*

These past few days, Pei Wu has finally been able to calm down and categorize and organize some of the problems she encountered in the game, in order to better improve it. Moreover, at the recent 'Bei Shang' meetings, the most discussed topic was how to deal with 'An Yang's' latest strategies.

"Learning from past mistakes, we must first connect with the entertainment companies we cooperate with to extend the contract period for the artists we work with. Furthermore, every artist who signs a contract with our company cannot work with other companies during the contract period with 'Beishang'."

The speaker was Wei Guangmo.

"Wouldn't such requirements be too demanding? This might cause artists to hesitate about collaborating with us. Currently, besides us, only 'Anyang' has 'face-swapping' technology, and in reality, only 'Anyang' can compete with us. If we do this, won't we push more artists to our competitors?" said the department head responsible for liaising with entertainment companies.

Upon hearing this, Wei Guangmo fell silent for a moment.

"We at 'Beishang' have dominated the market for over a decade, with offline experience stores all over the country and a huge base of loyal customers. Our reputation over the years is not something 'Anyang' can easily shake. If we throw ourselves into chaos and force entertainment companies to take sides just because our competitors have launched 'projects' similar to ours, wouldn't players also feel that we are forcing them to take sides? If we do that, it will only make our game players think we are petty. Hurting players' feelings is like pushing them to our competitors. This... is not a long-term solution."

In the past, Pei Wu rarely spoke at such meetings. She focused on doing her technical work well, and her apprentices handled the handover between the technical department and other departments.

“…Oh…” Hearing Pei Wu speak, Wei Guangmo finally looked up at her. “So, what does President Pei think is the best course of action?”

"I understand your concerns; you're afraid of losing clients to 'Anyang.' Meng Qinsu has over 40 million followers across the entire internet..."

Pei Wu touched her chin and continued, "The reason they chose Meng Qinsu as their spokesperson is obvious: the celebrity effect will attract fans to buy their products, which is a way to drive traffic. For a newly emerging company like theirs, this is a shortcut to attracting traffic, so naturally we can also choose a suitable spokesperson to compete fairly."

"Anyway, the anniversary celebration is coming up in a few days. It won't be difficult to organize more activities to compete with them. Of course, President Wei will have to pay for it himself." She knew that Wei Guangmo and Jin Wei did not get along, so she just joked with the last sentence.

Pei Wu naturally knew exactly how much money Bei Shang had made; he was incredibly wealthy. Over the past ten years, the money he had earned had even extended to other industries, such as catering and real estate.

Pei Wu chuckled and continued, "Since we're making games, it's always right to think from the perspective of game players. I still believe that improving game quality and enhancing the player experience are of paramount importance, coupled with reasonable discounts... I don't think anyone can shake 'Beishang's' position yet."

"..." Wei Guangmo raised an eyebrow at Pei Wu, clearly understanding the sarcastic meaning she had just conveyed. "If I'm going to pay for the compensation and discount, then does that mean President Pei will pay for the spokesperson's fee?"

"Of course."

"Since President Pei has given her ideas, let's end the meeting here." Seeing that Pei Wu was about to leave, Wei Guangmo said, "Wait a moment, I have something to say to you."

Only after everyone in the meeting room had left did Pei Wu finally speak and ask, "What did you need me for?"

"Emergency help needed."

As soon as Wei Guangmo uttered those four words, Pei Wu knew what it meant. Wei Guangmo was about the same age as Pei Wu, or even a year older. Pei Wu, a woman of that age, had already been forced by her family to embark on the path of arranged marriages, let alone a man of Wei Guangmo's age, who was also being pressured by his family to do so.

Previously, the two had tacitly understood each other and had covered for each other on numerous occasions.

But this time, Pei Wu said, "Why not give it a try? Blind dates aren't a bad thing. You might meet someone you click with. At your age, you should consider it. If you click, try getting to know each other."

"..." Wei Guangmo subconsciously narrowed his eyes and sized up Pei Wu. "Your remarks...are you expecting me to cover for you in the future?"

Pei Wu, whose secret had been exposed, slightly shifted her gaze.

"Well, after years of working together through thick and thin, it seems President Pei is starting to discard us after we've served our purpose."

Pei Wu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Then let's do it the same as usual. I'll go with you, order a coffee, and sit down to wait for you."

Pei Wu, who has been busy adjusting the game program these past few days, has been replying to messages on WeChat much slower than Jin Wei has noticed. Jin Wei might not receive a reply from Pei Wu even after a meeting ends. Although Pei Wu had informed him in advance that she would be busy with work and would be replying to messages more slowly, Jin Wei still felt disappointed.

The last time the two met was a week ago at the movie.

After finishing his day's work, Jin Wei looked at his intermittent WeChat chat history with Pei Wu. He tentatively typed a string of words and then deleted them. After repeating this several times, he seemed to muster up his courage and reluctantly pressed the send button.

Then he put his phone aside, ignoring it, and pretended to look at the documents in front of him.

But after a long time, no one replied.