Chapter 297: Your Profound Thoughts Shine Like a River of Stars in the Sky
Chapter 297: Your Profound Thoughts Shine Like a River of Stars in the Sky
Xia Jiang quickly finished taking notes and asked again, “President Pei, we all know that every game Tengda has produced so far has achieved both outstanding sales and excellent reputation—this is extremely rare.”
“Many game developers are overly focused on profit. They burn through the goodwill of their games, causing works with the potential to become classics to die prematurely.”
“There are also developers whose games are critically acclaimed but fail to sell, making it impossible to earn enough profit—sometimes not even enough to keep the company running.”
“Both situations are truly unfortunate.”
“So, could you tell us how you manage to balance both sales and reputation so well?”
Pei Qian silently let out a sigh.
“Actually, I have no interest in making money at all.”
“I’ve never thought about how to balance reputation and profit. Every time, I genuinely think the project will lose money. But for some reason, the reputation suddenly explodes and the sales skyrocket.”
“At this point, I feel Tengda has earned so much money it’s suffocating.”
“I also can’t understand why players praise my games while shoving money at me at the same time. It’s honestly very troubling.”
Xia Jiang nodded earnestly and continued writing furiously.
“A designer detached from material desires, whose pursuit lies on a higher spiritual plane.”
“A soul unburdened by wealth—no amount of money can weigh it down.”
“Material enjoyment requires only the smallest amount to satisfy him; spiritual pursuit, however, is endless.”
“Never afraid that his goals are set too high—instead, he constantly reflects upon himself.”
“‘Is my level of thought still not high enough?’—a question he often asks himself.”
After finishing her rapid notes, Xia Jiang asked another question.
“President Pei, since you’ve already achieved such remarkable accomplishments, what is your next goal?”
Pei Qian cleared his throat solemnly.
“My goal has never changed. I just want to make a game that loses money.”
Xia Jiang froze for a moment, then nodded and quickly jotted it down.
“Is this… the realm of the solitary undefeatable one?”
“Most designers spend their entire lives pursuing a successful game, yet he quietly awaits the favor of failure.”
“Perhaps the monotony of victory has long grown dull, and only an unintentional failure can give him a sense of challenge.”
“Using failure as a mirror reveals one’s gains and losses.”
“Many strive to succeed, but those who strive to fail are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.”
“It’s unimaginable what kind of tempests he must have weathered to cultivate such a calm and unshakable mindset.”
Xia Jiang felt her inspiration rushing forth like an unstoppable flood; her pen scratched across the pages without pause.
Meanwhile, Pei Qian, sitting across from her, began to deeply doubt his entire life.
One question after another echoed in his mind, interrogating his soul:
Why isn’t she finding anything strange about my answers?
What exactly is she writing?
Why is she looking at me with that “I understand completely” expression?
The more Pei Qian observed, the more panicked he felt.
No, wait—director, is there something wrong with the script?
I’ve been spouting nonsense nonstop, so why isn’t this reporter raising even a single question? Why is she seriously taking notes like I’m giving profound answers?
Pei Qian desperately wanted to sneak a peek at what Xia Jiang was writing, but the characters in her notebook looked like incomprehensible scribbles—he couldn’t recognize a single word.
Ask her?
That would be improper.
No interview subject asks the reporter what they’re writing down—that would be questioning her professionalism, which would be far too rude.
On the surface, Pei Qian remained calm and smiling. Inside, he was completely lost.
He could faintly sense that something was going very, very wrong.
Soon, the next question began.
“So, let’s return to your new work, Turn Back Before It's Too Late.”
“As we all know, you choose a different game genre every time. What kind of internal drive pushes you to constantly venture into new fields?”
“Is it the spirit of stepping out of your comfort zone? A natural instinct for progress? Or perhaps an elevated attitude of treating the world like a playful game?”
Pei Qian was momentarily speechless.
This was getting more and more absurd!
Her previous questions had still been relatively objective—but now she was practically spelling it out!
Pei Qian shook his head firmly. “None of those.”
“I just simply want to try unfamiliar fields so I can increase the chances of failure a little.”
This time, Xia Jiang did not start taking notes. Instead, she smiled and said, “I understand.”
Pei Qian: “???”
Understand what!? Understand WHAT!?
He hated people like this—people who assumed they understood everything!
Pei Qian was completely speechless now. He was 100% certain that this reporter had definitely misunderstood him—and in the most ridiculous way possible.
He wanted to scream, but rationality told him he had to calm down.
Regardless of whether this reporter understood him or not, he couldn’t forget his original objective:
He needed to ruin his public image!
He needed to create backlash among players—so he could reduce sales and maybe even make his next game catastrophically flop!
With that in mind, Pei Qian regained his calm demeanor and signaled for her to continue.
Xia Jiang asked, “There are already many professional reviews about Turn Back Before It's Too Late.”
“Did you expect these reviewers to evaluate the game the way they did?”
Pei Qian shook his head vigorously. “Not at all!”
Xia Jiang smiled. “Then, did you originally think the game’s themes were too subtle and were mentally prepared that people might not understand them?”
