v2Chapter 13: Saint Lu
Arriving home in the evening, Lu Li had dinner at his sister’s, watched TV with her for a while, then returned to his room and turned on his computer, logging into the Valve Platform. As soon as he logged in, over a thousand unread messages popped up, startling him. Clicking in, he discovered that his game page had received over nine hundred negative reviews, changing the game’s rating to “Overwhelmingly Negative.”
Not only that, but his game had “gloriously” climbed to fourth place on the weekly negative review leaderboard. This was not right.
The over nine hundred negative reviews were clearly copy-pasted, all criticizing the poor plot, poor optimization, and ugly art. Most of the reviewers were new accounts with low levels. It was definitely Chen Jianing playing tricks. Even something as tasteless as buying trolls was something she would do. She was probably still furious from the last time Lu Li angered her and was now deliberately seeking revenge.
However, thanks to Chen Jianing’s negative marketing, many passersby clicked in from the negative review leaderboard and left objective comments:
“It’s not that bad, is it? Did the development team offend someone? So many negative reviews?”
“The atmosphere is awesome! I’m optimistic!”
“Why is it another DEMO? Don’t tell me it’s going to be crowdfunded again?”
Well done, Xiao Chen. Lu Li silently gave her a thumbs up. What indie games lacked most was exposure. Many indie games often had good reputations but lacked exposure. Lu Li’s game had an excellent foundation, but the first week’s downloads were less than fifty. After Chen Jianing’s commotion, the downloads soared to over two thousand. Most players wouldn’t leave reviews, and the quality of the game would speak for itself. It wasn’t something that could be swayed by a few trolls.
Lu Li saw in the background that the positive rating was slowly rising. If this trend continued, it could return to a “Mixed” rating by the end of the month.
He happily clicked on Chen Jianing’s private message, unblocked her, and sent a message: “Thank you, Boss Chen!”
Chen Jianing quickly replied: “???”
Lu Li had no ill will towards Chen Jianing, so he readily sent a screenshot of the background: “Thanks to you, the traffic has increased a lot.”
“Are you sick? You’re happy even though the positive rating has dropped so much?” Chen Jianing was puzzled.
Lu Li shook his head in front of the screen. Chen Jianing was still too naive. In the internet age, traffic was king. What was the use of a high positive rating without a market? He hesitated for a moment, but still sent his insights. It would be better for Chen Jianing to understand these principles earlier and suffer fewer losses in the future, saving her from going crazy online every day.
“Oh.” She simply replied with one word. Ordinary people might think she didn’t care or respect him, but Lu Li understood. Chen Jianing was actually a very awkward girl. She was introverted, socially anxious, and had a slight tendency for self-abuse. Self-abuse didn’t refer to physical self-harm, but psychological self-harm, liking something but not saying it, agreeing but refuting, valuing but rejecting. Her honest reply of “Oh” actually meant that she agreed with Lu Li’s words, but she deliberately wanted to appear indifferent.
Spending a lifetime with such a girl would be very tiring. No wonder Chen Jianing never found a partner or got married in his previous life. Lu Li sighed.
“Apologize to me and say I didn’t plagiarize, and I’ll forgive you and delete the negative reviews.” Chen Jianing suddenly sent a message. She was ready to reconcile, but she was just saving face and insisted on Lu Li apologizing to her, giving her a way to step down gracefully. Lu Li didn’t want to indulge her and typed: “I won’t.”
“Hmph, just you wait.”
Some girls are like cats, the more you yield and obey them, the gentler they become. Chu Jingyi was this type. If you listened to her in everything, she would actually be considerate of you. But some girls are the opposite. If you really obey them, it will only lead to worse results. Chen Jianing was this type.
