they just need to pay a little money and have a few meals provided.”

"What's the name of that girl who doesn't smile?" Chen Guiliang asked.

The employee said smugly, "Mr. Chen also thinks she's beautiful? I personally selected her; I was amazed just by looking at her photos online. Her name is Ding Beili, and she studies at a vocational high school in Shanghai."

Of course I know her name is Ding Beili!

In another world, she's the hottest show girl this year. She's become so popular that she's known even outside of gaming circles, and her fame has even spread from online to traditional newspapers.

However, at the time she was a show girl invited by "My Own Swordsman" - Perfect World, in order to ride the wave of popularity and make quick money, started advertising and hyping up the game before it was even finished.

Now, the game adaptation rights for "My Own Swordsman" have been bought by Chen Guiliang, so Ding Beili was naturally not hired by Perfect World.

She actually signed up through the school's intranet and became a show girl for the game "Three Kingdoms Kill".

Chen Guiliang instructed, "Sign her as our long-term show girl, a five-year contract, and pay her based on the number of appearances. Just pay her the normal price when she signs the contract, and do some promotion. Once she becomes famous, proactively raise her price so she'll be grateful."

“I’ll talk to her alone during dinner,” the employee said. “She’s just an ordinary vocational high school girl, and she wasn’t famous before. I’ll definitely win her over easily.”

Chen Guiliang thought about it and concluded that this girl was bound to become famous. And like Xu Fengyin, she would quickly amass a large following, with some even creating her own fan website.

Isn't it a waste to only sign them to be show girls?
“Call her over here, I’ll ask her alone,” Chen Guiliang said.

The staff member in charge of the exhibition suddenly had a thought: Has General Manager Chen taken a fancy to this beautiful woman in front of him?

The employee hurried over: "Ding Beili, General Manager Chen is looking for you. Remember to be polite, don't be so cold."

"Oh."

Ding Beili, who was forced to stay at work and wait to get off, finally showed a hint of excitement on her face.

Of course she knew who Chen Guiliang was, because she herself was a user of Renren.com.

The other show girls present cast envious glances at them.

To these female students, Chen Guiliang was undoubtedly a legendary figure. He was incredibly popular, young, rich, and handsome—if they could catch his eye…

"Hello, Mr. Chen." Ding Beili said shyly.

Chen Guiliang asked, "Where are you from?"

Ding Beili said, "I'm from Shanghai."

Chen Guiliang then asked, "What school did you attend? What was your major?"

Ding Beili said, "I graduated from Shanghai Broadcasting and Television Vocational School, majoring in film and television program production. I received my diploma at the beginning of this month."

She is looking for a job and has already posted her resume on recruitment websites.

Moreover, they are not picky about job content, and even specify that they can do "front desk/etiquette/reception".

Vocational high school graduates often lack any skills, so finding a job is already a blessing.

Chen Guiliang asked, "What did you learn at school?"

"Advertising design and production, radio, film and television arts." Ding Beili's voice grew softer and softer, and she lowered her head guiltily as she spoke.

Because she only learned the basics of these things.

If you really put her in a job related to her major, she'd only be able to do odd jobs.

Chen Guiliang said, "How about this? You have a good image and temperament. If you're willing to go to Beijing, you can work as a receptionist at Game Science first. You'll also need to appear as a show girl for any of Game Science's events. Show girls are paid per appearance, not in the receptionist's salary."

"Are we leaving Shanghai?" Ding Beili hesitated.

Chen Guiliang said, "I will help you promote yourself and make you an internet celebrity. But your current abilities are insufficient, so even if you become famous, it won't last long. I hope that in your spare time, you can learn some hosting skills. Once you develop your hosting skills, you can serve as the main host for Youke, whether it's within the company or for external events."

Ding Beili did not agree immediately, but said, "I'll go home and discuss it with my parents."

"Okay." Chen Guiliang nodded.

Ding Beili went back to work.

Xu Fengyin stood at a distance and muttered, "Pervert!"

Chen Guiliang called over the staff in charge of publicity and arranged how to promote Ding Beili.

Why did Ding Beili become so popular?
Being pure and pretty is only one aspect; another element is needed to create a sensation.

Xu Fengyin became famous last year because of a few non-work photos taken by passersby—that was the viral moment. The professional publicity arranged by Chen Guiliang, on the contrary, did not have much effect.

Ding Beili's rise to fame was due to the fact that she never smiles.

There were hundreds of show girls at the ChinaJoy electronics expo, and Ding Beili was the only one who didn't smile at all. But she wasn't always expressionless; sometimes her expressions were quite playful.

It's like the girl next door who was forcibly brought to work.

"Mr. Chen, hello!"

"you are?"

"I am the founder of Terui Games. We have developed a game that is currently in closed beta testing. However, we are facing some funding difficulties... I know that Mr. Chen has a keen eye for talent. If you have the time, could you please visit our booth?"

