After concluding the financing talks with Tencent, Mei Fang felt a significant weight lifted off his shoulders.
Based on the information he had gathered so far, his three major assets were highly attractive investments in Tencent's eyes. Mei Fang could sense that Tencent was equally interested in Ximilu Games.
It's important to note that in this era, Tencent was the most valuable of the three tech giants , with a gaming industry that was thriving.
At this very moment, Tencent was gearing up for the third round of internal core testing for their flagship self-developed MMO, Asura , and had announced plans for public testing in March 2013.
From Mei Fang's current perspective, it didn't seem like his Ximilu Games had much to offer them. The young Mei Fang appeared incapable of leading the upcoming mobile gaming boom or of producing a decent AAA game with his current team-
Maybe it was just that Tencent had so much money that they could afford to take a long-term view and cast a wide net?
Although having Tencent's backing could be advantageous, Mei Fang wasn't planning on relying on them entirely for growth. While continuing to fix bugs and iterate on CLoud Journey, Mei Fang also began leveraging the reputation C Site and Ximilu Games had built to attract new members. His next step was to establish an independent project team-the Coconut Milk Project Team.
The goal of the Coconut Milk Project Team was to generate significant revenue for Ximilu Games. Mei Fang could use the knowledge from his previous life to guide this new team to success.
During this era, popular games like TempLe Run and Fruit Ninja were already on the market. After some consideration, Mei Fang decided to focus on casual match-three or tile-matching games.
The biggest impact smartphones had on the domestic market was the expansion of the gaming player base; games shifted from being primarily a male interest to a universal stress-relief tool enjoyed by people of all ages.
With the rise of casual gamers, the market for casual games had great potential. At the moment, even Tencent hadn't yet dominated the tile-matching game market, and the nationwide hit Happy Match was still two years away. This gave Mei Fang an opportunity to showcase his talent.
As for the project team's name, Mei Fang discussed it with Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi. Since the entire studio was called Ximilu Studio (Sago Soup Studio), it was only fitting that the new project team should also be named after a dessert-
Thus, the [Coconut Milk Project Team] was born.
After agreeing on the general terms of the collaboration, Mei Fang left the details to Mei Yue, who was handling the financials with ease thanks to her background in auditing. Mei Fang trusted his cousin wholeheartedly, so he returned to his daily life with Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi.
Watching Xia Yuan and Mei Fang's close interaction, Lin Youxi smiled and asked, "Speaking of which, you and Ah Fang have been in a relationship for almost a semester now. Compared to when you were just childhood sweethearts, do you feel any big changes?" "Changes? Well, aside from Ah Fang becoming more... suggestive, nothing major," Xia Yuan replied.
Mei Fang, feeling a bit annoyed, pinched Xia Yuan's nose. "Who's the more suggestive one between us? You'd better clarify."
"Alright, alright... it's me, it's me. Ah Fang, even though you're so grown up, you always need me to give in to you. Only Youxi and I wouldn't mind that."
Xia Yuan lightly pinched Mei Fang's cheek, then slid her hand into his jacket to warm herself. With everyone bundled up in thick winter coats and huddled close, it was hard to tell what she was doing unless you looked closely.
"By the way, are you and Youxi really okay with not participating in the NOI? It's still a pretty good chance to get guaranteed admission..."
"To get the guaranteed admission, you need to win a gold medal, which would require at least half a year of intense effort."
Mei Fang shook his head with a smile. "In that half a year, who knows how much money we could make with our game?"
"You're skipping the competition just to make money? Ah Fang, you're so shallow."
Before Xia Yuan could finish teasing Mei Fang, Lin Youxi chimed in, "Ah Fang just doesn't want to admit it, but he really just wants to spend more time with you, Yuan Yuan."
"Don't make excuses for him, Youxi. I want to hear it from Ah Fang himself." Xia Yuan placed her hand on Mei Fang's chest. "Ah Fang, tell me honestly, is that what you're thinking? I want to hear the truth from you."
"Isn't it obvious? Of course, I-" Mei Fang suddenly shivered, almost hugging Xia Yuan on the spot.
It turned out that Lin Youxi had also slipped her hand into Mei Fang's jacket to warm up.
"Whoa, Youxi! What are you doing? What if someone notices?" Xia Yuan quietly scolded Lin Youxi while quickly pulling her hand out of Mei Fang's jacket. "I'll keep you warm too."
As Xia Yuan warmed Lin Youxi's hands, Lin Youxi suggested, "It's been a while since the three of us have snuggled together. How about we sleep together tonight?"