Chapter 35: Taking Away the Foundation

During the latter half of the press conference, Pan Jieying drifted through in a daze. Quan Baoya’s remaining nine songs were, of course, just as lively, sweet, and wonderfully healing as the first, but to Pan Jieying, they all blurred together, indistinguishable from one another. All she knew was that the anxiety she’d suppressed since early morning had been completely soothed by the comfort of the night. The worries she’d harbored about Gu Cheng taking on high-risk ventures had finally dissipated, leaving her at ease.

“Just look at that gentle, jade-like grace—what a good girl. And so rare to be this beautiful. I wonder about her family background, though.”

Leaving the concert hall, the two strolled back to the hotel. Pan Jieying walked with her head down, cradling a bottle of soju, muttering her thoughts aloud.

Gu Cheng gently patted his cousin’s shoulder. “Do you really think she’s that pretty?”

“Of course!” Pan Jieying replied with conviction. “Isn’t she? She’s adorable, healing, full of energy—honestly, she’ll be at least twice as pretty as me in the future. If it were Xiaoya, I’d absolutely approve of her as my sister-in-law.”

Gu Cheng was speechless, shooting a look of mild disdain at his slightly tipsy cousin. “What are you talking about? Don’t drag kids into this.”

Pan Jieying’s expression darkened as she prepared to lecture him, but suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind and she brightened, exclaiming, “Ah! I get it now!”

Gu Cheng asked, “What did you figure out this time?”

Pan Jieying’s eyes gleamed with mischief as she adopted a tone of faux wisdom. “The women other women think are beautiful, men might not find attractive. It’s the women who make other women jealous that men find beautiful. So, it’s perfectly normal you don’t see it—Xiaoya’s beauty is something only women truly appreciate.”

Gu Cheng wanted to refute her twisted logic but found himself at a loss for words. On further thought, he realized there was some truth to it.

Quan Baoya’s charm was simply astonishing to the eyes of fujoshi and yuri fans. In the years to come, seven or eight out of every ten paying fans of hers would be women—she was, above all, cool, cute, and spirited, rather than alluring or seductive.

“Fine, I can’t win with you. Let’s drop it.” Gu Cheng decided not to argue further and gently changed the subject. “Feeling better after the concert?”

Pan Jieying, her words tinged with the warmth of drunkenness, smiled foolishly. “Much better. A good night’s sleep, and I’ll have forgotten everything.”

...

Gu Cheng and Pan Jieying returned to their hotel, passing the night in silence.

The next day, it was time to get down to business—acquiring the rights to “Legend.” After tidying up, Gu Cheng called his “inside source,” Cherry, arranging to meet for lunch and to see what information he could glean.

They chose the same pig’s trotters restaurant on Yeouido where Gu Cheng had first invited Cherry.

When the three met, Gu Cheng introduced his cousin to Cherry. Upon learning Pan Jieying was Gu Cheng’s cousin, Cherry relaxed considerably, her guarded look melting away.

“Sister Che, with the bubble burst recently, has your company changed much?” Gu Cheng asked directly, pouring Cherry a drink.

Looking tired but forthright, Cherry replied, “Things aren’t going well. The online adaptation of Legend isn’t finished—there’s still about a month’s worth of coding, and no closed beta testing has been done. Tech stocks have all plummeted lately. We haven’t gone public, but two investors have already withdrawn their future funding. The company’s cash flow for some projects is nearly broken, and some have to be cut.”

Gu Cheng and Pan Jieying exchanged a meaningful glance and smiled knowingly.

It seemed triggering the internet bubble collapse a few months early had its advantages. If history had run its course, by the time the bubble burst naturally, WEMADE would have had the online version of Legend fully developed. Thus, in the parallel timeline, Chen Tianqiao had to pay a hefty price for the rights.

Now, with WEMADE’s cash flow shattered ahead of schedule, several projects were left unfinished.

Buying a half-completed online game would, of course, be far cheaper than buying a finished product.

Understanding the cause and effect, Gu Cheng asked, “Is Legend one of the projects on the chopping block?”

Cherry hesitated and squirmed. “Gu, you... you don’t think I’m disloyal to my company, do you? I just get along well with you.”

Gu Cheng raised a hand to stop her. “Don’t worry, I know. I don’t think you’re unreliable. Besides, even if you’re only telling me because you think I’m handsome, so what? I believe no one in the global internet industry is more handsome than me, so I’m not afraid you’ll betray me in the future, am I right?”

“Uh...” Cherry was left speechless.

Even Pan Jieying couldn’t help but cover her face in embarrassment.

How mortifying! And yet, why did it almost make sense?

After six months in this world, Gu Cheng had finally grown used to it: women were loyal to him simply because he was handsome, and he saw nothing wrong with that.

