After Playing the Fool and Marrying the Blind Villain [Transmigration] - Chap 78
Not long after the bedside alarm rang, Bo Yueming woke up easily and turned it off.
He frowned for four or five seconds, and after forcibly driving away his drowsiness, he reconfirmed the time on his phone—
Eight o’clock in the morning.
Bo Yueming exhaled lightly, turning his attention back to the warm quilt.
His lover was leaning into his arms as usual. Most of his face was buried in the thick quilt, with only a bit of curled hair exposed, uniquely cute.
“Kitten.”
Bo Yueming stroked his lover’s hair, doting on him with a smile. “Wake up.”
Pei Yi, who was half asleep and half awake due to the alarm clock, misunderstood. He turned his back immediately and murmured, begging for mercy, “Won’t come, won’t come……”
“I, I’m going to be crippled, I really can’t hold on……”
“…….”
Bo Yueming smiled helplessly, and drew closer to tease, “Let me see, where are you crippled?”
Pei Yi shrank back under the quilt, dodging even more intensely as he sleep-talked, “Crippled, crippled. You’re fierce, I can’t.”
Bo Yueming lifted the quilt slightly and kissed his lover’s red earlobe. “Hey, I’m not joking, it’s time to get up. Didn’t you say that today is the first day of work after the new year, and you have a meeting at the studio?”
This half-month of annual leave, regardless of the length, had caused Bo Yueming’s biological clock to mess up for the first time.
But he kept his lover’s words in mind, and set the alarm clock for eight o’clock last night before going to bed.
“M-meeting?”
Pei Yi’s “career DNA” lurking in his bones finally rebooted, and his reasoning returned.
He opened his eyes in a daze, confirmed the situation in front of him, and then moved back into Bo Yueming’s embrace. “It’s all your fault.”
Bo Yueming couldn’t restrain his smile. “Huh?”
Pei Yi felt sore all over, and complained in a low voice, “If you break it, will you pay for it? There’s no good place on my entire body.”
He had joked on the night of New Year’s Eve, but the other party had taken it seriously.
From the start those few days ago, the two of them could still exercise restraint. During the day, they would normally go downstairs to walk the cat and go to Old Mrs. Bo’s main house for a meal.
Until New Year’s Eve—
Pei Yi understood the profound meaning of “misfortune comes from the mouth” for the first time, but he indulged in the other party’s caresses again and again.
Every night, he begged for mercy with an empty head.
Bo Yueming disagreed with him for once. “Little Sir, which time didn’t you hear me saying you didn’t have to? Didn’t I give you time to rest these two days?”
After the bit of fuss the morning before, they went to bed like usual in the evening.
Pei Yi neither listened nor owned up to it. “In any case, it’s not my fault.”
Bo Yueming said, “Okay, it’s my fault.”
Pei Yi’s eyelids drooped, and he couldn’t open them. He said in a teasingly spoiled manner, “Mr. Bo, I don’t want to work hard anymore. You can make money to support me.”
“Okay, ah.” Bo Yueming knew he was joking, but responded cooperatively.
Pei Yi hummed happily. “What time is it?”
“Ten past eight.”
Bo Yueming patted his shoulder twice, and said patiently, “Kitten, it’s really time to get up. Otherwise, do you want me to call and ask for leave, and say the reason is that—”
“N-No leave!”
Pei Yi stubbornly sat up from under the quilt. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Inspector still sleeping comfortably in the cat nest, and suddenly slumped onto Bo Yueming’s body, unbalanced.
“Er-ge.”
Bo Yueming saw that he was having a hard time getting up, and still pampered him. “I’ll take you to wash up, okay? You’ll wake up more after.”
Pei Yi quickly nodded. “En.”
Before transmigrating, it was difficult for Pei Yi to get up easily during the day because he stayed up every night to create games. But every time he had a serious job during the day, he would still force himself to get up and take a shower.
Unexpectedly, after dating Bo Yueming for a few months, he had completely transformed into an early morning lazybones.
Pei Yi hooked his lover’s shoulders and suddenly remembered an insult he had seen on the internet before—
Being spoiled in love made a person armless and legless!
After Bo Yueming announced that he had recovered his eyesight, driver Lao Fu had more free time, for no other reason than that his boss liked to personally send his Little Sir to work.
