CH 41

Early the next morning.

The hungover Pei Yi endured his headache and sat obediently at the dining table, so guilty that he dared not even look Bo Yueming in the face.

Although he was still drunk to pieces after waking up, he understood what had happened from Bo Yueming’s brief description—

Last night, he was so drunk that he fell asleep in the bathtub, and if not for the fact that Bo Yueming had returned home and sensed that something was wrong, he would probably have had an accident.

And early in the morning, Uncle Kai found the wine bottle in the bedside cabinet.

En, the thief was caught with the stolen goods, and awaited sentencing.

Pei Yi grasped the spoon and stirred the millet porridge in the bowl over and over, complaining endlessly in his heart.

The lychee milk wine was not stimulating at all, but its stamina was so great!

Was this reasonable? It was not reasonable!

Bo Yueming glanced at the millet porridge in the bowl that was about to be smashed by Pei Yi, and said helplessly, “Pei Yi, are you finished?”

“…….”

How could Pei Yi have the appetite to eat? He cautiously probed, “Er-ge.”

Did he go crazy after drinking last night, ah? Did he talk nonsense, ah? Had he revealed anything, ah?

Uncle Kai brought the hangover soup and some medicine from the hotel to Pei Yi.

He took a glance at Bo Yueming, and knowingly helped shield him, “Little Sir, drink, ba. You can’t do such nonsense in the future.”

“Fortunately, Second Young Master came back in time last night. You are quiet when you’re drunk, and Second Young Master’s eyesight is inconvenient, so he really can’t take care of you.”

“…….”

Bo Yueming made a soft sound of agreement.

“……..”

If he went crazy when drunk last night and said the wrong thing or pitted himself, would the other party still be this calm? Impossible.

Pei Yi repeatedly confirmed Bo Yueming’s reaction, and relaxed slightly. He picked up the hangover soup on the table and gulped it down in one go with a hint of obedience.

There was a little bit left on his moist-looking lips.

Bo Yueming suddenly thought of the impulsive kiss last night, and his Adam’s apple rolled slightly. He restrained himself and lowered his eyes, not mentioning the true story of the night before.

“Pei Yi, without my permission and confirmation in the future, you cannot drink casually.”

It was okay to have a drink, but after several observations, the kitten’s drinking capacity was ridiculously poor.

If he was not right under his nose at home, but went somewhere else, what if he met someone as disreputable as Sun Yelong again?

Pei Yi knew he was in the wrong, and was appropriately pitiful and well-behaved.

After what happened last night, who would dare to drink indiscriminately, ah? He completely understood—

Now that his body couldn’t hold alcohol, he had truly lost his title of “King of Drinking Capacity!”

Even if he wanted to exercise his drinking ability, he would have to wait until he left Bo Yueming. After transmigrating, he had “played the fool” until now, and he couldn’t let it be in vain!

Pei Yi gave a small sigh, and when he lowered his head, he caught a glimpse of the bathrobe on his body from the corner of his eye. His chaotic brain suddenly remembered an important thing—

He, he came out of the bathtub last night, right?!

Bo Yueming couldn’t see, so how did he change the bathrobe for him? Like he usually did……by, by feeling around?

He didn’t touch anywhere he shouldn’t have, right? No matter how he thought about it, it made him feel a bit sour.

There was heat on Pei Yi’s cheeks, and the roots of his ears were as red as if they were about to bleed.

Uncle Kai was the first to notice Pei Yi’s abnormality. “Little Sir, what is the matter? Is it hot?”

“……..”

Pei Yi didn’t speak, burying his red face even lower.

Bo Yueming took a second look while he wasn’t paying attention, and as if he had guessed something, the corners of his mouth curled up as he drank his coffee.

Lin Zhong returned. “Mr. Bo, the driver is waiting downstairs.”

“En.”

Bo Yueming set down the coffee cup in his hand and stood up calmly. “Uncle Kai, prepare something light for Pei Yi at noon. I made an appointment with the leaders of the relevant departments to understand the situation tonight, so I won’t come back for dinner.”

