As Gu Sheng's voice trailed off, a soft and melodious piano tune began to play. Just two alternating notes accompanied by harmony, seemingly simple yet flowing gently like a winding stream. It resembled flickering light from a lighthouse, a river formed by moonlight, or the intimate whispers between lovers. More than anything, it sounded like a sincere, unadorned story being told.

"Wow—" Shen Miaomiao let out a soft exclamation. She hadn't expected Old Gu to be so meticulous—not only had he outlined the project framework, but he'd also prepared the game cover and soundtrack.

"This music is beautiful," Shen Miaomiao circled from behind Gu Sheng and sat beside him, curling her legs comfortably before nudging him with her shoulder. "What's it called?"

"For River," Gu Sheng replied.

"Forever?" Shen Miaomiao nodded as she listened to the soothing piano melody. "Did you compose this yourself?"

"Of course not," Gu Sheng chuckled. "We outsourced the game music." He was lying. In truth, "For River" had come with the game when he unlocked it from his system. He could have claimed authorship, but given his rudimentary understanding of sheet music, the risk of getting caught in such a boast was too high. So he decided to pin the credit on a fictional outsourcing team.

With that, Gu Sheng stretched and stood up, pulling a document from his briefcase to hand to Shen Miaomiao. "Here's the hard copy. I'll email you the digital version later. I'm heading to bed—you can review it yourself."

"How thoughtful, Old Gu," Shen Miaomiao took the proposal and patted his shoulder playfully. "You say you won't do it, but your actions speak otherwise."

"Hey!" Gu Sheng startled. "What kind of outrageous talk is that? That's not something to joke about!"

The audacity! Gu Sheng couldn't let Little Nezha have the upper hand like this. Grabbing her mischievous hand, he tugged sharply. Shen Miaomiao, who had been standing on the couch, lost her balance and stumbled.

"Ah!" she yelped.

Whoosh! Her slender waist was caught firmly in Gu Sheng's arm, swept into his hold like a waltz dip. With one arm around her waist and the other still holding her chin, Gu Sheng teased, "And what if the little lady refuses to smile?"

Shen Miaomiao's face flushed instantly, her large eyes darting away in shy embarrassment. "Then... then... this master will smile for you?"

...

The next day, in the chairman's office of the China Digital Entertainment Association (CDEA), newly appointed chairman Jiang Yingcai sat behind his desk with a furrowed brow. Across from him sat Assistant Zhao—the same assistant who had accompanied him to Golden Wind to introduce the Asian Games charter.

Assistant Zhao had just finished reporting the disappointing progress of the Charity Week initiative. A week had passed since Jiang Yingcai, representing CDEA, had issued the call for charity games. Yet as of now—no, as of this very moment—not a single developer had called to confirm participation by creating a dedicated game for the event.

This setback weighed heavily on Jiang Yingcai. After all, this was his first major initiative since taking office and the first innovation attempt since Charity Week's inception.

"Off to a rough start..." Jiang Yingcai lit a cigarette and took a melancholic drag. He understood the developers' concerns. Game sales already faced platform cuts, and now they were being asked to donate 10-15% of revenue to charity. If developers could guarantee profits, why would they voluntarily give up a portion? They could simply release games normally first, then participate in Charity Week later for an additional sales boost. Creating a new game specifically for the event? Not worth it.

True, during the meeting, he'd emphasized that CDEA had prepared extensive promotional channels—even state media cooperation—to encourage participation, with a total budget of around 5 million yuan to be distributed among participating games. It sounded tempting, but major developers cared little for such modest promotional funds, especially when divided. They'd likely need to invest their own marketing budgets anyway. Develop a game, fund its promotion, AND donate part of the profits? Unreasonable. Completely unreasonable.

Thus, developers had adopted a polite but distant stance—verbally supportive but practically unwilling.

Jiang Yingcai sighed, extinguishing his cigarette. "What should we do?" He frowned. "Should I call the developers personally?"

Assistant Zhao hesitated. "Chairman, wouldn't that seem... overly eager?" His words were diplomatic, but the meaning was clear—it would be beneath CDEA's dignity. As the authoritative leader of China's gaming industry, CDEA was accustomed to developers courting them, not the other way around.

Jiang Yingcai knew this. "But times have changed," he said. "We need developers' understanding and support now. CDEA was founded to promote the healthy, stable growth of China's gaming industry. We can't forget our original purpose. We must know when to set aside formalities..."

One had to admit—Jiang Yingcai's steady rise to this position reflected his high level of awareness. His words left Assistant Zhao thoroughly convinced. Handing over the office phone, he asked, "Who should we call first?"

Jiang Yingcai pondered. "Let's start with the Yiyou faction..." Assistant Zhao nearly choked. Clearly, the chairman knew XunTeng-affiliated developers were unlikely to participate, so he'd chosen the slightly more hopeful group.

"Golden Wind?" Assistant Zhao suggested. "President Shen and Director Gu are responsible young leaders. Charity Week was your exception to include them—perhaps there's hope."

Jiang Yingcai agreed, locating Shen Miaomiao's work number. "Then let's—" Before he could finish, the phone rang. Jiang Yingcai started—the caller ID showed Shen Miaomiao!

