The glorious moment for the Lu Games Company can be traced back to the Chinese New Year. During the New Year period, students and office workers had time off and were wondering how to pass the time. The obvious choices were binge-watching TV shows or playing video games.
Qin Siyuan, a white-collar worker at a small company, was no exception. With cold weather outside, she preferred to stay indoors and had no desire to move. Occasionally, she would exchange a few words with her parents about marriage pressure but had nothing else to do. She had already watched all the TV dramas that interested her, so she decided to play games. She opened Lu Games Factory.
Before, she would pass the time during her subway rides or while waiting for her bus by playing a few rounds of Gomoku (Five in a Row) on Lu Company’s platform. Once her stop arrived, she would put it away.
She had never tried any of Lu Company’s other games, but she knew that Lu Company was the largest game conglomerate in China, like a factory that produced delicious delights, meticulously showcasing its products and providing daily happiness to gamers.
She clicked into the factory’s interior and accidentally entered a CG segment. She hesitated for a moment, thinking of closing it, but the exquisite animation drew her attention.
A dragonfly skimmed over the calm, mirror-like water surface, creating a ripple that unfolded into a magnificent and exotic scroll of an Eastern fantasy world. In this world, humans and ghosts coexisted, and demons and Buddhas lived side by side. Some could control the wind and rain or summon soldiers from beans, while others could write poems that moved spirits and gods. A single red lantern in the wilderness, accompanied by a waft of blue smoke, could lead to a marvelous adventure…
Before Qin Siyuan could fully awaken from her entranced state, the short 90-second CG video ended, abruptly snapping her out of her reverie. She felt as though she had been rudely awakened from a dream, her mind still filled with the enchanting image of the fox spirit from the animation.
She watched it again and realized that such a beautifully crafted CG animation was merely a promotional video for a mobile game. She had initially thought she had watched a movie.
Unable to resist her curiosity, she went online to search for the game and discovered the vast array of games offered by Lu Company inside their “factory.” She even accidentally stumbled upon Lu Company’s CEO’s Weibo and found a horde of gamers criticizing the company.
[Liars! You promised to release new maps for Star Wars during the New Year!]
[Why don’t you save the money you spend on CG animations and invest it in the games? Are you trying to compete with animation companies?]
[The game designer who killed my favorite character! I’m sending razor blades to your company!]
[The probability of getting SSR characters in a ten-draw is too high! Why am I still unlucky after spending so much money? This game is doomed!]
[When will you fix the bug where I can’t get an SSR character?]
However, once these comments reached the Weibo of Yin Minglu, they mysteriously vanished.
Yin MingluV: [Maintenance update for this week is as follows: 1. New maps for Star Wars are now available: Chaotic Abyss, Steel City, and the Clockwork Rebirth Machine, and more. 2. A new batch of skins has been added to the store with a limited-time 20% discount. 3. Various new-year gift packages are now available in the store for purchase. Consume responsibly and rationally. 4. Increased drop rates for SR and SSR characters during the new year period. 5. Bug fixes based on player feedback, along with a small-scale server-wide compensation… PS: I am really not a game designer, so please stop coming to my Weibo.]
[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! New skins again! My wife looks so beautiful!!]
[New maps! And there are so many of them! They are really putting in the effort. I’m going to continue playing! Forever!]
[Oh my god, these gift packages are such a great deal! Only 648 and you get to draw a hundred times. I’m buying them all! Not buying is not an option!]
Of course, there were also comments like, “You’ve worked hard, Mr. CEO,” or sarcastic remarks targeting Yin Minglu: “Please don’t stop posting on your Weibo.”
Some astute individuals saw through the nature of the game: [Gaming brings happiness, but ever since I started playing Lu Company’s games, my wallet has never been the same.]
Eating instant noodles every day and spending money on game skins, there was no money left.
Someone even tried to reason: [Well, isn’t making money to spend it the whole point? When spending money for happiness, why bother counting? Let me show you my beautiful daughter [picture]!]
[Who was it that promised not to spend money and only play for free? Who’s the one collecting so many skins behind everyone’s back?]
