You were supposed to have a fake marriage with the diva, so how did you become her father?

Chapter 423 Chen Mo's Surprise

Lu Ran's return left Chen Mo speechless.

Chen Mo sent an ellipsis and then said, "Okay. Let me see."

Lu Ran put down his phone, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long breath.

The first step is complete.

Next, we just have to wait for Chen Mo's feedback.

If Chen Mo thinks the demo is good, he will ask who the team is.

At that time, Lu Ran can intervene in the name of Tutu Technology and say that he knows this team and they are looking for people to cooperate in development. He thinks it is possible to do it with Tencent.

This provides a reasonable explanation for the game's origin—it wasn't written by Lu Ran alone, but by a mysterious team, with Tutu Technology being just one of the collaborators.

As for who that mysterious team is, no one knows, nor does anyone need to know.

This method is a bit roundabout, but it's safe.

If anyone asks who wrote this code in the future, he can say it was developed in collaboration with Tencent. For details, you can ask Chen Mo.

Although Chen Mo didn't know the true source of the code, he knew that Lu Ran had given it to him, so he didn't ask any further questions.

The two of them each got what they wanted, without saying a word.

The sky outside the window gradually darkened.

Lu Ran glanced at the time; it was already past five in the afternoon.

He shut down his computer, tidied up his desk, grabbed his coat, and left the office.

The corridor was quiet; most of the employees had already left work.

As he passed by the technical department, he glanced inside. Zhao Yiming was still there, with all three monitors in front of him lit up. He was looking down and typing something on the keyboard.

"Yiming, aren't you leaving yet?" Lu Ran stood at the door.

Zhao Yiming looked up and took off his headphones: "I'll stay a little longer. I'll leave after I fix this bug."

"Go home early. Don't stay up too late. As long as the program runs, there's no need to fix bugs, because fixing one bug will only lead to an endless stream of bugs."

"Understood. Take care, Mr. Lu."

Lu Ran left the company and hailed a taxi on the roadside.

As he got into the car, he sent Shen Yuege a message: "I'm back. Have you finished recording over there?"

Shen Yuege replied quickly: "Finished recording. At home. Waiting for you to eat."

Lu Ran's lips curled up, he put his phone away and leaned back in his seat.

The taxi sped along the elevated highway, the streetlights outside the window receding one after another.

He was thinking about Chen Mo's reaction after seeing the demo.

Based on his understanding of Chen Mo, he knew Chen Mo would definitely be interested.

However, being interested does not mean that cooperation will happen; it also depends on Tencent's internal attitude.

The investment department's attitude towards Sakura Games has changed, but Tencent has always been very cautious about external cooperation.

Not just anything can get into Tencent's portfolio.

However, Lu Ran was not in a hurry.

He has plenty of patience.

Moreover, he has a lot of good cards to play.

When she got home, Shen Yuege had already prepared dinner.

There were two dishes and a soup on the table: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and seaweed and egg drop soup. There was also a rice cooker with rice cooking inside.

Shen Yuege poked her head out of the kitchen, holding a soup spoon in her hand, her apron still on.

She was wearing a white loungewear set, her hair was casually tied in a bun, and she wasn't wearing makeup, but her skin looked great.

Perhaps it was because I had a good time recording the song today, because I looked quite well.

"You're back? Wash your hands and eat."

Lu Ran washed his hands and sat down at the dining table.

Shen Yuege served him two bowls of rice and sat down opposite him. The two began to eat.

"How did the recording go?" Lu Ran picked up a piece of scrambled eggs with tomatoes and stuffed it into his mouth. The taste was okay, but it was a bit salty.

"It's alright. I recorded two versions. I felt the first version lacked emotion, but the second version was much better. Listen to them tomorrow and see which version is better."

"Okay. I'll listen tomorrow." Lu Ran took another bite of rice. "By the way, when are you planning to release it?"

"Didn't you say last time that it would be released on the eighth day of the lunar new year? It's tomorrow. I've already had the people at the studio prepare the publicity, and it will be online promptly at 10 a.m. tomorrow."

Lu Ran nodded.

Shen Yuege is always reliable, so he doesn't need to worry about her.

