Tap, tap, tap.
This was a hand with clearly defined knuckles, neatly trimmed nails, and flat fingertips tapping rhythmically on a solid wood table, producing a series of crisp sounds.
In this relatively private coffee shop booth, the young man named Nangong Yu watched his counterpart with a smile on his lips, seeming quite pleased.
Beneath his short, dark, messy hair was a rather handsome face. Although he wasn't breathtakingly handsome, he could at least be praised as the most dashing young man in the ten-mile radius. Hidden beneath his loose black and white casual clothes was a well-exercised body, the kind that looks slender clothed and muscular unclothed, a truly enviable physique.
Faint sunlight, refracted through the glass, spilled into the room. The air was filled with the bitter scent of coffee and the mellow aroma of milk, their mingled scents subtly stimulating the noses of those present. In the quiet room, the rhythmic tapping weighed on the heart of the young girl opposite him, making her already tightly pursed lips appear even more bitter.
The girl had long, wavy silver hair, tied back with a hairband at her waist. Her beautiful face was as exquisite as a painting, but her furrowed brow held a persistent gloom, the root cause of which was a small stack of A4 papers on the table in front of her.
She wore a dress with a grey thin shirt as a base, outlining her already developing figure. Not to mention her chest, which already showed clear curves, the soft black skirt fell with gravity, its arc revealing her round and full legs. Just by imagining, one could understand how alluring the shape of her hips and thighs must be.
As for the black stockings that encased her slender calves beneath the skirt, they were a masterpiece, extending all the way to her feet, where they were gathered and tightened by a pair of brown leather shoes. Nangong Yu didn't dare to imagine how delicious they would be after the shoes were removed, causing his gaze to subtly drift several times as he silently marveled at the girl's growth over the years.
Another young girl sat beside her.
She was different from the silver-haired girl. Beneath her black-blue, shoulder-length hair, her deliberately made-up cute face didn't hold as much bitterness. Instead, her ocean-like eyes darted back and forth, looking at the girl for a moment, then at the young man, her face showing a slight expression of indecision.
She seemed to want to say something, but, constrained by the atmosphere, she dared not speak. She could only clench the blue and white dress she was wearing with both small hands, kneading it until two wrinkled lumps appeared, looking timid and making one want to hold her and cherish her.
"Have you finished reading? Then sign here."
Tap.
His mocha was only half full. Nangong Yu put down his cup, looked at the opposite side, and slowly said in a casual tone.
"I, I..."
She gripped the pen tightly in her hand. The girl bit her lip, and anyone could see the intense unwillingness in her eyes.
"What, can't you write? Do you need me to teach you how to write your name? Bro-nya Zay-chik?"
When saying the name of the girl opposite him, Nangong Yu deliberately slowed his tone, his voice mocking and laced with a hint of ridicule.
He wasn't in a hurry. As the temporarily victorious party, he had enough patience to enjoy the cute, unwilling expression on the girl opposite him, especially her scowling, angry demeanor after he provoked her, which was quite delightful.
"You don't need to teach me!"
Almost spitting out the words through gritted teeth, Bronya gave the girl beside her an apologetic look, then tremblingly placed the pen tip on the A4 paper.
The rustling sound of the pen tip contacting the paper reached his ears. Seeing Bronya lower her head, Nangong Yu turned his gaze to her side. As if by telepathy, the black-haired girl also turned her gaze.
Their eyes met smoothly. Gazing into the ocean in her pupils, Nangong Yu's lips curved into a smile, and his eyes became very gentle. He opened his mouth and silently mouthed a few words. The girl opposite him was stunned for a moment, but soon her face brightened, and she gave him a sweet, lovely smile.
This unreserved smile of trust, from childhood to now, remained as it always had been, making Nangong Yu's vision momentarily blur, as if he had returned to that very, very young time.
The three of them actually came from the same orphanage and grew up together since childhood, with a bond no less than that of true siblings.
Especially Nangong Yu and Bronya, both were avid gamers. When they were young, they often secretly played video games at night, hiding from the orphanage aunties.
At this time, the other girl—Seele Vollerei—would stand guard for them. Seele had always been their little shadow, and among the entire orphanage, the three of them had the best relationship.
"Let's make games together when we grow up, the best games in the world!"
One day, little Bronya called the two of them out and said excitedly.
"Okay."
