I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

Most online games in China follow this pattern: forcing players to log in every day to clear stamina and run dungeons, using social interaction to maintain a stable player base, and introducing new monetization points with each version to entice players to spend money.

After profiting from the monetization points of the previous version, they would then develop the next version, iterating indefinitely.

If veteran players gradually leave, launch an event, spend some promotional funds, and attract a batch of new players.

Until finally, when most of the players had left and the operation could no longer continue, they shut down the server, disbanded the company, and started working on the next project.

Donghuang Qixing started with this strategy, and it has always worked.

The difference is that this time they are entering the "anime and manga" field, which is completely different from the market they have been targeting before.

That's why Tsai Chen-yi said that the company's decision this time was a risky move and that they needed to see returns as soon as possible.

This inevitably reminded Gu Yuqing of Chen Ya. Compared to the playstyle advocated by Donghuang Qixing, his "paying for love" philosophy seemed more like placing his hopes on the players' emotions.

From a player's perspective, Gu Yuqing would naturally prefer games developed by Chen Ya.

However, from an investor's perspective, Gu Yuqing felt that Donghuang Qixing's approach was more reliable.

Since the core concept of "paying for love" includes "playing without paying", from the player's perspective, if you can play without paying, why pay?

Getting something for free is human nature.

Gu Yuqing was frowning, deeply worried, while Gu Zefeng and Cai Zhenyi were having a pleasant conversation.

As the two were leaving Perfect Studio, Gu Yuqing suddenly turned back and asked Cai Zhenyi, "President Cai, I have one last question for you."

"Yuqing, ask me anything, I'll answer everything I know," Cai Zhenyi said gently.

What are your criteria for hiring employees?

Cai Zhenyi raised his eyebrows and said, "The most basic requirement is that you are a graduate of a Double First-Class University, and those with work experience are given priority."

Gu Yuqing asked, "Weren't there any transfers from other game departments at Donghuang Qixing?"

“Of course there are.” Cai Zhenyi patted the shoulder of the chief planner next to him and said, “Like our planner Zhang, he came from the ‘Chaos War’ project team.”

Gu Yuqing nodded without saying anything. The planner, Zhang, seemed somewhat helpless; it was unclear what the inside story was.

……

After finishing her work at the company, Gu Yuqing went to Chen Ya's place and told him about the "enemy situation." After hearing the last sentence, Gu Yuqing asked about the other party's recruitment standards, and Chen Ya smiled.

"Why are you still asking them this? Aren't you deliberately trying to spy on us?"

Gu Yuqing rolled her eyes at him and said, "You're the type who gets the benefit but then acts innocent. Isn't it good enough that I'm here to be your spy? Why are you being so coy?"

“This isn’t being sentimental; it’s because I care about you and I’m afraid you’ll expose me.”

After Chen Ya finished speaking, Gu Yuqing asked seriously, "By the way, what are your standards for recruiting employees? I see that your new employees come from all walks of life."

As she compared what she had seen and heard at Perfect Studio in her mind, she began to feel a little worried about Chen Ya's side.

"We have many criteria for hiring, but the most important one is that you must love anime and be a hardcore otaku," Chen Ya said.

Gu Yuqing remained silent for a long time after hearing this answer.

"...Then how did you know your employees like anime and manga?"

"It's very simple. Our test questions contain a lot of information that only old houses would know. If you can't answer them, you'll get zero points. For example, when was the first time Shinji Ikari boarded Unit-01?" Chen Ya said.

After listening, Gu Yuqing remained silent for a long time before asking, "What is that?"

"It's June 22, 2015 in the Gregorian calendar," Chen Ya said. "Even if you don't answer with the Gregorian calendar, you can still get points if you answer with the correct date. If you answer with 'Gregorian calendar,' you can get an extra 0.5 points."

"I didn't ask what the answer was, I asked what you're talking about?"

"You, a social butterfly, wouldn't understand."

Although Gu Yuqing didn't understand what "real-life" meant, she was still angry for a long time.

“Since it’s about making secondary games, companies must understand the market and the psychology of their target audience,” Chen Ya said. “As soon as you told me, I knew that their company’s project would not succeed, because their company culture doesn’t have the DNA of anime and manga.”

“But they have graduates from prestigious universities, data, and technical expertise.” Gu Yuqing was still a little angry with Chen Ya and deliberately contradicted him.

"That's why I don't have high hopes for them," Chen Ya said. "If you want a game to be fun, the people making the game have to enjoy playing games themselves. What's the use of a university degree? Besides, we're not without prestigious universities; I graduated from one of them myself."

Hearing Chen Ya's words, Gu Yuqing chuckled: "What prestigious university did you attend?"

"Kyoto University? I'm a librarian at Kyoto University, so I'm considered a Kyoto University student."

"You've done this part-time before?"

"It's not part-time, it's full-time."

After chatting for a while, Chen Ya set off to check on the company, driving Gu Yuqing's car.

Gu Yuqing now spends all her free time visiting Chen Ya whenever she's not working; she's completely letting loose. Since she can't hide it from her father's spies anyway, she might as well just openly flaunt it.

Anyway, she couldn't be any worse in the other person's eyes now.

When Gu Yuqing arrived at the company, her first impression was that there were more people.

The company used to be a bit empty, but now the office area is finally full of people.

Her second impression was that the otaku vibe had intensified.

