Chapter 19: Release Day
Back in the low-rent district, An Baili was still snuggled under the warm blanket, inhaling Lu Li’s scent and smiling dreamily. Lu Li pinched her delicate nose and said with mock disgust, “Wake up, it’s time for school. Don’t you remember what day it is today?”
An Baili wriggled and whined, “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I’m going to suffocate~” Lu Li released his grip, and An Baili burrowed her head under the blanket. “Let me sleep for five more minutes, just five minutes, please. I’m begging you~”
This girl didn’t even open her eyes when she spoke. She was a true sloth. A mischievous thought crossed Lu Li’s mind, and he slipped his hand inside An Baili’s shirt.
“Don’t pinch… Let me sleep…” Her little foot kicked up. “What are you doing? Stop it, I hate it, don’t… don’t pinch anymore… Ah…”
Her voice trembled as she tried to push his hand away, but how could her strength compare to his? After pinching for a while, Lu Li felt something harden under his touch, like a soft candy. He gently scratched her nipple with his fingernail, and An Baili moaned. “Don’t… Don’t pinch… Gently…” Her words were broken and breathless.
The girl’s delicate body was as smooth as silk, tempting him to explore further. His hand slid down her milky skin, caressing her flat stomach, about to venture into the valley between her thighs. An Baili finally sat up abruptly, glaring at Lu Li. “Can’t you let a person sleep in peace?”
Lu Li flicked her forehead. “How can you sleep at your age?”
An Baili’s nose twitched. She leaned closer to Lu Li. “Did you go for a run again? You smell like sweat. Did you go alone?” Her suspicion flared up again. She was always worried that Lu Li was meeting other girls secretly, always worried that he no longer loved her. This was an unsolvable problem. Childhood trauma couldn’t be cured, not even with a thousand vows of love. It couldn’t make her as open and trusting as Wen Hupo. This was An Baili. But Lu Li had already made up his mind. If a thousand reassurances weren’t enough, he would give her ten thousand, a hundred thousand. Their lifespans might be finite, but before he entered the grave, he would hold An Baili’s hand and tell her, “I still love you.”
Lu Li kissed the girl’s cheek and said affectionately, “I ran into Wen Hupo on the way and chatted with her for a bit.”
He had been prepared to comfort An Baili, but to his surprise, she just nodded obediently. “Oh… I know, you don’t have to tell me every detail.” Lu Li was slightly taken aback. It wasn’t just him who had matured, An Baili had truly changed as well. He felt a surge of emotion, their relationship feeling more stable than ever before. Trust was the most precious thing in love, and unconditional love was the rarest thing in the world.
“I’m just a little jealous…” An Baili snuggled into Lu Li’s arms, her voice soft. “If you’re annoyed, you can just ignore me. Put me aside, and I’ll stop being jealous after a while. I’ll come find you…”
This silly girl.
“Lu Li.” An Baili rarely called him by his full name. “Don’t lie to me, why did you suddenly start jogging in the morning? Is it because of the price?”
“…Yes.” Hiding things would only lead to misunderstandings, and misunderstandings would only lead to tragedy. Lu Li said, “I don’t know what my price is, but I feel like exercising might help.”
“…Okay…” An Baili suddenly looked at him. “Lu Li, if you leave, I’ll leave with you.” The “leave” she was referring to wasn’t leaving, but “dying.”
Dying for love wasn’t a noble act, and Lu Li never liked this kind of self-sacrificing melodrama. But at this moment, he just held An Baili tightly. “Don’t worry, my price might not be that serious. Look, I haven’t encountered any difficulties, have I?”
After saying this, Lu Li paused. Had he really not encountered any difficulties?
“Mm-hmm.” An Baili nodded vigorously, as if Lu Li’s words were the gospel truth.
Today was the release day of Lu Li’s game. He had started working on it since his first year of high school, a year and a half ago. The sales of this game would determine the starting point of his career. Reputation, resources, channels, everything would be decided today.
After arriving at school, he and An Baili didn’t go to their classroom, but headed straight to the clubroom.
Lu Li chose to release his game on the Valve platform, bypassing the domestic review process in Shenzhou and saving a lot of time and effort. But there were also disadvantages. Bypassing the domestic review meant operating in a gray area, without the protection of domestic laws. Indie games faced two major enemies: game quality and piracy.
Lu Li had previously written a sincere thank-you letter to several major domestic piracy platforms in the name of “Eternal Joy Studio.” He first thanked them for their contribution to the domestic entertainment culture, then expressed his hope that they wouldn’t upload pirated copies of his game for at least a year. These platforms were mostly established by passionate game enthusiasts, and surprisingly, they were quite understanding. They sincerely promised Lu Li that there wouldn’t be any pirated copies of Eternal Joy Studio’s games on their platforms.
Lu Li didn’t actually despise piracy. If he didn’t have to worry about making a living, he would want everyone to be able to play his game. But people had to eat, and An Baili’s college tuition was still unpaid. And in the future, there would be expenses for the studio’s rent, salaries, and their other university expenses. The New Year’s money he received from the Chu family wasn’t nearly enough.
He also knew that piracy was an unstoppable force. If the big platforms didn’t have pirated copies, the smaller ones would. If the smaller ones didn’t, then there would be foreign platforms.
Silly Goose, upon hearing Lu Li’s concerns, even suggested that her father propose an “Anti-Piracy Law,” which startled Lu Li. This was his own business, and he didn’t want to be too indebted to the Chu family. If he owed them too much, he wouldn’t be able to refuse Chu Xiaodong’s requests in the future. Besides, wasn’t it a bit too much to ask her father to introduce a law just for her boyfriend’s game?
Lu Li and An Baili sat at their desks, nervously staring at the computer screen. The game was released at 7 a.m., and it was now 7:01 a.m.
The number in the “Units Sold” column jumped from zero to thirty.
The game was priced at 38 yuan. Thirty copies meant 1140 yuan, which, after deducting the platform fees, came to 1071 yuan.
These should be the automatic purchases from players who pre-ordered the game. This number wasn’t ideal.
Chu Jingyi carefully opened the door and poked her head in nervously. “Lu Li, is the game on sale yet? How many copies have you sold?”
Behind Chu Jingyi, Wen Hupo also stood with her arms crossed. She wasn’t looking into the distance like she usually did, but at Lu Li, her eyes filled with curiosity. She was also concerned about whether the game they worked on together would be well-received.
“It’s on sale.” As Lu Li answered, the number jumped from thirty to thirty-one.
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