Chapter 31

Xian Yu Chao raised his hand and threw his sweat-drenched t-shirt at Lin Jun Feng’s face, “Hey you! Who’re you trying to take advantage of?! We’re still calling Xiao Di little brother, why do you get to be the father? Shameless!” 

“I’m not the same as you guys. As the saying goes, a father’s love is like a mountain, and vice versa, a mountain is like a father’s love! Isn’t my physique mountainous enough?!” Lin Jun Feng compared himself from head to toe, “one point ninety-three meters, tall weighing two hundred pounds, isn’t it adequate to be called fatherly love.”

“Please have some shame.” Xian Yu Chao rolled his eyes.

“You two talk too much and you’re getting nowhere.” Chen Zhao was speechless, “it’s not what you think, don’t talk nonsense.”

“Ah, it’s not like that? That’s good, that’s good. Anyway, this father will also not agree. Good thing I don’t have to tear up love birds.”

Xian Yu Chao: “Ha Ha. You’re pretty strict.”

Mo Di sighed and turned around. He picked up his phone to message Mu Tian Heng: “Brother, I’m doing well. My roommates are also good.”

It’s just they can be a little silly.

After two days of a life that Mo Di was completely unfamiliar with, his military training started. 

The group of silly roommates was no longer as enthusiastic as before. Every day, they were tortured with deadly drills and were breathlessly on the verge of escaping.

Not to mention Xian Yu Chao and Lin Jun Feng, even Chen Zhao who paid a lot of attention to his appearance and manners, laid paralyzed on the floor after the dismissal whistle was blown. His controlled expressions and movements were thrown to the wind, leaving behind a red face and heavy heavings like a gorilla. 

The other male and female students were about the same.

Only Mo Di did not change much. No matter how tiring it was, he still had a calm face and at most would take two quick gasps but they were very subtle.

Chen Zhao and the others were amazed. They laid on the ground almost dying while expressing their dissatisfaction: “What is with that body of yours? Isn’t it too extraordinary? After all this and you’re only wheezing a little. You’re already good looking, now you’re just making the boys here look like gorillas. You didn’t take dope behind your brothers’ back, did you?”

“No.” Mo Di smiled. “You guys are sweating so much, better not to drink cold beverages, it’s not good for your health. I’ll go get you some water.”

With that, Mo Di grabbed everyone’s water bottles and went to the stall.

Looking at Mo Di’s back, Lin Jun Feng covered his stomach and said: “This father is very happy. My family’s Xiao Di is just too good.”

“Lin Jun Feng you’re stinky and shameless. Shut up!” Xian Yu Chao yelled at him. 

“Exactly.” Chen Zhao agreed.

Mo Di took the bottles and went to line up for water.

What Chen Zhao asked him a moment ago was quite intriguing. How could he not be exhausted? The exercises were even more tiring for him. 

It was just that the experience from his last life in the asylum slowly helped him enforce the mental prowess that no matter how torturous, how painful, how tormenting it was, his ugly side will not be shown.

Back then, he was imprisoned and had to face the various means of torture, eventually, he ended up looking less human and more ghastly. The grace that a person should have was long lost but to show the ugly agony and grievances on his face would further take away any dignity that he had left.

And thus, with time, he managed to develop this seemingly useless ability.

Regardless of what was being said, this had already become a habit.

…

The military training lasted ten days. By the end of ten days, all the students were relieved but still a little sentimental, after all, they had to send off the instructor. Even Xian Yu Chao and the others lost their energy and were listless.

The whole class was restless after seeing off the instructor. The acting class rep and secretary, Zhao Qing Gong and Sun Ru Ru, gave them a break, saying that they could have a day off. And also during this time, decide whether to join the student council or not and which position they wanted. Tomorrow evening there would be a class meeting to decide on who to be the class rep, assistant etc.

Mo Di had a quick talk with Zhao Qing Gong and Sun Ru Ru before going back to the dorm with Xian Yu Chao and the others.

When they arrived at the dorm, Xian Yu Chao did not stay quiet, “Xiao Di, let me tell you, the senior sister is good but children can’t start dating yet. You’re only seventeen.”

