Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 22 A Loser's Romance

There was no farewell party on the day Gong Yu left.

Sohu's tradition is to hold a dignified farewell ceremony for senior executives when they leave, including sending thank-you emails to the group, taking a group photo of the department, cutting a cake, and saying some polite words.

But Gong Yu refused.

"Brother Pingsheng," Xiaolin leaned closer, his voice low, "President Gong is gone, what will we do from now on..."

"Just do what you're supposed to do."

Ren Pingsheng sat back down at his workstation and pulled out the schedule for "Men's Diary".

The first episode has been available on Sohu Video for a week, and its viewership is nearly 40% higher than that of "Unexpectedly" during the same period.

This is thanks to the new structure designed by Ren Pingsheng, which covers a wider audience.

Because of the pre-release publicity, coupled with this extremely disjointed viewing experience, the online discussions have become quite interesting.

"Who's that actress? She's so beautiful! Wang Duoyu really hit the jackpot!"

"Support Brother Duoyu! A real man should make sacrifices for the woman he loves!"

"The guy upstairs is a complete idiot. Didn't he notice something was off about that woman's eyes? She didn't even say thank you when Brother Duoyu paid the bill."

"Stop arguing! Did you guys even see the end credits skit? Qiao San's expression after changing technicians, it made my stomach hurt from laughing so much!"

The last seven episodes are scheduled to air during the National Day holiday, with daily updates.

Guo Weiwei has already reserved all the banner positions on the official website homepage, the login interface, and the in-game pop-ups.

He was even more cooperative than Changyou was back then, because he was really in a hurry.

It's been a month since the open beta of JX3 (Sword Net 3), and the number of daily active accounts has not yet exceeded 100,000.

Compared to Tianlong's nearly one million size, the difference is frighteningly large.

He needed a chance to break out of his niche, and "Men's Diary" was the bet he placed.

But Ren Pingsheng's attention is not on the data right now.

He picked up his phone and sent Dapeng a text message: "Want to go out for a bit?"

At noon, I ate at an old Yanjing-style noodle shop near the company.

Two bowls of noodles with soybean paste were placed on the table, steaming hot.

But Da Peng listened to Ren Pingsheng's words and stirred his chopsticks for a long time without taking a single bite.

"Brother Peng, Searching for Arcs won't be your final destination, nor should it be," Ren Pingsheng poured a cup of tea and pushed it towards him.

Da Peng put down his chopsticks and waited for Ren Pingsheng to continue.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, let's go out and do it together."

"What should we do together?"

"Start a company."

"Start... a company?" Da Peng's voice sounded a little unsteady.

"A film and television company, specializing in online content, dramas, variety shows, short films, whatever's popular, we make it," Ren Pingsheng stared at him.

"Where's the money?" Da Peng stared at him.

"I'll think of a way."

Where are they?

"They're already here: Luo Hongming, Liu Hao, and Zhang Yibo. What do you think I specifically recruited a bunch of college students for?" Ren Pingsheng paused. "If Sister Zhao is willing, she can come along too."

Da Peng remained silent for a long time before taking out a cigarette and lighting it.

"Do you know what starting a company means? It's not as simple as making videos. You have to register, find office space, pay social security, and deal with business registration and tax matters..."

"I know."

"When did you start thinking about these things?"

"From the first day I joined Sohu."

Of course, it was his first day after being reborn.

Da Peng stuck his chopsticks into the bowl and chuckled.

"Okay, then I'll be frank with you too," he leaned forward, "A boss from Camel City contacted me, wanting to do a movie project. He'll provide the money, and I'll provide the manpower."

"How many?"

Three million.

"What genre?"

"It's not decided yet, we just discussed our intentions."

Ren Pingsheng picked up the last bit of noodles, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.

"Brother Peng, three million is enough to make a movie."

Da Peng's heart skipped a beat.

"But now is not the time," Ren Pingsheng put down his chopsticks. "Only after the broadcast of 'Diaosi Man' is over and the data comes out can we get a good price for our commercial value."

Da Peng sighed, "Alright, I'll wait for your news."

On his way back to the company, Ren Pingsheng edited a short message and sent it out.

"Mr. Guo, as planned, the romance interaction feature will be updated on October 1st."

These were the conditions proposed by Ren Pingsheng and Guo Weiwei when they discussed cooperation.

He requested that JX3 (Sword Net 3) create a series of romance-related features to complement the promotional campaign for the short drama.

As for why not just launch a more comprehensive marriage system?

Guo Weiwei also asked about this, but Ren Pingsheng explained that cultivating a social ecosystem requires a gradual approach.

In reality, he couldn't very well tell Guo Weiwei that with the official function, those scumbags would be locked out by the system, losing all room for multi-line operations.

Without room for maneuver, how could there be infighting? How could there be cuckolding? How could there be the infamous "818" scandal?

Without these dramatic spectacles, wouldn't a huge amount of buzz be wasted?

……

As October arrived and the National Day holiday approached, "Men's Diary" launched a frenzied bombardment campaign.

The second episode will be released on October 1st.

Baby's flirtatious ways are beginning to show; while accepting the gifts Wang Duoyu painstakingly bought her, she's also sending flirtatious text messages and acting coquettishly with other men.

The tone of the comments section shifted, with netizens splitting into camps and arguing. Some felt that Duoyu Ge didn't deserve it, while others thought the woman was just engaging in normal social interaction.

The fourth episode was released on October 3rd.

Wearing baggy shorts and sporting a messy hairstyle, the short, rich, and handsome Wang Dachui makes a dazzling appearance.

Baby is humble and ingratiating in front of Wang Dachui, but turns cold and aloof towards Wang Duoyu, and engages in crazy psychological manipulation.

The controversy has completely exploded!

"Isn't that my gold-digging ex-girlfriend?!"

"Wang Duoyu, wake up! She's just using you as an ATM!"

On October 5th, the sixth episode was released, marking the climax of the entire series.

Wang Duoyu used several months' salary to buy a necklace, only to watch helplessly as his goddess got into Wang Dachui's sports car.

At this moment, countless men fell silent in front of their screens.

The famous quote, "I'd rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle," has once again ignited the battle between the sexes, extending from the drama to real life.

"Men's Diary" became the center of the storm.

On October 7th, the eighth and final episode was released.

Having suffered numerous emotional blows, Wang Duoyu was heartbroken and no longer believed in love.

He lives a very routine life, going back and forth between work and home every day. After work, he stays in his cramped rented room playing "JX3" (Sword Net 3).

In that virtual martial arts world, there are no sports cars, no BMWs.

He was just an ordinary player, but he met a female player with whom he could do adventures and watch fireworks.

The double embrace animation in the game healed his real-life trauma.

As the story ends, a line of text slowly appears on the screen:

"In reality, you're just a backup option, but in JX3, there's always the brotherhood that supports you through thick and thin, the master who patiently teaches you without expecting anything in return when you're a newbie, and the tenderness of those who meet you in the Jianghu and are willing to laugh and cry with you."

The negative emotions accumulated throughout the National Day holiday finally found an outlet.

That night, all the servers for "JX3" were overloaded.

Countless "Wang Duoyu" types, battered and bruised by reality, flock to this martial arts world in search of cheap comfort.

The romance-based gameplay has officially gone viral.