Free Web NovelChapter 219: Chapter 222: The Game Enters Closed Beta
"Heh..." Mina Jennings sneered and rolled her eyes. "If playing the victim was enough to get a girlfriend, every beggar on the street would have several wives by now."
"Exactly," Julia Dawson said, thinking Mina was spot on. "Only incompetent men try to win over women with sob stories. That guy really isn’t worth it. Mr. Preston was right to cut him off."
Felix Preston’s gaze was mocking. "Forget him. Let’s go back to the living room and sit down. If he wants to stand in the snow, let him get a good soaking."
No one paid any mind to Liam Joyce, who was rooted to the spot in the ice and snow. The group returned to the living room, chatting and laughing, and sat down side-by-side on the sofa.
Julia Dawson pulled a tablet from her bag and got straight to the point. "Quick, quick, you guys have to help me pick out bridesmaid gifts and dresses. I’ve been agonizing over this at home until I’m about to go bald, and I still can’t decide on a damn thing."
"Let the artsy one take a look." Mina Jennings took the tablet, leaning against Charlotte Shaw to look with her.
Charlotte Shaw’s aesthetic leaned toward simple and elegant. She picked out a few relatively gentle bridesmaid dresses, chose several gifts that were both practical and beautiful, and then handed the tablet to Renee Sinclair.
"The artsy one is done. Now it’s the fashionista’s turn."
Renee Sinclair: "...Are you complimenting me or being passive-aggressive?"
Charlotte Shaw’s expression was sincere. "Of course I’m complimenting you! We may have our old rivalries, but I have to admit, your fashion sense and taste are totally on point!"
"...Actually, I just throw things together randomly." Renee Sinclair reluctantly believed her. "But since Shaw has such high hopes for me, I suppose I’ll give it a small go."
"Why just a small go?" Lynn Preston didn’t understand. "This is so important, you should give it a big go!"
"Hmph," Renee Sinclair said with a devilishly charming smile. "If I gave it a ’big go,’ this wedding might just turn into a coronation!"
Lynn Preston: "...Huh?"
Julia Dawson explained to her, "Sinclair’s style is more on the ’queen’ side. If she went all out, she might make the whole wedding get out of control."
Lynn Preston: "Oh."
"Lynn..." Charlotte Shaw secretly poked her, then tugged the corner of her shirt, pulling her into a corner.
"What’s the deal with Liam Joyce?" Charlotte Shaw asked, lowering her voice to a gossipy whisper.
"...What else could it be? He’s pestering me relentlessly every day."
The mere mention of Liam Joyce made a nameless fury rise in Lynn Preston. "I already made things crystal clear to him the other day, but it’s like he doesn’t understand. He keeps harassing me, like a lingering ghost."
"You already exposed his dealings with Ethan Lockwood, and he still has the nerve to harass you?" Charlotte Shaw was shocked.
"He more than has the nerve!" Lynn Preston said through gritted teeth. "He told me he was completely forced into cooperating with Ethan Lockwood. That Ethan Lockwood is very powerful, and if he didn’t agree to his demands, Ethan would go after his company."
"...A pack of lies." Charlotte Shaw didn’t believe a single word.
Lynn Preston: "If I weren’t supposed to keep the evidence under wraps for now, I would’ve slapped him in the face with what Yvette Fuller gave me ages ago!"
"’Some people just won’t give up until they’re staring at their own coffin’... A man like that deserves to eat some rat poison and go straight to hell!"
Lynn Preston was furious, her pale face flushed red with anger.
Charlotte Shaw reached out and patted her on the back, comforting her in a soft voice. "Don’t be angry. You’re still holding his fatal weakness in your hands. When the time is right, he’ll disappear from your life for good."
Lynn Preston pouted unhappily. "Can’t he disappear right now? I don’t want to see him at all."
Charlotte Shaw: "Then I’ll go talk to your brother and see if we can get rid of Liam Joyce sooner."
"Forget it." Lynn Preston took her hand. "Liam Joyce is a key part of this plan. I don’t want to disrupt my brother’s rhythm. Worst case, I just won’t go out for a while. If I coop myself up at home every day, he won’t be able to harass me."
Charlotte Shaw gave a gentle smile. "This must be hard on you, Lynn."
Lynn Preston shook her head. "As long as I can get my revenge, I can endure any hardship."
...
After the new studio was established, Felix Preston hired five more employees. With more members on the team, the game’s development progress immediately sped up significantly.
The week before Charlotte Shaw’s postpartum confinement ended, the first version of Felix Preston’s game was officially complete.
After three days of testing, no major issues were found. Felix Preston then released two hundred spots for a closed beta, beginning the process of slowly introducing the otome game to the public.
As a family member, Charlotte Shaw naturally got a spot in the closed beta right away and happily started playing.
"*Laws of Love*... That’s not a bad name for a game. Who came up with it?" Charlotte Shaw said while on a video call with Felix Preston, updating the game on her tablet.
On the other side of the call, Felix Preston was busy typing away. Hearing her, he looked up and smiled at Charlotte Shaw. "Evan Yates came up with the name. He decided on it a long time ago."
"Hm?" Charlotte Shaw raised an eyebrow, quite surprised. "Evan Yates came up with it? I can’t believe someone who’s been single since birth and never even been in a relationship could think of such a good name."
"Shhh—" Felix Preston put a finger to his lips, reminding Charlotte Shaw to lower her voice. "Don’t let him hear you say that, or he’ll be wailing and moaning about it in the studio again."
"Oh." Charlotte Shaw lowered her gaze to the update progress bar on her tablet and quickly changed the subject. "The game file is only one gigabyte? Isn’t that a little small?"
Felix Preston adjusted his glasses. "The first version is just for a trial run, so we didn’t include much content. If the response to the trial is good, we’ll slowly expand the game’s content."
"I see..." Charlotte Shaw said, only half-understanding.
The game file wasn’t large, and it finished updating in the time it took to exchange a few sentences.
Charlotte Shaw registered an account. Just as she finished reading the game’s world-building introduction and clicked into the first part of the main story, she was taken completely by surprise by the incredibly handsome 3D guy on the screen.
"Whoa, this male lead is way too good-looking!"
"...Not as good-looking as your husband," Felix Preston commented faintly.
Charlotte Shaw immediately agreed like a suck-up. "Yes, yes, yes, my husband is the best-looking of all!"
"But then again, who did the modeling for this male lead? The results are amazing."
Felix Preston: "We have two modelers in the studio. The male lead you’re looking at now was done by Levi Zane."
’Levi Zane...’ The name sounded a little familiar. Charlotte Shaw thought carefully and vaguely recalled hearing it from Renee Sinclair.
"Is this Levi Zane in his thirties, wears glasses, and likes to wear striped shirts?"
Felix Preston was surprised. "How do you know? Have you met him?"
Charlotte Shaw grinned sheepishly. "I haven’t met him, I’ve just heard of him."
Felix Preston furrowed his brow. "Where did you hear about him?"
Charlotte Shaw: "...From Renee Sinclair."
