Zhuang Qingyan stared at the floating screen for three seconds.Three...Two...One.
She set down her utensils and decisively tapped the center of the screen with a sharp snap, hitting the [Purchase] button.
[Purchase Successful!][Congratulations! You've received: 100 Taste Coins, 1 Small Cherry (Adds Action Points), and 1 Small-Range Storage Mech Arm!]
The notification quickly disappeared, and the interface returned to Level 10, which she had yet to clear.
[Too bad! You were just 2 wrappers short of completing the level! We detected that you have the item "Small Cherry (Adds Action Points)." Would you like to use it?]
That bright notification box hovered right in the center—as if it had been waiting for her to return.
Zhuang Qingyan let out a cheerful chuckle and tapped [Yes] without hesitation.
On the left-side item bar, the number next to the small cherry dropped to zero. The icon gave a little shake and floated to the top left corner, increasing her Action Points from 0 to 2.
Zhuang Qingyan beamed with satisfaction. Using the two new action points, she easily completed the level's objectives.
"Qingyan, what's got you smiling like that?"
Startled, Zhuang Qingyan turned and saw her devilish boss, Linda. Her hand even twitched instinctively from the surprise.
Linda looked relaxed as she strolled over and casually took a seat beside her, raising an eyebrow. "What's with that expression? Am I really that scary?"
Zhuang Qingyan silently answered yes in her heart, but outwardly she just smiled and shook her head politely.
Meanwhile, Linda had already turned her gaze to Qingyan's screen. "A brain-game, huh? Nice art style, and the elements are well executed."
Zhuang Qingyan nodded. "Yeah, and it's not just chasing trends—the gameplay itself is actually pretty solid."
Linda perked up at that and immediately downloaded the game.
By now, Zhuang Qingyan had very consciously started explaining her experience with the game—because Linda always took her gaming opinions seriously. If she gave a game a decent review, Linda would absolutely dig deeper and have her dissect the entire thing from start to finish.
So before Linda could even ask, she launched into her report.
"...And then I couldn't help it and ended up spending 1 star coin."
"Hold on."
Zhuang Qingyan blinked, her mouth snapping shut.
Linda leaned in, placing her elbow on the table, her expression turning unusually serious. "You're telling me... you've already spent money on this game?"
Not sure why Linda was suddenly so intense, Qingyan nodded, slightly confused. "Yeah, but it was only 1 star coin."
Linda's eyes lit up like a hawk spotting prey, and her tone turned sharp and precise. "That's all I needed to hear. The fact that this game—a brain-game, no less—got you to spend money within a single day of downloading it? That says one thing: This is an extremely successful commercial game. It's about to take the interstellar market by storm."
Zhuang Qingyan was caught off guard. The more Linda spoke, the more uncertain she felt. "That can't be right, Linda-jie... Isn't that kind of conclusion too bold? All you've got is my experience—just one data point. Doesn't that seem a little..."
She didn't finish before Linda interrupted.
"Because you're not just anyone. You've interned under me for two full months. I make you play unfamiliar games every single day under my intense pressure. In the gaming realm, you're already a seasoned player. And if even you couldn't resist the urge to spend money on this game in such a short time... then yes, I stand by my judgment."
Zhuang Qingyan was dumbfounded. With every word Linda said, she mentally replayed her own gaming session, wondering—Was the game really that good?
Honestly... maybe not?
Sure, she enjoyed it. But the gameplay was really simple.
To be fair, that simplicity was probably its greatest strength. Each round was short and easy to play—perfect for killing time in brief moments of boredom.
If she had to pinpoint it, what this game nailed was solving the "empty gap" during fragmented time in a player's day.
Aside from that, Zhuang Qingyan didn't think it was all that amazing.
There had been other games before that were easy to learn and play. But most of those burned out after three days. Delicious Match Madness had better polish, sure, but fundamentally, it was the same—simple and repetitive.
