Only After I Was Reborn Did I Realize That I Had Childhood Sweethearts

After receiving the footage and camera from Mei Fang, Wan Chaoxiong only took one night to complete the video editing work. The next day, when Mei Fang saw Wan Chaoxiong, he looked completely exhausted.

“Hey… Did you stay up all night? I’ll treat you to a meal another day.”

“Editing the video was supposed to be a simple task, but Xiang Bingbing kept shouting throughout the entire filming process, making it difficult for me to remove the background noise. It took me a long time.”

Wan Chaoxiong waved his hand. “There’s no need to treat me to a meal. I have social anxiety. But you must not treat Xiang Bingbing to a meal; she’s guilty.”

“Ah! Why are you saying that about me? Chaoxiong, you’re so mean!”

Hearing Wan Chaoxiong’s complaint from behind Mei Fang, Xiang Bingbing pouted and said, “Mei Fang performed so wonderfully on stage, can’t I cheer for him and applaud?”

“You’re the cameraman, when do you have the time to cheer? And can you please call me by my full name? We’re not that close.”

“But calling you Chaoxiong is more fun, Chaoxiong, super fierce, hahaha.”

Wan Chaoxiong was already considered tall in the class, almost 1.8 meters, but in front of Xiang Bingbing, he seemed like a little brother. She kept patting his head, and he couldn’t dodge in time, only muttering to himself, “Curse this wild girl!”

While Mei Fang was enjoying watching Wan Chaoxiong being teased, Xiang Bingbing suddenly shifted her attention and put her hands on Mei Fang’s shoulders, gently swaying him.

“Yuan Yuan promised me that we’ll have a big meal until we’re full. You guys can’t break your promise… I might not have done very well this time, but I won’t let you down next time!”

“I got it, I got it… cough… just stop shaking me already——”

Mei Fang felt like he was on a pirate ship.

“You still want a next time? Next time, Mei Fang should only hire me!” Wan Chaoxiong sneered from the side, provoking a pout from Xiang Bingbing.

“Oh, you’re still saying that?! Watch me teach you a lesson…”

Xiang Bingbing chased after Wan Chaoxiong, repeatedly giving him “light taps” along the way. Mei Fang, massaging his battered shoulders, cast a resolute gaze towards the beaten Wan Chaoxiong.

Thanks a lot, buddy!

Mei Fang took the USB drive containing the edited video that Wan Chaoxiong had given him back home and watched it on his computer. He had to admit that Wan Chaoxiong’s editing skills were indeed quite impressive, worthy of being the first-generation enthusiast of C Site.

Next time, I’ll put Wan Chaoxiong’s video in the recommended videos section.

Mei Fang had previously uploaded Xia Yuan’s video on C Site, but the filming technique was average and there was no sound editing. Although it received a small recommendation, it didn’t create much of a buzz. However, this 5-minute long video had improved in terms of quality.

Mei Fang showed the video to Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi, and both of them gave it a highly satisfactory rating.

“Your classmate is really good. Can we hire him to work for us?” Xia Yuan, having spent a lot of time with Mei Fang, had picked up a bit of his manner of speaking.

Indeed, the operations and promotion department needed some talented video editors, and Mei Fang had a few of them among his part-time workers on C Site. However, it was difficult to entrust them with the videos, as it would expose their identities.

“There’s no rush for now. We can ask Wan Chaoxiong for help when needed…” Mei Fang replied.

“Oh, right! Ah Fang, I mentioned before that I want to record our MV.”

Xia Yuan rattled off her findings to Mei Fang: “I’ve recently researched the costs of recording studios and equipment. The studio costs 500 yuan per day, and it’s quite far from here. The recording equipment includes microphones, monitor headphones, an audio interface, reverb, and this thing called a harmonic balancer… Although there’s a lot of stuff and it’s a hassle, the expenses can be minimized to around 4,000 yuan.”

“In which room do you plan to record? In the master’s bedroom? Besides, if we bring all this equipment home, Aunt Liang will suspect something.”

Mei Fang thought for a moment. “Well, the excuse we used last time for the laptops was already far-fetched. Aunt Liang probably didn’t say anything because she trusts us.”

Lin Youxi interjected, “We don’t necessarily have to record at home. We can use the school facilities. The club room of our Ximilu Studio and maybe even Teacher Chen Qi could help. The music room might already have a ready-made recording studio and equipment.”

“But it feels a bit inconvenient to directly borrow from the school…” Mei Fang hesitated.