His eyes lit up as he answered. "Hello? President Shen!" Despite her youth, Jiang Yingcai dared not underestimate this young woman. Backed by Shen Capital as Shen Wanlin's beloved daughter, and with Golden Wind's rising reputation in China's gaming circle, she commanded respect. And her timing—what would she say? Could it be...

"After discussion, Golden Wind has decided to actively respond to the call by developing a new charity game for this event, contributing modestly to China's public welfare."

Holy—! Jiang Yingcai nearly leaped from his seat. Victory without even lifting a finger? Happiness had kicked down the door, leaving him momentarily stunned. "R-really?"

"Of course," Shen Miaomiao chuckled lightly. "What's wrong, Chairman Jiang? However bold Golden Wind may be, we wouldn't joke about something like this with CDEA."

As she spoke, Jiang Yingcai's expression shifted from shock to joy, his face blooming like a chrysanthemum. "Ah—!" He laughed heartily. "Good! Excellent! Wonderful! May I ask what kind of game your company plans to release?"

"A pixel-art narrative game," Shen Miaomiao replied, hesitating slightly. "We would have preferred a larger production, but with ongoing projects..."

Jiang Yingcai interrupted warmly. "President Shen, you're too modest! Your support for our work and public welfare is already tremendous encouragement! Regardless of scale, this sense of responsibility and goodwill carries immense weight."

Shen Miaomiao seemed relieved. "Thank you for understanding, Chairman Jiang. There's one more thing I'd like to clarify."

Jiang Yingcai nodded. "Please, go ahead."

"Given our game's small scale and low investment, its retail price will naturally be modest," Shen Miaomiao explained. "This means the funds raised would theoretically be limited. Considering this, after internal discussion, we've unanimously decided to donate 100% of the game's Charity Week sales revenue."

Boom! Jiang Yingcai shot to his feet, eyes wide with disbelief. All sales revenue—not just profits—donated entirely? This surprise was too enormous to process immediately.

"This... this..." Jiang Yingcai stammered, even feeling concern for Golden Wind. "President Shen, please reconsider! Sales revenue isn't profit—this kind of... er..."

"Savage charity..."

"Could lead to significant losses for your company." Jiang Yingcai barely managed to coin the term "savage charity" to describe Shen Miaomiao's bold approach.

Damn! Too damn bold! Other developers treated Charity Week as a promotional opportunity with charity on the side. But Golden Wind? They were dead serious—funding game development themselves AND donating all sales revenue during the event? They were here purely for charity!

Respect swelled within him. Fortunately, this wasn't a video call, or Jiang Yingcai might have saluted her. Such sincerity! Such responsibility! Such awareness! What exemplary social responsibility! He hadn't misjudged this company, their talent, or their sense of duty. With developers like this, China's gaming industry was destined for greatness!

Admiration—that was all Jiang Yingcai felt at this moment.

Meanwhile, on the other end, Shen Miaomiao scratched her head nervously. Why had Jiang Yingcai gone silent? Was her request too unreasonable? Did he suspect something? Don't overthink it, big guy! She prayed silently—I just want to donate more to fatten my own savings! With "To the Moon's" small scale, costs wouldn't exceed 500,000 yuan anyway. I don't care about that money—just let me earn more, please...

After a long pause, Jiang Yingcai finally sighed deeply.

"President Shen's awareness is... truly awe-inspiring!" he marveled. Look! Just look! This was what a model enterprise looked like! Still developing yet already demonstrating such responsibility! Imagine their contributions once they matured! Who else deserved CDEA's support more? Who else deserved CDEA's platform?

With solemn resolve, Jiang Yingcai declared, "President Shen, your actions today have shown me the ideal future of China's gaming industry. Golden Wind's sense of responsibility should be learned and emulated industry-wide. I dare not promise too much, as I represent only CDEA now. But henceforth, whether domestically or internationally, should Golden Wind ever need assistance, you need only ask. CDEA will spare no effort to support China's exemplary rising enterprise in scaling new heights and achieving greater glory."

After brief pleasantries, the call ended. Jiang Yingcai waved grandly. "Assistant Zhao, notify finance to begin the funding approval process!"

"Understood," Assistant Zhao stood. "How much shall we allocate?"

"Maximum!" Jiang Yingcai declared. "Five million!"

"Noted," Assistant Zhao recorded this before asking, "And the promotional fund distribution...?"

"Distribution?" Jiang Yingcai looked puzzled. "What distribution? To whom?"

"Other... developers?" Assistant Zhao blinked before his pupils constricted. "You're not planning to call other developers anymore?"

"Call who? When did I say I'd call developers?" Jiang Yingcai scoffed. "Golden Wind is participating, so all five million goes to them. If others don't join, so be it. Concentrated promotion yields better results. If Golden Wind can practice savage charity, then CDEA will match with savage promotion!"

Sitting back down, Jiang Yingcai lit another cigarette, exhaling contentedly before imparting wisdom. "Assistant Zhao, as industry leaders, we must carry ourselves accordingly. Know when to set aside formalities... and when to uphold them."

Wow— Assistant Zhao couldn't help but marvel inwardly. Impressive! No wonder Chairman Jiang leads CDEA. This man—has absolutely no shame.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com