Livestreaming the Hunt - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: An Exemplary Employee

“Straighten your tongue if you’re not scared, then… hearing you… s-s-stammer… is tiring me out!”

Wang Kui mimicked Zhao Zhongheng’s tone to tease him and ease the air between them.

“Get off!”

Zhao Zhongheng growled, turning to shoot him a glare. “What was it, anyway!”

“I want you to resign!”

Wang Kui dropped a bomb with his very first words. “Didn’t I tell you on WeChat that I was livestreaming over at Lü Liang!?”

“You did, but so what? What does my job have to do with you? I’m an exemplary employee at the company—are you going to feed me after I resign?”

Zhao Zhongheng shook his head and sneered. Unlike Wang Kui, who was a dropout, he was a graduate of information media, and he was much more of an expert.

“Old Kui, you can’t dive into things blindly. You weren’t even the one who posted that TikTok video. How long do you think your fame could last? There are so many new trends on media platforms that audiences would only be briefly entertained and forget all about it in the blink of an eye. Who would care to remember you!”

“Just look at our own company—how much capital has been invested across how many accounts? Not to mention that in the end, all we got was an average following. So, let me ask you this: how much were the gifts you received worth after streaming for two days?”

“I didn’t check…”

Wang Kui had not even finished his sentence when Zhao Zhongheng interrupted him with an ‘I-knew-it’ look and said, “What did I say? No hope now, is there?”

“I was able to withdraw forty-seven grand anyway, although it is still deductible…”

“Papa! When are we going to sign a labor agreement, hmm?”

There was silence just then as Big Butt licked its lips behind.

Hesitating for three seconds, Wang Kui then put up his thumb. “What an exemplary employee!”

“Hah! I’m just adaptable!”

The two men had gone through this routine endlessly over the last three years, and Zhao Zhongheng’s eyes lit up now. “Moreover, I’ve always set my ambition on entrepreneurship. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do!”

“Grr… Arf!”

Perhaps he was being too loud or Big Butt actually understood what he was saying, the wolfdog barked right then.

“Big Butt, no!”

Wang Kui quickly scolded it, knowing how scared his friend was of the dog.

“Hold on… What did you just call it?”

It was as if Zhao Zhongheng had discovered a whole new world.

“Big… Big Butt?”

Wang Kui himself stammered at the mere mention of the name, and he ended up revealing everything about Big Butt’s naming process.

“Pfft… Hahaha…”

Unable to hold back, Zhao Zhongheng burst out laughing halfway through.

Big Butt appeared upset with his laughter, and hence, it started barking away endlessly from the back.

“Hahaha! Big Butt must be jealous—don’t worry, brother. Old Kui’s butt will be saved for you, and I promise I won’t touch it. Okay?”

“Watch the road! Otherwise, I’m letting Big Butt loose on you!”

Wang Kui snapped at him, and Zhao Zhongheng promptly shut up.

They drove away from the airport and into the city.

Shenyang at night was brightly lit. Rows of towering buildings could be seen outside the car window, heavy traffic filled the streets, and white-collar workers were all hurrying along the pedestrian paths.

Wang Kui actually felt out of place just then.

Just four days ago, he had been a part of all this.

But now, after experiencing the freedom and thrill of hunting deep in the mountains, his heart was like a wild horse freed from its bonds. He was not going to return to his monotonous life as an office worker.

After finding a grill stall, they had a rather carefree meal before discussing their resignations.

The supervisor had informed Wang Kui that he was fired after he had been away without leave for three days. Likewise, Zhao Zhongheng was prepared to resign the very next day and invest in Wang Kui’s studio.

Yes.

He was ready to register a studio as a small-scale personal business, and this would cost just ten thousand dollars. With this, future negotiations with Tigerfish would be equal to having a guild’s backing, which was a stronger advantage negotiation than signing an individual contract.

As for Zhao Zhongheng… his media skills were not bad, and Wang Kui did need a director to assist him.

Just like how it had been mentioned before, all sorts of situations could occur when one was out in the wild. There was no way Wang Kui himself could constantly interact with everyone, and activities such as lottery, background music, live comments, and various special effects would be troublesome if he had to do everything on his own.

Moreover, someone has to handle various social media accounts and scheduling.

“After I resign tomorrow, let’s go look for a broker regarding an office!”

As he spoke, Zhao Zhongheng held a meat skewer in front of Big Butt’s cage to tempt it, only ever stopping short of giving it to the dog as if to exact revenge for almost having his finger bitten.

Oddly enough…

Although Big Butt had a good look at the meat skewer, it did not appear expectant. Through it all, it quietly remained in its cage, unlike other dogs which would start gaping, drooling, and wagging their tails at the sight of meat, as if they could not wait to eat it.

“Hah! Is Big Butt trained so well that it is not even tempted by meat? Does it eat protein powder every day?”

Zhao Zhongheng scratched his head, puzzled.

“Protein powder? What do you take Big Butt for?! Professional hunting dogs are incredibly disciplined, and it would not make a false move without my orders unless you provoked it or me!”

Wang Kui promptly pushed back Zhao Zhongheng’s meat skewer.

“Fine, I’ll provoke you instead!”

Zhao Zhongheng was terrified inwardly at the sight of Big Butt’s muscular frame and ferocious appearance.

***

After they were done eating, both men returned to their own homes.

Even though Wang Kui’s house was in Shenyang, he had rented an apartment at the center of the city so that he did not have to travel far from his previous workplace.

Once he opened his door…

Gah!

After being away for four days and without anyone ventilating the house, the interior smelt dusty.

Wang Kui promptly opened the window to let some fresh air in.

The living room was not wide, but it was large enough for Big Butt to stay.

Perhaps because it had been in the cage for an entire day, it climbed out impatiently once the cage was unlocked. It shook its head and body, breathing in short rapid gasps.

In such situations, any dog would be running around the house.

However, without orders from their owner, a hunting dog like Big Butt would not move around on its own.

“Move around as you like. I’ll take you out for a walk tomorrow. Eat something for now!”

Wang Kui rubbed its head to relax it and took out a huge thighbone that he had brought back from the grill stall.

Hunting dogs were mainly carnivorous, and they were the sort that would eat prey whole, bone and all. That was how they fully trained their teeth and jaw muscles, strengthening their offensive ability.

“Do not enter the bedroom without my orders. Get it? Or I’m kicking you!”

Wang Kui pointed at his bedroom and then gestured with a kick.

That asserted his position as the master.

After all, a hierarchy had to be established even if one shared a strong bond with their own hunting dog. Otherwise, given their temperament and ferocity, it would resist once it disowned you as its master, even acting on its own!

With the arrangements complete, Wang Kui started to wash up.

When he returned to the bedroom, Big Butt was fiercely gnawing at the bone—one edge had already been chewed through.

Closing the door, he planted his head on his bed and sent some short replies to the WeChat messages he had not responded to over the last few days, and he offered a clear explanation, especially to his family’s WeChat group.

[Ding!]