Cherry was stunned for a long time before finally admitting, “The company does have a backup plan to cut the Legend project, but it hasn’t been implemented yet. Right now, it’s just delayed—if nobody buys it in the next few months, it’s very possible it’ll be scrapped.”

“Thank you, Sister Che. I knew you were a good person. So, are you interested in working with me? You’re the lead planner for Legend at WEMADE, aren’t you? No matter what, I’m going to buy this game and give you the budget you need to finish it.”

Gu Cheng was openly poaching her.

Only four months ago, it was Cherry who had tried to poach him, trying to recruit him to WEMADE.

Cherry hesitated, uneasy. “The company is in trouble. Jumping ship now seems disloyal. And I’m not just the lead planner for Legend—I’m the product manager now. Since the project was delayed, the former senior manager was reassigned, and I’ve been temporarily filling in.”

“That’s even better! There’s nothing disloyal about it—they were already planning to cut the project you’re working on. Even if it hasn’t been officially axed, you’ve done all you could. Who knows, maybe your resignation will save them from having to pay compensation for layoffs.”

“If I wanted to use you, I could have you stay there as my mole, paying you kickbacks to help with the deal. But I don’t want to put you in a difficult position. So, I hope you’ll resign from WEMADE before I go through with the purchase.”

Gu Cheng spoke with complete honesty, and his eyes were clear and sincere.

Cherry struggled for a long while, then sighed deeply. “Alright, I’ll try resigning and see if President Park tries to keep me. If the company isn’t sorry to see me go, then I’ll have no regrets.”

Gu Cheng pulled a thick envelope from his bag and pressed it into Cherry’s hands.

Inside was ten million won.

“What’s this for?”

“I’m encouraging you to resign—it’s a risk for you. This is about six months of your salary; consider it an advance on my offer to you.”

“I trust you,” Cherry protested.

“I’d feel uneasy if you didn’t take it,” Gu Cheng insisted.

Cherry hesitated, but at last, accepted the envelope.

After lunch, they parted ways. Cherry returned to the company, preparing to hand in her resignation.

Pan Jieying pondered for a while, then asked, “Why have her resign early?”

Gu Cheng replied gravely, “If one of the key people on the Legend project leaves, WEMADE will be even less optimistic about its prospects. In most internet companies, the big boss doesn’t really understand all the projects or accurately judge their value; they mostly rely on the specific product managers’ reports and boasting.”

“When I come to buy it, I might be able to negotiate a better price. Also, I can say that after resigning, Cherry reached out to me about the project, helping her reputation as well.”

Pan Jieying considered this and sighed. “True, it’s the most elegant solution besides having her stay as your mole. It considers the acquisition price and saves her any embarrassment—no need to betray her former employer outright.”

...

Cherry returned to WEMADE, sitting blankly at her desk all afternoon, her mind in turmoil. Internet companies typically finished late, but that night Cherry stayed even later than usual.

It was only around eight or nine o’clock, when most of her colleagues had left, that she finally mustered the courage to walk into the boss’s office.

In her hand was the freshly printed resignation letter.

The president was discussing with the marketing director, Park Youngkwan, which projects to cut—decisions made entirely based on market response and client interest.

Seeing Cherry enter, the president asked sternly, “Cherry, what are you doing here so late?”

Weighed down by his authority, Cherry’s voice was barely audible. “President, Director, I came to hand in my resignation…”

Saying the words, she felt a strange lightness, as if a great burden had been lifted.

In East Yi’s internet companies, there was a lack of flat management, with rigid seniority hierarchies. For a “junior” who’d only graduated two years ago, it was hard to get by.

The president didn’t seem particularly attached to Cherry, giving her a look of natural authority. “Resignation? Things are tough and we haven’t even started layoffs, yet you’re the one resigning?”

Cherry bowed her head even lower. “I’m sorry! I know this puts the company in a hard spot, but I have strong feelings for Legend. I don’t want to stay here and watch the project get delayed.”

It was a reasonable excuse—at least it showed some loyalty.

You delayed her project, so she resigned; it was simply a matter of diverging paths.

“So you’re using the project to threaten the company? Fine, I accept your resignation today!”

The president didn’t care if the project was really being cut. For an employee to use a project as leverage was intolerable in East Yi. The country simply lacked the flat structure the internet industry required; rigid traditions stifled natural growth.

Cherry let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, President! I didn’t mean to betray the company. I have another plan—a few months ago, a client from Huaxia contacted us about Legend’s overseas rights. I was the one who introduced him. If I’m free, I’ll go to Huaxia and ask him to buy Legend. That way, the company can recoup its development costs, and the project can have a future.”

“That’s no longer your concern! Go to HR tomorrow and finish the paperwork!”

With that, Cherry was dismissed from the office.

A wave of anxiety swept through her.

She had cut off her own retreat; was she really going to have to work in a foreign country? The thought was dizzying.

“I don’t even speak Chinese—how am I supposed to work with my new colleagues? This is so frustrating.”