Wednesday, November 11th.
Lin Feng sat across from Mengqi.
"Do you know of any good manufacturing companies?" he asked. "For physical albums."
She nodded.
"I know some reliable ones. Though I haven't worked with them personally." She tilted her head. "Why? Do you want to produce physical albums for Su Yue?"
"Yes."
She leaned back, considering.
"It's not a bad idea. Most of an idol's earnings come from physical albums and concerts."
"Since a concert might be hard at this stage, this is the next best thing. Fans even buy multiple copies just to collect the photocards."
Lin Feng nodded.
"Here's my plan."
"I want ten thousand copies. The full mini album with the MV included as a bonus disc."
He held up a finger.
"Next week, after the MV releases, we start production. Then she promotes her second debut stream for that Saturday."
He continued.
"During the stream, she sells the albums directly to fans. And to boost gift revenue, we announce that the top one hundred gifters will receive a special signed copy."
He spread his hands.
"What do you think? The limited signed copies create a sense of urgency which intensifies the gift competition and in turn drives up stream earnings. That in conjunction with the album sales…"
Mengqi was quiet for a moment, processing.
"It's a good idea," she said slowly. "Though I'm not sure about the timeline."
She began counting on her fingers.
"After the MV release on Monday, that's about four days for production of ten thousand copies. It might be a little tight."
She paused.
"Actually..."
Her expression shifted as she thought it through.
"The MV releasing on Monday doesn't mean it's done on Monday. By Friday, we'll actually be finished with all the filming. Post-production runs through Saturday. Then I review it and iterate with the post-production crew through Sunday until we get a final product. We release on Monday."
She looked at him.
"So we could give it to the manufacturer earlier to have more time. It's just an extra day, so we're still cutting it close, but it should work."
She nodded to herself.
"I could also start arranging for all the required materials now so they're ready early. That way production can run smoothly."
Lin Feng smiled.
"Great. Do that."
He waved his hand.
"As for the money, don't worry about it. Just send the invoice to me."
He paused.
"While you're at it, you should also start talking with a logistics company for shipping."
Mengqi nodded.
"I understand."
A brief silence passed.
"Anyway," Lin Feng changed the subject. "How is filming going?"
Mengqi exhaled.
"We had some..."
…
Lin Feng's fingers moved across the keyboard, his eyes fixed on the screen.
Lines of code scrolled past as he worked through the Fool's Gambit codebase.
The reception from the playtesters had been quite good. The overall feedback on the gameplay loop was solid.
Well, this was to be expected.
He had taken every good element from the original game years into production and tons of well liked mods. It was bound to have such a reception.
That being said, this didn't mean he could avoid having trash code. He had been learning the language as he wrote the game, after all.
But thanks to the stress testing from the playtesters, they now had information on existing bugs and could work on fixing them. Through the process, they had also gained a deeper understanding of the language itself. During code reviews, they often found themselves fixing unreported bugs or logical issues they hadn't noticed before.
He typed out the final changes and pushed them upstream.
At that moment, his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
Class Monitor.
He picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Lin Feng," Sun Xiao's voice came through. "Did something happen? I didn't see you or Su Yue in class today."
She paused.
"You've both become quite elusive lately."
Lin Feng sighed.
"Well... things happened."
He leaned back in his chair.
"With her debut and all, things have been getting quite busy on my end. So I asked the chairman to grant us temporary leave."
He scratched his cheek.
"I was supposed to talk to you about it, but I forgot. Sorry about that."
"It's no problem," she said. "I was just worried."
Her tone lightened.
"Since it's just work and everything is fine, then I'm relieved."
"Thanks for your concern."
"Right," she said. "There was also something else I wanted to talk about."
"What is it?"
"You asked me to transfer people with good ideas to you if they don't meet the incubator program's standards, remember?"
"Yeah," he said. "I did say that."
Though it doesn't seem to have been the best idea.
Ever since then, he had met with a few of her suggestions. But none of them had interested him, to be honest.
"Well, I have someone," she continued. "This person... his idea is quite strange."
She paused.
"Anyway, I'll redirect him to you so you two can talk it out."
"Alright. Thanks."
There was a brief silence on the other end.
"...It's no problem," she said. "I should be the one thanking you."
Another pause.
"I still have some work to do, so I'll hang up now."
"Okay."
The call ended.
Lin Feng set his phone down, lost in thought.
I wonder how this one will be.
Will it be any different from the others?
At that moment, his phone rang again.
He looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
He blinked.
That fast?
He picked up the call.
"Hello?"
"..."
"Hmm."
"..."
"Yeah."
"..."
"Yes, just now is fine."
"..."
"Yeah, don't worry about it."
"..."
"Okay."
He put the phone down.
This guy is quite enthusiastic.
He closed his laptop and stood up.
Well, I should meet him and hear what he has to say.
…
The two of them sat opposite each other at a small coffee shop.
Lin Feng extended his hand.
"Lin Feng."
The other guy took it firmly.
"Xu Cheng."
They shook hands.
Lin Feng observed him for a moment. He looked to be around his age, maybe a year or two older. His clothes were plain, slightly worn at the edges. There was a nervous energy about him, the kind that came from having practiced something too many times.
"I heard your idea was quite strange," Lin Feng said, leaning back. "What did you have in mind?"
He paused.
"I can't guarantee anything. But if it resonates with me, I'll definitely invest."