The little boy agreed without hesitation; it was his idea too.
As for little Seele, seeing that her favorite brother and sister had both expressed their intentions, she naturally didn't want to be left out and hastily raised her hand.
"Any ideas for game genres?"
"Robots! Bronya wants to make giant robots!"
The young girl shouted.
At that time, the three of them might have thought they would be together forever. Unfortunately, reality often goes against one's wishes.
The orphanage director, Cocolia, due to her outstanding abilities, was promoted to a high-level position in Anti-Entropy, one of the world's three major technology companies, in less than ten years, which also improved the conditions of the orphanage.
She always treated the children in the orphanage as her own sons and daughters, so she naturally wouldn't mistreat them. However, as a strong woman, she naturally understood that children should not be confined to her side; they needed to learn independence.
Therefore, whenever a child graduated from junior high, they would be sent out from the orphanage. Cocolia would provide initial support, but subsequent life would depend solely on the child themselves.
When a child graduated from high school or college, the orphanage could help them find a livelihood. Those with excellent grades could even return to her side and become a member of Anti-Entropy.
Nangong Yu and the two others were also sent out after graduating from junior high. Because their target university, Saint Freya University, which had the best game production major in the world, had already been set, they came directly to the Far East region since high school.
Although Cocolia treated every child in the orphanage as her own, she still had some favorites. As her three most beloved children in the orphanage, she provided very generous support.
Not only did each get a residence, but she also provided enough funds for several years of living expenses.
Even the day before the three left, Cocolia pulled them into her bedroom and talked with them all night, finally saying that if they weren't comfortable outside, they could return anytime; there would always be a place for the three of them by her side.
Originally, one of the reasons the three planned to make games was to subsidize the lives of everyone in the orphanage. But, Director Cocolia's position rise higher and higher, all the way to a high-level position in Anti-Entropy...
Thus, money became a simple string of numbers in her eyes.
Other families hoped their sons would become dragons and their daughters phoenixes, but they, on the contrary, ended up hoping their mother would become a phoenix.
However, this also allowed Nangong Yu and Bronya to pursue their dreams properly, without being disturbed by other matters.
Leaving the orphanage, for Nangong Yu and Bronya, was undoubtedly the best opportunity to start their dreams.
However, at their very first meeting, an irreconcilable dispute arose between the two.
Bronya immediately wanted to make the mech game she had longed for, but Nangong Yu felt they should start with smaller games first to acquire some initial capital. The help provided by Director Cocolia was only enough for their living expenses; making a mech game would certainly be far from enough.
A mech game, in terms of scale, was too large for them at their current stage.
As a result, the two had an argument, and neither could convince the other. To avoid affecting their future relationship, they finally signed a two-year contract.
According to the development situation after two years, the weaker party must agree with the other party's idea and be led by them.
Cooperation naturally couldn't continue for the time being. Originally, the three of them had planned to live in one residence, but that fell through because of this matter.
Moreover, after separating, an important issue arose: the 'ownership' of Seele.
As the favorite sister of both, who Seele would live with became their second topic of dispute.
Ultimately, Bronya, leveraging the convenience of being a fellow female, forcibly 'claimed' Seele, which made Nangong Yu gnash his teeth in anger at the time.
Now, a year has passed, and everything has changed.
I forgot to mention, ever since Nangong Yu fell ill at the age of eight, he often had strange dreams. It wasn't until the night he left the orphanage that those hazy dreams converged like fragments, piecing together a complete life story that he had never expected.
He was also an orphan, equally fortunate to have caring friends and teachers. After growing up relatively happily, he had just stepped out of school when he contributed to a truck-kun's transmigration quota by saving two children.
Perhaps his brain wasn't fully developed when he was young, or for other reasons, it wasn't until that night that he recalled his memories from his previous life.
Good news.
He wasn't completely run over by truck-kun; he was reborn.
Bad news.
The first thing he realized upon rebirth was his childhood playmates. Oh no, it's Honkai!
Good news.
Calming down and looking back, he realized there was indeed no Honkai energy here; it was a genuine daily life. Hooray!
Even better news.
After those dream fragments merged, they were like an imprint in his mind, becoming a 'book' he could flip through at any time. Everything he had experienced before could be easily recalled just by thinking about it.
Looking at the famous masterpieces he had played in his previous life, stored in his memory, Nangong Yu couldn't help but gasp.
