Chapter 263

Chapter 263: An Apocalypse with Nothing Happening (Additional chapter for the patron Tiangao Yuyue)

After concluding the funding intention talks with the Penguin side, Mei Fang felt a significant reduction in pressure.

From the intelligence gathered so far, his three open cards were very attractive investments in the eyes of the Penguin. Mei Fang could sense that the Penguin was also very interested in Similu games.

It was worth noting that at this time, the market value of the Penguin was the top among the three giants, and its game industry was thriving.

At this moment, the Penguin was ensuring the success of its self-developed flagship MMO, “The Holy Fighting,” which was undergoing its third internal core test, and had announced that it would be open for testing in March 2013.

From Mei Fang’s current perspective, his Similu game didn’t seem to have much to attract them. The small Mei Fang currently couldn’t lead the upcoming mobile game craze, nor could he really produce any decent AAA games with his current team—

Perhaps it was just about having enough money to broaden their horizons and spread their nets wider?

Although he could benefit from the Penguin’s backing, Mei Fang didn’t plan to rely entirely on it for growth. While maintaining bug updates for “Journey in the Clouds,” Mei Fang began to use the reputation built by C Station and Similu games to recruit new members. His next step was to prepare an independent project team.

The Coconut Juice Project Team aimed to make big profits for Similu games, so Mei Fang could leverage his past experiences to ensure the new project team’s success.

The most popular games at this time were “Temple Run” and “Fruit Ninja.” After some deliberation, Mei Fang decided to focus on casual match-three games as the main direction.

Smartphones had brought about the biggest impact on domestic game users by expanding the gaming audience, turning games from a primarily male interest into a stress-relieving application suitable for all ages.

The existence of a broad user base made the casual game market highly promising. Currently, even the Penguin itself did not have a dominant match-three game in the market. It would take another two years for “Happy Match-Three” to dominate the market, providing Mei Fang with an opportunity to showcase his talents.

Regarding the name of the project team, Mei Fang and Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi discussed it. Since the entire studio was the Similu Studio, the new project team’s name should undoubtedly be a dessert—

Thus, the Coconut Juice Project Team came into being.

After discussing the general cooperation content, Mei Fang entrusted the detailed intentions to Sister Yueyue, who was adept at financial matters due to her background in auditing. Mei Fang trusted his cousin sister very much, and he and Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi returned to their daily lives.

Mei Fang and Lin You Xi participated in the NOIP复试 in the second half of 2012, eventually receiving second and first prizes respectively. Lin You Xi’s outstanding performance made her an A-class student, and she received an invitation to participate as a provincial representative in the NOI;

Mei Fang originally needed to pass the selection test to advance, but considering his achievements with Similu games, he was recommended by his school teachers and obtained a C-class recommendation slot.

In 2012, the NOIP first prize still had the qualification for early admission, and Lin You Xi had already received recommendations from some 985 universities. However, if she wanted to participate in the NOI competition, she would need to attend training, which would take nearly a semester.

Lin You Xi and Mei Fang discussed it; if they were to lose a semester of high school life just to secure early admission for senior year, it would be better to experience high school life fully. In the end, they decided to give up the NOI competition and enjoy their high school days together with Xia Yuan.

However, this NOIP journey unexpectedly provided Mei Fang with some benefits. During the competition, he met many classmates with exceptional programming skills and deep expertise.

Compared to Mei Fang’s amazement at their programming prowess, they admired Mei Fang’s initiative in independently releasing commercial games in high school. They expressed a desire to join Mei Fang’s game development team after retiring, which was part of the network Mei Fang had accumulated. Their appearances will be mentioned in subsequent years in his commercial development team.

During the second half of the school year, two new members joined the Similu Studio.

First was Zhu Nainai, who had already become Mei Fang’s favorite single supporter. After trying her out with some work, Mei Fang found her quite capable. After consulting with Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi, he agreed to let Zhu Nainai join the team, doing mainly secretarial work.

Second was Wan Chaoxiong, who had been an external member for a long time, helping with video promotion editing. Upon confirming that Lin You Xi was the Miss Lin You Xi of the Shan You Lin Xi family and Mei Fang was the actual head of the station, he was so excited that he stayed up all night. The next day, he happily applied to join the Similu Studio, becoming a member of the team.

Time quickly passed, and it was December 21, 2012, Friday, the Winter Solstice, at 3:14 PM, during a break period.

Xia Yuan pulled Mei Fang and Lin You Xi to chat enthusiastically near Lin You Xi’s classroom on the second floor. As they chatted, they realized that the predicted apocalypse from Maya had already passed.

“Oh… nothing happened.”

Seeing Xia Yuan seemed disappointed, Lin You Xi smiled and asked, “Did you really hope for the end of the world?”

“Of course not? I’m enjoying myself so much now… such things shouldn’t come.”

While exhaling warm air into her gloves, Xia Yuan reached out to warm Mei Fang’s face, “But even if it does happen, it’s okay as long as we’re together, there’s nothing to fear.”

Lin You Xi watched Xia Yuan and Mei Fang interact closely and then smiled, asking, “Speaking of it, you’ve been together for almost a semester. Compared to your childhood friendship, do you feel any significant changes?”

“Changes? Other than feeling that Ah Fang has become more mature… there’s nothing special.”

Mei Fang, feeling somewhat displeased, pinched Xia Yuan’s nose, “Who’s more mature, you or me? You need to clarify that.”

“Alright, alright… it’s fine with me… Ah Fang is still a big person who needs me to let him win, only I and You Xi don’t mind these things.”

Xia Yuan gently pinched Mei Fang’s cheek and then put her hand inside his clothes to warm up. Because everyone wore thick cotton coats and stood close together, it wasn’t noticeable unless someone looked closely.

“Speaking of it, are you sure you won’t go to the NOI? That’s still a good opportunity for early admission…”

“The prerequisite for early admission is winning a gold medal, which requires nearly half a year of hard work.”

Mei Fang smiled and shook his head, “With that half a year, our game could make so much money, right?”

“Just because of making money, you refuse to participate in the competition? Ah Fang is so shallow.”

Before Xia Yuan could finish her complaint, Lin You Xi chimed in:

“Afang is just too embarrassed to admit it. He just wants to spend more time with Yuan Yuan.”

“Don’t defend Afang, he has to admit it himself,” Xia Yuan placed her hand on Mei Fang’s chest, “Afang, tell me yourself, is that what you think? I want to hear your honest words.”

“This is obvious, of course—Eh—”

Just as Mei Fang spoke, he suddenly shivered and almost hugged Xia Yuan on the spot.

Because at this moment, Lin You Xi also put her hand into Mei Fang’s coat to warm up.

“Woah, You Xi, what are you doing… what if we get caught!”

Xia Yuan quietly scolded Lin You Xi while pulling her hand out of Mei Fang’s coat, “I’ll warm you up instead.”

Lin You Xi, while feeling the warmth Xia Yuan gave her, suggested, “We haven’t hugged in a while. Do you want to sleep together tonight?”

Today was supposed to be without updates, but after our company’s executive Tiangao Yuyue saw I hadn’t finished writing, he urged me to return and write more, giving me a patron reward in the process. So this chapter counts as an extra. Starting tomorrow, I will return to full strength, updating at 12 PM and 6:30 PM every day. Invincible!

End of Chapter