The doctor examined his body meticulously, confirming that he only bore a temporary mark and that no invasive act had taken place.
Wan Xu lowered his head, wondering what to think.
Just as the doctor was about to say something to comfort the Omega, Wan Xu pulled out his phone, transferred a large sum of money to him, and instructed: “No one must be told about my check-up results today, especially the temporary mark. If President Wan asks, just say I just returned from abroad, my body hasn’t adjusted yet, and I’m feeling a bit unwell. Understand?”
The President Wan he referred to was Wan Ting.
The doctor looked at the transfer notification popping up on his phone screen, opened his mouth, and finally swallowed back the words he wanted to say.
Although the brothers were close, Wan Xu couldn’t figure out Wan Ting’s stance on political marriages. If he found out that he wanted to call off the engagement using this kind of excuse, Wan Ting definitely wouldn’t agree. In matters like this, Wan Ting was simply an old-fashioned square, cut from the exact same cloth as their elders.
What’s more, Wan Ting cared about his reputation far more than he did; he definitely wouldn’t want to see his younger brother’s name in the entertainment news section of the public WeChat accounts tomorrow.
It wasn’t his fault, after all.
This world, which discriminated against the so-called disadvantaged groups every single moment, was simply terrible.
Right at that moment, Wan Ting sent a message asking him to go to the police station to make a statement.
Teng An’s behavior was an ironclad criminal offense, and he would inevitably be unable to escape the sanctions of the law. But right now, Wan Xu no longer had the heart to pursue it.
Leaving such matters to his eldest brother to handle was fine; he had more important things to do right now.
He told Wan Ting that he was still feeling rather unwell and wanted to rest at home.
He also mentioned that he had a medical examination report from a private hospital and asked if he could use that as evidence.
Naturally, he had coerced and bribed the doctor into deleting the record of his temporary mark, while incidentally exaggerating the aphrodisiac’s impact on his endocrine system.
The police officer in charge of the case was very responsible. After gaining permission, he replaced the in-person statement with a phone call.
After finishing all this, Wan Xu returned to his small apartment, changed into a comfortable set of clothes, shoved his equipment and other items into a huge backpack, and went to meet their angel investor according to the address Yu Dong had given him.
The meeting place was chosen at a café on the ground floor of an industrial incubation park, and Yu Dong was already waiting for him there.
The investor hadn’t arrived yet, so they found a corner with a power outlet to tinker with the computer and peripherals. After about half an hour, when everything was almost assembled, the investor arrived fashionably late.
The newcomer was a very young-looking Alpha, wearing a well-fitted suit and tie, impeccably groomed from head to toe.
Looking at the two of them by contrast, they had just thrown on hoodies and wiped their faces before coming out, looking all dusty; the contrast between high and low was stark.
“Hello, Mr. Wan.” That person extended a hand toward Wan Xu, “I am Lu Shen.”
Wan Xu put down his equipment, pulled a wet wipe out of his bag to wipe his hands clean, and then politely shook hands back: “Hello, Mr. Lu.”
“Apologies, I just returned from abroad and haven’t had time to rent a venue yet, so I can only make do like this for now.” Wan Xu smiled politely, “Why don’t you sit over here, try out the demo first, and then we can talk in detail?”
Lu Shen nodded and leaned over to look at the screen.
Wan Xu’s body stiffened.
He was still carrying the temporary mark that could not be washed away; even though he had taken suppressants and worn a suppression patch, the Alpha’s sudden approach still made him feel somewhat at a loss.
Lu Shen’s pheromone smelled of cedar, very distinct.
Lu Shen also reacted at the same time, but he quickly adjusted himself, stepped back slightly to maintain a safe distance from him, and naturally took the game controller from Yu Dong’s hands.
As the only Beta present, Yu Dong naturally didn’t notice the undercurrents here and was still enthusiastically introducing the game’s basic gameplay and design.
Unlike Wan Xu, who came from a prestigious family and paid extreme attention to upbringing, Yu Dong had always been straightforward. That was why Wan Xu wouldn’t feel at ease letting him go out alone to secure investments; speaking too bluntly made it easy to offend people.
This demo was quite rudimentary since there hadn’t been time to refine it yet, and only the core gameplay could be seen; art, text, and everything else were completely absent.
After the small pheromone interlude, Wan Xu quickly got into the zone, answering Lu Shen’s questions one by one. Soon, Lu Shen quieted down, focusing intently on the imagery on the screen.