[It’s too real! Please, shut up! I’ve spent four or five thousand, and yet I still want to spend more!]
[… Well, aren’t you embarrassed to say that to us?]
This series of reversals shocked Qin Siyuan, and gradually, she became curious about Lu Factory Games. She fell into the gaming pit and embarked on the long road of purchasing monthly cards and in-game outfits.
Inside the Lu Company headquarters, Yin Minglu sat in his CEO chair, spinning around before casually tapping the table. He then flashed a devilish smile at his employees. “During the New Year, we’ll intensify our game promotion plan. Spare no expense on internet platforms and major squares for GG and CG advertisements. Furthermore, it’s the New Year, and many children have received red envelopes, while working professionals have received their salaries and bonuses. It’s time for us to release new gift packages, so that players willingly open their wallets.” After all, he was the son of a businessman; accumulating capital required money. Businessmen pursued profit; that was the fundamental truth.
The employees responded with enthusiasm, “Yes!”
As a result, Lu Games Company successfully secured a significant share of the gaming market during the New Year festival with a massive advertising campaign. Yin Minglu, sitting comfortably at home, made a fortune and began to make a name for himself on China’s wealth rankings. It wasn’t until later that the big players in the business world took notice. They initially thought that the son of the richest man was fooling around instead of working on games, and they ridiculed him. When they finally realized, it was too late—Lu Company had already claimed half of the gaming empire, quietly infiltrating people’s lives and changing their habits. Their headquarters rose from the ground up, accumulating a large number of loyal fans, and even supporting many e-sports streamers. They started hosting professional e-sports competitions every year.
Inside the Lu Factory, the daily number of active players online was enough to astonish industry professionals.
What was even more fearsome was that the young man’s ambitions didn’t stop there. He was even more enterprising than many of his peers. At a time when the competition for the gaming market was intense, he boldly accepted the agency of foreign games in the local market. He even translated local cultural games for export overseas, leaving gaming competitors in Europe and America feeling apprehensive. However, the fair-haired and blue-eyed players exclaimed in exaggeration about how much fun and thrilling these games were!
Clearly, the move to connect domestic and international markets had been a strategic success.
At this point, those big shots looked back and examined the video of Yin Minglu’s first appearance in the game design competition several years ago, which was also Lu Games Factory’s initial debut. They realized that the young man’s ambitious nature had been evident long before.
What game factory? It was clearly a game empire! He regarded himself as a ruler! He was truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing! When they were not vigilant, the little wolf cub had already grown up and now possessed the capital to sit on equal footing with them.
One couldn’t help but exclaim how formidable the young generation could be.
Yin Minglu’s net worth soared, and along with it, the already prominent Yin family became even more prominent. Yin Minglu ranked first on the list of prestigious families circulated within high society. Many young ladies, whether encouraged by their parents or by their own will, were willing to engage in a business alliance with Yin Minglu, this talented young man.
For those families without daughters, upon hearing that the Yin family had an adopted daughter, they promptly sent their sons, hoping to establish connections with the Yin family in an unconventional way.
Mayor Chen also had this idea. He said to his only son, Chen Xu, “I heard that the Yin family has an adopted daughter who used to be your junior in school, and she’s quite beautiful. Your mother and I saw her photo and thought you two would make a good match. You young people, would you like to spend some time together? If you’re interested, we can invite her to a restaurant this Saturday.”
In other words, he was introducing his son to potential partners. However, when Chen Xu heard that the person he was supposed to meet was Jiang Mingqin, he frowned and immediately declined.
“Why? Do you mind her being an adopted daughter?” Mayor Chen was surprised, thinking his son was unaware of the situation. He explained, “There’s a saying in our circles that this girl is actually Mr. Yin’s illegitimate daughter, but she has always lived outside. Maybe her upbringing and temperament are not up to par, but her status is no different from that of a legitimate wealthy young lady. If you marry her and become a son-in-law of the Yin family, you won’t lack for any dowry or shares.”
As for Mr. Yin’s capable son, it was said that he wasn’t even his biological child, but there was no evidence to confirm this. Even if it were confirmed, what difference would it make? Only a fool would let go of a gold mine.
