Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 70

"Uh..."

"So, um..."

"How about we..."

After wrapping up the event, Shen Miaomiao led the team to PiloBum—a high-end all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant.

And then!

Shen Miaomiao finally witnessed what it meant to build a skyscraper from scratch!

Tomahawk steaks? Check!

Wagyu beef? Check!

Lobster? Check!

By the end, even the restaurant manager came over for a photo with them!

It was insane!

Several times, Shen Miaomiao tried to suggest they slow down, but she was interrupted each time by the trio’s relentless chewing sounds.

The three of them ate like they hadn’t had a decent meal in eight hundred years, devouring everything like they were turning grief into an insatiable appetite.

A deep worry crept into Shen Miaomiao’s heart.

Not because she cared about the money—this was an all-you-can-eat place, after all.

She was more afraid that these three starving ghosts were going to eat themselves to death.

"Um... maybe that’s enough? It’s your first time at this restaurant... let’s not die here, okay?"

Finally finding an opening while they were sipping water, Shen Miaomiao managed to squeeze in a sentence:

"If you’re really still hungry, I can take you out for a midnight snack later, okay?"

"Really?" Hearing that, Lu Bian’s eyes sparkled over the rim of his cup. "There’s a midnight snack too?"

"Yes, yes."

Shen Miaomiao didn’t dare say no:

"Delivery or dine-out, whatever you prefer... all good..."

After the meal, it was already close to 8 PM.

Shen Miaomiao glanced at the time—there was no way they could make it back to Binjiang at this hour.

So, with a grand wave of her hand!

Bvlgari! Let’s go!

Of course, the reason she was so generous was because this wasn’t coming out of her own pocket.

This time!

Except for the finance lady holding down the fort, the entire Golden Wind team was out attending the Huayu Expo.

Technically speaking, this was a business trip for external PR.

So, all expenses for travel, meals, accommodations, etc., were counted as part of the investment costs!

Hehehe!

Shen Miaomiao was gleeful inside.

You think I’m going to let this opportunity slip by? I’m going to burn through your budget like there’s no tomorrow!

Without hesitation, she booked the entire team into the Bvlgari Hotel in the embassy district!

As one of the most luxurious five-star hotels in Zhongjing, Bvlgari not only had top-tier facilities and service—naturally, the price tag was also top-tier!

Originally!

Shen Miaomiao had wanted to splurge on the 110,000-a-night presidential suite.

But before she could even speak up, the system issued a warning.

Based on Golden Wind’s current size, they weren’t eligible for such extravagant travel expenses.

So, Shen Miaomiao had to settle for the 4,100-a-night standard suites.

One person per room.

Totaling 20,000.

While that was just a drop in the bucket compared to the overall investment, Shen Miaomiao still considered it a small victory—every extra bit spent counted, after all!

Soon, everyone settled into their rooms to rest.

Under the guidance of a hotel attendant, Gu Sheng arrived at his room.

Click.

As the door closed, Gu Sheng flopped onto the bed like a sandbag.

Burying his face into Bvlgari’s warm, fluffy blanket, he felt like his soul was about to float out of his body.

His back ached, his throat was raw and burning.

It took a solid ten-plus minutes!

Before he finally felt a bit better, his energy slowly returning.

He forced himself to get up, took a shower, and changed into pajamas.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

Knock, knock, knock—

"Coming."

Gu Sheng responded, knowing it must be the honey-pear water he ordered. He towel-dried his hair as he walked to the door.

With a click, he opened it.

And heard a familiar voice at the door: "Hello, sir, your honey water is here~"

Opening the door, he saw Shen Miaomiao—hair tied up, looking freshly showered, bare-faced, standing there like a dewy white lotus.

She was holding a tray in her left hand, with a pot of honey-pear water garnished with mint.

In her right hand, a paper bag.

For a moment, Gu Sheng couldn’t help but space out.

"Uh..."

Gu Sheng opened his mouth, then stepped aside:

"Are you coming in or...?"

"Hey!"

Shen Miaomiao pouted, annoyed:

"Do you really think I’m a server? I’m your boss, you know!"

"Then..."

