Forcing Me to Be Reborn?!-Chapter 168 - 143 Developing a Very Cheap Game (Part 1)

Chapter 168: Chapter 143 Developing a Very Cheap Game (Part 1)

Chapter 168: Chapter 143 Developing a Very Cheap Game (Part 1)

By the artificial lake of Technology University, Cheng Zhu couldn’t help but tighten up when he heard someone calling his name. He feigned calmness and placed the phone he was holding into his pocket after locking the screen.

To others, even if they noticed what he was watching, it would merely be interpreted as looking at a couple of slightly risqué comic images.

But as the person involved, it felt different to him.

It was Hu Yan’s self-portrait after all. It also somewhat resembled her dressed in a QQ uniform, taking a couple of selfies and sending them to Cheng Zhu for review.

Although it wasn’t as direct as a selfie, this kind of self-portrait left more to the imagination, allowing you to unleash your creativity.

Had it just been a few photos, Cheng Zhu would have found it mundane.

In his past life, it wasn’t just photos; he might receive some small videos every few days.

The reality of test tubes is much more than you imagine; it’s just that most people never come into contact with it, and those who do can experience a lot all at once.

For Cheng Zhu, these comic images represented an entirely new experience.

Most importantly—these were in full color!

And Hu Yan, this female artist, when drawing herself, put her all into it, unleashing her talent in crafting something slightly salacious. Probably, she’d admire her own work for a good while after finishing.

Indeed, there were many interesting details.

If her artwork wasn’t deceiving, one could tell from the comic that she was a slightly plump and voluptuous woman, giving off a soft vibe.

For Hu Yan and Cheng Zhu, they had already immersed themselves in the strange atmosphere of chatting between a man and a woman. Hu Yan was already blushing and tingling with excitement.

Thus, for ordinary people, suddenly hearing their name called out in such a moment could have scared the soul out of them.

Cheng Zhu could still keep his composure, a testament to his experience with many turbulent situations.

He turned his head to see who it was, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Internet celebrity and campus beauty Zhang Qiqi was looking at him with a face full of surprise. She hadn’t expected to run into Cheng Zhu by the lake while she was out taking a breather and snapping selfies, and he was alone, no less.

As she approached, she also noticed the scent of alcohol carried by the night breeze.

“Have you been drinking?” Zhang Qiqi was even more delighted upon asking.

Cheng Zhu nodded slightly and said, “Just trying to sober up here.”

Zhang Qiqi immediately picked up her water bottle with a concerned look and asked, “Then, do you want some water?”

She had already opened the water bottle as she spoke.

One third of this Evian was already drunk, clearly by her.

Cheng Zhu noticed this and thought her flirting technique wasn’t bad,

but offering water she’d already sipped to a guy wasn’t a particularly impressive move.

It was merely pretending to have forgotten that the water was already sipped, creating a little moment of indirect kissing.

The key was to open the bottle cap while talking, putting her in a position to advance or retreat.

If Cheng Zhu took the water now, she would appear considerate and attentive.

However, Cheng Zhu declined, indicating it wasn’t necessary.

Zhang Qiqi nodded slightly, glanced at her opened water bottle, and took a small sip herself.

Being rejected is always a bit awkward, but finding something to do—like naturally taking a sip yourself—can ease the discomfort.

Additionally, this gesture further impressed upon the observer, “Noticed I’ve drunk from this bottle, right?”

And subtly hinted: Alright, I actually know it’s been sipped from.

This made the simple act of drinking water flirtatious, stirring your heart.

While she drank, her head was tilted back, but her eyes kept on Cheng Zhu, maintaining eye contact.

Although no water spilled, after drinking, she lifted a finger gently to wipe her chin and pursed her moist, red lips.

“What’s with this strong sense of déjà vu?” Cheng Zhu’s headache only worsened.

He saw many shades of Yiyi, one of his popular online hostesses from his past life, in Zhang Qiqi.

“Why are you here by the lake alone?” Cheng Zhu asked.

In her mind, Zhang Qiqi thought: “Isn’t it because of that annoying Xu Shao!”

Young Master Xu had brought her 99 roses again today.

She couldn’t help it; she had posted a video of herself dancing on a machine at “Youu Come to Play” just a few days ago.

Xu Shao was interesting; he had never been to “Youu Come to Play” but knew the style of the place like the back of his hand, immediately noticing that she had been at Cheng Zhu’s store again!

Although this overzealous fan had long assumed that her internet celebrity friend Liu had dragged Qiqi there, he still felt a sense of urgency.

“I’m only a step away from winning Qiqi’s heart, can’t let anything go wrong now.”

Little did he know she’d thrown the roses he sent into a bin at some secluded spot.

She disliked the smell of roses; even having them in her dorm made it hard to breathe.

And, in her view: “What’s the point of sending flowers? They wither in a few days. Might as well buy me something else.”

Allergic to romance would be an understatement.

But, are some women truly allergic to romance?

No, she’s just allergic to you.

At that moment, Zhang Qiqi looked at Cheng Zhu and said, “Just… wasn’t feeling too great, so I thought I’d take a walk alone. Didn’t expect to run into you here.”