There wasn’t much content in the demo, and Lu Shen cleared the stages quickly. He put down the controller and looked at both of them: “Not bad.”
Wan Xu and Yu Dong let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
“How did you think of combining simulation management with auto-battler mechanics?” Lu Shen asked.
“Capitalizing on strengths and circumventing weaknesses,” he replied.
Lu Shen motioned for him to continue with a look of interest.
“The mechanics of most games nowadays are already quite mature, making it hard to create further innovations. It is just old wine in a new bottle. Moreover, I believe the most important thing about a game is its playability; if you make it fun, players will naturally buy into it. What I mean by maintaining playability is combining different types of game modes together to leverage strengths and offset weaknesses.”
“First of all, both auto-battlers and simulation management games require a certain degree of resource planning ability, but the difference is that simulation management has a slower pace while auto-battlers are much faster-paced. Simulation management can face tedious, repetitive gameplay in the later stages, while the randomness and fast pace of auto-battlers can make up for this. At the same time, the gains from simulation management can also provide attribute bonuses for the auto-battler, giving players a greater sense of achievement during conquests.”
The game he was making had a Western fantasy background. Players needed to play the role of a lord, managing their own territory while also defending and conquering.
The economic system and combat numerical values of these two types of gameplay in the demo hadn’t been adjusted yet, so the playability wasn’t as high as he had anticipated.
Lu Shen nodded and asked again: “Then do you plan to run it as a live-service long-term operation, or as a buy-to-play single-purchase title?”
“Buy-to-play,” Wan Xu answered without hesitation. “Our plan is to list it on Steam. If possible, putting it on mobile platforms would be even better.”
Lu Shen nodded again and replied: “Not bad, but I might need some time to think it over. How about this, I’ll contact you next week, is that alright?”
Wan Xu and Yu Dong secretly high-fived behind their backs and replied that it was fine.
“However, I must remind you of one thing, Mr. Wan.” Before standing up to leave, Lu Shen extended his hand to Wan Xu with a smile once more, “Currently, the domestic gaming market is dominated by mobile platforms as the absolute core, and most of those with higher revenue shares are in-app purchase models. Are you really not going to consider it?”
Wan Xu shook his hand: “Thank you for your suggestion, we will consider it.”
“In-app purchases certainly make money, but we want to make a game where players can experience the complete package once they buy it, rather than chopping the fun up into pieces and selling it.”
Lu Shen smiled without a word.
Watching him get into his car and leave the incubation park, Yu Dong finally dared to openly hug Wan Xu and cheer: “Boss, is this going to work out?”
“Hard to say.” Wan Xu pushed him away and poured cold water on him, “His attitude is a bit too ambiguous, and there’s one most important thing he didn’t ask.”
“What?”
“The development cycle.” Wan Xu turned back to pack up his equipment, “An investor is an investor; they won’t do business at a loss. He needs to know when the money he invests can be recouped. The fact that he didn’t ask means he either doesn’t care, or he never even thought about investing in the first place.”
Yu Dong, who had just been overly excited, instantly drooped: “And here I thought we finally ran into someone who knows their stuff.”
Wan Xu gave him a push: “Don’t get discouraged. Practice makes perfect, and besides, your boss here still has plenty of disposable cash.”
Yu Dong’s eyes lit up instantly.
“If that doesn’t show why being a second-generation rich kid is great.” He joked, “Boss, I’m counting on you to support me!”
“To correct you, it’s fourth-generation.” Wan Xu pushed away the person trying to get close again, “My family started making its fortune all the way back from my great-grandfather’s generation. Stay away from me!”
While bantering and finishing packing up their things, just as Wan Xu put his backpack on, two new messages popped up on his phone.
[My friend’s industrial incubation park happens to have some venue space. If you guys need it, you can contact me, and I’ll help you negotiate a discounted price.]
[The game is good, very promising. Wait for my news.]
Wan Xu smiled and put his phone away.
[Where did you go?]
As soon as he got into the car, Nie Wencheng’s message popped up.
Lu Shen was in a good mood right now and still had the leisure to banter with him: [What’s wrong, Young Master Nie? Can’t live without me for even a minute?]
The other side went quiet for a good while, sending a speechless emoji before a phone call came through.
“Jiang Wan,” Nie Wencheng called out to him, “I’宁ve sent you the documents from the meeting just now. I might need you to process them; I can’t get away from my end.” (Note: “I’ve sent you…”)
Lu Shen, or rather, Lu Jiangwan acknowledged it with a sound and asked, “Family matters?”