"can."

Chen Guiliang has encountered many small company owners like this.

His investment in Tao Chenggang's "The Emperor's Reign" has now become a legendary story in the gaming industry.

The small company in front of me looked rather shabby, with its rented booth tucked away in an inconspicuous corner. There was only one roll-up banner for promotion, two or three employees were tending to it, and two computers were set up for people to try out games.

"Mr. Chen, please take a look. This is our game," the founder introduced eagerly. "Our company has three partners, all of whom are avid gamers. It's an MMO game, and we originally planned to use a subscription-based model. But now, free-to-play games are more suitable for small companies, so we switched to a free-to-play online game halfway through..."

When Chen Guiliang glanced at the game interface, he felt that the game was already half dead.

How to describe it?
Legendary graphics.

The graphics are incredibly rough, and the character models look like those in "Legends".

But as Chen Guiliang played and listened to the other party's explanation, he felt that the other party was quite dedicated. At least, the game's world view and quest system were being developed with care.

The picture quality is so terrible because of a lack of money.

There are a lot more similar small companies and games this year, and there will be even more next year!

If Feng Ji hadn't joined Game Science, he would have joined a similar small company. He was in charge of event planning for games, and surprisingly, he turned a mediocre game into a successful and profitable one.

"What do you think, Mr. Chen?" the founder asked expectantly.

Chen Guiliang said, "If this game had been released early last year, I would definitely have invested in it. As for now, I'm sorry..."

It's outdated now.

The man was quite disappointed, but still managed a forced smile: "Thank you for coming in person, Mr. Chen. I hope we can have the opportunity to cooperate in the future."

“Your content is very well done,” Chen Guiliang said. “If your next game can innovate in some aspect and give people a refreshing feeling, I will be willing to invest.”

"We will work hard."

"come on."

This is the 7th game that Chen Guiliang has been dragged to watch.

Chen Guiliang strolled over to other booths and soon found a large crowd gathered in front of them.

Sohu Changyou, "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils".

This game was developed very quickly; it started closed beta testing after only eight months of development. This was because Zhang Chaoyang kept pushing him forward!

Last month, "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" opened up 1000 beta test accounts.

A ton of bugs were found during the internal testing.

Many beta testers have already quit. A few remain, continuing to play and providing feedback to Sohu.

Seeing Shang Jin personally promoting "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", Chen Guiliang went over to greet him: "Hello, Mr. Shang!"

“Only you can be called boss, I’m just an employee.” Shang Jin recognized Chen Guiliang at a glance.

The two quickly started chatting, and even communicated directly in their local dialect.

Their hometowns were all cities in Sichuan Province that were part of the Third Front construction projects.

Shang Jin's father was a military worker involved in the Third Front construction.

"You've made a pretty good game," Chen Guiliang praised.

Shang Jin sighed, "Sigh, don't even mention it. There wasn't enough development time, and we found a lot of bugs during the internal testing."

He couldn't speak ill of Zhang Chaoyang.

Moreover, compared to Zhang Chaoyang, Shang Jin was even more unhappy with the person directly in charge of Sohu Changyou.

Shang Jin is a natural at being susceptible to infighting.

He previously worked at Kingsoft on the development of WPS, and then moved on to develop "Fengshen Bang". The two major factions within Kingsoft Games had a very bad relationship, and Shang Jin couldn't win, so he was fired.

He joined Sohu last year to work on games, but encountered internal strife halfway through the development of "Tian Long Ba Bu".

He will leave Sohu Changyou next year due to internal strife.

Chen Guiliang was a game developer in his past life, how could he not be familiar with Shang Jin?
After chatting for a few minutes, Chen Guiliang said in a low voice, "Old Shang, if you leave Sohu, you can come to my company. If you want to start your own business, I can also invest."

"Are you poaching people?" Shang Jin asked with a smile.

Chen Guiliang said, "We're from the same hometown, so it's normal for us to cooperate."

Shang Jin remained noncommittal.

Having been hurt by two internal power struggles, Shang Jin is unlikely to join any company again. After leaving Sohu, he will inevitably start his own company and become its leader.

Moreover, given Shang Jin's experience in leading the development of "Investiture of the Gods" and "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," he could easily attract tens of millions of yuan in investment.

Chen Guiliang said this only because he wanted to get a stake in the company.

Shang Jin's self-made game "Genghis Khan" generated 3000 million yuan in revenue in its first month!
Many people who don't play games will frequently see "Qilin Pictures" in the opening credits of movies in the future. This is also something Shang Jin started; his game company is called Qilin.com.

Shang Jin is also an oddball. At the height of the popularity of "Genghis Khan", he suddenly stopped playing games and went to study at the Beijing Film Academy... Hey, he went to play movies!

Watching Chen Guiliang walk away, Shang Jin thought to himself: How did he know I was unhappy at Sohu?
(End of this chapter)