Chapter 26

If Mo Wu Hang was the Mo family's most impulsive member and the one who loved to physically abuse him the most, then Mo Si Lang was the kind that loved to slyly make suggestions in the back. He put up a noble and righteous front but behind it was a toxic and insidious mind. The one who came up with the iron needles torture idea: Mo Si Lang.

Mo Si Lang was one of the more difficult people in the Mo family to deal with. Because he entered the entertainment circle early and had numerous fans, even when he was hit with a scandal and his reputation was torn, there would still be a group of brain-dead fans with distorted three views willing to support him.

Therefore, to completely destroy Mo Si Lang, a ruined reputation was not enough.

Mo Di saw the man and woman disappeared into the street corner. He turned and said to Pang Qiang Lang's mother who was eagerly trying to say something: "Auntie, to tell you the truth, I'm really busy during the summer, I might not have time to tutor Pang…"

"Call me brother Pang!" Pang Qiang Lang said abruptly.

"…" Mo Di: "I may not have time to tutor him but if he has any questions, he can send it to me, I'll definitely teach him how to solve it."

"You really don't have time?" Pang Qiang Lang's mother obviously refused to give up. She looked at Mo Di pleadingly.

"I really do not have time. I'm sorry, auntie."

"Even if you're free I still won't study with you." Pang Qiang Lang squinted at Mo Di. He seemed to be taking revenge on Mo Di for not calling him 'brother Pang'.

Mo Di was speechless, then he asked: "How old are you?"

"Nineteen and a half. I got held back for a year. Got a problem?"

"No, I thought that you're only sixteen or seventeen. You looked especially childish." Mo Di smiled.

Pang Qiang Lang did not seem to hear the later part at first but after pondering for a few seconds, he realized that Mo Di had called him childish! He instantly slapped the table, "Did you just call me childish?!"

"Aiya, don't make a fuss. Show some decency!" Pang Qiang Lang's mother hurriedly pulled her son down and smacked him twice on his arm. "Sit down!"

Pang Qiang Lang twitched his mouth and sat down obediently.

The few people sat and chatted for a while. Mo Di still insisted that he was not available and apologized repeatedly. He also knew that Pang Qiang Lang had already repeated one year yet his results were barely passing the two hundred points mark. He really was not the academic type.

When Mo Di left, principal Huang and Pang Qiang Lang's mother stayed behind to discuss the next candidate to tutor Pang Qiang Lang. As for Pang Qiang Lang, he quickly ran after Mo Di and stopped him before he crossed the street. Breathing harshly, he said: "You were serious about buying my work? It's not a bluff?"

"Of course I'm serious." Mo Di said.

"Then …then the same quality as the illustration just now, I'll charge one for five thousand." Pang Qiang Lang spoke in a gruff tone and showed an unkind expression. But Mo Di smiled and said: "Didn't you say that you won't give me a discount just because I'm pitiful?"

"Humph! I'll increase and decrease the price as I like. None of your business!" Mo Di nodded his head in earnest but there was no sign of wanting to thank him. Pang Qiang Lang half was choked to death.

Mo Di scanned Pang Qiang Lang and was quite amused. This person was not bad. He was straightforward, his EQ was not exactly high, a little impulsive in his speech, but he was not ill-intentioned and his illustration skill was remarkable.

If he could get him to join his team….umm, that would be a good choice.

"Pang Qiang Lang, are all your drawings original?"

"What crap! I have never done any plagiarizing!" Pang Qiang Lang was quite angry. It seemed he indeed hated plagiarism and thought of it as an insult.

Mo Di nodded: "Then do you like playing games?"

"I do. The games 'Legendary Beast Continent' and 'Immortal World', I like to play them all. What about it?"

"Have you ever thought of being involved in the game making process?" Mo Di gleefully coaxed: "You design the characters, settings, equipment, and then animate them into the plot and gameplay."

Pang Qiang Lang was clearly ignited by Mo Di's words but he still said: "This, it's impossible."

Firstly, he was not a famous illustrator, no game company would hire him. Secondly, he knew nothing about programming or making games.

"!" Pang Qiang Lang suddenly woke up and seemed to finally understand something. The next moment he looked at Mo Di with a completely different set of eyes filled with zeal: "Are you going to use the characters that I drew to make games?! You know how to make games?!!"

"I do know how to make games. So, are you interested?"

"Is this true or false!?" Pang Qiang Lang turned red with excitement. "Just how old are you? You don't even look like you're eighteen. Did you learn it by yourself? Do you have a team?"

"At present, I'm the producer, planner, programmer, and tester for the team." Mo Di said honestly: "I may have to seek out a design production team. After all, your drawings need to be computerized and put into the storyboard. Anyways, what I said to your mom earlier was all true, I'm very busy."

Pang Qiang Lang: "…"

"If you want to join and become the graphic designer for the team then send me a message. But make it quick because I only have one and a half months to finish the game. But if you don't like the idea, it's also fine. I'll still buy the illustrations. Basically, the deal is still the same." Mo Di knew that Pang Qiang Lang could not make up his mind immediately. He did not mind. He waved his hand and left.