Lu Li remembered that in his previous life, Chen Jianing once lost her temper for no reason. She deleted Lu Li’s contact information and warned him never to contact her again. She wanted to leave the city and fly away alone, even withdrawing from the apartment she shared with An Baili and Lu Li. As a result, during a heavy downpour, Lu Li held an umbrella and saw a bewildered, petite girl dragging a large suitcase, sitting in a daze at the breakfast shop downstairs. The thunder and rain poured, the air was damp and cold. Ten hours had passed since Chen Jianing decided to cut ties. Lu Li didn’t ask her why she hadn’t left, but silently helped her carry the suitcase upstairs.
“…” Perhaps because of shame, Chen Jianing’s ears were very red. “I don’t need your help! Go take care of your girlfriend!”
“Have you eaten dinner?”
“…” Silence.
“Want to eat Mala Xiang Guo? I’ll order you extra fish tofu.”
“…Not at all.” He could hear her swallowing.
“Let’s go home.”
“…Oh.”
If Lu Li hadn’t gone to find her in the heavy rain, how could he have imagined that this girl was hiding in the breakfast shop downstairs, lost in thought?
The Chen Jianing in Lu Li’s memory was a stubborn girl. To be honest, if they weren’t business partners, Lu Li wouldn’t want to have anything to do with such a girl. Unfortunately, fate was so strange.
He suddenly thought, if he hadn’t been reborn, what would Chen Jianing’s reaction be when she learned of his death? She would be sad, wouldn’t she? Would she cry for him? What would she say at his funeral? And what about Wen Hupo? She would probably be very happy, happy that this liar had finally received his retribution.
Indeed, it was truly fortunate to be reborn.
Closing his computer, Lu Li heard someone knocking on the door. It was Zou Yameng’s voice: “Little Li, are you there?”
Lu Li quickly opened the door: “Of course I am.” His eyes widened as soon as he opened the door. Sister Yameng was dressed particularly coolly. She wore a gray tank top, highlighting her ample bosom, her delicate waist exposed, and two distinct abdominal muscles that made one want to touch them. On her lower body were drawstring shorts that barely covered her tight buttocks, and her two toned legs were particularly eye-catching. If his gaze wandered a little lower, he would notice that the shorts were too tight, faintly outlining the shape of her camel toe.
Lu Li remembered that this pair of shorts were bought by his sister two years ago. His sister was reluctant to throw them away, so she often wore them as home pants. Lu Li felt that he should remind his sister to change her pants. Being too frugal wasn’t a good thing.
“Where are you looking?” Sister Yameng lightly patted Lu Li’s head. She was tall and could reach his head without standing on tiptoe. However, her arm movement was too large, causing her soft chest to jiggle slightly like jelly. A line of poetry flashed through Lu Li’s mind: “Like willow branches swaying like silk threads, holding a ball of soft snow in hand.”
“No, nowhere.” Lu Li was rarely flustered. He felt remorseful. He had just forced a kiss on Silly Goose today, and now he had desires for his sister at night. Lu Li, oh Lu Li, you are truly a beast driven by your lower body! As Lu Li lowered his head, a sly glint flashed through Zou Yameng’s eyes.
“Let’s sleep together tonight.”
“Huh… what?!”
“I can’t sleep alone and want to talk to you. And it’s been a long time since we slept together, hasn’t it?”
Sweat beaded on Lu Li’s forehead. Sleeping together was one thing, but sister, you’re dressed too coolly. Do you really think I’m harmless?
***
The next day, at Chuanhai No. 1 High School. Chu Jingyi was cramming for the exam, flipping through her books with a rustling sound. Suddenly, she saw Lu Li walk into the classroom looking listless and asked curiously: “Lu Li, didn’t you sleep well last night? Why are your dark circles so heavy?”
“Last night, I had an in-depth discussion on philosophical issues with ancient sages. I thought too deeply.” Lu Li felt that last night must have been the most determined night in his history. He had to address himself as “Saint Lu.” From Freud to Hegel, from Zhu Xi, Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi to Confucius, Mencius, Zhuangzi, and Laozi, he had traveled through human history in one night, chatting and laughing with these figures. If he wasn’t tired, who would be?
Silly Goose’s eyes sparkled: “You’re so hardworking!”
“You’re too kind!”
Leave a Reply