readsfreenovel Chapter 170 Renting TUTU's Office Space
Chapter 170 Renting TUTU's Office Space
Seventeenth floor of an office building in Shanghai.
"Mr. Lu, this floor is 800 square meters, and basic partitions have already been done according to your requirements," the real estate agent enthusiastically introduced. "This side is the office area, and that side can be converted into a meeting room and lounge area. The natural light is excellent, and the view is also great..."
Lu Ran followed behind the agent, looking around at the place that would soon become TUTU Technology's first official office.
The empty, unfinished space still had a faint smell of paint.
Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting bright spots of light on the floor.
Looking at the environment before him, Lu Ran was very satisfied.
"This floor it is," Lu Ran decided. "When can we sign the contract?"
Upon hearing Lu Ran's words, the real estate agent was overjoyed. He hadn't expected to rent out the office space so easily, after only saying a few simple words.
"Anytime! We can go back to the company to sign now!"
The agent quickly agreed, afraid that Lu Ran might suddenly change his mind, since such a big deal would bring him a substantial commission.
"Okay." Lu Ran nodded, then turned to Zhou Mingzhe beside him and said, "Senior, have you made any progress in selecting the technical team?"
After all, a team can't rely on just the two of them; there need to be a few key members who are capable.
After all, he can't do everything himself, and he would feel sorry for Yuege if he exhausted her.
Zhou Mingzhe pushed up his glasses: "Two of my former colleagues from my previous startup heard that I'm working on a new project and both want to come over. One is a top-notch front-end developer, and the other is a testing expert; their abilities are definitely not an issue."
"Then contact them as soon as possible," Lu Ran said. "Salaries will be paid at market rates, and 15% of the stock option pool will be reserved for the core team. We need to act quickly."
"Understood." Zhou Mingzhe paused, somewhat hesitantly, "But Mr. Lu, are you really not going to work at Xingyao?"
"I've already spoken to Li Mo," Lu Ran said with a smile. "I'm the executive director now, so I don't need to clock in. As long as the project produces results, nobody cares where I work. Besides..."
He walked to the window and looked at the ant-like stream of cars below: "Over at Xingyao, everyone thinks I'm neglecting my duties and busy with some kind of internet startup. Actually, it's fine this way."
Zhou Mingzhe seemed thoughtful: "Are you deliberately creating this impression?"
"I guess so," Lu Ran didn't deny it. "It's better to put people on their guard than to make them constantly on their guard. By the way, I've tried the 'Jump Jump' demo, and the feel still needs some fine-tuning. The physical feedback for jumping needs to be more realistic, and the vibration effect when landing could be more pronounced."
When it came to technology, Zhou Mingzhe immediately perked up: "I tweaked a new version last night, do you want to try it out now?"
"Open."
Immediately, the two of them took out their laptops and squatted down in the empty, unfinished room to test the game.
The real estate agents stood by, completely dumbfounded.
Watching the two young men in casual clothes pointing at the screen and muttering terms he didn't understand like "elasticity coefficient" and "collision volume," he couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Are all young people starting businesses these days so... impulsive?
Meanwhile, Star Shine Entertainment.
Li Mo pushed open the door to Lu Ran's office and found it empty.
The desk was neatly arranged, the computer was off, but the potted plants had been watered and were lush and green.
The books on the bookshelf were arranged meticulously, but there was no sign of them being read.
"Not here again?" Li Mo raised an eyebrow and asked the assistant at the door.
The assistant whispered, "President Lu has only come twice this week, once to pick up some documents and once for a short ten-minute meeting. He said he's busy with an important new project and told us to contact him by phone if needed."
Li Mo was both amused and exasperated.
This guy just got promoted to executive director and immediately started working remotely.
Although Lu Ran's presence or absence recently has had no impact on the work progress, and he can even arrange the work in an orderly manner remotely.
Meanwhile, the various projects he has been in charge of recently have also made good progress.
But no matter what, he is the head of a large department. His absence from the company for one or two weeks makes him seem a bit like the Wanli Emperor.
The board of directors was particularly lenient with him, after all, the success of "Those Years, Those Rabbits, Those Things" was there for all to see, and the official media was still recommending it, which brought immeasurable positive influence to Xingyao.
"Let him be." Li Mo shook his head. "By the way, have you found out what your CEO Lu's new project is?"
"It seems so..." the assistant said in a low voice, "He started a tech company and is making a mobile app. I heard from the animation department that President Lu even borrowed a few artists from them to draw some rabbit icons."
Li Mo was stunned.
App? Rabbit icon?
What is all this about?
He was doing so well in the entertainment industry, so why did he suddenly go into the internet business? What's going on in his head?
"Forget it, let's ignore him." Li Mo waved his hand. "As long as he keeps producing good content, he can work wherever he wants. By the way, how's the casting for 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' going?"
"Director Chen Ke has basically finalized the plans; filming will begin next week," the assistant reported. "Shen Yuege's studio's newcomers have landed six supporting roles, including Guo Fu and Cheng Ying. Xu Manxue originally wanted to play Guo Fu, but Director Chen felt her temperament was more suited to Cheng Ying, so Cheng Ying was ultimately cast."
Li Mo nodded: "Chen Ke's judgment is still good. Xu Manxue is indeed more suitable to play Cheng Ying than Guo Fu."
As he walked out of Lu Ran's office, he ran into Liu Feng from the film and television department in the corridor.
When Liu Feng saw Li Mo, his expression was somewhat strange, and he seemed to want to say something but hesitated.
"What's wrong, Director Liu?" Li Mo asked.
"Mr. Li..." Liu Feng leaned closer and lowered his voice, "Have you heard about the recent uproar surrounding Director Lu? He's started a company outside, apparently to develop social media. This... won't it have a negative impact on our company?"
Li Mo glanced at him, a half-smile on his face, and said, "Director Liu, Lu Ran is just the company's executive director; he hasn't sold himself to Xingyao. As long as he doesn't leak company secrets or harm the company's interests, it's his freedom to have personal investments outside."
"But..." Liu Feng wanted to say something more. He remembered that a department head in the company had been fired for having a side business, but things seemed different now.
Before he could figure it out, Li Mo interrupted his thoughts.
"Besides," Li Mo retorted, "the value Lu Ran brings to Xingyao far exceeds his salary. Even the board of directors doesn't care, so why are you worrying about it?"
Liu Feng awkwardly shut his mouth, but he still didn't think much of it.
In his view, Lu Ran was a typical example of someone who was not doing his job properly.
He got cocky after his promotion and went off to get involved in the internet; he's bound to fall for it sooner or later.
Once he's met with setbacks outside and slunk back, let's see how arrogant he can still be.
As for myself, this is how I earn extra money.
Liu Feng took out his phone and sent a message to a number: "Lu Ran is doing as usual, nothing unusual."
Shortly after, he received a text message on his bank card:
"Your account ending in xxxx received RMB 10 at xx hour xx minute xx second."
...