After the two finished eating, Lu Ran went to wash the dishes.

Shen Yuege was sitting on the sofa looking at her phone when she suddenly said, "Lu Ran, look at this."

Lu Ran dried his hands and went over to look at her phone screen.

It's a screenshot of a Weibo trending topics list. The top trending topic is "Shen Yuege's new song", the second is "Qian Qian Que Ge", and the third is "Shen Yuege and Lu Ran".

The screenshot was taken this afternoon, which means that Shen Yuege was already trending on social media before she even released a song.

"What's going on?" Lu Ran pointed at the screen. "You haven't even released a song yet, how come you're trending?"

"The studio released a teaser this afternoon, just saying 'Shen Yuege's new song will be released tomorrow,' and the fans went wild." Shen Yuege's tone sounded calm, but the upturn of her lips betrayed her. "Now the comments section is full of people guessing what the new song is called, what style it is, and whether you wrote it."

"What did you reply?"

"I didn't reply. Let the fans guess; the more lively the guessing, the more buzz it generates."

Lu Ran sat down next to her, took her phone, and browsed the comments.

This is still on Weibo's trending list, which proves that the popularity is really high, and even if Weibo wants to suppress it, it can't.

Some say it's a love song, some say it's an inspirational song, some say it's a Cantonese song—there are all sorts of guesses.

The most outrageous comment was, "I bet 50 cents that this song is a love letter Lu Ran wrote to Shen Yuege." Someone replied, "50 cents isn't enough, I bet five dollars." Then someone else said, "I bet fifty dollars." And then someone else said, "I bet a month's salary."

This comment thread has already been built up to several hundred times.

Lu Ran handed the phone back to Shen Yuege and leaned back on the sofa: "You chose a good time to release this song. Nobody releases songs during the Spring Festival, and you're the first one, plus a high-quality one. All the fans' attention is on you. Even if someone wants to follow suit and release a song, they'll have to think twice before they can beat you."

Shen Yuege put down her phone, leaned over, and rested her head on his shoulder: "I'm not trying to hit anyone. I just want to sing. I've been so bored during the Lunar New Year holiday, my throat is itching."

"So, what happens after you release the song tomorrow? Will your throat stop itching?"

"It itches. One song isn't enough. You need to sing at least ten."

Lu Ran smiled.

Shen Yuege is truly passionate about singing.

It's not for making money, it's not for fame, it's just something I simply enjoy.

This kind of affection is rare in the entertainment industry.

In the entertainment industry, a place rife with fame and fortune, there are very few singers who can persist in making music like this.

The night outside the window grew darker and darker.

The sound of firecrackers could be heard sporadically in the distance, far fewer than during the Lunar New Year, but the occasional bursts still managed to draw people's attention.

The streetlights downstairs were on, casting an orange glow on the sidewalk. Red confetti from the fireworks displays a few days ago was scattered everywhere by the wind.

Shen Yuege snuggled against his shoulder, shifted to a more comfortable position, and closed her eyes.

Her breathing became even and deep, but Lu Ran knew she wasn't asleep.

"Yuege," Lu Ran called softly.

"Um."

"Let's settle both old and new scores with them this year."

Shen Yuege opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him.

Her eyes shone brightly under the light, filled with a hint of curiosity: "What do you mean?"

"During the Spring Festival, Sakura Games and EA pulled off quite a few stunts. Events, expansion packs, exclusive collaborations—they made quite a spectacle. Wang Huabing on Weibo also jumped on the bandwagon, thinking that clinging to EA's coattails would turn their fortunes around." Lu Ran stared at the ceiling, his voice soft but his tone firm. "I don't blame them for their actions. Business is like war; everyone fights for their own side. But since they did it, I have to retaliate. Not revenge, but a response."

"How do you plan to respond?"

"Let's launch Minecraft first. This game won't directly compete with EA. EA makes open-world survival and building games, and so does I, but we're not on the same path. EA focuses on graphics, details, and realism, while I focus on freedom, creativity, and how much fun players can create. The market is big enough to accommodate both of us."

Shen Yuege remained silent and listened quietly.

