Chapter 28

Mo Di was no longer in the mood for a big meal. He looked to Mu Tian Heng and said: "Brother, can we go home?"

"…ok."

Mu Tian Heng pressed down the surging sourness in his heart. He reached out and gently rubbed Mo Di's hair: "Let's go home for steak. Brother is quite a cook, did you know?"

"I didn't know." Mo Di shook his head. He let Mu Tian Heng hold his wrist, "but there's no steak at home."

"Let's go to the supermarket to buy two pieces. Brother will show you his skill." Mu Tian Heng took Mo Di's hand and left at a moderate pace.

Gu Ran Ju stared at their backs, not knowing what to say. In the end, he gave the wall a hard kick, then crouched down in pain.

All he did was mention that minors could not take part, did he have to look so sad? That's just…

He really doesn't get this Mo Di!

Mu Tian Heng brought Mo Di to the supermarket to get the steaks and added a bottle of red wine to the cart. When Mo Di saw Mu Tian Heng put the red wine in, he felt a strong urge to remind him: "Brother, I don't drink wine."

"Drink a little, you'll feel better."

"No, I really can't drink." Mo Di shook his head resiliently, "I get drunk easily. I'll be drunk after two sips."

"Then …we won't drink today. I'll buy it first, we'll drink when you're an adult." Mu Tian Heng did not take out the wine bottle. He turned around to the long shelf of snacks and picked up a bag of sweets, then passed it to Mo Di.

"Have something sweet, it'll improve your mood."

Mo Di looked at the bag of gummy bear candies with drooping eyes, reached out to accept it.

When they returned, Mu Tian Heng told Mo Di to relax in the bath, this would help him ease up and be ready for dinner. He then took the steak to the kitchen.

Mo Di at the same time also wanted to be alone so he agreed and went back to his room. He went into the bathroom and closed the door.

Mu Tian Heng did not start cooking right away. He took out his phone, found several numbers that he rarely contacted before, and made the calls.

Mo Di soaked for thirty minutes in the tub.

Finally, when he felt some discomfort, he got up, wiped himself, and came out of the bathroom.

It's ok, all this has not been decided yet.

He had never given up even with so many setbacks his last life. This minor problem, there was no way he would give up.

In the time that the rule had not been implemented and no official announcement had been made, there was still a lot that he could do. After all, this rule was unreasonable. Even if those old fussbudgets managed to suppress the others in the system, the general masses will not agree.

This was not only ridiculous but also discrimination against age.

No one can stipulate the age at which someone can start making games, just like no one can impose that men and women have to be married by the age of twenty or thirty or women must have children by the age of twenty-something. All these conservative ideas had long been refuted by the general public.

When Mo Di came out of his room, he saw Mu Tian Heng placing the steak on the dining table. Seeing Mo Di, he paused slightly, then smiled: "Just nice, I was about to go get you."

Mo Di looked at Mu Tian Heng donning an apron, giving off a very different image from before. He couldn't help but voice his thought: "Brother, even in an apron… you still look good." Particularly similar to those non-existent super hot husbands who were also good at housework that usually appeared on television.

"Really, then today I'll have dinner in this apron."

Mo Di saw Mu Tian Heng's exaggerated look and couldn't hold back his laughter. "Better not."

"Um…I also think that's not a good idea. I'll listen to you." Mu Tian Heng smiled at Mo Di and pulled up his cuff, then took off the apron.

Just looking at Mu Tian Heng standing tall and gentle in the center of the dining room, Mo Di's heart suddenly jumped violently. He covered his chest and patted it.

"What's wrong?" Mu Tian Heng saw Mo Di patting his chest and hurried over. "Not feeling well?"

"No, I'm good." Mo Di quickly shook his head, he also did not know why he was flustered. He said casually: "Brother, I'm hungry, let's eat."

"You're really ok?" Mu Tian Heng was still a little worried.

"I'm really fine!" Mo Di insisted.

From the start, they both ate earnestly, neither mentioned the game. Instead, they talked about the steak because Mu Tian Heng's skill was surprisingly good. The steak was tender and soft, it melted in your mouth after the first bite and slid down your throat. The fragrance was overflowing, bringing out the flavor of the meat itself and the little seasoning added supplemented the dish perfectly. Mo Di thought to himself that if one day Mu Tian Heng does not work on his website anymore, opening a restaurant will still make him a fortune.

