Chapter Twenty Seven I Can’t Stand It
《Dreams of Jianghu 2》?
This familiar yet unfamiliar phrase pulled Wei Wei’s attention from the computer and onto Xiao Nai. She exclaimed: “Dreams of Jianghu is coming out with a 2?”
Why had there been no news about this? Now she’s seeing the player avatars on Da Shen’s computer. This meant what?
“This game is yours?” She unthinkingly said this. Wei Wei quickly corrected herself, “No, I remember Dream of Jianghu is Feng Teng’s product.”
“Dreams of Jianghu is Feng Teng’s product, but Dreams 2 is going to be a partnership between Feng Teng and us.”
His tone and expression were calm, like he didn’t realize what a shock he was delivering in his words. Wei Wei took a long time to digest the surprise; “I hadn’t heard that a Dreams 2 was coming out.”
“At this point, we haven’t publicized anything.”
Wei Wei remembered: “Then that video is your … …”
Xiao Nai shook his head: “No, buying the video was Feng Teng’s decision, I only knew a day before you did.”
Even though he was working with Feng Teng on Dreams 2, he had no connection at all to Dreams 1. Dreams 1 was a project by Feng Teng Technologies, one of the companies under the umbrella of Feng Teng Corporation. Any decision made on that side he would not know. If it wasn’t that this decision would affect Dreams 2, Feng Teng didn’t have to ask his opinion at all.
In the beginning, if it wasn’t for the high risk and the large amount of capital needed for the venture, Xiao Nai wouldn’t have considered partnering up with Feng Teng to make Dreams 2. According to the contract the made, Feng Teng Technologies was only responsible for the starting capital and maintenance. His team was responsible for developing the entire game. So when Feng Teng Technologies called over, wanting to add in Dreams 2 a new system for bride-kidnapping, Xiao Nai was very surprised. Then, when they said they were taking inspiration from what they had seen from the video, Xiao Nai didn’t whether to laugh or cry.
After thinking over quickly, he agreed to add that function to Dream 2. But he didn’t tell Feng Teng, that the Yi Xiao Nai He in the video was actually him.
On the Feng Teng side, n.o.body knew that Yi Xiao Nai He was him. This ID had been registered opened under the persuasion of his friends when 《Dreams of Jianghu》had just opened. After playing for a while, he had stopped. It was only when he started working with Feng Teng that he need to familiarize himself again with the game and started playing.
Xiao Nai started to explain the relationship between Feng Teng and him as he opened more avatar pictures for Wei Wei to look at. Wei Wei asked; “Then how does the new kidnapping system work.”
“Basically it is just to put a new kidnapping function. Once used, the unmarried players can kidnap the partners.”
Wei Wei quickly understood: “Like the PK function in the game?”
“En.”
It did seem to be a fun idea, but wouldn’t this be very messy? Wei Wei imagined everybody in the game kidnapping and rescuing. Whoa.
Finishing showing off the avatars, Xiao Nai went to make tea. Wei Wei looked at the computer screen, her hands instinctively taking over Xiao Nai’s mouse and started to scroll through the avatars again. She entered a trance and unknowingly slid into Xiao Nai’s seat.
Xiao Nai returned with two cups of tea and saw this picture. He stared and then smiled, placing the cup in his left hand on the nearby bookshelf. He leaned on the shelf and raised his cup to take a sip.
You stand on the bridge to see the scenery. The person looking at scenery on top of a building sees you.
Wei Wei didn’t realize that she had become an attraction. After finely examining the avatars once again, she raised her sparkling eyes at Xiao Nai and said: “I like this game.”
Xiao Nai laughed as he leaned more against the shelf: “Just from the avatar designs?”
“No, you can see a lot from the avatars.” Wei Wei thought for a while. Even though this topic was a bit embarra.s.sing, but she still wanted to tell her point of view.
“The games on the market right now, to court male players, all the female avatars are scantily dressed. It’s unbearable to look at. I chose the red-robedxia for my character for two reasons. The first was that I really like her skills. The second was that she had the most clothing. But Dreams 2 isn’t like that. All the clothes for female avatar are very normal. This says that the person making the game respects their own game, has confidence in their work. They don’t need to use any vulgar and kitsch manipulations.”
Wei Wei was strangely happy. In Dreams 1, the female avatars were still very exposed, but it was somewhat better than the other games. Dreams 2 had such a drastic change, it definitely came out of Da Shen’s decision-making. Doesn’t this show that Da Shen respected the female s.e.x?”
Xiao Nai didn’t think she would say such things. His heart jumped involuntarily. Looking at her spirited and clear face, he smelled the scent of tea. At the deepest part of his heart, there pa.s.sed by a strand of satisfied happiness.