Pang Qiang Lang stood in place and stared at Mo Di's back in silence.

When Mo Di returned to the villa, there was a car parked at the door. He was just wondering who came when a head suddenly popped out and with a teeth-flashing smile, said: "Hi! Did you miss me these days, little brother?"

Mo Di gazed at Lai De Si's runaway-husky look and stayed quiet.

"I heard you came in first in the College Entrance Exam. Little brother, you're incredible, so much better than an underachieving student like me!"

Lai De Si came out of the villa in an orange get up, looking like a walking bottle of orange juice. He said frankly: "And your family before are such scums yet you can still excel, that's really impressive."

"Brother Lai De Si, stop talking nonsense. I know that you attended one of the top twenty universities in America." Mo Di glossed over the Mo family topic and said: "If you're an underachieving student then the other ninety-nine percent are also underachievers?"

"Ai, I was advantageous in the enrolment process." Lai De Si waved his hand. He did not think that there was anything wrong with what he just said. "Mu is still working overtime. Come, I'll take you to him. Let's eat out tonight."

Mo Di was a bit hesitant but he agreed in the end. He should at least let Lai De Si who had just returned have a little 'welcome back' atmosphere. As for his work, he could always stay up later to finish it.

Mo Di nodded: "Ok."

Mo Di boarded Lai De Si's newly bought Land Rover. This car was specially brought back by Lai De Si and he was still in the intensive love period with it. He was not willing to let the driver touch it and so, he would be the one driving.

Six o'clock was the peak hours in the capital. Their usual thirty minutes' drive had become an hour and yet they had not reached their destination. Lai De Si was hungry and thirsty but his new car was void of any food or drink. Lai De Si groaned uncomfortably.

Mo Di told Lai De Si to stay off the highway after they passed this stretch of road. He would go down to get him something to eat at one of the roadside stores.

Ten minutes later, they finally got off the highway. Mo Di directed Lai De Si to a corner of the street and alighted.

Mo Di went to get him a hotdog at a bakery and an orange juice from a vending machine, then he hurried back to the car. Mo Di would never admit that he deliberately bought the juice because of Lai De Si's fresh orange look.

Concentrating on the road, Mo Di was not aware that on the second floor of the western diner opposite the bakery, two pairs of eyes had been following him.

"Xiao Gui, that is your little brother?" The elegant and handsome man looked at the girl across him with gentle eyes. "Do you want to go to him? He had misunderstood you to such a degree, do you still want to resolve it?"

If Mo Di was there, he would recognize that this was Ye Cheng Feng, the supporting male in the original novel with the most screen time. From his first meeting of the sorrowful Mo Liu Gui, he fell deeply in love with her. He had cleared the path for Mo Liu Gui and escorted her through it all. Gentle and handsome in appearance, considerate and meticulous at heart, his grandfather and father were both high-standing government officials, and he himself was also very capable. In his last life, the reason Mo Liu Gui had a smooth career and no stumbling blocks was that besides having Qin Cheng Yi by her side, Ye Cheng Feng was also there to help her out in secret.

But that did not mean Mo Di will like this person. Au contraire, Ye Cheng Feng was one of the people he was most disgusted with.

In addition to Qin Cheng Yi's connections and intelligence network, Ye Cheng Feng's meticulous and considerate coverup was part of the reason that Qin Cheng Yi could lock him up and torture him in the asylum, cleanly buried away anything that would incriminate the Mo family, and hid this matter from the outside world and the higher-ups.

Even after tormenting him to such an extent, Ye Cheng Feng actually came to visit him. In his polite and gentlemanly manner, he asked Mo Di if he knew he was at fault. He then mockingly stated that they were willing to forgive him… but he was too vicious and outrageous so they could not let him out to harm Mo Liu Gui.

Ye Cheng Feng stood there looking all gentle, noble and elegant, staring down on him who was almost unhuman-like, filthy and ugly. He stood as if covering the truth and doing what he did was a rational and upright act. Mo Di was utterly disgusted. If it weren't for the shock and blood loss from the tortures he had earlier, he would've beat the crap out of Ye Cheng Feng's handsome face.

"….honestly, I'm not sure."

Mo Liu Gui bit her lips. Her slender fingers pinched the straw as she took a sip from the cup. "I did not want to break off with Xiao Di. No matter how he misjudged me, I still think of him as my brother. But …but this time, he went a little too far. How could he hurt my dad like this? I don't know. I don't know how to deal with him."

Mo Liu Gui's eyes slowly turned red. She lowered her head and pretended to eat. Ye Cheng Feng sat opposite and saw how she would rather forbear the sadness and refused to hurt others, making his heart ached for her.

"Xiao Gui, you are too kind. This type of person will not appreciate your kindness and concession. He will only continue to hurt and bully you. You have to fight back, you can't forgive him anymore."

"But, he's my little brother."

Mo Liu Gui's eyes were slightly wet. She wiped it with a tissue, then smiled and said: "Forget it. Let's not talk about Xiao Di for now. Let's talk about something else. Cheng Feng, just now you said that the first Hua Xia Innovative Game Competition was about to start, isn't it?"

