Married to My Bro 11

Chapter 11

Liang Xusheng poured the water, ignoring the cringe-inducing “wifey” for now. “So what’s the situation?” he asked, looking at Lu Xun.

Lu Xun explained. The new planner, Zhao Bin, had been strategically placed by Youlu Capital to gain more control over Xunsheng. Liu Mo, the general manager, had been warned in advance and had complied with the changes to the gacha rates and the increased use of static scenes. However, Liu Mo wasn’t entirely on the investor’s side and had informed Lu Xun of everything.

The reason Xunsheng hadn’t issued an apology or compensation was because Youlu Capital had forbidden it. The new event’s revenue in the first 18 hours had been several times higher than the previous event, which they used to justify their actions and demanded an explanation for the significant difference in revenue between the two events.

“Explain my ass,” Liang Xusheng scoffed. “Of course, the revenue is higher! The pull rates are so low that loyal players are forced to spend more to get the limited card! What’s the difference between this and ‘Garden’s’ predatory practices? Why bother investing in Xunsheng when they could just partner with ‘Garden’ and make even more money?”

“Which investor is this?” he asked, sitting down on the sofa.

“Youlu Capital,” Lu Xun replied, sipping his water.

“Damn it,” Liang Xusheng said. “I thought they only had equity, not management rights.”

“That’s why they’re trying to insert their people,” Lu Xun said calmly.

“Can you handle this?” Liang Xusheng asked, looking at him.

Lu Xun placed his glass on the coffee table. “Don’t worry.” He explained, “At 4 am, when the game resets, we’ll send players 40 free gacha pulls and a free four-star card as compensation. We’ll blame the static scenes on recent personnel changes and work handover issues. We’ll recall the card, rework it, and re-release it later. All gacha purchases will be refunded.”

Liang Xusheng was relieved. “I thought you were going to be ousted and lose control of the company.”

“It’s not that bad,” Lu Xun assured him.

“What about that new planner?”

“Zhao Bin. He came from ‘Garden.’ Static scenes and low pull rates are his ‘secret weapons’ for increasing revenue,” Lu Xun said bluntly. “We can’t fire him yet, but I’ll have Liu Mo sideline him so he can’t access important data.”

Liang Xusheng nodded, trusting Lu Xun to handle it. He had no reason to doubt his abilities; Lu Xun was a seasoned entrepreneur.

He leaned back on the sofa. “I came all the way here to wait for you, and for what? That gacha and those static scenes made me sick. Ruined my whole day.”

“Want 200 free gacha pulls?” Lu Xun offered.

Liang Xusheng grinned. “Thanks, Mr. CEO.”

Lu Xun smiled back.

“It’s late,” Liang Xusheng said, standing up. “I should…”

“Want some late-night snacks?” Lu Xun interrupted.

“Sure,” Liang Xusheng said immediately. “Should we go out or order in?”

“Let’s go,” Lu Xun said, getting up. “There’s a place nearby.”

At the barbecue stall, Liang Xusheng said loudly, “The last time we had late-night snacks together was after our drunken one-night stand.” His voice carried, attracting curious glances from nearby diners.

Lu Xun kicked him under the table. “Keep it down.” Why was he so casual about saying something so outrageous, and so loudly?

“Just reminiscing about the good old days,” Liang Xusheng said, writing down their order. “Want a beer?”

“No,” Lu Xun replied.

“Sprite then?”

“Sprite.”

While pouring the Sprite, Liang Xusheng said, “I really want to go to your company and yell at that Zhao Bin, and Liu Mo too. Those low pull rates and static scenes are infuriating.” Despite his words, he wasn’t truly angry. He even showed Lu Xun pictures of furniture on his phone. “Look at this, and this. Nice, right? I picked them out. And this one too.”

He then talked about their parents. “This weekend, I’m taking our parents to get their measurements for the wedding outfits. Don’t worry, you don’t have to come. I’ll handle it. I’ll have the tailor come to your place, or maybe your office? That way, I can see Zhao Bin and give Liu Mo a piece of my mind. Perfect!”

As they ate and chatted, Lu Xun felt relaxed. He had always found Liang Xusheng’s company comforting. His tone, his words, his expressions, everything about him was calming and reassuring. Marrying Liang Xusheng isn’t so bad, he thought. The marriage might be fake, but the comfort is real. I like being around him.

The next day, at the office, Lu Xun ran into Liu Mo in the hallway. Liu Mo expected a reprimand, but Lu Xun simply played a voice message from Liang Xusheng: “That Liu Mo is getting too comfortable at Xunsheng. He thinks the company can’t function without him. He needs to experience the joys of middle-aged unemployment, with a wife and kids to feed and a huge mortgage to pay.”

Liu Mo: “…”

Lu Xun put his phone away and walked off without a word.

Liu Mo, pale and panicked, hurried after him. “Mr. Lu, Mr. Lu…”

Meanwhile, Liang Xusheng woke up in his comfortable bed, checked Rewind, and happily claimed his 240 free gacha pulls.

A female friend sent him a voice message: “Liang Xusheng, want to grab lunch? My treat, buffet. What do you say?”

“Sure, where?” Liang Xusheng replied.

Later, while shopping with his friend, he received a call from Yang Yue. “Xusheng, I almost forgot to tell you. The betrothal gifts are given in cash, not transferred electronically. I’m at the bank withdrawing the money now. I’ll give it to you on the wedding day, okay?”

“Sure,” Liang Xusheng said. “How much are you giving me?”

Yang Yue laughed. “Just for calling me ‘Mom,’ I won’t shortchange you. I told your parents 288,000, but since you asked, I’ll add a bit more, 369,000. How’s that?”

“Wow, that’s a lot!” Liang Xusheng exclaimed. “Thank you, Mom! You’re the best!” He even blew kisses into the phone, much to Yang Yue’s delight.

“Stop it, or I’ll add even more,” she said, laughing. “I have to go now.”

After hanging up, Liang Xusheng told his friend about the increased betrothal gift. “I can’t believe you’re marrying Lu Xun,” she said. “He was so aloof in school. I was terrified of him. Only you could be friends with him.” She then asked excitedly, “Can I be your bridesmaid?”

“I almost forgot about that!” Liang Xusheng said, clapping his hands. “Sure, you can be a bridesmaid. I’ll find a few more girls and we’ll have a bridesmaid squad. My mom will give you all big red envelopes.”

“You’re the best!” his friend cheered.

Later, he received a message from Fu Shu: [What did you say to Auntie Yang Yue? The betrothal gift is now up to 688,000! I have to go withdraw more money. They didn’t have enough cash on hand!]

Liang Xusheng chuckled and sent a screenshot to Lu Xun: [Hubby, hubby! We’re rich! We’re rich!]

His friend saw the message and teased him. “Calling him ‘hubby’ so casually now?”

“Of course,” Liang Xusheng replied, waving his phone. “Sweet-talking gets you rewards.”

Lu Xun replied: [Just transferred 1000 gacha pulls to your account.]

Liang Xusheng: !!! He sent a voice message, overflowing with joy. “You’re the best hubby ever!”

Lu Xun played the message on speakerphone during a meeting, eliciting cheers and whistles from his colleagues. He smiled.