Long Jian excused himself and left their private dining room. He headed to the men's washroom to relieve himself. While doing his business, he heard a group of college students talking to each other.
"Man, I'm exhausted. I played this new game for the past two nights. It's called 'Supreme Ascension'. Do you know it?"
"Of course I know it! I'm actually one of the first people who bought a subscription when it officially launched last week. I discovered it at a gaming convention about a month ago. They let people play the sample. Before I realized it, I spent my entire time at the convention just playing the game. The story line is different depending on which class you choose. I think that's very cool. The graphics are just freaking awesome. And the world-building? Don't get me started. It's so detailed and so on-point that I think it's going to be the next big thing in the gaming world. I was so disappointed when they told me that it wasn't available yet during that time. That's why I've been waiting for its official release and immediately bought the subscription. And I'm telling you, it's so worth it."
"Ah, damn. I'm only playing the free version. Maybe I'll buy the subscription, too. The pricing is reasonable, as well. It won't bankrupt us poor college students."
Another slightly older man in his mid-twenties piped in. "Sorry to interrupt. I just overheard your conversation. Are you talking about the MMORPG 'Supreme Ascension'?"
"Yeah, man. You play it, too?"
"Yes! Actually my older brother was one of the beta testers of the game."
"What?! For real?! That's cool as f*ck, man!"
The newcomer looked pleased at their reaction. "Yeah. Apparently, it's made by a completely new gaming company called Planet Monkey. It also seems that the game developers are total newbies. Kinda unbelievable, right? With that kind of quality, you'll think that the game was created by one of the big companies with numerous other games under their belt. But no, this is apparently their first game."
"Wow. I didn't know that. That's insane. They must be loaded to be able to create such a high quality game and even build a company."
"Huh? Where did they get all of their funding then?"
"I heard that the President-Owner of the company is the one who's super rich. My brother has never seen the owner, but he heard from the employees that the owner is apparently a beautiful young woman. They say that she's very generous. Whatever they ask, she provides. That's why they have the best environment to create the game compared to other indie developers and maybe even some of the big gaming companies."
"Beautiful young woman? Come on! That's pure bullsh*t. The owner is probably a rich, young master who has more money than he could spend, plays video games all day, and has never had a girlfriend before."
They all laughed.
"But that is amazing, man. I wish I could be a beta tester, too. That would be so freaking cool."
"If you're serious, I can connect you with my brother. He's still working part-time as a tester for the company, even though the game is already released. Mainly to check for bugs and to evaluate user experience, that kind of thing. And he says that the job pays well."
"For real?! Man, let's exchange numbers! When I graduate, I'm so going to apply to Planet Monkey."
"Me too! But what I really want to know is if it's really true that the owner is a beautiful young woman!"
Long Jian washed his hands, feeling a little annoyed that these guys were being so noisy inside the washroom. He looked down on people like them.
A faint sneer marred his handsome face.
However, Long Jian envied the owner of that Planet Monkey company. He didn't care whether the owner was really a beautiful young woman or a rich young master. He wished that he could also have the freedom and the money to build his own successful business from scratch.
Even though he was a Long, his finances were limited to what he was currently earning as a corporate worker. His father stopped sending him allowance when he started working after graduating from university.
Fortunately, his mother was able to invest in several small properties while she was still his father's mistress. She rented these properties to others, providing their family with a continuous stream of extra income.
He wasn't like Long Hui or Long Xiulan, the legitimate children, who grew up with silver spoons in their mouths. Their other half-sister, Long Jinjing, had a similar upbringing to him. Although he and Long Jinjing were richer compared to the average people, they were nowhere near as wealthy as the young masters and young misses from other affluent families.
Well, it didn't matter if he couldn't start his own company. He wasn't that interested in trying it anyway. Why start his own when he could get his hands on an already established and successful company?
What he wanted the most was Long Industries. He would work extremely hard and do everything in his power, even sell his soul to the devil, in order to achieve this ambition.
As he made his way back to the private dining room, he thought about his youngest half-sister. He heard that Long Xiulan started her own company and begged their father for some sort of a business deal. He chuckled, the sound filled with mockery.
'What an idiot. A person like her who barely graduated from senior high school and never attended university started her own business? Does she think that running a business is that easy? What a joke. I'll bet that her business—whatever it is—will fail in just a few months. She has the money, yes, but skills? How laughable. Not everyone can be like the owner of that Planet Monkey who seems to run his or her company very well despite being a total newbie in the gaming industry.'