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Inspired by a 2AM call from Jaehee. Replaying MysMe; #allcheng
JC’s thumb hovered over the download button on his phone. Why was he considering this? Oh yeah. JC had stupidly volunteered himself to oversee the marketing research for 9Lotus Inc. x Golden Carp Co.’s collab project
JC’s thumb hovered over the download button on his phone. Why was he considering this? Oh yeah. JC had stupidly volunteered himself to oversee the marketing research for 9Lotus Inc. x Golden Carp Co.’s collab project
that would launch next fall.
GCCo, owned by the Jin family, was a multinational manufacturing conglomerate with a finger in every pie; food, apparels, appliances, etc. Landing this collab deal was huge for JC’s fledging game dev company which he& #39;d built from the ground-up.
GCCo, owned by the Jin family, was a multinational manufacturing conglomerate with a finger in every pie; food, apparels, appliances, etc. Landing this collab deal was huge for JC’s fledging game dev company which he& #39;d built from the ground-up.
With the increasing craze around e-sports and mobile platform games, GCCo decided that this would be their next focus.
The project was to develop a dating sims game aimed at working women between 20-45. That was when the headache started for JC.
You see, 9Lotus was an emerging
The project was to develop a dating sims game aimed at working women between 20-45. That was when the headache started for JC.
You see, 9Lotus was an emerging
powerhouse in the game development scene but their target demographic had always been male and their games almost exclusively adventure MMORPGs.
JC had little to no clue what women his age liked, much less in the romance genre of game dev. After much research (& phone calls
JC had little to no clue what women his age liked, much less in the romance genre of game dev. After much research (& phone calls
to JYL), JC found a widely popular mobile otome game that used realtime interactive phone calls & texts with the game characters. These calls & texts were crucial to route progression & more often than not, at odd hours of the day.
JC sighed. He had a shit sleep pattern anyways.
JC sighed. He had a shit sleep pattern anyways.
What& #39;s sacrificing a few more hours of sleep?
It took a mere four seconds for the app to download & appear against his home screen photo of his cats, Sandu & Zidian.
JC pushed his slipping glasses back on his nose bridge & tapped on the app.
& #39;Here goes nothing.& #39;
It took a mere four seconds for the app to download & appear against his home screen photo of his cats, Sandu & Zidian.
JC pushed his slipping glasses back on his nose bridge & tapped on the app.
& #39;Here goes nothing.& #39;
---
The first call startles him.
JC had been in the zone, reading blogs after blogs of women who fit their target audience so that he could get a sense of what was trending with them. He didn& #39;t even notice that it was past midnight when he answered the call.
The first call startles him.
JC had been in the zone, reading blogs after blogs of women who fit their target audience so that he could get a sense of what was trending with them. He didn& #39;t even notice that it was past midnight when he answered the call.
"9Lotus, Jiang Cheng speaking."
An unfamiliar voice filtered into his ear. "This is campus security," The voice sounded intentionally deep, like someone trying to make their voice deeper than it actually is. "We have reports of a noise complaint about your room. Are you aware of
An unfamiliar voice filtered into his ear. "This is campus security," The voice sounded intentionally deep, like someone trying to make their voice deeper than it actually is. "We have reports of a noise complaint about your room. Are you aware of
this?"
Who the fuck? Campus Security who? "Is this a prank-"
The man on the phone continued speaking as if JC had not spoken in the first place. "I& #39;m just going to need to confirm your name and flat number."
JC pulled the phone away from his ear to stare at it incredulously
Who the fuck? Campus Security who? "Is this a prank-"
The man on the phone continued speaking as if JC had not spoken in the first place. "I& #39;m just going to need to confirm your name and flat number."
JC pulled the phone away from his ear to stare at it incredulously
when he saw 3 text boxes staring back at him. Then he realised. This wasn& #39;t some prank call. It was a call from a character from that otome game, Sunshot Messenger. Which character was this again...?
JC vaguely remembered the prologue of the game. The main protagonist (who JC
JC vaguely remembered the prologue of the game. The main protagonist (who JC
named & #39;Wanyin& #39;) was a female university student who& #39;d picked up the lost cell phone of the Student Union President who& #39;d recently left for a family medical emergency overseas.
Honestly, there were more than a few plot holes to how Wanyin stumbled into the Student Union& #39;s group
Honestly, there were more than a few plot holes to how Wanyin stumbled into the Student Union& #39;s group
chat. For one, how did she get access to the text messages? Like what self-respecting person neglected to put some kind of passcode or security pattern on their phones?!