Nie Wencheng let out an exhausted acknowledgment.
“I actually had some good news I wanted to tell you, too.” Regret filled Lu Jiangwan’s voice.
“What?”
“I went to see that fiancé of yours.”
The person on the other end of the line had a complicated mood, but still maintained their patience and asked, “Wan Xu?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Lu Jiangwan’s tone was brisk, “He’s a very interesting person, I like him a lot. Are you really not planning to see him before the engagement banquet?”
The other end of the phone fell silent for a spell.
What responded to him next was the busy tone of a hung-up call.
Lu Jiangwan curled his lip.
He would be curious what kind of person Nie Wencheng’s fiancé would be, but the person involved didn’t seem interested in the least.
True enough, with no news for over five years, having to constantly keep in mind in one’s heart that one has a fiancé, anyone would develop a sense of rebellious psychology, wouldn’t they? Besides, how agonizing Nie Wencheng’s condition was, it wasn’t as if he didn’t know.
An Alpha who couldn’t smell pheromones, how was he supposed to face his Omega wife?
Lu Jiangwan couldn’t be bothered to think about it.
Since Nie Wencheng wasn’t interested, he wouldn’t bring it up either.
When the bastard old man called, Wan Xu was cramming into the small apartment kitchen with Yu Dong to cook instant noodles.
Actually, if not for this phone call, it should have been a very wonderful first day, Wan Xu thought. He motioned for Yu Dong to keep quiet and ran out to the balcony to answer the phone.
“Where are you?” Wan’s father’s voice was ice-cold.
“Outside.”
“Out messing around with that Beta classmate of yours again?” Wan Father opened with accusations, “You’re getting married soon, can you please behave yourself for once, huh?”
Wan Xu got angry upon hearing this: “What on earth do you take me for? Is the value of my existence just to get married? I just came back, can you let me stay in peace by myself for a moment?”
As expected, the person on the other end repeated those five words: “I am doing this for your good.”
What a load of “for my good.”
“Doing it for my good means selling me like a commodity to an Alpha?” Wan Xu was beyond furious at this point.
“You have to get married eventually, and Nie Wencheng is a good person.”
Good, good, good. Of course I know he’s a good person; I don’t need you guys repeating in my ear every day that he’s a good person.
“I haven’t even seen his face.” Wan Xu laughed out of anger, “Wan Jianming, who on earth is your son?”
The old man was still chattering away endlessly, but he could no longer hear the subsequent contents clearly; his mind went completely blank.
“I’m not marrying him.” He stubbornly repeated, “I won’t marry someone I don’t love.”
“I don’t care where you are right now or what you’re doing, fine?” Wan Father also began to lose his patience, “But next month’s engagement banquet, whether you marry or not, you must show up!”
“I can’t marry him anymore!” Wan Xu couldn’t endure it any longer and roared into the phone.
In an instant, the world went quiet.
The commotion was so loud that even Yu Dong noticed this side. Knowing that this young master didn’t get along very well with his family, he only dared to cautiously poke his head out to look over here.
After a long while, the voice from the other side of the phone sounded again as Wan Jianming questioned him: “What do you mean?”
“I can’t marry him anymore, I can’t!” Wan Xu said viciously, “I slept with another Alpha. I’ve been marked. I’m no longer pure. Are you satisfied now?”
The other end of the phone was left with only Wan Jianming’s heavy breathing.
“Who else knows about this?” This voice was clearly suppressing anger.
Wan Xu regretted it the moment he finished speaking and remained silent.
“I don’t care where you are right now, get your ass back here immediately.”
Wan Xu looked at the call-ended interface, the veins on the hand gripping his phone bulging.
The tooth marks on the back of his neck seemed to be throbbing with dull pain again. As if venting his anger, he peeled off the suppression patch, and the pheromone scent mixed with sandalwood instantly pervaded the air.
The cold wind blew the strong pheromone away. Wan Xu took a deep breath, calmed down, and swiped open his phone to search his contacts for someone.
[Xiao Luo, can you help me ask your sister if I can look at the surveillance footage of the Dijiang Hotel from last night?]
The reply from the other side came quickly: [What’s wrong?]
[Looking for someone.]
After sending it, seemingly feeling that this excuse wasn’t appropriate, Wan Xu added a supplementary sentence.
[He helped me out with a favor, but didn’t leave contact info.]