After Transmigrating Into a Book, I Was Played by the Black Lotus – Chapter 10

Hurricane

A lamb enters the tiger’s den

Lin Xingzhu glanced back strangely.

For the past few days, whenever she stepped into the entrance of Xingyuan Yinheng¹, she always felt like someone was peeking at her from behind. But when she turned around, there was no one on the spacious, bright, tree-lined avenue.

Clutching her thermal flask, Lin Xingzhu stepped into the company building, puzzled.

It had been a week since Lin Xingzhu had been parachuted into Xingyuan Yinheng. She originally wanted to be an ordinary employee, to slack off and drift through life², but unexpectedly, Father Lin hadn’t given her a chance to be a salted fish³ at all. He had directly pulled some strings and arranged a position for Lin Xingzhu that made it impossible for her to keep a low profile.

To be honest, Father Lin’s nepotism⁴ was really detrimental to the company’s development.

But perhaps Father Lin didn’t take this game company seriously.

Lin Xingzhu sipped her warm goji berry tea from the thermal flask, her thoughts wandering.

With her free hand, she flipped through a document. Although it was just a prototype, Lin Xingzhu had carefully reviewed the project proposal yesterday, and the game’s prospects were quite good.

Lin Xingzhu had never been involved in the gaming industry before. In her previous life, she was raised by the Qin family according to the standards of an heiress. If nothing unexpected happened, she would have entered the family business after graduation, climbing the ladder step by step according to Father Qin’s plan. And although the Qin family had many enterprises, they had never ventured into the gaming industry.

Later, although Lin Xingzhu left the Qin family, the work she engaged in was also completely unrelated⁵ to games.

The original owner’s major was somewhat related to games, but Lin Xingzhu sifted through her memories and found that it would have been better if those memories didn’t exist.

She closed the file and, carrying her thermal flask, headed to the conference room at the scheduled time.

“Did you hear? The art for our new game is going to be outsourced.”

“I heard some grapevine news about it before. But that’s normal, our art team really sucks⁶.”

Lin Xingzhu keenly noticed the disdain in the speaker’s eyes.

Another girl also had an expression that was hard to put into words: “So why do all those designers with normal aesthetics undergo a drastic style change once they join our company?”

“…Is it because our company has unique Feng Shui⁷?”

“…”

“It seems there’s no other reason…”

“No, perhaps there is…”

Lin Xingzhu didn’t hear the rest clearly, but she heard their complaints loud and clear.

So, the unique Feng Shui was the reason for Xingyuan Yinheng’s distinctive character CGs and landscape CGs?

Lin Xingzhu vaguely had an epiphany.

This also explained why Xingyuan Yinheng often released works with aesthetics that were explosively ugly.

Having been with the company for a week, Lin Xingzhu had also played a few games produced by them. To be honest, if it weren’t for their novel settings and anti-cliché⁸ plotlines, she really couldn’t have endured looking at those uniquely ugly graphics for even an hour.

What was even more outrageous was that if you looked at those uniquely ugly things for a long time, you would somehow start to think they were quite good-looking.

Even much later, you’d find them to have a unique charm.

This was downright aesthetic kidnapping⁹!

She blinked and followed the people in front of her into the conference room.

The theme of this meeting was the development and design of the new game. The core parts had already been discussed by everyone last week; this meeting was to refine and supplement the existing plan.

When the meeting reached its middle to late stages, the speaker suddenly mentioned the art design required for the game.

Lin Xingzhu’s back straightened; sure enough, she received an intense gaze from the front.

“…Currently, we have screened several studios with an intention to cooperate, such as Zhumei¹⁰, Tianyou¹¹, Ranqi¹²…”

“I will have someone distribute the materials for the studio screening and assessment later.”

After the meeting ended, Lin Xingzhu, following Manager Sun’s¹³ gesture, went with her to the office.

A cup of hot tea was handed to her. Manager Sun, who had been stern-faced in the conference room just moments ago, now had a gentle expression. “How are you adjusting to the company?”

Lin Xingzhu cupped the hot tea in her hands. “Very well. The company atmosphere is harmonious, and although there’s a lot of work, it’s very organized. Moreover, with your guidance and help, I feel this place suits me very well.”

The smile on Manager Sun’s lips deepened; she was clearly pleased with Lin Xingzhu’s words.

She had struggled for many years to climb to the position of General Manager, while Lin Xingzhu, this young upstart, had been directly parachuted in as Vice General Manager. Anyone else would naturally be extremely wary of this person who was clearly going to share her power.

But Sun Li was different. She knew Lin Xingzhu was Father Lin’s successor and would inevitably inherit the Lin Corporation in the future. Her current stint at Xingyuan was merely to gild herself¹⁴ or gain some experience¹⁵. Therefore, her rival was never Lin Xingzhu.

Moreover, although rumors said Lin Xingzhu was a profligate dandy¹⁶ who indulged in eating, drinking, and merrymaking, and knew nothing, Sun Li’s observations over the past week revealed that she didn’t seem to be as the rumors described.

“It’s good that you like it here.” Sun Li said with a smile, “If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me. Although I’m not particularly talented, I’ve been in this industry for nearly twenty years, so I do have some commonplace advice¹⁷ to offer.”

Lin Xingzhu smiled and nodded.

Look at how well this person spoke. She didn’t mention a single word about Father Lin telling her to pay more attention to Lin Xingzhu, yet her actions demonstrated it in every way.