“To create female characters who were not exposed.” It was easy to say, but at the beginning he had put in a lot of effort to make it a reality. He came out of a famous and educated family. The values were inscribed in his bones. But using his morals to persuade the venture capitalists? That was too innocent, too naïve. Only the market can persuade the market. So he did many different surveys to let the businessmen realize the consumer power of females in MMPORG’s, to realize that the attraction in a game for male players wasn’t how naked the female avatars could get.
But these things he naturally wouldn’t say to Wei Wei. Paragraphs that came to Xiao Nai’s mind would be deconstructed and simplified and come out as mere words. His dark gaze held affection, reflecting on the figure in front of him. He smiled faintly: “Thank you for the praise, extremely honoured.”
His appearance was very calm yet Wei Wei detected there was a strange mood. Da Shen seemed to be in a very good mood. Did she manage to flatter him? Wei Wei asked expectantly: “When are you staring beta testing for Dreams 2?”
“At the earliest, the end of the year.”
By that time, getting a beta account probably wouldn’t be a problem. Wei Wei remembered the important issue after simmering in happiness for a while, “Since you guys are partnering up, then shouldn’t you deal with the video? It would be best if you did. Even though it was uploaded using my name, but in reality you were the one that made it.”
Xiao Nai refused without thinking: “Of course not. My name can’t appear on the contract.”
Wei Wei asked: “Why?”
Xiao Nai pointed out: “Copyright fee.”
Wei Wei had to take a turn in order to understand ––If Da Shen went to sign this agreement, then he, being the developer of Dream 2, making a contribution was expected. Then Feng Teng didn’t have to pay the copyright fee.
“Ok, then I’ll go sign. I’ll split the fee five ways once I get it.” Wei Wei said. But, even if it was clearly legal, she still felt like she was performing fraud >o
“You don’t need to split with Yu Gong and the others.” Looking at the tea leaves floating in the water, Xiao Nai faintly said.
“Ah?” That wouldn’t be very good, they had parts in it too.
“You can take it, it will be their meeting gift for you.”
Meeting gift… …
Wei Wei’s mouth dropped open. She had wanted to ask what to do with his part, but she couldn’t ask now. If he said … … it was a betrothal gift, what should she do >o
They had been talking about the game so Wei Wei hadn’t realized. Now that she wasn’t talking, the room quieted and Wei Wei found that, she was touching Da Shen’s mouse, using Da Shen’s computer, sitting on Da Shen’s chair?!
Th-th-this, when did this happen!
Slowly taking her hand from the relic that Da Shen’s mouse, Wei Wei awkwardly shifted her eyes around, but avoided Da Shen. She had just been curious, why had he been standing there … … it was because he had a home that he couldn’t return to >o
The office room was silent. Xiao Nai seemed to want her to be in an even more awkward state. He didn’t speak, just drank his tea, his fingers occasionally brushing the body of the cup.
Wei Wei’s wandering gaze was attracted by his movements, staring unblinkingly at his finger. She had been focused on speaking and didn’t notice that what he seemed to be holding was … …
Now she didn’t care for awkwardness. Wei Wei stood up and walked to his side, bending down curiously to look at the teacup in his hands. Xiao Nai laughed, and handed her the cup.
Wei Wei held it, rotating it in her palm to admire it. It was a white china teacup in the traditional shape. The body was exquisite and semi-transparent, setting off nicely the green tea leaves. It seemed both cute and finely made. But what attracted Wei Wei’s attention wasn’t its form, but the picture on the side of the cup –– a patch of bamboo, and in front of the greenery, a white-clad musician sat holding his qin.
“Dreams of Jianghu Limited Edition cups?” Wei Wei let out a sound of surprise.
“En, and there’s also this one, yours.”
Another teacup emitting the smell of tea was placed in her hand. It was still a white cup, but on this cup, it was a red-clothed blade waving female xia.
“Are there any others?” Dreams of Jianghu had thirty six different avatars. One set should have thirty six cups.
“Feng Ten gave us a set. I only took these two, the remaining are with Yu Gong and the others.”
Only took these two?
Wei Wei, who had been examining the cups, had a period of shock. She raised her head to look at his handsome face that was within reach. A second later, long eyelashes swept down and hid the light swirling in the eyes.
So, this cup had been for her? He already had expected there was a day she was coming to his office?
Wei Wei continued to look at the cups, but the movements slowed down. It showed how she wasn’t focused on them anymore. Finally, with no preparation on her part whatsoever, she lightly asked: “Xiao Nai, how did you recognize me yesterday?”