“Yes, this father agrees. More importantly, you have to let this father have a go first.” Lin Jun Feng stroked his non-existent beard.

Chen Zhao quickly snapped at him: “Lin Jun Feng, your face is crying again, asking why you threw it away!”

“I’m leaving later. I’m not staying in the dorm tonight.” Mo Di jabbed in before the playful bickering began. 

“Ha? Where are you going?” Xian Yu Chao asked immediately.

“I want to go back…” Mo Di paused, then said: “back home. My brother said he will come back early from work to take me for a ride.” 

“Oh. The brother that came here with you before?”

Lin Jun Feng used a book to fan himself, nodding as he went, “What brother is he? He doesn’t look like someone from the Mo family.”

“That’s right. Who is he? Why is he so handsome? With that body and that face, my god, if I have that kind of hardware, how can I not have a girlfriend?” Xian Yu Chao wiped his tears.

“He’s not from the Mo family. But he is indeed an extremely good brother. And to me, he’s way more important than the Mo family.” Mo Di smiled, “what are you guys doing tonight?”

“Sleep!” Chen Zhao said: “I’m dead tired these past few days. I need a good sleep and rest for two days or I’ll be withered when school starts.”

“Me too. I don’t feel like doing anything.” Xian Yu Chao nodded.

“This father…..also feels the same.” Lin Jun Feng laughed and was beaten brutally by Xian Yu Chao and Chen Zhao. 

“I’ll be leaving then. I’ll bring good food back for you guys. If there’s anything, just contact me through the group chat. I’ll be back by before night time tomorrow.” Mo Di waved his hand at them and was sent off the dorm with a tear-jerking farewell. 

When Mo Di’s cab reached the villa, it happened to coincide with Mu Tian Heng coming back.

“Brother!” Mo Di did not realize that the moment he saw Mu Tian Heng, behind the sudden burst of joy was also an untraceable bit of sweetness.

And this feeling was completely different from when they met before.

Once Mu Tian Heng saw Mo Di standing at the door waving at him in high spirits, the emptiness, and restlessness that had accumulated over the past few days dissipated instantly. As if they were washed away by a wave of uncontrollable joy, filling him from head to toe with happiness.

“I was just about to go pick you up.” Mu Tian Heng ordered the car to stop. He came out and walked towards Mo Di, looked a him gently, and said: “Little one, you came back earlier than I thought.”

Mo Di smiled: “Brother, you also came back earlier than I thought.”

“Then we’ve given each other a pleasant surprise. This can be considered a tacit understanding between us.” Mu Tian Heng rubbed Mo Di’s hair lightly and said in his usual warm tone: “Brother is going to take you out for dinner.”

“That’s good. But let’s go to the restaurant at Chun Xiang road. And this time, I want to pay.”

Mu Tian Heng turned soft immediately. The little one still remembered his words from last time and also what he liked to eat.

“Ok. Let’s go to that one.”

On the way, Mo Di chatted with Mu Tian Heng from his boisterous roommates to the military training, to the school facilities, cafeteria, the food stalls behind their school, and back to his roommates again. 

“Your roommates are quite interesting. That’s good. You can be friends and buddies with them.” Mu Tian Heng said with a smile: “You can also see for yourself their proficiency with programming, if it’s good, you can ask them to join your team. Doing it by yourself is just too tiring. This competition cannot consist of only you, Pang Qiang Lang, and Han Chao. Even if the rest can be outsourced, that’s not a long term solution.”

“En. I’ll consider that. But it’ll have to wait till after the results are announced.”

“The results should be out tonight. Your game is absolutely flawless. Let alone the audition, it should be more than enough to pass even the next two rounds of elimination. But…” Mu Tian Heng paused awhile, then said: “it’s going to be a little rough getting through the third round. You probably will have to refine it. Either improvise the world, expand the map, add more characters etc. After all, the characters available for the players now are still quite limited.”

“En, before the third round of elimination, I’ll upgrade the game. Widen the character selection, and add more play styles. The core gameplay will also be improvised and more possibilities will be added. But I’m eighty percent sure that this game will not make it to the finals. So the next step besides perfecting this game, the main focus will be on producing another game.”

