Rebirth in 2011: Starting as an Advertising Genius

The joy of dividing the money slowly dissipated in the night breeze, and Wang Lei and Yu Ying's figures disappeared around the corner of the dormitory building.

Yuan Meng and Chen Jianghe walked side by side on the tree-lined path beside the playground.

The streetlights cast long shadows of the two people, which occasionally overlapped and then separated.

"Yuan Meng".

"Um?"

Have you thought about what you'll do after graduation?

Yuan Meng paused, clearly not expecting him to ask this so suddenly. She lowered her head and thought for a moment, kicking a small pebble on the roadside with the tip of her shoe: "Maybe... I'll go to GG Company. Or a design company. Basically, it'll be drawing drafts and making proposals or something."

"and then?"

"And then?" Yuan Meng looked up, puzzled.

"Then it's nine-to-five, a fixed salary, waiting for a few hundred yuan raise every year." Chen Jianghe's tone was calm, not trying to discourage her, but stating a possibility: "What you do is worth 40,000 yuan. But if you go to a company, you might have to negotiate with HR for ages for even a 4,000 yuan salary."

Yuan Meng slowed her pace.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" She looked at him, her heart already racing.

Chen Jianghe stopped and turned to face her.

The streetlights shone down from above, illuminating Yuan Meng's face clearly.

Her eyes were bright, not because of the light, but because of some kind of premonition.

"I have several video accounts, a Taobao store, and now I've also partnered with Bilibili," Chen Jianghe said. "There's so much to do, I can't handle it all by myself. I need someone who's good at planning, can implement plans, and is reliable to help me."

He paused.

"Yuan Meng, I would like to invite you to join my studio."

Yuan Meng opened her mouth, but didn't say anything.

"This isn't a part-time job, it's a full-time one," Chen Jianghe continued. "I need you to be in charge of the studio's planning work—video content planning, brand collaboration proposals, and future consulting projects. As for salary, it's a base salary of 5,000 plus project commission. There's a one-month probation period, and after that, the base salary is 8,000."

Yuan Meng's eyes widened slightly.

Eight thousand.

Her father worked in a factory in their hometown county for twenty years, earning just over eight thousand a month.

"You don't need to answer me now," Chen Jianghe said. "Go back and think about it. Just give me an answer next week."

"No need for next week." Yuan Meng's voice was a little tense, but she tried to sound calm. "I can give you an answer right now."

Chen Jianghe looked at her.

"I'll join," Yuan Meng said, speaking much faster than usual, "but I have one condition."

"What are the conditions?"

"Don't lie to me." She looked at him, her gaze as serious as if she were signing a contract. "I will do everything you say. But don't give me empty promises. If you say eight thousand, then it's eight thousand; if you say commission, then it's commission."

Chen Jianghe smiled.

It wasn't a polite smile; it was a smile that came across as one who had been hit where it hurt, a smile tinged with helplessness.

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Yuan thought about it and realized that it really didn't exist.

He said the milk business plan could make money, and it did.

"So...when do I start work?" she asked.

"tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" Yuan Meng's eyelids twitched. "I have class tomorrow."

"No classes this afternoon." Chen Jianghe took out his phone and checked his schedule. "Tuesday afternoon is free. Come to A01 at three o'clock, and we'll discuss the projects we're currently working on."

Yuan Meng nodded, her heart still beating fast, but not in a nervous way.

It's that kind of speed... like finally getting something.

"Then I'm going back to sleep." She took two steps back, turned around and walked a few steps, then stopped and looked back at him.

"Chen Jianghe".

"Um?"

"Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you... for thinking I'm worth eight thousand dollars."

She turned and left as soon as she finished speaking, walking quickly as if afraid of being caught up.

Chen Jianghe stood under the streetlight, watching her figure disappear at the entrance of the dormitory building. Then he took out the pack of Red Nanjing cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and put it in his mouth without lighting it.

A night breeze blew in from the playground, carrying the scent of early summer grass.

He bit the filter twice, put the cigarette away, and turned to walk towards the boys' dormitory.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

A message from Yuan Meng:

[Yuan Meng: I can't sleep.]

[Chen Jianghe: Because of eight thousand yuan?]

[Yuan Meng: No. Because you said, "You need me."]

Chen Jianghe: That's true.

There was a long silence on the other end.

Then a line of text popped up:

[Yuan Meng: Can you please not take things so seriously?]

Chen Jianghe: No.

Yuan Meng: ...

[Chen Jianghe: Go to bed early. Don't be late for 3 PM tomorrow.]

Yuan Meng: Okay.

Chen Jianghe locked the screen and turned off his phone.

Starting tomorrow, the studio will no longer be his responsibility alone.

I have a partner now.

He pushed open the dormitory door. Wang Lei was playing a game and didn't even turn his head: "Old Chen, were you chatting with Yuan Meng over on the playground just now?"

We chatted for a few minutes.

"What are you talking about?" Wang Lei's mouse clicked loudly.

"Let's talk about work."

"Oh." Wang Lei clearly didn't believe it, but didn't ask any further questions.

-----------

The next morning, it was a professional course.

When Teacher Luo entered the classroom, she had a stack of red flyers in her hand.

She handed out the forms to the first row of each group and told them to pass them on to the next group.

"Class, I have something to tell you." She stood on the podium, turned on the projector, and a line of large characters appeared on the screen:

Notice of Entry for the 15th National College Student GG Art Festival - College Award

"This competition, known in the industry as the 'Academy Award,' is one of the highest-level competitions for college students' majors nationwide," Professor Luo said calmly. "Participating schools include the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the China Academy of Art, Nanjing University of the Arts, Communication University of China, Zhejiang University of Media and Communications, Xiamen University, and so on."

A low murmur arose in the classroom.

"The competition is divided into five categories: print, film, planning, copywriting, and interactive. Each category will have one gold prize, two silver prizes, three bronze prizes, and several shortlisted prizes."

Teacher Luo turned to the next page, which showed screenshots of award-winning works from previous years.

"This competition is highly prestigious. Winning the gold medal is basically like getting a ticket to 4AGG. One of my students from the previous year won the silver medal in the planning category and was directly hired by Ogilvy in Shanghai after graduation."

When she said "Ogilvy," the classroom visibly quieted down for a moment.

Ogilvy is one of the world's top GG companies.

For students of Suzhou Arts and Crafts, that was something from another world.

"You can review the homework assignments yourself at home. The official website has a detailed list of questions." Teacher Luo turned off the projector and clapped her hands.

"I only want to say one thing—I hope you will at least form a team to participate. I don't expect you to win an award, but at least give it a try. Because if you don't do it, people from other schools will. Rather than waiting until you graduate and being outdone by them, you should compete with them now."