In February, the company welcomed over a dozen interns.
Interns in Neon are quite different from those in China; here, interns do not receive a salary.
Whether it's a visiting internship for freshmen and sophomores or a formal working internship for juniors, there's no intern salary. If a company provides meals and round-trip transportation, it's already considered a benevolent enterprise.
Of course, this is mainly due to the economic bubble's collapse, which led to a sharp decrease in the number of companies and an increase in people seeking work, reversing the supply-demand relationship and making it a company's market.
If it were the Neon bubble economy era of the 1980s, it would be the opposite: even with generous internship stipends, people would still choose carefully to see if the company had a future.
One can only say that Time changes too quickly.
Therefore, many companies treat interns as regular employees, giving them a lot of work. Newcomers are resilient, easy to talk to, and cheap.
After using them, it's perfectly fine not to hire them.
However, as President Qing came from a background of being a worker who experienced the harsh realities of capitalism, he treats interns quite well. Interns can receive half the salary of a formal contract, and if they perform well, they will receive an employment contract from the company in advance.
And both meal and travel allowances are provided.
In comparison, Pokeni is simply an angelic company, which has led many interns to choose Pokeni despite feeling that the company lacks fame.
One to two interns were recruited for each position, and the current number of interns is already comparable to that of veteran employees.
"President Qing, there are more and more people now."
"Indeed." President Qing nodded, placing his water cup on Ayase Akane's desk.
She glanced at it, then immediately scurried off to get more water and bring it back.
"President Qing, here's your water."
"Thank you."
Recently, to avoid changing Xiao HR, Ayase Akane has been quite proactive and hasn't complained that serving tea and pouring water is a secretary's job.
President Qing chuckled inwardly; how could a secretary's job be that simple?
If it weren't for the company's lack of money, President Qing would really like to hire a thoughtful secretary.
Otherwise, the more tasks there are, the less energy he will have.
He's been feeling increasingly fatigued lately.
Could it be...
Is it because he's approaching 30?
"Then, President Qing, should we consider moving to a larger place?" Ayase Akane asked with her eyes, "If we don't move soon, it will get a bit crowded."
"Hmm... that's true." President Qing frowned, "But where will we get the money?"
"..."
Ayase Akane was completely stumped by that remark.
President Qing, you're so unhelpful! From '90 until now, the company has clearly made a lot of money and had many famous works, but why is the account so tight?
She was even shocked that they owed the bank 1 billion Yen.
Since there's no money, there's naturally no way to move the company.
Otherwise, Ayase Akane would really like a better office environment. Everyone is practically packed together now, like chickens in a cage. If this continues, people's moods will turn sour.
"But it shouldn't be too long." President Qing smiled, "Once our Diablo is released in Europe and America, we should be able to move to a larger office floor."
"Hmm, I hope so." Xiao HR didn't hold much hope for this.
"By the way, among the new interns, are there any outstanding talents?" President Qing asked, tapping on her desk.
Xiao HR looked back, surveyed the room, and then leaned in to President Qing's ear, whispering mysteriously, "It seems they're all generally garbage."
"Pfft..." President Qing nearly spat out his water.
"Haha, of course, not entirely." Ayase Akane said with a laugh, "Sakata-san seems to have found a very good original artist. His drawing skills are incredibly impressive, but he's a bit eccentric."
"Hmm? Eccentric? How eccentric? More eccentric than Urobuchi Gen?" President Qing couldn't help but become interested upon hearing this.
"No, no, no, no one is more eccentric than Urobuchi Gen."
As she said this, Ayase Akane still felt a little guilty and glanced at Urobuchi Gen's workstation, only to see Urobuchi Gen with his arms crossed, stroking his chin, pondering something unknown.
But there's probably nothing worth looking forward to, right?
The longer Urobuchi Gen thought, the more unsettling it felt.
"That newcomer," Ayase Akane pointed towards the window.