Uncle Kai responded, “All right. Second Young Master, please be careful.”

Pei Yi raised his eyes to look at Bo Yueming with a touch of unnaturalness. “Er-ge, bye-bye.”

“En.”

Bo Yueming paused, then added some exclusive advice, “Be good.”

“…….”

Pei Yi didn’t answer. After confirming that Bo Yueming and Lin Zhong had left, he took two perfunctory mouthfuls of millet porridge and returned to the room.

His headache wasn’t completely gone.

The residual alcohol continued to ferment its powerful effects, and the quilt-wrapped Pei Yi fell asleep not long after. The scene of being drunk the night before appeared clearly in his dreams—

Bo Yueming set him on the sink, and kissed him when he was unprepared.

It was a pity that the clearer the dream, the harder it was to remember after waking up.

. . . . . . .

For the next week, Bo Yueming left early and returned late every day.

And Pei Yi also didn’t let his work slide. After comparing the popularity of the two games, he confirmed that suspense and supernatural games were still more popular among the public.

Therefore, Pei Yi wrote another game based on his framework, called “Tracking Pros and Cons”—

The game environment was set at the scenes of various suspenseful cases.

Players could choose to look for clues at the crime scenes from the different perspectives of either the “policeman” or the “murderer.”

The former needed to collect all the traces of evidence and piece together the truth to solve the case, while the latter needed to eliminate every last trace and escape.

You could choose the standalone time-limited mode, and the player would win if they found the truth or destroyed it within the specified time, or you could choose the two-player battle mode. This matched one policeman and one murderer to search for traces at any time. The former searched and the latter destroyed, and when all the traces were found, the game would decide the winner.

Pei Yi would compile a total of eight cases, with the difficulty of each one gradually increasing.

Of course, the party who purchased the copyright could pay him for more, or find another game writer to plan more case levels.

It took Pei Yi a week to efficiently complete the creation of the core plots of two levels.

Before peak traffic in the evening, he uploaded the game concept and general plot of the first copy of “Tracking Pros and Cons” to the Youtu website, and opened the original copyright certification.

This time, he did not open private chat bidding, but started a three-day original IP auction.

This method was very simple – the highest bidder would win.

In addition, he also spent a lot of money to buy the top position on the auction page to promote it.

A corresponding price must be paid for benefits, and without spending money, how could you get more traffic? Last time he had no money, but this time he had to get the right exposure!

As soon as Pei Yi finished all of this, a message came in the private chat interface.

Li Yuan had immediately messaged, “I see that you’ve launched a new game. Why did you choose to auction it?”

Pei Yi raised his eyebrows. “Little Boss Li, aren’t you paying me too much attention? Do you have a crush on me?”

“……..”

Li Yuan sent a series of ellipses, then responded jokingly, “Fuck off, I’ve been a face-con since university, but I’m not interested in shameless people like you.”

Pei Yi had long been accustomed to Li Yuan’s way of speaking, and responded with a chuckle, “En, right now I don’t have the energy to deal with buyers in private chats one by one. It’s better to clarify all the requirements at once, and sell to whoever bids the highest.”

After looking at the game settings, Li Yuan returned and said, “I see that your game can be made with a wave of medium-sized IPs? Why not set up guaranteed shares? You might continue to earn more.”

For Chinese original game IPs, they were generally divided into two modes—

The buyout method, or guaranteed shares.

Pei Yi said bluntly, “Too much trouble. I’m currently trying to make quick money.”

With a one-time buyout, the money was more straightforward.

What if Party A was an unreliable person and didn’t pay the dividends later?

Li Yuan in front of his screen heard this reason and said, “Wait, I’ll join in on the fun with you first.”

Pei Yi raised his eyebrows.

In less than half a minute, he received a system message—

[User Pear Garden (Pear Logo) has participated in the auction of your work, and the quote is 200,000.]