Xia Yuan griped, tugging at Mei Fang’s arm, “I still want to have our own set of recording equipment. Youxi suggested using the studio, and I think it’s feasible. There aren’t many people in the club building on weekends…”

“I’ll definitely buy it for you, but you need to first figure out this recording equipment before buying it. I think in the beginning you can ask around at school first, get familiar with how to use them. After that, we can set up a recording space in one of the rooms in the school. No matter how we set it up, it won’t be better than a professional recording studio anyway,” Mei Fang suggested.

“Then I’ll ask at school next week.”

Xia Yuan curiously leaned closer to Mei Fang again and asked, “By the way, how much money has our studio earned so far? You never really told us… Youxi, do you know? I hope I’m not the only one who doesn’t know.”

Lin Youxi shook her head. “I don’t know either, but I haven’t really asked. I am a bit curious though.”

Lin Youxi had calculated the monthly bandwidth expenses for C Site. Their bandwidth cost had been continuously increasing, reaching nearly 20,000 yuan per month.

In addition, Mei Fang had to pay salaries to the part-time workers on C Site, but Lin Youxi hadn’t asked about the expenses or how much they spent.

“Well, since both of you are so curious, I can show you the financial report… It’s like the income statement of our studio. But you have to promise me that after seeing the income, you won’t get carried away,” Mei Fang said.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. There’s nothing to boast about. It’s all our hard-earned money,” Xia Yuan quickly waved her hand.

Mei Fang, with a background in planning, enjoyed using Excel spreadsheets to manage his finances. He opened his encrypted work document and recorded the summary of last month’s income and expenses in a table.

【Studio Monthly Financial Report】

《Flappy Bird》

+13,452.3 USD, equivalent to 102,237.48 RMB at the current exchange rate;

《Reigns》

Unit price: 6 RMB

Total sales last month: 1,203 copies

Income this month: +7,218 RMB

Cumulative sales: 7,221 copies;

《Life Restart Simulator》

Unit price: 1 RMB

Total sales last month: 3,401 copies

Income this month +3,401 RMB

Cumulative sales: 13,430 copies;

《To the Moon》

Unit price: 8 RMB

Total sales last month: 701 copies

Income from revenue sharing this month: +1,682.4 RMB

Cumulative sales: 4,312 copies;

《Rain Blood: Dead Town》

Unit price: 5 RMB

Sales last month: 922 copies

Income from revenue sharing this month: +1,383 RMB

Cumulative sales: 3,002 copies;

Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi glanced at the table summarizing the game’s income and were immediately startled.

“How come Flappy Bird is making so much money? My goodness! These other games below are much more fun!”

“These games below are obviously much more enjoyable, but their sales just won’t go up.”

“That’s the market environment in China. People don’t have much money right now, and there are plenty of cracked versions available online. Even if it’s just 1 yuan, very few people directly pay for games.”

Lin Youxi asked Mei Fang, “Are these games, like Flappy Bird,’ earning more money by incorporating in-game ads?”

“It’s different. Single-player games focus heavily on immersive experiences, and if they have built-in ads, people will criticize them to death. Flappy Bird is different. It’s originally a short and quick game, with the rhythm being interrupted by an ad after each death. In-game ads are a good way to generate revenue.”

“True…” Xia Yuan nodded. “If I were to play To the Moon and got really emotional, a sudden ad asking me to spend money would definitely affect my gaming experience.”

Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi were not particularly surprised to see Mei Fang’s monthly income approaching 120,000 yuan. After all, this was only the revenue, and the expenses below were also quite exaggerated:

— Mei Fang personally spent 65,000 RMB to buy three high-end computers, three Alienware laptops, and a DSLR camera.

— The maintenance and server costs for C Site amounted to 30,000 RMB.

— The cost of labor for C Site. Currently, there are a total of 20 outsourced part-time employees on C Site. Although they are part-timers, Mei Fang has paid nearly 50,000 RMB in total.

Moreover, Lin Youxi and Xia Yuan saw the names of three classmates listed under the expenses column.

Yue Xinyi, -800 RMB;

Liu Xiaoyu, -600 RMB;

Peng Xue, -8,000 RMB;

Liu Xiaoyu was a member brought in by Xia Yuan to help with music, and due to the previous incident concerning Baimei Renjia. Xia Yuan paid Liu Xiaoyu a salary of 600 yuan. Mei Fang transferred the money to Xia Yuan in cash.

As for the 8,000 yuan expense for Peng Xue, it was a one-time payment. Mei Fang had already informed Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi about Peng Xue’s desire to learn bass. Xia Yuan naturally supported her friend’s dream without hesitation.

Since Peng Xue’s goal was to form a band with Xia Yuan, Mei Fang treated it as a business investment rather than a private loan.

Only Yue Xinyi’s payment puzzled Lin Youxi:

“Are you paying Yue Xinyi a salary every month now?”

“I started paying her last month. I informed Yue Xinyi but forgot to inform you guys.”