The game industry in this world was equally prosperous, but it was still slightly inferior to his previous life. The rapid development of technology led people to pursue technological advancements, more realistic graphics, and better modeling, but game mechanics weren't as flashy as in his previous life.
If he could create all the games from his memory, combined with the technology of this world, he shivered at the thought of that scene.
If it really happened, he could give Welt, the author of Homu, the current world's number one IP, a slap and then step on him, shouting, "I am the King of Games."
Cough, cough, keep it low-key, low-key. He hasn't even released one game yet, so let's not get ahead of ourselves.
However, one rather difficult point was this:
Only with these memories, making smaller games was fine. But if he planned to make those AAA masterpieces, not to mention the technology, the human and material resources required were beyond what he could currently afford.
Therefore, the primary goal at present was to create a simple game that could quickly generate sufficient funds.
What kind of games cost less and could sell many copies without any fame or promotion?
Sitting in the room, deep in thought, a bold idea suddenly flashed in his mind.
Between his integrity and future game development funds, he didn't hesitate much and chose the latter.
Eight months later, a first-person shooter game titled "manhua mirror - The Cursed Legendary Girl" quietly launched.
He, who had been drawing since childhood, served as the artist. Aside from hiring a few voice actors, the production cost was almost zero!
GALGAMEs naturally existed in this world as well. However, the evolution of art style was random, and the art style in the ACG aspect of this world was more realistic.
Therefore, when a novel art style like manhua mirror appeared, it quickly became popular in the underground circles, relying on a few simple CG screenshots.
GALGAMEs were already a small niche community. Thanks to this, information spread incredibly fast within the small circle, from one to ten, then ten to a hundred. Soon, manhua mirror's sales exploded, just as he had predicted.
The otaku of this world had never seen such a 'blood-boiling' scene; just a few preview CGs were enough to make them willingly hand over their wallets.
Thus, three months later, "Beauty and the manhua mirror – Forget-Me-Not and the Eternal Maiden" was quickly released, riding on the momentum of the first work.
The reason the second part was so fast, besides him hiring a helper with the money he earned, was that he was already familiar with this art style.
You know, when making the first part, it took him a full two months just to learn the art style from memory.
As for Bronya...
Relying on the Anti-Entropy Artificial Intelligence provided by Cocolia, after more than ten months of diligently making her mech game, it successfully flopped.
Not to mention the storyline, which was hard to understand and somewhat self-indulgent, the game levels were also designed according to Sister Bronya's own preferences, so the abnormal difficulty was simply not something ordinary people could play.
Coupled with the overused side-scrolling platformer gameplay, if she didn't flop, who would?
For this game, Bronya almost exhausted all her funds, and the result, of course, was a total loss.
Seele wanted to take out her share of the money, but Sister Bronya refused without hesitation.
Flopping was embarrassing enough; if she also took Seele's money, she would truly have no face to see Nangong Yu.
However, without money, she couldn't make games; if she couldn't make new games, there was no point waiting another year—she might as well just admit defeat to Nangong Yu now.
Just as Bronya was at her wit's end, preparing to swallow her pride and borrow money from Cocolia, Nangong Yu seized the opportunity and invited the two of them out with a contract.
The content of the contract was very simple.
The final competition time was moved up to the St. Freya Small Game Festival a few months later. Nangong Yu would be responsible for Bronya's research and development funds for optimizing the game, and in return, Seele's 'ownership' would belong to him.
As for Seele's own wishes, she could actually live with anyone; if all three of them could live together, that would be even better, but unfortunately, it would still take a long time to achieve that wish.
Watching her brother and sister contend over her, though it might sound a bit bad to say, she actually felt a tiny bit happy. Knowing that her favorite brother and sister also loved her the most, the joy in her heart was naturally inevitable~
To win Seele to his side, Nangong Yu truly went all out.
Based on the extent of Bronya's research expenses, it felt like all the money earned from manhua mirror 12 would be invested.
He knew that Bronya could not possibly refuse this contract.
If she didn't sign, then a year later, Yu would be in charge, and the three of them would still live together.
If she signed, she still had a chance to turn things around. For the ideal in her heart, she could only endure the pain and let Seele go for now. Anyway, the houses Cocolia provided were close by; if she wanted to see Seele, she just needed to walk a few steps.
