Chapter 141 An Awkward Meeting

September 23rd, Friday.

Pei Qian felt that he had avoided the limelight for a few days and it was about time he could go out and about.

Ever since Huang Sibo released that video last Sunday, Pei Qian hadn't dared to swagger around in public, let alone visit the usual Touching Fish Cafe. Instead, he had been paying attention to the changes in online opinion.

So far, everyone who knew Pei Qian in real life, whether they were employees of Tengda or "friends" like Qiao Liang, Ruan Guangjian, and Li Shi, had basically reached a consensus to keep President Pei's secret.

And most of the fans who were curious had stopped digging into President Pei's true identity because of that video, choosing instead to treat the image in *A Day in the Life of President Pei* as President Pei's symbol.

People's attention to President Pei's real identity seemed to have been successfully diverted.

Of course, there would still be some trouble if Pei Qian went out now. Most likely, people would treat him as the actor who played President Pei and ask for a photo, but that would be the extent of it; there wouldn't be any other problems.

So, Pei Qian felt that he could go out and about and embrace his "new identity."

First, he would go to the Touching Fish Cafe near Handong University, sit down, and have a cup of coffee.

However, considering that there would be a lot of people at noon, Pei Qian thought it would be best to arrive around three or four in the afternoon, when he might be less noticeable.

...

At the same time, Ruan Guangjian had just finished his Touching Fish takeout lunch. He stretched and prepared to stand up, walk around to digest, look at the green plants in the studio, and relax.

Since *Struggle* was released, his work was just designing hero concept art for *Game of Gods*. It was much easier, and he had more time to rest.

Just then, he saw a middle-aged man in his forties walk into Halo Studio.

Ruan Guangjian was stunned for a moment. It was rare for a stranger to come to the door.

Although Halo Studio rented a street-facing shop across from the Touching Fish Cafe, their work actually came from Tengda Games or the ESRO official platform. The place wasn't a shop but an office, so people generally didn't visit.

Taking a closer look, Ruan Guangjian thought the middle-aged man looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him.

"Hello?" Ruan Guangjian stepped forward to greet him politely.

The middle-aged man smiled. "Hello, I'm He An from Mengguo Games. I happened to be passing by and saw the Halo Studio sign, so I thought I'd come in and take a look."

Ruan Guangjian suddenly realized who it was.

This was the big shot who had posted on Weibo to analyze *Struggle*!

He An was a senior in the domestic single-player game industry. Of course, Ruan Guangjian had seen his photo, but photos and real people were different after all. Plus, his memory was a bit fuzzy, so he didn't recognize him right away.

"Mr. He, you're a senior! Please, come in, come in. I'm Ruan Guangjian, the person in charge of Halo Studio."

He An was a little surprised. "You're the person in charge of Halo Studio? The artist who's been working with President Pei? Pleased to meet you!"

He was a bit surprised by Ruan Guangjian's youth.

They had both heard of each other. After introducing themselves, they immediately hit it off.

Professionals often shared a common trait: respect for other professionals.

Ruan Guangjian knew that He An was a leading producer in the domestic single-player game circle, and He An also knew that Ruan Guangjian was a top artist and concept designer in China. They had a lot they wanted to discuss.

After sitting down in the studio, Ruan Guangjian had an employee buy coffee from across the street, and they chatted while drinking.

"Is this Mr. He's first time in Jingzhou?" Ruan Guangjian asked.

He An smiled and shook his head. "No, I've actually been here many times."

"I've been giving lectures to Mr. Ma from Tengda Group, in a small coffee shop nearby. The course was already over, but Qiao Laoshi's video made me interested in Jingzhou again, so I suddenly wanted to come back and take a look around this weekend."

"I was just going to walk around, but I happened to see the name Halo Studio. I was a little curious, so I came in."

Ruan Guangjian was a little puzzled. "Mr. Ma from Tengda Group?"

He An nodded. "Yes, Mr. Ma Yang from Yuandream Ventures."

Ruan Guangjian tried hard to recall. He seemed to vaguely know that there was such a person and that this Mr. Ma had earned Tengda five hundred million yuan with one investment, but he had never actually met him.

But why would Mr. Ma have Mr. He give lectures?

Did he think that investing was too easy and boring, so he wanted to switch to making games?

Then why didn't he ask President Pei to give lectures?

Hmm... maybe President Pei was too busy and didn't have time?

That was possible.

Ruan Guangjian didn't think too much about it and casually asked, "Then has Mr. He met President Pei? President Pei should know that Mr. Ma asked you to give lectures, right?"

He An said regretfully, "I haven't had the chance to meet President Pei yet. President Pei was definitely aware of it since Mr. Ma's tuition was paid by President Pei after he received the Outstanding Employee award."