President Qing followed the direction of her finger.
He saw a slender young man wearing black-rimmed glasses, resting his chin on his hand, looking at the sky outside.
It was like a male protagonist daydreaming in the back row during school.
President Qing couldn't help but frown.
An intern who isn't very dedicated to work?
What's the use of having high original art skills?
"He seems to particularly enjoy looking at the sky, often staring blankly at it. He's not proactive about lunch and doesn't eat with his colleagues. He goes up to the rooftop by himself to lie down and just likes to watch the clouds."
"Don't you think he's strange?" Ayase Akane said.
"Hmm, he's quite strange." President Qing silently evaluated him.
Aloof, daydreaming, passive-aggressive. Although Sakata Taiji said he has talent in drawing, this person is not suitable.
"What's his name?" President Qing asked casually.
"I remember the name, it's Shinkai Cheng."
"Huh?"
...
Hearing the name Shinkai Cheng, President Qing didn't react at first. After searching his mind for a while, he finally remembered.
Shinkai Cheng, also known by another name—
Makoto Shinkai.
This person's original name was Shinkai Cheng, and he was a typical second-generation rich kid. The Shinkai family was a very famous local family.
Makoto Shinkai was the kind of noble young master from legends who, if he couldn't make good animations, would have to go back and inherit billions of family assets.
Makoto Shinkai is very talented in drawing, and his animation production level is quite high. He was even once called the "Wallpaper Demon" because of it.
His most famous work is the animated film 'Your Name' directed by him.
'Suzume's Journey' even set a box office miracle for animated films when it was released in China.
Besides these, '5 Centimeters Per Second,' 'The Garden of Words,' 'Children Who Chase Lost Voices,''She and Her Cat'...
All are impressive animated films that people talk about with relish.
In his previous life, Makoto Shinkai joined Falcom as an intern during university and later, after graduating in 1995, went directly to work for Falcom. However, his ambition was never in the game industry, so he left to start his own animation studio.
It was at Falcom that Makoto Shinkai met his exclusive music composer—
Tianmen, Atsushi Shirakawa.
And now, both of these people have come to Pokeni.
It's truly amazing how fate works.
Makoto Shinkai and Atsushi Shirakawa were reunited, and even in his own company, which made President Qing feel a bit emotional.
"This person must be kept, no matter what," President Qing said seriously.
"Huh?" Ayase Akane looked at President Qing in surprise.
How could his attitude change so much?
For a moment, Ayase Akane even had the misconception that—
President Qing didn't really want this intern.
I didn't expect that I still misjudged President Qing's judgment!
...
At noon, President Qing and Akanishi Ken went to the rooftop together to smoke.
As soon as they arrived, they saw Shinkai Cheng lying on a chair on the rooftop, looking at the sky.
Akanishi Ken frowned slightly, "Hey, intern, what are you doing here?"
"Ah... sorry," Shinkai Cheng quickly scrambled up from the seat.
Seeing Akanishi Ken and President Qing, he quickly bowed slightly, "President Qing, Senior."
"It's fine. We disturbed you." President Qing smiled faintly, then looked up at Shinkai Cheng, "Do you smoke?"
In Neon, it's different from China; it's best not to offer cigarettes casually unless the other person asks for one, otherwise, it can easily cause resentment.
"Okay." Shinkai Cheng waved his hand, "Just one then."
President Qing smiled and didn't mind the age difference, handing him a cigarette.
Although smoking is bad for health, it has one benefit: it can quickly bridge the distance between men.
The three of them stood on the rooftop, smoking and watching the clouds roll by, feeling an indescribable sense of ease and freedom.
And at this moment, there seemed to be no sense of hierarchy or class, only the relaxed feeling after fatigue.
In Makoto Shinkai's works, there are quite a few girls who smoke, and these girls always have an indescribable charm about them.
