Two unassuming and lifeless eight-story buildings stood alone.
After that, Liang Qingfan’s figure appeared in the frame. He walked towards one of the houses. He began to observe, survey, and sketch the room.
Design drafts began piling up on the table. Liang Qingfan picked up his coffee, but it was so deep in thought that he forgot to take a sip before he put it back down again.
Soon, hardworking construction workers entered the dilapidated buildings and got to work. They blocked the camera’s view so that the audience could not see the dilapidated buildings’ true colors from beginning to end.
As the construction workers worked, the dilapidated and damp-looking buildings changed rapidly.
The details in the design drafts on Liang Qingfan’s table began to look better and better. At last, the buildings were completed.
The audience could finally see the house for what it was. The living room was furnished in the exact same way as the house in which Chen Lei had been playing his guitar before. What had previously been hidden by editing was now revealed as well. The full-length windows proved that Chen Lei had indeed been sitting in this very house from the start.
From the entrance of the neighborhood, Chen Lei walked towards the building with a guitar on his back and a suitcase in tow.
The shot was taken from the exact same angle as when Liang Qingfan had been walking into the building before. In fact, it looked like the re-creation of a certain scene.
Finally, Chen Lei walked into the living room, sat down on the sofa, and picked up his guitar.
The singing finally stopped, and there was a moment of silence.
Once again, Chen Lei gently strummed his guitar. He ended the film with a song that had the same melody as the one at the beginning, but with different lyrics.
“No one is a lonely island / Perhaps we have never parted
“No matter how far we are / The memories never leave
“I would climb countless mountains and swim countless oceans / In order to find the person you used to be
“The neon loneliness of the city / Is proof of our companionship
“The indulgence, luxury, and vicissitudes of life / No longer matter anymore
“Let us go back to the beginning / From the bright and the sunny…”
The end and start scenes blended perfectly, forming a closed loop.
A few lines of words appeared on the screen.
“If you are tired, you might as well slow down and become a sloth.
“Don’t neglect to enjoy the prosperity of the jungle while trying to bear the weight of all of it.
“You deserve to live a better life.”
Chapter 625 - So Where Should I Rent One?
Soon, the video’s figures—including views, number of bullet screen comments, and number of messages—shot through the roof!
Fei Huang Workspace’s official account on Aili Island had already had a huge fan base due to its accumulation of short films, documentaries, and movies. As the top folk singer at the moment, Chen Lei was also in the spotlight.
The collaboration between them made ‘New Life’ spread like wildfire the moment it was uploaded!
Fei Huang Workspace did not try to interpret the meaning behind the short film on purpose. As more and more people watched it, interpretations would naturally be done.
“Is that Chen Lei’s new song? Ah, ah, ah, it’s beautiful! Why is he releasing it on Aili Island though? And on Fei Huang Workspace’s account at that?”
“Chen Lei x Fei Huang Workspace? My favorite UP Masters who update once a month and once a year respectively have collaborated! Ah, I’m dead!”
“What exactly is the purpose of this video? Is it the music video for Chen Lei’s new song or an advertisement? I think I saw the words ‘Sloth Apartments’ at the end. What does that mean?”
“Of course, they’ll collaborate! Have you forgotten that Chen Lei had written Waiting back then to market Fish-Catching Internet Cafe? Isn’t it expected and logical for him to write another song to market Sloth Apartments?”
“He’s so good at singing. I always thought that Chen Lei’s the best folk singer in the country at the moment. He doesn’t use any special effects to create this kind of flavor and resonate with everyone!”
“Does anyone understand the music video? Why did they connect the start and end scene together? The dilapidated building seems to be the same place as the living room in which Chen Lei is singing.”
The discussion carried on, and the ‘class representative’ soon stepped up to deliver a speech.
“Let me explain it! I’ve already watched the video a couple of times and took note of some details. This might be what Fei Huang Workspace is trying to express:
“First, this should be an advertisement for Sloth Apartments because it was also released on Tengda Life App. What’s more, the final words ‘if you are tired, you might as well slow down and become a sloth’ proves this, too.
“Second, there are many details in the video that all of you can observe closely.
“The chronology in the short film is actually staggered. The music video has two main leads: Chen Lei and the designer. This is what it looks like: Chen Lei sings in his house, Chen Lei strolls around Jingzhou, the designer chooses the buildings and commences renovation, Chen Lei moves into the house, Chen Lei starts singing.
“All of you have noticed that the start and end scene form a closed loop, and the start scene seems to follow very nicely from the end. This means that the entire short film’s actually a flashback.
“If I arrange the scenes in chronological order, this is how it would look like: Chen Lei strolls around Jingzhou—or shall I say wander, the designer chooses the buildings and commences renovation, Chen Lei moves into the house, and Chen Lei starts singing. That symbolizes that the wandering traveler finally settling down in Sloth Apartments.