Seeing this quote, Pei Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “Little Boss Li, are you rich, ah?”

“Let’s play, your game IP is worth more than this price, there will be a Party A vying for it.”

“After the auction is over in three days, the system will have to return the money to me. If I didn’t only have the copyright fee to buy the mini-game, I would definitely spend more.”

Pei Yi teased, “You’re not afraid of screwing up? What if the game really falls into your hands in the end?”

Li Yuan replied confidently, “No way, I saw a Party A follow suit as soon as I refreshed.”

In the next second, Pei Yi received two more system messages—

[User Chengfeng Studios has participated in the auction of your work, and the quote is 250,000.]

[User LN has participated in the auction of your work, and the quote is 280,000.]

In just two rounds of bidding, the amount had increased by 80,000.

Pei Yi’s lips curved up. He was already very satisfied with the current bidding process. He was not creating a first-line game at the moment, but the reasonable price for this game was around 500,000 or 600,000.

After all, in addition to the quality of the original game IP, the reputation of the architect was equally important. Although Pei Yi was confident in the work itself, he also knew that his game path in this world had not fully opened up yet.

There was a knock on the door.

Uncle Kai’s voice came from outside the study. “Little Sir.”

“En?”

Pei Yi and Li Yuan exchanged words and then he quickly went offline. He switched the webpage to a video site again, and then rushed over to open the door.

Uncle Kai stood outside the study and glanced at the computer screen with a smile. “Little Sir, Second Young Master just called and said that he is free tonight and wants to take you out for dinner.”

Out?

Pei Yi had been immersed in game creation for the past few days, and had thought about getting some fresh air.

Uncle Kai could see the interest on his face. “Then, does Little Sir want to change clothes? Shall we go down together in half an hour?”

Pei Yi put on a show of obedience, and nodded in response.

. . . . . .

Night fell.

Pei Yi followed by Bo Yueming’s side, watching as the elevator went all the way up. The World Trade Center was the most representative landmark in Wencheng, with a total of 73 floors, and Linshui Pavilion on the 63rd floor was the highest-standard dining place in the local area.

The location, restaurant, environment, and service were all top-notch.

Pei Yi covertly glanced at the person beside him and thought to himself—

He had known they would eat well, but didn’t expect it to be this well. Wouldn’t this meal be expensive tonight?

Bo Yueming noticed Pei Yi’s scrutiny, and pretended to look straight ahead, disclosing, “I heard that this restaurant is famous for their desserts, so order more if you like them.”

When Pei Yi heard about the desserts, which were his favorite, his interest level rose like the number of floors.

He could no longer drink, so he could only rely on desserts to reward his hard work.

— Ding-dong.

The elevator safely stopped at the 63rd floor and opened in response.

After confirming their identities, the manager of the restaurant who had been waiting by the door showed a standard welcoming smile. “Good evening, Mr. Bo, welcome to our Linshui Pavilion. The A3 window seat has been reserved for you. Please follow me.”

The behind-the-scenes boss of the restaurant had rented out the entire floor as a restaurant, with large panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows that occupied one side of the view no matter where you sat. 

Although there was no special private box format, the overall atmosphere of the restaurant was quiet and comfortable because only eight tables of guests were received at a time, and they were quite a distance apart.

In the center of the restaurant was a delicate, slowly-rotating stage, where members of a specially hired orchestra were playing live.

Pei Yi looked around and had to sigh: in the realm of the rich, people really played in style.

At the restaurant manager’s direction, the group was seated smoothly.

Pei Yi and Bo Yueming sat opposite each other by the window, and Uncle Kai and Lin Zhong chose to sit on the outside without dissatisfaction.

If it weren’t for Second Young Master and Little Sir bringing them along, where would they have the spare money to enter such a high-end establishment?

The restaurant manager handed over electronic menus, one for each person. “Good evening, everyone. You can take a look at our limited menu for today. All ingredients are airlifted from across the globe on the same day.”