After the meal was almost over, Mu Tian Heng looked at Mo Di drinking juice and said: "what that kid said is correct, I just checked."

Mo Di fidgeted slightly, then put down his cup and said: "Brother, even if it's true, I won't give up. I will launch this matter on the online forums. One is to ask when will this age discrimination disappear. Second is to put up a poll to see how many people will support the age restriction on game making. Is it other than minors, the elderlies should also be restricted? After all, the elderly are not as strong competitively because they will not be able to understand the current trends. And also, shouldn't those people in the system not be allowed to participate as well since their job is to serve the public. Participating in the competition might affect their work….there are so many ways to discriminate. As long as they want to, they can come up with countless other restrictions! We have to fight against this ridiculous autocracy!"

"It's right to oppose. You're going to spread this matter as a rumor and then stir up the discussion?"

"En. I'm sure the majority will not agree. If the masses' reaction is forceful enough, I don't believe the higher-ups can continue to enforce this rule."

"It's possible to use public opinion to oppose, but there's an important matter that needs to be done." Mu Tian Heng clasped his fingers and said: "The officials behind the competition need to confirm this rumor, otherwise, they can easily deny it and this will come back to bite us."

"Then what can we do?" Mo Di ground his teeth.

"Calm down first." Mu Tian Heng picked up the juice bottle and filled Mo Di's cup, "according to the intel, the person who proposed this is a senior official on the board whose family had two generations of high ranking bureaucrats. Their influence is strong, which is why even if many people disagreed, they would still go with the flow and dare not speak up."

"Then isn't it more difficult to make them admit to the rumor?"

"Yes, it's very difficult. But, if they're not going to work in that department anymore, things are much simpler." Talking to this point, Mu Tian Heng chuckled when he saw Mo Di's eager look for him to go on, "drink your juice first."

"Ah?"

Mo Di was flabbergasted at Mu Tian Heng's request but seeing that he was serious, Mo Di picked up the cup and drank it in one go. He then urged: "Say it quickly."

"Uhm." Mu Tian Heng cleared his throat.

Just a moment ago, Mu Tian Heng saw Mo Di curling his hands on the table like a squirrel waiting to be fed and he felt the itch to do something. Sure enough, now he felt inexplicably satisfied.

Mu Tian Heng did not realize that he was getting closer to becoming a beast.

"Among the organizers of the Hua Xia game competition, there are a few that I'm acquainted with. One of them coincidentally is about to resign. He also feels that the rule was ridiculous and strongly opposed it. He can coordinate with us."

"Is he going to release the news and expose the rules for the competition in advance?" Mo Di frowned, "I don't think that's appropriate. He might get blamed for that."

Although he was willing to risk himself to expose the matter, he refused to implicate another person. The consequences were his to bear.

"No, it doesn't have to be that direct. He just needs another way to do it." Mu Tian Heng suddenly smiled, "let's say he is just an ordinary employee who is very enthusiastic about the game competition and its regulations. And so, seeing the unrest on the internet, he decided to come out and speak up for it but accidentally let slip one or two things in his argument. That way, he would have done nothing wrong. And even if he were to be blamed, it will still be understandable."

"…" Mo Di was struck with enlightenment. He looked at Mu Tian Heng with a profound expression.

Mu Tian Heng had always been too good and too gentle that Mo Di had forgotten that this 'brother' of his at the age of twenty, already had his A-list business rivals in the palm of his hands. A truly… treacherous person.

"I'll handle the rest. Brother, you only have to keep in touch with that person."

…

And so on this day, a piece of gossip erupted across the major networks:

It is said that a new rule will be added to the first Hua Xia Innovative Game Competition. Because the old-fashioned higher-ups think that the role of minors is solely to study, they should not be concerned with this competition. Also, the abilities of the minors cannot be compared to that of their adult counterparts. Hence, their submitted works will be of poor quality and this is a waste of time to review. In conclusion, it was suggested that minors should not be allowed to participate in the game making competition. The organizing committee is seriously considering this proposal and it is very likely to pass!

The news first appeared on popular gaming forums and drew a large number of objections. In the gaming world, minors are a force that cannot be ignored. Whether it's in game making or e-sports, numerous talented individuals are underage. This rule is plainly unreasonable.