Mei Fang explained, “Yue Xinyi’s active participation on C Site and in the work group is evident to you, Youxi. She collects a lot of feedback from netizens and compiles a list to share with us. This is already a professional website operation workflow. It’s quite different from just lending a hand. She deserves this salary.”

“I didn’t say she doesn’t deserve it,” Lin Youxi shook her head. “It’s just that if you’re going to pay Yue Xinyi a salary, you should’ve let me know so I could have asked her to handle some more tasks for me. I felt a bit awkward to ask her to do them before.”

Youxi…you’ll get what’s coming to you.

Mei Fang thought everyone was now acting like real business leaders, speaking quite authoritatively.

“You’re paying them salaries, but not your close friend Zhang Ming? You two are so close.”

“Feelings are feelings, benefits are benefits. Zhang Ming only did a planning proposal during summer vacation, and it was just average. I already compensated him by letting him have the game’s car before, and now he’s too busy to help me. In this situation, it’s not possible to pay him a salary. Maybe I’ll give him some New Year’s money as a bonus when we go back for Lunar New Year.”

Mei Fang was quite open-minded.

“Ah, I see… That makes sense, then.”

After reviewing the financial statement, Xia Yuan sighed, “Making money is really not easy. Everyone is working so hard, yet we ended up losing money last month… If only I hadn’t bought such an expensive phone. By the way, Ah Fang, do you still have savings? I have around 70,000 to 80,000 yuan. Do you want me to transfer it to you to help cover some expenses?”

“That’s not necessary. I still have enough savings.”

Mei Fang thought to himself: “And please don’t ask about my savings.” It was difficult for him to admit that he was a millionaire.

Lin Youxi chimed in, “Actually, the expenses are manageable, and you shouldn’t calculate it like that. Many expenses are one-time purchases, such as these digital products.”

“Yes, yes, I know, I know…”

Xia Yuan stretched lazily and said, “But I feel like we’re earning a bit too little right now. Once I organize the songs and release an album, we should be able to make a lot of money! Ah Fang, do you have any desire to write songs recently? If we can gather ten songs before the new year, we can release an album.”

“Don’t worry about that. I still have a lot of song lyrics in my drafts… You can pick and choose from what I’ve written, and I can give input on the composition.”

“That’s awesome! After I finish recording these three songs, I’ll come find you. But for the song I’m Willing, I want you to help me record it.”

“OK, no problem… But right now, I need to prepare for the next game.”

Lin Youxi was puzzled, “Are you in such a hurry? I think the versions of Reigns and Life Restart Simulator just stabilized recently. You should take a break, and don’t neglect your studies.”

“I have it under control, and I can manage my time…”

Mei Fang suddenly remembered something and quickly reminded the two, “Aren’t we going to invite Xiang Bingbing and Liu Xiaoyu to a meal this weekend?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“I need to add one more person at the last minute to discuss the new project.”

“Adding someone? A girl? When did you meet her?”

“No, she’s an old acquaintance. I’m planning to invite Guo Yun to join us. Do you have any objections?”

Xia Yuan shook her head, “That’s fine. We were actually planning to hang out with Guo Yun last time, but she went abroad or somewhere…”

Lin Youxi thought for a moment and said, “Her school seems to be a bit far from ours. Let’s choose a location that’s more in the middle for the meal, so it’s convenient for both sides.”

“In that case, the intersection area would be a better location, as it’s still considered within the city center. Let me check if there are any buffets nearby…” Xia Yuan suggested.

Meifang rolled his eyes and said, “Yuan Yuan, you don’t need to worry about Xiang Bingbing bankrupting me by eating a lot. Don’t be so stingy, it’s not like I can’t afford to feed her.”

“I’m not being stingy! A buffet is a good idea. I haven’t even tried it yet. Can’t we go together? Youxi also wants to have a buffet, why don’t you ask her?”

“Oh, I see.”

Mei Fang turned to look at Lin Youxi and saw her nod slightly. “I’ve seen people eat buffet on TV, and I also want to try it myself.”

“If you ask me, the buffet restaurants around here aren’t particularly delicious. If you want to eat, you have to go to the Golden Leopard, which costs 180 yuan per person…”

“Ah Fang, you’re being extravagant! Do you really think all the money in the studio is yours? Youxi and I are working for you for free, you know?”

Xia Yuan pouted and pinched Mei Fang’s cheek, “And why are you so showy? Choosing the most expensive restaurant for a meal and always buying the most expensive things. At this rate, no matter how hard we work to make money, we won’t be able to keep up with your spending. I think in the future, we can’t let you handle the finances alone. Youxi and I need to supervise!”

“Alright, alright… I got it… Let’s just go for something normal!”

Mei Fang made a compromise.

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