Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Wen Jueqian didn't log out of the game until he'd finished every single novice quest.

"Chief Wen, how'd it go?" As soon as he stepped out, the designer of the novice level came over to ask about his gaming experience.

Wen Jueqian nodded. "This version's a huge step up from the last one. The tutorial's pacing is smoother, and the combat feedback feels way more real."

The designer breathed a sigh of relief, a smile spreading across their face.

Wen Jueqian didn't say much more and got up to leave the testing area. Seven-plus hours of deep immersion had left him pretty wiped.

Back in his office, he crashed on the sofa for ten minutes to recover.

He started going through the report on Wenyuan Medical that 99 had sent over.

The neural detector and Wenyuan's finances—everything Wen Qishan had sent him—all checked out.

So what was the real source of Wenyuan's bankruptcy?

While he was lost in thought, Zhou Jing came in to tell him he had a dinner thing to attend that night.

Earlier that day, while he was testing the novice level, Qi Yi had locked down a deal with a top livestreaming platform, covering the pre-launch buzz for Floating World and the livestream collab plans.

The dinner was at a traditional Chinese restaurant.

Chuxing Live sent CEO Zhao Mingyuan, COO Sun Yi, their assistants, and two operations directors.

Qi Yi sat across from Zhao Mingyuan, chatting and laughing easily.

After a few rounds of drinks, the mood got lively.

"Chief Wen." Zhao Mingyuan raised his glass, smiling warmly at Wen Jueqian.

"The second the concept trailer for Floating World dropped, I knew this game was gonna pull in a massive player base."

Wen Jueqian raised his glass and clinked it lightly. "You're too kind, Chief Zhao."

"Come on, let me toast you." Zhao Mingyuan tipped his head back and drained his glass.

Wen Jueqian eyed the baijiu in his glass and took a small sip.

Sun Yi then stood up. "After testing it internally, the Chuxing team all agree the quality is amazing—it fully deserves the platform's top-tier resource support."

In the contract, Chuxing had definitely made big concessions—the traffic support Lingjing Era would get was on par with the hottest games out right now.

Wen Jueqian clinked glasses with Sun Yi and took another small sip.

The operations director raised his glass too. "Chief Wen, let me toast you as well. Once Floating World launches, we'll go all out on promotion."

"Hey now." Qi Yi stood up with a grin, stepping in front of Wen Jueqian and raising his glass. "Our Chief Wen can't hold his liquor—I'll take this one for him. Bottoms up."

He downed it in one shot, his face not even twitching.

The operations director blinked, then drained his glass too.

More people tried to toast Wen Jueqian after that, but Qi Yi smoothly deflected every single one.

Wen Jueqian just sat there, only having to toss out a few pleasantries here and there.

He really couldn't hold his liquor and wasn't great at schmoozing.

So while Qi Yi handled the deal details, he just had to chime in now and then on key technical points.

When dinner wrapped up, everyone said their goodbyes at the door.

Zhao Mingyuan gave Qi Yi's hand a firm shake. "Chief Qi, pleasure doing business."

"Same here."

Wen Jueqian and Qi Yi stood on the curb.

"You good?" Qi Yi glanced at him.

"I'm fine." Wen Jueqian rubbed his temples. "Just a little dizzy."

Qi Yi just smiled and didn't say anything.

The two stood in silence for a bit, the bodyguard lingering nearby.

Qi Yi suddenly asked, "So how are things with you and Wen Yanxu lately?" His tone was casual, like he was just checking in on a friend's love life.

Wen Jueqian turned to him. "Why the sudden question?"

"Because I wanna know when you two are finally making it official?" Qi Yi's tone had a teasing edge.

He slung an arm over Wen Jueqian's shoulder, like he was sharing a secret. "Can you make it happen before Floating World's public launch?"

"That way, I can put out a press release: Lingjing Era's Chief Producer officially marries into the big-shot Wen family."

"The buzz for Floating World would be through the roof."

Wen Jueqian sighed, exasperated. "Are you trying to save on marketing costs?"