“However, Fei Huang Workspace has employed a little technique when filming. They messed up the order on purpose and used a flashback to form a closed loop with the story. After that, they employed a special transition technique to bluff the audience. Each aerial shot hints at a change in the timeline.
“They only revealed the riddle at the end with two very strong hints in two scenes: the first is that the camera angle is exactly the same when the designer walks into the building and when Chen Lei walks into the building.
“The second is the revelation of the unique full-length window that offers a 180-degree view of the outside once the buildings are completed. Both of those went to show that the houses were one and the same, but Chen Lei and the designer entered it at different times.
“I think they employed this special order to emphasize the renovation portion! Most people might have focused on Chen Lei’s lyrics or some of the more touching footage in the short film. They might have neglected the renovation of the apartments as a result.
“Actually, the dilapidated buildings at the beginning and the completed house at the end were worlds apart! Using a flashback has the effect of presenting the old building and the new house as two parallel lines to the audience.
“At the start, people might think that they are completely unrelated, but by the end, the riddle is solved. People would learn that they were one and the same, and that would cause an unexpectedly intense reaction!
“The most exciting point is that Chen Lei’s song brings the structure of the video together perfectly! I don’t know who’s working with whom and who thought of the idea first, but the result is that Chen Lei’s song at the end has the same melody as the one at the start—just different lyrics.
“On one hand, it matches the timeline of the video, forming a closed loop.
“On the other hand, it serves as a hint: it is not just a simple loop that repeats itself. The lyrics at the start were sad, invoking sorrow and loneliness. However, the lyrics at the end became positive, bringing home. That supports the title of the video… ‘New Life’.
“That�
�s why I think there are two layers of meaning to the title ‘New Life’. One, the dilapidated building was given new life by being renovated into the Sloth Apartments and had been transformed from rotting rubbish to livable apartments.
“Two, a wanderer who has experienced too many ups and downs outside can finally start a new life by settling down in these apartments.
“In short, the advertisement is amazing! It doesn’t feel like a mere advertisement for Sloth Apartments but a tourism video for Jingzhou City!”
The long comment with an analysis of the video quickly grew in likes and shares, even from Fei Huang Workspace’s account.
That was indeed the best method of expression that Fei Huang Workspace had thought of before producing the video. While working on it, Fei Huang Workspace had shot a lot of footage with Chen Lei and Liang Qingfan.
In the end, out of more than three hours of footage that the original videographer had recorded, only two minutes was used. Fei Huang Workspace had shot the footage for the remaining three minutes or so.
However, those two minutes were just as important because they showed the process of the buildings undergoing renovation. It was a key portion of the entire short film.
Now, the promotional video that Fei Huang Workspace had produced for Sloth Apartments—’New Life’—was finally complete!
It had successfully expressed the concept behind the Sloth Apartments and resonated with many wanderers in the city. In this hustle and bustle of every city in the world, everyone wanted a space that belonged only to them and where they could rest without any qualms.
Sloth Apartments provided a place like that to people. One could choose to put down the torture of wandering around and slow down like a sloth. They would no longer have to slog their guts out in a concrete jungle just to survive, but they could return to a space that belonged solely to them. There, they could forget everything and rest.
Thus, at the end of the video, the bullet screen comments were flooded with things like ‘moved to tears’, ‘beautiful singing’, and ‘see you again at the beginning of the video’. In particular, one comment kept surfacing:
“Where can I rent an apartment like that, then?”
…
…
August 24th, Wednesday…
At 10 AM, Pei Qian woke up naturally. He did not know that Fei Huang Workspace had released a new video the night before, and he did not know that the internet had burst into a discussion over the night before and the morning.
As always, he washed up and prepared to have breakfast at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. However, when he got downstairs and walked out of the lift, Pei Qian suddenly noticed that something was amiss.
People were viewing the apartments?
The voice of the butler, Song Kai, traveled out from his room on the first floor. It sounded like he was explaining the rent, rules, and regulations of the apartment to interested customers.
At once, Pei Qian felt like he was facing a great enemy.
What the hell was happening?
To avoid being seen, Pei Qian quickly hid in the fire escape and waited for the potential tenants to leave. As he waited, he retrieved his cell phone and investigated the truth behind the matter.
He had been living here for three months, and everything had been well and good. No one had even asked about the apartments. Why were there so many people viewing them today?
Something must have gone wrong!
Indeed, when Pei Qian opened the Tengda Life App, he saw that the Sloth Apartments’ promotional video had been uploaded the night before. He also read the interpretation in the comments below.
“They uploaded a video after work yesterday?!
“These people must not have rested enough! How dare they go against the company’s regulations?!
“Er… that isn’t necessarily the case. It takes time to vet the video. Based on the time that the video was released, it seems like they had handed it in for vetting before work ended, so that vetting was completed after.”