Watching Bronya sign her name stroke by stroke on the contract, Nangong Yu's lips slowly curved into a smile, and he patted the sofa beside him, gesturing to Seele.
"Seele, it's time to come over here~"
Hearing her brother's voice, Seele secretly glanced at Sister Bronya, whose gaze was dim, then obediently hummed in response, dutifully standing up and taking small steps to sit beside her brother.
Seeing this, under Bronya's stifled gaze, Nangong Yu unceremoniously put his arm around Seele's shoulder, feeling the girl's warm body temperature, and looked at the opposite side, revealing a victorious smile.
"It's still early. Shall we go for a walk together right away?"
Feeling the warm large hand on her shoulder and the soft voice close to her ear, Seele's small face immediately turned red, and she nodded eagerly.
She didn't feel sad for Sister Bronya's failure for even a moment; the upcoming date with her brother had already occupied the high ground in Seele's little head.
"Then let's go. I'm not like some people who are busy with work every day after school and even on holidays, leaving such a cute Seele aside, without even time to accompany her."
Finally, Nangong Yu didn't forget to mock Bronya.
Bronya's head dropped even lower, because Nangong Yu was right; she had indeed neglected Seele somewhat over the past year due to making games.
Every weekend, Nangong Yu would take Seele out for walks, to see the scenery around them, eat some delicious food; movie theaters, amusement parks, aquariums—their presence together was left everywhere. During holidays, they would even visit temple fairs, watch fireworks, and experience local customs together.
And her?
To vent the frustration in her heart when signing the contract, and to make Nangong Yu agree to her ideals, she almost used all her free time to make games. Every day, the house was cold and quiet, and Seele didn't even have anyone to talk to.
"Brother, don't say that. Sister Bronya still cares about Seele very much."
Noticing Sister Bronya's increasingly lowered head, Seele quickly grabbed Nangong Yu's arm, gently tugging it, and spoke in a spoiled tone.
"Really?"
"Really~"
As if afraid her brother wouldn't believe her, Seele clung to him, making a sweet, cloying sound.
Compared to the shy little girl in his memories from his previous life, Seele here had followed him since childhood. She was always her brother's 'vanguard' in all sorts of mischief; though still shy, her overall personality was much more outgoing.
"Alright, alright, I naturally believe what Seele says."
That somewhat helpless voice made Seele smile happily, her bright eyes and white teeth, her features as beautiful as a painting.
"Let's go. You should know the password to the card I just gave you."
With that, Nangong Yu pulled Seele to her feet, and the two, arm in arm, slowly disappeared from Bronya's sight.
Hoo...
Bronya closed her eyes, gently exhaling a breath of stale air. Immediately, her low, dejected eyes gradually became resolute.
Just wait, she would definitely make Nangong Yu agree with her ideas, and then everyone would return to how they were when they were little, working together for a common dream!
Just as she was full of ambition and preparing to leave, a waitress with a professional smile suddenly appeared and stopped her.
"?"
Seeing her confused expression, the waitress thoughtfully reminded her: "Miss, your coffee has not been paid for. Cash or card?"
"..."
It hardened, her fist hardened.
She took a deep breath, pulled out her wallet, looked at the few scattered cents remaining in the crevices, remained silent for a moment, then, with a slight blush, took out the card Nangong Yu had just given her.
"Card, card payment."
Her voice was a little shaky, enough to show Bronya's turbulent emotions at the moment.
Ding-dong.
Seeing the payment notification suddenly pop up on his phone, Nangong Yu paused for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Brother, what's wrong?"
She took a small bite of the freshly bought taiyaki, and the sweet taste made Seele happily squint her eyes. Hearing her brother suddenly laugh, she looked over curiously.
"Nothing, I was just thinking how ruthless Bronya is to herself."
Shaking his head, Nangong Yu leaned closer to Seele and opened his mouth. Seele, with unspoken understanding, offered the taiyaki to him.
Awoo.
"..."
Looking at the entire 'fish head and body' that had almost disappeared in an instant, and her brother's figure, who was quickening his pace and walking ahead, Seele stopped, a trace of confusion flashing in her large eyes.
Then, she reacted and immediately chased after him, shouting in dissatisfaction: "Brother!"
Nangong Yu immediately sped up as well, and the two chased each other, leaving a string of laughter along the way.