We agreed not to date, so why are you crying now that I've become the richest man?

Ye Chen stared at the minimalist white "M" avatar on the screen.

"I am Xia Meng."

The short four-word note, without any further explanation, exudes an inexplicable confidence.

His private QQ account is currently only used to communicate with a few classmates and internal company employees, and is not made public at all.

The fact that the other party was able to accurately find this number indicates that their intelligence gathering capabilities are quite strong.

Ye Chen tapped the screen with his slender fingers and accepted the friend request directly.

The other person had clearly been watching the computer the whole time. Less than three seconds after the application was approved, an ridiculously long message popped up.

It was obviously edited in the clipboard beforehand and then directly copied and pasted.

"Hello Mr. Chen, I apologize for bothering you. I am Xia Meng, the Mobile Game Publishing Manager for EA (Electronic Arts) China."

"Our team has been closely monitoring Starry Sky Interactive's recent outstanding performance in overseas markets. The download numbers for Angry Sparrow and Temple Run in a short period of time are impressive. EA, as a leading global interactive entertainment software company, possesses extremely mature global distribution channels and financial reserves."

"On behalf of EA, I am formally proposing our acquisition offer. We can not only provide a valuation far exceeding current market rates, but also offer technological backing for your future products. We would like to discuss the specific acquisition offer and cooperation framework with you in detail via conference call tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM. We look forward to your response."

Ye Chen skimmed through the long passage at a glance.

His words were filled with the distinctive tone of a senior executive in a foreign company.

Professional and restrained, yet carrying an air of superiority.

If it were any small, newly established independent game studio in China, receiving an offer from a top global game company in the middle of the night, the boss would probably jump out of bed in excitement and celebrate with the team that very night.

But to Ye Chen, this passage was not even as appealing as the menu of the barbecue stall downstairs from his dormitory.

EA was indeed a behemoth in the console and PC era, but on the eve of the full-scale explosion of the mobile internet, this cumbersome elephant was extremely slow to turn around and would soon be overwhelmed by various newcomers in the mobile game era.

Moreover, Star Interactive's two games are currently generating over $200,000 in revenue daily from overseas game fees and in-app purchases alone.

Ye Chen mentally reviewed the astonishing numbers in the overseas accounts, then quickly typed on the screen with one hand, sending over a classic line that became a hit during the 09 Spring Festival Gala.

"Money's no object, let's talk about it another time."

After sending those words, he didn't even bother to look at them again. He immediately exited the chat, silenced his phone, and shoved it under his pillow.

Close your eyes and go to sleep.

What multinational giants, what premium acquisitions?

To him, it was just a spam text message that disturbed his rest.

Tomorrow we have to practice marching in 35-degree heat, so conserving our energy is the most important thing.

……

At the same time.

Inside a high-rise luxury apartment building in the heart of Shanghai's CBD, where security is extremely tight.

The night view of the Huangpu River outside the floor-to-ceiling windows is dazzling.

Xia Meng leaned back on the expensive Italian leather sofa in the living room, holding a half-glass of red wine in her left hand.

She had just finished showering and was wearing a black silk deep-V nightgown.

The fabric clung perfectly to her skin, outlining the curves of her proud, full breasts, which rose and fell gently with her soft breathing.

The hem of her pajamas was very short, and her two long, straight, beautiful legs were crossed and casually draped over the edge of the coffee table.

Without any unnecessary embellishments, the sheer visual contrast between her incredibly fair skin and black silk exudes a unique allure characteristic of a mature, sophisticated career woman.

She worked four extra hours at the company today, using a lot of personal connections in the industry and spending a lot of money to dig out "Chen's" private contact information left on a geek forum after much trouble from an overseas data agent.

She got the Penguin account first, and was confident that she had won the initiative in this battle.

A small indie game developer, suddenly offered an olive branch by a behemoth like EA, would at least show great enthusiasm and trepidation, if not gratitude.

The phone screen on the coffee table suddenly lit up.

New message reply.

Xia Meng put down her wine glass, leaned forward slightly, and a large expanse of her cleavage was about to burst out.

She picked up her phone, habitually preparing to read the other party's flattered reply, and at the same time, mentally organizing her next negotiation tactics.

Two seconds later.

Xia Meng froze on the sofa.

Eight words lay alone on the screen: "Money's no object, huh? We'll talk about it another time."

She has been working in the United States for many years and only recently returned to China for work, so she is somewhat out of touch with the local context.

She stared at the screen for a long time, but couldn't react for a while.

"Not short of money" means not short of money, so what's the meaning of adding "howling" at the end of the sentence?

Howl like a wolf?

Xia Meng was filled with questions, her delicate brows furrowed so deeply they looked like twisted ropes. She couldn't help but curse inwardly: Is this guy an idiot?!

She stared at those words in disbelief, subconsciously returned to the main interface to check her network status, and then quickly opened the other party's profile to carefully recheck the QQ number.

Did you add the wrong person?

However, the numbers match perfectly.

After confirming that she hadn't added the wrong person, Xia Meng held her phone, completely bewildered by this guy named Ye Chen, utterly unable to understand what this oddball was thinking.

The signal is at full strength.

It wasn't a network delay; the other party really only replied with those eight words!

Moreover, the profile picture went completely dark, indicating that the user had either gone offline or was in stealth mode.

Xia Meng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the feeling of frustration of "punching cotton."

"Is this person... really mentally okay?" She stared at the grayed-out profile picture and couldn't help but mutter to herself.

Having been in this industry for so long, and holding the title of EA China Mobile Game Publishing Manager, she has met all sorts of developers.

Some are arrogant, some are cautious, and some are profit-driven, but she had never seen such a bizarre person before, one who talked nonsense and whose sentences even sounded like a wolf howling.

Normally, if she encountered such an ungrateful person, she would have already blacklisted them.

But when she thought about the game's terrifying potential in overseas markets, Xia Meng swallowed her anger.

"Forget it, I won't argue with a lunatic." Xia Meng rubbed her throbbing temples, trying to reassure herself.

"Those talented indie game developers all have some quirks that are different from ordinary people. After all, geniuses have different brain circuits than normal people, so it's understandable..."

After making efforts to restore her professional skills, Xia Meng picked up her phone again.