Chapter 17: Actually, Our Game Didn't Flop at All...
Kiana recalled the "talking points" Theresa had taught her last night.
"Men always want to save face. When you're comforting them, you must be patient!"
"Auntie, you're surprisingly knowledgeable, but why are you still single?"
"Do you want to be flattened?!"
And so, Kiana began to channel the persona of a caring, elder sister: "To be able to achieve this level on your first try, you're already not bad, Su Mu."
Su Mu looked at Kiana with some surprise. He hadn't expected the "Tuna" to suddenly start praising him. Did Bronya tell Kiana about the explosive popularity of *Getting Over It* and give him a glowing review at the same time?
Kiana continued: "The game industry is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. It's not easy to make a name for yourself in this field."
Su Mu widened his eyes. Was Kiana warning him not to be complacent and to keep working hard? Did she take the wrong medicine today to be able to say something so serious?
To be honest, this truly made him see her in a new light!
All along the way, Kiana did her best to weave words of comfort for Su Mu.
"Ahem! In short, just work harder next time!"
Her words deeply moved Su Mu. To think the "Tuna" could have such a mature day—he almost felt like crying. What was this sense of "fatherly" pride bubbling up inside him!
Seeing Su Mu looking like he was on the verge of tears, Kiana sensed the timing was right.
"Actually, the reason I called you out today was to take you out for some fun! Throw all those unhappy things to the back of your mind and have a wild time with me!"
She finally revealed her true purpose.
Recalling her speech just now, Kiana felt she was incredibly cool. The image of a thoughtful, responsible, and gentle boss had been perfectly established!
It wasn't for nothing that she had stayed up last night without even scrolling through her phone, spending all her time writing the speech to comfort Su Mu. She had even arrived at the office early this morning!
Looking at it now, it was highly effective! Didn't you see Su Mu was so moved he was about to cry?
In that case, Su Mu shouldn't stay depressed about the game's "failure," right?
Next, she just had to have a wild day of fun with him and then treat him to a big meal. Su Mu would surely be moved to tears of gratitude toward his boss! After all, where else could you find a boss who cared this much about her subordinates? Hahaha!
Thinking about how Su Mu, out of gratitude, would immediately pledge to make games for her for the rest of his life, Kiana couldn't help but start drooling. As long as Su Mu continued to exert his "brilliant talent," he would surely lead her, Kiana Kaslana, to become the richest person in the world!
Wait...
Why hasn't the system notified her of the rebate yet? Was there a delay?
Well, it's not like it can run away. The duck is already cooked; she just had to wait to eat!
"Called me out for a wild time."
Su Mu felt somewhat surprised, but he could understand it upon reflection. After all, achieving such a great result deserved a reward of a day out. He just hadn't expected the "Tuna" to lead the way.
But why wasn't Bronya invited? It was strange; logically, the game's success was also thanks to Bronya.
Could it be...
Su Mu looked at Kiana's profile, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Is this actually a date?!
No, no, no, impossible. With the "Tuna's" personality, she definitely didn't think that far ahead. She probably just thought this was a suitable way to reward a hero and decided on it on a whim!
If the "Paramecium" could hear Su Mu's thoughts, she would probably cough up blood. So, in all your hearts, is Kiana Kaslana just a big dummy who only acts on intuition?
Regardless, Su Mu was happy about the invitation. Even if it wasn't a "date," it could still increase their favorability. Who knows, maybe the next one would be a real date?
Thus, after a brief discussion with Bronya, Su Mu decided to take Kiana to HOMU Game Street.
...
By the time they emerged from the Game Street, it was already evening.
"Phew! That was so satisfying!"
Kiana was hopping with joy, looking exactly like a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl.
"Su Mu! Did you see my shooting skills just now? All those zombies fled in terror under the cooperation of this lady and you!"
Kiana was reminiscing about the cooperative zombie-shooting game they had played together in the arcade. Watching Kiana's smile, Su Mu's mouth couldn't help but curve upward as well. His gaze toward her was full of gentleness.
The "Tuna" was indeed full of vitality.
Compared to the Kiana in the *Honkai Impact 3rd* story, who suffered through countless tortures and a tragic past, the Kiana in this world must have grown up surrounded by love. This was good. Being able to see her living a peaceful daily life in this world made Su Mu feel sincerely happy.
"Ah—"
Kiana seemed to suddenly realize something. Her face flushed, and she looked at Su Mu with some embarrassment.
"I'm so sorry, Su Mu. I originally wanted to take you to see various places, but I got too addicted to the games and made you play with me all day..."
Looking at the apologetic Kiana, Su Mu smiled: "It's fine. I had a lot of fun today too."
"Really? That's great!"
Kiana scratched her head and gave a silly grin. Her goofy smile made Su Mu laugh along with her.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Aren't you laughing too?"
"Are you copying my laugh?"
"No, I'm not."
The two of them laughed and joked as they got into the car.
As she started the engine, Kiana remarked: "It's just a pity we didn't get to see other parts of Arc City."
In fact, Kiana wasn't uninterested in other places.
Su Mu replied: "It's okay, we can come back next time."
Kiana thought about it. True, there would be many such opportunities in the future, right? As long as Su Mu kept making games, they would keep "flopping," and the road would keep extending...
"In short, don't stop!"
"?"
"Ah, nothing, nothing. I mean, let's come back when we have the chance!"
Kiana gave Su Mu a toothy grin and drove the sports car.
"Are we going back to the company next?"
"Didn't I say I'd introduce you to a friend?"
"? You really have a friend to introduce?"
"Of course, why would I lie?"
Kiana dialed Pardofelis's number. Pardo had wanted to meet Su Mu last night, and since they had time today, she wanted to introduce them.
After all, there would be many more opportunities for cooperation. To ruin the reputation of "Phantom Iron Studio" and make Su Mu's games fail, she couldn't do without Pardo's "vigorous promotion."
"Eh? Really? Teacher Su Mu is really coming? Is the restaurant the same one we went to before? Okay, no problem! I'll definitely be there! I've always been curious what kind of genius Teacher Su Mu is to be able to make that kind of game!"
Pardofelis agreed very readily, but her tone was a bit too cheerful.
*Hey, hey, Pardo, aren't you supposed to know how miserable Su Mu's game is? It flopped, so why is your tone so excited and happy?*
At this moment, Kiana Kaslana had no idea that because she hadn't checked her phone since last night, she was completely out of touch with the current "version" and had made a very ridiculous mistake.
She didn't know.
*Getting Over It* actually hadn't flopped at all.
END OF CHAPTER