Perhaps because it was the first day of work, everyone was a bit reserved with each other. In addition, since anime and manga are considered a subculture in China, most people kept it to themselves. At first, the newly recruited employees all seemed quite normal.

On the very second day, most of the people revealed their true colors. Many people started displaying various figurines on their desks, and some even drove itasha (decorated cars) to work, attracting a lot of onlookers.

Gu Yuqing found a strange instrument on an employee's desk. A round glass dome was laid out on a wooden board, and the time was displayed on the tangled copper wires inside the glass dome.

"What is this?" Gu Yuqing asked curiously.

“A glow discharge tube,” Chen Ya replied.

"What is a glow discharge tube?" Gu Yuqing asked again. "What does this string of numbers it displays mean?"

The time displayed in the glow tube was 11:45:14.

Chen Ya asked the employee, "What do the numbers in your glow tube mean?"

The boy gave a low, cold laugh, placed his hand beside his face, and said:

"これはすべてュタインズ?ゲートの选択だ!"

"What did he say?" Gu Yuqing asked.

He said he was a little gay.

"???"

……

In the evening, after finishing his work, Chen Ya suddenly remembered Lu Aiai's matter.

She had asked me to come find her, but several days have passed and I haven't seen her even once. There's no trace of her ever visiting my home again.

I wonder how she is doing.

Thinking about this, he suddenly felt a little guilty.

Although Gu Yuqing said he had a "scumbag" syndrome, it was really hard for her to just leave Lu Aiai alone.

So he dialed Lu Aiai's number.

The other party answered immediately, but for a long time, only the sound of even breathing could be heard from the microphone; no one spoke.

"Hey..." Chen Ya forced a smile and asked, "Are you alright?"

"..." He was met with silence.

"How long did you wait that day? Are you alright?" Chen Ya asked nervously. "I was really busy that day and couldn't get away."

After a long silence, the other side finally spoke:

"Can you please stop talking to me?"

"what?"

"Can you please not contact me, not appear in front of me, and not talk to me?" Lu Aiai said. "Every time I think of you, my heart feels so empty and painful."

Her voice still sounded devoid of emotion, but Chen Ya felt that he could tell she was in pain.

The author unexpectedly gave you a kiss.

For the author, writing is an utterly solitary battle.

The story presented is unburdened, but the difficulties encountered during the writing process had to be faced alone.

It's 5:6 a.m. The author just wrote the fifth version of the new chapter, but then deleted the entire text. Now he's working on the sixth version on a blank sheet of paper, with a steaming cup of coffee beside him.

Actually, the outline for the rest of the text has already been prepared, but this chapter is a crucial one, and I'm not satisfied with how I write it, so I keep revising it.

As I just mentioned, writing is a solitary battle. I didn't want to tell the readers about this, but I can't just stay silent and stop updating all the time, so I'll report on the situation.

Status update: This book is not abandoned; the author is working hard to finish it.

that's all.

Chapter 346 Looking at a kiwi

A breeze blew through the cherry blossom trees outside the window. Lu Aiai sat by the window, staring blankly at a kiwi on the table.

This is the third day since I hung up on Chen Ya. The air is filled with the fragrance of magnolias, and the wind is gentle.

"Ugh……"

Looking at the kiwifruit covered in brown fuzz, Lu Aiai sighed softly.

Sitting to the side, holding a magazine, Yan Yiting glanced at her and said:

"This is the seventh time you've sighed for no reason today."

Lu Aiai snapped out of her daze, her voice muffled: "That many times?"

"Yes, maybe even more, I've only been here for an hour."

"Sigh..." Lu Aiai sighed again, this time with an even stronger sense of resentment than before.

Yan Yiting closed the magazine in her hand: "What on earth is going on?"

Lu Aiai placed her hand on her chest: "It hurts a lot here."

"Myocarditis? Coronary heart disease? Insufficient blood supply to the heart?"

Yan Yiting's mouth was slightly open. Her mother had heart problems and almost needed a pacemaker. She had researched a lot about this disease.

Lu Aiai shook her head: "I've had it checked, and there's nothing wrong."

"Then why do you feel uncomfortable?"

Lu Aiai glanced towards the window, her gaze seemingly fixed on the distant horizon.

But upon closer inspection, it became clear that she was looking at the kiwi fruit.

"This kiwi fruit is shaped a lot like his head."

Yan Yiting leaned back strategically, stared at her incredulously for a moment, and then asked in a low voice:

How long have you had these symptoms?

"Do you have chest discomfort? It's been like this for about two weeks."

"No, I meant the mental aspect... never mind, never mind, never mind."

Lu Ai'ai's name contains two "Ai" characters, but she has never understood what "love" is, even after living this long.

Her lack of absolute understanding of the concept of "love" makes her appear very cold-hearted in some situations, causing some innocent boys who pursue her to lament, "Lu Ai loves you but has no heart."

Lu Aiai simply laughed off these people's opinions.

Without a heart, blood in the veins would pool in the legs due to gravity, eventually causing the blood vessels to rupture and resulting in death.

Of course she meant it.

Of course, she also considered that the expression "without heart" might be a rhetorical device, actually implying that she was not considerate of others.

For Lu Aiai, rhetoric is the greatest enemy of academia.

Such linguistic imprecision can easily lead to mental distraction and cognitive ambiguity.

Using unrelated things to refer to another thing may seem to reduce the difficulty of cognition, but in reality, this laziness will inevitably damage the sharpness of cognition in a subtle way.