My Virtual Girlfriend

Chen Yan silently adjusted his plan, put away his phone, and continued walking home.

After a while, he arrived at his neighborhood.

He went upstairs, reached his apartment door, took out his keys just about to open the door, when the sound of a spatula clashing against a pan could be heard from inside.

Chen Yan paused and then checked the date on his watch: the 15th.

The smile vanished from his face; his movements unchanged, he opened the door and walked in.

The door opened into the kitchen where a middle-aged man wearing an apron was cooking.

Chen Yan was silent for a moment before he called out, "Dad, you're here?"

"Don't call me dad, call me the landlord," the middle-aged man replied coldly without even lifting his head, stirring the food as he answered, "I'm here to collect rent."

Chen Yan, not bothering to engage further, took off his jacket, hung it up, then went to his room and took out the money he had already prepared, laying it on the table.

Soon, the middle-aged man came to the table with a dish of stir-fried green peppers and tomatoes.

He placed the dish heavily on the table, untied his apron, hung it on the back of a chair, sat down, and then checked the money on the table.

Chen Yan said, "A total of 1500, that enough?"

The middle-aged man grunted affirmatively, picked up some food with his chopsticks, and tasted it.

After tasting, he said, "If you want to eat, go to the kitchen and get your own chopsticks."

Chen Yan glanced at the red and green-colored dark dish on the table and shook his head, "I already ate outside."

The middle-aged man glanced at Chen Yan, "You, every day at home playing that broken game, still have money to eat out?"

Chen Yan didn't want to argue.

This kind of conversation had been ongoing since Chen Yan quit his job to play video games.

Seeing Chen Yan remain silent, the middle-aged man grew even angrier, slammed his chopsticks down on the table, and said, "Look at you, after graduation, I got you a job in a government department, you only went for two months, then quit. All you know is to stay at home playing games."

"That broken game, what's the use? Can it feed you, can it quench your thirst, or buy you a house?"

Chen Yan, feeling helpless, said, "Dad, I don't want to argue."

"We've talked about this countless times."

"Dad, times have changed now."

"There are many professions that can be done from home. Making games can make money, writing novels can make money, being a YouTuber can make money, even becoming a streamer can make money. These are all legitimate jobs."

"Don't always judge us young people with your old perspective."

"As for that government job you mentioned. The internship paid 2000 a month; you and mom worried I'd squander it, so you helped me save, asking me for 2000 a month. I worked hard for a month; between meals, transportation, and socializing, I ended up losing 1000 bucks."

Chen Yan's father was momentarily speechless, but then he retorted, "Weren't you also making extra money in that 'Fantasy Journey to the West'? We saved that surplus money for you, what's wrong with that?"

Chen Yan replied, "Right, you said it yourself, I make money from playing games. So why do you still oppose me entering the gaming industry?"

Chen Yan's father, distressed, said, "It's not stable! You were making ten thousand a month back then, can you still make that much now? What about in the future?"

"You can't just look at the present, you have to consider the future."

"Is playing games as stable as a job in a government department?"

"Our family isn't in bad shape, working a job, collecting rent, isn't that much better and more comfortable than playing games?"

With that, he seemed to recall something, his eyes widened, and he said sharply, "Have you still not given up on making that broken game?"

Chen Yan was silent.

Seeing Chen Yan not respond, his father, deeply distressed, said, "I've told you. Spending hundreds of thousands to make a game is not realistic."

"Can you guarantee it'll be successful?"

"What if it fails?"

"Can you be realistic? Don't keep chasing these impractical dreams!"

Hearing his father mention this matter made Chen Yan feel irritable.

He interjected, "Okay, dad. Let's end this topic here. We've argued many times and it's led nowhere, right?"

"I didn't ask you or mom to pay for my game; I'm saving my own money, isn't that okay?"

"It's the same old rule; I pay my rent monthly, look after myself, and you don't interfere."

"As for my game, I'll definitely make it. Whether it loses money or makes money, it doesn't concern you."

"You all think it will definitely lose money. I think it could make enough to buy a house."

Hearing Chen Yan say this, his father snorted coldly, "Fine! I'll wait for the day you make money and buy a house with this broken game!"

"You, a few years ago, would have been considered an internet-addicted youth, who needed electrotherapy!"

After saying that, he grabbed the money furiously, got up, ready to leave.

Just then, Chen Yan stopped him, "Hold on, dad."

Chen Yan's father turned around irritably, "What now!"

Chen Yan said, "You cooked in my house, using my ingredients. Please pay me a hundred yuan."

Chen Yan's father's forehead bulged with veins. "The tomatoes and peppers were brought by me, and the rice was cooked at my home, what ingredients of yours did I use!"

Chen Yan, "Oil and salt. I noticed."

Chen Yan's father: ....

"Hmph!" Chen Yan's father withdrew a red note from the envelope, slapped it heavily on the table, then stormed out, banging the door behind him.

"Ah..." Watching his father leave, Chen Yan sighed heavily.

The hardest thing in life is dealing with the clash of views with parents. Because you know they truly mean well for you, but... this kind of well-meaning might not align with what you desire.

Chen Yan also knew, jobs in government departments are stable, with good benefits. But the nine-to-five, day in, day out is not what he wants.

He has dreams, and he wants to chase them.

Even if, in his parents' eyes, it seems stubborn, but without dreams, what's the difference from a salted fish?

Now, while he's young, he still has the capital to fail, to strive and struggle once!

Only that way, he won't regret it! Not when he's old, feeling ashamed for his cowardice in his youth!

Sitting quietly for a while, Chen Yan got up, picked up the money, tidied up the table, and went back to his desk. He opened his "Game Strategy" notebook.

Since he had boasted before his father about making money and buying a house with his own game, Chen Yan had to be serious about it.

And to make that game...

Chen Yan's eyes moved downward, he again circled the "1 million" heavily: first, make a million, secure the base.

Thinking this, Chen Yan flipped through the pages of the notebook, revisited the plan of inviting Yu Qiao Qiao to his dormitory for dinner, rearranged it, and confirmed the details.

After confirming the details, he stared at the plan in the notebook for a long time. Subtly, he felt somewhat reluctant.

In a moment, he gritted his teeth and raised all the numbers on the plan by tenfold.

If he was going to gamble, he'd gamble big, otherwise who knew when he'd be able to save enough to develop the game!

The brave die once, the timid a thousand times!

He overturned the entire plan, checked the materials, and remembered the system restrictions, redesigned the plan completely, confirmed there were no issues, then he put the notebook in his pocket, packed up, and left the house.

This time, inviting someone out was related to Chen Yan's "life's big event," so he treated it with great importance and wanted to plan ahead.

He went to the bank and withdrew all the savings from his graduation year. A total of 90,000 yuan. This was for preparing the game.

Adding the 10,000 yuan in his Alipay account, that made exactly 100,000 yuan.

He withdrew the money because Chen Yan's next plan involved a larger expenditure than his bank card limit allowed, so it was more convenient to handle in cash...