Some residential complex in Magic City.
"Xiaoxue, are you really not considering making games with me?" Yang Xin asked Ruan Ningxue, who was sitting beside her coloring a manuscript. Yang Xin sat on the sofa with both legs propped up on the coffee table in front of her.
"Xin Jie, your little boat is full of holes and leaking. It's about to sink." Ruan Ningxue set down her brush and rolled her eyes.
"Cough, cough. It's only a temporary difficulty! Besides, I still have three employees! And look at your studio, Xiaoxue. Can that even be called a studio? Have you ever seen a studio with just one person?" Yang Xin immediately argued back.
"At least I'm making a profit! And Xin Jie, didn't you have eight employees three months ago?" Ruan Ningxue suddenly realized something.
"Everyone has their own ambitions. My employees wanted to pursue their dreams, so I couldn't exactly stop them, could I? By the way, how's your junior's game doing?" Yang Xin asked awkwardly, changing the subject.
"I haven't been following it. Maybe its performance hasn't been very good." Ruan Ningxue gently shook her head at Yang Xin's words.
"Then your studio is about to become a two-person operation?" Yang Xin said curiously, clearly aware of the agreement between them.
"Probably. But Chen Xu is probably in a pretty bad mood right now." Ruan Ningxue sighed.
During this time, she had not taken the initiative to contact Chen Xu.
After all, she had consulted Yang Xin after their previous conversation, and Yang Xin had not been optimistic about it at all.
Although this close friend of hers had made three games in a row and nearly lost all her funding,
she was still a professional in the game industry.
And having developed three games, she must have accumulated some experience from failure, right?
During the month she had spent developing the game with Chen Xu, Ruan Ningxue had been able to clearly feel his enthusiasm.
She had also experienced the unique fun that games brought, especially being able to personally operate things and push the game's content forward bit by bit.
That feeling had truly been wonderful. Back then, she had been able to understand why Chen Xu had said he wanted to develop games.
So during this time, she had not asked about the game's performance, especially since he had said he would pay her as soon as the game succeeded and secured funding.
Though she herself did not care about the money,
she could not possibly tell Chen Xu to just forget about it.
After all, this was not merely about money, nor was it solely her own business.
Besides, she had also been quite busy with her comic, so she had not paid much attention to the game.
She had planned to use this time to let Chen Xu calm down and adjust properly, then talk to him later.
I've really worried myself sick over this junior.
Yang Xin sighed inwardly.
"There's nothing to be done about it. A lot of newcomers think 18R games are easy, but all that can be said is that the risk is relatively low. Game development itself is nowhere near that simple. By the way, Xiaoxue, what's your junior's game called? Let me take a look."
Yang Xin spoke with feeling, using the tone of someone who had been through it all.
It reminded her of her three previous failures.
Although she had never met Ruan Ningxue's junior, Yang Xin inexplicably had a strange feeling.
She felt that she could understand exactly how he was feeling right now.
Especially since Ruan Ningxue had said that he had gone all in and invested all of his funds into it.
That made her even more certain that he must be someone who loved games, just like herself.
Thinking back to the crushing disappointment she had felt when her first game had failed after launch, Yang Xin suddenly felt a little sympathy for Chen Xu.
If her company's funds had not been so depleted that cash flow was nearly impossible to maintain, Yang Xin would have wanted Ruan Ningxue to introduce him to her company right away.
A talented person who truly loved games was exactly the kind of employee she wanted!
"Don't worry, Xiaoxue. When the time comes, I'll use myself as a cautionary example to comfort your junior." Yang Xin patted Ruan Ningxue on the shoulder.
They were fellow sufferers. She understood the pain of failure.
"Thank you, Xin Jie. Oh, the game is called 'Magic Mirror,' but I think it was released on the overseas version of the platform," Ruan Ningxue said.
Although she had not asked Chen Xu about the game after it went online, she had secretly checked on it. But when she looked, the ratings had not been unlocked yet, so she had no idea how it was doing.
"'Magic Mirror'... Why does that sound a little familiar?"
"It feels like I've heard of it somewhere before."
"Wait... this game!"
After learning the game's name from Ruan Ningxue, Yang Xin muttered to herself as she opened the Official Game Platform and began searching.
For some reason, the game sounded familiar to her.
She opened the overseas version of the platform, entered the name, and searched.
Then Yang Xin fell silent. She turned her head and stared fixedly at Ruan Ningxue.
"Holy shit, Xiaoxue, this is what you meant by not doing very well? This is the junior you said was making his first game and didn't understand anything?"
"Are you kidding me!?"
No wonder it had sounded so familiar!
When she had been browsing game forums before, she had seen someone mention this game.
Then she looked at the game's store page.
Rating: 9.6, Number of ratings: 1,724
Yang Xin was no longer calm.
Sympathy? Relating to him?
Who the hell could relate to someone like this?!
Who the hell would sympathize with someone like this?!
A 9.6 rating, and that many ratings!
How many days had it even been? It already had more than 1,700?
She had never experienced anything like that before!
"So Chen Xu's game was actually a success?" Ruan Ningxue asked Yang Xin.
"More than a success—it's a huge success! You have to understand, this is an 18R game! And it's only been a few days. With ratings this high and so many reviewers, its eventual sales will probably surpass even the best-selling one of my previous three games!"
Yang Xin looked at Ruan Ningxue with pure envy written all over her face.
Looking at the number of reviews beneath the game's shop page, she felt utterly miserable.
Especially when she remembered how she had just told Ruan Ningxue that she would use herself as a cautionary example to comfort him.
Good grief, she really had become the cautionary example now!
But she quickly cast aside that embarrassment. Yang Xin stood up and grabbed Ruan Ningxue's arm.
"Xiaoxue, please! You absolutely have to introduce me to this master!"
"Let me learn from him!"
As the saying went, those close to the water got the moon first.
Well, it was a little strange, but the meaning was right.
When she could not become someone else's support, and she discovered someone who might become one, why couldn't she go and cling to them?
Before you continue