Ruan Guangjian frowned slightly. "Then that's a bit inappropriate. President Pei is always hospitable and treats all friends who come to Jingzhou with the highest standards. There's no reason for him not to see a senior like you."

He An didn't seem to mind. "Maybe President Pei is too busy. After all, Tengda has been developing rapidly recently. President Pei has spent so much energy on developing *Struggle*, it's normal for him to be overwhelmed."

"However, I am very curious about President Pei. You must see President Pei often, right? Can you tell me about President Pei?"

Ruan Guangjian nodded. "Of course!"

"President Pei is very sincere to his friends, and he's also a very talented game producer. He has a great grasp of the details of games. In fact, the art style of *Struggle* was his decision..."

Ruan Guangjian talked about the situation at the time, his face filled with longing.

At that time, the first batch of concept art for *Struggle* had just come out, and Ruan Guangjian had completely processed it in an extremely realistic style. President Pei was the first to realize the problem with the concept art and suggested that they all be changed to caricatured characters to highlight the typical characteristics of the characters.

Sure enough, this style was a great success after the game was released.

Afterward, Ruan Guangjian talked about his collaboration with President Pei on other games, such as *Ghost General* and *Game of Gods*.

He An listened and nodded frequently, occasionally exclaiming in admiration.

Cooperation between designers and artists had always been a difficult problem. Once communication was poor and cooperation was not good, it was easy for them to hold each other back.

But President Pei's cooperation with Ruan Guangjian didn't seem to have this problem at all. They could always cooperate seamlessly, which was amazing!

He An listened with excitement and also talked about teaching Mr. Ma game design theory in Jingzhou, especially emphasizing that he used President Pei's games as teaching cases, which greatly inspired Mr. Ma and doubled the teaching effect.

The two got more and more invested in their conversation.

Ruan Guangjian was President Pei's friend, He An was Mr. Ma's friend, and President Pei and Mr. Ma were friends. So, by the transitive property, these two could also become good friends!

What's more, they were both prominent figures in the domestic game industry. Maybe there would be opportunities for cooperation in the future, so it was even more necessary to get to know each other.

The two got more and more invested in their conversation, and before they knew it, two hours had passed.

He An looked at the time and said, "Oh no, I didn't pay attention to the time. Am I disturbing your work?"

Ruan Guangjian shook his head. "No, my work hours are very flexible, it doesn't matter."

He An still stood up. "Then I won't disturb you any longer. How about this, tomorrow is the weekend. If you have time, I'll treat you to a meal. We can have a good chat at the dinner table, what do you think?"

Ruan Guangjian also quickly stood up. "No problem! But I'm definitely paying, after all, this is in Jingzhou."

He An smiled. "There's no need to be polite about that. Alright, I'll be leaving now. Let's keep in touch."

The two exchanged contact information, and Ruan Guangjian sent He An out of Halo Studio.

Just as he stepped out, he saw a familiar figure passing by.

Ruan Guangjian's eyes lit up. Speak of the devil!

Wasn't this too much of a coincidence?

"President Pei!" Ruan Guangjian was very happy. "We were just talking about you!"

Pei Qian, who had just prepared himself mentally to go out, saw He An and Ruan Guangjian walking out of Halo Studio as soon as he arrived at the entrance of Touching Fish Cafe.

Then, frozen in place, Pei Qian watched He An's expression change from surprise to astonishment, then to confusion and shock.

It was awkward.

Countless question marks floated above Pei Qian's head. He never expected something like this to happen!

Why was He An here?

Hadn't he left Jingzhou? When did he come back?

And when did he get to know Ruan Guangjian?

How should I explain...?

And the question marks above He An's head were no less numerous than Pei Qian's.

At first, when he saw "Mr. Ma", he was quite happy, thinking that fate was wonderful.

But when Ruan Guangjian called out "President Pei," He An's smile instantly froze.

President Pei? Ruan Guangjian was calling Mr. Ma "President Pei"?

Calling a deer a horse? (idiom: deliberately misrepresenting something)

Oh no, should it be calling a horse Pei?

That didn't seem right either.

Did Ruan Guangjian call the wrong name?

That couldn't be, Ruan Guangjian had worked with President Pei so many times, he definitely wouldn't be wrong!

There was definitely a big problem!

The two of them were stuck in place, not knowing what to say.

Ruan Guangjian looked at He An, then at President Pei, and realized that neither of them was speaking. He was a little puzzled about what was going on.

But then he realized that they were both a little excited about such a historic meeting, which was understandable!

He shouldn't disturb them and let them enjoy this moment.

With that thought, Ruan Guangjian smiled. "You two must have a lot to talk about. I'll go back to work now. See you!"

Ruan Guangjian returned to Halo Studio.

A gust of wind blew past, swirling a fallen leaf on the ground. Everything seemed to stand still.

Pei Qian and He An looked at each other, their expressions different, but both speechless.