Pei Yi pretended not to understand as he scrolled through the menu. All the dishes in sight were up to three digits, and some of them directly exceeded four.

Well, what could he say?

It was obviously a money grab, but this restaurant at least let you fill your stomach.

“……..”

Bo Yueming “couldn’t see,” and Pei Yi “couldn’t understand.” Uncle Kai and Lin Zhong looked at each other in blank dismay and didn’t order their own food. The four of them made no moves for the time being.

The manager noticed Bo Yueming’s inconvenience at the core of the group, and prompted gently, “Mr. Bo, if necessary, I can introduce each dish to you in detail.”

As soon as the words fell, a thick, heavy voice suddenly sounded, “Excuse me, Mr. Bo from Bo Dichuang?”

Bo Dichuang was the name of the Bo Group branch in Wencheng.

When Pei Yi heard this strange voice, he automatically looked over—

A middle-aged man in a dark blue shirt was approaching. His appearance was average, but he was imposing, calm, and experienced. The watch on his wrist was worth millions, and there was a lit cigar in one gold ring-adorned hand.

At this moment, there was a trace of uncertain scrutiny in the visitor’s smiling eyes.

The restaurant manager was the first to react, and nodded. “Chairman Chen.”

Lin Zhong also recognized this person, and hurriedly whispered to Bo Yueming next to him, “Mr. Bo, it’s Chairman Chen Shun of Shuntian Group.”

Shuntian Group was the strongest competitor for this “Wencheng Sports Center” project.

Bo Yueming naturally recognized Chen Shun at first sight. He got up slowly, deliberately shifting the direction of his hand. “Chairman Chen, I’ve heard about you for a long time. Please forgive me for not being able to greet you right away, as my eyes are inconvenient.”

No matter in the Imperial Capital or in Wencheng, he couldn’t show weakness in front of others.

“I heard a while ago that the Bo family had sent a new person from their headquarters in the Imperial Capital.” Chen Shun looked at Bo Yueming’s outstretched hand, smiling as he shook hands with him. “Mr. Bo is able to take over the bidding of this level of project at such a young age. It’s really admirable.”

“Chairman Chen overpraises me.”

Their hands loosened as soon as they were clasped.

“I had originally wanted to find an opportunity to meet Mr. Bo, but I didn’t expect there to be such a coincidence today. I just saw Mr. Bo and his party come in.” Chen Shun took a drag of his cigar and let out a light puff. “Thanks to my great eyes, I didn’t recognize the wrong person.”

When Pei Yi heard that last sentence, his fingers on the menu tablet tightened for a moment.

For some reason, he felt that Chen Shun was no good, and there was a subtle ill feeling between the lines.

“Apologies.” 

Chen Shun seemed to have just noticed the guide glasses that Bo Yueming was wearing, and there was an uncertain apology on his face. “Mr. Bo’s eyes are……”

“There was a car accident three or four months ago, and I was blinded,” Bo Yueming spoke frankly, guessing the other person’s intention. “I brought the family to dinner tonight. Since we’ve met, why doesn’t Chairman Chen sit down and eat with us together?”

Lin Zhong heard this and tactfully gave up his seat.

“I came earlier than Mr. Bo, and I’ve already eaten,” Chen Shun declined.

However, he smiled and glanced at Lin Zhong who had given up his seat, and sat down calmly. “Since we met by fate, does Mr. Bo mind if we have a brief chat?”

Bo Yueming sat down, and there was an implication in his words, “If Chairman Chen doesn’t mind talking in front of my family and assistants, I certainly don’t mind.”

Chen Shun looked at Pei Yi and Uncle Kai on the opposite side, and the contempt in his eyes was completely blocked by the smoke of the cigar.

This big Wencheng Sports Center project was the top priority of Shuntian Group this year, and he paid special attention to all the competitors and people in charge.

Some time ago, he managed to get rid of that leader, Feng Zheng, with difficulty. Unexpectedly, the Bo family didn’t give up, but sent another person over.