Gu Sheng shrugged:

"Please, come in?"

"You..."

Shen Miaomiao gritted her teeth, but had no choice. She lifted her leg and gave Gu Sheng’s shin a little kick:

"You sure know how to talk!"

With that, she strutted into Gu Sheng’s room.

With a thunk, she set the honey water on the table, poured herself a cup, and gulped it down with a satisfied sigh:

"Ahh—this would be perfect with some ice."

Gu Sheng was deadpan: "So... you intercepted my honey water just to drink it in front of me?"

"Tch, cheapskate."

Shen Miaomiao shot him a glance:

"Why do you have to be so suspicious?"

And with that—

She lifted the paper bag in her hand: "Chu-jie and I went out to... market research, and we got you a gift along the way!"

"You totally slipped there, didn’t you..."

Gu Sheng couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Ah, whatever, that’s not important!"

Shen Miaomiao waved it off, then pulled out a blue-gray suit from the bag:

"Even though, with your current fame, your outfit hardly matters..."

"But as the saying goes, ‘Fine feathers make fine birds,’ so dressing sharp is never wrong."

"I got you a suit. Here, try it on and see if it fits."

Gu Sheng was stunned.

Looking at the smiling Little Nezha, then at the pricey Hugo Boss suit, a delicate chord in his heart felt like it had been plucked.

He opened his mouth: "...One for each of us?"

"Bro, are you serious?!"

Shen Miaomiao looked shocked:

"That thing’s expensive! I bought it with my own paycheck! I’m basically living paycheck to paycheck—it’s a miracle I could even afford this one, okay?!"

"Shhh—shhh—"

Gu Sheng raised a finger to his lips:

"Lu Bian’s room is right next door. You’d better keep it down."

"Oh—okay—"

Little Nezha shrank her neck and lowered her voice, like she was up to no good:

"Go on, try it on. I’ll wait outside—"

"...Maybe just talk normally? This is a five-star hotel. The soundproofing shouldn’t be that bad."

With that!

Gu Sheng turned back into the suite to change.

Meanwhile, Shen Miaomiao, restless as ever, sat swinging her foot, her slipper dangling off her toes.

Before long.

Click.

The door reopened.

Out walked Gu Sheng in a blue-gray double-breasted notch-lapel casual suit.

The tailored fit hugged his frame perfectly, highlighting his broad shoulders and slim waist.

The pants fit just right, draping smoothly, the slightly cropped hem accentuating his long legs.

Combined with his naturally handsome, youthful face, he looked like a dashing rebel straight out of a comic book.

"Just missing a pair of clear glasses."

Gu Sheng looked down, adjusted his sleeves, and nodded:

"Otherwise, I’d really look like a proper wolf in sheep’s clothing, don’t you think?"

As he spoke, he looked over at Shen Miaomiao.

And saw Little Nezha, completely stunned—eyes wide, staring at him.

Her foot was still dangling the slipper, but her whole body had frozen, like she’d turned to stone.

D***!!!

Shen Miaomiao sniffled.

Almost a year of working together!

And she’d never noticed he was this hot?!

Those shoulders, that waistline, those long legs...

Handsome—who the hell is this guy?

That usual hoodie look completely hid how good his figure was.

Only today!

Did Shen Miaomiao realize that the Gu Sheng who’d been hanging around her all this time was actually a walking heartthrob.

After staring blankly for five seconds, she suddenly started rummaging around the room.

Gu Sheng couldn’t help but ask:

"What are you looking for?"

"A welding torch," Shen Miaomiao said, opening a drawer:

"Gotta figure out how to weld this suit onto you."

Pfft—

Gu Sheng couldn’t help but burst out laughing:

"Alright, alright. I get that you like it. Fine, I’ll wear this to formal events from now on. It does look better than Mickey Mouse..."

"Oh right, speaking of Mickey—"

Little Nezha perked up, hopping over to the bed to dig through the bag and pull out a small box, handing it to Gu Sheng:

"Here’s a little something else for you."

Gu Sheng opened the box.

Inside was a Disney collab fashion watch.

The dial featured a grinning, slightly snarky-looking Mickey.