"Then we'll make an FPS game." Lu Ran paused, turned to look at her, and asked, "Do you know what an FPS is?"

"First-person shooter games. I don't play them, but I've heard of them."

"Yes. This game is called CrossFire. It's fast-paced, easy to pick up, and can be played on any computer. Like League of Legends, it's geared towards a broad audience. It doesn't require high-end specs or advanced skills; anyone can play it."

Shen Yuege thought for a moment, then asked a question that surprised Lu Ran: "This game, you didn't write it all by yourself, did you?"

Lu Ran was momentarily speechless at the question.

This is exactly the same question Chen Mo asked.

"It wasn't written by one person. It was written by a team," he said. "There's a confidentiality agreement, so I can't disclose it."

Shen Yuege glanced at him but didn't ask any further questions.

She had grown accustomed to Lu Ran, a person of dubious origin.

If he says it can be done, then it can be done; she never asks about the details.

One of the streetlights outside the window went out; I don't know if it was broken or if it turned off automatically at the designated time.

The room dimmed a bit, and Shen Yuege's face was illuminated by the warm light of the table lamp, half bright and half dark.

"Lu Ran," Shen Yuege suddenly spoke.

"Um."

"Can I play your game 'CrossFire' too?"

Lu Ran was taken aback: "You? Play FPS games? Don't you not play games?"

"I don't play League of Legends because it's too complicated; I can't remember all the heroes and their skills. Isn't FPS just about shooting people with a gun? I should be able to do that, right?"

Lu Ran thought about it and felt that what she said made sense.

The operation logic of FPS is indeed simpler than that of MOBA. You just need to shoot when you see someone. You don't need to remember skills, equipment, or maps.

Of course, whether you play well or not is another matter.

It's okay if you're not good at it, there's always the transport ship mode, then we'll teach Shen Yuege how to sneak people out of the secret passage.

"Okay. Once the game is finished, you'll be the first one to play."

Shen Yuege nodded in satisfaction, buried her face in his shoulder, and closed her eyes.

Lu Ran sat on the sofa without moving.

He could feel Shen Yuege's breathing getting slower and deeper; this time, she was truly asleep.

She wasn't snoring; she was just breathing quietly, her breath gently brushing against his neck, tickling him.

He turned his head to look at her.

When Shen Yuege was asleep, her expression was very relaxed, her lips were slightly parted, and her eyelashes cast a small fan-shaped shadow on her cheek.

He looked at her for a few seconds, then carefully moved her head off his shoulder and let her lean against the sofa cushions.

He went to the bedroom, took out a blanket, and covered her with it.

Shen Yuege stirred in her sleep, pulling the blanket up to cover her shoulders.

Lu Ran turned off the light, sat down next to her, and glanced at his phone.

There were still people talking in the work group. Zhao Yiming was asking a technical question, and Lao Wang was replying.

He didn't participate in the discussion, put his phone on silent, and placed it on the coffee table.

The night outside the window was deep. Occasionally, a dog barked once or twice in the distance, then silence returned.

The streetlights downstairs were still on, their orange light filtering through the gaps in the curtains and casting a thin yellow line on the ceiling.

Lu Ran leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes.

I'm thinking about tomorrow.

Shen Yuege released a song, and he needed to check the data.

Chen Mo should give us feedback, whether it's good or bad.

Regarding the testing progress of "Minecraft", Engineer Liu said it would be completed next week, and he wants to personally go and check it out.

There's a lot to do, let's take it one step at a time.

Not in a hurry.

The next morning, Lu Ran was woken up by his phone vibrating.

He groggily sat up from the sofa and found that Shen Yuege was no longer there, and the blanket was neatly folded and placed next to him.

The sounds of spatulas and the roar of the range hood came from the kitchen; Shen Yuege was making breakfast.

He picked up his phone and glanced at it.

It was a message from Chen Mo, sent at around 1 a.m.

Chen Mo is the kind of person who doesn't sleep most nights.

The message was only one sentence: "Mr. Lu, I've reviewed that demo. Are you sure this was written by the same team?"

Lu Ran looked at the line of text, a smile playing on his lips, and replied.

"certainly."

...