“Huh? No.” Pei Qian shook his head. “I never imagined they would overinterpret this game to such an excessive degree.”
“Overinterpret?” Xia Jiang picked up her pen again.
Pei Qian nodded. “Exactly. They completely overinterpreted it.”
“The highly praised storyline? I didn’t even write it. I just randomly grabbed a few literature graduates from a nearby school and had them write whatever.”
“The game’s difficulty? It’s not to deepen the immersion.”
“I simply wanted to make a game that tortures players. Seeing players suffer makes me extremely happy—it’s purely my sadistic hobby.”
“Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Pei Qian said it with utter seriousness.
Xia Jiang nodded just as seriously. “Yes, yes, I understand.”
Pei Qian: “…”
Xia Jiang held her pen, ready to continue taking notes, but hesitated, feeling her interpretation wasn’t precise enough. So she asked, “Then what about the ‘Salvation’ mechanic?”
Pei Qian answered truthfully, “That was a cheat tool I left for myself. The players found it by accident.”
Xia Jiang nodded. “So, you also played this game yourself.”
Pei Qian fell silent.
How was he supposed to answer this?
If he said I didn’t play it—
That would sound like such an obvious lie. And even if he told the truth, no one would believe him.
If he said I did play it—
That also looked bad. He had literally just claimed the game existed solely to torture players. Wouldn’t that make him look like some kind of… masochist?
For a moment, Pei Qian had no idea how to respond.
Xia Jiang wore the expression of “I understand everything perfectly,” and her pen began scribbling rapidly again.
“President Pei’s witty humor has left a very deep impression on me as well.”
“Perhaps people who are both successful and strong-willed naturally possess a certain innate sense of humor—something that turns an otherwise plain and ordinary interview into one filled with delightful surprises.”
“President Pei very straightforwardly admitted that Turn Back Before It's Too Late is a game created for the purpose of tormenting players.”
“But before tormenting others, one must first torment oneself. When players suffer in the game, they would never imagine that the pain they feel is something the creator has long experienced himself.”
“‘Salvation,’ he says, was created for himself—but isn’t it also, in a way, created for all living beings?”
“‘If hell is not emptied, I shall not become a Buddha.’”
“If not for this spirit of self-sacrifice, feeding oneself to the tiger, cutting one’s flesh to feed the eagle… how else could a game like Turn Back Before It’s Too Late come into existence?”
Pei Qian, who had already stated things with absolute clarity, watched Xia Jiang writing diligently with a solemn face and felt a deep sense of despair.
It’s useless—she just won’t listen!
They were talking at complete cross-purposes. Their brains were simply not operating on the same frequency!
Pei Qian no longer knew how he was supposed to answer the next question.
Xia Jiang finished taking notes and prepared to continue the interview.
Pei Qian hurriedly raised his hand to stop him. “Chief Editor Xia.”
“Hm? Yes, President Pei?” Xia Jiang looked utterly sincere.
Pei Qian carefully searched for the right words. “Do you feel that your interpretation of what I’m saying is… perhaps just a little bit off?”
Pei Qian had thought he was already being quite direct in questioning Xia Jiang’s journalistic professionalism, yet instead of being offended, Xia Jiang smiled and nodded.
“President Pei, I understand.”
“Your thoughts are too profound. Even when I try my best to guess, I can only grasp a portion of them.”
“It’s like the brilliant Milky Way in the night sky—no matter how far one gazes, one can only see the brightest stars. The magnificence that lies beyond our sight can only remain hidden in the darkness.”
“I’m sorry, President Pei. I truly did my best.”
Pei Qian: “?”
Who’s talking about whether you’re doing your best!?
Yes, you are doing your best—doing your best to twist my words beyond recognition!
Why can’t I explain this clearly!?
Nope. This interview cannot continue.
If this keeps going, who knows what the final published article will look like?!
Just as Pei Qian was considering how to escape, his phone rang.
He checked it—it was his 10 a.m. wake-up alarm.
On normal company days, Pei Qian slept until 10. Since today’s interview was scheduled for 9, he set an extra alarm earlier. And now, his usual alarm was ringing.
Perfect timing.
Pei Qian instantly silenced the alarm, then held the phone to his ear in a showy manner. “Oh, okay. Just wait for me, I’ll be right there.”
After pocketing his phone, Pei Qian said apologetically, “Chief Editor Xia, terribly sorry. Something came up at work.”
“How about this—you can continue interviewing my employees? I’ll have to excuse myself first.”
Xia Jiang nodded immediately. “Ah, of course, President Pei. Today’s interview has been truly enlightening. Please, go ahead!”
Pei Qian quietly turned and walked away.
Forget it—if I can’t win, I’ll just flee!
If he stayed any longer, he might really ascend to Buddhahood. Time to run!
Watching President Pei’s departing silhouette, Xia Jiang quietly scribbled another line in his notebook:
“The most terrifying thing in this world is a genius who works even harder than ordinary people.”
After writing that, Xia Jiang signaled the camera crew to start rolling again.
“Now then… who should be the first employee I interview?”
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