Pampered by the School Bully-Chapter 1048 - 1035: Huo Feng and His Friend Hit a Wall in Beijing!

Chapter 1048: Chapter 1035: Huo Feng and His Friend Hit a Wall in Beijing!

If it weren’t for Ye Qingcao suddenly bringing it up, Pu Sangzhi wouldn’t have thought about it; here we are at Tsinghua, and Brother Ye Xi is here too...

Xiaocao is Brother Ye Xi’s biological sister; it’s rare for her to come here, surely she’d want to see Brother Ye Xi.

However, Pu Sangzhi knows that her current relationship with Brother Ye Xi... isn’t suitable for a meeting.

So, when Xiaocao suggested they go see Brother Ye Xi together, Pu Sangzhi’s mind was filled with rejection.

But Pu Sangzhi couldn’t think of a reason to refuse...

Beside her, Ye Qingcao didn’t notice the subtle change in Pu Sangzhi’s expression; instead, she spoke excitedly: "Send a message to my brother, ask if he’s free tomorrow! We haven’t had a meal together in ages!"

Pu Sangzhi’s uneasy gaze fell on Ye Qingcao’s face; unfortunately, Pu Sangzhi isn’t good at lying, and she couldn’t think of a suitable refusal.

"Sangzhi, let my brother treat us to a nice meal tomorrow!"

Raising her head, Ye Qingcao’s bright eyes met Pu Sangzhi’s, "Let’s have Peking Duck!"

Pu Sangzhi shook her head lightly, "Count me out."

Ye Qingcao didn’t understand for a moment, "Why? Do you have plans?"

Unable to think of a reason, Pu Sangzhi could only shake her head, "It’s inconvenient."

Ye Qingcao was puzzled, "What’s inconvenient? Why?"

Pu Sangzhi simply said, "If I say it’s inconvenient, then it’s really inconvenient. You can look for Brother Ye Xi anytime, it’s convenient, but for me, it’s not convenient, just like that."

Having said that, Pu Sangzhi straightforwardly put down the book she’d been reading halfway and lay down.

Her evasive reaction and serious tone from earlier made Ye Qingcao sense something amiss.

Ye Qingcao isn’t a child; in the adult world, there are always many things one doesn’t want to explain fully, just hinted at.

So, seeing Pu Sangzhi’s reaction, Ye Qingcao decided not to probe further, simply nodding, "Alright, then I’ll see when my brother is free, and I’ll go play with him."

Already lying down, Pu Sangzhi picked up her phone; the blue light from the screen illuminated her guilty little face, and she felt a sigh of relief inside.

From the other bed, Mu Mu found the sudden halt in conversation a bit strange, and she glanced over at Ye Qingcao and Pu Sangzhi.

However, Mu Mu couldn’t figure out much, so she could only let it go.

A moment later, Ye Qingcao received a reply from the WeChat message she sent to Ye Xi...

Ye Qingcao also lay down, covered herself with the blanket, and began secretly chatting with Ye Xi.

Then, Ye Qingcao subtly probed Ye Xi; from Ye Xi’s evasive response, she figured out something.

Ye Qingcao guessed that maybe her brother confessed to Sangzhi and got rejected, causing awkwardness in their relationship...

As Ye Xi’s biological sister, Ye Qingcao had always known her brother’s feelings for Sangzhi.

Unfortunately, Ye Qingcao had also witnessed firsthand how the couple she thought would marry turned into their current relationship.

As an intermediary, Ye Qingcao had no intention to interfere!

She just wanted to pretend she didn’t know and act deaf and dumb!

Then, Ye Qingcao arranged for Ye Xi to treat her to Peking Duck.

...

The following days continued to be Huo Feng and Yan Siyuan’s days of struggle.

The two of them carefully investigated many companies in Beijing, targeting middle and small-sized developing companies.

One company a day, or sometimes every two days, mostly relying on patience to negotiate collaborations.

Gu Erhao, with nothing better to do, joined them in running around each day, and in just a few days, he saw the harsh reality of society yet again!

After days of hustling, Yan Siyuan and Huo Feng put out several more proposals, but they could clearly sense that the companies didn’t think highly of them.

Because their studio’s conditions were indeed too lacking...

So lacking that most of the company’s agents would dismiss them outright upon seeing their conditions, especially since they were carrying a romance simulation game.

Honestly speaking...

This type of game is very hard to succeed in the gaming circle! You could say it lacks potential.

To this day, the slightly famous games of this genre are just "Miracle Nikki" and "Love and Producer."

But those two games have already reached their limits, satisfying most players...