"You serious?"

Gu Sheng looked at the watch, then at Little Nezha’s expectant face:

"A suit... with a Mickey watch?"

"Of course! What’s wrong with that?"

Shen Miaomiao nodded firmly:

"Professor Robert Langdon wore that combo, and no one ever called him childish."

Robert Langdon—protagonist of The Da Vinci Code and other bestsellers.

As a Dan Brown fan himself, Gu Sheng naturally got the reference.

"Fair point."

He nodded and fastened the watch on his left wrist:

"Too bad I don’t know cryptology and symbology."

"But you know coding and psychology."

Little Nezha beamed at him, satisfied:

"In a way, you’re a master codebreaker too. It’s just that your codes are strings of zeroes and ones."

"That... doesn’t sound like something you’d usually say."

Gu Sheng gave Shen Miaomiao a surprised look, shocked she could say something so deep.

He poured two glasses of lemon water, sliding one over to Little Nezha:

"To zeroes and ones."

"Ugh..."

Shen Miaomiao wrinkled her nose:

"That sounds awful, like we’re in some kind of nerd club."

Gu Sheng: ...

"How about... to code and games?"

"To Golden Wind."

Clink!

Their glasses clinked together with a crisp sound.

Then!

The two sat down. Gu Sheng tried to change back into his regular clothes, but Little Nezha flat-out refused.

And so, the two of them—one in a suit, the other in pajamas and no makeup—began discussing the development of Left 4 Survival.

But!

The discussion didn’t last long.

After about half an hour, Gu Sheng’s eyelids started drooping.

He was completely exhausted.

"...So I think our ‘invest as long as we have money’ strategy is the right call..."

Hearing Gu Sheng’s breathing slow and even out, Shen Miaomiao’s voice automatically softened.

She stole a glance at Gu Sheng.

Found him... fast asleep.

"You’re really..."

Shen Miaomiao scrunched her nose, made a silly face at him:

"Dozing off in the middle of the boss’s speech..."

But, that said...

Her movements were gentle as she stood up.

She pulled the blanket over Gu Sheng.

Slipped on her slippers, and was about to leave the room.

But when she got to the door, she glanced back at Gu Sheng bathed in the warm light, and couldn’t help but sneak back over.

Crouching beside him, she opened her phone camera and made a goofy face next to him before snapping a selfie.

"Hehe..."

Looking at the picture, Shen Miaomiao grinned, showing off her little white teeth, then left the room, softly closing the door behind her.

...

The next morning!

On the train back to Binjiang, Gu Sheng gritted his teeth:

"Bvlgari, huh! Four thousand a night, and I didn’t even sleep in the bed—I just got a blanket?!"

Sitting in second class, his back ached, and his neck was stiff.

Leaning over, he grumbled to Shen Miaomiao in a low voice:

"You could’ve just woken me up when you saw me dozing off! Why’d you let me sleep on the couch all night?"

"I... I saw it in TV shows, you know..."

Shen Miaomiao pouted, feeling a little guilty after seeing Gu Sheng’s pained expression, and stuck out her tongue:

"Besides, you looked like you were sleeping so soundly..."

"I..."

Gu Sheng was fuming, but helpless.

"Can you at least help me massage my shoulders?"

"Where?" Shen Miaomiao raised her little fist.

"Just below the shoulder blades..."

Thud!

"Ahhhhh!!!"

As Gu Sheng’s screams echoed, Shen Miaomiao giggled mischievously, and the train sped on.

Just like their lives—rushing forward like an unstoppable train.

Before they knew it—

The snow melted, spring blossomed, the Spring Equinox had passed, and the Qingming Festival arrived.

And in this season of sprouting graveyard grass and fluttering joss paper, Golden Wind officially launched its fifth game!

The project Gu Sheng called "the FPS that makes FPS greater"—

Left 4 Survival.

At the same time, Ou-zong’s system chimed to life once more!

Ding! New investment round open!

Project: Left 4 Survival

Investment Amount: 10.85 million yuan

Expected Return: 1.085 billion yuan

Time Remaining for Settlement: 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds...