The Future's Rising Star

By the time Su Jin arrived at SKP, it was eight in the evening, and the mall was at its busiest.

She skipped the jewelry section on the first floor and the women's clothing on the second, heading straight up to the fourth.

The fourth floor was the home furnishings section. There were fewer people, and the lighting was dimmer than downstairs, making it pleasant to walk around.

She wore a navy-blue Celine silk blouse, the bow at its collar left untied and hanging down her chest. A black Balmain blazer was draped over it, its padded shoulders holding their shape, the buttons undone. On her earlobes were a pair of round Celine metal earrings, like two flattened coins.

Fang Ying followed behind her, already carrying two bags-one held a caramel-colored Delvaux Brillant, freshly bought, with the old bag already stuffed inside; the other held a white Maison Margiela cotton shirt with a broad, flat collar, which she had asked to have wrapped without even trying it on.

Su Jin made a circuit of the fourth floor and stopped outside a fragrance shop.

The shop was small, with a black storefront. Several rows of clear glass bottles stood in the window, filled with dark brown liquid and bearing handwritten labels.

She pushed the door open and went in. There was no one inside, only a very faint scent, like a forest after rain.

She stood at the counter for a while, then picked up a bottle and sniffed it. Cedar and sandalwood, with a hint of smoke underneath, like the warmth that greeted her when she opened a fireplace door in winter after the fire had burned down to charcoal and ash. She put it down and picked up another. This one was iris and musk, clean and cold, like a freshly washed white shirt left to dry on a winter balcony all day, still crisp with cold air when brought in.

She placed both bottles on the counter and took out her card.

As she walked out of the fragrance shop, Little Golden Egg peered out from behind her shoulder and fluttered his wings twice.

[Host, you've spent far too little shopping today. At this rate, there won't be many points left.]

Su Jin narrowed her eyes, a smile curving her lips.

"Don't worry. You'll be bleeding heavily soon enough."

Little Golden Egg froze, his wings faltering for half a beat. [Bleeding heavily...?? I don't wanna die, hey!! Lady Host, I was wrong...]

Su Jin smiled without speaking.

Silly system.

Just then, Little Golden Egg grew excited again. [Host, it's time to check in!]

She stayed in the elevator, leaning against the wall as she waited for the numbers to count down.

[Ten, nine, eight, seven...]

The elevator doors opened. Someone was about to enter, but seeing her leaning inside and looking at her phone, they backed out again. The doors closed.

[Three, two, one-ding. Congratulations, host, on completing your one hundred and fifty-sixth daily check-in. Today's check-in reward: a 4.7 percent stake in the Aman Group, valued at approximately 680 million US dollars. The host becomes a member of the Aman Group's board of directors.

The host is entitled to free stays for life at all thirty-six Aman hotels worldwide. The host has voting rights on strategic decisions across the Aman Group's three major divisions: Aman Resorts, Aman Residences, and Aman Spa.]

Su Jin put her phone away and stepped out of the elevator.

Aman. She had stayed at the one in Bhutan, where five villas were scattered across Paro Valley. Each had its own meditation room facing the snowcapped mountains. At night, she could hear the copper wind chimes hanging beneath the eaves. When the wind swept in from the valley, they rang-not a tinkling sound, but a long, humming note, like a temple bell struck once, its lingering resonance rolling through the valley for a long time before fading.

In the past, staying at an Aman meant booking three months in advance and swiping a card with a very high limit. Now she was one of its owners.

Su Jin put on her sunglasses and strode out.

There's something else to play with now.

By the time she arrived at Huace Starlight, Zhao Mingyuan was already waiting in the conference room.

Two stacks of documents lay spread out in front of him: the second-round interview list for the game's technical team on the left, and the final selection list for the suspense drama She Comes from the East on the right.

Su Jin sat down at the head of the long table, placed the caramel-colored Brillant on it, and took out her phone, car keys, a lipstick, and a packet of tissues, arranging them neatly in front of her.

Zhao Mingyuan glanced at the bag. He seemed about to say something, then swallowed it back.

"President Su, there are three second-round interviews for the game team today. The first candidate works in physics simulation. She has an undergraduate degree from Zhejiang University and a doctorate from Harvard, and she interned at Pixar for a year."

Su Jin opened the file. On the first page was an ID photo of a round-faced woman in glasses who looked like a hamster.

"Send her in."

The first candidate was a young woman with a round face, glasses, and her hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a gray hoodie with "MIT" printed on it.

She stood in the middle of the conference room, her back ramrod straight, but her fingers trembled as she gripped the edge of her résumé, crumpling the paper.

Zhao Mingyuan introduced her background. Su Jin leaned back in her chair and looked at her. "What did you do at Pixar?"

The young woman spoke with a slight tremor. "I worked on a fluid simulation system to model the movement of water. In the animation, a drop of water fell from the sky, hit the surface, splashed up, spread out, and disappeared. I wrote the algorithm for that water."

"How long did that splash take you?"

"Six months."

Su Jin nodded. "Why do you want to join SJ Group?"

The young woman's eyes suddenly lit up. "Because I really love Chinese folk tales. When I heard you had this idea, I turned down other major companies because I wanted to come here and do my part."

Seeing the enthusiasm in the young woman's eyes, Su Jin smiled genuinely.

"People like you are exactly what we need. Congratulations on joining our team."

The young woman stood there, loosening her grip on her résumé. The creases remained in the paper, but she had stopped trembling.