Pei Qian had wanted to interrogate Fei Huang Workspace’s employees at first, but after studying the upload time closer, he realized that the employees were quite intelligent. They had not left anything that could get them into trouble behind.
“Huang Sibo has already gone overseas, but the video’s progress was not delayed? Ridiculous!”
Pei Qian was frustrated. He had known that it was inevitable, but the fact that it had come so quickly still shocked him.
At that moment, he heard footsteps outside. The people who had come to view the apartments seemed to be leaving.
Pei Qian pushed open the door to the fire escape and bumped into Song Kai, who was walking the customers out.
Song Kai paused.
Was Boss Pei… taking the stairs as exercise so early in the morning? Why else would he be exiting the fire escape instead of the lift? The fact that Boss Pei was not even panting showed that his stamina was quite good.
Song Kai studied him for a long time, but it still felt like something was amiss.
Not knowing about the confusion in Song Kai’s heart, Pei Qian asked, “Were those people here to view the apartments?”
Song Kai nodded. “That’s right, Boss Pei. Many people suddenly came in to view the apartments this morning. It must be thanks to the promotional video that was uploaded onto Tengda Life App yesterday.”
Looking solemn, Pei Qian asked, “So, has anyone rented an apartment so far?”
“Er…” Song Kai hesitated. “Not yet. After I explained the rent, rules, and regulations of the Sloth Apartments; everyone expressed that they wanted to go back and consider it further.”
Pei Qian celebrated inwardly. My strategy worked!
He quickly asked another question. “You didn’t employ any sales tactics while introducing the apartments, did you?”
Song Kai shook his head. “Of course not, Boss Pei. You already told me not to before. I didn’t tell anyone that you live here either.”
Satisfied, Pei Qian grinned. “Good. Keep it up!”
Chapter 626 - Debate on Sloth Apartments' Model
All the safety measures that Pei Qian had taken before were working!
When he started working on the Sloth Apartments, Pei Qian had racked his brains thinking about how to dissuade tenants from renting an apartment, so that the Sloth Apartments would be kept vacant for as long as possible.
Obviously, uploading the ruthless regulations on Tengda Life App had not been enough.
Although he had certainly dissuaded some people, there would inevitably be others who were rebellious enough to come down and see exactly what the house looked like.
Every building had its designated butler who could also be in charge of sales because they had to explain the characteristics of the apartments to customers who came down.
What if those butlers were particularly good at making sales and speaking? What if they managed to bluff customers into renting an apartment on the spot?
That was very possible!
This was because most people who had come to apply to become butlers, including Song Kai, had experience working in other rental companies—which were adept at turning people into marketing machines who could lie through their teeth.
On top of that, the Sloth Apartments had high standards of decoration and had been personally designed by Liang Qingfan. Thus, customers would have an excellent first visual impression.
Middle-aged people who preferred grandeur would not like it, but a significant proportion of young people would love it.
Pei Qian was only afraid that when customers came to view the apartments, they would see the same scene that they had witnessed in the promotional video. Coupled with the butler’s sales tactics, they could recklessly decide to sign a contract on the spot.
To prevent this from happening, butler training had become an extremely important part of the process.
Thus, Pei Qian had made sure to leave Song Kai with strict instructions from the be
ginning: he was not to use any sales tactics if people came to view the apartments. He also could not include any subjective opinion when introducing the houses or emphasize the good points of the apartments.
Instead, when customers came, the first thing that he had to do was introduce the rigid regulations. For example, they could not move the furniture in the house, they could not buy more furniture and add more storage space, they had to have entire and long tenancies, and so on.
The butler’s lack of sales tactics would naturally serve to dissuade potential tenants further.
What’s more, Pei Qian had purposely emphasized to Song Kai not to reveal the fact that the former was living in the building as well. In fact, they could not even hint at the fact that Pei Qian was living in a Sloth Apartment.
Earlier, Pei Qian had accidentally made that mistake with regard to Fish-Catching Take-Out. He could not allow history to repeat itself.
Thus, although many people had followed the address on Tengda Life App to view apartments in the morning, no one had decided to rent an apartment yet.
Pei Qian relaxed slightly. He only wondered how the other three buildings were doing.
The building that Pei Qian was living in only had one unit per story. Rent was high to begin with, and it was to be expected that ordinary people would not be able to afford it. However, each of the apartments in the other three buildings was small. Thus, rent was priced within an acceptable range for ordinary people.
He had to keep an eye on the discussion online.
The video had gone viral yesterday, but netizens had only been allowed to see a beautiful illusion. Today, some of them had gone down to view the actual apartments. Whether yesterday’s enthusiasm could be sustained or not would determine the Sloth Apartments’ fate.
Pei Qian arrived at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. As he ate, he browsed his cell phone and checked people’s comments on the Sloth Apartments.
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