CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43: DAUGHTER OF THE SNOW MOUNTAIN

"By the way, here’s the title deed to your house." Chen Yiyang tossed the title deed to Chang Yuning.

"Over a million, you’ve repaid it so quickly?" Chang Yuning took the title deed, still a bit in disbelief.

After all, Chen Yiyang seemed quite rushed the day she borrowed it. Chang thought Chen had some major issue with her cash flow.

"The money’s still owed, but they found me reliable, so they returned the deed."

"Oh, I thought you struck it rich and could help me fulfill my dream."

"What’s your dream then?" Chen Yiyang asked curiously.

"Of course, it’s to open my own gym," Chang Yuning said matter-of-factly. "I can’t work for others my whole life."

"Why not find a wealthy man to marry instead? Saving up to open a gym on your own, aren’t you worried you might lose so much you can’t even keep this house?"

"If a man can be relied upon, I believe I can successfully open a gym myself."

Chang Yuning cheekily sat on Chen Yiyang’s lap, looking at him, and said, "But if someday I have physical needs, can I find you for a free solution?"

Chen Yiyang thought to himself that this was a great offer.

He immediately wrapped an arm around Chang Yuning, who was planning a quick getaway, pinning her to his lap.

"I think I can sort it out for you right now, and I won’t charge arbitrarily."

"Hey." Just as they were speaking, a voice arose.

Chen Yiyang and Chang Yuning turned to look at once.

Shen Yifan stood dumbly at the guest room door, fully dressed.

Chen thought, just as he had forgotten about her.

The junior accountant was someone he introduced here to stay.

"Where are you going so late?" Chen Yiyang asked out of curiosity.

"My leg joint feels a bit rusty, heading downstairs to get some lubricant."

What a cyberpunk statement.

It took Chen Yiyang a moment to realize Shen Yifan was referring to her prosthetic leg.

"Then bring me a bottle of drink as well."

After Shen Yifan left, Chang Yuning looked at Chen Yiyang and questioned, "You’re not heading back tonight?"

"The car ran out of gas right under your building."

"I don’t believe you! You go sleep with your accountant at home."

"Can’t do that, with her leg swinging around, I feel like I’d get sliced in half."

Chen Yiyang held onto Chang Yuning and didn’t let go.

As they chatted, the two ended up lying on the bed together watching TV dramas.

Though both girls, Chang Yuning and Xu Xiaosheng had completely different feels.

One was soft and fluffy like a blanket.

The other was bouncy like a pillow.

"I warn you," Chang Yuning said, noticing Chen Yiyang’s hands wandering, "there are no contraceptives at home. If you don’t want to be tied down for child support for the rest of your life, hold off."

"The chances of striking accurately aren’t that high, right?"

"People in the community who transferred money due to blackmail from risky video calls also thought they wouldn’t encounter scammers."

Just then, the bedroom door opened.

A small head poked in.

"Boss, Yuning, brought the drinks."

"Give them to me then."

Chen Yiyang climbed off the bed to receive the plastic bag.

Reached out and felt something else inside.

Took a glance.

Umbrella!

Hiring this accountant for ten grand was totally worth it.

High-powered sports cars felt different than regular ones.

Here’s a simple example.

With a family car on the highway, you have to guide it and control the speed to prevent overturning.

Sports cars differ, thanks to their robust propulsion system, they don’t need your guidance, they guide you instead.

No matter the speed, sports cars can adapt and let you experience the adrenaline-pumping thrill of high-speed racing.

Listening to the engine roar beside his ears, feeling the powerful pushback from the seat behind, grasping the lively steering wheel.

In that instant, Chen Yiyang philosophized from the cosmic explosion to the meaning of life.

Finally, he realized the ultimate destination is nothingness.

Only when clean and asleep can one embrace the dawn of the next day.

"Get a hair tie next time," the following morning Chen Yiyang suggested sincerely while blow-drying Chang Yuning’s hair.

"It’s your own inexperience, okay? Don’t blame it elsewhere," Chang Yuning shouted.

"If you’re experienced, why not tie up your hair?"

"I don’t feel like arguing with you." Chang Yuning touched her now dry hair, and said, "You go wash the sheets, I’m off to class."

"Bye." Chen Yiyang bid farewell to Chang Yuning.

Then he took out his phone to glance at today’s intelligence.

Today’s scoop: Want to raise a cute daughter? Indie game ’Daughter of the Snow Mountain’ lacks funds for marketing. Depending on investment, different high returns can be achieved.

Note: After its release, the game’s total sales reached 1 million copies.

Contact info for the game’s responsible person is attached on page two.

It’s a scoop on an investment opportunity.

Chen Yiyang skimmed through today’s intel, thinking the name seemed like a hint.

But whatever, couldn’t be bothered to nitpick.

Chen Yiyang tucked his phone into his pocket and then knocked on the guest room door.

"Boss, what’s up." The little accountant’s head hadn’t come out yet, but the steel prosthetic limb thudded onto the wooden floor, making Chen Yiyang’s heart skip a beat.