The car stopped outside the main entrance of the building where the studio was located.
“Thank you for your hard work, Bo-shifu.”
Pei Yi smiled and unlatched his seatbelt, asking casually, “Er-ge, I think I need to hurry up and take the driver’s license test. What do you think?”
The original owner had been a fool for many years, and didn’t have many “skill certificates.” Even his education was bought for him with Old Mr. Pei’s money and contacts so that he wouldn’t lose face.
Pei Yi didn’t agree with this approach, of course, but fortunately his own knowledge reserves were still sufficient.
He really wanted to learn new things, and could also make the effort.
Bo Yueming replied, “It depends on what you want. Even if you find it troublesome and don’t want to take the test, that’s fine. I’ll take you wherever you want to go, and if I’m not able to, there is also Lao Fu.”
“Okay, let’s wait for a bit.” Pei Yi looked at the phone. It was 8:55. “I’ll go up first.”
In any case, it was the first workday of the year, so he couldn’t be late in front of his employees.
Bo Yueming quickly grabbed his hand, leaning over to kiss him gently. “Go, call me if you need anything.”
“En.”
Pei Yi got out of the car and hurried into the building.
The elevator went up and paused at the first floor, and as soon as the door opened, Pei Yi ran into Li Yuan.
They hadn’t seen each other for a while. Li Yuan obviously had a little more flesh on his cheeks, and the wolf tail that the other party had grown long years ago was also cut short, but the small puff looked as cute as ever.
Pei Yi exchanged smiles with his friend and walked in. “Little Mr. Li, why are you here at the last minute today?”
Li Yuan covered his lips in an odd way and explained vaguely, “There was a bit of a traffic jam.”
Pei Yi raised his eyebrows slightly, and his eyes unconsciously fell on the other’s right foot. “Is it better? Did you drive yourself this morning?”
“After a half month’s rest, it’s much better.”
Li Yuan only answered the first half of the sentence, then changed the subject deliberately and looked at himself in the elevator mirror. “Pei Yi, do you think I’m getting fatter?”
Pei Yi nodded cooperatively. “En, your cheeks have improved a bit. That’s pretty good.”
Li Yuan said half-truthfully, “During the holiday, Brother sent me soup and food every couple of days.”
Especially bone broth and pig trotter soup. There was a big pot of it every time, and he couldn’t exercise, so he gained a lot of weight in just half a month.
These remarks sounded indifferent on the surface, but there was closeless hidden within them.
Pei Yi joked, “What? Brother only brought food to you? I’ll send him a WeChat message now.”
As he spoke, he really opened Qin Yishun’s WeChat account without being polite at all, and tapped out a sentence—
“Brother, you’re biased, you only sent food to Pear Garden.”
Then, in front of Li Yuan, he sent the message.
Li Yuan smiled, and complained, “Childish.”
The elevator stopped at the floor of YWY Studios.
The two restrained their teasing and stepped into the studio one after another.
Xian Nancheng and Lou Yang, who they hadn’t seen in some time, were sharing materials. The latter saw the two titular “bosses” and greeted them with a smile.
“You’re finally here. Happy New Year.”
“Sister Yang, Brother Xiang, long time no see,” Pei Yi greeted. “Especially Brother Xiang, you worked hard on the New Year.”
Xiang Nansheng put on his black-rimmed glasses and said, “It wasn’t hard, it was as it should be.”
Li Yuan confirmed the time. “The team leads of all the departments are ready. We’ll have a meeting in half an hour.”
“Okay, Little Mister Li.”
They spoke in harmony.
Pei Yi sensed Li Yuan’s gradually growing confidence, and hooked his shoulders, responding, “Okay, Mr. Li.”
Li Yuan replied in the presence of all, “Mr. Yi, don’t be like this.”
Laughter came one after another. The atmosphere in the studio was very relaxed. Lou Yang and Xiang Nansheng looked at each other, and both had the same thought—
Compared to the kind of game studios where the top and bottom positions were obvious and the bosses were strict, this sort of atmosphere was better for the happiness of the employees.
. . . . . . .
Half an hour later, the meeting began.
The content of the first meeting of the year was very clear-cut. First, they summarized the holiday data of The Last Fog 1.0, and then clarified the monthly preparations for The Last Fog 2.0 mobile game version.