“Oh?” Mu Tian Heng was interested. “Little one, what’s the next game you’re planning to make like?”

“I have not fully thought it out yet. I’ll tell brother right away when I’ve decided.”

“Good. I’ll be waiting to hear about it.”

Traffic was a little congested in the evening. Mo Di opened the window to feel the wind. The warm breeze against his face carried the peculiar flavor of the late summer air, both soothing and comforting, a feeling that he had hardly experienced in his last life, giving him a small sense of happiness.

“Brother, I have something else to tell you.”

Mo Di enjoyed the breeze and let it brushed the soft front hair back, revealing his bright forehead.

“What is it?”

Mu Tian Heng said a very common response but his good mood could not be hidden. Inwardly, he was wondering if his feelings were a little wild. All it took was for the kid to sit next to him, opened the window to feel the wind, and him casting a few glances over, and this would satisfy his heart. 

And when the little one started talking to him again, he was uncontrollably happy like honey had filled his heart.

“Umm…” Mo Di thought mulled over his next words then said: “Brother, do you know about my third cousin? His name is Mo San Zhi, he’s a very famous designer.”

“Mo San Zhi?” Mu Tian Heng instantly knew who Mo Di was talking about. In fact, before Mo Di moved in, he had done a background check on everyone in the Mo family and now was familiar with them by heart.

“I know him. Something wrong with him?”

“He pursued someone in America who happened to be my roommate’s little uncle. My roommate thinks that Mo San Zhi is not worthy and wanted his little uncle to not be blinded by him and quickly break up with him. His little uncle is still indecisive and so I took the initiative to contact him and…”

Up to this point, Mo Di was somewhat embarrassed. After all, he had just broken up a pair, and now he was going to tear off another. He glanced at Mu Tian Heng, seeing that he was indifferent, felt relieved, and continued: “Anyway, I’ve been chatting with him and the result was quite obvious.”

Mu Tian Heng could not hold in his laughter: “I did not notice this but little one, you’re quite the breakup artist.”

“Oh brother, don’t make fun of me. Mo San Zhi is definitely not a good match. No one in the Mo family will agree for him to have a male lover.” Mo Di had a great urge to talk about the events in his past life but he couldn’t.

“Anyways, Uncle Song… he asked me to address him as such, he said that the design competition is coming to an end and Mo San Zhi will return to Hua Xia in two weeks. At that time, he will also come back here to have a look.”

“Uhm, that’s alright.” Mu Tian Heng nodded lightly. “He should see for himself what the Mo family is like and also Mo San Zhi’s true color before making his decision.” 

Mo Di let out a hm in agreement and did not say anything more. In fact, Uncle Song should witness how Mo San Zhi would react towards him in front of the Mo family when they found out that he was his lover. Only then would Mo San Zhi’s true nature be exposed. 

However, this would still depend on whether Uncle Song was too soft-hearted and easy to be swayed or not.

Mo Di and Mu Tian Heng had their big meal and returned home to nest in front of the television. 

The results of the First Hua Xia Innovative Game Competition would soon be announced and broadcasted on live television. The huge HD screen on stage made the hosts in the front look small. 

The program began with the lively opening ceremony. The three hosts were frank and outspoken with each other, it was quite an interesting watch. After some polite remarks, they commenced with the announcement of the teams that passed the audition.

Each time a title was announced, the screen behind them would flash a short footage of the game. Viewing the game on the large screen with added sound effects was really exciting. However, each game was only given roughly thirty seconds.

The hosts spoke speedingly through the introduction and when one was out of breath, another would relay in immediately. 

Mu Tian Heng took a glass of juice for Mo Di and sat on the sofa next to him, “How many have been announced?”

“Thank you, brother. It’s over sixty games already.” Mo Di received the juice and said: “Still haven’t seen our game yet.”

“It’s all right. Don’t be nervous. The best is always at the end.” Mu Tian Heng reached out to rub Mo Di’s hair. The soft and smooth feeling on his hand was enticing. “There’s definitely no problem with your game.”

“En.” Mo Di nodded and said: “Just now, the host stated that there were more than twenty-one thousand entries and only less than one percent passed the audition. Which means there are only about two hundred groups, that’s a really high elimination rate.”