The two exchanged pleasantries in a rather good atmosphere for a while before Sun Li revealed her true intention for asking her over.

“You also know that this game is currently the focus of our upcoming work. The company doesn’t plan to use internal resources for the art design part of this project, but rather to find cooperative partners.”

Sun Li took a sip of her lukewarm tea and said unhurriedly, “How about you take charge of this task?”

Lin Xingzhu’s heart stirred slightly, and she nodded. “Alright.”

Sun Li smiled. “Young people have young people’s aesthetics. I feel at ease entrusting this important task to you.”

Although Lin Xingzhu didn’t understand games, she understood basic project operations. Judging by the company’s current attitude, if nothing unexpected happened, the company would heavily invest resources into this game in the coming period.

And Sun Li choosing to give her this task was clearly to make the Lin family successor’s resume a bit more impressive.

Her thoughts flashed by in an instant. Lin Xingzhu smiled and nodded. “Rest assured.”

Sun Li watched her departing figure, her gaze slightly dazed as she recalled the confidence Lin Xingzhu had shown when accepting the task.

“Zhumei, Tianyou, Ranqi…” Lin Xingzhu’s fingertip tapped each name in turn, finally landing on the last name on the list.

—Hurricane.

Hurricane Studio¹⁸, its fame had soared six years ago, and it was now one of the well-known art studios in the industry.

Its founder, with her unique design philosophy and style, had quickly stirred up a hurricane in the traditional art design world. All works produced under its banner were as exquisite as art, and its styles were varied, novel, and unique.

Lin Xingzhu slowly murmured a name: “Mu Muqing¹⁹.”

Mu Muqing, the person in charge of Hurricane Studio, and also the primary gong with a significant role in the early to mid stages of the original novel.

Mu Muqing looked at the girl before her, a hint of admiration appearing on her usually indifferent face.

“I’ve seen your work. Your expressiveness is excellent, and your art style has matured. It proves that I didn’t misjudge when I hired you.”

Her tone shifted. “It’s just that the style of your latest work seems a bit different from before.”

The pleated blinds in the office were bright and clear. Looking out, one could clearly see the tall office building across the road.

Bai Xiying withdrew her gaze and looked at Mu Muqing, who was dressed in a black women’s suit, her expression unchanging. “I want to try a new style.”

Mu Muqing nodded as if in understanding. “That’s very good. Young people should try more things.”

After speaking, she lowered her eyes to look at this girl, as fragrant and pure as a jasmine flower, a strange glint flashing past her eyes. Then, she chatted casually, “You’ve been at the company for a week now. How’s your experience?”

Bai Xiying still had a smile on her face. “Very good. My colleagues are taking good care of me.”

Mu Muqing frowned almost imperceptibly, then quickly smoothed it out when Bai Xiying looked over.

“Not bad.” She nodded. “The studio’s regular dinner gathering is this Friday night. Remember to come.”

After Bai Xiying turned around, Mu Muqing silently watched her back slowly disappear beyond the doorframe, a hint of imperceptible possessiveness in her eyes.

She raised her left hand to loosen the button at her collar, and as it moved, a faint red mark on the side of her neck flashed by.

So, looking at it this way, Bai Xiying was currently a lamb entering the tiger’s den?

Lin Xingzhu closed the file. She remembered that Bai Xiying had joined the company last week, and that company was Hurricane Studio.

According to the original plot, after she joined, Mu Muqing discovered that the person she had a one-night stand²⁰ with at the bar was now her subordinate. Whether it was the plot’s design or Bai Xiying being too attractive, in short, the two of them subsequently began an office romance filled with intertwined love and hate.

Oh no, Lin Xingzhu thought, to be precise, it wasn’t an office romance, but office “action” with a friend with benefits²¹.

Looking at it this way, Lin Xingzhu didn’t know if Bai Xiying felt miserable, but Lin Xingzhu thought she truly was.

She had to meet KPIs²² at work, and after work, she still had to meet KPIs.

Sometimes, she even had to meet both types of KPIs during work hours.

But the thought of this happening to Bai Xiying made Lin Xingzhu’s hand, holding the pen, tremble slightly. She was unaware that the pen had drawn a long ink mark beneath it.

Lin Xingzhu didn’t eat at the company cafeteria for lunch but went to a nearby restaurant instead.

Xingyuan was located in a science park. There were few pedestrians around, and since most companies had their own cafeterias, there weren’t many restaurants in or around the science park. The one Lin Xingzhu was going to was discovered when she had food delivered a couple of days ago.

At that time, she had ordered a soup, but by the time it was delivered, the soup had lost its optimal tasting time. So, Lin Xingzhu decided to dine in at the restaurant today for lunch.

The restaurant wasn’t far from the company. Lin Xingzhu couldn’t be bothered to drive again, so she simply turned on her navigation and walked over.

Just as she stepped into the restaurant’s entrance, a familiar person walked towards her.

Lin Xingzhu looked at the girl before her, whose good figure couldn’t be hidden even by ordinary black clothes and white pants, and raised an eyebrow. “You work nearby?”

Bai Xiying, who was about to step out, subtly retracted her foot.

“Yes.” Bai Xiying said softly, “Long time no see, Lin Xingzhu.”

Her voice was clear and sweet, and upon closer listen, it seemed to carry a subtle, cloyingly sweet hook.

It hooked people, making them want her to say a few more words just to hear that heart-trembling voice.

Lin Xingzhu lowered her eyes, looking at her without saying a word.

The atmosphere suddenly froze for a moment.

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