CHAPTER 828: CHAPTER 729: DISLOCATED LIVES 27

When Zhu Shihao arrived, he saw someone resting their chin on their hand, gazing out the window with an elegant posture — Fang Zhijin. His face immediately lit up with a smile. He entered the café, took a few quick steps, and sat across from Fang Zhijin, smiling as he said, "Little Zhi, you look truly beautiful today."

Having already noticed Zhu Shihao, Fang Zhijin, who had specially arranged her posture, turned her head and beamed with youthful radiance, "You’re just sweet-talking me. I thought you’d fallen for another girl and had a change of heart since we hadn’t been in touch for so many days."

Although Fang Zhijin wasn’t clingy, men like you to be non-clingy but not indifferent. They enjoy it when women show a bit of jealousy, indicating they care. So Fang Zhijin, too, would indulge in a touch of jealousy when Zhu Shihao was in a good mood, playing on small emotions for fun.

Sure enough, Zhu Shihao, enjoying it thoroughly, smiled and said, "Little Zhi, are you jealous now?" Fang Zhijin pursed her lips and slightly turned away, ignoring him in a mock sulk. Her demeanor, instead of being annoying, added a touch of girlish charm.

Seeing Fang Zhijin’s attitude, Zhu Shihao quickly leaned over to speak soothing words, "Alright, I didn’t do anything. My uncle just bought a new game software a few days ago, and it’s particularly fun. I’ve been so engrossed in it these past days that I neglected you. I’m sorry."

After Zhu Shihao apologized, Fang Zhijin went along with it, casting Zhu Shihao a light, playful glance. With a smile in her voice, she said, "Since you know you’re wrong, I’ll let it slide this time. But if it happens again, I won’t talk to you for seven days."

Even jealousy and moods need to be tempered. If things get out of hand, men will get annoyed, especially someone like Zhu Shihao, who is used to being pampered. He might treat coaxing someone as a novelty, but if forced to put in effort, he might lose patience and leave. Fang Zhijin knew better than to make such mistakes.

One could say being with Zhu Shihao, it seemed on the surface that Zhu Shihao was passionately chasing after Fang Zhijin, who remained aloof. In reality, Fang Zhijin was the one investing the most effort into the relationship, having rehearsed her every word and action countless times.

Too much calculation in love leads to no love at all. If Zhu Shihao truly liked Fang Zhijin as a person, what Fang Zhijin liked was Zhu Shihao’s status and background, because real couples don’t calculate.

Couples are about mutual yet unnecessary compromise — it’s a peculiar emotion, and one has to be in it to understand. Like Fang Zhijin, wearing a mask to engage with Zhu Shihao, once you start pretending, you have to keep pretending for a lifetime.

Pretending around someone close is inadvisable. Between couples who are intimate day and night, whatever mask you wear will eventually be seen through, bringing inevitable and serious issues to the relationship.

Yet, the current Fang Zhijin only thought about being with Zhu Shihao, without considering how likely it was to maintain a facade without being exposed. Zhu Shihao also didn’t realize he just liked the facade Fang Zhijin presented to him.

Zhu Shihao was still excitedly talking to Fang Zhijin about the game he’d been playing, "Little Zhi, you don’t know how interesting this game is. In a few days, my uncle is holding a launch event for the game demo. Many industry bigwigs, journalists, game enthusiasts, and some friends will attend to try out this new game.

I’ll take you with me to the event so you can try it too. I guarantee you’ll be hooked as soon as you play. Plus, I’d like to introduce you to the game’s developer, a genius admired by many. You’ll definitely like her because she’s really amazing."

Thereafter, Zhu Shihao continued to praise how impressive this person was and how much profit was gained from his uncle.

Earlier, despite saying she believed Zhu Shihao, Fang Zhijin didn’t actually trust him deep down, as she had a hard time believing a game could be so captivating.

But now, with Zhu Shihao saying this and planning to take her to the game launch event, considering his eagerness to rush home every day, it seemed like he wasn’t lying. As for this game, Fang Zhijin didn’t like playing games and wasn’t really interested.

However, she was keen on attending the game launch event for a simple reason — it was likely to attract many high-society people, like Zhu Shihao’s friends.

As for Zhu Shihao wanting to introduce her to the creator of the game software, she didn’t think much of it, or care, because how much money could a game developer make? Surely not as much as Zhu Shihao, so someone like that didn’t catch Fang Zhijin’s attention.

Fang Zhijin never imagined that this person would be Wen Shuangshuang, someone she had always been wary and resentful of, because in Fang Zhijin’s mind, only a man would be interested enough in games to research game software. Besides, in her memory, Wen Shuangshuang was a business prodigy, and she had never heard that Wen Shuangshuang was a genius at creating game software.

Having not seen each other for several days, Zhu Shihao and Fang Zhijin went to several places and even visited a luxury store where Zhu Shihao bought a necklace as an apology gift for Fang Zhijin. Fang Zhijin reluctantly accepted it, repeatedly reminding Zhu Shihao not to buy such things again as she already had plenty and didn’t need more.

By the end of the day’s outing, both were satisfied. Zhu Shihao was pleased with his girlfriend’s good temperament and thoughtfulness, while Fang Zhijin was relieved that the crisis was averted, Zhu Shihao still liked her, and there was no interference from a third party.

At the game launch event, Wen Shuangshuang, as the game’s software developer, naturally had to attend as well. Even Wen Jianyun and Liu Yun worked overtime for several days in advance to make time to attend their daughter’s game launch, curious to see what remarkable game their daughter had developed to earn so much money.

The launch was held at the city’s largest five-star hotel, with the hall packed with a thousand computers ready for game trials. Zhu Wanpeng went big this time, inviting a thousand people to try the game, most of whom were game enthusiasts.

Zhu Wanpeng was extremely confident about this game. He believed no one could resist its allure, with its appeal spanning from teenagers to those in their forties and beyond.

Because even those who don’t play games would be captivated by the game’s scenery. Without battling monsters or leveling up, simply experiencing it would feel like a transcendent journey.

To satisfy those who love scenic views, Zhu Wanpeng had previously asked Wen Shuangshuang to adjust the game by adding a dedicated sightseeing mode.

This sightseeing mode was for players who just wanted to enjoy the scenery without engaging in gameplay. Once chosen, characters could not be attacked, attack others, and had unrestricted access to any map, purely to take in the sights.