Chapter 58: A Whole Day, a Whole Day

Only after Shen Mo treated everyone to a consolation meal did the company employees finally let him go.

But when Shen Mo learned that Xiao Zhi had paid for two consolation meals, he burst out laughing.

Sure enough, the best cure for a bad mood is someone who's even more unlucky than you.

Shen Mo sat down and immediately went online to check the situation with "Sheep Eat Sheep."

Nothing but one-star reviews.

The short-video sites were full of hosts breaking down.

One could say it went viral in an instant.

Some even said this wasn't sheep eating sheep, this was sheep eating people — they simply couldn't stop.

Especially when someone actually cleared a level.

"Even a loser like you can clear it, but I, a once-in-a-lifetime genius, can't? Are you kidding me? Let me through————."

Shen Mo shook his head at this, able only to sigh: people are just cheap. If you don't want to play, then don't play. Or just photoshop a clear-screen screenshot — why bang your head against this idiotic game?

In any case, Shen Mo felt it was unnecessary.

One hour later…

Bang.

Shen Mo, who had entered the game through a link Liu Yue shared, threw down his phone.

The company operations staffer who had just walked in calmly picked up Shen Mo's phone for him, glanced at the screen — yes, it was "Sheep Eat Sheep" — then handed the phone back to Shen Mo.

Shen Mo felt a little embarrassed.

The operations lady pushed up her glasses and said calmly: "It's fine. My husband and I both smashed our phones last night too."

She had been sent by Liu Yue and had kept a very low profile.

The operations lady handed the report to Shen Mo, then said slowly: "These are the data submitted by each of our partner sites."

"Two main channels — one is a mini-program, the other is short-video."

"Based on the figures they provided, our share of the advertising revenue came to twenty million last night alone."

The gleam in the operations lady's eyes couldn't be hidden even behind her glasses.

Twenty million in ad revenue, in a single night — that's absolutely insane.

This game is just too explosive.

Even if the game stops being popular today and vanishes without a trace, the company has already made enough.

Shen Mo's mouth twitched. My company is just too absurd.

No — reality itself is just too absurd.

A stupid little game made twenty million in one night. How is that even reasonable?

Shen Mo had heard from Zhou Yue and Liu Yue chatting about how brutal the hotel industry was nowadays.

Investments of twenty million were commonplace.

A net profit of four or five million a year was already considered pretty good.

Breaking even within five years counted as a decent outcome.

But after five years, you faced aging facilities, renovations, and the like.

Yet a stupid little game that cost only a few tens of thousands to make pulled in twenty million in pure profit in a single night. Even after taxes and employee bonuses, that was still absurd.

At the same time, Shen Mo finally understood why those second-generation rich kids insisted on starting their own businesses. Being the boss really does make money.

"Can the money arrive in the account before payday?" Shen Mo asked the key question.

The operations lady thought for a moment, then said calmly: "Can't guarantee it. This is our first collaboration, and there are still some issues that need to be worked out."

Shen Mo nodded: "Then go ahead and distribute the game bonuses to everyone first."

"No problem." The operations lady felt that Shen Mo truly was Liu Yue's husband — his way of thinking was exactly the same as Liu Yue's.

For lunch, Shen Mo treated everyone to a meal out.

At the table, Shen Mo thanked everyone for their hard work.

Though the company staff collectively griped that they didn't even know how they'd worked hard.

Then Shen Mo began dishing out the pie-drawing he'd just learned online — how the company belonged to him but also to everyone, how its future depended on everyone, how when profits came in everyone would share the bonuses, and how there would absolutely never be a situation where the boss ate his fill while the employees didn't even get a sip of soup.

If it were any other boss saying this, Qiang Ni, Xiao Zhi, Li Li, Li Qiang and the others would have felt it was just empty pie-in-the-sky. But when Shen Mo said it, everyone felt it wasn't empty talk, because the operations lady had privately told them that on payday, the promised game bonuses would land in their accounts, and she hoped everyone would keep up the good work.

After eating and drinking their fill, Shen Mo directly announced the afternoon off. Anyone who wanted to work overtime could clock in as usual and earn triple pay; anyone who didn't feel like earning overtime money could go do whatever they wanted.

Except for Li Qiang — he genuinely loved writing code and went back to the office to work. Everyone else gradually left.

Qiang Ni went to pick up his kid, Xiao Zhi found somewhere to play games, Li Li went to an anime convention.

The others each went off to their own lives.

Shen Mo also privately sent Li Qiang two hundred yuan, asking him to order himself something nice to eat for working overtime.

Shen Mo didn't know the usual ways of winning people's hearts, but he did know how to throw money around.

Simple and direct.

Just like that male celebrity he'd seen online redefining male chauvinism.

He earned the money, gave his wife a few million a month in pocket money, handled everything himself, was always the first to step up when trouble came — his only requirement was being able to relax comfortably at home.

Shen Mo figured that if he gave his employees a bit more money, they probably wouldn't betray him and quit over it.

After all, this was the tried-and-true tactic the Liu Family had used for over a hundred years.

Shen Mo drove straight to the biggest hotel in Jinghai and first booked a presidential suite.

Then he had people from a wedding-planning company come over to decorate, while he himself went to a gift shop to buy gift boxes, and then to a toy store to buy toys.

Once everything was ready, Shen Mo first sent Wang Ma a message saying he wouldn't be home tonight.

The reply he got was: "Li Sao and I might be going out."

Shen Mo was speechless.

When they arrived downstairs at Liu Group, Liu Yue hadn't come down yet.

Shen Mo took the opportunity to ask how the wedding company had done with the decorations.

After confirming everything was fine, Shen Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Picking up Liu Yue, Shen Mo said with a smile: "Wife, today I'm treating you to a stay at a hotel."

【Hehe, you'll never guess that the birthday gift I'm giving you is a proposal.】

Liu Yue's heart skipped a beat, then she realized Shen Mo was planning to celebrate her birthday early.

Liu Yue had never been so annoyed at being able to hear Shen Mo's inner thoughts as she was right now.

The surprise factor was cut by more than half.

"Sure, is it the kind of staying at a hotel where we're boyfriend and girlfriend?" Liu Yue blinked her eyes, looking at Shen Mo with a grin.

"I've never stayed at a hotel with anyone as boyfriend and girlfriend before."

Shen Mo nodded seriously: "That's right, exactly that kind of boyfriend-and-girlfriend one."

【Except the hotel room is full of surprises.】

Liu Yue nodded as if she didn't know, revealing a happy smile.

……

Although she had been prepared, when the door opened and she saw the exquisitely decorated room, the enormous roses and the mountain of gift boxes piled up, Liu Yue couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

Shen Mo closed the door and said to Liu Yue with deep affection: "Wife, I really don't know what birthday gift to give you, so I've decided to give myself to you."

"For the rest of our lives, please take care of me."

Liu Yue hadn't expected that the birthday gift Shen Mo had prepared would be himself.

How to describe this feeling.

Very complicated, very happy, very joyful.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Yue suppressed the tears in her eyes, wrapped her arms around Shen Mo's shoulders, and kissed his lips.

After a long while, their lips parted, and Liu Yue murmured with a dazed look in her eyes: "That gift doesn't count, because you were already mine to begin with."

Shen Mo was greatly embarrassed.

"Then wife, what do you want?"

A glint of mischief flashing in her eyes, Liu Yue said triumphantly: "I want you to spend a whole day with me, the kind where we just stay in the room."

(End of chapter)