There were only four month before the mobile game launch that they had planned for June.
However, as early as when the studio had started version 1.0, Pei Yi and Lou Yang had simultaneously refined the NPC characters and story structure, so one-third of the project had been completed.
“I suggest that we recruit two or three more technical programmers as soon as possible to share the work pressure.”
As the technical director, Xiang Nansheng said bluntly, “In addition, the servers in the studio need to be greatly expanded.”
Compared to the stand-alone version 1.0, the mobile 2.0 version would greatly enhance the interactive experience, and data processing would be cumbersome and complicated.
The server expansion and increase was not only in preparation for the 2.0 mobile game, but also for the future 3.0 online game.
When Xiang Nansheng was still at Youming Studios, their most popular mobile game “Search for Another World” completely crashed because the server was out of operation, leading to problems such as large-scale disconnections and freezes among players.
It was because of this occurrence that Xiang Nansheng and Ke Ming had a falling out, and the former didn’t want to encounter such problems at his new job.
Pei Yi’s style was to always be serious during work meetings. “Director Xiang, don’t worry. Mr. Li and I will find people to implement these two points as soon as possible.”
He looked around. “If there are no problems, let’s end the meeting here. Everyone had worked hard.”
Before they knew it, they had already completed a two-hour meeting.
Li Yuan remembered something, and added, “The others can leave. Director Lou and Director Xiang, please stay for a while.”
In contrast, they were the real core components of the studio.
Soon, there were only the four of them left in the conference room.
Pei Yi looked at his friend beside him. “Pear Garden, what is it?”
“I have something I want to discuss with you—”
Li Yuan connected his computer to the projector screen and opened a saved page. “Here, take a look.”
Pei Yi concentrated on the large characters at the top of the homepage. “China Original Game Design Competition?”
Li Yuan nodded, explaining his thoughts, “Should we take The Last Fog 2.0 and participate in the competition?”
Pei Yi and Lou Yuang’s gazes happened to meet, and they saw the confusion in each other’s eyes.
One of them was a transmigrator, and the other had stayed overseas all year round, so they weren’t familiar with the competitions in the Chinese game circle.
Xiang Nansheng was the most familiar with this competition among them, and took the initiative to say, “This original game design competition has been going on for seven years. It’s the ultimate original game design award in the Chinese game circle, with three places to win each session.”
“Nearly all the hottest games on the market have participated and won awards, and there are free project funds and support afterward.”
High value, high player trust, and good benefits after winning the prize.
Two years ago, Xiang Nansheng and Ke Ming participated in the sixth selection with “Search for Another World,” but unfortunately lost in the final round amongst five entries.
Even so, Ke Ming took the title of “Top 5 Finalist in the Chinese Game Design Competition” and still launched the game “Search for Another World.”
It could be seen that even without an award, it was a good thing to be shortlisted until the last moment.
“If we participate in the competition and win a prize, we’ll be able to have extra publicity for The Last Fog project. Is that your intent, Pear Garden?”
There were no outsiders for the moment, and none of them were formal when addressing the others.
Li Yuan nodded. “That’s right, Brother Xiang!”
“After all, our studio is newly established and does not yet have a reputation inside or outside the circle. No matter how good The Last Fog 1.0 is, most players won’t remember our studio.”
Since their original game was not backed by a top company, they must find a way to create honors and achievements for themselves.
Li Yuan looked around, and finally locked eyes on his friend. “Our game can be exposed step by step after it goes online, but since we have the opportunity to create exposure in advance, why not give it a try?”
Pei Yi’s eyes flickered slightly. “Who says we won’t try? Haven’t I just heard about this? Since it’s a competition, isn’t there a registration process and deadline?”
“It’s ten days after tomorrow. Twenty participating games will be screened and accepted within a week, and an invitation letter will be sent to the producer.”
The location of the competition was set in Haishi every year. There would be a business conference first, then a screening, and finally, the winners would be announced and subsequent exposure and support would be provided.
Getting the general idea, Pei Yi was certain. “Then let’s hurry and sign up. When we’re shortlisted, Pear Garden and I will take a trip to Haishi.”
Lou Yang asked with a smile, “You’re so confident we’ll be shortlisted? Aren’t you afraid we’ll be eliminated in the first screening?”