"Thank you, President Su!"

Her steps were light as she walked out, yet full of joy.

The second candidate was a man who had worked in AR at Google for three years. He spoke rapidly, as though pressed for time, but everything he said belittled the project and praised himself. Su Jin couldn't bear to listen and quickly asked him to leave.

The third candidate was a young man.

When he pushed the door open and entered, the pen in Su Jin's hand paused.

Not because he was handsome-though he certainly was-but because of the way he came in.

He didn't stand nervously in the middle of the conference room awaiting judgment like the first two, nor did he put on a deliberately relaxed air like some people.

He walked in and swept his gaze around the room, pausing on Zhao Mingyuan for one second and Su Jin for two, then went over to the chair and sat down. He wore a gray sweatshirt, dark blue jeans, and a pair of red skate shoes.

His hair was dark brown and slightly wavy, with bangs hanging over his forehead and covering half his eyes and brows.

His features weren't delicately handsome; he had the sort of slightly aggressive good looks that made people want to take a second look.

His brow bones were prominent, his eye sockets deep, and his irises a light brown, almost transparent beneath the fluorescent lights.

After sitting down, he didn't rush to speak. He simply stared straight at Su Jin.

Beside them, Zhao Mingyuan said, "Gu Yan, doctorate in computer science from Harvard. His research focuses on procedural generation."

Su Jin lowered her head to look at his résumé. Harvard undergraduate, graduated in three years. Doctorate, completed in three years. Five SIGGRAPH papers published, two nominated for best paper.

She looked up at him with interest.

"You finished your undergraduate degree and doctorate in six years. Didn't you take a break in between?"

He nodded.

"Tell me about your procedural generation."

Gu Yan leaned back in his chair, his posture identical to hers.

"In open-world games today, the maps are drawn by hand by designers. There's nothing wrong with that, but a hand-drawn world is dead. Every time I start a new game, the world is new, but that new world follows rules.

"The player doesn't need to know geology, but when he walks through that world, he'll feel like-this world is real."

Su Jin's expression barely changed, but her gaze deepened slightly. She lowered her head and drew a circle on the document.

When she finished, she didn't look up. "You can fly to Boston tomorrow. I'll arrange a meeting for you with Sony's technical team."

Gu Shen nodded, the corners of his mouth lifting. He stood up, walked to the door, then stopped and turned back toward Su Jin.

"President Su, I have one more question."

Su Jin looked up, a little puzzled.

"Could you give me your contact information?"

Su Jin froze for a moment and looked at him for two seconds, then laughed aloud.

"Once you've made something of the game, I'll think about it."

Gu Shen looked at her, his smile widening slightly.

"Please look forward to it."

He pushed the door open and walked out.

Little Golden Egg peered out from behind Su Jin's shoulder and hovered above the table, fluttering his wings twice. [Host, when you were looking at Gu Shen's résumé just now, your pen stopped for 0.3 seconds. This system's sensors can't be wrong. The corner of your mouth curved up. By 0.5 degrees. This system measured that too.]

Su Jin ignored him and continued sorting through the résumés.

Zhao Mingyuan coughed beside her and pushed the stack of names for the suspense drama toward her.

"President Su, there are three people left in the final selection."

Su Jin opened to the first page. The first line held a name-Shen Du. Her finger paused on it for a moment.

"Send him in first."

When Shen Du pushed the door open and entered, Su Jin noticed the way he walked.

Not fast, not slow, neither tense nor relaxed.

He was the sort of person whose every step fell in his own rhythm.

He wore a dark blue linen blazer over a white T-shirt, light gray flannel trousers, and a pair of dark brown Derby shoes.

His hair was cut very short, exposing his ears and part of the back of his neck.

His features weren't striking at first glance, but they grew on you-his brows sat close to his eyes, his nose was straight, and his lips had a very subtle curve. When he wasn't smiling, the corners of his mouth dipped slightly, like someone who habitually pressed his lips together when thinking.

He stood in the middle of the conference room without expression, looking at Su Jin, in no hurry to introduce himself.

Zhao Mingyuan said from the side, "Shen Du graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. He performed in stage plays in London for two years, every performance sold out. He returned to China last year and hasn't had any good opportunities since."

Su Jin casually flipped through his file. He had no experience in film or television, only stage plays, but there was no denying that his accomplishments onstage were already first-rate.

She raised an eyebrow slightly and looked up.

"What have you performed in?" "Waiting for Godot." "Who did you play?" "Estragon."

Su Jin tilted her head, pressed her lips together, and leaned back in her chair.

"You spent two years performing stage plays in London. Why come back to China?"

He frowned and thought for a moment, then said in a low voice,

"In London, I performed other people's plays. Shakespeare's, Pinter's, Beckett's.

"Those plays are excellent, but they aren't my stories.

"I want to perform a story that can be told in English on a London stage, but has its roots in China."

Su Jin nodded slowly. "I've seen your stage work. You're very talented, but you still need to hone your skills for television dramas."

She closed the file and set it aside.

"Your audition is canceled."

Shen Du stood there without moving, but a faint disappointment appeared in his eyes.

"You can join the production directly. I know a role that suits you very well."

Shen Du looked at her, the corners of his mouth curving slightly, as though he had settled halfway between smiling and holding it back.

"Thank you, President Su. I'll wait to hear from you."

He bowed, then turned and walked out, his back straight. Su Jin watched him for a long time.

This man is a promising seedling.