Zhuang Qingyan was hooked now, yes. But just as it was simplicity that got her addicted, it would likely be that same simplicity that doomed it in the long run.
So while she agreed the game might cause a brief frenzy, "take the interstellar market by storm"? That felt like a serious overstatement.
Meanwhile, Linda had already started playing Delicious Match Madness. As she played, Qingyan gently voiced her doubts.
Linda made a quick swipe to eliminate three matching items and paused to say, "Of all the interns I've mentored, only a few have real promise—you're one of them. But it looks like your intuition still needs work."
Zhuang Qingyan's expression turned awkward. She fumbled for a response but came up short.
"But that's okay," Linda continued. "Intuition can be trained. I've only played a few levels, but I already see it—the gameplay system, the feedback loops... This is definitely going to be a star-wide hit. Let me explain why."
Linda then launched into a multi-faceted breakdown.
Qingyan said the game had "repetitive mechanics." Linda disagreed. She admitted the gameplay was simple, but insisted it was far from repetitive.
From the first few levels alone, Linda had already seen multiple gameplay layers emerge: the basic "three matching elements = elimination," evolving into "four or five matches = special items," "collect specific elements," and "tear open wrappers," among others.
They were all extensions of the same foundation, sure—but that didn't make the gameplay repetitive.
Not to mention, the level design was top-notch.
Each level ramped up in difficulty incrementally—but so subtly that players barely noticed. Instead, they just felt like the game was consistently smooth and satisfying.
In level-based games, difficulty pacing is everything. More than complex mechanics, it's the difficulty curve that determines long-term retention—and it's very hard to get right.
From Linda's perspective, this game's difficulty scaling was d*mn near perfect.
In fact, she half-joked that the level designer might even rival the famous creators of Dungeon Breaker.
"And don't forget," she added, "the tutorial girl mentioned something about a 'Delicious House.' You're already on Level 10 and haven't seen it yet. That tells me the game still has more up its sleeve."
Zhuang Qingyan widened her eyes in surprise.
There was really a Delicious House?
She hadn't even thought about it…
.
After the day's internship ended, Zhuang Qingyan returned home.
Her mind had been adrift all afternoon. Whenever she had a spare moment, she found herself thinking about everything Linda had said.
And the more she thought about it, the more it made sense—and the more she wanted to play the game again.
She even snuck in a few rounds on the bus ride home.
After a quick meal and shower, she changed into her loungewear and eagerly reopened Delicious Match Madness.
...
On Level 25, Zhuang Qingyan ran into the same problem again.
She was out of Action Points before completing the objective.
This time, though, the challenge was steeper: she still needed 4 more wrappers and 5 chocolate cakes.
Looking at the current board, she estimated she'd need at least 4 Action Points to clear it.
She glanced at her item bar—and lo and behold, there was a Large Cherry, which granted exactly 4 Action Points.
It only cost 35 Taste Coins.
And she? She had 100!
With a decisive tap, she redeemed the Large Cherry. Four action points later—mission accomplished.
The dazzling results screen made her grin from ear to ear.
This... this was the joy of microtransactions.
Just then, the chibi girl mascot popped up on screen and winked:
[Wow! Miss Organizer has already helped us tidy up so many rooms—and she's done such a great job each time! It looks like she's mastered the art of snack organization! Let's head to the Delicious House and take a look at her hard work!]
As Zhuang Qingyan tapped to proceed, she was both surprised and delighted.
There really was a Delicious House? Linda-jie was spot on, as always.
A modest room appeared on the screen, featuring two large display cabinets.
The left cabinet was empty. The right cabinet was filled with identical yet gloriously triumphant items—trophies.
Each one corresponded to a level where Zhuang Qingyan had earned three stars on her first try. From 1-1 to 1-25, they gleamed in perfect rows, neatly lined up.
In that moment, she felt overwhelming relief.
If she hadn't spent that 1 star coin earlier, there'd be a gaping hole in her perfect trophy collection.
That would've been devastating.
Her choice to spend was, without a doubt, the right one.