Chapter 11: Who Could Possibly Relate to Someone Like This?!

Game Development: Starting by Healing the Players 

Chapter 11: Who Could Possibly Relate to Someone Like This?!

In an apartment complex in Shanghai.

"Xiao Xue, are you really not going to join me and make games?"

Sitting on the sofa with her legs propped up on the coffee table, Yang Xin turned to Ruan Ningxue, who was beside her coloring one of her illustrations by hand.

"Sister Xin, your little boat is full of holes and is about to sink."

Setting down her paintbrush, Ruan Ningxue rolled her eyes.

"Ahem. It's only a temporary setback. Besides, I still have three employees! And look at your studio. Can you even call that a studio? What kind of studio has only one person?" Yang Xin immediately shot back.

"At least my studio is profitable! And besides, Sister Xin, didn't you have eight employees three months ago?"

"Everyone has their own ambitions. My employees wanted to pursue their dreams—I couldn't exactly stop them, could I? Anyway, how's your junior's game doing?"

Looking slightly embarrassed, Yang Xin quickly changed the subject.

"I haven't really been following it. I guess it probably hasn't done very well."

Ruan Ningxue gently shook her head.

"So your studio is about to become a two-person operation?" Yang Xin asked curiously, clearly aware of the agreement between the two.

"I suppose so. Though... Chen Xu is probably in a pretty bad mood right now."

Ruan Ningxue sighed.

She hadn't contacted Chen Xu at all during this period.

After their previous conversation, she had asked Yang Xin for her opinion, and Yang Xin hadn't been optimistic in the slightest.

Granted, this close friend of hers had nearly burned through all her company's funds after making three unsuccessful games.

But she was still a professional in the game industry.

After developing three games, she had at least accumulated plenty of experience... even if it was experience in failure.

During the month she had worked with Chen Xu on the project, Ruan Ningxue had clearly felt his passion.

She had also experienced firsthand the unique joy that came from game development, especially the satisfaction of personally contributing and watching the game gradually take shape.

It truly had been an amazing feeling.

At that time, she had finally understood why Chen Xu was so determined to become a game developer.

That was why she hadn't asked about the game's performance.

Especially since Chen Xu had said that if the game succeeded and earned money, he would pay her for her work immediately.

She personally didn't care much about the payment.

But she couldn't simply tell him to forget about it.

It wasn't just about the money, nor was it purely her own affair.

Besides, she'd been busy with her manga recently, so she hadn't paid much attention to the gaming side of things.

She had planned to give Chen Xu some time to calm down and adjust before reaching out to talk with him.

I've really been worrying myself sick over this junior of mine… Ruan Ningxue thought to herself.

"It's understandable. A lot of newcomers think making an 18+ game is easy. The risk may be relatively low, but game development itself is never simple. By the way, what's your junior's game called? Let me take a look."

Yang Xin spoke with a sigh, using the tone of someone speaking from experience.

It reminded her of her own three failed projects.

Although she had never met Ruan Ningxue's junior, she suddenly felt a strange sense of connection with him.

She felt as though she could understand exactly how he was feeling at this moment.

Especially after hearing that Chen Xu had gone all in and invested all his savings into the project.

That convinced her even more that he was someone who genuinely loved making games—just like she did.

Remembering the crushing disappointment she'd felt when her very first game had failed after launch, Yang Xin found herself sympathizing with Chen Xu.

If her company weren't already struggling to stay afloat because of its losses, she'd have asked Ruan Ningxue to introduce him to her company immediately.

Someone who loved games that much was exactly the kind of employee she wanted.

"Don't worry, Xiao Xue. When the time comes, I'll use myself as a cautionary example to comfort your junior."

Yang Xin patted Ruan Ningxue on the shoulder.

"We're both people who've suffered the same kind of defeat. I understand that pain."

"Thanks, Sister Xin. Oh, right—the game's called Mirror. But I think it was released on the overseas version of the official platform," Ruan Ningxue told her.

Although she hadn't asked Chen Xu about the launch, she had secretly checked the store page herself.

At the time, however, player ratings hadn't yet been unlocked, so she had no idea how the game was actually performing.

"Mirror..."

"Why does that title sound so familiar?"

"I feel like I've heard it somewhere before..."

"...Wait a second... this game!"

After learning the title from Ruan Ningxue, Yang Xin muttered to herself as she opened the official game platform and typed it into the search bar.

For some reason, she had a nagging feeling that she'd heard of the game before.

Yang Xin opened the overseas version of the platform, typed in the title, and hit search.

Then she fell silent.

Slowly, she turned and stared fixedly at Ruan Ningxue.

"Holy crap, Xiao Xue! This is what you meant by 'it probably didn't do very well'? This is the junior who was making his first game and supposedly didn't know anything?"

"Are you kidding me?!"

Now she remembered why the title had sounded so familiar.

She had seen people mentioning the game while browsing gaming forums not long ago.

Then she looked at the game's store page.

Rating: 9.6

Number of ratings: 1,724

Yang Xin was completely stunned.

Sympathize with him?

Relate to him?

Who the hell could possibly relate to someone like this?!

Who the hell would pity someone like this?!

A 9.6 rating.

And that many reviews!

How many days had it even been since release?

Already over 1,700 player ratings?

She had never experienced anything like that.

"So... Chen Xu's game actually succeeded?" Ruan Ningxue asked.

"Succeeded? It's way more than just a success—it's a huge hit! Remember, this is an 18+ game! And it's only been out for a few days. With a rating this high and this many user reviews, I'd bet its eventual sales will surpass even the best-selling game out of the three I've made."

Yang Xin looked at Ruan Ningxue with unmistakable envy.

Staring at the number of reviews beneath the store listing, she felt completely deflated.

Especially when she remembered that only moments ago she'd been telling Ruan Ningxue she'd use herself as a cautionary tale to comfort Chen Xu.

Well... turns out I'm the cautionary tale after all.

Fortunately, she quickly pushed aside the embarrassment.

Leaping to her feet, Yang Xin grabbed Ruan Ningxue by the arm.

"Xiao Xue, please! You have to introduce me to this master!"

"I need to learn from him!"

As the saying goes, it's easier to enjoy the moonlight from a pavilion near the water.

Well... maybe that wasn't quite the right proverb for the situation, but the point still stood.

If she couldn't become the one others relied on, then why couldn't she latch onto someone who just might be?