“That’s quite normal. The game-making competition is quite different from other talent shows. The later stages of the competition will consume a lot of time and the requirements will need to be meticulous. Too many games will drag out the competition unnecessarily. And the ultimate goal of this competition is to select a few that can be invested and promoted on a global scale, so naturally, the elimination rate has to be high.”

“En. But even if we only got to the third knockout round, is it still possible to get an investment?”

“Of course. As long as there is enough exposure, allowing the game to enter the scope of interested investors, it is all possible.” Finishing his sentence, Mu Tian Heng suddenly paused and smiled: “Well, here it is.” 

Mo Di turned around and saw on the HD screen were the characters he could not be more familiar with. There was the graceful female fairy and the dignified male fairy and behind them were three large words: “Xin Wei Dao”. Below was the introduction of their game in smaller font.

It was only a half minute presentation and although Mo Di did not expect it to fully demonstrate his game, he was still ecstatic.

“It passed!”

Mo Di quickly wrote down the number on the screen and said to Mu Tian Heng: “Our number is zero, six, three. This is the team’s number which will be used throughout the competition.”

“Congratulations.” Mu Tian Heng looked at Mo Di’s blushing face and lips painted the color of the juice and the gentleness in his eyes couldn’t help but deepened. He quickly dispersed the impulse that was arising from inside by standing up and said: “I’ll go get a can of beer to celebrate with you.”

“Brother, I don’t drink.”

“I’ll drink the beer, you can have the juice.” Mu Tian Heng smiled, then left the living room.

At the same time, Mo Di’s WeChat group was about to explode.

Instantly, There were over ninety-nine plus messages in the group chat. 

Han Chao: Haha I knew we can make it!

Pang Qiang Lang: Of course, just look at who made the game. Brother Pang is ready to earn money!

Han Chao: …. that’s true but more importantly, it’s Xiao Di who made the game so well.

Pang Qiang Lang: Hey old Han, can’t you let me blow my trumpet for two minutes?

Pang Qiang Lang: Compared with the games that passed, I think our game is one of the excellent ones. The first elimination will be a cinch! 

Han Chao: I think even for the next round, we should be fine.

Pang Qiang Lang: Hey where’s Xiao Di? Why isn’t he saying anything?

Han Chao: I don’t know [expression pack]

Pang Qiang Lang: What’s your use? [expression pack]

…

Great, the group chat is bombarded with expression packs again.

Mo Di sent a message to cease the endless emoticon contest: We passed the audition, not bad, but we shouldn’t let our guard down and let our arrogance get carried away. We still have a lot of battles to fight.”

Pang Qiang Lang immediately sent over a bunch of question marks: ???? Why do I feel like you’re the same as my high school teacher? You’re reminding me of that ghastly feeling that I feared.

Mo Di: …

“Actually, I have something important to tell you.”

Han Chao: What is it? Xiao Di, you can tell us.

“En. This’ll be a bit of work for you guys. Get the playback of the broadcast from the internet. Pay attention to the games that were well made and also the sound effects. Note it down. Especially the storyboard and graphics. As artists, you guys should have a better understanding in this aspect. Also, note down those with good character design and background and send them to me.”

Han Chao: Ok. no problem. But why do you want this?

Mo Di: Wait till after the first and second elimination rounds, among these, there should be some that will be eliminated. Their contact information should also be released through the introductions. At that time, we’ll go dig up some of these people to join us ahead of other teams!

The chat group was quiet for three seconds before Pang Qiang Lang exploded with his messages.

“Damn! Xiao Di, you look young but your thinking is very treacherous….I mean smart!”

“Was this taught by that beast?!”

“That’s such a good idea.”

“That’s wild! [expression pack]”

“…”

Mo Di instead had a question mark in his head. A while later he typed: What beast?

The question was like a silencing spell. For a moment, the world was quiet.

In contrast, Pang Qiang Lang on the other was panicking. He slid up the chat log and saw the message he sent in his ecstatic state. How stupid! He quickly tried to delete it.

Turned out, it could not be deleted. Pang Qiang Lang cried and slapped his thigh.

What to do? He accidentally sent out his inner thought of Mu Tian Heng.