Faced with this teasing, Pei Yi did not show any lack of confidence. “Sister Yang, we’re rushing to win the prize.”
They had worked hard for such a long time. If they were eliminated in the initial screening, then everyone in the studio would have to change careers.
What Lou Yang admired most was Pei Yi’s wild self-confidence. “En, we’re rushing to win the prize!”
Pei Yi heard movement outside the conference room, and at once changed his words to say cutely, “Okay, before we win the prize, let’s fill our stomachs first. I’m hungry.”
Li Yuan closed the computer and quickly said, “I agree.”
. . . . . . .
The information and certificates for YWY Studios were completed in their entirety, including the settings of the Last Fog game, so the registration process was very smooth.
Within a week, Pei Yi learned the news of their successful nomination from his friend.
Bo Yueming said next to him, “What are you smiling about? Is the pig trotter soup that Mr. Qin gave you so delicious?”
“Of course it’s delicious, try it—”
Pei Yi moved closer with the small bowl and took the initiative to feed his lover. “But I’m not smiling because of this.”
Bo Yueming drank the fresh soup. “Then what are you smiling about?”
Pei Yi briefly explained how the game was entered and shortlisted before mentioning the main point, “Li Yuan and I will go to Haishi in two days.”
Bo Yueming’s eyes shifted slightly, and he asked in detail, “When? How many day?”
“Um…..”
Pei Yi thought about the specific dates. “We’ll leave this Sunday and come back next Friday. It may take five to six days round-trip.”
“…….”
Bo Yueming went a bit silent upon hearing this timeframe.
Pei Yi put down the soup bowl and asked uncertainly, “Er-ge, do you not want me to go?”
“That’s not it, if you’re willing to pursue career advancement, of course I’ll support you.” Bo Yuemign feared that he would misunderstand, so he explained earnestly, “It’s just that I can’t go with you during this time.”
Old Mrs. Bo’s health was not as good as it was before her illness, and the main branch had just been uprooted, so the position of chairman had been temporarily handed over to Bo Yueming.
As for the position of general manager, it was completely handed over to Bo Jiao, and Bo Wang, who had just joined the group, changed his spoiled temperament and started as a project assistant.
Three new executives had taken office, and Bo Yueming was very busy during this time.
Pei Yi chuckled. “You have your career, and I have mine. There’s no need for you to accompany me.”
Bo Yueming spoke what was in his heart. “I’m afraid you’ll be in danger.”
He really didn’t want to experience the danger and fear of the past for a third time.
“Er-ge.” Pei Yi held Bo Yueming’s face and said word by word, “I’ll be there to participate in a game competition, not to fight for the assets of some wealthy family. How could it be so easy for me to get into trouble?”
“Pear Garden will be with me the whole time, and the organizers also have security measures in place.”
Bo Yueming knew this was the case, and said in a nearly inaudible voice, “En.”
Pei Yi saw that his lover still had doubts, so he took the initiative to raise his hand and say, “Er-ge, I will send you a message every morning, noon, and night to report that I’m safe.”
“This is a must.”
Bo Yueming pinched Pei Yi’s earlobe lightly and discussed with him, “Kitten, let me talk to Mr. Qin about the situation and ask the STS Haishi branch to send a couple of people to protect you secretly, okay?”
Pei Yi had originally wanted to say that it wasn’t necessary, but at Bo Yueming’s anxious and pleading look, he could only respond, “Okay.”
After saying so, he leaned closer and kissed the person in front of him. “Er-ge, don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
“En.”
. . . . . . . .
The China Original Game Design Competition had received backing from the relevant departments to be held for the eighth time in a row.
This year’s organizers had increased their investment and directly contracted the airline tickets and hotel accommodation expenses for the various game producers.
The flight arrived at the Haishi airport at 8:30 in the evening.
Pei Yi donned his mask and peaked cap again, and walked through the airport with his friend.
While they walked, Pei Yi took advantage of this time to ask, “Li Yuan, while we’re in Haishi, keep calling me by my game ID.”
“The fewer people who know my real name, the better.”
Li Yuan responded with a smile, “I understand, didn’t you explain it to me a long time ago? I even used your English ID name on the form I submitted to the organizers.”
The Chinese game circle was all-encompassing, and many game masters used nicknames. The competition organizers had no restrictions in this area.