Wanting to stand out in this genre is extremely difficult!

So, not only do many companies doubt Yan Siyuan and Huo Feng’s studio, but they’re also skeptical about their game.

Of course, some small companies have discussed potentially buying the rights with them.

But this is Huo Feng and Yan Siyuan’s bottom line; they absolutely refuse!

Thus, in the face of real-world pressure, they hit numerous walls, experienced countless failures...

After several consecutive days of failure in Beijing, one evening they came back exhausted, the three boys slumped in their chairs, their minds blank, as if soulless...

For the next ten minutes, the dormitory was unusually silent.

Gu Erhao numbly browsed his phone, reporting today’s failures to his girlfriend.

Huo Feng and Yan Siyuan were lost in thought, their eyes vacant as they stared at the floor or into space; Huo Feng’s hands were still crossed behind his neck, bored and helpless...

After a long period of silence, Huo Feng kicked Yan Siyuan’s foot and asked numbly, "Getting a bit frustrated... If this doesn’t work out, let’s just publish and advertise ourselves."

Yan Siyuan answered numbly, "Sure. At least, we need to put out fifty thousand for advertising."

Huo Feng: "Goodbye, goodbye."

Yan Siyuan sighed deeply, rubbed his head, and said despondently, "Let’s give it another try."

"I don’t think trying will work."

Huo Feng shook his head, saying directly, "We’ve tried so many times; the problem is pretty similar. They don’t believe in us and our game. Of course, we might really not have anything to convince them. So, if we don’t solve this issue, no matter how many companies we consult, it’ll be the same." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Yan Siyuan nodded and sighed, "Then let’s think again; there might be other ways."

Other ways...

Huo Feng thought, the only fastest, yet most risky method right now was for them to publish the game themselves and spend money on promotion.

However, the risk was high. If the promotion wasn’t effective, the money they invested might not return, and the game could end up failing...

Therefore, to minimize risk, it’s still best to find a publisher to collaborate.

"Yan Ji..."

Suddenly, a thought struck Huo Feng, as if he had come up with something, "I have a question: if we have fifty thousand, can we publish and pay for ads ourselves?"

Yan Siyuan pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded, "We can, but it’s too risky. To be honest with you, I can gather fifty thousand, but I don’t want to risk all my assets on this, because it might not break even. Besides, we aren’t experienced in publishing; if we really do it, it’s purely experimental. We’re not sure where to effectively place ads. Moreover, if that’s the case, all the ad videos and trademarks will have to be created anew... It’s complicated."

Huo Feng asked again, "Putting aside the complexity and technical aspects, if in the end, we can only publish and promote ourselves, how can we minimize the risk?"

Yan Siyuan contemplated deeply...

Over there, Gu Erhao stared at them nervously, suddenly feeling like the atmosphere was like a meeting.

After a moment, Yan Siyuan replied, "If we can only publish and promote ourselves, to minimize risk, maybe we can crowdfund investment."

"Snap!"

Huo Feng clapped his hands, nodding energetically, looking at Yan Siyuan with a ’that’s what I meant’ expression, "That’s the idea! Fifty thousand, for you and me, borrowing and pooling, we can gather it. But the risk is too big for just the two of us. So, to minimize the risk, we can find someone to invest! Split the profits, share the risks! The only difference is, we handle the promotion and publishing. Are you confident?"

Yan Siyuan raised his eyebrows, "You’re asking if I’m confident in doing the promotional work?"

Huo Feng nodded, "Yes. As long as we can manage this part ourselves, finding partners isn’t an issue!"

Huo Feng opened up a new pathway...

Yan Siyuan also felt enlightened, "I’m not sure about the promotion results. But I can learn. I have a senior who’s quite good at a gaming company; I can ask for advice."

Huo Feng nodded, "Alright. That works too! So, this counts as another avenue!"

Yan Siyuan was a bit skeptical, "Does this work? How confident are you?"

Huo Feng patted his chest, saying, "At least I’m an 18th-tier internet celebrity with a million fans on TikTok. What do you think?"

Yan Siyuan took a deep breath and sighed, then slowly said, "They might not be loyal fans... let’s not be overly optimistic. Consider this an option B, if we really can’t find a publisher."

Huo Feng said, "Hmm..."

Huo Feng also felt that TikTok followers might not be reliable...

Counting a million followers, having 10,000 follow into the game is hard to say...

Among the 10,000, 1,000 spending money is hard to say...

Out of those 1,000, those willing to spend over a hundred are hard to say...

Therefore, we can’t be overly optimistic!