Soon, the controversy spread to forums whose user base was mainly minors, arousing a lot of anger amongst the students. This was simply discrimination against them. It was enough that they were restricted in so many aspects in their daily life, now there was even a prohibition on participating in a competition?!!

The whole internet was boiling. An increasing number of people was joining in the discussion to protest. Some even laughed at the executives for having an empty head, daring to propose such a bs stereotyped rule.

Mo Di waited till three in the morning when the public opinion was almost done kicking up a storm before bringing the main battlefield to Weibo.

In no time, the related tags climbed the hot search and kept going:

#Minors will be banned from the game competition#

#Reviewing minor's work is a waste of labor#

#Vote for who you think should not participate in the competition#

#Age discrimintaion#

#Stereotype#

In the beginning, there was not much movement due to the wee hours but by six in the morning, the heat was obviously on.

When the news that Hua Xia was going to hold a game making competition, a lot of people expressed an interest in participating which included a large number of minors. Their enthusiasm was especially high. Whether it was those that liked to play games or those that create games, they all strongly supported the event. Moreover, many students made use of their summer vacation to start their project at home, thinking that even if they only passed the audition, that was good enough.

As a result, the authorities gave them a slap on the face!

The emotions of young people are the most transparent and pure. The same amount of enthusiasm they had before was transformed into rage. The angry mob came together …and public opinion exploded through the roof.

The tags soared the hot search list at a phenomenal rate.

"Why are you restricting minors from participating? In the beginning when the competition was announced, how many of us gave you support and now you want to kick away the ladder?!!"

"Can I ask if the old fart who proposed this has a retarded brain and has been fermenting it for the over fifty years?!!!"

"Disgusting! What minor's production capability is limited and cannot be compared with adults?! What waste of human time and labor?! This is an insult!"

"Although I'm an adult, I still think this is discrimination."

"Where did the old antique who suggested this come from? Nowadays talents are emerging in the game industries from all walks of life. Adults or minors, both are very powerful forces. Why would someone f**king come up with this?"

"What minors can only study hard, can't even participate in a game competition. This kind of committee is mentally retarded!!!"

"Hahaha. Sorry but I'm quite happy anyway, I can participate."

"I spit! Upstairs, you better get lost! Today they can make this idiotic rule, tomorrow they can come up with something else! See if you can still gloat!!"

"Ah! Even though I'm not participating, I'm still pissed. Thinking about the group of backward thinking people who are still stereotypical. Those who keep telling me I have to get married and have children. Women my age should all be wives and mothers. Bullsh*t! I'm twenty-eight and still a flower. I work when I should and travel whenever I want, why would I want to get married and have kids?!!!"

"Seriously, I'm very disgusted with this type of decayed thinking. It's time you should retire! Maybe all your peers already kicked the bucket, isn't it time for you to prepare yourself?!"

"Protest against such an unfair game competition!!"

"…"

And under these conditions, some questioned the authenticity of the news, saying that it was just a rumor. But very soon, they had to swallow their words.

The Weibo account that had previously disclosed the news that the game competition was being held, and later confirmed to belong to a committee member, released the following statement:

"I hope some people can be rational. It's not easy to organize the first Hua Xia Innovative Game Competition. Both staff members' and judges' energy are limited and therefore, it's important to ensure the quality of the game to improve work efficiency. Please do not just go with the flow and try to boycott this competition. This kind of act is not right."

This is just great. They even put a stamp on it!!!

The post was pushed to the forefront of the hot search, receiving countless protests and opposition. It even caused angry swearing and scolding. As if displeased with their reactions, the owner of the blog also began a counter-argument with the netizens.

"Will you guys just drop it? This is discrimination? How many minors have learned to program? Even if they did, how good can they be? Can they compare with other actual programmers???"

"What kicking away the ladder, you're not the only ones who can take credit for the game competition's popularity ok?"

"Your brain is the one that's retarded. Do you know how difficult it is for the government to hold a competition? The cost of hiring both the organizing staff and judges are very expensive. It's because we want the competition to go well that we proposed this rule. What else can you people do other than swearing and cursing?! Do you know how hard it is to be a government official?"

"The competition will still get a lot of good submissions even without you. Thank you."

"Do things that are appropriate for your age. You're a student and should just study, stop thinking of joining the competition!!"

"…"

To think that a government employee could be this self-righteous and unreasonable, the masses were further provoked. This even included the people who did not care about the competition.

"This is the most idiotic and disgusting official I've ever seen!"