This was the first time the two words “Xiao Nai” came out of her mouth. They seemed to have magic, that even as composed a person as Xiao Nai, had his thought scattered for a moment.
But, when he quickly gathered them and answered, the one who’s thoughts scattered was Wei Wei.
“Not yesterday.” Gently taking away the musician’s cup from her hands, Xiao Nai said: “It was March, at Ji Zhi.”
March? Ji Zhi? A location called Ji Zhi … …
“An internet café?!” Wei Wei was surprised.
“En. I had something there that day so I went over. When I was leaving, I saw you helping your sect fight.”
Wei Wei completely froze. She had thought of many reasons that Da Shenwould recognize her. Her voice, checking her IP address, checking the information online inside the game. All those weren’t hard for him to do. But an internet café? And that early, in March?
She did go once in March to an internet café. Because the broadband at her dorm had been broken, she had gone to give notice to the sect that she couldn’t go online for the time being. She had, in pa.s.sing, entered the sect battle that day.
That early, Da Shen already knew her?
“Your manual control is very beautiful, and very fast.”
Xiao Nai’s gaze stopped on Wei Wei’s hands. On that day, it had been this pair of hands, in the midst of the busy internet café, attracted his attention at first glance.
Speed … … Wei Wei’s mind was in a tangle. She could only follow his words and say: “During the last summer in high school I played a bit of StarCraft. It was a lot of practice. My APM isn’t very high, it can’t even reach 150.”
“APM is just a testing number.”
Wei Wei nodded. Compared to APM, effective manual control was even more important. Even though she agreed, Wei Wei couldn’t resist asking: “Then how high is your APM?’
Would it be an extreme number? As insane as 400 … …
“Never tested. When I started playing, there wasn’t a notion of APM.”
When there was no notion of APM. How long ago was that? Wei Wei imagined it, and felt her blood start to heat up. Da Shen’s form when playing would be very cool.
The more she thought, the more excited she got. Wei Wei fell to her instincts, looking at him with gleaming eyes: “Sometime we should have a battle!”
What type of leap was that? Xiao Nai raised an eyebrow and smiled at her, “Okay, but,” he paused, and then continued, “… … please be gentle with me.”
He clearly didn’t say anything, but Wei Wei started blushing. She kept on feeling that at the pause, he had wanted to say “furen”?
Jiong.
Today she was definitely bespelled. She kept on coming up with these weird thoughts. It was a betrothal gift one moment and then the furen the next. If she kept on going with it, she might think of even more stranger things, uh … …
“That … … I’ll go study.”
Not waiting for Xiao Nai’s reply, Wei Wei took her cup back to the sofa and pretended to concentrate on her book.
Afternoon tea is over.
Wei Wei managed to focus for a little while, but she wandered off again. She remembered that she still had another question she didn’t ask yet ––
Since he knew her already that early, why did he never say so in the game?
Wei Wei sank into the riddle and didn’t realize that once again, her gaze had moved from the textbook to the person behind the desk.
The office was still quiet, only the light click-and-clack of the keyboard. But gradually, the keyboard sound disappeared. Xiao Nai suddenly stopped, his head not moving up: “Wei Wei, if you keep on looking, I can’t stand it.”
Because of her lack of focus, Wei Wei heard his voice but didn’t understand what he meant. It took a long while for her to understand and then … …
Okay, Wei Wei almost self-combusted. She didn’t want to ask anything anymore t t
Wei Wei spent the entire afternoon in this kind of very low efficiency mode. Dinner was at one of the places near Da Shen’s office building. Wei Wei had worried that they were going for fish head soup again. Thankfully, Da Shenwasn’t that inhuman.
Due to the fact she really didn’t study that much in the afternoon, Wei Wei wanted to return to her dorms after dinner. But before this desire could be acted upon, it was destroyed by one line from Da Shen.
Da Shen said: “Do you want to PK with me?”
Therefore, Wei Wei obediently returned with him back to the company. A computer apiece, they began to PK~~ Unluckily, from Dreams PK to SC, Wei Wei lost pathetically in all of them. At the end, she was starting to get irritated. Other people’s boyfriends would yield to their girlfriends, why was her’s so evil? Killing her without even the slightest frown.
Of course, hoping that Da Shen would let her win or treat her gently was very disgraceful. Wei Wei, with the ease of long practice, shoved the thought into another deep corner of her mind.
So Wei Wei kept adding to her losing streak, all the way until nine when Xiao Nai drove her back.
This entire day, Wei Wei was kept busy. Together with Da Shen it was first getting picked up and then it was PKing. But Wei Wei seemed to have found that feeling from inside the game and felt that, Da Shen was so close … …