LMMY chapter 60

When Li Xuan searched for Nook in the app store, a sudden bang sounded behind him.

He turned around to find applause erupting in waves, with confetti and golden glitter cascading down.

“Thank you all for your hard work during this period. Nook is officially launched!” Qi Boyuan grabbed a microphone from the meeting room. “This is our studio’s first game, marking a new phase for us. Let’s keep working hard, aiming for Series A and B funding rounds, and eventually take Yuanyi Tech public!”

“Alright!” Chu Tianheng was the first to shout, followed by another round of enthusiastic applause.

“Now, let’s have a few words from our boss, Li.” Qi Boyuan pushed the microphone toward Li Xuan.

Plucking a strand of confetti from his head, Li Xuan frowned. “What are you doing?”

“Celebrating, of course!” Qi Boyuan grinned.

Everyone in the office—about a dozen employees, even the cleaning auntie—was watching. With the confetti and golden glitter, the usually cold, tech-heavy decor of the workspace seemed to radiate warmth.

“Thank you, everyone, for your efforts.” Li Xuan stood up. “Bonuses will be doubled this month.”

“That’s it?” Amid the cheers, Qi Boyuan joked and nudged Li Xuan with an elbow. “Say a bit more.”

“Say more?” Li Xuan raised an eyebrow. “Your bonus this month is canceled.”

“Why?!”

“For hitting your boss.”

The other employees laughed good-naturedly as Li Xuan grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and walked toward his office. Qi Boyuan followed him. “Dream on. I handle the accounts. I’ll decide how much to pay out.”

“Fine, treasurer.” Li Xuan switched on the light in his office, stifling a yawn. “Why don’t you and our senior colleague take everyone out for a late-night snack?”

“Sure.” Qi Boyuan nodded. “You’re not coming?”

“Too tired.” For once, a trace of fatigue crossed Li Xuan’s face. Two days before launch, a minor bug had been discovered affecting compatibility with certain rare devices. Though the issue was minor due to the limited user base, Li Xuan insisted on fixing it. To ensure a smooth launch, he hadn’t slept for two or three days.

“Alright, get some rest,” Qi Boyuan said. “Our hardworking CEO deserves it.”

Li Xuan clicked his tongue. “You’re really in a mood today, huh? Try saying that when Zhou Jia’s around.”

“She loves it when I do.” A grin spread across Qi Boyuan’s face at the mention of his girlfriend.

“What?”

“Never mind. You sleep. I’ll shut the door for you,” Qi Boyuan said, closing the office door behind him. “Call me if you get hungry, and I’ll bring you some porridge… No, scratch that. Call Tianheng. I might not hear my phone.”

“Get lost already.”

…

Li Xuan hadn’t slept this deeply in a long time. Perhaps it was because the game launch lifted a weight off his shoulders, allowing him a brief respite. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, still in his clothes, forgetting to draw the curtains. When he woke, the sky outside was dim. 

Sitting up, he rubbed his temples, which throbbed faintly. Hearing movement, Qi Boyuan knocked on the door before walking in. “You’re finally up.”

“What time is it?” Li Xuan checked his watch—it was six o’clock. “Is the sun rising?”

“More like setting!” Qi Boyuan perched on the bedside table. “It’s six in the evening. It rained earlier, so it’s a bit gloomy outside.”

“I slept that long?” Li Xuan frowned, wondering if Qi Boyuan was joking.

“I checked on you three or four times. Looked like you were making up for the whole week’s worth of sleep… But never mind that. Look at this.” Qi Boyuan was holding a laptop, his excitement evident.

“What happened?” Still groggy, Li Xuan assumed something was wrong with the software. Seeing the screen, he froze. “Did you buy fake downloads?”

“Do you know how expensive it is to buy real users?” Qi Boyuan pointed at the screen, his face brimming with joy. “And did you give me that kind of budget?”

Less than 24 hours after its launch, Nook had already surpassed one million downloads. This would be a rare achievement for any game company, let alone a small one like theirs. It felt like a miracle. 

After all, no matter how talented Li Xuan was, Yuanyi was still a fledgling company, and this was their debut game. Their promotional budget had been meticulously planned, but compared to gaming giants like Yuanxin, their pre-launch marketing was almost negligible. Moreover, Nook wasn’t a trendy competitive game. In a mobile gaming market dominated by competitive and romance genres, simulation games like theirs occupied only a small niche.

Li Xuan had considered these things and was well aware of them. From the start, his plan for Nook was to follow a path that was small yet refined. Of course, the game needed to bring in profits for the company, but more importantly, it had to build a reputation, showcasing the company’s strength and quality. While the download numbers were important, he was more focused on the future word-of-mouth from users.

“Do you know how much the backend revenue is right now?” Qi Boyuan said as he opened another interface, unable to contain his excitement, “Li Xuan, I’m telling you the truth. Before seeing the revenue, I couldn’t even spend the salary you gave me. I haven’t dared to spend a single penny. I was worried that if we didn’t see any results, I would end up draining your savings…”

“My savings are deep, you can keep digging for a few more years. Stop with the speeches. You’re making it sound like I’m the one who’s being stingy,” Li Xuan interrupted him, “So, what happened?”

“You don’t know?” Qi Boyuan asked, somewhat surprised.

“I just woke up, how would I know?” Just as he said that, a vague guess suddenly appeared in Li Xuan’s mind.

“Sheng Min did the promotion!”

Sure enough, the next second, Qi Boyuan confirmed his suspicion. He didn’t hold back and glanced at Li Xuan, “Wait, you really didn’t know? You didn’t ask him for help?”

“I didn’t,” Li Xuan shook his head after a long pause.

“Are you sure he’s not one of our investors? Last time you lied to me, right?” Qi Boyuan shifted his position, grabbed a bottle of soda, opened it, but before he could drink, Li Xuan took it from him. He opened another bottle with a puzzled expression, “You didn’t ask him, but this guy is really something… Last time you said he was a friend, I thought he was just an acquaintance. But for Nook, he went live early this morning before the sun came up and streamed for two whole hours. I swear his eyes were bloodshot. He even trended on Weibo. Our office girls are all going crazy.”

Qi Boyuan pointed toward the office door, “And he did it so naturally. If I didn’t know you two were close, I would’ve thought he just downloaded a random game and got addicted to it… Oh, he’s still trending, it’s dropped a bit, do you want to see?”

As he spoke, Qi Boyuan opened the trending video, and Li Xuan heard Sheng Min’s voice but hesitated to look at the screen, his body frozen.

“Has the follow-up promotion been handled? No issues with the server?” Li Xuan paused for a moment before asking Qi Boyuan.

“No issues, I came back to work right after I finished my late-night snack… What happened to your neck? Did you sleep wrong? You were fine just now…” 

“It’s fine,” Li Xuan said. “You can continue with your work.”

“Alright,” Qi Boyuan glanced at him, sensing something off, but said nothing else and stood up. “Should I leave my laptop here, or take it with me?”

“Leave it,” Li Xuan’s voice was a bit stiff. “I’ll return it to you later.”