Li Yuan asked, “Why don’t you want to reveal your real name?”
Pei Yi replied, “No particular reason. It’s just that I’m used to using the Will ID to mix in the circle, and everyone might be relatively familiar with it.”
So far, the games developed by Pei Yi had filled in the production column of his ID, and there had previously been a small wave of popularity on Weibo and game forums.
In a conference event with gamers, it was more convenient to take out the ID.
Other than that, Pei Yi deliberately kept his secret because—
He and Bo Yueming were lovers, and the latter was temporarily the top executive chairman of Bo Group.
The status of such a “wealthy family” was too well-known, and he might be envied by others or plotted against by people with ambitions.
Since he worked hard for his career, in terms of family background, the less people knew, the better.
As soon as the two walked outside the pick-up gate, they caught sight of the staff sent by the organizer holding a sign to pick them up. The two sides briefly introduced themselves, and then headed to their reservation at the five-star hotel.
In the car, Pei Yi brought up business. “Xiao Chen, may I ask, is the list of the shortlisted games and producers out yet?”
“The organizers intend to officially reveal them at the opening ceremony tomorrow morning.”
The staff member Xiao Chen answered while driving, “But they aren’t deliberately hiding them—”
“Tomorrow morning is the opening ceremony, and other than those from Haishi, other game producers from abroad have already checked into the hotels arranged by us.”
“Teacher Will, Mr. Li, perhaps you will meet some game masters later whom you know or who are familiar with your ID.”
“En.”
Pei Yi and Li Yuan looked at each other, and saw the expectations in each other’s eyes.
In this sort of game competition, the first part was a learning exchange, and the second part was the competition and awards.
It was almost ten o’clock when they arrived at the hotel and checked in.
“Teachers, I won’t follow you up. You should rest well tonight. If you need anything, you can contact me on WeChat at any time.”
Xiao Cheng’s footsteps paused at the elevator door as he recalled something. “By the way, there is a 24-hour buffet on the eighth floor of the hotel. You can enter by reporting your room number.”
Li Yuan nodded. “Thank you for your hard work.”
The double room in this hotel was quite spacious and tidy. Pei Yi put down his luggage and invited, “Pear Garden, want to go down and eat something?”
In any case, it wasn’t a familiar bed, so he wouldn’t be able to sleep right away tonight.
Li Yuan also felt hungry. “All right.”
Having reached an agreement, the two left the room.
Pei Yi picked up his cell phone as they walked. “I’ll call home to report my safety.”
Li Yuan feigned disgust. “Be careful where you’re going, don’t drop your phone.”
Pei Yi scoffed. His eyes remained on the phone, his fingers tapping quickly—
“Er-ge, I’ve arrived at the hotel and everything is going well. Now I’m going to eat some supper at the hotel restaurant with Pear Garden.”
“By the way, this is the address and room of the hotel. You’re welcome to send someone to do the guard rounds at any time.”
The return message on WeChat came very quickly. It seemed that Bo Yueming had been waiting for him to message—
“Don’t eat too much before bed, your stomach will be uncomfortable. If you can’t sleep, just take out my jacket.”
When Pei Yi saw the second sentence, his cheeks burned.
He glanced covertly at his friend, for fear of being caught by the other party.
It was always difficult for Pei Yi to fall asleep in a strange bed, but it would be too much to bring the quilt for a business trip that was less than a week—
So, when he was packing his luggage the night before, he secretly stuffed Bo Yueming’s coat in, thinking that he would put it next to the pillow or under the quilt as he slept, so that he could fall asleep with a familiar sense of stability.
The phone vibrated again. Bo Yueming on the other side had sent a picture of Inspector soundly asleep.
Ever since the two got together, Inspector could only sleep in the cat nest every night, but tonight was one of the rare times it could occupy the foot of the bed.
“Little Sir, Inspector misses you very much.”
Pei Yi looked at this silliness that had come immediately, and understood the deeper meaning behind it. A deep smile appeared in his eyes.
“Then tell Inspector for me that I miss him too.”
Ding—
The elevator door opened.
Li Yuan, who was standing in front, put his phone down first and reminded, “We’re here.”
“En.”
Pei Yi followed his friend out the door, and suddenly caught sight of a figure around the corner.
It was someone inexplicably familiar.
