Mo Xiangwen listened in silence as she finished laying out their so-called plan, then couldn’t help but give the two of them a thumbs up.
He had to admit, it was good to be rich. They had far more ways to tackle problems than he’d ever imagined.
Opening an online store was actually a solid idea. The only real downside was the risk of losing money.
But Su Mengli and Su Mengyao had no intention of turning a profit anyway. It was just a front—a sheep’s head selling dog meat—to cover for his game development. So the potential losses didn’t matter one bit.
As for checks from teachers and school leaders, they had stacks of inventory on hand and some shipments going out. On the surface, everything looked perfectly legitimate. No red flags there.
The shipments might be a bit low, suggesting the project wasn’t a smashing success, but that was it.
Not many college students actually pulled off a successful startup, after all.
The risk of getting found out? Pretty much nonexistent. Who at work didn’t know to hit the boss key or switch screens?
On top of that, trash-tier projects didn’t warrant much scrutiny. Leadership inspections and teacher visits happened maybe a handful of times per semester.
If push came to shove, they could always borrow the sisters’ office space, just like they’d suggested.
The only catch was owing Su Mengli and Su Mengyao a favor.
It made him a little uneasy, but he wasn’t the sort to stubbornly refuse help from others.
Otherwise, he never would have accepted that loan from Su Mengli before the Gaokao.
After a moment’s hesitation, Mo Xiangwen nodded and said, “If there’s really no other choice, then I’ll have to trouble you two.”
His frank attitude caught Su Mengli off guard for a second, but she quickly smiled and nodded back.
Su Mengyao’s eyes lit up. “Does that mean I can join your game dev team?”
Well, damn. So that’s what she’d been angling for.
He hadn’t realized Su Mengyao was still hung up on it.
Since she genuinely wanted in, there was no harm letting her tag along. He had no idea what she could contribute, but with him keeping an eye on things, it shouldn’t cause any chaos.
Salary was another matter. He could probably swing one extra person, but anything more would require rethinking.
Su Mengyao and Su Mengli exchanged a glance as he pondered, both thinking as expected.
Su Mengli shook her head gently. “Don’t underestimate Mengyao.”
He blinked in surprise and hurried to explain. “I don’t mean to look down on Su Mengyao at all. I just genuinely don’t know what she can do.”
“I’m not bragging,” Su Mengyao replied without a hint of offense. She puffed out her chest confidently. “I’m proficient in all four arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Programming’s the only thing I haven’t learned.”
Well, damn. All four arts? What family’s sheltered young miss was she?
Mo Xiangwen instinctively glanced at Su Mengli, silently asking if Su Mengyao was pulling his leg.
Catching his look, Su Mengli shook her head lightly. “Calling her proficient in everything might be a stretch, but she’s definitely better at them than I am.”
Well, damn. If that was true, then yeah—he really had been underestimating her.
Chess and calligraphy might not come in handy, but music and painting? Those would be useful for sure.
Even though he’d already promised Bai Shishi he’d ask her friend for some commissions, that would only cover the character standing illustrations.
Truth be told, he had no guarantee her friend would always have time for more work.
He eyed Su Mengyao cautiously. “By music, you mean…?”
“Uh, guqin, guzheng…” Su Mengyao said, sounding a little unsure.
“Guqin and guzheng?” Mo Xiangwen echoed, momentarily convinced he’d misheard.
Su Mengli sighed at her sister’s less-than-stellar performance and jumped in. “She plays piano and violin too.”
He decided this young miss must just have a knack for music theory.
Perfect timing, since he knew next to nothing about it. His original plan had been to grab free assets or commission something online.
Having someone handle the software side or quality control would be a godsend.
“And painting?”
Su Mengyao’s gaze drifted away. She fell silent for a long moment, and for once, Mo Xiangwen caught a flush of embarrassment on her face.
“Ink wash painting—like landscapes, bamboo, willows?” Her voice grew quieter and quieter until he could barely make it out.
He had never felt such a powerful urge to lampoon someone. Was her mother some ancient noblewoman from a thousand-year dynasty? The skills she taught had such a weighty historical vibe.
He’d already pegged the sisters as having that classic young miss aura, but this was leaning hard into the stereotype.
Afraid he’d turn her down, Su Mengyao hurriedly added, “But if I put in the effort, I can do character portraits too.”
Mo Xiangwen paused for a beat. “Just to be sure—do you know how to use a digital tablet and drawing software?”
Su Mengyao flushed with a mix of embarrassment and irritation. “I’m just especially good at ink wash painting. That doesn’t mean I can’t do anything else.”
Fair enough. This young miss seemed like a real all-rounder.
He was a total novice at game development himself, so he couldn’t say for sure if her skills would all fit.
In fact, he had no intention of grinding away at game dev forever.
If it ended up being fun and produced results, he’d keep at it. Otherwise, he’d cut his losses and move on.
There were plenty of other ways to work solo without dealing with people.
No crowdfunding or investors meant bailing carried zero baggage.
But… He glanced at the expectant yet anxious look on Su Mengyao’s face, then at Su Mengli wearing nearly the same expression beside her.
At this point, dismissing game development as “just messing around” felt impossible to say.
Mo Xiangwen forced a stiff smile. “Sounds good to me. Why don’t we give it a shot? If…”
If it flops, we bail. The words were right on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn’t spit them out.
“Deal!” Su Mengyao nodded vigorously. “Once the startup application goes through, Sis and I will make games with you.”
Mo Xiangwen froze, turning to Su Mengli. He blinked his dry eyes, convinced he’d misheard.
“What’s wrong? Not welcome?” Su Mengli winked at him playfully, pretending to be miffed. “I can do everything Mengyao can—and my gaming skills and game sense are pretty good, right?”
…Fine. No matter how talented, even the best college students were still just 2000 yuan a month.
He shoved the thought aside immediately. Gritting his teeth, Mo Xiangwen figured whatever.
Screw it—he wasn’t about to lose face over this.
Maybe down the line, if things worked out, he could upgrade them to partners and cut back on the salary?
