Chapter 189: Year-End Bonus |
“What the heck?”
Peng Xue had always liked joking around and teasing people. Yue Xinyi, who had been her deskmate for a long time, was not surprised:
“Although Mei Fang is a bit of a scumbag, I don’t think he would do something like that, especially not in front of so many people.”
“Don’t believe me? Just watch. I’m telling you, he will give me the last year’s hard-earned allowance later…”
Yue Xinyi raised an eyebrow slightly. “Are you talking about the allowance fee for learning bass guitar?”
Peng Xue looked surprised. “I’ve kept this a secret from you for so long just to surprise you today. How did you know?”
“You hardly go out to hang out with others after class now. You’re always reading bass-related textbooks. And you’ve mentioned before that you wanted to learn how to play bass, but your family couldn’t afford it. With Mei Fang’s personality, if you just mentioned it to him, how could he not support you if it’s for Yuan Yuan’s sake?”
Working as a staff on C Site honed Yue Xinyi’s experience in dealing with people. She had grown from being actively friendly at the beginning to becoming impartial and neutral. Yue Xinyi’s temperament had been tempered, leaving a much more stable impression on people.
After listening, Peng Xue grabbed Yue Xinyi’s arm and looked at her with gratitude in her eyes. “I didn’t expect… I didn’t expect that you’ve always cared about me like this… I used to see you as a rival, someone I could do without. I didn’t realize you loved me so much! Huhu… Come and give me a hug, Xiaoyizi…”
Yue Xinyi pushed away Peng Xue, who was trying to get close to her, and said, “What best friends? It’s just an ill-fated bond between the Yuan faction and the Xi faction!”
“The term ‘ill-fated bond’ sounds very couple-like, hahaha!”
Everyone was happily watching the commotion. At this moment, Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi were holding microphones and singing. Their first song of the day was Don’t Wanna Grow Up[1] by S.H.E.[2]
Since Liu Xiaoyu was the only one in the gathering who wasn’t their middle school classmate, Mei Fang was initially worried that she might feel out of place in the group. However, Guo Yun, who had a friendly personality, noticed her discomfort and kept her company during the meal and karaoke session.
They had met before in Jiangcheng, so they were somewhat familiar with each other, and they got along very well, talking and laughing together harmoniously.
After seeing this scene, Mei Fang felt relieved and started to playfully ruffle Zhang Ming’s hair beside him.
“How long has it been since you last played games?”
“I haven’t really played much since starting high school… It’s too difficult.”
“No one wants to play DotA with you?”
“I’ve seen people play that game before. It’s a MOBA game, right? It looks quite interesting…”
“Then let’s give it a try. Even if you’re competing for the top in your class, it won’t take up that much time. How about we hang out together during this winter break?”
“Well… let’s see how things go.”
“Even if you’re in science experimental class, it’s important to have fun. It’s not just about academic competition but also about mindset. But if you feel like you can’t keep up or the pressure is too much, don’t force yourself…”
Mei Fang enjoyed the singing of Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi while chatting leisurely with Zhang Ming. He took the opportunity to analyze the pros and cons of staying in science experimental class for his friend Zhang Ming.
“At the beginning of each semester, there’s an opportunity to transfer out of science experimental class. If you find it too challenging, don’t force yourself to stay there, there’s nothing shameful about it. After all, the ultimate goal is to score higher in the college entrance exam.”
“That’s true… By the way, you seem to be doing well financially lately. Do our games sell well?”
“Well, I’ll tell you later.”
Xia Yuan and Peng Xue were the main karaoke enthusiasts in the private room. Lin Youxi and Liu Xiaoyu occasionally took the stage to sing a few songs. It was Liu Xiaoyu’s first time singing in front of Mei Fang (in this life), and her voice was sweet and moving. Xia Yuan thoroughly enjoyed her performance.
However, Yue Xinyi, Guo Yun, and Zhang Ming were not the type to be invited to sing, and nobody forced them. After all, some people just enjoyed being part of the atmosphere.
After going through all the songs in the KTV, Peng Xue and Xia Yuan brought out their bass and guitar respectively. They had previously planned to perform a duet in front of everyone.
“Today, I’m going to perform a duet with Yuan Yuan with her new song Bare Face. I hope Boss Mei doesn’t mind!”
“I don’t mind, just don’t outshine our Yuan Yuan too much.”
“Don’t underestimate me, hahaha!”
Xia Yuan had informed him in advance about this. Mei Fang also knew that Peng Xue wanted to showcase her efforts in front of him, to make him realize his investment wasn’t wasted.
The heating was on in the KTV room, and Peng Xue was just wearing a shirt, with the sleeves and hem rolled up, giving herself a trendy punk girl look.
One held her acoustic guitar, and the other held her bass guitar. They lightly played the introductory melody, while Peng Xue shook her head, closed her eyes, and smiled slightly, clearly immersed in her own musical world.
【Another quiet night】
The main melody of the song revolved around Xia Yuan’s guitar melody, and to Mei Fang and Liu Xiaoyu, who understood music theory, Peng Xue’s bass part was equally impressive.
After they finished the song, everyone applauded together under Mei Fang’s lead.
“How long have you been practicing… Your coordination is so in sync, and you completely kept up with the melody.”
“Hmm…” Xia Yuan happily hugged Peng Xue closely and said, “Ah Fang, you don’t know but, before we practiced this performance, Xiaoxue watched my videos countless times in private… She’s really dedicated, and we’ll definitely form a band in the future!”
“Hehe…”
Peng Xue, who usually had no sense of distance, felt a bit embarrassed by Xia Yuan’s praise in front of everyone.
After the performance was over and they had left the stage, Mei Fang gave Lin Youxi a knowing nod, who then turned off the music in the private room and turned on the lights. Xia Yuan then walked to the front of the stage, carrying Mei Fang’s backpack.
“Everyone, may I have your attention for a moment. Ah Fang has something to say to everyone. Ah Fang, come over here…”
Xia Yuan beckoned Mei Fang to come to the front of the stage.
“Although it’s not necessary to make it so formal… But for the sake of organizing and planning our future work, I’ll explain it briefly. Today is not just a simple friends’ gathering, it’s also a small annual gathering of our Ximilu Studio, after all, everyone here is an early member of the studio.
“In the past year, we planned a total of three projects, two of which have been launched, namely Reigns and Life Restart Simulator.”
Mei Fang spoke seriously and earnestly. Even the mischievous Peng Xue was now sitting respectfully and attentively, listening to his speech.
“The information I can share with everyone is that the sales of these two games exceeded 30,000 and 50,000 copies respectively at the end of the year. This concept may be a bit difficult to grasp for some, but it basically means that these two projects have earned a total of over 200,000 yuan so far. I wanted to share this good news with everyone.”
“Over 200,000?!”
Yue Xinyi asked, “Are these just the gross profits? How much do you plan to give each of us?”
“After deducting some operating expenses, there’s approximately 80,000 left.”
Mei Fang addressed everyone present, “I intend to distribute this entire amount as a year-end bonus, divided among all of you based on your contributions to the projects.”
“Eight…eighty thousand… for everyone?”
Everyone present, except for Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi, felt incredulous.
“Is it real Chinese yuan? Don’t try to fool us.”
“Why would I fool you…” As Mei Fang spoke, he, Xia Yuan, and Lin Youxi took out stacks of cash from the backpack.
“Oh right, this money should just be split among you few. Youxi and I won’t be taking part in the profit-sharing.”
Sometimes, Xia Yuan’s statements truly have the demeanor of a boss’ wife, which excited Peng Xue who was standing nearby.
Translator's Notes:
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