To ascend, I had no choice but to create games

Back in the rented room he called home, Huang Ping drank a large can of beer, then lay in bed and slept soundly, making up for more than a month of sleep debt.

When he awoke, it was already the evening of the next day.

Gazing blankly at the familiar yet strange room, it took Huang Ping quite some time to remember that he had resigned.

After considering his options, Huang Ping decided to update his resume first.

Since his graduation, he had joined Tianyi to learn and work, starting as an executive planner, then moving on to copywriting, system design, numerical planning, and even becoming the main planner.

It could be said that he was the most versatile person at Tianyi.

In nine years, he had participated in most of Tianyi’s projects and, as one of Tianyi’s elite, was sent to Kongkong Studio to contribute to the production of “King’s Dungeon”.

But he never expected it would end in a nightmare.

After finishing up his resume for this period, he sent it out, then took out his phone, ready to contact former colleagues to see what had followed.

As soon as he opened his Fetion, he realized it had blown up.

He received a plethora of messages from former colleagues, some of whom had even created a group to share updates on the situation.

Kongkong, who had been beaten up, initially insisted on calling the police.

However, after President Zhang Ping investigated the matter, a few words were enough to quiet Kongkong down.

Some said what Zhang Ping had told Kongkong was, “If you’re not embarrassed by this, I am.”

Afterward, Kongkong lashed out in the project team and sternly warned everyone not to disclose the incident, advising them to deal with it quietly.

And according to Huang Ping’s understanding of Kongkong, it was very likely he would twist the story, blaming him for the entire ordeal, and then spread it to other game project leaders.

If that were the case, it would be difficult for him to find a satisfying job in the game industry thereafter.

But if not in gaming, what else could he do?

Looking around the four walls enclosing him, Huang Ping felt impulsive, but even more so, lost.

In the darkness, Huang Ping pondered for a long while, then got up, turned on the light, and prepared to clean as a way to switch his mood.

He hadn’t returned for half a month, yet the rented room was still spotlessly clean.

His girlfriend, whom he had met through a blind date, did not live with him, but she still came over from time to time to help him clean.

She was a very sensible girl, five years his junior, and knowing he had been busy at work lately, she made no excessive demands. She only asked that he call her every day for a quick chat.

Seeing it was about time, Huang Ping took out his phone and was surprised to hear the ringtone coming from outside the door.

He immediately opened the door to see his petite girlfriend standing at the entrance, triumphantly waving a shopping bag at him.

“You were still sleeping when I came by earlier, so I didn’t want to wake you. We’re having hot pot tonight; I’ve bought all the ingredients.”

IIJ II

His girlfriend cut him off, smiling as she said, “Let’s talk about anything after we’ve had the hot pot. Nothing can’t be solved by a hot pot; if it can’t, then let’s have another round.”

“Okay.”

He found the induction cooker that had been sitting unused in the cupboard for a while and silently helped his girlfriend prepare everything.

Soon, garlic, cilantro, spring onions, oyster sauce, and sesame oil were all ready, and the ingredients were neatly arranged on the dining table.

As the spicy hot pot broth began to boil, they added pigskin and pork brain first, followed by more easily cooked items like luncheon meat, and duck intestines that his girlfriend had specially packed.

After moving his chopsticks silently for a while, Huang Ping put down his bowl and looked at his girlfriend across the table and said, “I’ve resigned.”

Without looking up from wrapping tofu skin with oyster sauce, his girlfriend asked, “Then what?”

“We… should break up.”

“Why is that?”

“I used my savings for the down payment, and there’s not enough left for the bride price. I need to save to pay the mortgage; we can’t afford to get married, so…”

His girlfriend took a bite of the rolled tofu skin, and after wiping her mouth and hands clean, she took out the savings book she had prepared in advance from her pocket.

On the savings book, money had been deposited every month without fail for five years, eventually accumulating to a hundred thousand yuan.

“This is the money I’ve saved since I started working. You can withdraw it tomorrow and use it as a betrothal gift. Resigning will surely be tough, but it’s okay, I still have a job, and I can support you.”

“We can get a ring online, cubic zirconia looks just like a diamond and nobody can tell the difference. A simple wedding will do, but we still need to host a dinner. We invite one, we serve one, they give a red envelope at the door—no entrance without it.”

“So, don’t worry about anything when marrying me, just be ready to pay for the taxi to the civil affairs bureau.”

“Alright, no more crying. I bought some cola, you can drink up today.”

Looking at his girlfriend through tear-blurred eyes, Huang Ping felt that no matter what, he had to hold on to this girl.

The next day, Huang Ping began to tirelessly search for job opportunities online, sending out his resume to various places.

Unfortunately, after three days, he had not received a single piece of news.

Even when trying to get recommendations through former colleagues, it wasn’t long before they reluctantly informed him that the incident of him assaulting the producer had been blown out of proportion by Kongkong.

According to Kongkong, Huang Ping had made a grave mistake and expressed dissatisfaction with the project team’s overtime schedule. When asked to reflect, he was unrepentant and even talked back to the supervisor.

In the gaming industry, 996 is a common occurrence.

No producer likes a planner who talks back or becomes aggressive because of overtime or being scapegoated.

After learning about this, Huang Ping could only give a bitter smile and thank them.

Everything comes with a price; this was the price for him losing his temper.

But he had no regrets; if any, it was only because he hadn’t hit hard enough.

He revised his resume, prepared to be “optimized out” into society prematurely, and ready to start over as a security guard or a food delivery rider.

While he was revising his resume, his phone rang.

Seeing the caller’s name, his heart skipped a beat, but he picked up the phone and cautiously asked, “Mom, what’s up?”

“You resigned?”

“…Yes.”

“Such a big decision, how come you didn’t discuss it with me?”

“I hadn’t figured out how to tell you.”

“You always were like this as a child, never telling the family anything. What’s there to be afraid of? Why did you resign?”

“Too tired, I couldn’t go on.”

“Alright then, a rest might do you good. I’ve always felt that the boss at your company was no good, treating people like animals. What a shame though, I know a friend whose child is also in the gaming industry. I was thinking of asking you to refer him to Tianyi, but that seems impossible now.”

“Tell me his name and send me his resume. I’ll see if my former colleagues can help recommend him.”

“Fang Cheng. You haven’t seen the kid, but he’s really handsome.”

If it were just the same name, Huang Ping might not have reacted.

But with that last description, Huang Ping immediately knew it was that Fang Cheng.

His mother’s words lit up a match in the darkness, illuminating Huang Ping’s path forward.

Right, why not consider going to Fang Cheng Studio?

Previously, he had subconsciously placed Fang Cheng Studio in the position of a competitor, and so he had not thought of approaching them.

But now that he had resigned, there was no problem in joining them at all.

No sooner said than done, he immediately found Fang Cheng Studio’s job advertisement, sent his resume online, and soon received a reply.

“Mr. Huang, would you be available for an interview tomorrow?”