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

The former encourages players to spend money, while his choice encourages players to explore the open world.

Once players develop a strong sense of identification and belonging to this world, they will naturally come to like the characters in that world.

That's right, the characters are the game's core product.

Chen Ya naturally wouldn't explain these underlying business logics to the two of them.

The middle-aged man with graying hair said, "You actually think that first-time recharge and cumulative recharge are just a joke? Looks like you're a gamer with a lot of passion."

The young, overweight man said sarcastically, "Yeah, people look down on people like us who abandon our ideals for money."

Chen Ya waved his hand: "That's not what I meant."

The middle-aged man cupped his hands and leaned closer, saying, "Do you know that what you're doing will be seen as playing tricks on users? Users have a need to spend money, but you haven't provided the corresponding product, so you'll be criticized instead."

Chen Ya smiled but did not answer.

The young, overweight man beside him said, "Forget it, Lao Ge, don't talk to him anymore. There are at least eight hundred or a thousand people like him in the industry who only have empty dreams but no ability. Can you save them all?"

The middle-aged man said, "It's not about rescuing you. Actually, the main reason we came here is to discuss cooperation with you."

Chen Ya raised an eyebrow: "How do we cooperate?"

"After watching your PV, regardless of the shortcomings in your game operation strategy, we think your technology and innovation are commendable," the middle-aged man said. "You must need a lot of money to develop a multi-platform game and promote it overseas, right? We can invest in you."

Chen Ya fell silent.

Just then, the office door was suddenly flung open.

The three of them looked towards the door with slight surprise, only to see a woman with exquisite features and gorgeous clothes, but with disheveled hair and a slightly disheveled appearance.

It's Gu Yuqing.

Gu Yuqing was without makeup today; Chen Ya rarely saw her without makeup.

Compared to her with makeup, she looks gentler without makeup, as if a goddess from a high mountain has suddenly descended the mountain and walked up to you.

Her hair was disheveled, with some wet strands tangled together, making it look as if... she had just finished getting her hair done at the hair salon and then ran over halfway through.

Gu Yuqing's expression was initially quite unpleasant, and because she had just run over, she was still out of breath, her rather large chest heaving dramatically.

She braced her hands on the door frame and looked out through the gap behind her. She could see many employees peeking in her direction.

Gu Yuqing's gaze darted back and forth between Chen Ya and the two men from the pearl factory. When she swept her gaze over Chen Ya, she glared at him fiercely, then put on a gentle look and looked at the middle-aged man.

"Uncle Ge, why didn't you let me know you were coming here?"

The middle-aged man called "Uncle Ge" looked slightly surprised for a moment when he saw Gu Yuqing, but he quickly regained his composure and said slowly:

"Mr. Gu, what are you doing here?"

Gu Yuqing silently closed the door behind her, walked over, straightened her skirt, pressed herself close to Chen Ya, and sat down with a thud.

“I’m the largest shareholder here, of course I’ll be here,” Gu Yuqing said. “What, Uncle Ge is always so well-informed, how come he doesn’t know?”

Uncle Ge smiled awkwardly and said, "Of course I didn't know. If I had known, I would have told you first."

Gu Yuqing turned and glanced at Chen Ya, her eyes still fierce. Chen Ya looked back at her innocently, wondering if she had misunderstood something.

Gu Yuqing suddenly reached out and put her arm around his shoulder, then said to the two people opposite her:

"You want to bribe him? Uncle Ge, let me make this clear: this is the man I've been eyeing for a long time, my true love. You can't steal someone else's prize!"

Chapter 356 You Dare

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man was quite shocked, as was the young, overweight man. It took them a while to calm down.

Uncle Ge forced a smile and said, "President Gu, you've misunderstood. We're not here to forcefully acquire this company; we're just here to assess the situation and discuss the possibility of investing."

"No, no." Gu Yuqing shook her head vigorously. "I told you, I was the one who set my sights on it first, and I've got it all to myself."