"Of course." Qi Yi said matter-of-factly. "The game hasn't made a dime yet, and the company's struggling in its early days. Every bit counts."

Wen Jueqian burst out laughing.

A few meters away, a silver-gray aircraft touched down slowly.

Qi Yi lowered his arm. "Your ride's here."

Wen Jueqian nodded and turned to go.

"Jueqian." Qi Yi called after him.

Wen Jueqian glanced back.

"Put in some effort—whisper a little sweet nothin' in Chief Wen's ear and get him to fund our promotion."

At that, Wen Jueqian's ears went visibly red. He stopped paying Qi Yi any mind and walked straight to the aircraft.

Leaving Qi Yi standing there, cracking up.

The cabin door slid open, revealing Wen Yanxu's familiar face. The aircraft's interior lights traced a soft outline around him.

"Have you been waiting long?"

Wen Jueqian shook his head and stepped inside.

“What did Qi Yi say to you just now?” Wen Yanxu’s voice was calm, as if merely making small talk.

Wen Jueqian felt a bit embarrassed. “Nothing much.”

Wen Yanxu pulled Wen Jueqian into an arm, his hand landing exactly where Qi Yi had touched. “Looked like you two were having a good time.”

The drowsiness from the alcohol washed over him, and Wen Jueqian leaned back against the seat, closing his eyes.

“We just talked about the Floating World.”

Wen Yanxu nodded, steadying Wen Jueqian and easing him onto his shoulder.

“Tired?” Wen Yanxu’s voice came from above, laced with concern.

“Mm.” Wen Jueqian answered, eyes still closed.

The alcohol loosened his guard, and he suddenly whined: “I don’t want to socialize. You’re a shareholder too—you should go instead.”

A low chuckle drifted down from above.

“Alright,” Wen Yanxu said, his voice full of fond indulgence. “Next time, your husband will take your place.”

Wen Jueqian didn’t open his eyes, but a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“That’s your job anyway.”

“Mm, my bad.” Wen Yanxu played along, his fingers gently toying with the ends of his hair.

“How’d it go today?”

“Not bad.”

Wen Yanxu nodded and didn’t press further.

His hand kept gently stroking Wen Jueqian, like petting a cat that had let its guard down.

“If you’re sleepy, take a nap. I’ll wake you when we get home.”

Wen Jueqian hummed in acknowledgment and shut his eyes.

He started to drift off.

In his haze, the chime of his optical device suddenly went off.

Wen Jueqian frowned, forcing himself awake to check the device.

The screen lit up with a message from 99.

99: Qianqian, I’ve detected that Aegis has internally settled on Qiao Yuexun as the spokesperson for the 7th-Gen Inhibitor.

99: They’re signing the contract tomorrow.

His drowsiness evaporated instantly.

Wen Jueqian stared at the screen, his body going rigid.

His mind went blank, and then a thought hit him.

Did Wen Yanxu know?

Wen Yanxu felt him tense up immediately.

“Honey, what’s wrong?”

His voice came from above, still carrying the warmth of his smile.

Wen Jueqian was still resting against his shoulder.

Of course Wen Yanxu knew.

As the lead in charge, the final call on the spokesperson couldn’t bypass him.

So why didn’t he tell him?

He knew full well how much Qiao Yuexun got to Wen Jueqian.

Wen Jueqian’s mood hit rock bottom.

Not just because Wen Yanxu had hidden it, but also because fate was out of his control.

He’d thought he’d changed the course of fate, yet the future was still barreling down the same predetermined path.

Wen Jueqian’s heart was now a mess of confusion and hurt.

And a sudden surge of betrayal washed over him.

He could feel Wen Yanxu’s eyes on him, waiting for an answer.

He wanted to call Wen Yanxu out right then and there.

After a long silence, the air inside the aircraft grew tense.

In the end, Wen Jueqian swallowed the conflict that was about to blow up.

He just said, “There’s an anomaly in the server stress test data.”

==========Author’s Note:==========

The plot is about to get intense. A super long chapter is coming the day after tomorrow.