However, as early as the first day Bo Yueming took over the project, Chen Shun sent someone to thoroughly investigate him—

He was young and capable, but it was a pity he had a bad family background and had gone blind some time ago.

It was said that his grandmother who was his only backer had fallen, so the Bo elders used him as a marriage tool, and even his marriage partner was a well-known fool in the Imperial Capital circle.

As for being sent to take over this project, to put it nicely, he was “valued,” and to put it bluntly, he was “exiled.” He had no future to speak of, and was just a joke among outsiders.

Chen Shun was very confident that his group could win the project, but wouldn’t it be more worry-free if he could lose an opponent before the bidding?

Even if there was no way to repel him with one move, he had to at least know the real situation and frustrate his opponent.

Chen Shun did not easily reveal his shrewdness and meanness, prompting him gently, “Mr. Bo, the Wencheng Sports Center project is not easy, ah. Even if your Bo family wants to enter the coastal market, you shouldn’t start with this project.”

He was clearly the most cunning old fox in the real estate development market in Wencheng, so the “kindness” of the moment naturally had ulterior motives.

Bo Yueming knew this, and showed a little weakness in his tone. “I’ve only been in Wencheng for a few days, and I really don’t know the situation of this project. What does Chairman Chen mean by saying this? Do you have another suggestion?”

He was still a little younger, after all, and he lost his aura with just a few words.

Chen Shun ‘kindly’ instructed, “Mr. Bo, start with small or medium-sized projects and work steadily. This is better than such provincial-level large-scale projects. If Bo Group wants to swallow such a big cake the moment they come, it is difficult to guard against hidden arrows.”

There were implications in the last half of the sentence.

Bo Yueming smiled, replying lightly, “Chairman Chen, there are only three companies left to participate in the bidding.”

Excluding the Bo family from outside, there were only Shuntian and the You family left, so whose family would attack covertly? Whose family would stab them in the back?

“……..”

Chen Shun was stunned for two seconds, but then he smiled. “Mr. Bo, let me tell you the truth. My Shuntian Group is determined to win this project, and I don’t bother with those dirty tricks.”

“I just feel like I am connected by fate to Mr. Bo, so I warn you—”

“Compared to me, that You Qinian who broke the siege at the beginning of the year and took over his own business not long ago, is a real viper, a ruthless character.”

Chen Shun took another deep puff of the cigar and exhaled a deeper and heavier cloud to cover up the sinister depths in his eyes.

“Last month, the relevant departments held a project introduction meeting. I remember that your project leader, Feng Zheng, had a lot of contact with Director You, ah.”

Pei Yi on the opposite side frowned.

He didn’t like this Chen Shun who had appeared suddenly, and he didn’t like his smoking. It smelled terrible!

Bo Yueming noticed Pei Yi’s feelings, and his original “weakened” aura instantly recovered. “Chairman Chen, excuse me, I really can’t stand the smell of smoke.”

“…….”

Chen Shun didn’t expect that his implications would be met with such a sentence.

He was stunned for a rare two seconds before he resumed an old fox’s usual tact, and handed the cigar to the restaurant manager to dispose of. “It was my own lack of thought, ba. Mr. Bo, what are you going to eat tonight? Everything you order can be put on my account.”

“I hope that in the future, we, Shuntian and Bo, can cooperate if there is an opportunity.”

In a word, he meant for Bo Group and Bo Yueming to give up the bidding.

There was a hint of coldness in Bo Yueming’s eyes hidden beneath the glasses. He was just about to reject Chen Shun’s offer to treat them, when he heard Pei Yi , who was cutely pretending to be well-behaved on the opposite side, say, “Eat anything?”

No one at the table expected Pei Yi to suddenly speak.

Chen Shun nodded happily, showing off his imposing wealth. “Of course you can.”

He had guessed Pei Yi’s identity and didn’t take him seriously. He was just a little fool, what tricks could he come up with?

Chen Shun’s affirmation was just what Pei Yi wanted.