But JC powered through the gaping holes in the narrative and managed to get through the prologue with several
But JC powered through the gaping holes in the narrative and managed to get through the prologue with several
hearts at the end - it appears that his cautious and level-headed responses were pretty popular with the cast of characters. JC looked at the text boxes again.
1: [Tell name and number]
2: I& #39;m hanging up.
3: Why don& #39;t you tell me yours first ;)?
1: [Tell name and number]
2: I& #39;m hanging up.
3: Why don& #39;t you tell me yours first ;)?
JC didn& #39;t hesitate to choose the second option. The textboxes disappeared to show him that it was Wei Wuxian calling. If JC remembered right, he was the Activities Rep for the Student Union and the founder of the Paranormal Society on campus.
"Nonono! It was just a prank! Sorry,
"Nonono! It was just a prank! Sorry,
please don& #39;t hang up!" WWX said hurriedly. His natural voice was higher than what he was trying to pull earlier but pleasant with a playful lilt.
There was a small pause (probably for the player to respond) before WWX whined, "Aiyoh! You& #39;re so cold Wanyin."
There was a small pause (probably for the player to respond) before WWX whined, "Aiyoh! You& #39;re so cold Wanyin."
JC was surprised by how naturally WWX said his character& #39;s name - the game dev in him quickly noting the sophisticated text-to-speech name recognition. He wondered how extensive WWX& #39;s AI library of names was.
"A prank at," JC looked at the time on his desktop and couldn& #39;t help
"A prank at," JC looked at the time on his desktop and couldn& #39;t help
the exasperated sigh that left his body. "2:27 in the morning?"
"I just wanted to check your number. " WWX said in a small, sheepish voice. "You have access to the president& #39;s WeChat but I thought it may be easier for everyone if we had your number as well."
"We?"
"I just wanted to check your number. " WWX said in a small, sheepish voice. "You have access to the president& #39;s WeChat but I thought it may be easier for everyone if we had your number as well."
"We?"
"Oh yeah. I just sent all the Student Union reps your number." WWX giggled and JC remembered that he had committed to getting random calls and texts from game characters for his research. "Now that you& #39;re helping out with the party end-of-the-year party in the prez& #39;s place,
you& #39;ll want to get to know the other reps better. So, try talking to them when they call, okay?"
A pause for a response where JC stayed quiet again. "Well then. It& #39;s getting late so I& #39;ll catch up with you later! Goodnight Wanyin~!"
The call ended and JC put his phone down on
A pause for a response where JC stayed quiet again. "Well then. It& #39;s getting late so I& #39;ll catch up with you later! Goodnight Wanyin~!"
The call ended and JC put his phone down on
his work table. That was such a pointless exercise. Was this really what women in their 20s to 30s found exciting? The flashlight on his phone flashed twice as it vibrated against the mahogany table. JC picked up the phone again to see a text message had arrived from WWX.
WWX: Yeahhh~! Let& #39;s make the best End-of Party that will go down in history~!
JC let out an involuntary huff. If WWX was a real person, JC probably wouldn& #39;t be able to cope with WWX& #39;s # main protagonist energy. Like with the phone call, there were 3 textboxes again.
JC let out an involuntary huff. If WWX was a real person, JC probably wouldn& #39;t be able to cope with WWX& #39;s # main protagonist energy. Like with the phone call, there were 3 textboxes again.
1: Yayyy! Party time! Let& #39;s get white girl wasted!
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🥳" title="Partying face" aria-label="Emoji: Partying face">
2: You& #39;re a rather odd fellow, you know that?
3: Whatever.
JC frowned at the last option. What would be the point of this otome game if you were just rude to a character. Hm... was there some kind of a masochist character or
2: You& #39;re a rather odd fellow, you know that?
3: Whatever.
JC frowned at the last option. What would be the point of this otome game if you were just rude to a character. Hm... was there some kind of a masochist character or
something? JC once again picked the second option. It took all 3 seconds of JC turning back to his computer screen and clicking open a draft email when his phone vibrated and flashed again.
When he opened the text, there was a small burst of red hearts with a little reaction gif
When he opened the text, there was a small burst of red hearts with a little reaction gif
of a chibi WWX playfully winking at him... did JC pick the best response there?
WWX: You& #39;ll just have to find out Wanyin~
JC shook his head at the message and went back to reading blogs.
---
WWX: You& #39;ll just have to find out Wanyin~
JC shook his head at the message and went back to reading blogs.
---