Uncle Ge gained some confidence and laughed, "You can't do business like this, can you? Looking at their company's current business plan, even with your strength, Mr. Gu, it's unlikely you could take it all on by yourself."

Chen Ya asked, "If you invest, will you interfere with my plans?"

The young, overweight man interrupted, "It's too offensive to be pointing fingers. We can give you some guidance on your game; you probably need that guidance too."

The middle-aged man, Uncle Ge, added: "Your pay-to-win system definitely needs to be changed. Also, regarding the open world aspect, whether to implement it and how to do it, we need to understand these aspects before making any changes."

Chen Ya immediately said, "I'm sorry, I don't need it. Our principle for accepting investment is that we only accept money; opinions and guidance are not welcome."

The young, overweight man raised an eyebrow: "You!?"

Uncle Ge spread his hands and said, "So there's nothing to talk about?"

Chen Ya shook his head, indicating that he would like to decline the guest.

He sensed that Gu Yuqing beside him seemed to have relaxed a little.

She was sitting close to him, and although her body was very soft, I could clearly feel that there was a tension within her.

After he rejected her, her body visibly went limp.

"Alright then." Uncle Ge stood up and said to Chen Ya, "Then we've made a wasted trip."

Chen Ya stood up and shook hands with him: "It was quite a pleasant chat with you."

The young, overweight man next to him seemed to sense the unspoken meaning, and his facial muscles twitched slightly, but he didn't dare to react.

Uncle Ge said, "I have some connection with President Gu. For President Gu's sake, there are some things I must remind you of."

Chen Ya feigned a respectful attitude and said, "Please speak, I am all ears."

"Your PV is well done, really well done. We've got our eye on it, but we're not the only ones interested in you."

After Uncle Ge finished speaking, he continued, "It's fine if you refuse us, but if the E Factory comes over, their attitude won't be as good as ours."

Chen Ya forced a smile: "Is that so?"

"Hmm." Uncle Ge nodded. "If we invest, we might be able to protect you a little, and the Echang factory might tone it down a bit, but you won't accept that."

Chen Ya tilted his head and smiled, "Isn't this about paying respects to the boss and acknowledging a leader? Like the mafia, you have to pledge allegiance to one side?"

The young, overweight man next to him scoffed, seemingly finding his understanding of him quite naive.

Uncle Ge patiently explained, "The current situation is that Zhuhai and Hubei share the world, and it's bound to develop into this kind of situation. Even if the two companies take over, it will still be the same. That's the reality."

Chen Ya said, "I know."

"That's all I have to say."

After saying that, the two left, passing through the office area and striding away in full view of all the employees.

Since the negotiations had broken down, Chen Ya had no intention of pretending to see them off, and he and Gu Yuqing stayed in the office.

The two looked at each other, but neither said a word.

Finally, Chen Ya spoke first: "Why is your hair still wet? It looks like you ran over here halfway through a hair wash at a beauty salon."

Gu Yuqing said irritably, "Because I was at the beauty salon just now, and I ran over here halfway through getting my hair washed."

"..."

Gu Yuqing pinched his waist and said, "I was washing my hair when I suddenly received a report from an informant saying that you were planning to accept investment from the pearl factory. Huh? You actually did this behind my back? This is outrageous!"

Gu Yuqing smiled outwardly, but didn't lessen the pressure in her hands, giving his waist a good squeeze. Although she had pinched him before, she rarely used this much force; it seemed she was truly angry this time.

Chen Ya laughed and said, "You're being too sensitive. They contacted me first. Since they had this kind of interest, I naturally wanted to find out more about it first."

Gu Yuqing said, "What's there to know? I've already invested, isn't that enough?"

“Not quite enough,” Chen Ya said. “To be honest, the budget has been a bit overrun, and we’re a little strapped for cash right now.”

Previously, in order to find Gu Yuqing, I had invested more money in the system to upgrade several spy skills.