If she wasn't a girl Makoto Shinkai had admired, Aoki Haruhi couldn't think of any reason to specifically depict the detail of smoking.
After a while, Aoki Haruhi looked at the sky and sighed, "The sky is really beautiful today."
"Huh?" Shinkai Cheng turned back and glanced at him, first with a slight surprise, then nodded heavily and smiled, "It is."
"Stars and sea, a man's romance, right?" Aoki Haruhi smiled.
"Exactly!"
...
In the afternoon, Famitsu's editor, Katayama Reiko, arrived at pokeni with a photographer.
The purpose was to interview the production team of the upcoming new work, "reverse degree person."
"This Time, Furuhara Tsubaki-sensei still doesn't want to show his face?" Katayama Reiko asked with a smile.
"Yes, I'm very sorry." Aoki Haruhi nodded, "Moreover, the entire script content was independently completed by Gen Urobuchi, even without Furuhara Tsubaki, interviewing him is the same."
Gen Urobuchi slightly raised his head, looking at Aoki Haruhi with a bewildered expression.
Good heavens, aren't you Furuhara Tsubaki?
"Oh~ Furuhara Tsubaki-sensei is really mysterious." Katayama Reiko said jokingly, "If I could get exclusive information on Furuhara Tsubaki, that would be great. Famitsu would definitely become super popular then."
"Haha..." Cold sweat immediately ran down Aoki Haruhi's back. He gave a wry smile and said, "Even without interviewing Furuhara Tsubaki, your company's magazine will still be extremely popular."
"Haha, then I'll take your auspicious words."
However, it wasn't a big problem. Katayama Reiko felt that although she couldn't interview Furuhara Tsubaki, she had already prepared for it.
Since the script was independently completed by Gen Urobuchi, there was a lot of content she could write about.
After chatting for a while, Katayama Reiko had a preliminary understanding of this game, and of course, most of it was about interviewing Gen Urobuchi's creative process.
How the game was conceived, why it was made this way, and so on.
The purpose was to provide unique and exclusive reports in the magazine.
Gen Urobuchi and Aoki Haruhi were both very cooperative, which made Katayama Reiko extremely happy.
Speaking of which, the President of pokeni is really handsome and approachable. Even though Famitsu is a small magazine that hasn't been open for long, the President always entertains them diligently and provides a lot of first-hand material.
Aside from not being able to interview Furuhara Tsubaki, President Qing is simply an angel.
"President, I've recorded almost everything. Is there anything else you'd like us to report in the magazine?" Katayama Reiko clasped her hands on her knees, smiling faintly as she looked at Aoki Haruhi.
Aoki Haruhi was already prepared, but he still pretended to think for two seconds, hesitatingly saying, "If possible, I hope to promote one more thing—"
"That is, the game 'reverse degree person' is a game very suitable for both male and female players."
"Even girls can have an extraordinary experience in it."
"Eh? A galgame that girls can also play?" Katayama Reiko let out a soft sigh.
"Yes." Aoki Haruhi nodded heavily, "We adopted an unprecedented dual-perspective mode in the game."
"Dual-perspective?"
Katayama Reiko's eyes suddenly lit up.
It was the first Time she had heard this term.
"Yes, in the game, players can choose the male protagonist's perspective or the female protagonist's perspective to experience the game." Aoki Haruhi said with a smile, "No matter which perspective is chosen to play the game, a good and complete experience can be obtained."
"Or, if possible, we hope players can try both perspectives. Besides gaining new feelings, they can also complete content that is missing in the other perspective."
Urobuchi Gen is truly a very talented and eccentric fellow.
Even though he was so unpopular with girls at the mixer and made many'straight man cancer' mistakes, the girls he wrote about had unusually delicate thoughts.
Aoki Haruhi couldn't see through Urobuchi Gen's inner world.
"Wow, if that's the case..." Katayama Reiko propped her chin, thinking quietly, then the corners of her mouth curved slightly upward.