"Boycott the game competition! Liberate the staff and judges so they have no game to evaluate, how relaxing!"

"With this type of attitude, why don't you just evaluate on crap instead of organizing a competition!"

"I want to curse the old geezer who proposed this rule. Are you this free because your peers are all gone. Did you prepare a coffin to join them?!"

"In today's society, there's a lack of everything but not discrimination! It's confirmed these officials are brainless!"

"There's not enough manpower so minors are banned?!! Incompetence and discrimination! Rubbish officials! Boycott! Get lost!"

"…"

Because the overzealous staff decided to tackle head-on with the netizens, the internet completely flared up.

The topic rose to the top three spots on the hot search as more people were getting involved. Many voted in the poll "Who you think should be banned from the competition" which reached several hundred thousand voters.

Less than ten percent voted for the elderly and minor and the rest agreed that there should not be an age limit.

At ten in the morning, the topics "Minors banned from participating in game competition," "Minors' work a waste of effort to evaluate," "Let's discuss about the conservationists around you," "Game competition committee angers netizens," "Boycott the game competition" and others dominated the hot search and stayed in the top positions.

After Mo Di woke up from his nap, he was quite satisfied with the result. But just as he refreshed the page, two of the topics lost their spot.

Well, well, someone's trying to subdue the hot searches!!

Mo Di turned on his computer and ten fingers zipped across the keyboards. In less than ten minutes, the hot searches were back in their original positions.

He did not want to buy the hot searches because he did not want to pay for it, but he would not allow others to spend money to suppress his hot searches.

Seeing the public's reactions were getting oppressive and the call for boycotting the competition had received wave after wave of support, the officials finally began to feel the threat.

Not only did they have to hold an urgent meeting, but those who had previously dared not voice their objection also stood up and suggested that the rule was unreasonable and should be removed.

The surrounding attendees nodded in agreement.

However, everyone was reluctant to provoke the big guy who had suggested the rule in the first place, and hence, none was willing to go hand in the report.

Someone said: "Let Sun Tian Cheng go. It's all his fault for doing something like that on the internet. Although it's to support the cause, what he did only fueled the fire."

Sun Tian Cheng was showing an unwilling and troubled expression, but seeing everyone's eyes on him, he put up a brave front and went to see the big guy.

In actuality, he was feeling immensely satisfied. For a long time now, he had been incredibly annoyed with the old fusspot surnamed Ye. Before leaving he even managed to pull off this 'rebellious' act, it was just too fulfilling.

However, he was not stupid. There was no way he would do this alone. And so he went to find another bigshot named Zhao Sheng Qiang and told him about this whole escapade. Zhao Sheng Qiang was an innovator. He was most repulsive with outdated thinkers like Ye Guo Sheng.

When he saw Zhao Sheng Qiang coming to his office and gave tongue-in-cheek remarks, insinuating how bad his ideas were, Ye Guo Sheng's face darkened.

…

The heat on the internet did not subside. By four in the afternoon, only the word "hot" was removed but the topics remained in the top few positions.

And by five in the evening, the official page of the game competition finally made an announcement. It stated that the rule circulating on the internet was actually one of several suggestions yet to be determined and was not finalized. There was a misunderstanding among the staff members and oversight on their part. The person in question had been admonished and justly punished. The game competition's rules and regulations will strictly ensure the fairness and competitiveness for all participants. And of course, minors will not be banned and they also encouraged the general public to join.

Witnessing the announcement, Mo Di could finally let out a sigh. He took a look at his WeChat which was now scattered with over ninety-nine plus messages.

Han Chao: "[Happy] [Happy] [Excited] Xiao Di you can still participate!"

Pang Qiang Lang: "like I said, this competition cannot be this stupid, if not I will not participate either."

Han Chao: "The road to success is lined with difficulties. This means that our team is sure to soar high."

Han Chao: "[arms akimbo]"

Pang Qiang Lang: "Come on! I'm ready for anything!"

"…"

Mo Di looked at his screen flooding with expression packs, he couldn't help but smiled and picked a few to send back.

The group continued with their heated discussion.

What Mo Di did not notice was that in today's hot searches, several were about the upcoming movies, and one of them was related to Mo Liu Gui: "The female lead for Sun Yi Lun's new film has been decided"

Pity that after spending so many resources, it was drowned out by the other topics and could not even make its way into the top ten.