บท 11: C11: Who can empathize with such a person?
A certain neighbourhood in the certain capital, again.
"Xiaoxue, you don't want to join my games company? Are you sure?" I asked while I leaned back on the sofa, my legs casually resting on the coffee table in front of me. I turned to Ruan Ningxue, who was focusing on colouring her manuscript.
"Sister Xin, your boat is already leaking and flooding," Ohhh. Ruan Ningxue shot back, rolling her eyes as she put down her paintbrush.
I coughed awkwardly. "That's just a temporary setback. Besides, I still have three employees in my office! Look at your studio, Xiaoxue. Can you call it a studio when you're all by yourself?"
"Well, at least I'm making a profit by saving some money!" she replied smugly.
"And didn't you have eight employees just three months ago?" she retorted again.
I felt a little embarrassed but tried to brush it off. "People have their aspirations and difficulties, right? My employees wanted to pursue their dreams, so of course, I had to let them go. I am a generous employer. You know, and by the way, how's your apprentice's game coming along?"
Ruan Ningxue shook her head gently. "I haven't paid much attention to it. The results are probably not great."
"Does that mean your studio will soon have two people?" I asked curiously while twitching my eyes, knowing about the agreement between her and Chen Xu.
"It seems like it, but I imagine Chen Xu isn't in the best mood right now. He hasn't called me yet." She sighed, her voice filled with a mix of concern and resignation.
But she also hadn't contacted Chen Xu since the end of the project, feeling unsure about how things had gone. After all, she had given him a heads-up that she wasn't optimistic about his chances.
Even though sister Xin had run into financial troubles herself after creating three games, she gained valuable experience in the industry and her insights are noteworthy.
During her month working with Chen Xu on his game, Ruan Ningxue sensed his passion and drive. She could also feel the joy of watching the game evolve from the storyboard to a real thing on the screen, especially being part of the process as it inched closer to completion.
It was an exhilarating feeling, and she understood why Chen Xu wanted to develop games so badly. She could see the drive to succeed within him. But she hadn't asked about the game's outcome, particularly after he promised to pay her once he secured some funding.
She didn't care about the money, but she didn't want to bring it up with Chen Xu, especially when it was his business, not hers. Besides, she had her hands full of her comic work and hadn't had much time to keep up with the game's progress on the platform. (It just takes a few clicks... Lazy girl)
I had planned to give him some space to sort things out before checking in again. She mused.
Xin sighed internally, feeling bad for her friend. "I understand how it is. Many newbies think making 18+ games is easy, and the boat will sail up, but game development is never that simple, 95% of them sink under the waves of new games on the platform. By the way, Xiaoxue, what's your apprentice's game called? I'll have a look."
Memories of her failures came flooding back, they are still painful~ but it is not a sin to fail~ But sin is to sink into the failure. She hadn't met Chen Xu yet, but she couldn't help but feel an invisible connection to him. He was probably pouring everything he had into the project, just like I did in the beginning. A comradeship has thus been formed between them.
I knew how crushing it was to fail after working so hard day and night on a game. I felt sympathy for him, imagining the heartbreak he must be experiencing. If I hadn't lost so much of the company's funds, I would've asked Xiaoxue to introduce him to me—I could use someone with that kind of passion for games.
"Don't worry," I reassured her, patting her shoulder.
"When you meet up with Chen Xu, use me as a cautionary and enlightening tale to console him. He can learn from my mistakes and seek to improve and try again." (So Sister Xin wants to be an example... I mean a role model.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The is not the end of the world. I can understand the pain of this failure." she cheered...
"Thank you, Sister Xin. The name of the game is 'Magic Mirror,' and it is on the online platform of the overseas version," Xue said to me.
Although she didn't ask Chen Xu about the game's launch, she had secretly paid attention to it. However, when she checked, the ratings hadn't lifted, and she still didn't know how it performed.
"'Magic Mirror'? Why does this game sound a little familiar?"
"It feels like I've heard of it before..."
"Wait... this game!"
I muttered as I got the name of the game from Ruan Ningxue and opened the official game platform to search. For some reason, the name sounded familiar to me, and It is like an alarm in my ears.
I opened the overseas version of the platform, entered the name, and searched.
Then I fell into silence, turning my head to stare at Ruan Ningxue. My eyes are as innocent as panda. Feeling a little betrayed. I blurted out...
"Are you kidding me, Xiaoxue!? You said the game ratings weren't good! What is this? Come here~
As I remembered~
Why did it sound so familiar!?
I remember hanging out on a game forum before and seeing someone mention this game.
Then I looked at the product interface with the Xue.
Rating: 9.4, Number of Ratings: 1,324.
I became restless.
Sympathy? Empathy? Connection?
Who could feel the same way about someone like this?
Not me right?
Who would sympathize with someone like this?
Not me right? I don't even know how to sympathize with someone like this.
A 9.4 rating, and so many reviews!
In just a couple of days, over 1,300 Ratings?
I'd never felt this way before! How does it feel? Wahhh...
"So, Chen Xu's game was a success?" Ruan Ningxue asked me.
A success? Why are you so calm, Xue? Don't you see the rating out of 10 and the number of ratings? It is huge for a first-time Indie developer. I mused secretly.
"It's not just a success; it's a great success! You must know this is an 18R game! And it's only been a few days, with such a high rating and so many reviews. The follow-up sales will probably surpass my previous three games together. Your work is going to skyrocket both in fame and value!" I said to Ruan Ningxue, envy written all over my face.
Looking at the number of reviews under the game store interface, I felt uneasy and envy bloomed within me.
Especially when I remembered what I had just said to Ruan Ningxue, using myself as a negative example to comfort her.
Good grief, this time I became the negative example!
But soon, I pushed the embarrassment aside, grabbed Ruan Ningxue's arm, and got up.
"Xiaoxue, Please make sure to introduce me to this person!"
"Let me learn from him!"
As they say, it's easier to get to the moon when you're close to the water.
Hmm, that might sound a little weird, but it is fine if it works.
If I couldn't be the superstar, I could at least find someone who could be. Why can't I hold on to them and eat the leftovers?
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