"I'm truly sorry that neither my sister nor I are good at cooking."
After a small farce, everyone else went off work, and Mei followed Ye Ming to the office.
Funnily enough, Ye Ming's financing contract only stated that he wanted to be a part of the studio, but now he has become the de facto boss, with Ye Ming having the final say on everything, big or small.
"Are you Ye Ming?"
Mei was wearing an OL uniform, and the black stockings under her pencil skirt revealed a hint of pink... Wait, perhaps it was more than just stockings.
At Mei's neckline, stretched open by her chest, a layer of black tulle could be seen, likely a black lace bodysuit she was wearing under her jacket.
"Um... Mr. Ye Ming, is there something strange about me?"
Noticing Ye Ming's ardent gaze, Mei's pretty face flushed red.
"Oh, I just think it's getting late, so let's quickly discuss your compensation and sign the contract."
"Huh? Don't you need to assess me?"
"It's okay, since Kiana recommended you, I'm sure there won't be any problems."
Hearing Ye Ming's affirmation, Mei asked in surprise:
"Does Kiana have a high position in the company?"
"Well..."
Ye Ming tilted his head and thought for a moment, then replied:
"When Himeko is under a lot of pressure, she can let Himeko beat her up to relieve stress, so she's quite useful."
"Is Miss Himeko under that much pressure? Does she need to be specially assigned a stress reliever?"
"That's right, Himeko's pressure is actually all given by Kiana, so in that case..."
Ye Ming said with a smile:
"Why don't we just fire Kiana?"
"Please don't do that!"
That evening, Mei, having completed her onboarding procedures, returned home. Kiana, who was watching TV, immediately ran over and asked happily:
"Mei~! What are we having for dinner tonight?"
"..."
Seeing Mei's worried expression, Kiana asked curiously:
"What's wrong? Did the interview not go well?"
"Kiana, you should work harder at the company from now on."
"Huh? Why are you suddenly starting to lecture me?"
"I want to work with you, so..."
Mei held Kiana's shoulders and said seriously:
"Don't get fired."
"Mei, did Ye Ming threaten you?"
Kiana had a sudden inspiration:
"Did he covet your beauty and say to you: Miss Mei, you wouldn't want Kiana to be fired, would you?"
"Huh? Of course not."
"Really? Then nothing happened between you and Ye Ming?"
"Of course not!"
Mei said somewhat aggrievedly:
"Even though Ye Ming is a very charming person, and he has a very strong sense of familiarity, as if I've known him for a long time..."
The more Mei spoke, the less confident she became, and in the end, she could only turn her face to the side.
She wasn't even sure she could say to Kiana:
My meeting with Ye Ming was just a "first meeting," nothing strange will happen.
"Then... did you and Ye Ming do motion capture?"
Kiana suddenly remembered to ask about the main thing, today she wanted to clear her name of having a bad figure.
"We did."
Mei nodded.
"How did it feel?"
"Huh? W-Why are you asking that?"
Although Mei didn't answer, her face, red to the roots of her ears, had already revealed the answer.
"Do you also have some strange feelings? Just like Aunt Himeko and the others?"
"W-Well, it's not that strange, it's just..."
Probably recalling that bone-deep pleasure, Mei immediately covered her burning face.
"So you DO feel something!"
Kiana completely broke down. Bronya was right, but she still wasn't convinced.
Kiana suddenly hugged Mei, kneading her shapely figure, and then exclaimed:
"When did you develop so well?"
"How am I supposed to answer that question?"
"Damn it, I always thought we were on the same level! Looks like I was careless!"
Although Kiana felt deeply betrayed, she didn't wallow for long. Soon, she began asking questions on various knowledge platforms:
"Can girls still develop after 18?"
A moment later, Kiana actually got a reply:
"Definitely! Just drink more milk and eat more papaya."
The person who gave this answer had the ID: "Houmu is never enough"
Kiana continued to ask, "How do you know? Is it from personal experience?"
And this Houmu user replied:
"A reliable person told me that I would develop very well in the next few years, and I'm already 17, so it must be after I turn 18."
9. The Joy of Success, Nahida
After that, Ye Ming released a trailer every day, cleverly incorporating the element of "time."
"The Third Honkai Eruption, 2 years and 5 months ago..." The time in this subtitle changed every day.
This wasn't just teasing; it was practically pulling the players' souls out of their bodies.
As a result, on the day of the server launch, the number of concurrent online users exceeded everyone's expectations, putting immense pressure on the servers.
"Bronya, how's it going on your end? Can you hold on?"
"I am trying my best."
Activating backup servers, improving the database structure, Bronya's fingers danced like wild bees.
"I'll perform dynamic sterilization on the regions."
"I'll guide the player flow!"
"I'm going to the server room to find a way to cool things down."
For the sake of the game's stability, everyone was working tirelessly. They seemed to have forgotten the time and the hardship, focusing only on giving this period of effort a good ending.
"The server is gradually stabilizing, and there are no bugs in the game!"
"We... succeeded..."
By 10 p.m., everyone's sweat had been dried by the night wind. Looking at the stable data and the gratifying revenue, everyone began to cheer.
"These results are like a dream."
The girls opened the windows and shouted at the empty streets... They had been suppressed for too long.
Every game that flopped was the result of their hard work, and every failure made the girls feel extremely sad.
But this time, they finally succeeded, and they presented to the world a story with themselves as the protagonists.
"Ye Ming! We really owe it to you this time!"
Himeko was the first to hug Ye Ming, and then the girls all piled on top of Ye Ming like a human pyramid.
Bronya watched everyone's out-of-control behavior with a blank expression, then came to Ye Ming's side, who couldn't move, and secretly took his hand.
Then... a happy curve appeared on that face that seemed to have forgotten how to smile.
"This is the first time I've seen Bronya smile."
"This is also a miracle brought by Ye Ming, right?"
"Huh? Bronya smiled? Where? I want to take a picture!"
With Kiana's commotion, Bronya's expression returned to "???".
"Can't you just let me see it!"
"No, if a dummy sees it, Bronya will also become a dummy."
Although Bronya was no longer smiling, she held Ye Ming's hand and didn't let go for a long time.
Bronya didn't let go until the girls moved away from Ye Ming one by one.
"The work atmosphere here is really great~~"
A petite girl, who looked as if she'd been cut from the same mold as A-Tzu but was much smaller overall, said:
"It's just like being with family."
"Nahida! I'm sorry! I was so busy today, I completely forgot about you."
A-Tzu then realized that her younger sister was also at the company and had stayed with everyone until late at night.
"It's okay, I'm happy to feel the joy of hard work paying off."
Nahida, sitting in a chair and swinging her chubby little feet, smiled sweetly.
"Nahida helped with all the logistics just now."
Ye Ming stroked Nahida's head. Perhaps it was too comfortable, as Nahida, lost in the sensation, actually burrowed into Ye Ming's arms like a cat, actively seeking affection.
"Ah! Nahida has never been this affectionate with me!"
A-Tzu looked at the two of them with envy, but for a moment, she didn't know who she should be jealous of.
"Ye Ming! Let's go celebrate!"
"This time, we have to drink to our hearts' content!"
Kiana and Himeko's suggestion was immediately approved by everyone, but A-Tzu said apologetically:
"You guys go ahead, I need to take Nahida home first."
"There's no need, I want to go with everyone too."
Nahida said softly:
"I understand the effects of alcohol very well, and everyone's behavior won't negatively influence me. Occasional late nights don't do much harm to the body either, and I'm still full of energy."
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