Cheng Zhu nodded slightly, considering this purely instrumental person before him, and asked, “Senior, you know a lot of people at school. I’m about to start developing a game; do you know any experts in this area you could recommend?”

The internet celebrity looked at him, smiled sweetly, but sounded rather annoyed: “Cheng Zhu, it seems you only call me ‘senior’ when you need my help.”

He grinned in response but didn’t deny it.

—Otherwise, why would I?

Zhang Qiqi thought for a moment and replied, “I do know someone, a high school classmate of mine, a senior male student.”

“He’s quite good at making games, also a computer whiz, and seems to know a bit about hacking too,” she added.

“Really?” Cheng Zhu seemed pleasantly surprised, “Then can you give me his contact?”

“It’s not that I can’t,” she then propositioned, “How about you walk me back to my dorm on the way and we chat? Can you do that?” She clasped her hands behind her back, even tiptoed slightly.

“Letting a drunkard escort you?” Cheng Zhu pointed at himself, then stood up and said, “Alright then.”

As he talked, he unlocked his phone to check the time, noticing he had received new WeChat messages and planned to reply to them first.

However, as soon as he unlocked his phone, what popped up was the comic image Hu Yan had sent!

He hadn’t closed the image earlier, just locked the screen directly!

“She seemed to have glanced at it?” Cheng Zhu wasn’t quite sure.

But it didn’t matter much since the image wasn’t all that serious.

It was weird to sit by the lakeside after drinking and look at that stuff, though.

Cheng Zhu closed the image and slightly lifted his phone to reply to the messages.

Naturally, the messages were from Hu Yan.

After all, they had been chatting, and right after she sent a more risqué self-portrait, he had disappeared, suddenly not replying anymore.

—Hard not to overthink it, huh?

“Boss, why aren’t you saying anything?”

After five minutes, Hu Yan couldn’t help it and said: “Boss, you weren’t looking at my self-portrait and…”

This is what happens when there’s no limit in private chats!

An old driver encountering another with no limits, it’d be weird if they could chat normally.

Cheng Zhu, thick-skinned, simply replied: “I’m done now.”

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

Hu Yan seeing his reply, didn’t believe his words, but typed: “Well, that was quite a while.”

“That’s because what you sent was too tame.” Cheng Zhu said.

“Even if you say that, I won’t send you any more,” thought Hu Yan.

But after saying that, she felt like both her dignity as an artist and a model were trampled on.

She couldn’t resist sending one more staggering piece.

“6.” Cheng Zhu texted back, thinking: “Damn, you’re still going?”

“This one is good, I’m starting the second round. Keep drawing and don’t interrupt.” He ended the chat.

In the night, he walked Zhang Qiqi back to her female dorm.

Zhang Qiqi called out to him, “It’s the first time a guy has escorted me back to the dorm.”

Cheng Zhu snorted internally: “Probably because others wanted to, but you wouldn’t let them.”

The female dorm was crowded and prone to gossip, an easy place for rumors to spread.

Fortunately, Cheng Zhu couldn’t care less, since what he was least short of was rumors and gossip.

Most importantly, from the beginning, it was Zhang Qiqi who had been actively approaching him, whether it was the dance during military training or her frequent visits to “Youu Come to Play,” it looked very much like she was the one pursuing him.

So, he really didn’t mind.

It was perfect to keep exploiting this “green tea effect.”

“I haven’t escorted a girl back to the dorm either.” Cheng Zhu purposely said: “But I’ve had girls escort me to the dorm before.”

He was referring to the time Shen Qingning had taken him to the male dorm when he was a freshman.

As soon as this name came up, the competitive spirit in the internet celebrity intensified.

“Junior, I’ll send you his WeChat in a bit,” Zhang Qiqi said, “I’ll first go and let him know about this, lay some groundwork for you.”

She felt she had already helped Cheng Zhu quite a bit, showing her value multiple times.

“Alright, thank you, senior,” Cheng Zhu waved goodbye.

He had already posted a recruitment notice on campus forums and other platforms a few days ago, looking for computer talent from Technology University.

Normally, such posts wouldn’t draw much attention, and the effectivity in recruiting wasn’t guaranteed.

“But no worries.”

“As long as the title includes my name, there won’t be a lack of attention.” As a notable new student on campus, Cheng Zhu was absolutely confident.

…

…

The next day, Cheng Zhu woke up in his bed at home, ate breakfast, and watched an animated show with Little Youzi.

Then, he dropped his sister off at Yunlai Restaurant and headed to the eastern building of the Technology University entrepreneurship park.

He was quite busy today.

Simply put, Cheng Zhu’s task today was straightforward.

—He had interviews to conduct.

Cheng Zhu hadn’t expected so many to contact him. And the person recommended by Zhang Qiqi, he also planned to meet today.

He had mentioned before, he was planning to create a puzzle game similar to “Match Three.”

Such games are simple to produce and low in cost.

But the market is overwhelmed with such games, mostly featuring identical gameplay, just with a change of name and cosmetic appearance.

It might seem there’s not much to do in this field.

But don’t forget, there’s a peculiar presence within these kinds of games.

“Perhaps… have you played ‘Sheep’?”

…

(ps: First release, seeking monthly tickets.)