Even a Toxic Game Developer Needs to Date

Ji Pei was fired by his company at the age of twenty-nine. Not only was he let go, he was also saddled with a colossal blame bomb, enough to make him the laughingstock of the entire gaming industry for half a year. Luckily, with his experience, he could always scrape together a living if he was shameless enough. Who knew that just after escaping one den of danger, he would land in another? The boss of his new studio was handsome and fit, and also his direct junior from school. The only problem was that he wasn't very bright: young as he was, he'd decided to get into game development. But the first time Ji Pei saw He Shangxu, he was so dazzled by his looks that he lost all sense. In the end, he took a reckless gamble. Unfortunately, he lost. He poured his heart and soul into helping He Shangxu set up his studio, only to watch the studio change hands. The studio had never been He Shangxu's main business. It was merely a trial run for the young heir of the He family, one last game before taking over the family enterprise. Ji Pei felt that he wasn't just a complete joke in the gaming industry. He was a joke in the studio he'd poured his heart and soul into building, too. So this joke didn't want to keep working anymore. Whoever wanted it could have it. But people really were perverse. He ran away, and He Shangxu came back. He Shangxu had known from their very first meeting that Ji Pei liked him. But he didn't care. Businessmen valued profit, and as long as Ji Pei was useful to him, he didn't mind keeping him dangling. After all, he really didn't know much about the gaming industry and needed someone from the field to show him the ropes. From the beginning until Ji Pei left, He Shangxu barely said a word of truth to him. Until the day Ji Pei left, when He Shangxu saw him sitting lazily by the roadside with a coffee. A young kid in his twenties leaned over, about to snatch the cup from Ji Pei's hand and wheedle at him. Seeing Ji Pei smile as he coaxed the kid, He Shangxu sat in his car, his face livid. He regretted it. Excerpts from the original blurb: * Mysterious literature takes you into the rebellious life of a game-development dog (?). Late at night, which idiot manager was it who opened with, "Why do mobile games need to account for device compatibility?" Which idiot planner was it who said, "I want a hundred artifact slots"? The burned-out planner Ji Pei lit the cigarette between his lips with weary resignation. Ji Pei (lie flat JPG): Mr. Lin, that's so well said. Lead planner, you're absolutely right! Mr. Lin & Lead Planner: Well, in that case, Old Ji, do it our way. Ji Pei (lighting a cigarette wearily): I can't. I can't keep living like this. ↑ Excerpts from the original blurb, before Ji Pei took the blame. It's pretty ridiculous... but there are actually even more brain-dead people in game companies (sincere tears). * The original blurb was recycled from an old draft. The original version was posted on 2021-02-03. * The new blurb is still about the original story, but everything has been adjusted. * Trying my hand at a melodramatic romance (← if it doesn't work out, let's pretend nothing happened). * Same-sex marriage is legal by default. * A useless, hopeless romantic who knows nothing about love (tears). Theme: Work hard and keep improving every day.