If it weren't for the fact that "Sheep and Sheep" and "Synthetic Watermelon" are still generating revenue, the company might not be able to pay salaries in another two months.

Gu Yuqing frowned and said, "Then what should we do? We've already offended the Pearl Factory, and what about the E Factory..."

"We have to launch it sooner," Chen Ya said. "The development cycle, which was originally expected to be 7 months, must be shortened to 6 months."

"Is it too late?"

"Actually, our previous development plan included a two-month version update after release. Cutting that part will shorten the time."

Gu Yuqing was speechless: "Then why not cut it off?"

"The game might receive some negative reviews upon release."

"It's better than death," Gu Yuqing said. "Go ahead and cut it."

“Well, that’s all we can do,” Chen Ya said. “Besides, if our competitors pull any more tricks, our marketing budget won’t be enough for public relations.”

Gu Yuqing pressed her forehead: "For my sake, they probably won't do anything too ugly."

"Then it all depends on you, President Gu," Chen Ya said with a smile.

Gu Yuqing glared at him: "I only regret that my legs are a bit too thin for you to hug, otherwise why would I have thought of going to the pearl factory?"

"Your legs aren't thin, they're very well-proportioned and beautiful."

"Making dirty jokes, huh?" Gu Yuqing pretended to be angry and turned her face away. "I'm ignoring you."

Chen Ya laughed and said, "Didn't you just say that I'm your beloved?"

Gu Yuqing blushed deeply and said, "That was a metaphor! I was talking about your company, not you!"

"The metaphor is a bit off-target, not like your usual style."

"I rushed here just now, I was a little flustered."

Why are you in such a panic? Are you afraid I'll run away?

Gu Yuqing stretched out her hands, fingers spread apart. Chen Ya thought she was going to slap him, but instead she put her hands on Chen Ya's face and kneaded them hard.

"Then I'll say it, what can you do about it?"

Looking at her aggressive and somewhat arrogant demeanor, Chen Ya smiled.

"I dare not do anything."

Gu Yuqing whispered, "You can dare."

"Crench."

Gu Yuqing was pushed onto the sofa, the leather sofa groaning softly. Chen Ya stared into her eyes for a long while, then said seriously:

"I can not."

"cut."

Gu Yuqing let out a disdainful sound. But her heart was already pounding wildly, and her head was spinning.

She straightened up as if to stand up, but suddenly cried out "Ouch!" and sat down heavily again.

"what happened?"

"My foot hurts." Gu Yuqing frowned, bent down, and rubbed her ankle with her hand.

"You twisted your ankle?"

Chen Ya went over to check. Gu Yuqing untied her strappy high heels, lifted her feet, and her pink nails on her white jade-like toes were delicate and cute.

"I didn't twist my ankle. These shoes have too high heels and too narrow toes. I think I pinched my foot when I ran over here."

Chen Ya squatted down, and Gu Yuqing naturally raised her leg and placed her foot on his knee.

These feet have distinct joints, long toes, fair and delicate skin, lovely arches, and pinkish-red soles, as pink as red plum blossoms in the snow and as white as newly sprouted bamboo shoots.

“These shoes really pinch your feet a bit, and your big toe is turning outwards a bit. If this continues, you’ll develop flat feet,” Chen Ya said.

"Huh? What should we do then?"

Gu Yuqing was very nervous. She was extremely careful about her appearance, and anything that might affect her image would make her nervous.

Moreover, this was in front of Chen Ya.

"Wear high heels less often and wear sneakers more often."

Gu Yuqing looked distressed. For her, changing a pair of shoes was not just about changing shoes; it meant changing her entire style of dress and having to buy a whole bunch of new clothes.

Chen Ya gently placed his hand on her heel, trying to put her foot down, but Gu Yuqing used a sticky, entangled force, pushing her foot into his arms.

"My feet hurt so much, can you rub them for me?"

Chen Ya looked at her speechlessly: "Does rubbing make it stop hurting? I won't rub it."