Ye Cheng Feng did not voice what he had wanted to say. He just gazed gently at Mo Liu Gui and passed her another piece of tissue, "It's a little piece of news that my father heard. It will roughly start in late August but the official announcement will not be issued until July."

"The game competition, what kind of game is allowed to participate? What about the rules and regulations? Are there any rewards?"

"Any type of game, whether it's sports, cultivation, or puzzle…any form or style can participate. First, there will be an audition that will sift out quite a number of teams. After that is the knockout round which will also eliminate another batch. The last few rounds will probably be slower and there will be more demand for higher quality games."

"As for the reward, most likely it's at least ten million yuan. But more importantly, the winning game will attract a lot of investors. After all, the whole process will not only be broadcasted countrywide but also worldwide. Getting attention is the most important thing for the game and its company."

"That means the top few positions not only get a lot of investment but also free publicity?! As long as you do well, whether it's a small company or team, it will help them flourish." Mo Liu Gui said with some envy: "Too bad I don't know how to make games or else I would've participated."

"I'm going to take part in the competition. Xiao Gui, you can join my team." Ye Cheng Feng looked at Mo Liu Gui and said: "Do you want to join?"

"But I don't know anything."

"It doesn't matter. You can just stay in our team and be our adrenaline shot." Ye Cheng Feng sincerely said: "You can absolutely participate."

"Thank you Cheng Feng. I really want to participate but I don't have the chance to. There's a director who came to me…" Mo Liu Gui showed a smile, "he said that he liked my temperament. It's very much in line with the heroine in his movie, and so he wanted me to join his cast."

"Who is it?" Ye Cheng Feng was worried that the naive Mo Liu Gui would get scammed.

"Sun Yi Lun."

"Sun Yi Lun?!" Ye Cheng Feng was somewhat surprised. Sun Yi Lun was one of the leading directors of Hu Xia. He had directed many award-winning films. He, Zhao Li Qing, and Meng Fan Hao were known as the three directors who would pioneer the hope of the Chinese film industry.

"En. Which is why I don't have time to take part in the game competition." Mo Liu Gui said as a wisp of hair drooped down. She lifted it gently and continued: "Actually I don't think it's a good idea for me to participate in the competition. After all, I don't quite agree with allowing minors to participate in the game competition. Minors do not have the same skillset and capital as the other university grads or even working staff. They'll most likely just be accompanying everyone else, it's impossible for them to get a placing in the competition. Yet they will put a lot of hope and effort into making the game, neglecting their studies, and finally end up losing at both ends. At the same time, it will also have a bad impact on other internet addicted children."

"And more importantly, they will lower the threshold for the competition. In the early stages of the audition, this will increase the workload for the judges and staff which is not very conducive to the competition as a whole."

"Xiao Gui, what you said makes a lot of sense." Ye Cheng Feng looked at Mo Liu Gui with even gentler eyes: "for something that has nothing to do with you, you're even thoughtful towards the minors and the competition staff. You're really kind but you shouldn't worry too much about this. The people who care for you will be upset."

"I'm fine, I'm used to it." Mo Liu Gui gave an alluring smile and said: "Then will the competition have this restriction?"

"I have not heard of it but I will definitely talk about this with my father and let him make the suggestion."

…

Meanwhile, Mo Di and Lai De Si finally arrived at Mu Tian Heng's office.

"Mu! Let' go have dinner!"

Lai De Si pushed open the door after knocking on it twice. Mo Di followed behind not knowing whether he should wait for Mu Tian Heng's invitation.

"Little brother, come in." Lai De Si took a step in, then turned back and grinned at Mo Di: "you don't have to be afraid, this is not a beast's den. Also, there's no office play like those you see on TV. Although Mu is very much a beast, in the company he's still very… OW!"

Lai De Si gave a sudden cry of pain. He turned over and had his back against Mo Di: "Mu Tian Heng! Why did you kick me again!!"

"Shut your mouth." Mu Tian Heng came out with a black face. "Say another word and you don't have to think about this month's bonus."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Mo Di and the expression before was swept away and replaced with a smile: "Come in little one."

"En." Mo Di was a little embarrassed. He took a quick glance at Lai De Si before entering with Mu Tian Heng. Lai De Si groaned while patting his butt and followed suit.

Assistant Gao who had a report to hand in decided to turn around and leave. It was better to report back later, otherwise, Lai De Si would think that his embarrassing moment was seen, and then there won't be any peace for him for at least a week.

Mo Di entered Mu Tian Heng's office and kept his eyes and feet to himself. He stood obediently with his hands by the side. Mu Tian Heng saw his good-boy stance and just wanted to laugh.

"Don't be so restrained. Come have a look, the scenery here is beautiful."

"Um." Mo Di nodded and walked over. But when he passed the pen holder, he accidentally knocked it askew. He stopped quickly, then carefully placed it back in position.

From Mu Tian Heng's perspective, Mo Di's butt was a little higher than the desk. He felt that with a little hug, he could raise Mo Di onto the desk, and then a kiss could also be ….

Thinking to this point, Mu Tian Heng's expression changed abruptly and his face turned dark.

That damned Lai De Si!