"If that's the case, it will definitely be a good selling point."
Although the previous "Mermaid Heart" was also a galgame that girls could play, it was because that game only had a single male protagonist and a single female protagonist. From this perspective, it was a pure 1-on-1 romance.
So at that Time, Famitsu gave the evaluation of [galgame that girls can also play].
But if you delve deeper, the main perspective of "Mermaid Heart" was still the male protagonist's.
Now, "reverse degree person" surprisingly has dual perspectives for both male protagonist and female protagonist, which is clearly designed specifically for girls.
"I have to say Pokeni is really unique, especially considerate and imaginative," Katayama Reiko sighed.
"Oh, by the way," just before Katayama Reiko was about to leave, Aoki Haruhi remembered something and added, "In this game, I can reveal a tiny bit of content."
He made a gesture indicating a tiny bit.
"Players always say that Pokeni's galgame is too unfriendly to female protagonists, and there isn't a single female protagonist in any of their games who doesn't die."
"So this Time we won't be cruel. Both the male protagonist and female protagonist will live well."
"Ah?" Katayama Reiko was completely taken aback. This news was even more shocking than the dual perspective she just heard. "Really?"
"Of course it's true." Aoki Haruhi nodded heavily and exchanged glances with Gen Urobuchi next to him.
Urobuchi Gen seriously promised, "'reverse degree person' has no death, only new life."
...
Famitsu's latest issue came out and immediately caused an uproar.
Players were incredibly shocked to see [no death, only new life] in the report about "reverse degree person."
"This, this is nonsense, right? How is that possible? Is this still the Pokeni I know? They're not being cruel anymore?"
"Damn it, Pokeni used to be cruel without restraint. In both onmyoji games, the female protagonist died beyond death. In the second generation, Masakura Ling Meng still died infinitely.
At that Time, I really wanted to strangle Old Thief Furuhara.
Has pokeni actually turned over a new leaf this Time?"
"Huh? Has pokeni actually had a day of being human?"
"This doesn't seem like Furuhara Tsubaki's style."
"Could it be a mistake? Is the Producer of 'reverse degree person' actually Aoki Haruhi, not Furuhara Tsubaki?"
"It's possible. Although Aoki Haruhi doesn't have much talent, it's true that he doesn't often act cruelly."
"No, the report clearly states Furuhara Tsubaki's name."
"Huh? That's strange then. Does Old Thief Furuhara actually have a change of heart?"
"Bearing the name of Furuhara Tsubaki as Producer, plus this Gen Urobuchi script, there's no reason not to be cruel, it seems."
"Maybe it's a realization of conscience? They've done so many bad things before, were condemned by players, and now they've suddenly realized that if they kill the female protagonist again, it would be too unfair to the players, so they decided not to be cruel?"
"Hehe, I'd rather believe a dog won't eat shit."
"Whether it's true or false, we'll know when 'reverse degree person' is released."
"If either the male protagonist or female protagonist dies, I'm going to send razor blades to Old Thief Furuhara!"
"Me too!"
...
Amidst the players' shouts and doubts, Time gradually passed, arriving at February 14, 1992.
This day was the release date of pokeni's new game, "reverse degree person."
Furukawa Hirozawa and two male colleagues arrived at the store early.
"No matter how you look at it, this game is full of strong malice, isn't it?" Furukawa said, stroking the surface of the game cartridge box.
"Yeah, choosing to release it on February 14th, Valentine's Day, what does that mean?" Kinoshita frowned deeply.
Hayamikawa and Furukawa couldn't help but express their sympathy to him—
Just last month, Kinoshita's girlfriend cheated on him, and then the two broke up.
Now all three of them are single.
"Playing a galgame on Valentine's Day, there seems to be nothing more heartbreaking than this, right?" Hayamikawa sighed.
Hearing their words, even the uncle at the cashier's counter couldn't help but feel sympathetic.
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