Chen Xu shook his head and said, “Whether she’s adopted or not, I don’t mind. It’s just that I know her personally, and she has a bad character. I don’t want to marry her.”
Just like with his junior, whether he was the young master of the Yin family or not, he treated her the same way, only considering if he was willing or not.
On the other hand, Jiang Mingqin forced a smile as she dealt with the wealthy young men who came to inquire about her relationship with Yin Minglu. A large group of them lost interest as soon as she said, “My relationship with Minglu is actually ordinary,” and it was clear that she was disinterested. Another small group didn’t mind the coldness between them as they seemed genuinely fond of her, but these individuals had average financial backgrounds, and their families owned a few small companies.
She had no interest in them.
Thinking back to these days of arranged meetings by her father, Jiang Mingqin bit her lip in frustration. She increasingly felt that her life was unsatisfactory in the shadow of Yin Minglu’s success.
In last year’s college entrance exam, she could have achieved excellent results, but just before the exam, it was discovered that the test questions had been leaked online. As a result, the education department decided to use a backup set of sealed test papers, which included an extremely difficult national-level exam that left numerous students, including her, questioning life.
Fortunately, because the previous year’s exam had been very challenging, the students were already mentally prepared, and their minds remained steady. However, Jiang Mingqin, completely unprepared, had a complete breakdown. If it weren’t for the fact that tearing up the exam paper would result in the test being invalidated, and her fear of being forced to repeat another year by Yin Yunqiu, she would have torn up the paper in frustration.
She performed terribly in the end, with a messy and unclear paper. When the results came out, it was extremely embarrassing, and she could only enter a second-tier or lower third-tier university. So she chose to apply to a second-tier college affiliated with Peking University, only telling people that she attended Peking University, just like the young man. It was as if by doing so, the gap in their social status wouldn’t be too far apart.
However, during the year she spent isolated from the world while repeating her studies, Yin Minglu’s life continued to improve. He even exceeded his limits in his freshman year and was at the forefront of the era, becoming a highly admired figure. He even elevated the status of those pursuing her. All of this, it seemed, was thanks to Yin Minglu’s.
But the girl couldn’t be happy about it.
All of this was thanks to Yin Minglu’s charity. Moreover, because Yin Minglu had been successful, her father, Yin Yunqiu, wanted to use her as a marriage tool, ready to marry her off to just anyone. Coincidentally, the prospective groom turned out to be the same man from her previous life, who had sweet-talked her but turned out to be unfaithful after marriage. She wouldn’t willingly accept this!
She thought that if she could also make a name for herself, the Yin family wouldn’t dare to treat her this way.
In a corner of the banquet, the young woman hugged her knees and cried bitterly. She wiped away her tears with the back of her delicate hand and sobbed, “Why is everyone like this? From the moment he was born, my adoptive parents swapped me and him to ensure a better future for him. They let him grow up smoothly in a wealthy family, doting on him since childhood, and enjoying all the luxuries. Even when my biological father faced financial losses in his business ventures, he willingly paid for him. On the other hand, I am my father’s biological daughter, but I had to grow up outside, living in a cramped house with four people…”
“My biological father hates me and is afraid I will threaten Minglu’s position. I’m only twenty years old, and they want to marry me off. After my adoptive parents discovered the truth, they were afraid I would reveal the secret, so they cut ties with me and refused to let me return to that house… What did I do wrong? Why is everyone treating me like this?”
The young woman in the flowerbed whispered about her tragic and difficult life. Her clear tears soaked her beautiful eyes, making her look even more pitiable.
At this moment, a man with slightly pale skin and stunning features emerged from behind the trees. He gazed at the tearful young woman. His voice was overly cold but seemed to contain something else. “Stop crying. Tears won’t make those who like you pity you; they will only give satisfaction to those who dislike you. You need to be strong.”
As if she hadn’t expected someone to suddenly appear, the young woman was taken aback. She frantically wiped her eyes, her face revealing a moment of panic and confusion. However, as she lifted her arm, it inadvertently covered up a hint of the smirk that had indeed succeeded.
Author’s note: Thank you to the little angels who have voted for my story or given it nourishment~
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