He poked randomly at the blacked-out electronic screen, and when the screen turned on, everyone discovered that his page had stopped at the wine category at some point.

The behind-the-scenes owner of  Linshui Pavilion was also a wine lover. There were many types of wine in the restaurant, almost all of which were expensive wines from around the world that were second-tier and up, and the lowest price was “5999.”

Pei Yi acted like he didn’t know how to switch the page, and when he saw the screen turn on, he started to “poke blindly”—

“This one, this one, this one!”

While randomly ticking expensive wines that cost tens of thousands, he continued to talk foolishly. When he stopped, his nonsense cost at least a few hundred thousand.

“……..”

Chen Shun, having witnessed this scene, was at a loss for words.

The manager of the restaurant, who had watched the whole process, wished that so much consumption would be generated tonight so that he could get an easy commission, but he still maintained the most basic professionalism and said nonsense with a smile.

“So much wine at this time? You won’t be able to finish it.”

Pei Yi’s look grew more innocent. “Take home.”

Anyway, the wine wouldn’t be wasted, so it was fine to get more. He had secretly drunk a bottle of Bo Yueming’s Lafite last time, and thought to take this opportunity to “return” it to the other party.

Of course, if Chen Shun disagreed, then forget it.

Anyone who took their word back in public would be ashamed, anyway.

Pei Yi thought of this and looked more expectantly at the silent Chen Shun. “…….Ah? You don’t have money?”

A little polite, but not too much.

Uncle Kai covered his lips and coughed, and Lin Zhong, who was standing at the back, tried so hard to suppress his smile that the corners of his mouth almost twitched.

As expected of Little Sir, he always had a way to inadvertently anger people!

Bo Yueming guessed the cunning intentions of his family’s kitten, and pretended not to see the exorbitant wine price list. “Chairman Chen, my family’s Pei Yi is used to being childish, we’ve made you laugh.”

When Pei Yi heard the words “my family’s” in front of his name, his heart felt a little warm.

“…….”

You call it childish for a fool to order randomly off the menu?

The tone sounded embarrassed, but you never said ‘forget it,’ ah!

At last, a crack appeared in Chen Shun’s expression, and he suddenly felt that he might be mistaken—

What fool? What blind man?

One was naturally wicked, and the other hid his wickedness on the inside, they were a perfect fucking match!

A few gazes followed from a nearby dining table. Chen Shun prided himself on being a big man with a reputation in Wencheng, so he didn’t want to lose face, and could afford this unspoken grievance. 

It was fine, he said it was his treat, so it would be charged to his account.

When the restaurant manager saw that the commission was going to happen, he was even faster than Pei Yi. “Okay, Chairman Chen.”

Chen Shun didn’t care much about the money, but just felt inexplicably aggrieved with nowhere to vent it. “Mr. Bo, I have something to do, so I will leave first. I hope you can think about what I said, then we will have many opportunities to cooperate in the future.”

Bo Yueming gave a slight nod. “Thank you for your advice, Chairman Chen. Leave slowly. I will treat you back when I have a chance.”

“……..” 

Chen Shun choked speechlessly and left with restraint.

Lin Zhong returned to his original seat and excitedly picked up the menu. “Mr. Bo, shall I read it to you? What do you want to eat?”

“Okay.”

Uncle Kai also motioned to Pei Yi, “Little Sir, what do you want to eat? Look at the pictures.”

Pei Yi did not expect that Chen Shun would still stubbornly treat guests. The corners of his mouth twitched, and he raised his head to take credit in front of Bo Yueming, but he feared that his thoughts would be too obvious.

Thus, he had no choice but to change his mind to his appetite, and checked several more items on the dessert column.

An hour and a half later, dinner was over.

The manager of the restaurant personally pushed a small trolley filled with more than a dozen bottles of wine that had already been packaged. “Mr. Bo, all of your wine is here.”

Lin Zhong was a bit stunned when he saw the quantity.

God!

Little Sir, how is this dinner, ah?

He was simply here to purchase goods for Second Young Master!