"Help me wash the bed sheets in Chang Yuning’s bedroom later. I’ll add two hundred bucks to your salary this month."

"Sure thing." Shen Yifan agreed cheerfully.

The prosthetic limb was also retracted.

"By the way, where did you take Hans yesterday?" Chen Yiyang remembered that he didn’t take Hans with him when he left yesterday.

He originally thought Shen Yifan had brought Hans here.

"Sister Yuning wouldn’t let me bring the dog into the house. Last night I bought Hans a dog bed, prepared him some water and dog food, and let him sleep in the shop."

Having Hans watch over the shop was a great idea, why hadn’t he thought of it before?

The shop was spacious enough for Hans to move around.

"You can reimburse the expenses you spent on Hans when you do the accounting at the end of the month," Chen Yiyang instructed Shen Yifan.

Then he drove to the shop to check on Hans.

By the time Chen Yiyang arrived, Zhou Jianjun had already taken Hans for a walk.

Hans seemed to be in a good mood too, preferring the shop over the apartment.

Chen Yiyang decided to make another trip to the apartment and drove Hans’s dog food, cage, and various supplies to the shop.

From now on, Hans was considered a member of the shop’s staff. His expenses could be accounted for in the shop’s security system, included in the store’s operational costs.

Today, Chen Yiyang was quite busy.

He made a call and set up a meeting time with the producer of "Daughter of the Snow Mountain," then ran to the court to collect the three documents needed for the property transfer.

He managed to submit the documents to the exchange office before it closed for lunch.

It would take about seven more days for the property to be officially transferred under Chen Yiyang’s name.

At noon, Chen Yiyang drove to the gym to pick up Chang Yuning for lunch.

"I just remembered something."

While they were eating grilled fish, Chang Yuning began, "I remember you telling me before that you had a German supermodel girlfriend. So, did you break up, or have two-timers?"

"Oh, that one’s still around." Chen Yiyang, under Chang Yuning’s unfriendly gaze, took a bite of the tender fish and then continued,

"Yesterday, I was thinking of having Shen Yifan take it to your house, but you didn’t agree."

After hearing Chen Yiyang’s words, it took Chang Yuning five or six seconds to process.

"A dog."

"Don’t talk nonsense. It’s now a formal employee at my shop, and the expenses go through the shop’s accounts."

"You’re quite the natural at this." Chang Yuning said, biting her chopsticks,

"If you ever need me, I can play a part-time role as an employee. You could start by giving me a high salary for a few months.

Then fire me, pay me a huge severance package and breach fees. That way, without paying taxes, you can pull money out of the company."

"Is that how your gym’s boss does it?" Chen Yiyang asked curiously.

"Of course, if the tax authorities hadn’t caught him later. He would have loved to hire and lay off his wife every year."

"Seems like I’ve got more to learn about being a crafty businessman." Chen Yiyang lowered his head and focused on eating.

After eating, he thought he might hit the highway for a drive while he still had the energy.

As it turned out.

Human will cannot defy objective rules.

Halfway through his drive, Chen Yiyang was forced to exit the highway.

He could only drive his 911 ahead of schedule to meet the independent game producer.

"Your voice sounds familiar." Chen Yiyang said when they met at a café.

"Thank you, I think I just have a typical mature woman’s voice, nothing special."

After speaking, the other party slid a laptop over to Chen Yiyang, "Here are some concept art and gameplay descriptions of our game, please have a look."

"Hmm." Chen Yiyang glanced casually at the computer.

It’s true that he loved playing games, but mostly online games, and he wasn’t very familiar with indie games.

"Since we need to wait for a license in the country, we’re planning to release directly on Steam to sell.

However, our studio is a newbie with only three employees, so we need funding for advertising."

Games are a type of entertainment investment with even higher risks than movies.

Generally, unless a movie is as bad as "Chasing the Dream," it tends to recoup some of its costs.

For example, if a film is released and widely regarded as terrible.

Aside from box office takings, it can still make some money by selling to film platforms to beef up their libraries, or selling to TV stations for non-prime time slots, or selling to bus companies and airlines for in-transport viewing.

All those scattered earnings add up to a fair amount.

Unless it’s a huge investment production, it’s hard to lose everything.

But it’s different for games.

If a game turns out poorly, you only get back what you sell, with no extra income.

Take the infamous flop "The Great Wall" as an example.

With box office sales of 320 million, it ran a loss of 75 million USD if you only count ticket sales.

However, a movie has more than just ticket sales.

Being a co-production, various subsidies were received.

Being a blockbuster with stars, it can be sold to film platforms.

As a flop, it can be bought cheaply by TV stations for airing in normal time slots.

If you consider long-term revenue, it might even break even.

Whereas Sony spent 200 million USD developing the blockbuster "Star Echo Agents" and sold only 25,000 copies.

The rest was pure loss, with no other avenues to recoup costs.

Thus, it’s very difficult for game studios to attract investment.

When Chen Yiyang popped up, the other party was eager to meet and talk.